hich to anoint her sunburned face, she
heard a soft little sob from Mary's bed.

Immediately her sympathies were aroused. Mary was far from home and
mother. What if she had done wrong? She was alone among comparative
strangers and who knew the exact truth of yesterday's proceedings? She
crept softly to Mary's bedside. Her cousin's face was buried in the
pillow, and she was shaking with sobs. Molly leaned over her. "Are
you sick, Mary?" she whispered, "Do you want me to call Aunt Ada?"

"No," came feebly from Mary.

"Is anything the matter? Please tell me. I'll get into bed with you."
And suiting the action to the word she slipped in beside Mary, putting
a sympathetic arm around her. "What is it?" she repeated.

Only sobs from Mary.

"Please tell," persisted Molly.

"Oh, I can't, I can't," said Mary, her tears flowing fast.

"I won't tell a soul. I cross my heart I won't."

Mary checked her sobs a little as she gave heed to the earnest promise.
It was a relief to have Molly's comforting presence near by there in
the dark. But in a moment her tears gushed forth again. "I want my
mother, oh, I want my mother," she wailed.

"Are you so homesick? Is that it?" asked Molly with concern. "Never
mind, Mary, you'll see your father soon, and--and--I'm sorry," she
whispered, "I'm sorry we were horrid to you. Is that why you are
homesick, because Polly and I weren't nice to you?"

"Oh, n-no, it isn't that," replied Mary. "I deserved it, Molly, but
oh, you won't tell, you won't tell, will you?"

"Tell what?"

"Oh, Molly, I've lost Aunt Ada's diamond pin, and I can't find it.
I've looked and looked and Ellis Dixon helped me, too. I thought if it
had been found we would know by this time. That is why we went over to
Green Island."

"Then you did go with Ellis."

"Yes, he came along while I was looking for the brooch, after you had
all gone sailing, and he offered to take me to Green Island in his
brother's boat, and when we got there the postmaster put up a notice in
the post-office and we looked all over the hall everywhere, and all
along the road and asked every one we met, but it was no use, and now I
am afraid to tell Aunt Ada, and diamonds cost so much I could never buy
another like it." It was a relief to Mary to thus unburden herself.

"I don't seem to remember exactly about the pin," said Molly. "Aunt
Ada is always getting some pretty new thing, but I don't believe she
showed me any diamo