hone full on the broad,
still bosom of the river, and for one perfect instant the trees on the
shores were reflected, all swimming in a sea of pink. Leaning over the
rail, she watched the light fade from crimson to carmine, from carmine
to rose, from rose to amber, and from amber to gray. Then withdrawing
Lancelot or the Parted Lovers from her apron pocket, she tore the pages
into bits and dropped them into the water below with a sigh.

"Uncle Jerry never said a word about the ending!" she thought; "and that
was so nice!"

And she was right; but while Uncle Jerry was an illuminating critic when
it came to the actions and language of his Riverboro neighbors, he had
no power to direct the young mariner when she "followed the gleam," and
used her imagination.

OUR SECRET SOCIETY

November, 187--

Our Secret society has just had a splendid picnic in Candace Milliken's
barn.

Our name is the B.O.S.S., and not a single boy in the village has been
able to guess it. It means Braid Over Shoulder Society, and that is the
sign. All the members wear one of their braids over the right shoulder
in front; the president's tied with red ribbon (I am the president) and
all the rest tied with blue.

To attract the attention of another member when in company or at a
public place we take the braid between the thumb and little finger and
stand carelessly on one leg. This is the Secret Signal and the password
is Sobb (B.O.S.S. spelled backwards) which was my idea and is thought
rather uncommon.

One of the rules of the B.O.S.S. is that any member may be required to
tell her besetting sin at any meeting, if asked to do so by a majority
of the members.

This was Candace Milliken's idea and much opposed by everybody, but when
it came to a vote so many of the girls were afraid of offending Candace
that they agreed because there was nobody else's father and mother
who would let us picnic in their barn and use their plow, harrow,
grindstone, sleigh, carryall, pung, sled, and wheelbarrow, which we did
and injured hardly anything.

They asked me to tell my besetting sin at the very first meeting, and it
nearly killed me to do it because it is such a common greedy one. It is
that I can't bear to call the other girls when I have found a thick spot
when we are out berrying in the summer time.

After I confessed, which made me dreadfully ashamed, every one of the
girls seemed surprised and said they had never noticed that one but had
each