re than I have of that
colour. I don't know anything about taking care of babies, nor half what
you do about cooking and marketing."

Elizabeth stared, her mouth half open, her eyes widened in incredulous
wonder. "But--but," she faltered, "I guess there's some mistake. Just
housework and things like that ain't anything to get beads for--are
they?"

"They are _that_! I tell you Mrs. Royall will give you twelve honours
and twelve yellow beads at the next Council Fire, and if you half try
you can win some blue and brown and red ones too before that, and you've
just _got to do it_. Do you understand?"

The other nodded, her eyes full of dumb misery. Then she began to
whimper, "I--I--can't ever do things like you and the rest do," she
moaned.

"Why not? You can walk, can't you?"

"W--walk?"

"Yes--_walk_! Didn't hurt you to walk to the village yesterday, did it?"

"No--but I couldn't go--alone."

"Who said anything about going alone? You'll walk to Slabtown and back
with me to-morrow."

"O, I'd like that--with you," said the Poor Thing, brightening.

Olga gave an impatient sniff. Sometimes she almost hated
Elizabeth--almost but not quite.

"You'll go with me to-morrow," she declared, "but next day you'll go
with some other girl."

Elizabeth shrank into herself, shaking her head.

Olga eyed her sternly. "Very well--if you won't go with some other girl,
you can't go with me to-morrow," she declared.

But the next day after breakfast the two set off for Slabtown. Halfway
there, Elizabeth suddenly crumpled up and dropped in a limp heap by the
roadside.

"What's the matter?" Olga demanded, standing over her.

Elizabeth lifted tired eyes. "I don't know. You walked so--fast," she
panted.

"Fast!" echoed Olga scornfully; but she sat on a stone wall and waited
until a little colour had crept back into the other girl's thin cheeks,
and went at a slower pace afterwards.

"There! Do that every day for a week and you'll have one of your red
beads," was her comment when they were back at camp. "And now go lie in
that hammock."

When from the kitchen she brought a glass of milk and some crackers, she
found Elizabeth sitting on the ground.

"Why didn't you get into the hammock as I told you?" she demanded, and
the Poor Thing answered vaguely that she "thought maybe they wouldn't
want" her to.

Olga poked the milk at her. "Drink it!" she ordered, "and eat those
crackers," and when Elizabeth had obeyed, added, "N