The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan Part 23

Peter Gruff left in a hurry. "Five dollars for one little picture!" he muttered to himself. "And such a skimpy frame. Why it's not worth fifty cents. Such prices! Such robbery!" The old man disappeared into the depths of his musty shop muttering:

"Just because I went in to see what they were up to and ate a little morsel of their lunch, they thought I was going to buy one of their pictures for five dollars! --And me with my shop full of the finest colored pictures, handpainted too!" And in his excitement he actually dusted off the top of a table.

"That was a mean trick, Kit Patten, to scare the poor fellow like that.

How would you like it?" exclaimed Bob Evans with a serious face.

"Well I tried to be polite at first. I told him it was our busy day and he didn't pay any attention. And he wouldn't move: just kept on talking."

"You've broken his heart," exclaimed Phil dramatically. "His head is bowed with grief."

"And it ought to be!" stormed Kit, her eyes snapping, her cheeks scarlet. "He's wasted a full hour of my time."

The boys shouted with laughter. It was not often that they could succeed in getting Kit nettled. She was so even-tempered that they had almost given up teasing her. Bet, on the contrary was an easy prey, for her temper flared up at a second's notice.

But just now she was cool and composed: "Oh come on, Kit don't be silly. There's enough to do, goodness knows, without you staging a temper fit."

"Guess you're right, Bet. I'll be good." Kit was all smiles in a minute as she grabbed a dust mop to give the floor another cleaning before the rug was put down.

"I'm tired out completely!" Bob cried suddenly and dropped into the nearest chair.

"Bob Evans," screamed Joy. "There you've gone and ruined my chair.

And it took me a good hour to paint it!"

Bob jumped to his feet, "Oh I'm so sorry, Sis. I didn't see it!"

But even the provoked Joy could not keep from laughing as Bob turned around. His trousers were streaked with paint.

"Oh turn around, Bob! Let's see you. You look like a winter sunset!"

shouted Phil.

"Let us have those pants to frame," Bet laughed.

"And say Bob, you could go outside and strut up and down the sidewalk and be a walking advertis.e.m.e.nt for Shirley's Shop."

"Now you've broken my heart, too!" moaned Bob.

"Then take my advice and go over and weep on Peter's shoulder, and I, for one, won't miss you. Making me do all that work over again!"

"Here boys, get to work, you're only getting into mischief by standing around. Help me with this rug, it isn't straight." And the boys jumped to attention at Bet's order and arranged the rug to suit her.

"There now, isn't that cozy?" exclaimed Kit. And they all stood back and admired the work that had transformed the old store into a cozy room.

"I think it's just lovely," said Bet, with a sigh of happiness.

CHAPTER XI

THE FIRST CUSTOMER

Joy hadn't quite recovered from her disappointment over her spoiled chair. She was working away with a frown as she repaired the damage.

At a suggestion from Bob that she finish the job she had started on him, Joy gave a dab with her brush and left a long streak across his cheek.

"Now go away and leave me alone, Bob Evans."

"Get to work! Get to work!" shouted Bet. "Here help me with this table, Phil."

They lifted the heavy library table that the Colonel had given them from one corner of the room to the other. At the fifth move, Bet was satisfied but that brought it back to exactly the spot where she had started.

"Why don't you two go into the moving business? Bet has a talent in that direction," teased Bob.

"Now I'm just too happy today to get angry at you for anything, Bob, so you might as well give up. I'm having the time of my life!"

And Bet looked happy as she arranged the large easy chairs about the room, while Shirley got out the portfolios of prints for the table.

"There now, the work's all done, isn't it?" asked Phil.

"Why the idea!" laughed Bet. "There are millions of things to do yet."

"It will take weeks to have things the way we want it," agreed Kit.

The girls now got out needles and some orange silk and started on the fancy shade for the lights. A floor lamp was to give the main lighting for the room and a number of wall brackets would add to the artistic effect.

"It's kind of you to say that there is nothing else we can do," laughed Phil with a deep bow.

"And thanks for the eats. Ask us to come to your next party, that is if there is no work to do."

"Why you lazy things! There'll always be work at Shirley's Shop," said Bet.

"Bye-bye," waved Bob as he and Phil departed.

The girls hurried on with their different tasks. Kit and Bet were making the lamp shades, chattering of their plans for the future.

Shirley putting some prints away noticed the fan.

"Say, Bet, why was old Peter Gruff so excited about the fan?"

"That's just his way. He's simply crazy about antiques. He'll be offering Dad a dollar and a half for it some of these days."

"We can see right down into his bas.e.m.e.nt from our rear window," said Joy. "Did you ever see such a disorderly place? Isn't it a wonder that he ever sells anything?"

The boys had not been gone long when two women walked past the shop, then turned and stopped at the window with an exclamation of surprise.

"When did this place open? Isn't it attractive? Let's go in and see who it is and what they have."

Kit grabbed Joy by the arm. "Let's get out and leave things to Bet and Shirley. Four saleswomen in this shop at present are a few too many."

The girls slipped into the room in the rear and waited breathlessly to see what would happen.