rd, Rea," said Mr. Connor, "though it sounds
so much like it. It was 'signorita' you were called in Italy; and it is
'senorita' that Anita here calls you. That is Spanish; and Anita speaks
much more Spanish than English. That is one reason I took her. I want
you to learn to speak in Spanish."

"Then we shall speak four languages," said Jusy proudly,--"Italian,
French, and English and Spanish. Our papa spoke eleven. That was one
reason he was so useful to the King. Nobody could come from any foreign
country that papa could not talk to. My papa said the more languages a
man spoke, the more he could do in the world. I shall learn all the
American languages before I go back to Italy. Are there as many as nine,
Uncle George?"

"Yes, a good many more," replied Uncle George. "Pretty nearly a language
for every State, I should say. But the fewer you learn of them the
better. If you will speak good English and Spanish, that is all you will
need here."

"Shall we not learn the language of the signors from China?" asked Rea.

At which Jim, who had followed, and was standing in the background,
looking on with delight, almost went into convulsions of laughter, and
went out and told the Chinamen in the kitchen that Miss Rea wished to
learn to speak Chinese at once. So they thought she must be a very nice
little girl, and were all ready to be her warm friends.

The next morning, as Rea was dressing, she heard a great caterwauling
and miaowing. Fairy, who was asleep on the foot of her bed, sprang up
and began to bark furiously; all the while, however, looking as if she
were frightened half to death. Never before had Fairy heard so many
cats' voices at once.

Rea ran to the open window; before she reached it, she heard Jusy
calling to her from below,--

"Rea! Rea! Are you up? Come out and see the cats."

Jusy had been up ever since light, roaming over the whole place: the
stables, the Chinamen's quarters, the tool-house, the kitchen, the
woodpile; there was nothing he had not seen; and he was in a state of
such delight he could not walk straight or steadily; he went on the run
and with a hop, skip, and jump from each thing to the next.

"Hurry, Rea!" he screamed. "Do hurry. Never mind your hair. Come down.
They'll be done!"

Still the miaowing and caterwauling continued.

"Oh, hurry, hurry, Anita," said Rea. "Please let me go down; I'll come
up to have my hair done afterwards. What is it, Anita? Is it really
cats? Are ther