Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill THEIR INNOCENT DIVERSIONS WE GOT three kids visitin’ to our house, and there won’t be nothin’ left o’ Wil- lowbrook by the time they goes away. Hold up, Trixy! What are ye tryin’ to do? Peter paused to hook the line out from under Trixy’s tail, and then re-cocking his hat at a comfortable angle and crossing his legs, he settled himself for conversation. Peter loved to talk and he loved an audience; he was essentially a social animal. His listeners were two brother coachmen and a bandy-legged young groom, who were waiting, like himself, for ladies’ morning to draw to its usual placid termination ? sandwiches and lemonade on the club veranda after a not too heated putting contest on the first green. a Yes, we got three visitin’ kids; with Master Bobby it makes four, and I ain’t drawed an easy breath since the mornin’ they arrived. They keep up such an everlastin’ racket that the people in the house can’t stand them, an’ we ‘ve had them in the stables most o’ the time. Mrs. Brainard, that’s their mother, is Mr. Carter’s sister, and I can tell ye she makes herself to home.
That’s her over there with the lavender dress and the parasol ? he jerked his head in the direction of a gaily dressed group of ladies trailing across the links in the direction of the first green.
She ‘s mournin’ for her husband ? light mournin’, that is; he ‘s dead two years.
She picked me the first day to look after the la-ads. 'Peter,’ she says, ‘me dear boys are cr-razy to play in the stables, but I can’t help worryin’ for fear they ‘ll get under the horses’ feet. I have perfect confidence in you,‘ she says, 'and I ’ll put them under yer specialcare. Just keep yer eye on the la-ads an’ see that they don’t get hur-rt.‘
'Thank ye, ma'am,’ says I, flattered by the attention…