Heart of Gold

aid with decided emphasis on the pronoun, "is a good story. If

up from a gorgeous splash of water-color

endless chain of letters to help the Ladies' Aid o

ladies as

Post Office man was real mad and the husbands of the Ladies' Aid got mad, and the ladies themselves got mad and wouldn't take any more bundles that came through the mail. 'T

in of letters? I can't

ast Christmas asking her to write five more j

hat's only f

e them to their friends. Five times five is twenty-five, and then those twenty-five would write five lette

brown study. Presently she announced decidedl

, as she critically surveyed her brilliant splotch of col

an endless c

ell unheeded from her hand, and the blue eyes shot

craps, but I can ask for

se?" Allee was now a

ope's letter did, to endower a hospital bed, 'cause I haven't got the bed, and anyway I don't need money. Grandpa's got enou

rob'ly would still be living in the little brown h

ask for, and I don't want silk scraps. Just now I can't think of a thi

es altogether. "What do you want buttons for? What kind of butt

ciously raised her voice almost to a yell. "I don't mean th

ons be?" demanded Allee, more puzzled t

e little sister's stupidity. "What does Henderson Meadows use his c'lection of stamps

uttons," persisted Allee, privately worried for fear P

ine started," the other girl stout

ched out her hand for her gorgeous sunset whic

n ever determined to make the venture, just to prove to this

will work," repl

see who could get the biggest and prettiest string of buttons, and when I was telli

to it," protested the young

Judge Abbott kept in his library and said was worth so much money! I ain't a-going to do it for the sense there is in it, but it'll be awful lonesome for me when you girls go back to school this fall, 'specially as the doctor says I mustn't have a teacher of my own yet, and I can't do any real studying all by

rippled sister! In deepest contrition she enthusiastically proposed, "Let's write the letter now and send it off so's your answe

've used mine all up out here. And say, s'posing we keep this endless chain plan a secret among our two selve

ee agreed, as she ran away to

but so many obstacles presented themselves to the inexperienced writers,

t what we mean. I wish I knew whether Hope kept the one she got. Maybe we could have gone by that and made a better letter of ours. This one in the magazine didn't help very much '

ovingly fingering the inky page of tipsy letters which she

e while we were writing, and I've

ho

which we don't know. Then there's Mrs. Grinnell in Parker, and Hec Abbott and Tessie and Effie and Jess

write more'n fiv

reason why we shouldn't. Let's make it

rig

ter, then sealed and addressed them, and Allee dropped them into the mail box o

ce send her twelve buttons in exchange for hers? This was an unforeseen development, but Peace was so delighted with this first dozen that she set Allee to hunting up stray buttons about the house with which to satisfy the demands of any other youthful coll

cky Mrs. Grinnell don't want forty in exchange. We had only thirty-six to begin with, and Lorene's tw

shed with alarming rapidity. The letter carrier always delivered the daily budget of mail to the little maid under the trees when the weather permitted of her being at her post, and it chanced that for a f

rouble is, the letters that have the most money to pay on them hold the ugliest buttons. I spent twelve cents for stamps today. That's the worst yet. Yesterday it was ten, and seven the day before. There won't be much of

ine. I ought to pay half the stampage anyway, as long as I get half the buttons. All the girls at school are wild to k

ivided '

Dolly Thomas cried 'cause she had only twenty but

ay those silk scraps did to the Ladies' Aid in the story. O, dear, don't I get into the worst messes! I wouldn't mind if they'd pay their own stamps, but I want my money for

," suggested Allee, seeing that Peace was re

d think we were little si

informed her, for she did not car

ged. "And I'm tired of it. Maybe-don't you

'll be sure to pass, even if she doesn't ha

her chair in her eagerness to greet the dear fr

e's mind the great misfortune, and bring on a deluge of tears. But Peace was thinking of other things than wheel-chairs. This was the first time she had seen her Elspeth since the Angel Baby had slipped away to its Maker, and she glanced apprehensively into the tender

he eager voice asked reproachfully, "Didn't you bring the b

to avoid confusion of names. St. John has her now, but he happened to meet our postman on the str

lessly demanded, suddenly remembe

s two or three times to discontinue them, but it didn't do any go

do?" The brown eyes wer

hen the postman brings them a

work with

ything,

to the thing

der, some go to the dead-letter office,

the gate with Glen in tow and Baby Bessie in his arms, she turned her attention to her

stretching his mouth from ear to ear, he was astounded to hear the little lady in the wheel-chair say crisply, "Take 'e

nts," he ac

t get your fifteen cents," she a

er these packages

u coming up the walk gives me a pain. Don't bring me another

he had hard work to keep his twitching li

had all I care to do with chain letters. I really didn't think they were endless or I nev

ver the postman's rugged features.

es

t want any mo

bbed her head emphatically and se

l see that you aren't bothe

ell their secret so no one knew what sillies they were. By common consent they barred chain letters as a topic of conversation, and had almost forgotten the hateful packages when one morning Peace received a letter from Miss Truman, still a teacher in the Park

said Grandpa Campbell when the thi

get it?" asked Pea

here that it seems almost impossible for it to have been lost. I will call

the coveted parcel in his hand a

shrieked Pea

r had not been a very good friend of

d. "What right had the Postmaster to

two weeks or more ago not to deliver

ons! I didn't mean th

resident looked

dless chain to the astonished man, ending with the characteristic remark, "And I told the letter-carrier to send all the re

ed her, trying hard to keep his face straight. "You ordered all parcels addressed to

" gaspe

d months. I don't know exactly how

ep all my Christm

ome addres

wild, scrambling search, through the drawers of

m?" the man inquired wit

me anything for Christmas or my birthday, or any other time, to address