r all!

The little mother came creeping out of the dining-room, and, seeing her
child's blanched face, was persistently optimistic. Absurd to give up
hope because a letter did not come by the first possible post! A
hundred things might have happened to cause a delay; and, even if it had
been posted in time, the post-office was not always infallible.

Mrs Farrell recalled stories of belated letters from her own
experience, and related them at length, while Mollie went numbly about
her work. The disappointment was severe, and seemed like a foretaste of
worse to come. Nevertheless, as time went on, her naturally buoyant
nature asserted itself, and, as each delivery drew near, excitement grew
to fever-pitch.

One o'clock, and a letter for the maid; three o'clock, and the postman
walked past the door. Poor Mollie! The sound of his departing
footsteps rang like a knell in her ears, and two hot rebellious tears
rose to her eyes. It did not seem possible that anything would have
prevented the kindly Mrs Thornton from keeping her promise except sheer
inability to communicate bad news; and bad news meant that her own name
and Ruth's were not mentioned in the will, and that everything went to
Victor Druce. Oh, it was hard to give up so much to so unworthy a
supplanter!

The children came home from school and settled down to their "prep."
Mrs Connor retired to her room for a rest, and Mollie took her way to
her stepfather's little den to set a match to the fire, and hold a
newspaper before it to make it blaze cheerily in preparation for his
return. It was one of the pleasures of the day to make the sanctum look
cheery and home-like for the tired man, and to-day there was an
additional impetus in the knowledge that he would share in her own
disappointment.

Mollie knelt by the grate, holding the newspaper in place--a tired,
disheartened little Cinderella, who would have liked to lay her head on
the table and indulge in a good cry. But such luxuries are not for the
brave-hearted; so she resolutely blinked away the rising tears, and,
rising to her feet, lighted the crimson-shaded lamp on the writing-
table. Its rosy light had a wonderfully beautifying effect on the
little room, giving an air of luxury to the commonplace furnishings; and
when the curtains were drawn, and the easy-chair drawn up to the fire,
it was as bright and cheerful a little interior as one need wish to see.

Mollie looked round with a glance of s