he got thinner and whiter and weaker as the hot days
followed each other, and though she was very patient, and always ready
to say, "Better, thank you," with a smile, when her visitors asked how
she was, she did not really feel better at all.

But though this was the case, she was not unhappy, and the days were
seldom long and weary as they used to be, for she now had three friends
who paid her constant visits--Philippa, Maisie, and Dennis. To expect
their coming, to think of all they had said, and how they had looked,
were such new pleasures that Becky was now more than contented with her
lot. Some day she was going to get well, and run about again, and
perhaps dance to the organ in the street; meanwhile she had her kitten,
and she had her friends; it was all much better than it used to be.
Amongst the three, she perhaps looked forward the least to seeing
Philippa, who never came without an offering of some kind--a
picture-book, or something nice to eat. Philippa tried hard to please,
but there was always a little condescension in her manner, from which
her cousins were quite free.

Maisie and Dennis seldom brought any present but a bunch of flowers, or
a few strawberries, yet they seemed to leave behind them many other
pleasant things to think of, which lasted until they came again. So
Becky, in spite of aches and pains, thought herself very lucky just now,
and would indeed have been surprised to know that there were still
luckier days waiting for her not very far off.

For, meeting Dr Price in Upwell one day, Aunt Katharine stopped to speak
to him, and asked what he thought of Becky, and whether she would soon
get stronger. Dr Price shook his head.

"I can't do much more for her," he said, "all the while she has to stop
in that stuffy room and get no fresh air. She ought to be out all day
this weather. A month in the country would give her a chance."

A month in the country! Aunt Katharine drove home full of thought, and
instead of stopping at Fieldside, went straight on to the Manor Farm.
Could Mrs Solace tell her, she asked, after describing Becky's condition
in a moving manner, of any suitable place in the village where the child
could be lodged for a while? Now, if Mrs Solace had a weakness, it was
to nurse and pet up anything ailing or delicate, and restore it to
health. She did wonders with weakly chickens, invalid cows, and other
creatures on the farm requiring care and comfort.

"Why shouldn't