ach are they?"

"Tuppence the roses, and a penny the mignonette, ma'am," said Bella.

"There is my money," said the sweet-pea lady, handing her a shilling.

"And there is my threepence," said the mignonette lady. "Do you come
every week with flowers?"

"I am going to try to, ma'am," said Bella. "This is the first time I've
been."

"Well, if you will call at my house when you come, I dare say I shall
often be glad to have some of your flowers."

Bella's face brightened. She was so glad she would have this kind,
friendly lady to go to; it would be splendid, too, to have a regular
customer. That was what Aunt Maggie had hoped she would get.

"I live in the house next to the church. Do you remember passing a church
at the top of the street, just as you come in to Norton?"

"Oh yes!" Bella and Tom exclaimed together. "We stopped by it to arrange
our flowers."

"Well, the house next to it is mine. You won't forget, will you?
Mrs. Watson, No. I High Street."

"Oh no, we shan't forget," they both answered her earnestly. "As if we
could," said Tom, as he watched their two customers disappearing down the
street. "I wish we could meet with some more customers like them."

Half an hour went by without bringing them another of any kind.
The fact was, they were so shy they stood back in a quiet corner, where
they were hidden by the crowd from any likely customers.

"I'm afraid the flowers will begin to droop, if we don't sell them soon,"
said Bella at last; and the thought spurred her into going up to a house
near by and knocking at the door.

"Please, do you want any flowers?" she asked timidly of the rather
grim-looking woman who came to the door.

"No, I don't," snapped the woman crossly. "The idea of bringing me to the
door for nothing! Anybody'd think I'd got nothing else to do!"
And the door was shut in Bella's face with a bang.

"Doesn't it make a difference how anybody speaks?" said Tom, receiving
unconsciously a lesson in good manners and bad that he never forgot to the
end of his life. But the woman's bad manners and temper had affected
Bella so strongly that her eyes had filled with tears, and the little
courage she had had ebbed away.

"I shall know now what it feels like to be spoken to so," she said in a
husky voice, as she hastily wiped her eyes.

"Flowers, ma'am? Tuppence and a penny a bunch. Fresh this morning," said
Tom brightly.

An old lady was peering closely into his basket, e