Page:Dr Adriaan (1918).djvu/78

72 Klaasje placed two, three, four pieces on their narrow edges. Upon these she went on building the rickety black-and-white tower.

"A door and two windows," the child explained, lost in her game.

But the tower fell in with a crash.

"Granny mustn't move!" she whimpered.

Balancing the heavy book on Granny's knees, she went on building, hurriedly, so as to get very high.

"Granny mustn't move again. . . . Tower . . . with a wall round it. . . . Higher . . . the tower . . . one more stone on the wall . . . one more stone on the wall. . . ."

But the wall and the tower came down with a crash.

"Naughty Granny! . . . Naughty Granny!"

"Ssh!" said the old woman, soothingly.

Addie had entered; and the child, dropping the book and the dominoes, crowed with delight and ran up to him. She called him uncle, not realizing that he was her cousin:

"Uncle Addie!" she cooed.

He opened his arms wide, lifted her a few inches from the floor:

"Look in Uncle Addie's pockets," he said.

"What have you got? What have you got?"

She fumbled in his pockets.

"No, that's Uncle's pocket-book. . . . No, that's his watch. . . . Here, look, what's this?"

He now helped her find the little parcel. She tugged hurriedly at the paper and string; and he opened the parcel for her. It was a little kaleidoscope.

"Look through it. . . ."

"Lovely!" said the child, gleefully. "Lovely . . . blue, red, yellow! . . ."

"Now shake it. . . ."