The house, though small, gave ample room for even Beulah. It was still cool enough in the evenings to light the logs in the big fireplace, and the days were long enough to afford time for walks in the morning, sailing in the afternoon, and supper on the rocks before dark. Miss Rindy was in her element in the exercise of her executive powers, and Beulah burst forth into song at intervals, thus showing her content with the situation. However, the latter met her Waterloo the first time that lobsters were to be served for supper. She appeared at the door of the living-room gingerly holding a lobster in each hand, gripping a claw firmly with a dish towel. “Law, Miss Rindy,” she exclaimed, “what kin’ o’ bugs is dese? I skeered o’ ’em. Boy fetch ’em in an’ say yuh-alls order ’em. What good is dey, Miss Rindy, ma’am?” “Why, good to eat,” answered Miss Rindy. “Did you never see a lobster, Beulah?” “I hears Miss Mabel talk ’bout live br’iled lobster. Is dey daid?” Beulah regarded them suspiciously. “Of course. I wouldn’t undertake, myself, to boil them, so I had Mrs. Simpson do it for us; it is an everyday matter with her. You’ve heard the saying, ‘red as a boiled lobster,’ haven’t you?” “I ’specs I has, but I doesn’t recomember. Anyway, Miss Rindy, yuh doesn’t ketch me eatin’ dem evil-eyed critturs. How yuh eats ’em? Dey is hard as rocks.” “You open them as you do crabs, and take out the meat,” Miss Rindy explained. “You’ve prepared crabs many a time, Beulah.” “Oh, yas’m, I has, but I skeered to tackle dese owdacious-lookin’ critturs. I knows crabs, but I nuver had de presentations of dese yere lobsters.” She bore them back to the kitchen. “Now what’s to be done?” said Miss Rindy. “Do you know anything about opening lobsters, Miss Wickham?” “I’m afraid I don’t. It has never been a part of my education.” “Nor mine. I don’t want you all to be poisoned by getting hold of some deadly part,” returned Miss Rindy. “Why not take them up to Mrs. Simpson and get her to show us how?” Ellen suggested. “Just the ticket,” exclaimed Mabel, springing up. “Come along, Ellen. We’ll take a lesson from Mrs. Belah, and the next time we’ll show Beulah, so we’ll be independent for the rest of the summer.” They bundled up the lobsters and bore them off to Mrs. Simpson, who laughed when she learned their errand. That any one should be so ignorant as not to know how to open lobsters was incomprehensible to her. “These city folks don’t know everything,” she confided to her next-door neighbor. However, she was “pleased to accommodate them,” she said, and each girl performed her task creditably under direction.