"
So she asked what was the usual hour for supper, and was
surprised when Martha replied, "The lady must say," nodding to
Mrs. Peterkin. "She can have it just when she wants, and just what
she wants!"
This was an unexpected courtesy.
Elizabeth Eliza asked when the others had their supper.
"Oh, they took it a long time ago," Martha answered. "If the lady
will go out into the kitchen she can tell what she wants."
"Bring us in what you have," said Mr. Peterkin, himself quite
hungry. "If you could cook us a fresh slice of beefsteak that would
be well."
"Perhaps some eggs," murmured Mrs. Peterkin.
"Scrambled," cried one of the little boys.
"Fried potatoes would not be bad," suggested Agamemnon.
"Couldn't we have some onions?" asked the little boy who had
stayed at home, and had noticed the odor of onions when the
others had their supper.
"A pie would come in well," said Solomon John.
"And some stewed cherries," said the other little boy.
Martha fell to laying the table, and the family was much pleased,
when, in the course of time, all the dishes they had recommended
appeared. Their appetites were admirable, and they pronounced
the food the same.
"This is true Arab hospitality," said Mr. Peterkin, as he cut his
juicy beefsteak.
"I know it," said Elizabeth Eliza, whose spirits began to rise. "We
have not even seen the host and hostess."
She would, indeed, have been glad to find some one to tell her
when the Sylvesters were expected, and why they had not arrived.
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