ellie did come over and the three children had a wonderful time with
the new toys and the clean white sand, while Brownie slept comfortably
under the tree. Before Nellie was ready to go home, however, a thunder
storm came up and her mother called her to come in. Mother Morrison
came out and helped Brother and Sister to carry their box into the
barn, where the sand would not get wet.

"You don't want to play with the sandbox all the time, dearies," she
said, leading the way back to the house. "If you play too steadily with
anything, presently you will find that you are growing tired of it. Now
play on the porch, or find something nice to do in the house, and
tomorrow Jimmie will put the box under the tree again for you."

It was very warm and sticky, and Sister tumbled into the comfortable
porch swing, meaning to stay there just a few minutes. She fell asleep
and slept all through the storm, waking up a little cross, as one is
apt to do on a hot summer afternoon. The rain had stopped and Brother
had gone over to see Grandmother Hastings.

"Hello, Sister," Louise greeted her when she raised a flushed, warm
face and touseled hair from the canvas cushions. "You've had a fine
nap. Want me to go upstairs with you and help you find a clean dress?"

"No," said Sister a bit crossly.

"You'll feel much better, honey, when your face is washed and you have
on a thinner frock," urged Louise, putting down her knitting. "Come
upstairs like a good girl, and I'll tell you what I saw Miss Putnam
doing as I came past her house this afternoon."

Sister toiled upstairs after Louise, feeling much abused. She had not
intended to take a nap, and now here she had slept away good playtime
and was certainly warmer and more uncomfortable than she had been
before she went to sleep.

But after Louise had bathed her face and hands in cool water and had
brushed her hair and buttoned her into a pretty white dress with blue
spots, Sister was her own sunny self. She had not been thoroughly
awake, you see, and that was the reason she felt a little cross.

"What was Miss Putnam doing?" she asked curiously, watching Louise fold
up the frock she had taken off.

"She was out in her yard nailing something on the fence," said Louise.
"I saw her when I was a block away, hammering as though her life
depended on it. A crowd of boys were watching her--at a safe
distance--and when I came near enough I saw she had a roll of wire in
the yard. She was nailing