g for some flash of inspiration to light his
path, he blundered along, trusting to Providence.

Rebecca, comforted by the old man's tone, and timidly enjoying the
dignity of sitting in Mrs. Cobb's seat and lifting the blue china
teapot, smiled faintly, smoothed her hair, and dried her eyes.

"I suppose your mother'll be turrible glad to see you back again?"
queried Mr. Cobb.

A tiny fear--just a baby thing--in the bottom of Rebecca's heart
stirred and grew larger the moment it was touched with a question.

"She won't like it that I ran away, I s'pose, and she'll be sorry that
I couldn't please aunt Mirandy; but I'll make her understand, just as I
did you."

"I s'pose she was thinkin' o' your schoolin', lettin' you come down
here; but land! you can go to school in Temperance, I s'pose?"

"There's only two months' school now in Temperance, and the farm 's too
far from all the other schools."

"Oh well! there's other things in the world beside edjercation,"
responded uncle Jerry, attacking a piece of apple pie.

"Ye--es; though mother thought that was going to be the making of me,"
returned Rebecca sadly, giving a dry little sob as she tried to drink
her tea.

"It'll be nice for you to be all together again at the farm--such a
house full o' children!" remarked the dear old deceiver, who longed for
nothing so much as to cuddle and comfort the poor little creature.

"It's too full--that's the trouble. But I'll make Hannah come to
Riverboro in my place."

"S'pose Mirandy 'n' Jane'll have her? I should be 'most afraid they
wouldn't. They'll be kind o' mad at your goin' home, you know, and you
can't hardly blame 'em."

This was quite a new thought,--that the brick house might be closed to
Hannah, since she, Rebecca, had turned her back upon its cold
hospitality.

"How is this school down here in Riverboro--pretty good?" inquired
uncle Jerry, whose brain was working with an altogether unaccustomed
rapidity,--so much so that it almost terrified him.

"Oh, it's a splendid school! And Miss Dearborn is a splendid teacher!"

"You like her, do you? Well, you'd better believe she returns the
compliment. Mother was down to the store this afternoon buyin' liniment
for Seth Strout, an' she met Miss Dearborn on the bridge. They got to
talkin' 'bout school, for mother has summer-boarded a lot o' the
schoolmarms, an' likes 'em. 'How does the little Temperance girl git
along?' asks mother. 'Oh, she's the best scholar I have