MISS ALDER'S HOUSE
Dot rang the bell and waited quietly, but Twaddles kept hopping up and
down the steps. He was down, when the door opened suddenly and he was
so afraid Dot would go in and leave him outside that he rushed up the
steps, two at a time, and the maid nearly shut the door in his face.
"Go away, boy!" she said distinctly. "We don't allow boys around
here."
This was discouraging, but Dot refused to be dismayed.
"I'm a girl," she stated firmly. "Could I see Miss Alder?"
"Well--I'll ask," the maid answered. "Wait a minute." And she closed
the door.
"Mother says it is very rude to keep any one waiting at the door,"
whispered Dot. "She always asks 'em in."
"You can come in," the maid announced, opening the door before
Twaddles could answer Dot. "But the boy will have to wait."
"He has to come, too--he has the sample," said Dot, who had no
intention of going into a strange house alone.
"Are you selling something?" the maid demanded. "It won't do you any
good to see Miss Alder if you're selling something; she won't look at
samples."
"For goodness' sake, Agnes, are you going to stand there at the door
all day?" said some one. "Either come in and close the door or go
outside and finish your conversation."
Dot glanced up and saw a face peering over the maid's shoulder. She
saw dark eyes and white hair and a rather grim mouth. But Dot smiled
her friendly little smile and spoke clearly.
"How do you do, Miss Alder?" she said, as composedly as Meg would have
said it. "Don't you want a little kitten? We're trying to find homes
for them and we have--all but one."
Now Miss Alder liked cats and she found herself liking Dot. But she
couldn't unbend all at once.
"Are you sure your feet are clean?" she asked crisply. "Well, then,
come in, both of you. I can't stand all this cold air. Come into the
sitting room and tell me what you call it you are doing."
Twaddles and Dot followed her into a pleasant sunny room, with a
fireplace in which a fire was merrily blazing. Miss Alder's chair was
by the window and she pointed to a sofa nearby.
"Sit down there and keep your feet on that rug," she directed the
twins. "If there is one thing I cannot stand it is to have my floors
tracked up. Now what were you trying to tell me about a kitten?"
Twaddles pulled the little tiger kitten out of his coat and held it
toward her.
"That's the sample," he said gravely. "We had seven of them--Meg and
Bobby brought them home, because Mr. Fritz was going to have them
drowned."
"And you've been going around, trying to get homes for them?" said
Miss Alder approvingly. "Why, I think that is very kind of you. Could
you find people who would give them homes?"
Twaddles told her where they had been and what the people had said,
and all the time he talked Miss Adler was stroking the kitten which
she had taken on her lap. She asked a great many questions and she did
not laugh at all. She was most serious, and when she had heard the
whole story, she said that she thought they were just as good as they
could be.
"Most children wouldn't go to so much trouble," she said. "Why, you
are friends worth having--and I should like a kitten very much indeed.
Why don't you let me keep this one?"
Twaddles looked uncertainly at Dot.
"It's the sample," he said uneasily.
"You mean it _was_ the sample," Miss Alder corrected. "If you have six
kittens promised, you don't need any more samples; and if you leave
this one here with me, why, that will be one delivered and will save
you that much extra trouble. Besides, I particularly like tiger
cats."
The twins saw how sensible this was, and they agreed to leave the
kitten. Then Miss Alder showed them her pets--she had canaries and
goldfish and a white poodle dog who seemed to like the kitten very
much, though it humped up its back and spit at him and would have
nothing to do with him.
"They'll be friends in less than a week," Miss Alder declared
comfortably.
The noon whistle reminded Dot and Twaddles that they would be late for
lunch and they hurried off, but not before Miss Alder had asked them
to come and see her again.
"You'll want to see how the kitten grows," she told them.
Meg and Bobby were home from school before the twins arrived and the
family were just sitting down to lunch. They had explained to their
mother and their Aunt Polly that Miss Mason had put off the practicing
of the Thanksgiving songs until the next day.
"So we ate the lunch that Norah put up for us at recess, Mother; and
we can eat the regular lunch now," said Meg.
"The kittens are one short," said Bobby as soon as the twins came in
sight. "Meg and I went out and counted them."
"Where have you children been all the morning?" Mother Blossom asked
Dot and Twaddles. "You look excited, too. Is anything the matter?"
