Polly and her mother usually greeted
him, but to-night the front of the house was deserted.
"The girls must be off somewhere," he said to himself. "Well, I'll
go out and tell Mary to give me my dinner now, without waiting for
them."
He made his way to the kitchen, noting to his surprise, as he
passed through the dining-room, that the table was only half set
for the meal, and that the few articles on it had a little the
appearance of having been thrown at it from a distance. Dr. Adams
was an orderly, methodical man, and his wife's careful
housekeeping was quite to his liking. However, he reflected that,
during her absence, there must and would be irregularities, and
passed on to the kitchen. As he opened the door, he was met by a
cloud of dense, bluish white smoke which brought the quick tears
to his eyes. Through the thick air he could see, not the ample
proportions of his usual cook, but three small figures that were
hurrying to and fro with a purposeless, ineffectual bustle which
yet accomplished nothing. One of the figures hailed him in
disconsolate tones,--
"Oh, papa! are you home so soon?"
"So soon?" he answered, as well as he could for coughing; "it's
six o'clock now.
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