“Oh, I’ve _esposed_ Lucy! I’ve esposed Lucy!” cried wretched Edith, the tears raining down her cheeks.
Lucy struggled out of her arms, laughing. She did not know what “esposed” meant; neither did Jimmy; and it may be that Edith did not clearly know herself.
“O Lucy darling, don’t laugh; it’s dreadful; it’s awful! What does make you act so, Jimmy? We must run, run, run! Lucy’s going to have whooping-cough, sure as you live.”
Upon that the small sister very naturally felt a tickling in the windpipe, and rasped her throat, trying to see if a cough would come. Nothing could so have increased Edith’s fright.
The better Lucy succeeded in coughing, the harder Edith cried, and the louder barked the wondering dog.
This delighted roguish Lucy. She liked to have Edith cry over her; it made her feel very important. She wished Jimmy would cry too; but he only said coolly,—
“Hush, Lucy; you haven’t got it; you needn’t _pertend_.”
“I know she hasn’t got it yet,” replied Edith; “it takes a long while. But what I’m crying about is, she’s going to get it! She’s swallowed some; she swallowed it when we stood by Sadie’s house.”
It was of no use for Jimmy to say “Pooh!” This was a matter of life and death to Edith. She wanted to take Lucy home at once, and perhaps have her shut in a dark room, or at any rate put to bed.
“Jimmy,” said she, as they came in sight of the stores, “my eyes don’t look very red, do they?”
“Well, I can’t help it. You stay out here with Punch and Lucy, while I go in for the silk.”
“See here! I’ve thought of something,” said Jimmy, touched by Edith’s distress. “If Lucy did swallow some, can’t they give her something to cure it? Mamma could, I guess, or Dr. Devoll.”
“Why, I never thought of that,” returned Edith, gathering courage.
“Now, Lucy, you _will_ be willing to take a pill when we get home if mamma thinks it’s best?”
Lucy wasn’t quite sure. She thought it would depend somewhat upon the size of the pill, also upon the sort of jelly it was offered in.
“Oh, how she does act sometimes!” sighed Edith. “Now, Lucy, you stay out here with the dog and Jimmy; you stay out here till I come back.”
It was a red-eyed, broken-hearted little girl who entered Mr. Hall’s store and asked for blue sewing-silk. You would hardly have known her for happy Edith Dunlee.