ar, and ready brother's room for him.
Ben's got two rabbit-skins tacked outside the window which'll have to
come down. Ben'll have to go in with Dan and Fandy to sleep.--Mercy!
Here come the twins, 'cross-lots!--an' Fandy a preachin' there in the
pump-shed!"

True enough, the twins were coming around by the back way. They
approached softly, and made a motion of warning to Mrs. Danby, as they
drew nearer, for they could hear Fandy Danby's voice, and wished to
enjoy the fun. Mrs. Danby, smiling and nodding, pointed to a place where
they could stand unobserved and hear the sermon.

It was the hour for the afternoon "cleaning-up." Eight of the little
Danbys, including Charity with Baby Jamie in her arms, had assembled to
wash their hands and faces at the battered green pump under the shed,
where, on a long, low bench, were two yellow earthenware basins, and a
saucer containing a few fragments of brown soap, while on the wall hung
a roller-towel that already was on very familiar terms with Danby faces
and hands. The general toilet had been rather a noisy one, owing partly
to the baby objecting to having soap in its eyes, and partly to the fact
that too many required the services of the Danby roller at the same
instant, to say nothing of Miss Helen insisting upon slapping the water
in a most unladylike way, and so splashing Master Gregory.

This combination having brought matters to a crisis, Fandy had been
inspired to mount a small step-ladder, and, with many original gestures,
address the crowd in the following fashion:--

"CHIL'REN! I'm ashamed of you! I don't know when
I've been so--so umpressed with the badness of
this family. How often, my hearers, do you 'spect
me to stop my dressing to extort you! I didn't
mean to preach no more sermons this week, but you
do behave so awful bad, I must.

"Now, first, don't you know speakin' saucy is a
sin? _Don't_ you know it? It makes us hateful, an'
it makes us cross, an' it makes people tell Ma. It
ain't right for Chrisshen chil'ren to do such
things. It don't never say in our Bible-lesson
that folks can call peoples 'mean uglies' just for
wantin' the roller. An' it don't say that a good
Chrisshen child can say 'Pshaw for you!' for
havin' not to make quite so much noise, which you,
my beloved 'Gory, said just now to C