ikely you could," he said. "It's
straight up the road to the corner. You can see the store from the top
of the hill back here. Isaiah'll show you the way. But you can 'tend
to--what's that cat's name?--Oh, yes, David--you can 'tend to David
right off. Isaiah'll give the critter his breakfast, and the dolls can
wait 'til noontime, can't they?"

Mary-'Gusta's mind was evidently divided between inclination and duty.
Duty won.

"They ain't dressed yet," she said, gravely. "And besides they might
think I'd gone off and left 'em and be frightened. This is a strange
place to them, same as it is to me and David, you know. None of us have
ever been visitin' before."

So it was decided that she should wait until her family had been given
parental attention, and come to the store by herself. The partners left
for their place of business and she and Mr. Chase remained at the house.
Her first act, after leaving the table, was to go to the barn and return
bearing the cat in her arms. David ate a hearty breakfast and then,
after enduring a motherly lecture concerning prudence and the danger of
getting lost, was permitted to go out of doors.

Mary-'Gusta, standing in the doorway, gazed after her pet.

"I hope there's no dogs around here," she said. "It would be dreadful if
there was a dog."

Isaiah tried to reassure her. "Oh, I cal'late there ain't no dog nigh
enough to do any harm," he said; "besides, most cats can run fast enough
to get out of the way."

The child shook her head. "I didn't mean that," she said. "I meant it
would be dreadful for the dog. David doesn't have a mite of patience
with dogs. He doesn't wait to see if they're nice ones or not, he just
goes for 'em and then--Oh! He most always goes for 'em. When he has
kittens he ALWAYS does."

Mr. Chase's reply to this illuminating disclosure was that he wanted to
know.

"Yes," said Mary-'Gusta, "David doesn't take to dogs, some way. Why
don't cats like dogs, Mr. Chase?"

Isaiah said that he cal'lated 'twas the nature of the critters not to.
Mary-'Gusta agreed with him.

"Natures are queer things, ain't they?" she said, solemnly. "I guess
everybody has a nature, cats and all. Mrs. Hobbs says my nature is a
contrary one. What's your kind, Mr. Chase?

"Do you suppose," she said, a few moments later, when the cook and
steward had shown symptoms of doing something beside lean against the
sink and whistle, "do you suppose you could get along for a few minutes
whi