ly:

"Don't you do anything of the kind. So long's a kid's quiet you'd better
leave 'em alone, 'cause it ain't safe to stir 'em up 'less you want a
reg'lar row."

"Of course that wouldn't do; but say, Plums, if she keeps on sleepin'
like this, it won't have been a terrible hard job to take care of her."

"Not 'less you count on holdin' her all night."

Joe was already cramped from sitting so long in one position, and as if
his friend's remark had reminded him of the fact, he made another effort
to relieve himself of the burden, this time being successful.

The princess moved uneasily when she was first laid upon the bed of
straw, and the boys literally held their breath in suspense, fearing she
would awaken; but, after a few moments, the child lay quietly, and
Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction:

"I know a good bit about kids, I do, 'cause old Mis' Carter had sich a
raft of 'em, an' I lived with her 'most a year. The right way is to
chuck 'em 'round jest as you want to, an' they'll stand it; but once you
begin to fuss with 'em, there's no end of a row."

"The princess ain't anything like Mis' Carter's youngsters."

"No, I don't know as she is; but I guess the same kind of handlin' will
fetch her 'round all right in the long run. Can't you eat some peanuts?"

"I've had enough, an', besides, we must leave somethin' to give the
princess, 'cause she'll be hungry in the mornin'."

"Yes, I s'pose we must. It always makes me feel bad to stop when there's
good things in the house," and Master Plummer told his friend of the
"great time" he had had on a certain rainy day, when it would have been
useless to attend to business, and the larder was well filled.

"I kept right on eatin', from mornin' till it was time to go to bed;
didn't rush, you know, but stuck at it."

"Didn't it make you sick?"

"Well, I did have a pretty bad ache before mornin'; but jest as likely
as not that would have come whether I'd eat anything or not. Mis' Carter
says if I don't stop bein' so hungry all the time I'll fill up a
glutton's grave, but how can a feller keep from wantin' something to
eat?"

"I don't s'pose it's anybody's business, Plums, what you do, so long as
you pay the bills; but it does seem to me that it would be better if
you'd get on more of a hustle when you're at work, an' stop thinkin' so
much about vittles. I can't see how you earn money enough to keep this
thing up."

"Seems like I've got some push to me if I do