And even Pim, though he had seen such grandeur, and felt how high he was, was grateful to the Power that rules above Madder that he had been left to stand with his boots on, and to receive a welcome at the Chick household doorway by Miss Maud. Whatever high hat it was that ruled above, Maud ruled the Chicks. She was aged seven; but as each of those seven years had told Maud what life was about, she had come to be, even at this age, far wiser than her mother. As Maud had not gone to the funeral, she had plenty of time left upon her hands to prepare for her baby. It would be hers of course, for, as all Madder knew, every baby that came was as good as Maud’s. One day Maud intended to be a mother herself, and she wisely thought that the best preparation for that was to see as much of other people’s babies as she could. If Maud had been at Minna Wimple’s that same morning, the sun would never have had such a chance to kiss Polly in a naughty way.
