ns to stop and ask you to go to a sale with him next
week. He said you mentioned some time ago that you'd like to go to a
real old-fashioned one and he heard of one coming off next week and
thought you might like to go."

"I surely want to go. Don't you want to come, too, David? And Mother
Bab?"

But David shook his head. "And spoil Phares's party," he said. "Phares
wouldn't thank us."

Phoebe shrugged her shoulders. "Ach, David Eby, you're silly! Just as
though I want to go to a sale all alone with Phares! He can take the big
carriage and take us all."

"He can but he won't want to." David showed an irritating wisdom. "When
I invite you to come on a party with me I won't want Phares tagging
after, either. Two's company."

"Two's boredom sometimes," she said so ambiguously that the man laughed
heartily and Mother Bab smiled in amusement.

"Come now, Phoebe," David said, "just because you put your hair up you
mustn't think you can rule us all and don grown-up airs."

"Then you do notice things! I thought you were blind. You are downright
mean, David Eby! When you wore your first pair of long pants I noticed
it right away and made a fuss about them and it takes you ten minutes to
see that my hair is up instead of hanging in a silly braid down my
back."

"I saw it first thing, Phoebe. That was mean--I'm sorry----"

"You look it," she said sceptically.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, "to see the braid go, though you look fine
this way. I liked that long braid ever since the day I braided it, the
day you played prima donna. Remember?"

The girl flushed, then was vexed at her embarrassment and changed
suddenly to the old, appealing Phoebe.

"I remember, Davie. You were my salvation that day, you and Mother Bab."

Before they could answer she added with seeming innocency, yet with a
swift glance into the face of the farmer boy, "I must go now so I'll be
home when Phares comes to invite me to that sale. I'm going with him;
I'm wild to go."

"Yes?" David said slowly.

"Yes," she repeated, a teasing look in her eyes.

"Mommie, isn't she fine?" David said after Phoebe was gone and he
lingered in the house.

"Mighty fine. But she is so different from the general run of girls;
she's so lively and bright and sweet, so sensitive to all impressions.
She's anxious to get to the city to study music. It would be a wonderful
experience for her--and yet----"

"And yet----" echoed David, then fell into silence.

Mother B