rd of hope and comfort in her ear, and
then left the room; and a moment later the sound of the house-door told
that he had gone out.

Gradually the twilight grew dimmer and dimmer in the little room; and as
the dusky shadows, which had been lurking in the corners, began to creep
out across the floor and walls and ceiling, Mrs. Goodman fell into a
peaceful sleep.

But little Grace sat quite still on the floor, gazing at the Indian
cabinet.

It was a large and handsome piece of furniture made of ebony, which
looked beautifully black and shiny; and the folding doors in front were
carved in a wonderful fashion, and inlaid with cunning silver tracery.
The carvings on these doors had always been Grace's special delight;
they had served as her picture books and toys since her earliest
remembrance, and she knew every line of them by heart. All the birds,
and beasts, and curly snakes were old friends; but Grace paid little
attention to any of them just now. All her thoughts were given to the
central piece of carving, half of which was on each of the doors of the
cabinet.

This centre piece was carved into the form of an Indian temple, with
cupolas and towers of raised work; and in front of the temple door there
sat the figure of a solemn looking Indian priest.

Of all Grace's toy friends this priest was the oldest and dearest, and
as she looked at him now, the tears began to gather in her eyes at the
thought of parting with him. And no wonder. He was really a most
delightful little old man. His long beard was made of hair-like silver
wire, the whites of his eyes were little specks of inlaid ivory, and in
his hand he balanced a small bar of solid gold, which did duty as the
latch of the cabinet doors.

Grace gazed at the priest long and lovingly, and at last, shuffling a
little nearer to the cabinet, she whispered: "I don't like saying
'good-bye' a bit. I wish you needn't go away. Don't you think you might
stay after all if you liked, and help mother to get well in some other
way? You belong to a magic cabinet, so I suppose you are a magic priest,
and can do all sorts of wonderful things if you choose."

The priest nodded gravely.

Then, of course, Grace gave a sudden jump, and started away from the
cabinet with a rather frightened look on her face.

It was one thing to talk to this little carved wooden figure in play,
and make believe that he was a real live magic priest, but it was quite
another to find him nodding