as if you might
die at any moment."

"Well, yesterday is not to-day," she snapped. "I'm much better, so if
you'll come back, I'll give you the basket you left here."

When they had reached the house and entered the kitchen, Miss Arabella,
instead of getting the basket, sat down upon a splint-bottom chair, and
began to take off her wraps. Rod stood in the middle of the room and
watched her without saying a word. When the hat and shawl had been
removed and laid carefully upon the table, the woman turned to the boy.

"You told me yesterday," she began, "that you are a scout. Is that so?"

"Yes, Miss Arabella."

"But where is your scout suit?"

"I haven't it yet, and I can't get it until I have the money."

"Well, that's just what I want to speak about. Look here, Rod, you're
not such a bad boy after all, even though you did put a toad in my lap,
and drop that key down my neck. Now, I've made up my mind to help you.
I'm going to give you your suit, see?"

Rod started, while, an expression of joy leaped into his eyes. He was
about to speak, when he suddenly hesitated, and his face grew grave.

"What's the matter?" Miss Arabella demanded, noticing his embarrassed
manner.

"I--I can't take it," he stammered.

"And why not? I'd like to know."

"'Cos I have to earn the money myself, and if you give me the suit it
won't be fair."

"Oh, rubbish! What's the difference?" was the disgusted reply. "The
other scouts will have their suits given to them, and why shouldn't
you? I don't want them to get ahead of you."

"But they've got to earn their own money, Miss Arabella, and they'll
have to tell how they earned it, too. Captain Josh won't let them wear
their suits unless they do."

"H'm, is that so? Well, I call it a queer arrangement. How do you
expect to earn yours?" and the woman looked keenly at the boy.

"I don't know. I've been thinking over it a lot. If I only knew some
way, I would work so hard. Haven't you anything for me to do, Miss
Arabella? I would run errands, carry in wood and water, or do anything
else."

"No, there's nothing like that you could do around here. Tom is
supposed to look after such things, and I don't want to take his jobs
from him. He does little enough as it is, dear knows. He spends so
much of his time at the store that he won't look after the garden. The
strawberries are getting ripe, and I expect they'll rot before he'll
touch them. I never saw such a man.