ering stars shed their light upon the spire.

"Uncle thinks I'm a goose to have such silly notions," pondered Dorry,
taking very long steps so as to keep up with her companions, who, by the
way, were taking very short steps to keep pace with Dorry. "But I can't
help my feelings. It really is true. I hate to stand on high places,
like roofs and precipices." Finally, she spoke:

"Uncle George, didn't you ever hear of other persons having that
feeling?"

"What feeling, Dorothy?"

How sternly Mr. Reed said it! Surely he could not blame the poor girl
for asking so natural a question as that? No. But the incident had
saddened him strangely, and he was unconscious of the severity of his
tone, until Dorothy's hesitating manner changed the current of his
thoughts.

"Why--why, the--" she began, adding: "Oh, it doesn't matter, Uncle. I
suppose I am foolish to ask such questions. But Don is ever so much
steadier-headed than I am--aren't you, Don? I do believe he'd like to
stand on the top of that telegraph-pole, if he could get there."

"There's no 'if' about that," said Donald, jokingly. "It's a mere
question of time. Provided a fellow can climb a pole at all, a little
more height makes no difference. Why, if I hadn't on my crack suit, I'd
ask you and Uncle to wait and let me have a try at it."

"Oho!" laughed Dorry: "'crack' suit is slang; so is 'have a try'. Five
cents apiece. That's ten cents fine for you, sir! Well, we ought to be
thankful he hasn't on his old clothes, Uncle! Ahem! The 'crack' would be
in the head then, instead of the suit, I'm afraid."

"Poor joke!" retorted Don; "ten cents fine for _you_, young lady."

Thus the party walked on, the light-hearted D's bantering each other
with many laughing sallies, feeling confident that their uncle enjoyed
it exceedingly.

And so he did; yet all the while he was thinking:

"Strange! Every day something new--something that reminds me of poor
Kate. Now it's this dread of standing on high places; what will it be
to-morrow? And yet, as the child herself intimates, many other persons
have the same feeling. Now I think upon it, it's the commonest thing in
the world."

CHAPTER XIII.

DONALD AND DOROTHY ENTERTAIN FANDY.

IN a few days after the visit to town, Mr. Reed received a letter, very
dingy on the outside and very remarkable within. It was brought by one
of the little Danby boys, and it read as follows:

"GEORGE REED ESQUIR.

"