"'That will be splendid! There's a fire in the kitchen, Debby always leaves the kettle on, and we can use her saucepan, and I know where the sugar is, and we'll have a grand time.'
"'In we went, and fell to work very quietly. It was a large, open fire-place, with the coals nicely covered up, and the big kettle simmering on the hook. We raked open the fire, put on the saucepan, and in it the best of our plums, with water enough to spoil them. But we didn't know that, and felt very important as we sat waiting for it to boil, each armed with a big spoon, while the sugar box stood between us ready to be used.
"How slow they were, to be sure! I never knew such obstinate things, for they wouldn't soften, though they danced about in the boiling water, and bobbed against the cover as if they were doing their best.
"The sun began to get low, we were afraid Debby would come down, and still those dreadful plums wouldn't look like sauce. At last they began to burst, the water got a lovely purple, we put lots of sugar in, and kept tasting till our aprons and faces were red, and our lips burnt with the hot spoons.
"'There's too much juice,' said Nelly, shaking her head wisely. 'It ought to be thick and nice like mamma's.'
"'I'll pour off some of the juice, and we can drink it,' said I, feeling that I'd made a mistake in my cooking.
"So Nelly got a bowl, and I got a towel and lifted the big saucepan carefully off. It was heavy and hot,
