"I am afraid I can never be half so good to my neighbors as they are
to me," she said, "but I'll try."
"As if you were not the nicest neighbor we ever had!" cried Louise.
"Let's give Mrs. Howard a vote of thanks," proposed Jim.
Ikey looked at him with envy. Jim always thought of the right thing.
"We ought to thank Dora too, for it was her idea," said Carl as the
clapping subsided.
"I did not dream of anything so nice," said Dora, patting her little
key.
"I am glad you are pleased, and I hope they will open some rusty
locks," said Aunt Zelie.
"And now, if you please, we'll adjourn into the dining-room," said
Miss Brown. "This is a very special occasion, you know," she added, in
reply to a grave shake of the head from Mrs. Howard.
They drank success to the new Order in chocolate, and munched crisp
little sugar cakes which were cleverly twisted into M's and K's. Mary
had long ago become a friend of the children, and this was her
contribution to the occasion.
"There is something I should like to suggest," their hostess said as
Carl passed the peppermints. "I feel an interest in people who, like
myself, can't get about easily, and I have noticed that little lame
boy over the way, and I wonder if these silver keys could not open a
door of pleasure for him.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174