They all slink behind the wall, and bob up as she comes by.
You don't mean that _she's_ coming here?"
"Yes; why not? She's very fond of me."
"But she's no end of a howler. They say she's worth her weight in gold,
and that her father is a sort of king in Ireland. Why should she take up
with a little girl like you?"
"Well, Tom, some people like me, although you think but little of your
sister. Kathleen is very fond of me. I invited her to have tea with us
to-morrow, and she is coming."
"My word!" said Tom. "To think that I shall be sitting at the same table
with her! I'll be able to make my own terms now with John Short and
Harry Reid and the rest of the chaps. Why, Susy, you must be a genius,
and I thought you weren't much of a sort."
"I am better than you think; and she is fond of me."
"And you really and truly call her by her Christian name?"
"Of course I do."
Susy longed to tell Tom about the wonderful society; but its strictest
rule was that it was never to be spoken about to outsiders. Susy, as a
member of the Cabinet, must certainly be one of the last to break the
rules.
Mrs. Hopkins came back at that moment. She had added a pound of sausage
and a little piece of pork to their usual Sunday fare. She had also
brought sixpennyworth of apples with her.
"These are to make a pudding," she said. "I think we shall do now very
well."
Susy and Tom quite agreed with their mother. Susy rose and prepared
supper, and at the crucial moment the new-laid egg was laid on Mrs.
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