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“Take this big chair, Mr Webb, and ht here on the sofa, Mrs Webb”

Almanzo couldn’t believe his ears Mrs Webb said:

“You have such a beautiful parlor, I declare it’s almost too fine to sit in”

Now Al-brush had hit the wall, and he could not believe his eyes The wall-paper was pure white and gold There was no black splotch

Mother caught sight of him and said:

“Come in, Almanzo”

Alht on a haircloth chair and pushed his toes against the floor to keep fro all about the visit to Uncle Andrew’s

There was no black splotch anywhere on the wall

“Didn’t you worry, leaving the children alone here and you so far away?” Mrs Webb asked

“No,” Mother said, proudly “I knew the children would take care of everything as well as if James and I were home”

Almanzo minded his manners and did not say a word Next day, when no one was looking, he stole into the parlor He looked carefully at the place where the black splotch had been The wallpaper was patched The patch had been cut out carefully around the gold scrolls, and the pattern was fitted perfectly and the edges of the patch scraped so thin that he could hardly find them

He waited until he could speak to Eliza Jane alone, and then he asked:

“Eliza Jane, did you patch the parlor wall-paper for me?”

“Yes,” she said “I got the scraps of wall-paper that were saved in the attic, and cut out the patch and put it on with flour-paste”

Alruffly: “I’m sorry I threw that brush at you Honest, I didn’t mean to, Eliza Jane”