"I did n't know what to give you, for you 've got everything a man
wants, and I was in despair till I remembered that dear grandma
always made you a little cake like that, and that you once said it
would n't be a happy birthday without it. So I tried to make it just
like hers, and I do hope it will prove a good, sweet, plummy one."
"Thank you," was all Tom said, as he smiled at the giver, but Polly
knew that her present had pleased him more than the most elegant
trifle she could have made.
"It ought to be good, for you beat it up yourself, Tom," cried,
Maud. "It was so funny to see you working away, and never
guessing who the cake was for. I perfectly trembled every time you
opened your mouth, for fear you 'd ask some question about it.
That was the reason Polly preached and I kept talking when she
was gone."
"Very stupid of me; but I forgot all about to-day. Suppose we cut
it; I don't seem to care for anything else," said Tom, feeling no
appetite, but bound to do justice to that cake, if he fell a victim to
his gratitude.
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