“No, dear, run along, and bring me some coffee. I’m so tired, I can’t stir!”

So Meg reclined, with rubbers well hidden, and Jo went blundering away to the dining-room, which she found after going into a china-closet, and opening the door of a room where old Mr. Gardiner was taking a little private refreshment. Making a dart at the table, she secured the coffee, which she immediately spilt, thereby making the front of her dress as bad as the back.

“Oh, dear, what a blunderbuss I am!” exclaimed Jo, finishing Meg’s glove by scrubbing her gown with it.

“Can I help you?” said a friendly voice; and there was Laurie, with a full cup in one hand and a plate of ice in the other.

“I was trying to get something for Meg, who is very tired, and someone shook me; and here I am, in a nice state,” answered Jo, glancing dismally from the stained skirt to the coffee-colored glove.