The twins were bursting with news--any one could see that.
"All you have to do, Meg," Twaddles informed her casually, "is to
deliver the kittens; we have it all fixed."
"Deliver them? Deliver them where?" said Meg, staring.
"Oh, around," Twaddles returned airily. "Dot and I have been out and
found homes for them all."
"Not the whole seven?" said Bobby, staring in turn. "Seven homes,
Twaddles? Who wants seven kittens?"
Mother Blossom looked at Aunt Polly and laughed.
"Do you wonder Daddy says he doesn't know what to expect when he comes
home at night?" she said. "Twaddles and Dot, will you please stop
talking in riddles and tell us where you have been and what you have
done?"
Thus encouraged, the twins began to talk at once, and though it was
difficult to understand them the family finally managed to learn what
they had done.
"My goodness, I call that a good morning's work," said Aunt Polly at
last. "To find places for seven kittens! Why, Dot and Twaddles, there
isn't anything you can't do, if you stick to a plan as you have to
this."
"But one kitten is lost," Meg pointed out. "There are only six left."
"That was the sample," said Twaddles calmly. "We left it at Miss
Alder's house, because she likes tiger cats."
And then Bobby and Meg were surprised again, to hear that the twins
had been to Miss Alder's house, and they had to hear what had happened
there and what she had said to them.
"Will you help us take them around this afternoon?" asked Dot. "We can
do it faster if we all go; they are so squirmy to carry."
Of course Bobby and Meg promised to help deliver the cats and they
hurried home from school to keep their promise. As the houses where
the kittens were to go were pretty well scattered--the twins had
worked hard and they had covered most of Oak Hill that morning--it was
decided that Dot and Twaddles should take three of the kittens and Meg
and Bobby the other three. The twins were to go to the grocery store
and two houses near there, including Mrs. Tracy's, while Meg and Bobby
would deliver the cats at the other end of the town.
"You never know what those children are going to do," said Meg as she
and Bobby walked down Spruce Avenue, "but I am awfully glad they found
homes for the kittens; Mr. Fritz will be glad, too. I don't believe he
wanted them drowned, but he didn't know what to do with them."
Bobby nodded absently. He was watching some one further up the
street.
"That looks like Charlie Black," he said. "I don't want to pass him
when we're carrying these kittens--he might try to start an argument
and hurt them; let's go down this next street and cut around the
block."
Meg was willing, for she knew that Charlie Black--who was on his
roller skates again, might try to snatch a kitten, and would certainly
do his best to torment them in some way.
The people who had promised the cats a home were very glad to see the
kittens, and Meg and Bobby felt glad to think that the little
creatures would be sure of care and attention. Meg was planning to
tell Annabel Lee all about it that night, when around the corner came
Charlie Black and almost skated into them before he saw them.
"You take the kitten, Meg," said Bobby hurriedly. "I'll wait for
you."
There was only one kitten left and Meg ran across the street with it
and up the steps of Mrs. Anderson's house.
She had to wait a few minutes for some one to answer the doorbell and
a few minutes longer were required to explain to Mrs. Anderson's
sister, who had not been at home that morning when the twins called,
and then Meg ran back to rejoin Bobby.
"What are you doing, peddling cats?" asked Charlie disagreeably.
"We're not drowning them," Bobby replied.
"Think you're smart, don't you?" said Charlie. "Well, Bobby Blossom,
you're not so smart as you seem to think--catch me, if you can," and
he made a dive at the little basket in which Meg had carried the
kittens.
He twisted it from her hands and shot off down the street, Bobby after
him. But Charlie had a good start and as the pavement was cement and
exceptionally smooth, he seemed to be having things his own way for
the first two blocks. Then he turned his head to see how close Bobby
was and an ash box tripped him.
"Go away!" he whined as Bobby caught up with him, Meg following
closely on his heels. "Go away--don't you dare touch me!"
Bobby leaned over him and took the basket, handing it to Meg.
"You get up and let me punch you!" he said hotly, but Charlie was in
no haste to get to his feet.
"Let me alone," he cried. "You let me alone and I'll tell you
something, Bobby! Honest I will. I'll tell you who spilled the ink on
Miss Mason's book."
Meg heard and almost dropped her basket.