I thought until my skull almost cracked,about where he COULDhave gone,and I was almost to the place where the thing seemed serious enough that I'd ask the Lord to help me find Laddie's eggs,when mother sent me to the garret for red onion skins.She had an hour to rest,and she was going to spend it fixing decorations for our eggs.Of course there were always red and black aniline ones,and yellow and blue,but none of us ever like them half so well as those mother coloured,herself.
She took the dark red skins and cut boys,girls,dogs,cats,stars,flowers,butterflies,fish,and everything imaginable,and wet the skins a little and laid them on very white eggs that had been soaked in alum water to cut the grease,and then wrapped light yellow skins over,and then darker ones,and at last layer after layer of cloth,and wet that,and roasted them an hour in hot ashes and then let them cool and dry,before unwrapping.
When she took them out,rubbed on a little grease and polished them--there they were!They would have our names,flowers,birds,animals,all in pale yellow,deep rich brown,almost red,and perfectly beautiful colours,while you could hunt and hunt before you found everything on one egg.And sometimes the onion skins slipped,and made things of themselves that she never put on.
I was coming from the bin with an apron full of skins and I almost fell over.I couldn't breathe for a long time.I danced on my toes,and held my mouth to keep from screaming.On the garret floor before me lay a little piece of wet mud,and the faintest outline of a boot,a boot about Leon's size.That was all I needed to know.As soon as I could hold steady,I took the skins to mother,slipped back and hunted good;and of course I had to find them--grainsacks half full of them--carried in the front door in the evening,and up the front stairs,where no one went until bedtime,unless there were company.Away back under the eaves,across the joists,behind the old clothing waiting to be ripped,coloured and torn for carpet rangs and rugs,Mr.Leon had almost every egg that had been laid on the place for a month.
NOW he'd see what he'd get for taking Laddie's!
Then I stopped short.What I thought most made me sick,but I didn't propose to lie in bed again for a year at least,for it had its bad parts as well as its good;so I went straight and whispered to Laddie.He never looked pleased at all,so I knew I had been right.He kissed me,and thanked me,and then said slowly:"It's mighty good of you,Little Sister,but you see it wouldn't be FAIR.He found mine himself,so he had a right to take them.But I don't dare touch his,when you tell me where they are.I never in a month of Sundays would have looked for them in the house.I was going to search the wood house and smoke house this afternoon.I can't take them.But thank you just as much."Then I went to father and he laughed.How he did laugh!
"Laddie is right!"he said at last."He didn't find them,and he mustn't take them.But you may!They're yours!That front door scheme of Leon's was fairly well,but it wasn't quite good enough.If he'd cleaned his feet as he should,before he crossed mother's carpet and climbed the stairs,he'd have made it all right.`His tracks betrayed him,'as tracks do all of us,if we are careless enough to leave any.The eggs are yours,and to-night is the time to produce them.Where do you want to hide them?"Well of all things!and after I had stumbled on them without pestering the Lord,either!Just as slick as anything!Mine!I never ever thought of it.But when I did think,I liked it.The more I thought,the funnier it grew.
"Under mother's bed,"I whispered."But I never can get them.
They're in wheat sacks,and full so high,and they'll have to be handled like eggs.""I'll do the carrying,"laughed father."Come show me!"So we took all those eggs,and put them under mother's bed.
