another good," repeated Uncle Dick.

_CHAPTER IV_

_The Rhinestone Pin_

In spite of Miss Ada's efforts to bring the three little cousins nearer
together, it was some time before they actually did become real
friends: Mary, seeing that anything she could say against America
aroused a fierce contradiction from Polly, slyly teased her whenever
she could, and Polly, who was loyal to the backbone, grew more and more
indignant, often on the verge of tears, rushing to her aunt or uncle
with a tale of Mary's abuse of her beloved country.

"And her father is an American, too. I don't see how she can do it,"
she complained one morning. "She is half American herself, and I told
her so."

"What did she say?" asked Aunt Ada.

"She said she was born in England and so was her mother, so of course
she was English, and besides, although her father was once American,
that now he lives in England so he must be English, too. She makes fun
of everything, or at least she sniffs at us and our ways all the time.
Now, is that polite, Aunt Ada? I live in the west, but I'd be ashamed
to make fun of the east."

"I think Mary will learn better after awhile, when she has been here
longer."

"I wish I could show her what my mother wrote to me in the letter that
I had from her this morning," said Polly. Then, with a sudden thought.
"Aunt Ada, won't you read it aloud to all three of us?"

"Bring it to me," said Miss Ada, "and I will see."

Polly ran off and came back with the letter which her aunt read over
carefully, nodding approvingly from time to time. "Where are the
others?" she asked presently.

"Out on the porch," Polly told her.

Miss Ada picked up her knitting bag and Polly followed her to a
sheltered corner where Molly and Mary were playing with a store of
pebbles they had picked up on the shore.

"Polly has had such a nice letter from her mother," said Miss Ada.
"Don't you all want to hear it? She gives such interesting accounts of
things out there, and Mary will get quite an idea of ranch life from
it." She sat down and read the pages which were full of a pleasant
recital of every-day doings, interesting to those unaccustomed to the
great west, and more interesting to Polly. At the last came these
words:

"There is one thing I want my little girl to remember: the essence of
good breeding comes from a good heart. It is both unkind and ill-bred
to give offense in a house where hospitality is shown you, to f