But the sounds
which met his ear were peals of laughter, mingled with mild, and, as it
would seem, unavailing expostulations from his grandmother.
Opening the door suddenly he found the child seated at the table in the
high chair he used to occupy, and which Mrs. Crawford had brought from
the attic, where it was stored. Standing before the child was a dish of
bread and milk, of which she had evidently eaten enough, for she was
playing with it now, and amusing herself by striking the spoon into the
milk, which was splashed over the table, while three or four drops of it
were standing on the forehead and nose of the distressed woman, who was
vainly trying to take the spoon from the little hand clenching it so
firmly.
Mrs. Crawford had had a busy and exciting day with her charge, who,
active and restless, and playful, kept her on the alert and made her
forget in part how lame she was. As she could not put her foot to the
floor without great pain, and as she must move about, she adopted the
expedient of placing her knee on a chair to the back of which she held,
while she hobbled around the room, followed by the child, who, delighted
with this novel method of locomotion, put her knee in a low chair, and
holding to Mrs. Crawford's skirts, limped after her, imitating her
perfectly, even to the groans she sometimes uttered when a twinge
sharper than usual ran up her swollen limb.
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