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her two sisters, Mrs. Wurzburger and Mrs. Wogus, live there. And that little house with the chimney is the henhouse, where you’ll live, Ronald. Mr. Bean put in steam heat last year, and mahogany perches. I tell you, he spares no expense where his animals are concerned.”
    â€œI’m pretty dirty,” said Adoniram. “Couldn’t we wash somewhere before we see the Beans?”
    So they went down and washed in the brook at the foot of the hill, and Adoniram took clean clothes out of his knapsack and put them on. And then they started for the farm.
    There was nobody in sight as they came in the gate, but when they were half-way across the barnyard the little blue curtains at one of the windows of the cow-barn were pushed aside and a big white face appeared.
    â€œHi, Mrs. Wiggins!” called Freddy.
    â€œMercy on us!” exclaimed the cow. “It’s Freddy and Jinx.” And she came rushing out to greet them, and Mrs. Wogus and Mrs. Wurzburger came after her.
    Now, when Mrs. Wiggins said anything, you could hear her across two fields and a pasture. And when she raised her voice, you could hear her in the next county. So in two minutes the barnyard was full of a mob of cows and dogs and horses and chickens, all pressing around the travelers and shouting and laughing and slapping them on the back. Ronald was quite terrified by the racket, and Georgie, though his tail kept wagging, pressed close against Adoniram.
    The animals all asked questions at once. “How did the pockets go, Freddy?” “Where’d you get the boy?” “Been eating any crows lately, Jinx?”
    But suddenly the noise quieted down, and a small man in overalls with bushy gray whiskers came shoving through the crowd. He carried a pitchfork with which he made threatening gestures, but Adoniram noticed that he was careful not to touch any of the animals with it. “Quiet!” he shouted. “Tarnation, animals, can’t ye stop this rumpus? Ye make more noise ’n a hop-pickers’ picnic.”
    â€œIt’s Mr. Bean,” said Freddy to his guests.
    The farmer pulled Jinx’s whiskers and poked the pig in the side. “Glad to see ye back,” he said gruffly. Mr. Bean was not a demonstrative man; he never gushed. “And who may these be?” he asked.
    â€œMy name is Adoniram R. Smith,” said the boy, “and this is Georgie and this is Ronald. We thought—well, we’d like to live here if—if you’d like to have us.”
    â€œGlad to have you,” said Mr. Bean. “And Mrs. B.’ll be gladder. Consider that settled.” He scratched a match on the seat of his trousers and lit a small pipe that Adoniram hadn’t noticed before because it was almost hidden by his whiskers. He puffed hard at it for a minute until his whiskers oozed smoke like a brush fire, and then he said: “You look hungry, boy. You’ll find Mrs. B. in the kitchen. She’ll fix you up. Freddy, you know where to put the other two where they’ll be comfortable. And you other animals,” he added, “I suppose you’ll be havin’ a celebration tonight. But lights out at ten o’clock, remember.” And he turned and stumped away.
    As Adoniram went toward the house, Mrs. Bean came to the door to shake the breakfast crumbs from the tablecloth. She was small and plump, and as neat as Mr. Bean was untidy. She pushed her spectacles up on her forehead and stared, and then she said: “Land sakes, if it isn’t Freddy and Jinx!” And she ran out and hugged the cat and patted the pig and shook hands with Ronald and Georgie. Then she looked at Adoniram.
    â€œWell, well,” she said, “you’re a nice-looking boy, I must say. Now isn’t it lucky I baked a big batch of molasses cookies yesterday? Do you live around here?”
    â€œNo, ma’am. I came with Freddy and Jinx. I—I ran away from home.”
    â€œRan away