of their own town and pledged themselves to do all they
could for its welfare. So, as Mrs. Howard wished it, the Good
Neighbors gave up their club and joined the League.

They still considered themselves her boys, however, and a week seldom
passed in which some of them did not spend an hour with her. They owed
more than they knew to her companionship, for in varying degrees her
love for what was pure and true had left its impress on their
characters. Her interest in them had grown with their years, and she
looked forward with regret to the next winter, when most of them would
go away to school. She would miss their boyish devotion, and she
dreaded the temptations which they must so surely meet. Each one must
fight his own battle, she knew, and she had not much fear for quiet,
painstaking Will, or even for Carl, with all his faults; Ikey was
still a good deal of a child, conscientious and open-hearted; but
Aleck, with his brightness and indolence, and Jim, with his handsome
face, engaging ways, and money, gave her most concern.

Three years had brought about some changes. Little John's place was
vacant. A sudden sharp illness, and the frail life went out, leaving a
sweet and gentle memory, for John had helped in ways he did not dream
of. Every one of those merry girls and boys was more thoughtful and
tender for the association with him. Seeing the pleasure their
companionship gave him, they learned the value of simple friendliness.
Fred Ames had gone to Chicago to live, and this reduced the members of
the Order to ten, not counting, of course, the "Honoraries," as Miss
Brown and Aunt Zelie were called.

"I can't imagine what ails Jim," Carl remarked at the lunch table one
day, a week or two after Uncle William's birthday; "he wasn't at
school and when I stopped there on my way home the man said he
believed he had a headache and could not see anyone. That is not in
the least like Jim."

"I see nothing so strange in that. A headache can be a very serious
thing while it lasts," said his father.

"But if you had seen the man. He looked as if he were making it up."

"Much study has affected your imagination, Carl," laughed Cousin
Helen.

"And what is the matter with you, then, Cousin Helen? Who sent Aunt
Zelie a postal card with nothing on it but the address?" inquired
Louise.

This caused a laugh, for Miss Hazeltine was just now the target for
all the teasing her young relatives could contrive.

Always somewhat f