Warren sheaf., 1897-02-11
minded itat all; It was q spinal weak


minded it at all; 1t was spinal weak
ness which had bowed her shoulders and
twisted her head to one side. The
others didn't mind much when Chris
tine was left out of things; they were
a rough, merry set, but Mr.. Pigeon
had always remembered her. His
twist was in one of his legs; he had to
wear an uncomfortable iron boot, and
walked with o queer, sideways mo-
ton. ri,- %>~N.s Ak. 1851 ~s
When Becky, who was IL and was
called the Bloomsboro' Budget, because
| she carried all the news, came home
with the dreadful intelligence that Mr..
Pigeon was going to move away, no
| one would believe it. s,
I'm the first place, it's too dreadful
to be true, and in the next place he
would have told Us" said Peggy.
But it really proved to he true. Mr..
Pigeons sister-his own sister!-had
gone to law to obtain a share of her
grandfather's estate, which he had
failed to bequeath to her because she
had gone contrary to his wishes in
some way, and the only share that she
| would have was that old estate on
| Pippin Hill. Perhaps the law might
force her to take something else as
her share, since he had held possess
sion there so long; but she was Hitty,
and he should give it up to her. That
to the indignant remonstrances of the
Bells. She was Hitty; that was all
he would say; perhaps it wasn't much
of a reason, but the Bells understood
| We all know what it is to give up things
to people just because they are ky
or Polly or John. -
So it happened that the Bells dear
Mr.. Pigeon went away to little house
that he owned down ut Pcquanket Mills
and Miss Mehitable Pigeon came to live
at the old place on Pippin Hill and
owned half of the high-top sweeting
tree. ",
And the very first thing she did
it was September when she came-was
to threaten to have Tommy Bell ar
| rested, because when he shook their
side of the tree her side shook too, and
she said the top of the tree leaned to-
ward their side and more apples fell
there, so when the apples were picked
and divided she must have an extra
bushel. She threatened to have their
yellow kitten drowned because he
scampered after the flying leaves in her
garden, and, she did have their cross
| gobbler killed because it ran after her
red morning gown, as gobbler will.
you know, and gobbled at her. He
wasn't much loss, and she sent him home
| plucked and dressed, with the message
| that she should have eaten him if she
had not feared he would be tough.
She complained that Becky's peacock
squawked and Dicky's guinea pigs
squeaked, and the vane on their stabl
had 'a rusty squeak" that kept hel
| awake nights; and if one of the little
Bells mounted the fence she came GU
| and ''shooed" him off as if he were a
chicken.
Christine, who was inclined to look or
the bright side and to think we'll of every
one, said that she would probably grow
better when they got better acquainted,
and she gave Tommy and little Rufus
five cents each not to use their bean
singers over the fence or make faces
through the knothole.
But instead of growing better their
new neighbor grew worse. She had the
mutual fence built up ten feet high, she
had the branches of the sweeting tree
Topped off where they interfered with
the fence, and Christine's seat thrown
down to the ground so roughly that it
was broken. She said she had let peo-
pie impose upon her all her life, and she
wasn't going to any more.
Papa Bell, who was an easy man and
absorbed in his business, said he sup
posed thatso many children and squeak
ing, things did make them troublesome
neighbors; but he thought they should
have to remonstrate with Miss Pigeon
about the fence, because it took away so
much of their sunshine. Christine begged
him to wait she always would believe
that people were going ito be, better, and
she knew there must be something good
about Miss Pigeon because she looked
like her brother" only the twist
seemed esin< her mine. poor thing!"
IT was November when Christine's
seat was thrown out of the tree, so she
could nothave used it any more that sea-
son any way; and when anyone asked her
how she was going to do without it in
the spring, she always answered.: per
haps Miss Hitty will be good by that
time" But that Transformation didn't
seem in the least likely to anyone else.
She never forgot that Mr.. Pigeon had
said she was Hitty, though how she