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But when Uncle Peter Stower died and left most of his property to his four nieces, Mr. Howbridge, the lawyer, had come for the Kenway sisters and established them in the old Corner House. For in Bloomingsburg the Kenways had lived among very poor people, and were very poor themselves. With them, to the old mansion, had come Aunt Sarah Maltby.
The Kenways knew by the way he spoke, that his expected experiences at school were uppermost in his thoughts all the time. Ruth had talked the matter over with Mrs. MacCall, although she had not seen Mr. Howbridge, and they had decided that the boy was a very welcome addition to the Corner House household, if he would stay.
That was in the worst possible taste," cried Ruth. "I don't care," exclaimed Agnes, stormily. "She's a nasty thing! And when I hurried on, I heard her laugh and say to Eva: ""Put a beggar on horseback," you know. Miss Titus, the dressmaker, says those Kenways never had two cents to bless themselves with before old crazy Peter Stower died and left them all that money."
Neale had driven out into the country for a neighbor, but had promised to come to the old Corner House about four o'clock. Almost always he took supper Saturday evening with the girls. Mrs. MacCall usually had fishcakes and baked beans, and Neale was extravagantly fond of that homely New England combination. As it chanced, none of the four Kenways but Ruth went shopping that afternoon.
Both girls sprang to their feet, Joyce exclaiming indignantly: "Look at Bates's pup chasing Goliath!" The latter individual was the Kenways' huge Maltese cat, well deserving of his name in appearance, but not in nature, for he was known to be the biggest coward in cat-dom. The girls stood on tiptoe to watch the chase.
It was on this morning Friday, ever a fateful day according to the superstitiously inclined that the incident of the newspaper advertisement arose. The paper boy had very early thrown the Kenways' copy of the Milton Morning Post upon the front veranda. Aunt Sarah spent part of each forenoon reading that gossipy sheet.
She wished to get to the bottom of the mystery: "Why do you want folks to look at your head, Alfredia?" "So dey won't look at my feet. I done got holes in my shoes an' dey is Mammy's shoes, anyway. Do you 'spects I kin git by wid 'em on Monday for dey's de on'iest shoes I got ter wear?" The Kenways laughed they couldn't help it.
"Will you stay to breakfast with us?" she asked. "Mrs. MacCall always gets up at six o'clock. And Ruth will want to see you, too. Ruth's the oldest of us Kenways." "Is this a boarding-house?" asked the boy, seriously. "Oh, no!" "It's big enough." "I 'spect it is," said Agnes. "There are lots of rooms we never use." "Could could a feller get to stay here?" queried the white-haired boy. "Oh!
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