Mother Carey's Chickens
from within, in tones that breathed vexation at being interrupted.
"Knock again!" whispered Mrs. Lord. "Father does n't remember that it's his birthday, and he does n't know that it's you knocking."
Cyril knocked again timidly, but at the first sound of his father's irritable voice as he rose hurriedly from his desk, the boy turned and fled through the kitchen to the shed.
Olive held the fort, picture in hand.
"It's your birthday, father," she said. "There's a cake for supper, and here's my present." There was no love in the child's voice. Her heart, filled with passionate sympathy for Cyril, had lost all zest for its task, and she handed her gift to her father with tightly closed lips and heaving breast.
"All right; I'm much obliged, but I wish you would not knock at this door when I am writing,—I've told you that before. Tell your mother I can't come to supper to-night, but to send me a tray, please!"
As he closed the door Olive saw him lay the picture on a table, never looking at it as he crossed the room to one of the great book-cases that lined the walls.
Mrs. Lord had by this time disappeared forlornly from the upper hall. Olive, aged ten,
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