What Katy Did | Page 9

fidget. You sha'n't stir till I have
sewed it on properly."
It wasn't easy to "stand still and not fidget," with Aunt Izzie fussing
away and lecturing, and now and then, in a moment of forgetfulness,
sticking her needle into one's chin. Katy bore it as well as she could,

only shifting perpetually from one foot to the other, and now and then
uttering a little snort, like an impatient horse. The minute she was
released she flew into the kitchen, seized the algebra, and rushed like a
whirlwind to the gate, where good little Clover stood patiently waiting,
though all ready herself, and terribly afraid she should be late.
"We shall have to run," gasped Katy, quite out of breath. "Aunt Izzie
kept me. She has been so horrid!"
They did run as fast as they could, but time ran faster, and before they
were half-way to school the town clock struck nine, and all hope was
over. This vexed Katy very much; for, though often late, she was
always eager to be early.
"There," she said, stopping short, "I shall just tell Aunt Izzie that it was
her fault. It is too bad." And she marched into school in a very cross
mood.
A day begun in this manner is pretty sure to end badly, as most of us
know. All the morning through, things seemed to go wrong. Katy
missed twice in her grammar lesson, and lost her place in the class. Her
hand shook so when she copied her composition, that the writing, not
good at best, turned out almost illegible, so that Mrs. Knight said it
must all be done over again. This made Katy crosser than ever; and
almost before she thought, she had whispered to Clover, "How
hateful!" And then, when just before recess all who had
"communicated" were requested to stand up, her conscience gave such
a twinge that she was forced to get up with the rest, and see a black
mark put against her name on the list. The tears came into her eyes
from vexation; and, for fear the other girls would notice them, she
made a bolt for the yard as soon as the bell rang, and mounted up all
alone to the wood-house roof, where she sat with her back to the school,
fighting with her eyes, and trying to get her face in order before the rest
should come.
Miss Miller's clock was about four minutes slower than Mrs. Knight's,
so the next playground was empty. It was a warm, breezy day, and as
Katy sat here, suddenly a gust of wind came, and seizing her

sun-bonnet, which was only half tied on, whirled it across the roof. She
clutched after it as it flew, but too late. Once, twice, thrice, it flapped,
then it disappeared over the edge, and Katy, flying after, saw it lying a
crumpled lilac heap in the very middle of the enemy's yard.
This was horrible! Not merely losing the bonnet, for Katy was
comfortably indifferent as to what became of her clothes, but to lose it
so. In another minute the Miller girls would be out. Already she seemed
to see them dancing war-dances round the unfortunate bonnet, pinning
it on a pole, using it as a football, waving it over the fence, and
otherwise treating it as Indians treat a captive taken in war. Was it to be
endured? Never! Better die first! And with very much the feeling of a
person who faces destruction rather than forfeit honor, Katy set her
teeth, and sliding rapidly down the roof, seized the fence, and with one
bold leap vaulted into Miss Miller's yard.
Just then the recess bell tinkled; and a little Millerite who sat by the
window, and who, for two seconds, had been dying to give the exciting
information, squeaked out to the others: "There's Katy Carr in our
back-yard!"
Out poured the Millerites, big and little. Their wrath and indignation at
this daring invasion cannot be described. With a howl of fury they
precipitated themselves upon Katy, but she was quick as they, and
holding the rescued bonnet in her hand, was already half-way up the
fence.
There are moments when it is a fine thing to be tall. On this occasion
Katy's long legs and arms served her an excellent turn. Nothing but a
Daddy Long Legs ever climbed so fast or so wildly as she did now. In
one second she had gained the top of the fence. Just as she went over a
Millerite seized her by the last foot, and almost dragged her boot off.
Almost, not quite, thanks to the stout thread with which Aunt Izzie had
sewed on the buttons. With a frantic kick Katy released herself, and had
the satisfaction of seeing