and clap her
hands quite as much as Flaxie did, but you always knew when she was
happy by the glad look in her eyes.

"I hope you two little folks won't get into too much mischief at Laurel
Grove. Are you going to school?"

"Yes, sir; and oh, it's such an elegant schoolhouse!"

"Well, don't set it on fire."

Milly blushed.

"But the teacher isn't half so nice as Miss Pike."

The dear little girl had not been at Laurel Grove for a long while, but
all the people in town seemed to remember her,--Mr. Lane the minister,
Mr. Snow the postmaster, and everybody they met in the street. Her
father noticed how they smiled upon her, as if they loved her, and it
made his heart glad.

Preston drove his uncle and cousin home from the depot, but he almost
ran into a lumber-wagon, and Mr. Allen thought he was too young a boy to
be trusted with such a fiery horse as Whiz. Flaxie sat with him on the
front seat of the carriage, dancing up and down, and turning around to
say to Milly:

"Oh, I'm so happy I can't keep still." She looked like a bluebird, in
her blue dress and sash, with a white chip bonnet, blue ribbon and blue
feather, and Milly thought there was not another such girl in the world.

It was a charming place at Dr. Gray's, and the house was full of
beautiful things, such as Milly did not see at her own home; but that
never made her discontented or unhappy. If God gave Flaxie prettier
things than He gave her, it was because He thought best to do so, and
that was enough for Milly.

"O Aunt Emily, _are_ you glad to see me?" said she, as Mrs. Gray kissed
her over and over again.

"Yes, I'm just as glad as I can be, and I wish you were my own little
girl," said Mrs. Gray, who had five children already.

The "little bit-of-est" one was a year old now, and didn't know Milly at
all, but Phil know her and prattled away to her so fast that nobody else
could be heard.

That afternoon she and Flaxie were in the stable, feeding Whiz with
lumps of sugar, while the dog, Tantra Bogus, capered about them, giving
their cheeks a "thou-sand" kisses with his long, loving tongue.

"Stop, Tantra Bogus; now we'll have to go and wash our faces," said
Flaxie.

As they entered the kitchen by the outside door they met Mrs. Gray
standing there talking to Preston.

"Here is a cup of jelly," said she, "and I'd like to have you take it to
Sammy Proudfit."

This was Wednesday afternoon, and Preston was starting to go about half
a mile