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 ''" - , J . > m 
 
 WILIFRED. 
 
THE LITTLE SISTER 
 OF WILIFRED 
 
 BY 
 
 A. G. PLYMPTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF " DEAR DAUGHTER DOROTHY,'' AND " BETTY, 
 A BUTTERFLY" 
 
 JHusttateb b? the 3tutbor 
 
 BOSTON 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS 
 
Copyright, 1892, 
 By A. G. Plympton. 
 
 2Smbcrsitg Press: 
 John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. The Twin Babies 11 
 
 II. WlLIFRED 26 
 
 III. The Slavey 42 
 
 IV. A Puzzling Question 69 
 
 V. Contrasts 84 
 
 VI. A Bold Plan 113 
 
 VII. A Princess in Disguise 124 
 
 VIII. A Little Interloper 148 
 
 IX. For Peggy's Sake 178 
 
 X. All's Well that Ends Well . . . 200 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 PEGGY Frontispiece. 
 
 WlLIFRED , " 
 
 " Papa ! Papa ! " she cried, looking up in- 
 to his Face and laughing 21 
 
 Mrs. Bagley 46 
 
 bolander and peggy 63 
 
 "What do you want here?" he asked . 79 
 
 The Children stood perfectly quiet, 
 
 looking gravely at each other . . 95 
 " i knew i could think of a plan," she 
 
 SAID 115 
 
 She ran into the road screaming, " Papa ! 
 
 papa!" ..... 125 
 
 " Look here, Peggy," he said, " I believe 
 you have been meddling with my 
 Papers" 139 
 
 " how do you feel now, dear ? " asked 
 
 Mrs. Moran, anxiously 153 
 
io List of Illustrations. 
 
 Page 
 
 Watching for Wilifred 175 
 
 " I 'm not Peggy. You must n't take me 
 
 to Boarding School" 191 
 
 She fell down at Mrs. Moran's Side, 
 
 and hid her face in her lap . . . 203 
 
THE 
 
 LITTLE SISTER OF WILIFRED. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE TWIN BABIES. 
 
 WILIFRED was a sprite of a girl, 
 so blithe and fresh and whole- 
 some, so capricious and playful, that she 
 reminded one of nothing so much as a 
 frolicsome little wave sparkling under 
 the sun of a breezy summer afternoon. 
 She was remarkably pretty, with a tan- 
 gle of red gold hair, and eyes that when 
 she was a good, meek child were a soft 
 and beautiful hazel, but on occasions 
 when her rather peppery temper got the 
 better of her became quite black. 
 
12 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Notwithstanding this fault of temper 
 she was a most lovable little girl, with a 
 warm, generous heart which would melt 
 in a moment at the sight of another's 
 distress, and she could never be happy 
 again until she had made some plan to 
 relieve it. Having a daring fancy and 
 a venturesome spirit, these plans were 
 often very ingenious and queer, and 
 were never relinquished without a trial 
 because of seeming difficulties. In 
 short, she was the most persistent and 
 determined little creature that was ever 
 born into the perplexities and discour- 
 agements of this good old world, which 
 is ever teaching us that there is nothing 
 worth having in it without brave and 
 patient effort. 
 
 Wilifred was one of the fortunate 
 children at whose christening it seemed 
 all the good fairies were present. She 
 
The Twin Babies. 1 3 
 
 was the idol of her papa, who, being a 
 very rich man, was able to give her 
 every advantage and pleasure. He was 
 so good to her and she loved him so 
 dearly she could not realize that she 
 was only his child by adoption, and Dr. 
 Moran himself so much disliked any 
 mention of this fact that it was entirely 
 ignored by everybody. 
 
 His friends said that he was prouder 
 of Wilifred's beauty, courage, and clev- 
 erness than of his own valuable scien- 
 tific discoveries. 
 
