The watching circle drew closer.
"Wet? Nonsense. Here, give it to me."
Unfolding of sodden paper. A mouse of soft grey plush, with little glassy eyes and a long silky tail. And two wheels under his stomach, a key to wind him by.
"Why, it's the mouse we saw in the window at the cigar store. Joyce was crazy about it."
"You see, Martin, she's given you a mouse because she wanted it so much for herself."
"It isn't very much, my dear, but there's so little to choose from, here in the country."
"It's like the mice we had on the nursery wallpaper," said Bunny, praising valiantly.
"Wind it up and see it run."
There are some situations that, once entered, must be carried through to the end. Martin wound. He could tell by the feel of the key that something was wrong.
"I'll play with it later," he said.
"Don't be so stubborn, Martin. We're all waiting to see it."
Joyce's gaze was riveted on the mouse. She remembered the ominous click in its vitals, when she had been giving it an ecstatic trial. But perhaps Martin, with the magic boys have in these matters, could make it go again, as it went—so
