and Mrs. Peterkin were looking
up and down the road, and Agamemnon and Solomon John were
explaining to each other the details of their journeys, they had
discovered some facts.
"We shall have to go back," they exclaimed. "We are too late! The
maple-syrup was all made last spring."
"We are too early; we shall have to stay two or three months, the
cider is not made till October."
The expedition was a failure! They could study the making of
neither maple-syrup nor cider, and Elizabeth Eliza was lost,
perhaps forever! The sun went down, and Mr. and Mrs. Peterkin
still stood to look up and down the road.
. . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Eliza meanwhile, had sat upon her trunk,
as it seemed for ages. She recalled all the terrible stories of
prisoners,how they had watched the growth of flowers through
cracks in the pavement. She wondered how long she could live
without eating. How thankful she was for her abundant breakfast!
At length she heard the door-bell. But who could go to the door to
answer it? In vain did she make another effort to escape; it was
impossible!
How singular!there were footsteps. Some one was going to the
door; some one had opened it. "They must be burglars." Well,
perhaps that was a better fateto be gagged by burglars, and the
neighbors informedthan to be forever locked on her trunk. The
steps approached the door. It opened, and Amanda ushered in the
expressman.
Pages:
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158