It had pleased the little boys, too. They
liked to pump the handle up and down, and agreed to pump all the
water needed, and bring it into the house.
There was an old well, with a picturesque well-sweep, in a corner
by the barn.
Mrs. Peterkin was frightened by this at first. She was afraid the
little boys would be falling in every day. And they showed great
fondness for pulling the bucket up and down. It proved, however,
that the well was dry. There was no water in it; so she had some
moss thrown down, and an old feather-bed, for safety, and the old
well was a favorite place of amusement.
The house, it had proved, was well furnished with bath-rooms, and
"set-waters"
everywhere. Water-pipes and gas-pipes all over the house; and a
hack-, telegraph-, and fire-alarm, with a little knob for each.
Mrs. Peterkin was very anxious. She feared the little boys would
be summoning somebody all the time, and it was decided to
conceal from them the use of the knobs, and the card of directions
at the side was destroyed. Agamemnon had made one of his first
inventions to help this. He had arranged a number of similar
knobs to be put in rows in different parts of the house, to appear as
if they were intended for ornament, and had added some to the
original knobs. Mrs.
Peterkin felt more secure, and Agamemnon thought of taking out a
patent for this invention.
It was, therefore, with some doubt that Elizabeth Eliza proposed
sending a telegram to her father.
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