door to find Blish,
whom she scolded most vigorously, much to his astonishment and
consternation, for he could not remember a thing he had done or left
undone within the last twenty-four hours, since the last scolding, to
be scolded for.

Mandy had prepared such a supper for the Arethusa come back to them as
not even that much vaunted feast of the prodigal son, for all its
fatted calf, could equal. All of Arethusa's favorite dishes were on the
table, and it had been set with the company china. Then Mandy and Blish
and Nathan, also, came in a group to the door of the dining-room and
peeped in with good-natured dark faces stretched wide in brilliant
smiling, just to see her eat a few mouthfuls. They were so glad to have
her back at the Farm.

Arethusa choked up several times with all the homely kindnesses she
received. These dear people who loved her so, how much sweeter they
were to her than she at all deserved!

Immediately after supper, Miss Eliza made her niece go to bed. And
Arethusa went with such meekness and so altogether unprotesting, that
Miss Eliza trotted along up to her room with her, and felt anxiously of
her forehead for fever. She was quite positive now that the girl was
sick! She bustled around and helped Arethusa undress. She tucked her
tightly into the little wooden bed with its turned posts which had
always been Arethusa's very own, covering her clear up to her chin with
the blue and white squared "counterpin" Miss Letitia had made as a
surprise for Arethusa when she should come home. Then Miss Eliza blew
out the lamp, efficiently with one blow as always, bade Arethusa
peremptorily to go right straight to sleep, and left her. But very
unexpectedly, she came back after shutting the door, and trotted
briskly across the dark room to give Arethusa a quick little peck on
one cheek, which was Miss Eliza's only way of kissing, and to tell her
very gruffly that she was awfully glad Arethusa was at home again, and
she certainly hoped that she'd have sense enough to stay. Then she once
more bade her niece to go straight to sleep and once more departed.

But Arethusa could not go to sleep. She threw back the carefully tucked
in covers and got up out of bed, draping the new "counterpin" around
her shoulders, and paddled, bare-footed, over to that window of her
room which looked in the direction of Timothy's house. It was velvety
black over on that horizon, but Arethusa could find the place where the
house oug