II-III

On Saturday Ambrosch drove up to the back
gate, and Antonia jumped down from the
wagon and ran into our kitchen just as she
used to do. She was wearing shoes and stock-
ings, and was breathless and excited. She
gave me a playful shake by the shoulders.
"You ain't forget about me, Jim?"

Grandmother kissed her. "God bless you,
child! Now you've come, you must try to do
right and be a credit to us."

Antonia looked eagerly about the house and
admired everything. "Maybe I be the kind of
girl you like better, now I come to town," she
suggested hopefully.

How good it was to have Antonia near us
again; to see her every day and almost every
night! Her greatest fault, Mrs. Harling
found, was that she so often stopped her work
and fell to playing with the children. She
would race about the orchard with us, or take
sides in our hay-fights in the barn, or be the
old bear that came down from the mountain
and carried off Nina. Tony learned English

[[176]]

p175 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p176w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p177

v?