“‘Why Roswald!’ said Sue;—‘did you get all that with two cents?’
“‘No,’ said Roswald; ‘the basket I borrowed. It is my mother’s.’
“‘Pretty full,’ said Roswald, complacently.
“‘I never thought two cents would buy so much!’ said Sue.
“‘Didn’t you?’ said Roswald. ‘Ah, you’re not much of a market-woman yet, Sue. My arm is tired.’
“‘I’m sorry!’ said Sue. ‘But I am so glad you have got it for me.’
“‘Ready this great while,’ said the little housekeeper, carefully dishing it out. ‘It’s been only waiting for you.’
Roswald looked at her with a curious, gentle, sorrowful expression, which was as becoming as it was rare in a boy of his years.
“‘Yes,’ said Sue, looking up from her dish with a face that spoke her perfectly satisfied with the dinner and the company. ‘Aren’t you?’
“‘Why, I ought to be. The air is sharp enough to give one an appetite. Sue——’
“‘Not to-day,’ said Sue, smiling, while an arch look came across her gentle eye.
“‘Does that mean that you are going to eat me with it? I shall beg leave to interpose a stay of proceedings upon that.’
“And sitting down, with an air of determination, he drew the porridge dish quite to his end of the chest-table, and looked at Sue as much as to say, ‘You don’t touch it.’
“‘What does that mean? Aren’t you going to let me have any?’ said Sue, laughing.
“‘I shall want all the porridge myself. You’ll have to take something else, Sue!’
“‘But I haven’t got anything else,’ said Sue, looking puzzled and amused.
“‘Well, if you give me my dinner, it’s fair I should give you yours,’ said Roswald; and rising, he brought his market-basket to the side of the table, and sat down again.
“‘It’s a pity I can’t serve things in their right order,’ he said, as he pulled out a quantity of apples from one end of the basket,—‘but you see the dinner has gone in here head foremost. I never saw anything so troublesome to pack. There’s a loaf of bread, now, that has no business to show itself so forward in the world; but here it comes—— Sue, you’ll want a knife and fork.’
“And he set a deep, longish dish, with a cover, on the table, and then a flat round dish with a cover. Sue looked stupefied. Roswald glanced at her.
“‘Your appetite hasn’t gone, Sue, has it?’
“But she got up and came round to him, and put her face in her two hands down on his shoulder, and cried very hard indeed.
