e face.

"Yes, miss," said Bella, blushing too.

"I am sorry, darling, but I came out without my purse. I haven't a penny
with me."

"Oh!" there was deep disappointment in the little invalid's tone.

Bella picked out the nicest bunch she had left. "Will you please to
accept one?" she asked, blushing again, but very prettily. "I grew them
myself. Will you take one, miss?"

The lady looked pleased, yet embarrassed. "It is very, very kind of you,"
she said, hesitating, "but I hardly like to. It seems almost like asking
for them, and I expect you wanted to sell them?"

"We have sold a lot, nearly all we brought in. Please take them, ma'am;"
and the lady, feeling it would give Bella more pleasure to have them
accepted as a gift than paid for, did so with many thanks, and the little
lady's delight was the richest payment Bella had had that day.

"Oh, thank you, thank you very much!" she cried delightedly, pressing the
flowers to her pale face and breathing in the scent. "Do you come here
often with flowers?"

"This is the first time," said Bella; "but we want to have some to bring
every week. We've sold all we brought but these."

The lady looked in her basket. "If only I had my purse with me I should
be glad to have those from you. Do you mind coming back to my house with
me? It is not very far."

"No, ma'am, we'll come, but,"--Bella hesitated, wanting to say something,
yet hardly knowing how to--"but if you don't want to go back, and--and if
you like to take them, we'll trust--I mean, next week will do." It was
out at last, amid a great deal of blushing.

The lady smiled. "Well, that is very thoughtful of you, and if you are
sure you don't mind trusting me I shall be much obliged to you, for I have
to be at my mother's house at one o'clock, and I think it must be that
now. Stella, darling, you would like to carry the flowers, wouldn't you?
That's it. Then I owe you fourpence for two twopenny bunches. I will not
forget. Perhaps I shall see you here at this same place at the same time
next week?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good-morning, and thank you."

"Good-morning, ma'am," they both answered; and the little invalid called
back gratefully, "Good-bye, and thank you ever so much for my lovely
flowers."

"Now," said Tom excitedly, "all we've got to do is to walk home."

"When we've got the children's walking-sticks," corrected Bella, and they
both hurried down to the market-house to get them.

"We