It was
built long before stoves were invented, you know."
"Why, I thought stoves were ALWAYS invented!" cried Elizabeth Ann. This
was the most startling and interesting conversation she had ever taken
part in.
Aunt Abigail laughed. "Mercy, no, child! Why, _I_ can remember when only
folks that were pretty well off had stoves and real poor people still
cooked over a hearth fire. I always thought it a pity they tore down the
big chimney and fireplace out of the schoolhouse and put in that big,
ugly stove. But folks are so daft over new-fangled things. Well, anyhow,
they couldn't take away the sun-dial on the window-sill. You want to be
sure to look at that. It's on the sill of the middle window on the right
hand as you face the teacher's desk."
"Sun-dial," repeated Betsy. "What's that?"
"Why to tell the time by, when--"
"Why didn't they have a clock?" asked the child.
Aunt Abigail laughed. "Good gracious, there was only one clock in the
valley for years and years, and that belonged to the Wardons, the rich
people in the village. Everybody had sun-dials cut in their window-
sills. There's one on the window-sill of our pantry this minute. Come
on, I'll show it to you." She got up heavily with her pan of apples, and
trotted briskly, shaking the floor as she went, over to the stove. "But
first just watch me put these on to cook so you'll know how.
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