ow she has taken all my cotton ones away,
and--and I've _got_ to wear these, and it's--it's _awful_, it really is,
daddy," and poor Betty's eyes grew pink with tears.

"I know," said her father sympathetically. "I suffer in the same way
myself. Don't cry, child; it will be all right. I will explain to your
aunt."

But Betty had borne much that day, and the tears, at least a few, had to
come. "She said if Tony can bear it, I can; but Tony doesn't mind, he
doesn't feel it; he says, though, he would never have said he didn't if
he had known it would make it harder for me and Kitty."

"Loyal Tony!" laughed Dr. Trenire. "I like his spirit. Well, don't
fret about it any more; you shall have some others. I think, though,
that we will have some other colour; they aren't very pretty, are they?"

"Pretty!" cried Betty; "they are _'trocious_. No one else would have
worn them. I'll take them off now; shall I, father?"

"Hadn't you better wait till you have some others to put on?"

"Oh no, thank you. Fanny wouldn't take long getting me some. If you
will give her some money, she won't be more than a few minutes.
I'll wrap my feet up in two shawls for the time."

"I see there is to be no time wasted," said Dr. Trenire. "You are a
business-like young person, Betty."

"Yes," said Betty, with satisfaction. "You see, I can't do anything
until I have them; and if they are going to be bought, they may as well
be bought quickly."

"Your logic is admirable; but, dear, why didn't you speak to me about it
before? It would have been much better than pretending to obey your
aunt all these weeks, and deceiving her."

Betty looked ashamed. To have the word "deceive" used about herself
without any glossing of it over made her feel very small and mean.

"We did think of it, father," she said earnestly; "but Kitty said she
didn't want to seem to be always complaining about Aunt Pike."

"I see," said Dr. Trenire quietly, and he gazed for a moment gravely
into the fire before he left the room.

Betty never knew what passed between her father and her aunt; but she
heard no more about the gray stockings, and she wrote off delightedly to
Kitty to tell her all about it.

Kitty was out when the letter came. It was the day on which the girls
were taken for an afternoon's shopping or sight-seeing.

"I really must get some presents to take home to them all," she had said
quite seriously to Pamela in the morning.

Pamela laughe