keep her as long
as he had Mr. Raymond's horse. Diamond's father could not help thinking
that it was a pretty close bargain and so it was. Mr. Raymond wanted to
find out if Diamond's father was the kind of man who was willing to help
some one else without getting any advantage out of it for himself. Then
it would be worth while to help _him_. Diamond's father was that kind of
a man. So when he heard all about Nanny, he decided to accept Mr.
Raymond's offer and do the best he could.

Nanny was not fit to be moved for some time yet and Diamond went to see
her as often as he could. But he went out to drive old Diamond every day
now for a few hours at least. Then he had to help mind his baby brother
for part of the time. So he did not go to the hospital as often as he
would have liked. When he did go, he sat by Nanny's bed and told her all
that had happened to him since he had been there before. In her turn
Nanny would tell him of what went on in the hospital--what visitors they
had and things like that.

"Day before yesterday," said Nanny one day, "a lady came to see us. She
was a very beautiful lady. She sat down beside my bed and let me stroke
her hand. She had on a most beautiful ring with a rich red stone in it.
When she saw me looking at it, she slipped it off her finger and put it
on mine. She said I might wear her lovely ruby for a little while if it
would make me happy."

"Her ruby!" cried Diamond. "How funny that is! Our new horse's name is
Ruby. And we took him so that we could take you to live with us, while
you are getting strong again. I do believe a ruby is for good luck!"

"It did me good right then," said Nanny. "For that night I had such a
lovely dream. It began with a red sunset like my darling ruby ring. Then
somehow a wind came out of it and blew me along out of the dirty streets
into a yard with a lovely lawn of soft grass."

"That was North Wind, I know!" cried Diamond. "That is what she does to
me."

"I do not know what you mean," said Nanny. "I do not know anything about
North Wind. But all at once there was no more ruby sunset but a great
golden moon hanging very low and seeming to be shining just to be good
to me. It was easy, I suppose, for me to dream about the moon. I've
always been used to watching her. She was the only thing worth looking
at in our street, at night."

"Don't call it your street," said Diamond. "You are not going back to
it. You are coming to us, you know."

"That is