Left to Ourselves Part 34

"And dust," said Agnes. While she spoke she handed two ap.r.o.ns to her sisters, and a clean piece of flannel each; and before they could ask any more questions she had lifted out the drawers, one by one, and was sweeping the ledges inside. Then she began was.h.i.+ng and rubbing and drying in fine style, the little girls imitating her example as fast as they could.

But Jane's window was done before their furniture, and she immediately began to clean the paint round the room.

"This paper looks dirty, miss. I wish you would let me rub it with some bread."

"I do not mind," answered Agnes, looking up from under the washstand, "if you think it will look better."

"I'm sure it will, miss."

"I'll run for the bread," exclaimed Minnie, starting up.

"Mind you say a stale loaf, miss; and a knife!" called Jane, turning round, to see only the tip of one of Minnie's curls flying down the stairs.

Then all was sober work for another half-hour, and after that came a pause.

"This floor looks black; it wants doing, I think," remarked Minnie.

Jane laughed.

"Don't you think it does, Jane?" said Minnie soberly. "Look there, and there; but it's all over."

"I shouldn't wonder," said Jane.

"Then do you mean to do it?" asked Minnie.

For answer Jane went down on her knees and began to scrub, while Agnes led the way into the box-room, the children following to see what she was going to do.

She drew out the roll of carpet which Hugh had fixed his eyes on the day before, and they carried it to the landing and spread it open under the skylight.

Agnes selected what she wanted for her purpose, and told Alice to roll the other up again. Then she produced from her pocket a skein of thread and two large needles, and handing one to Alice, she proceeded to thread her own.

"What am I to do?" asked Alice.

"Sew up that bit of seam that is ripped."

Alice sat down on the ground, and after some difficulty succeeded in reducing a rent of a quarter of a yard to a pretty respectable seam.

"Well done!" said Agnes. "Now let us have another look. Oh, yes, there is a place torn! and while I do it will you two go round again for my frame? The room will be dry, and we can do the final touches all together."

There could be no objection to this, and the children hastened away just as Jane came out with her pail and brushes. "It's all done, miss," she said.

"Then, when they return, will you come up again, Jane? I shall not want you till then."

They all ran down, and left Agnes alone. She finished the carpet, and then went into the box-room and looked round.

"Oh, Master John," she said, half aloud, "of course you were not going to give me anything to do; but just look here! However," she added, smiling to herself, "perhaps _this_ was Hugh!"

So patiently she set herself to make the best of it. She folded, and sorted, and pinned up in bundles, and had nearly finished tidying the great heap, when the children came hurrying back, bearing in their arms a nice Oxford frame, through the gla.s.s of which shone out what was to be John's life-text, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"

"Oh, Agnes," said Minnie, "did you buy it with your very own money?"

"Don't you like it?" answered Agnes.

"I wish _I_ had one," said Alice wistfully.

"If you will paint one for yourself I'll have it framed," promised Agnes.

Then up came Jane, and once more they set to work.

Agnes found a piece of red valance for the top of the window, and got out two clean toilet-covers, and they laid the carpet down, hung the frame on the wall, and Alice dusted the mantelshelf. Then they paused and looked round.

"It is lovely!" said Minnie. "I wish it were _my_ room."

"So does everybody," said Alice. "Is it really finished, Agnes?"

"I think so. Now as we still have half-an-hour, let us go and see what can be done for poor old Hugh. His room looks rather forlorn as it is."

"So it does," said Minnie; "and the place where John's bed stood is all bare."

"He wants a table _dreadfully_," said Alice, "now John's is gone."

"Well, I haven't one for him; but we will go and have a look, while Jane sweeps a little; perhaps we may find something which will serve for one."

They went back into the box-room. "Here is a little round table with one leg off," announced Alice, from the depths of a corner.

"Is the leg there?"

"I can't see it."

"Then it's of no use."

"My eyes are sharp," exclaimed Minnie, jumping over the boxes and bundles and sliding down somewhere near Alice.

"How you startled me!" said Alice; "but however sharp your eyes are, Miss Minnie, you won't find it here."

But she did for all that. She went to work carefully, poking about with her little hands without disturbing anything, and when the others had given it up as hopeless, a joyful cry from her announced its discovery.

They were just fitting it into its place and considering whether Hugh would be able to mend it, when the two boys came rus.h.i.+ng up the stairs from school.

"I'm moved up!" exclaimed Hugh, long before he got in sight of his sisters. "Whatever are you girls doing up here? Isn't that jolly for me?"

They congratulated him on this joyful piece of school news, and then Agnes, who had been holding the handle of John's door in her hand all this time, said solemnly:

"John, the dirt in your room has disappeared by magic!"

"_How?_" asked John.

"By magic--look!"