Jane was forced to conclude that the brick house did belong to somebody, after all.  Wherefore, she remained in her own yard, a steadfast spectator, taking nourishment into her system at regular intervals.  This was beautifully automatic:  in each hand she held a slice of bread, freely plastered over with butter, apple sauce, and powdered sugar; and when she had taken somewhat from the right hand, that hand slowly descended with its burden, while, simultaneously, the left began to rise, reaching the level of her mouth precisely at the moment when a little wave passed down her neck, indicating that the route was clear.  Then, having made delivery, the left hand sank, while the right began to rise again.  And, so well had custom trained Jane’s members, never once did she glance toward either of these faithful hands or the food that it supported; her gaze was all the while free to remain upon the house across the way and the great doings before it.

After a while, something made her wide eyes grow wider almost to their utmost.  Nay, the event was of that importance her mechanical hands ceased to move and stopped stock-still, the right half-way up, the left half-way down, as if because of sudden motor trouble within Jane.  Her mouth was equally affected, remaining open at a visible crisis in the performance of its duty.  These were the tokens of her agitation upon beholding the removal of a dolls’ house from one of the wagons.  This dolls’ house was at least five feet high, of proportionate breadth and depths the customary absence of a facade disclosing an interior of four luxurious floors, with stairways, fireplaces, and wall-paper.  Here was a mansion wherein doll-duchesses, no less, must dwell.

Straightway, a little girl ran out of the open doorway of the brick house and, with a self-importance concentrated to the point of shrewishness, began to give orders concerning the disposal of her personal property, which included (as she made clear) not only the dolls’ mansion, but also three dolls’ trunks and a packing-case of fair size.  She was a thin little girl, perhaps half a year younger than Jane; and she was as soiled, particularly in respect to hands, brow, chin, and the knees of white stockings, as could be expected of any busybodyish person of nine or ten whose mother is house-moving.  But she was gifted—­if we choose to put the matter in the hopeful, sweeter way—­she was gifted with an unusually loud and shrill voice, and she made herself heard over the strong-voiced men to such emphatic effect that one of the latter, with the dolls’ mansion upon his back, paused in the gateway to acquaint her with his opinion that of all the bossy little girls he had ever seen, heard, or heard of, she was the bossiest.

“The worst!” he added.