It was later in the same day when the second excitement struck the little House of Flaggs. Evangeline raced again across the separating green grass to Miss Theodosia. This time she went at reduced speed because she had Elly Precious over her shoulder. Miss Theodosia saw them coming and smiled. "More news! I know it is puffectly elegant by Evangeline's face. Well, Evangeline?" "Mercy gracious! Take him before I spill him! I'm so happy I joggle. She's knittin' an' she's comin' home! I mean knittin' _enough_. She said 'my--dear--children--I--expect--to--be--home--to-morrow --Aunt--Sarah--is--better--an'--I--can't wait--to--see--you--your--mother--' Mercy gracious, when Stefana got to your mother, seemed as if I'd burst! We hollered it to Carruthers, an' he burst! An' Elly Precious knows she's comin', I know he knows. Tickle him an' see how pleased he is!" Without comma or semicolon, to say nothing of periods, Evangeline panted on. Out of breath at last, her voice sat down an instant, as it were, to rest. It was up again in a moment. "To-morrow is most to-day! It'll be to-day to-morrow! Oh, mercy gracious me! We're goin' to sweep under everything an' behind--every las' thing, under 'n' behind. She won't find a grain o' dust. An' Stefana's makin' starch." "Mercy gracious!" softly ejaculated Miss Theodosia. "I mean to eat in the dessert--corn-starch. We've begun to skim Elly Precious's bottles. You can eat thin bottles, can't you, darlin' dear, when Mother's comin' home? Corn-starch has to have cream on it--when Mother's comin' home!" She laughed joyously. All past and creamless corn-starches were a joke. Laughing at them was easy at this happy moment. "Isn't it splendid Aunt Sarah went to knittin'? Mercy gracious, I hope she won't--won't drop a stitch for Mother to have to stay an' pick up!" Evangeline's laugh trilled out once more. "Do you suppose you'd dass to cut Elly Precious's hair, Miss Theodosia, while I danced like everything an' made faces? Dutchy, you know, in the back o' his neck--he's straggly now. I'd make awful faces--" "I wouldn't 'dass,' dear," smiled Miss Theodosia. "I never could cut fast enough and you never could dance hard enough--we'd hurt him." "Well, she'll look at the front o' him first--never mind. We're goin' to put on that darlin' little ni'gown you made, for a dress--belt it in, you know, with a ribbon off the handle o' the clo'es-basket; Stefana's ironed it out. An' we're goin' to pin on his blue ribbon prize." John Bradford came that evening to sit on the porch in the soft warmth that autumn had borrowed from summers-to-come, with promissory note to pay it back when lovers were through with it. Miss Theodosia met him with the news. "Mustn't it be beautiful to be welcomed home like that, dear? If you could have seen Evangeline's little shiny face! And the way Elly Precious laughed--when I tickled him! And, oh, John--Do you hear me call you John? I thought it would be hard!"