"See there now, how you're worrying your mother. Daisy wouldn't do that."
But although she now submitted to be dressed, it was still with pouting looks, and much pettish twisting and wriggling, making Ruth's task no light one, and taking far more time than it would have done if Carrie had been patient and amiable. But how could she be patient and good-humored with that uncomfortable secret weighing on her mind?
Presently, Daisy came running up to the nursery.
"Where's Frankie?" asked Nellie, seeing that she was alone.
"Gone home. Jane came for him," answered Daisy, "and mamma told Jane to ask Maggie's and Bessie's mamma to let them come and play with you this afternoon; and Frankie said he'd just as lieve come back too; and mamma said he could. But, O Nellie! what do you fink? a great big, ugly, black cat came in the garden-house, and she was so saucy she was looking at my white mice."
"Was she? Oh, dear!" said Nellie. "Is she there now, Daisy?"
"No, no," said Daisy, "we wouldn't let her stay. Frankie shu'ed her way far off, and chased her wif a stick, and she put up her back at him, and was mad at him; but he wasn't 'f'aid of her, not a bit. Nellie, do black cats eat white mice?"
"I don't know," said Nellie looking uneasy. "Do they, Ruth?"
"You may trust any cat to do that, if she gets the chance," said Ruth. "Daisy, my pet, did you shut the door of the garden-house after you?"
"Yes, always I shut it, 'fear mamma might some way see the mice," answered Daisy. "But the black cat's gone quite, quite away, Nellie."
"She might come back if she has seen the mice, and try to come at them," said Nellie in a low tone to the nurse.
"I'm going to take baby out for a bit when I have these two dressed, and I'll just walk down that way and see that all's right. It would just break that lamb's heart if aught happened to her mice. I'll get along nicely now if you want to go, Miss Nellie. Daisy's no trouble."
Baby delighted in Daisy as a playmate, and was now crowing in the most satisfied manner as she danced back and forth before her; clapping her hands and exclaiming, "Jackins and forwis, jackins and forwis." The interpretation of these mysterious words being, "backwards and forwards."
Nellie went downstairs, and explained to her mother why she had delayed, without making any complaint of Carrie. She told her also of the black cat, and said she felt uneasy about Daisy's white mice, and thought she would go and see that the creature had not returned.
