er shy;
but she sought for no chances of display and was, indeed, remarkably
lacking in self-consciousness, as well as eager to bring others into
whatever fun or entertainment there was. If wherever the MacGregor sat
was the head of the table, so in the same way wherever Rebecca stood
was the centre of the stage. Her clear high treble soared above all the
rest in the choruses, and somehow everybody watched her, took note of
her gestures, her whole-souled singing, her irrepressible enthusiasm.

Finally it was all over, and it seemed to Rebecca as if she should
never be cool and calm again, as she loitered on the homeward path.
There would be no lessons to learn to-night, and the vision of helping
with the preserves on the morrow had no terrors for her--fears could
not draw breath in the radiance that flooded her soul. There were thick
gathering clouds in the sky, but she took no note of them save to be
glad that she could raise her sunshade. She did not tread the solid
ground at all, or have any sense of belonging to the common human
family, until she entered the side yard of the brick house and saw her
aunt Miranda standing in the open doorway. Then with a rush she came
back to earth.

IX

ASHES OF ROSES

"There she is, over an hour late; a little more an' she'd 'a' been
caught in a thunder shower, but she'd never look ahead," said Miranda
to Jane; "and added to all her other iniquities, if she ain't rigged
out in that new dress, steppin' along with her father's dancin'-school
steps, and swingin' her parasol for all the world as if she was
play-actin'. Now I'm the oldest, Jane, an' I intend to have my say out;
if you don't like it you can go into the kitchen till it's over. Step
right in here, Rebecca; I want to talk to you. What did you put on that
good new dress for, on a school day, without permission?"

"I had intended to ask you at noontime, but you weren't at home, so I
couldn't," began Rebecca.

"You did no such a thing; you put it on because you was left alone,
though you knew well enough I wouldn't have let you."

"If I'd been CERTAIN you wouldn't have let me I'd never have done it,"
said Rebecca, trying to be truthful; "but I wasn't CERTAIN, and it was
worth risking. I thought perhaps you might, if you knew it was almost a
real exhibition at school."

"Exhibition!" exclaimed Miranda scornfully; "you are exhibition enough
by yourself, I should say. Was you exhibitin' your parasol?"

"The parasol