 Mrs. Moran for many years had been 
 in delicate health, and was very languid 
 and quiet. She liked all the shades 
 drawn in the house, and did not very 
 often go out of doors, because the " glare 
 of the sun" hurt her eyes. Wherever 
 she went, her maid followed her with a 
 cushion and an armful of wraps. She 
 
14 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 was very pretty and gentle, and with 
 her soft eyes and cooing voice not un- 
 like a lovely white dove. The Doctor 
 and Wilifred were very proud of her. 
 It seemed to them that she had had 
 every disease under the sun. To have 
 had so many, of course, she had been 
 obliged to have more than one at a 
 time, and was, as Wilifred once grandly 
 remarked, a martyr to a complication. 
 
 There being nothing that Wilifred 
 disliked so much as darkened rooms, 
 she did not spend very much time with 
 her mother, but was the constant com- 
 panion of the Doctor, who never could 
 see any reason why the child should not 
 go wherever he went. 
 
 The Morans were great travellers, 
 going from climate to climate in search 
 of health for the invalid ; and Wilifred 
 at eight years of age was a good sailor, 
 
The Twin Babies. 15 
 
 a famous pedestrian, and a perfectly 
 fearless horsewoman. To see the little 
 damsel on a horse, looking so bold and 
 so radiant, was to fall in love with her 
 at once. 
 
 As for her early history, she had 
 learned it in part from her old nurse, 
 who had been promptly discharged for 
 speaking of the forbidden subject ; but 
 this was so long ago, and the subject 
 having never again been alluded to in 
 her presence, she had almost forgotten it. 
 
 The Doctor flattered himself that she 
 had entirely forgotten it, and that there 
 was no one with whom she ever came in 
 contact, except her mother and himself, 
 who remembered how and when he had 
 found her, and no solicitation would have 
 drawn from him a description of the 
 pretty scene of the occasion of their first 
 meeting, which he so well remembered. 
 
1 6 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 This happened soon after he and 
 Mrs. Moran had decided to adopt a 
 little girl to bring up as a sister to their 
 own sturdy lads. The Doctor was fond 
 of all children ; but if one is to adopt a 
 child it is as well to select one to whom 
 Dame Nature has been kind, and given 
 beauty and health and a good disposi- 
 tion, these being advantages that all the 
 Doctor's money could not buy. 
 
 One day, then, several years before 
 this story begins, Dr. Moran received a 
 letter informing him that, if he would 
 go to a certain home for friendless chil- 
 dren, he would find just such a child 
 as he was in search of. 
 
 Mrs. Moran being too ill at that time 
 to leave the house, he went alone to this 
 institution, where he found the prettiest 
 little twin sisters imaginable. They had 
 soft hazel eyes, and rings of red gold 
 
The Twin Babies. 17 
 
 hair covered their heads, curling up 
 from the sweetest of white baby necks. 
 Their mouths were like rose-buds, — 
 that is, like mouths that are called 
 rose-buds, — and when they smiled it 
 gave a dimple in each cheek. Every- 
 body agreed that they were remarkably 
 pretty babies, and everybody always 
 added, that they looked so much alike 
 it was impossible to tell one from the 
 other. 
 
 The little creatures took Dr. Moran's 
 heart by storm, but the question now 
 was which of the two to choose, for 
 they were not only equally pretty, but 
 one was just as strong, just as bright, 
 and had just as sweet a disposition as 
 the other. So at least Mrs. Purdy, the 
 matron, said, adding that it seemed a 
 great pity they should ever be sepa- 
 rated. This was just what the good 
 
1 8 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Doctor himself had been thinking, as 
 he sat watching the two babies playing 
 so prettily together on the floor. 
 
 The longer he watched them, the 
 more wicked it seemed, and he declared 
 that before deciding he would consult 
 Mrs. Moran, and if she favored the plan 
 he would take both children. 
 
 Mrs. Moran, however, was distinctly 
 of the opinion that the second baby 
 would be a superfluity in the family. 
 
