oble of Peter, and now she felt she had been silly to think
it. Also she felt she must have seemed greedy to expect the engine as
well as the sweets. So her face changed. Peter saw it. He hesitated a
minute; then his face changed, too, and he said: "I mean not ALL the
engine. I'll let you go halves if you like."

"You're a brick," cried Bobbie; "it's a splendid present." She said no
more aloud, but to herself she said:--

"That was awfully jolly decent of Peter because I know he didn't mean
to. Well, the broken half shall be my half of the engine, and I'll get
it mended and give it back to Peter for his birthday."--"Yes, Mother
dear, I should like to cut the cake," she added, and tea began.

It was a delightful birthday. After tea Mother played games with
them--any game they liked--and of course their first choice was
blindman's-buff, in the course of which Bobbie's forget-me-not wreath
twisted itself crookedly over one of her ears and stayed there. Then,
when it was near bed-time and time to calm down, Mother had a lovely new
story to read to them.

"You won't sit up late working, will you, Mother?" Bobbie asked as they
said good night.

And Mother said no, she wouldn't--she would only just write to Father
and then go to bed.

But when Bobbie crept down later to bring up her presents--for she felt
she really could not be separated from them all night--Mother was not
writing, but leaning her head on her arms and her arms on the table. I
think it was rather good of Bobbie to slip quietly away, saying over and
over, "She doesn't want me to know she's unhappy, and I won't know; I
won't know." But it made a sad end to the birthday.

* * * * * *

The very next morning Bobbie began to watch her opportunity to get
Peter's engine mended secretly. And the opportunity came the very next
afternoon.

Mother went by train to the nearest town to do shopping. When she went
there, she always went to the Post-office. Perhaps to post her letters
to Father, for she never gave them to the children or Mrs. Viney to
post, and she never went to the village herself. Peter and Phyllis went
with her. Bobbie wanted an excuse not to go, but try as she would she
couldn't think of a good one. And just when she felt that all was lost,
her frock caught on a big nail by the kitchen door and there was a great
criss-cross tear all along the front of the skirt. I assure you this was
really