peat
anything which we ought not to mention," and she glanced with burning
reproach at her mother.

Rose was both high-spirited and touchy. She was not disposed to play the
second part without a murmur like Dora. She was not content, with her
art as a balance to Annie's beauty and May's budding scholarship. Rose
desired everybody to acknowledge her mother-wit and trustworthiness.

Dora and Mrs. Millar spoke together in reply. "Mother only told Annie
and me this afternoon," said the general peacemaker.

"It was not such a pleasant piece of information for me to give, or you
to receive, child, that you and May should grudge my keeping it from you
as long as I could, as I dared," was the mother's weary reply. "Besides,
your father did not wish it spoken about before; it would have been
wrong, a great risk to many others as well as to ourselves, to have
mentioned such a thing."

"Then don't tell us now if you don't care to, mother, and if father
disapproves of our hearing it," said Rose magnanimously, for she was
dying to be at the bottom of the mystery.

"No, don't, mother dear, please don't, if it will hurt you," said May
affectionately, with something of a childish ring in her voice. Her
mother took her hand at the words and clasped it tightly.

"Mother has made up her mind and father has given her leave to speak,"
said Annie with determination, "because you must hear soon anyhow. There
is something wrong with the bank, Mr. Carey's bank. We have all, even
May, read and heard of bank failures, and have some idea how disastrous
they are."

"The Carey's bank!" cried Rose, with sufficient intelligence in her
astonishment. "I understand now why we were not to go home with Ella and
Phyllis."

"Then somebody must run over and tell them that we are not coming,"
interrupted May. "Do let Bella take the message, mother, in case I
should look as if I knew something. Poor Mr. Carey! he was always so
kind to us. I am so sorry; but the bank has not anything to do with us;
father is not the banker, he is just a doctor like grandfather," ended
May composedly.

"O May, you are a baby, though you read the Greek Testament and have
something to say to Tacitus in the original," exclaimed Annie
indignantly.

"Your father has shares in the bank, my dear," explained her mother with
patient reiteration. "He bought them with his savings, and he will get
nothing for them. Nobody will buy them from him again, they will be no
better tha