Her mouth had a trick of falling open over her tiny white teeth , and a shy , meditative smile occasionally crept over her small face . She was much more sensitive to public opinion than Faith , and had an uneasy consciousness that there was something askew in their way of living . She longed to put it right , but did not know how . Now and then she dusted the furniture -- but it was so seldom she could find the duster because it was never in the same place twice . And when the clothes-brush was to be found she tried to brush her father 's best suit on Saturdays , and once sewed on a missing button with coarse white thread . When Mr. Meredith went to church next day every female eye saw that button and the peace of the Ladies ' Aid was upset for weeks . Carl had the clear , bright , dark-blue eyes , fearless and direct , of his dead mother , and her brown hair with its glints of gold . He knew the secrets of bugs and had a sort of freemasonry with bees and beetles . Una never liked to sit near him because she never knew what uncanny creature might be secreted about him . Jerry refused to sleep with him because Carl had once taken a young garter snake to bed with him ; so Carl slept in his old cot , which was so short that he could never stretch out , and had strange bed-fellows . Perhaps it was just as well that Aunt Martha was half blind when she made that bed . Altogether they were a jolly , lovable little crew , and Cecilia Meredith 's heart must have ached bitterly when she faced the knowledge that she must leave them . `` Where would you like to be buried if you were a Methodist ? '' asked Faith cheerfully . This opened up an interesting field of speculation . `` There is n't much choice . The place is full , '' said Jerry . `` I 'D like that corner near the road , I guess . I could hear the teams going past and the people talking . '' `` I 'd like that little hollow under the weeping birch , '' said Una .
`` That birch is such a place for birds and they sing like mad XXXXX the mornings . ''
because for in like of on over that to under