n she
felt as if she would gladly give up her trunk and all her new clothes
and everything that she had been enjoying so much, if she might only
stay at home.

For the first time her promise to her father to be brave about going
away cost her a great effort. Her mother had not been nearly so well
since the night she had been so anxious about her little girl, and Ruby
knew that she must not worry her by crying or fretting about going away.

But she climbed up on her father's lap after she had eaten her supper,
and put her head down upon his broad shoulder, with the feeling that
nothing in all the wide world could make up to her for being away from
him and from her dear mother.

She wished with all her heart that she had tried to be a good girl
during her mother's illness, for then it would not have been necessary
to send her away to school. But now it was too late, for everything
was all ready for her going, and Ruby was quite sure that coax and
tease as hard as she might, her father would not change his plans.

"I don't want to go away, papa," she said, with a little sob in her
voice, as Tipsey scrambled up in her lap, and curling herself into a
little round ball of fur began to purr a soft little tune.

"Don't you want to leave Tipsey?" asked her father, playfully.

"It is n't only Tipsey," said Ruby, while a big tear splashed down upon
her father's hand. "It is you and mamma, most of all, and Ruthy, and
everybody. I know I shall not be one single bit happy at school when I
can't come home and see you when I want to, and I shall just most die,
I am sure I shall."

"Little daughter, we both love mother, don't we?" asked her father,
stroking Ruby's dark hair gently.

"Yes, sir," answered Ruby, with a tremulous voice.

"And we would do anything to help her get well again?"

"Why, of course," Ruby answered again.

"Then we must do some things that are hard, if we really want to help
her. You know how sick she has been the last few days. I don't want
you to feel as if I was sending you away only as a punishment for
running away that night. Perhaps if you had not done that particular
thing, I might not have given my consent to this plan, but I am sure
you are enough of a little woman to see what a help it will be to
mother. If she is to get well again, she needs to have her mind kept
perfectly free from worry; and when you are running about with no one
to take care of you except Ann, who is too busy to d