He restrained himself however , and the little squall would have blown over , but for one unlucky word . `` It 's a scrape , I acknowledge , but if you will lend a hand , we 'll pull through and have a good time yet . Do n't cry , dear , but just exert yourself a bit , and fix us up something to eat . We 're both as hungry as hunters , so we sha n't mind what it is . Give us the cold meat , and bread and cheese . We wo n't ask for jelly . '' He meant it to be a good-natured joke , but that one word sealed his fate . Meg thought it was too cruel to hint about her sad failure , and the last atom of patience vanished as he spoke . `` You must get yourself out of the scrape as you can . I 'm too used up to ` exert ' myself for anyone . It 's like a man to propose a bone and vulgar bread and cheese for company . I wo n't have anything of the sort in my house . Take that Scott up to Mother 's , and tell him I 'm away , sick , dead , anything . I wo n't see him , and you two can laugh at me and my jelly as much as you like . You wo n't have anything else here . '' and having delivered her defiance all on one breath , Meg cast away her pinafore and precipitately left the field to bemoan herself in her own room . What those two creatures did in her absence , she never knew , but Mr. Scott was not taken ` up to Mother 's ' , and when Meg descended , after they had strolled away together , she found traces of a promiscuous lunch which filled her with horror . Lotty reported that they had eaten `` a much , and greatly laughed , and the master bid her throw away all the sweet stuff , and hide the pots . '' Meg longed to go and tell Mother , but a sense of shame at her own short-comings , of loyalty to John , `` who might be cruel , but nobody should know it , '' restrained her , and after a summary cleaning up , she dressed herself prettily , and sat down to wait for John to come and be forgiven . Unfortunately , John did n't come , not seeing the matter in that light .
He had carried it off as a good joke with Scott , excused his little wife as well as he could , and played the host so hospitably that his friend enjoyed the impromptu dinner , and promised to come again , but John was angry , though he did not show it , he felt that XXXXX had deserted him in his hour of need .
John Lotty Meg Mother Scott hunters left light pinafore short-comings