“No repairs allowed.  Elnathan Allen.”

[Illustration:  “No repairs allowed.”]

Wall, Elnathan had got the repairs all made, and the place looked magnificent.

Good land! it ort to; the hull place cost more than a million dollars, so I have hearn; I don’t say that I am postive knowin’ to it.  But Barzelia gits things pretty straight; it come to me through her.

The Little Maid enjoyed it all, and Elnathan enjoyed it twice over, once and first in her, and then of course in his own self.

But The Little Maid looked sort o’ pimpin, and her little appetite didn’t seem to be very good, and the doctor said that a journey East would do her good.

And jest at this time the dowery in Loontown fell onto Elnathan, so that they all come East.

Elnathan had forgot all about Jean havin’ any relation in the big Eastern city where they stopped first—­good land! their little idees and images had got all overlaid and covered up with glass angels, orchids, bank stock, some mines, palm-houses, political yearnin’s, social distinction, carved lattice-work, some religious idees, and yots, and club-houses, etc., etc., etc.

But when he decided to leave The Little Maid in the city and not bring her to Jonesville—­(and I believe in my soul, and I always shall believe it, that he wuz in doubt whether we had things good enough for her.  The idee!  He said he thought it would be too much for her to go round to all the relatives—­wall, mebby it wuz that!  But I shall always have my thoughts.)

But anyway, when he made up his mind to leave her, he gin the nurse strict orders to not go down into the city below a certain street, which wuz a good high one, and not let The Little Maid out of her sight night or day.

[Illustration:  He gin the nurse strict orders.]

Wall, the nurse knew it wuz wrong—­she knew it, but she did it.  Jest as Cain did, and jest as David did, when he killed Ury, and Joseph’s brother and Pharo, and you and I, and the relations on his side and on yourn.

She knew she hadn’t ort to.  But bein’ out a-walkin’ with The Little Maid one day, a home-sick feelin’ come over her all of a sudden.  She wanted to see her sister—­wanted to, like a dog.

So, as the day wuz very fair, she thought mebby it wouldn’t do any hurt.

The sky was so blue between the green boughs of the Park!  There had been a rain, and the glistenin’ green made her think of the hedgerows of old England, where she and Katy used to find birds’ nests, and the blue wuz jest the shade of the sweet old English violets.  How she and Katy used to love them!  And the blue too wuz jest the color of Katy’s eyes when she last see them, full of tears at partin’ from her.

She thought of Elnathan’s sharp orders not to go down into the city, and not to let The Little Maid out of her sight.

Wall, she thought it over, and thought that mebby if she kep one of her promises good, she would be forgive the other.