"Mag! Mag! Mag!"
"Hear her! Hear that!" cried her mistress. "So you did steal it,
Mag--I'm glad to hear you tell the truth for once in your life."
"Did she take the watch? Did she really and truly?" cried the children
in chorus.
"To be sure she did, the bad girl. She has done such things before, and
I have always found her out; but this time she was too sly for me. She
went and put it in my mending-basket; and who would have thought of
looking for it there?"
Mag tipped her head to one side saucily, and kept muttering to herself.
"Well, I happened to go to the basket this afternoon and take up a pair
of stockings to mend. They felt amazingly heavy. There was a hard wad in
them, and I wondered what it could be. I put in my hand and pulled out
the watch. Yes, 'twas tucked right into the stockings."
"I wonder we didn't any of us mistrust her at the time of it," said Mr.
Templeton; "those magpies are dreadful thieves."
"Well, I suppose you thought 'twas my business to take care of her, and
it was. I'm ashamed of myself," said Mrs. McQuilken. "I was looking out
of the window when the boys shied over that roof, but my mind wasn't on
jewelry then. All I thought of was to run and call for help."
Yes, and it was her screams which had aroused the whole neighborhood.
"And at that very time my Mag was roaming at large. No doubt she saw the
watch the moment it fell; and to use your expression, Mr. Templeton, she
jumped at it like a dolphin at a silver spoon."
The landlord laughed. "But the mystery is," said he, "how she got back
to the house without being seen. She must have been pretty spry."
"O Mag, Mag, to think I never once thought to look after you!"
exclaimed Mrs. McQuilken, penitently.
The bird was scolding all the while, and running about with short, jerky
movements, trying her best to get out of the room; but the door was
closed.
"Pretty thing," said Edith. "What a shame she should be a thief!"
"She is pretty, now isn't she?" returned her mistress, fondly. "My
husband brought her from China. You don't often see a Chinese magpie,
with blue plumage,--cobalt blue."
"She's a perfect oddity," said Mrs. Hale. "See those two centre
tail-feathers, so very long, barred with black and tipped with white."
"Yes," said Mr. Dunlee, "and the red bill and red legs. She's a
brilliant creature, Mrs. McQuilken."
"Well, you'll try to forgive her, won't you, sir? I mean to bring her
up as well as I know how; but what are you going to do with a girl that
can't sense the ten commandments?"
"What indeed!" laughed Mr. Dunlee.
"You see she's naturally light-fingered. Yes, you are, Mag, you needn't
deny it. Those red claws of yours are just pickers and stealers."
Here Edith called attention to Mag's nest on the wall, and they all
admired it; and Mrs. McQuilken said the canary liked to have Mag near
him at night, he was apt to be lonesome.
"I wish you'd come in the daytime," said she. "Come any and all of you,
and hear him sing. He does sing so sweetly, poor blind thing; it's as
good as a sermon to hear him."
On leaving Mrs. McQuilken the children went to Aunt Vi's room and Jimmy
kept repeating joyously:--
"We've found the watch, we've found the watch!"
"Yes," said Aunt Vi; "but what a wreck it is! Your papa will have to
spend a deal of money in repairing it."
"Too bad!" said Lucy, "I 'spect 'twould cost him cheaper to buy a new
one."
"'Twouldn't cost him so much; that's what you mean," corrected Jimmy.
"But I'm going to pay for mending it anyway."
"How can you?" asked Kyzie. "All you have is just your tin box with
silver in it."
"Well, but don't I keep having presents? And can't I ask folks to stop
giving me toys and books and give me money? And they'll do it every
time."
"But that would be begging."
Jimmy's face fell. Yes, on the whole it did seem like begging. He had
not thought of that.
"Why can't it ever snow in this country?" he exclaimed suddenly. "Then I
could shovel it. That's the way boys make money 'back East'"
Then after a pause he burst forth again, "Or, I might pick berries--if
there were any berries!"
"It's not so very easy for little boys to earn money; is it, dear?" said
Aunt Vi, putting her arm around her young nephew and drawing him toward
her. "But when they've done wrong--you still think you did wrong, don't
you, Jimmy?"
"He knows he did," broke in Lucy. "My papa lent me the watch."
"She wasn't talking to you," remonstrated Jimmy. "Yes, auntie, I did
wrong; but Lucy needn't twit me of it! I won't be _characteristic_ any
more as long as I live."
Aunt Vi smiled and patted his head lovingly.
"No, dear, I think you'll be more thoughtful in future. But now let us
try to think what can be done to pay for the watch."
"I'll let him have some of the money I get for teaching. I always meant
to," said Kyzie.
"Very kind of you," returned Aunt Vi; "but we'll not take it if we can
help it, will we, Jimmy? I've been thinking it over for some days,
children; and a little plan has occurred to me. Would you like to know
what it is?"
They all looked interested. If Aunt Vi had a plan, it was sure to be
worth hearing.
"It is this: mightn't we get up some entertainments,--good ones that
would be worth paying for?"
"And sell the tickets? Oh, auntie, that's just the thing! That's
capital!" cried Edith and Kyzie. "You'd do it beautifully."
"I'm not so sure of that, girls. But we might join together and act a
little play that I've been writing; that is, we might try. What have you
to say, Jimmy? Could you help?"
"I don't know. I can't speak pieces worth a cent," replied the boy,
writhing and shuffling his feet. "Look here!" he said, brightening.
"Don't you want some nails driven? I can do that first rate."
Aunt Vi laughed and said nails might be needed in putting up a staging,
and she was sure that he could use a hammer better than she could.
Jimmy-boy, much gratified, struck an attitude, and pounding his left
palm with his thumb, repeated the rhyme:--
"Drive the nail straight, boys,
Hit it on the head;
Work with your might, boys,
Ere the day has fled."
"There, he can speak, I knew he could speak!" cried Lucy, in admiration.
It was settled that they were all to meet Wednesday morning, and their
mother with them, to talk over the matter.
"That's great," said Jimmy.
The watch was found and the world looked bright once more. True, he was
deeply in debt; but with such a grand helper as Aunt Vi he was sure the
debt would very soon be paid.