Peggy-Alone

ountry road that summer day, wearing gay caps of tissue-paper with floating strea

cy breezes tempered the warm atmosphere, making the pap

ght of them was enough to lighten the heart of an onlooker and bring to his mind the shepherds

" and off came those gay bonnets and the rosette-trimmed hats, and along the road the children went in solemn silence, with stately step; for over the hill alongside the

in their own childish but expressive way to the grief of the mourners; and it was not until the little house h

e chink, and Ivy was moving along almost forgetful of her crutches, her eyes intent on the green loveliness of the place and the pretty pink parasol

eir questions. They were greatly puzzled, until someone picked up the pink parasol at which its owner point

y; "I've seen little tads of four and

, crawly things make me feel creepy!"

beautiful butterflies!" returned Hugh, in a tone

are butterflies before perchin

e ugly things, and Alene's not u

touch velvet, and he was no coward!" cried Ivy, wh

poken and the least gentle of all the boys with whom the Happy-Go-Luckys associated. But his downright honesty and fearlessness, his renown among the boys as an athlete, and especially hi

ttle Lois, carrying the stubbed toe an

fending stone with an ex

achfully, at which they all laughed, and the caterpillar affair was forgotten for the time by all except Alene, who had pick

p from that slighting remark or at least laugh good-naturedly with the rest, and

r of the others, the new experience of tramping the country paths, climbing fences and cro

and even went so far as to peek through any little opening to make sure that certa

basket with cobblestones," cried Mat with a

them that when you're begging mother to cut her fre

eavy this basket's grow

heavier toward noon," commented Hu

tie, or I'll eat you up-I'm as hungry as

lared Nettie, in the

ng two rows of firm white teeth, and made a dart at the little girl. She ran screaming t

hey only waited to reach a

spot," said Hugh,

ead us out of the wi

r set his basket among the great knotted roots of a tree that helped t

emains to din

oth on the ground and proce

the midst of the baskets, dealing out the good things one by one, while Alene and Laura arranged them artistically, piling in the center a pyramid of fruit, and placing the cakes and pies and pickles in the most tempting p

ny of it, Mr. Mat

I'll try a snack of that jelly-roll," he r

taste of anything, though it's a wonder their eyes have left a morsel! Wh

seen on his plumped-out cheeks. Not far away was Lois with a monster pickle. At a distance, with backs discreetly turned, were two other small sinners whom Ivy eyed suspiciously, and she turned at last with a hopeless shake of her head to Laura,

appetite for dinner?" she inquired an

fear that it will," retu

! Wish I had tackled Alene i

nt he was ha

e wild strawberries for dessert. I noticed some

Ivy, and Mat, with a last despairing glance at the

people to feed, the baskets seemed to disgorge enough

one day. "We mustn't let ourselves get narrow that way," and they did not, for as Laura remarked later, "When

indered by the younger children, loud voices were heard and

ds attracted by the bounteous display of dainties, at once gave notice of the find,

armed but stood t

r and the other boys will soon

't goin' to force our company, we just want

Ivy raised a crutch to strike the for

others ran screaming in the direction of the berry-patch, and a

t in advance, saw t

tead of running away as he had expected, she stooped, picked up the pail of water left

y the unexpected ass

the first to recover from the sudden bath. Wit

eir rout. He was a well-built lad of fifteen, with a bearing that showed him to be above his associates, of whom he proclaimed himself the leader by collaring the angry boy who

lared the day lost but for her, and the boys, who had all wi

agree with him," declared Hugh, who had experienced a sudden

vestige of Alene's

ning the group around the re-arranged feast. "Didn't I, with remarkable