f frozen."

"Oh, I had her dressed warmly underneath, very warmly indeed," declared
Prudence. "But no matter how warm you are underneath, you look cold if
you aren't visibly prepared for winter weather. It's a fortunate thing
the real cold weather was so slow in coming. I kept hoping enough
money would come in to buy her a coat for once in her life."

"She has been looking forward to one long enough," put in Fairy. "This
will be a bitter blow to her. And yet it is not such a bad-looking
coat, after all." And she quickly ran up a seam on the machine.

"Here comes Connie!" Prudence hastily swept a pile of scraps out of
sight, and turned to greet her little sister with a cheery smile.

"Come on in, Connie," she cried, with a brightness she did not feel.
"Fairy and I are making you a new coat. Isn't it pretty? And so warm!
See the nice velvet collar and cuffs. We want to fit it on you right
away, dear."

Connie picked up a piece of the goods and examined it intently.

"Don't you want some fudge, Connie?" exclaimed Fairy, shoving the dish
toward her hurriedly.

Connie took a piece from the plate, and thrust it between her teeth.
Her eyes were still fastened upon the brown furry cloth.

"Where did you get this stuff?" she inquired, as soon as she was able
to speak.

"Oh, we've had it in the house quite a while," said Prudence, adding
swiftly, "Isn't it warm, Connie? Oh, it does look nice, doesn't it,
Fairy? Do you want it a little shorter, Connie, or is that about
right?"

"About right, I guess. Did you ever have a coat like this, Prudence?
I don't seem to remember it.'"

"Oh, no, it wasn't mine. Take some more candy, Connie. Isn't it
good?--Let's put a little more fullness in the sleeves, Fairy. It's
more stylish this year.--The collar fits very nicely. The velvet gives
it such a rich tone. And brown is so becoming to you."

"Thanks," said Connie patiently. "Was this something of yours, Fairy?"

"Oh, no, we've just had it in the house quite a while. It comes in
very handy right now, doesn't it? It'll make you such a serviceable,
stylish coat. Isn't it about time for the twins to get here, Prudence?
I'm afraid they are playing along the road. Those girls get more
careless every day of their lives."

"Well, if this didn't belong to one of you, whose was it?" demanded
Connie. "I know the twins never had anything like this. It looks kind
of familiar to me. Where did it come from?"

"O