“Mysterious, is it? Well, it’s hating to tell it av Silver Bush I am. Not but what yer dad laughed till he was sick afterwards. Well, thin, to tell the worst, yer Aunt Hazel had niver taken out the turkey’s crop and whin yer dad carved off that slice kernels av whate and a bunch av oats fell down all over the plate. I wasn’t there av coorse…I niver wud be setting at the table whin there was quality company…and it did be well I wasn’t for niver wud I have been the same agin. It was bad enough to hear yer grandmother telling av it. She niver hilt up her head quite so high agin, poor ould leddy. Oh, oh, it’s only something to be laughing over now, though we did be thinking it was a tragedy thin.”

Cuddles screamed over the tale but Pat felt a little troubled. It was a dreadful thing to have happened at Silver Bush even if it had been a quarter of a century before. Nothing worse could have been told of the Binnies.

“I do hope nothing disgraceful will happen at our Christmas dinner,” she said anxiously.

“Niver worry, Patsy dear. There do be no paycock’s feathers in the house now. Sure and I burned thim all the day after that. Yer Uncle Horace said I was a superstitious ould woman and was rale peeved bekase he had brought thim home. So there’ll be nothing to bring us bad luck but still I’ll be thankful whin it’s all well over. As Tillytuck was remarking yisterday, there do be a certain amount av nervous strain over it all.”

“Tillytuck told me today that his grandfather was a pirate,” said Cuddles. “Also that he was through the Halifax horror when that ship loaded with munitions blew up in the days of the war. Do you really think, Judy, that Tillytuck has had all the adventures that he says he has?”

Judy’s only reply was a sardonic laugh.

CHAPTER 5

Christmas was drawing nearer and there was so much to be done. Pat and Cuddles worked like beavers and Judy flew about, or tried to, in three directions at once. A big box of goodies had to be packed and sent to Hilary…poor Hilary who must spend his Christmas in a dreary Toronto boarding-house. Mincemeat and Christmas cake must be concocted. Judy had to go for fittings of the new dress and nearly died of them. The silver and brasses had to be cleaned: everything must be made spick and span.

“The things in this house are nice,” said Cuddles, as she rubbed at the spoons. “I wonder why. They’re not really so handsome but they’re nice.”

“They’re loved, that’s why,” said Pat softly. “They’ve been loved and cared for for years. I love everything in this house terribly, Cuddles.”