lping Nan to
shoulder her armful of wraps.

"Oh, by the way," she said, as they readied the upper hall, and the
girl was about to make return of the hood, "you may keep it if you
will. Accept it and the gloves, with my love, as a sort of recompense
for what other things you have missed this evening."

Nan was too overcome by the richness of the gift to make any response
at all for a moment. Then she blurted out awkwardly, though in a very
grateful voice:

"You're so good to me it makes me--ashamed. You're always giving me
things. It isn't right. You give away everything you have."

Miss Blake lifted her chin and laughed gayly over the cleft in it.

"No, I don't," she returned, tip-toeing to drop the gloves, like a
blessing, on the girl's head. "I have one or two things which I keep
all for myself. But if I like to give presents, do you know what it's
a sign of? It's a sign I'm poor. Poor people are always possessed by
a passion for giving presents. It's true! I've always noticed it!
Good-night!"

And that was the last Nan heard about the affair from Miss Blake.
Unfortunately--or fortunately--it was not the last she heard of it from
others, by any means. It was a long, long time before it was allowed
to drop.

In the first place, Michael was discharged from the stables, and this
led to a vast amount of discussion, for the poor fellow, who was
temperate by nature, was thrown out of employment in midwinter, and his
predicament seemed a pitiable one to those who really understood the
facts in the case.

Miss Blake, when she heard of the affair, had bidden John Gardiner
bring the man to her. She heard his story, and then sent him off with
a few kindly, encouraging words, and the poor fellow felt comforted in
spite of the facts that she had given him neither money nor any
definite promise of help. When he had gone she sat for some time
thinking busily, her chin in her palms and her elbows propped on the
desk in front of her. She was still for so long that John and Nan
stole off after a while and tried experiments with the kodak on some
back-yard views, and when they came back to Miss Blake's room to ask
her opinion on some point of focus they found the place deserted and
the governess gone.

The next day Mike was discovered sitting smilingly enthroned in his
accustomed place on the lofty box of the livery "broom-carriage," and
he vouchsafed the information to congratulating friends that: "Ut's
anot