sked the Doctor lamely.

"There are five children in the family we sent our stuff to, and three
of them are girls. There are six girls in our family, and when we lived
all alone in the little brown house with just ragged, faded dresses to
wear and only plain things to eat, holidays and all, we'd have been
tickled to death if someone had given us such pretty things all for our
very own. Oh, wouldn't it have made _you_ happy if you had been a little
girl?"

The great, brown eyes shone with such a glorified light and the small,
round face looked so blissfully happy that the Doctor's lecture was
wholly forgotten, and for a long time he held the little form close in
his arms while his mind went backward over the long years to the time
when he was a homeless orphan and Hi Allen--Hi Greenfield--had shared
his treasures with him. They made a beautiful picture sitting there in
the gathering dusk, the white head bending low over the riotous brown
curls, the strong hands intertwined with the supple, childish fingers;
and so completely had she captured the great heart of the man that when
at length he set her on the floor and sent her away with a kiss, he
spoke no chiding word. And Peace skipped off well content with the
results of her first missionary efforts.

A few days later she danced into the house one afternoon from school,
wet from head to foot with a damp, clinging snow which was falling, and
at sight of her, Mrs. Campbell threw up her hands and exclaimed, "Peace,
my child, what have you been doing?"

"Ted and Evelyn Smiley and Allee and me and some others had a snow-ball
battle."

"That is expressly forbidden by the school board--" began the gentle
little grandmother reprovingly.

"Oh, we didn't battle with the school board, grandma! We waited until we
reached Evelyn's house and had it in their back yard. The snow is just
right for dandy balls."

"I should think as much. Come here!"

Peace obeyed, glancing hastily at her feet as she guiltily remembered a
certain pair of new shoes which she was wearing and saw the sharp, black
eyes fixed searchingly upon them.

"Peace Greenfield, what have you on your feet?"

"Shoes."

"Your new strapped shoes--slippers--for summer wear?"

Peace nodded.

"After I told you not to wear them until warmer weather!"

"You didn't say that, grandma," Peace expostulated. "You said as long as
I had any others, you guessed I had better put these away for party wear
until it got wa