one must stop somewhere. A line must be found; inside or
outside of her bed of hyacinths, Matilda wondered? She did not press
her doubts, though she did not forget them; and the talk passed on to
other things. Nothing could be more delightful than that evening, she
thought.

The next day there was charming work to be done. Norton was to take her
by the early train the morning after to go to Poughkeepsie; and Matilda
was to prepare to-day a basket of fruit, and get ready some little
presents to take to her sister. The day was swallowed up in these
delights; and the next day, the day of the journey, was one long dream
of pleasure. The ride to the station, the hour in the cars, or less
than an hour; but the variety of new sights and sensations made it seem
long; the view of a new place; the joyful visit to Maria, and the
uncommonly jolly dinner the three had together at a good restaurant,
made a time of unequalled delight. Only Maria looked gloomy, Matilda
thought; even a little discomposed at so much pleasure coming to her
little sister and missing _her_. And in this feeling, Matilda feared,
Maria lost half the good of the play-day that had come to her. However,
nothing could spoil it for the other two; and Matilda came home in the
cars towards nightfall again with a heart full of content. Only a pang
darted through her, as they were driving home under the stars, at the
thought how many days of her fortnight were already gone. Matilda did
not know it was to be a month.

They found Mrs. Laval in perplexity.

"I wish, Norton," she said, "that you would go and bring the doctor
here immediately. The two women are ailing now, and the men are quite
ill. I don't know what to do. York is gone to town, you know, to look
after the interest on his bonds; and Francis demanded permission this
afternoon to go and see his father who is dying. I have no one to send
for anything. I could not keep Francis, and I do not believe he would
have been kept."

"Who's to look after the horses, mamma?"

"I don't know. You must find some one, for a day or so. You must do
that too, to-night."

Norton went and came back, and the evening passed as gayly as ever;
York's absence being made up by the services of the children, which,
Mrs. Laval said, were much better. Matilda made toast at the fire, and
poured out tea; and Norton managed the tea-kettle and buttered the
toast, and fetched and carried generally; and they had a merry time.
But the nex