ur pairs of keen little Robinson eyes took in this saying with quick
intelligence, and four stolid sets of shoulders straightened up
importantly with four uplifted saucy chins. They would store these
remarks away for future reference when the aunt in question arrived on
the scene. They would come in well, they knew, for they had had
experience with her in times past.

"Aunt Jule ain't goin' to boss me," swaggered the youngest.

"Ner me, neither!"

"Ner me!"

"I guess she wouldn't _dast_ try it on _me_!" boasted the eldest.

CHAPTER III

"You haven't asked us what we came for," opened up Allison as soon as
everybody was served with chicken, mashed potato, succotash, stewed
tomatoes, biscuits, pickles, and apple-sauce.

"I thought you came for cookies," said Julia Cloud, with a mischievous
twinkle in her gray eyes.

"Hung one on me, didn't you?" said Allison, laughing. "But that wasn't
all. Guess again."

"Perhaps you came to see me," she suggested shyly.

"Right you are! But that's not all, either. That wouldn't last much
longer than the cookies. Guess again."

"Oh, I couldn't!" said Julia Cloud, growing suddenly stricken with the
thought of their going. "I give it up."

"Well, then I'll tell you. You see we've come East to college, both of
us. Of course I've had my freshman year, but the Kid's just entering.
We haven't decided which college it's to be yet, but it's to be co-ed,
we know that much, because we're tired of being separated. When one
hasn't but two in the family and has been apart for five years, one
appreciates a home, I tell you that. And so we've decided we want a
home. We're not just going to college to live there in the usual way;
we're going to take a house, live like real folks, and go to school
every day. We want a fireplace and a cooky-jar of our own; a place to
bring our friends and have good times. But most of all we want a
mother, and we've come all this way to coax you to come and live with
us, play house, you know, as you used to do down on the mossy rocks
with broken bits of china for dishes and acorns for cups and saucers.
Play house and you be mother. Will you do it, Cloudy Jewel? It means a
whole lot to us, and we'll try to play fair and make you have a good
time."

Julia Cloud put her hand on her heart, and lifted her bewildered eyes
to the boy's eager face.

"Me!" she said wonderingly. "You want _me_!"

"We sure do!" said Allison.

"Indeed we do, Cloudy, dear!