th
under his brigand's mustache. "The leetla T'eressa ees seek?"

"Oh, no, Mr. Maroni!" denied Tess, with a sigh. "I am very well. But I
feel very bad in my mind. They are going to close the Women's and
Children's Hospital and my friend, Mrs. Eland, who is the matron, will
have no place to go."

Joe looked a little puzzled, for although Maria and some of her brothers
and sisters went to school, their father did not understand or speak
English very well. Tess patiently explained about the good work the
hospital did and why Mrs. Eland was in danger of losing her position.

"Too bad-a! si! si!" ejaculated the sympathetic Italian. "We mak-a da
good mon' now. We geev somet'ing to da hospital for da poor leetla
children--_si! si!_"

"Oh, will you, Mr. Maroni?" cried Tess. "Ruth says there ought to be a
fund started for the hospital. I'll tell her you'll give to it."

"Sure! you tell-a leetla padrona. Joe geeve--sure!"

"Oh, Dot! we can int'rest lots of folks--just as Ruth said," Tess
declared, as the two little girls wended their way homeward. "We'll talk
to everybody we know about the hospital and Mrs. Eland."

To this end Tess even opened the subject with Uncle Rufus' daughter,
Petunia Blossom, who chanced to be at the old Corner House when Tess and
Dot arrived, delivering the clothes which she washed each week for the
Kenways.

Petunia Blossom was an immensely fat negress--and most awfully black.
Uncle Rufus often said: "How come Pechunia so brack is de mysteriest
mystery dat evah was. She done favah none o' ma folkses, nor her
mammy's. She harks back t' some ol' antsistah dat was suttenly mighty
brack--yaas'm!"

"I dunno as I kin spar' anyt'ing fo' dis hospital, honey," Petunia said,
seriously, when Tess broached the subject. "It's a-costin' me a lot t'
keep up ma dues wid de Daughters of Miriam."

"What's the Daughters of Miriam, Petunia?" asked Agnes, who chanced to
overhear this conversation on the back porch. "Is it a lodge?"

"Hit's mo' dan a lodge, Miss Aggie," proclaimed Petunia, with pride.
"It's a beneficial ordah--yaas'm!"

"And what benefit do you derive from it?" queried Agnes.

"Why, I doesn't git nottin' f'om it yet awhile, honey," said Petunia,
unctiously. "But w'en I's daid, I gits one hunderd an' fifty dollahs.
Same time, dey's 'bleeged t' tend ma funeral."

"Dat brack woman suah is a flickaty female," grumbled Uncle Rufus, when
he heard Agnes repeating the story of Petunia's "benefit" to