r him. "Daddy, how can Mickey Gaffney earn
enough money to buy a whole pair of new shoes?"

"A whole pair of shoes?" repeated Daddy, laughing. "Why, Daughter, I
suppose a way can be found, if he must have them. Who is this Mickey
Gaffney?"

Sister told about Mickey, and Brother helped her, and when they had
finished, Daddy Morrison knew all about Mickey and his school troubles.

"Being red-headed and Irish, I don't suppose he will let me GIVE him
the money," he mused. "Let's see, what can a chap that age do? He must
be seven or eight years old--I've seen him hanging around the station,
ready to carry suitcases. I wonder if he couldn't help the boys with
the garden?"

"I'll pay him if he can weed," grinned Jimmie, who had been listening.
"And Ralph was saying last week that he wasn't going to have time to
take his turn at garden work--he wants to go in on an earlier train."

"All right, we'll tell Ralph that Mickey is open for an engagement,"
said Daddy Morrison. "We'll start him in the garden and then perhaps
other odd jobs will turn up."

"Dinner is ready, folks," called Mother Morrison, and they all went
into the dining-room.

"I want Mickey to earn a whole lot of money," declared Sister that
night as they were getting ready for bed. "Pulling weeds is such slow
work. He'll have to pull an awful lot to work an hour."

After Mother had kissed them good-night and put out the light, a big
idea came to Sister.

"I know what we'll do!" she asserted, sitting up in bed. "Listen,
Roddy, Ellis Carr said his father said Miss Putnam worked too hard.
Well, why can't Mickey help her?"

"Maybe he can," murmured Brother sleepily. "Only she wont like him,
'cause he's a boy."

CHAPTER XXI

BROTHER AND SISTER PAY A CALL

Sister's first thought in the morning was Mickey and Miss Putnam. "It's
too bad he is a boy," she admitted, referring to Mickey, "because Miss
Putnam doesn't like children. But if Mickey was grown up he wouldn't
have to have shoes to wear to school, because he wouldn't go to school."

"Sister, your reasoning is all right," Ralph praised her. "Perhaps you
will grow up to be a lawyer like your father and brothers."

"Oh, no," said Sister positively and sweetly. "When I grow up I'm going
to be a farmer."

After breakfast, she helped Brother clear the table and brush the
crumbs, and then she dragged him out to the porch steps to consult with
him.

"We have to go see Miss Putnam," she whispered