When the matter was explained to him, he went into the dining-room, looked into the dumb-waiter, untwisted a cord, and arranged the weight, and pulled up the dinner.
“The trouble was in the weight,” said the carpenter.
“That is why it is called a dumb-waiter,” Solomon John explained to the little boys.
Mrs. Peterkin frugally suggested that they might now keep it for the next day, as to-day was almost gone, and they had had tea.
But nobody listened. All sat down to the roast turkey; and Amanda warmed over the vegetables.
“Patient waiters are no losers,” said Agamemnon.
IN fact, it was their last summer’s journey--for it had been planned then; but there had been so many difficulties, it had been delayed.
The first trouble had been about trunks. The family did not own a trunk suitable for travelling.
Agamemnon had his valise, that he had used when he stayed a week at a time at the academy; and a trunk had been bought for Elizabeth Eliza when she went to the seminary. Solomon John and Mr. Peterkin, each had his patent-leather hand-bag. But all these were too small for the family. And the little boys wanted to carry their kite.
Mrs. Peterkin suggested her grandmother’s trunk. This was a hair-trunk, very large and capacious. It would hold everything they would want to carry, except what would go in Elizabeth Eliza’s trunk, or the valise and bags.
Everybody was delighted at this idea. It was agreed that the next day the things should be brought into Mrs. Peterkin’s room, for her to see if they could all be packed.
“If we can get along,” said Elizabeth Eliza, “without having to ask advice, I shall be glad!”
“Yes,” said Mr. Peterkin, “It is time now for people to be coming to ask advice of us.”
The next morning Mrs. Peterkin began by taking out the things that were already in the trunk. Here were last year’s winter things, and not only these, but old clothes that had been put away,--Mrs. Peterkin’s wedding-dress; the skirts the little boys used to wear before they put on jackets and trousers.
All day Mrs. Peterkin worked over the trunk, putting away the old things, putting in the new. She packed up all the clothes she could think of, both summer and winter ones, because you never can tell what sort of weather you will have.
