The next morning Aunt Fanny had a hard time of it. Her mistress was

petulant; there was no sunshine in the bright August day as it appeared

to her. Toward dawn, after she had counted many millions of black sheep

jumping backward over a fence, she had fallen asleep. Aunt Fanny obeyed

her usual instructions on this luckless morning. It was Beverly's rule

to be called every morning at seven o'clock. But how was her attendant

to know that the graceful young creature who had kicked the counterpane

to the foot of the bed and had mauled the pillow out of all shape, had

slept for less than thirty minutes?

How was she to know that the flushed

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face and frown were born in the course of a night of distressing

perplexities? She knew only that the sleeping beauty who lay before her

was the fairest creature in all the universe. For some minutes Aunt

Fanny stood off and admired the rich youthful glory of the sleeper,

prophetically reluctant to disturb her happiness. Then she obeyed the

impulse of duty and spoke the summoning words.

"Wha--what time is it?" demanded the newcomer from the land of Nod,

stretching her fine young body with a splendid but discontented yawn.

"Seben, Miss Bev'ly; wha' time do yo' s'pose hit is? Hit's d' reg'lah

time, o' co'se. Did yo' all have a nice sleep, honey?" and Aunt Fanny

went blissfully about the business of the hour.

"I didn't sleep a wink, confound it," grumbled Beverly, rubbing her eyes

and turning on her back to glare up at the tapestry above the couch.

"Yo' wasn' winkin' any when Ah fust come into de room, lemme tell yo',"

cackled Aunt Fanny with caustic freedom.

"See here, now, Aunt Fanny, I'm not going to stand any lecture from you

this morning. When a fellow hasn't slept a--"

"Who's a-lecturin' anybody, Ah'd lak to know? Ah'm jes' tellin' yo'

what yo' was a-doin' when Ah came into de room. Yo' was a-sleepin'

p'etty doggone tight, lemme tell yo'. Is yo' goin' out fo' yo' walk

befo' b'eakfus, honey? 'Cause if yo' is, yo' all 'll be obleeged to

climb out'n dat baid maghty quick-like. Yo' baf is ready, Miss Bev'ly."

Beverly splashed the water with unreasonable ferocity for a few minutes,

trying to enjoy a diversion that had not failed her until this morning.

"Aunt Fanny," she announced, after looking darkly through her window

into the mountains above, "if you can't brush my hair--ouch!--any easier

than this, I'll have someone else do it, that's all. You're a regular

old bear."




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