"Why, no, not unless it is a breastpin or a scarf-pin and you wilfully throw it to the fishes."
Molly drew a sigh of relief. "Suppose you lose something that belongs to some one else; is that a sin?"
"Why no, it is a misfortune, not a crime. You don't do it on purpose, you see, and in fact I think the loser generally feels worse than the one the thing belongs to. What have you lost? Not my favorite scarf-pin, I hope. Have you been using it to pin rags around your doll?"
"Oh, Uncle Dick, of course I haven't. I was only asking, just because I wanted to know."
"As a seeker after ethical truths. It does you credit, Miss Shelton. You will probably join a college settlement when you are older, or at least write a paper on moral responsibilities."
"Oh, Uncle Dick, you do use such silly long words."
"I forget, when you tackle these abstruse subjects. I will come down from my lofty perch, Molly. What more can your wise uncle tell you?"
"If a person loses something very costly, something that has been lent to her, ought she to pay it back?"
"It is generally supposed to be the proper thing to replace it, but half the world doesn't do it; sometimes because they can't and sometimes because they don't want to. Then, sometimes the one to whom the thing belonged, insists upon not having it replaced, and would feel very uncomfortable if it were, though, from the standpoint of strict honesty, one should always make good any borrowed article whether lost, strayed or stolen."
"Would you insist upon its not being made good?"
"I shouldn't wonder if I were that kind of gander."
"I think she's probably that kind of goose."
"Glad who is a goose?" said Aunt Ada from the doorway.
"We were talking about you," said her brother laughing. "Molly was calling you a goose."
"Did I? Well, never mind. I smell those rolls, Molly, and I feel that I can demolish at least six. Come on, let's get at them."
Although she had not really carried the subject as far as she wanted, Molly felt that matters were not so bad for Mary as they had at first appeared, therefore, she took the first opportunity to reassure her on that point. Polly walked off to the Whartons' immediately after breakfast, announcing with quite an air of wishing it generally known that she would probably spend the day with Grace in the woods, and that Luella had given her a lunch to take.