“Wouldn’t it be fun, Ann,” said he, “to see how quick she’d burn?”

“Oh, you mustn’t, Rudolf,” Ann cried, “Aunt Jane mightn’t like it.  I shouldn’t be surprised if she’d punish you.”

At that Rudolf lowered the old doll almost into the blaze, and she would most certainly have burned up, she was so very dry and crackly, if at that very moment Aunt Jane had not come into the room and snatched her out of his hand.  Rudolf never remembered to have seen Aunt Jane so vexed before.  Her blue eyes flashed, and her cheeks were quite pink under her silver-colored hair.  He expected she would scold, but she didn’t, she only said—­“Oh, Rudolf!” in a rather unpleasant way, and then, after she had carefully restored the corn-cob doll to her wrappings, she knelt down and began to gather up the old toys which the children had scattered over the hearth-rug.  Ann and Rudolf helped her, and Peter who, though a very mischievous little boy, was always honest, confessed that he had been the one to open the old cupboard and take out the box.  He seemed to feel rather uncomfortable about it, and after the things had been put away, he climbed upon Aunt Jane’s lap and hid his head upon her shoulder.  “Never mind, Peter, dear,” she said, holding him very tight, “I always meant to show you my old toys some day.  I dare say you children think it strange that I have kept such shabby things so long, but when I was a little girl I did not have such beautiful toys as you have now, and the few I had I loved very dearly.”

“Was this your nursery, Aunt Jane,” Ann asked.

“Yes, dear.  I slept all alone in the big bed, and I kept my toys always in the old cupboard.  I spent many and many an hour curled up on that window-seat, playing with my doll.  Yes, I did have others, Ann, but I think I loved the corn-cob doll best of all, perhaps because she was the least beautiful.”

“Didn’t you have any little boys to play with?” Rudolf asked.  “Other boys beside father and Uncle Jim, I mean.”

“There was one little boy who came sometimes,” Aunt Jane said.  “He lived in the nearest house to ours, though that was a mile away.  Those were his tin soldiers you saw in the box.  He gave them to me to keep for him when he went away to school, and thought himself too big to play at soldiers any more.”

“And when he came back from school, did he used to come and see you?”

“Yes, he used to come every summer till he got big.”

“And what did the little boy do when he got big, Aunt Jane?”

“When he got big,” said Aunt Jane slowly, looking very hard into the fire, “he went away to sea.”

“O-ho!” cried Rudolf.  “And when he came back what did he bring you?”