imals--and I just guess I did see
circus-riders, too, in the parade!"

"Well, you'd have to dress up if you were a circus-rider 'cause they
have lots of fussy skirts and spangles and things--only they aren't very
clean most always. I saw one close to once. I'd rather have a lace shawl
and a beautiful watch like your mother's," put in Gertie.

"I don't care, I like horses and I just hate dolls they're so pokey,"
retorted Jane recklessly, rather floored by so much wisdom. "Let's play
our children are all taking a nap and go and get Ernest and do something
lively."

Katy pricked up her ears at the mention of Ernest's name, having no
brothers herself, she considered boys extremely interesting. She
promptly threw her cherished Rowena under a heap of doll clothes, and
was on her feet in an instant calling, "Come on."

Gentle little Gertie eyed her half undressed doll child ruefully.

"'Tisn't nice to leave them this way. You girls go on and I'll put
Minnie's nighty on and tuck her in."

Chicken Little shoved both doll and doll clothes unceremoniously into
the fence corner and was after Katy in a flash. Gertie lingered not only
to tuck away her own doll but to rescue the neglected playthings of the
others, and to put each doll child carefully to bed, with sundry
croonings and caresses. Then she followed slowly to the house.

Katy and Jane were already having troubles of their own. Ernest, who was
four years older than Jane, was deep in a book and deaf to all coaxing
and persuasion on the part of his gypsy-sister and her friend. He was
stretched on the floor in the embrasure of the dormer window, nursing
his face in his hands, his near-sighted eyes fairly boring into the
pages. He was a lanky, sober-faced boy with a trick of twisting a lock
of hair as he read that resulted in its perpetually hanging down in his
eyes to his great annoyance. The boy liked to be ship-shape and he made
manful attempts to let it alone. He plastered it down with bay-rum till
the family begged for mercy from the smell. It was even on record that
he once went so far as to dab it with glue with painful consequences.

Today he was so absorbed that he had almost twisted the offending lock
into a double bowknot and he heeded the children no more than flies.
Finally Katy audaciously grabbed his book away, and he came to life with
a growl.

"Here, drop that, infant, give me that book!"

He raised up on his elbow threateningly, but Katy, shaking he