She was busy these days from morning till night.
That little monkey of a Jims took so much time. But he was growing--he
was certainly growing. And there were times when Rilla felt sure that it
was not merely a pious hope but an absolute fact that he was getting
decidedly better looking. Sometimes she felt quite proud of him; and
sometimes she yearned to spank him. But she never kissed him or wanted
to kiss him.
"The Germans captured Lodz today," said Miss Oliver, one December
evening, when she, Mrs. Blythe, and Susan were busy sewing or knitting
in the cosy living-room. "This war is at least extending my knowledge of
geography. Schoolma'am though I am, three months ago I didn't know there
was such a place in the world such as Lodz. Had I heard it mentioned I
would have known nothing about it and cared as little. I know all about
it now--its size, its standing, its military significance. Yesterday
the news that the Germans have captured it in their second rush to
Warsaw made my heart sink into my boots. I woke up in the night and
worried over it. I don't wonder babies always cry when they wake up in
the night. Everything presses on my soul then and no cloud has a silver
lining."
"When I wake up in the night and cannot go to sleep again," remarked
Susan, who was knitting and reading at the same time, "I pass the
moments by torturing the Kaiser to death. Last night I fried him in
boiling oil and a great comfort it was to me, remembering those Belgian
babies.
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