.

"Yes, dreadfully, but I'm better now, so walk along with me and tell me
the news, Rod."

"There isn't much news. Ivory told you I'd left school and am studying
at home? He helps me evenings and I'm 'way ahead of the class."

"No, Ivory didn't tell me. I haven't seen him lately."

"I said if the big brother kept school, the little brother ought to keep
house," laughed the boy.

"He says I can hire out as a cook pretty soon! Aunt Boynton's 'most
always up to get dinner and supper, but I can make lots of things now,--
things that Aunt Boynton can eat, too."

"Oh, I cannot bear to have you and Ivory cooking for yourselves!"
exclaimed Waitstill, the tears starting again from her eyes. "I must
come over the next time when you are at home, Rod, and I can help you
make something nice for supper.

"We get along pretty well," said Rodman contentedly. "I love
book-learning like Ivory and I'm going to be a schoolmaster or a
preacher when Ivory's a lawyer. Do you think Patty'd like a schoolmaster
or a preacher best, and do you think I'd be too young to marry her by
and by, if she would wait for me?"

"I didn't think you had any idea of marrying Patty," laughed Waitstill
through her tears. "Is this something new?"

"It's not exactly new," said Rod, jumping along like a squirrel in the
path. "Nobody could look at Patty and not think about marrying her.
I'd love to marry you, too, but you re too big and grand for a boy. Of
course, I'm not going to ask Patty yet. Ivory said once you should never
ask a girl until you can keep her like a queen; then after a minute
he said: 'Well, maybe not quite like a queen, Rod, for that would mean
longer than a man could wait. Shall we say until he could keep her like
the dearest lady in the land?' That 's the way he said it.--You do cry
dreadfully easy to-day, Waity; I'm sure you barked your leg or skinned
your knee when you fell down.--Don't you think the 'dearest lady in the
land' is a nice-sounding sentence?"

"I do, indeed!" cried Waitstill to herself as she turned the words over
and over trying to feed her hungry heart with them.

"I love to hear Ivory talk; it's like the stories in the books. We have
our best times in the barn, for I'm helping with the milking, now. Our
yellow cow's name is Molly and the red cow used to be Dolly, but we
changed her to Golly, 'cause she's so troublesome. Molly's an easy cow
to milk and I can get almost all there is, though Ivory comes after me
an