CHAPTER I
: A MYSTERIOUS DOG
The elm−tree avenue was all overgrown, the great gate was never unlocked, and the old house had been shut
up for several years.
Yet voices were heard about the place, the lilacs nodded over the high wall as if they said, "We could tell fine
secrets if we chose," and the mullein outside the gate made haste to reach the keyhole, that it might peep in
and see what was going on. If it had suddenly grown up like a magic bean−stalk, and looked in on a certain
June day, it would have seen a droll but pleasant sight, for somebody evidently was going to have a party.
From the gate to the porch went a wide walk, paved with smooth slabs of dark stone, and bordered with the
tall bushes which met overhead, making a green roof. All sorts of neglected flowers and wild weeds grew
between their stems, covering the walls of this summer parlor with the prettiest tapestry. A board, propped on
two blocks of wood, stood in the middle of the walk, covered with a little plaid shawl much the worse for
wear, and on it a miniature tea−service was set forth with great elegance. To be sure, the tea−pot had lost its
spout, the cream−jug its handle, the sugar−bowl its cover, and the cups and plates were all more or less
cracked or nicked; but polite persons would not take notice of these trifling deficiencies, and none but polite
persons were invited to this party.
On either side of the porch was a seat, and here a somewhat remarkable sight would have been revealed to any
inquisitive eye peering through the aforesaid keyhole. Upon the left−hand seat lay seven dolls, upon the
right−hand seat lay six; and so varied were the expressions of their countenances, owing to fractures, dirt, age,
and other afflictions, that one would very naturally have thought this a doll's hospital, and these the patients
waiting for their tea.
This, however, would have been a sad mistake; for if the wind had lifted the coverings laid over them, it
would have disclosed the fact that all were in full dress, and merely reposing before the feast should begin. |
