"Come right in here, into my sittin'-room, Niece Louise, an' lemme take a
look at you. Land sakes!"
He lifted the flap in the counter to let her through. The doorway beyond
gave entrance to a wide hall, or "entry," between the store and the
living-room. The kitchen was in a lean-to at the back. The table in the
big room was already spread with a clean red-and-white checked tablecloth
and set with heavy chinaware for a meal. A huge caster graced the center
of the table, containing glass receptacles for salt, red and black
pepper, catsup, vinegar, and oil. Knives, forks, and spoons for two--all
of utilitarian style--were arranged with mathematical precision beside
each plate.
In one window hung a pot with "creeping Jew" and inchplant, the tendrils
at least a yard long. In the other window was a blowzy-looking canary in
a cage. A corpulent tortoise-shell cat occupied the turkey-red cushion
in one generous rocking chair, There was a couch with a faded patchwork
coverlet, several other chairs, and in a glass-fronted case standing on
the mantlepiece a model of a brigantine in full sail, at least two feet
tall.
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