Mistress Pat by L. M. Montgomery Page B

yesterday.”

CHAPTER 10
    They dragged the old black chest out of its corner to the window. Bold-and-Bad, deciding that it was not a thing likely to do a cat any good, crept off into the darkness under the eaves and imagined himself a Bengal tiger. The black chest was full of the usual miscellany of old garret chests. Ancient lace and velvet and flower-trimmed hats, bundles of banished Christmas cards, limp ostrich feathers, faded family photographs, strings of birds’ eggs, discarded dresses with the pointed basques and polonaises and puffed sleeves of other vintages, old school-books, maps the Silver Bush children had drawn, packets of yellow letters, a “rat” worn in the days of pompadours, old faded things once beautiful. They had oceans of fun over them.
    â€œWhat on earth is this?” demanded Cuddles, holding up an indescribable mass of crushed wire. Judy gave a snort of laughter.
    â€œOh, oh, that do be yer Aunt Helen’s ould bustle. I rimimber how yer dad yelled whin she brought it home. It’s the dashing lady she was and always the first in the clan to be out in a new fashion. She wint to a concert that night at the Bridge wid her beau and they say he was crimson to the ears, he was that ashamed av it. But in a few wakes’ time iverybody did be wearing thim. He shud have been thankful she didn’t wear it like Maggie Jimson at the South Glin did whin her sister as was working up in Bosting sint her one home…a rale fancy one all covered wid blue sating.”
    â€œHow did she wear it, Judy?”
    â€œOutside her dress,” said Judy solemnly. “They say the folks who were in church that day were niver the same agin. Oh, oh, but the fashions do be changing always. Only kissing stays in. Mebbe this ould bustle will be took down some av these days and displayed on the parlor mantel-piece be way av an heirloom.”
    â€œLook at this!” Cuddles held up a huge brown velvet hat with a draggled and enormous shaded-green ostrich feather on it. “Fancy living up to a hat like that!”
    â€œOh, oh, that was yer Aunt Hazel’s hat wid what they called a willow plume and rale nice it did be looking over her pompydore. Though I niver fancied velvet hats mesilf iver since the mouse jumped out av Mrs. Reuben Russell’s one Sunday at the Bridge church. That was a tommyshaw.”
    â€œIf Tillytuck was here he’d say he was the mouse,” giggled Cuddles.
    Pat pounced on an article.
    â€œJudy, if here isn’t my old little cheese hoop! I’ve often wondered where it disappeared to. I wanted to keep it always in remembrance of those dear little cheeses you used to make me in it…one for myself every year. You don’t remember Judy making cheese, Cuddles, but I do. It was such fun.”
    â€œAnd here do be one av yer Great-grandmother Gardiner’s ruffled caps,” said Judy. “Minny’s the time I’ve done it up for her…she always said that nobody cud be giving the frills the right quirk like young Judy. Oh, oh, I was young Judy thin and I’d larned the trick at Castle McDermott. Ould lady Gardiner always made her caps hersilf…it’s the beautiful himstitcher she was. She was a rale fine ould lady, if some folks did be thinking her a bit too uppity. Did I iver be telling ye av the night she was knaling be her bed be an open windy, saying her prayers and her thoughts in hiven…I’m s’posing…and a big cat crawled through the windy and lit on her back suddent-like wid a pair av claws that tuk hold?”
    â€œOh!” Cuddles shrieked in delight. “What did Great-grand say?”
    â€œSay, is it?” Judy looked cautiously around. “It was thirty-nine years ago and I’ve niver told a living soul afore. She said a word beginning wid D and inding wid N.”
    Pat doubled up with laughter. Stately old Great-grandmother Gardiner whose picture hung in the Big Parlor with