effectually distracted
Faith from all other thoughts whatever. When it was done, she sat a
moment looking down at the paper, then looked up and gave him a very
frank and humble "Thank you, Mr. Linden!" from face and lips both.

If Faith liked approbation--that clover-honey to a woman's taste, so
far beyond the sickly sweets of flattery and admiration--she might have
been satisfied with the grave look of Mr. Linden's eyes at her then.

"You are a brave little child!" he said. "I wish I could do something
to give you a great deal of pleasure!"

"Pleasure!"--said Faith, and what was very rare with her, not only her
face flushed but her eyes, so that she turned them away,--"why it is
all pleasure to me, Mr. Linden!"--'Such pleasure as I never had
before,'--she was near saying, but she did not say.

"Well I must not let you tire yourself," he said with a smile, "for
that would not be pleasant to me. Have you been out to-day?"

"No," said Faith, thinking of her brown moreen.

"Nor yesterday--that will not do, Miss Faith. I am afraid I must give
you up to the open air for a good part of this afternoon."

"What shall I do there?" said Faith smiling.

"Let the wind take you a walk--I wish I could be of the party. But the
wind is good company, Miss Faith, and talks better than many
people,--and the walk you want."

"So I want to finish my wood-box," said Faith, looking at the corner of
the fireplace. "And I should think you would be tired of seeing the
wood lie there, Mr. Linden. I am. I have got to go out this evening
too--" she said with a little hesitation,--"to see that microscope."

Mr. Linden was silent a moment.

"The microscope does make some difference," he said,--"as for the
wood-box, Miss Faith, I don't think I can permit it to have any voice
in the matter,--you may leave it for me to finish. But if you are going
up there this evening--there are two or three things I should like to
talk to you about first."

"Then shall I come by and by?" she said. "I must do something else
before dinner."

CHAPTER XXIII.

"Well child!" said Mrs. Derrick as they took their seats at the
dinner-table, "what _have_ you been about all day? I've just spent the
morning looking over those apples, so I've had no chance to look you
up. How's Mr. Linden? does the doctor think he's getting better?"

"He is, I hope, mother; the doctor didn't say anything about it." And a
little shudder ran over Faith's shoulders, which sh