not care at all about it.

She just sat on the stone bench with her little pink hands folded on
her blue checked apron, and looked at the children in their prettiest
clothes, and at the babies, and at the parasols.

She loved so to look, and she loved so to listen to the pretty gay
music that she did not notice that a lady had come to the stone bench,
and had seated herself just where Sister Helen Vincula had sat before
she went to see the ladies and to tell them Good-bye.

There were many other ladies on the Mall, and many ladies passed in
their walk by the stone bench where Bessie Bell and the lady sat.

Everybody loved to come to the Mall in the afternoon when the band
played. Everybody loved to hear the gay music. Everybody loved to see
the children in their prettiest clothes, and to see all the nurses
rolling the babies in the carriages with the pretty parasols.

And one of the ladies passing by looked over to the stone bench where
Bessie Bell sat with her hands folded on her blue checked apron, and
where the lady had seated herself just as Sister Helen Vincula had sat
before she went across the long bridge.

And the lady said, as she passed by and looked: "Striking likeness."

Another lady with her said: "Wonderful!"

And another one with them said: "Impossible! But strange indeed--"

Bessie Bell did not notice what the ladies said, but because they
looked so attentively to where she sat on the stone bench her attention
was turned the way their eyes turned as they talked in low tones and
looked attentively passing by.

So when they had passed by, Bessie Bell turned and looked to the other
end of the bench where the lady sat.

Bessie Bell was so surprised at the first look that she hardly knew
what to think.

The lady did not look like Sister Helen Vincula, oh, not at all; but
the veil that she wore was soft and black like that that Sister Helen
Vincula wore. The dress that the lady wore was black also, but it
looked as if it were stiff and very crisp, and not soft like the dress
that Sister Helen Vincula wore. Bessie Bell did not mean to be rude,
but she reached out one tiny hand and took hold of the lady's dress,
just a tiny pinch of it.

Yes, it was very crisp.

Then the lady turned and looked at Bessie Bell.

Then Bessie Bell was still more surprised, for there was something
white under her veil. Not white all round the face like that Sister
Helen Vincula wore, but soft crinkly white just