I--I don t suppose it will, said Marilla. Go to sleep now like a good
child. Good night.
I can say good night tonight with a clear conscience, said Anne,
cuddling luxuriously down among her pillows.
Marilla retreated to the kitchen, set the candle firmly on the table,
and glared at Matthew.
Matthew Cuthbert, it s about time somebody adopted that child and
taught her something. She s next door to a perfect heathen. Will you
believe that she never said a prayer in her life till tonight? I ll
send to the manse tomorrow and borrow the Peep of the Day series,
that s what I ll do. And she shall go to Sunday-school just as soon as
I can get some suitable clothes made for her. I foresee that I shall
have my hands full. Well, well, we can t get through this world without
our share of trouble. I ve had a pretty easy life of it so far, but my
time has come at last and I suppose I ll just have to make the best of
it.
CHAPTER VIII. Anne s Bringing-up Is Begun
FOR reasons best known to herself, Marilla did not tell Anne that
she was to stay at Green Gables until the next afternoon. During the
forenoon she kept the child busy with various tasks and watched over her
with a keen eye while she did them. By noon she had concluded that Anne
was smart and obedient, willing to work and quick to learn; her most
serious shortcoming seemed to be a tendency to fall into daydreams in
the middle of a task and forget all about it until such time as she was
sharply recalled to earth by a reprimand or a catastrophe.
When Anne had finished washing the dinner dishes she suddenly confronted
Marilla with the air and expression of one desperately determined to
learn the worst. Her thin little body trembled from head to foot; her
face flushed and her eyes dilated until they were almost black; she
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