Aunt Jane's Nieces
Here Patricia was also brought in her wheel
chair by Beth, who then left the two invalids together.
They conversed genially enough, for a time, until an unfortunate
remark of Aunt Jane's which seemed to asperse her father's character
aroused Patricia's ire. Then she loosened her tongue, and in her
voluable Irish way berated her aunt until poor Phibbs stood aghast at
such temerity, and even Mr. Watson, who arrived to enquire after his
client and friend, was filled with amazement.
He cast a significant look at Miss Merrick, who answered it in her
usual emphatic way.
"Patricia is quite right, Silas," she declared, "and I deserve all
that she has said. If the girl were fond enough of me to defend me as
heartily as she does her father, I would be very proud, indeed."
Patricia cooled at once, and regarded her aunt with a sunny smile.
"Forgive me!" she begged. "I know you did not mean it, and I was wrong
to talk to you in such a way."
So harmony was restored, and Mr. Watson wondered more and more at
this strange perversion of the old woman's character. Heretofore any
opposition had aroused in her intense rage and a fierce antagonism,
but now she seemed delighted to have Patsy fly at her, and excused the
girl's temper instead of resenting it.
But Patsy was a little ashamed of herself this morning, realizing
perhaps that Aunt Jane had been trying to vex her, just to enjoy her
indignant speeches; and she also realized the fact that her aunt was
old and suffering, and not wholly responsible for her aggravating and
somewhat malicious observations. So she firmly resolved not to be so
readily entrapped again, and was so bright and cheery during the next
hour that Aunt Jane smiled more than once, and at one time actually
laughed at her niece's witty repartee.
After that it became the daily program for Patsy to spend her mornings
in Aunt Jane's little garden, and although they sometimes clashed,
and, as Phibbs told Beth, "had dreadful fights," they both enjoyed
these hours very much.
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In a village there lived two men who had the self-same name. Both were named Claus. But one of them owned four horses, and the other owned only one horse; so to distinguish between them people called the man who had four horses Big Claus, and the man who had only one horse Little Claus. Now I'll tell you what happened to these two, for this is a true story.
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