Heart of Gold

ty that the usually swift feet tonight were lagging and slow. Indeed, so abstracted was the belated scholar that she almost forgot to turn in at her own gate,

a scratch-tablet, and when Peace called to her, she hastily hid the paper under her apron,

cious Peace detected the strained note in her v

-not real

at? Cherry's been home

's amazement was t

e minute school was out so's we could

It seemed only a minute, Peace,

ou been? To s

o-

apron? Allee Greenfield, you've got a sec

eyes wavered and fell, and a meek voice sta

is it

d you would

is there to

y rhy

yme

chool, and even Cherry's teacher took a notion

our te

he leader says anything she wants to, and we have to answer so it will make a ji

aper?-has printed with her name at the bottom of it, and Cherry came home tonight with her head so big that she can hardly lug it, 'cause h

ow how," she ventured, apologetically. "Gussie

ie! Is she

e defended. "You haven't forgotten those dishe

funny. I pasted 'em into

e into my album,

bum? Wha

my jingles in. The name on the cover

ld you let

ated. "You

single

en,-I don

note-book in her hand, partly filled with round, even writing, which Peace inst

etters are so dreadfully big the pages won

fat book a long time ago to keep a dairy in."-Peace never could remember the proper place for the words 'dairy' and 'diary.'-"But I wrot

I really wanted your book, 'cause it is so nice and wide, but I

We'll use it fo

rap a

in it whenever we feel poetry, but w

lustrations in it bet

d of 'lus

nd flowers in her botany, and just for fun she makes skitches to

tically. "Why, Grandpa thinks some day she will

llee contended. "Here is a sun

red the older sister, gravely eyeing

criticism. Rapidly her fingers turned the pages until she had found the lines she wan

s sinking

baby dear s

baby,

any baby," the re

bies," Allee scornfully retorted. "A

eyes had travelled rapidly through the lines, an

why the fa

like to see

my very bes

t have had

why, do

why the b

one can cr

I often t

do a thin

why, do

that, too," said

all yourself?" Pea

fix it up so it didn't limp, bu

you can think of

he moon lady and the mountain elves and water sprites. It's easy to tell them like stories, so I just tried writing them out. That ain't so easy, 'cause I can't always spell the words, but it's fun now that I'm used to i

them; but Allee's were far superior to any of her attempts, and Allee was two years younger. "Bring me all the old Reade

ts were so busy with pen and pencil that they were amaze

llee protested. "Why, I've got only

line yet. I haven't even found a poem to pattern after, though I guess I'll take 'Long Time Ago' for my first one. That's easy, and

Jud agreed. "Soon it will b

this winter. Gussie'll teach me to be a poet, and I always could wri

most impossible to get a quiet word with that busy and important member of the household, and now that winter was comi

girls chorused. "She is

e right again," the

Peace, who was never tired

king poets,

g poets, and some day yo

and the little group slowly tru

s fell in showers, September died in a blaze of glory, and October found the trees naked and vines shivering in the keen, sharp air. It was too cold to spend the hours out-of-doors any longer, and the Campbells dreaded the long days of confinement that str

of explanation. "Gussie's teaching me, and some da

to toil with inky fingers over pages of impossible rhymes, for they knew that when this new pl

s of the President's great library; but however that may be, more ink was used in the big house during those early Fall days than had ever been used before, and

precious volume on the couch by the fireplace where Allee had carelessly dropped it when the dinner hour had been announced. Picking it up, she opened it idly, before she recognized what book she had in her hand. Then, jus

xclaimed in her astonishment.

er feet up under her and searching wildly about

stories here in my hand. Grandma, do you know wh

's knee, and smilingly answered, "Learnin

n hardly believe she wrote all this; yet it sounds just like her. She always

scenting something unusual, and la

. "O, it's too funny!" Wiping

rd the litt

o and

the worms

ng down

and grabbe

by t

tle chickle

et me

klet hugged

turn hi

ught he'd ma

re was n

wklet wen

n th

icklet stil

want to

bout hers, for even the President cast aside his paper to listen; and five pair of

es vigorously, and bending over the ink-blotted book again. "I had no idea tha

said Gail proudly. "I predict

"Her grandfather might have shone in literature if

dmother apologetically, brushing a tear from her cheek as she fin

with no tree

y close on a b

a pillow where

on earth can e

hate to lie

be out in the

et up and r

e what's hap

more climbing u

a wheel-chair

sing the book, she softly said, "Let's all write somet

res like Mrs. Strong did in Peace

ittle in remembrance of the brown and gold volume which had helped

fancy letters on the fr

eady searching for pen and paper that she might make

ve given it," Gail answ

ispered the deeply-touched President, blowing