her eyes.
Poor Anne, her splendid dreams had come to nothing.

In her own desire to clean her soul by confession, she had forgotten
Anne! Of course she could not tell Aunt Sabrina--at least not now.
She must wait, as Anne had asked.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,"
Nancy repeated, bitterly, feeling as though the web she had made was
tying her hand and foot.

B'lindy, looking in from the kitchen, saw her. B'lindy's face was
strangely brightened; she gave a mysterious crook to her finger as she
beckoned to Nancy to come into the kitchen.

"I set some coffee by for you--I guessed you'd be tuckered out after
yesterday, ridin' round in that storm and then findin' the wallet was
'nough to tucker anybody." Before she poured the coffee she closed the
door leading into the front of the house. "Miss Nancy, there's been
more changes in Happy House even than findin' that wallet!"

"What do you mean, B'lindy?"

B'lindy leaned a radiant face over Nancy.

"It's Miss Sabriny--she's been just like she was born again! I guess
folks won't know her. And you'll never guess what we're goin' to have
up here. _A baby!_"

Nancy was frankly astonished. Then B'lindy told her what, in the
excitement of the afternoon before, she had not heard--of finding the
baby and Davy's note.

"I guess that little mite opened up somethin' that was all dried up in
Sabriny Leavitt's heart! Seems while we was all fussin' over the mess
in the settin' room Davy Hopworth come up after that baby lookin' like
he'd been scared to death. And then this mornin' Sabriny Leavitt comes
to me 'n asks me to go down to Timothy Hopkins with her while she asks
him for that baby back. Well, we went--she couldn't even wait for me
to pick up. And Timothy Hopkins refused her _flat_! You wouldn't have
believed your ears, Nancy, Sabriny Leavitt took most to cryin' and she
told him how lonesome it was up to Happy House and how her whole life
'd been wasted 'cause she'd never done for others and he'd be doin' a
kindness to an old woman to let her take the baby and do for it. But
it wa'n't until she'd promised that she'd just sort o' bring him up and
he could always go home and play with the nine others, and the nine o'
them could come to Happy House's often as they wanted that he'd as much
as listen. So we're goin' to have a baby!" B'lindy said it with
unconcealed triumph. "Cunnin' little thing--smart's can be. You
should