 " For heaven's sake, Gilbert," she said 
 to her husband, " you must have for- 
 gotten how loud one baby by itself can 
 scream. Urged on by competition, it 
 would certainly be more than my poor 
 head could stand." 
 
 " But these are healthy babies," urged 
 the Doctor eagerly, " and they never cry. 
 The matron told me so." 
 
 At which remark Mrs. Moran skepti- 
 
The Twin Babies. 19 
 
 cally replied, that she had seen a great 
 many babies, but she had never seen the 
 variety that do not cry. 
 
 " And you shall have a nurse for 
 each," the Doctor went on. " I wish you 
 had seen the little things together, and 
 then you would never have the heart to 
 separate them. Our two boys and 
 the two girls will make a pretty fam- 
 ily. I think we had better take them 
 both." 
 
 " Why not adopt all the children at 
 the home? I am sure that would be a 
 lovely family, and large enough to please 
 even you," laughed his wife. And she 
 would give the subject no more serious 
 consideration. 
 
 Much disappointed, the next day Dr. 
 Moran took the boys' old nurse and 
 drove to the home. He sat down and 
 earnestly examined the two little crea- 
 
20 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 tures as they stood by the matron's knee 
 staring at him in true baby fashion. 
 
 They were about fourteen months old, 
 could speak half a dozen words, and had 
 just learned to walk alone. Presently, 
 one ot the babies, having apparently 
 come to a decision sooner than the 
 Doctor, now balanced herself on her 
 feet, held out her little hands, and tot- 
 tered across the floor straight into his 
 arms. 
 
 " Papa ! papa ! " she cried, looking up 
 into his face and laughing. 
 
 " Since I can have but one, I shall 
 take this little trot," the Doctor said, 
 smiling down upon the baby's upturned 
 face. " She seems to have decided the 
 question herself. Yes, I will take this 
 one. 
 
 As he concluded, he looked a moment 
 at the less adventurous baby. The 
 
" PAPA ! PAPA ! " SHE CRIED, LOOKING UP INTO HIS FACE 
 AND LAUGHING. 
 
22 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 child, as if in dismay at her sister's bold- 
 ness, had buried her head in the matron's 
 lap, and was watching them from one 
 uncovered eye. The kind soul took her 
 up on her lap in a pitying way, which led 
 the Doctor to say, " You will easily find 
 a home for her too. They are wonder- 
 fully pretty children." 
 
 " It 's not always easy to find just the 
 right place for 'em, Sir," she answered, 
 shaking her head. " I should n't like to 
 give up this pretty little thing to some 
 one who would make a servant of her. 
 That 's what folks that come here for 
 children usually want of 'em." 
 
 " O no, — that would be a pity, — I 
 hope it won't come to that," said the 
 Doctor looking regretfully at the child. 
 " I wish I could have taken her too, but 
 it 's impossible." 
 
 So, the matter being settled, the 
 
The Twin Babies. 23 
 
 chosen baby was wrapped up, and was 
 just about to be carried away when Mrs. 
 Purdy interposed. She must have been 
 a tender-hearted woman, having seen so 
 many ties broken, to be still moved to 
 pity at the sight. 
 
 " Just let me have her, Dr. Moran, for 
 a minute. It aint as if they were only 
 just common sisters : they are twins, you 
 know, and it seems as if the Lord had n't 
 sent the two into the world together for 
 nothin'. There aint such a pressin' 
 need of more folks in the world that He 
 should have sent an extra one along just 
 to help fill up. It seems as if he meant 
 'em for a help an' comfort to each other 
 along the march." 
 
 She took the future Wilifred and sat 
 down on the sofa by which the little 
 sister was standing. Ouite unconscious 
 of the sad meaning of the moment, the 
 
24 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 children being placed side by side, looked 
 at each other with their wide tranquil 
 baby eyes. 
 
 " Poor little sister ! " the matron said 
 to Wilifred, while she stroked the soft 
 cheek of the other baby. " Kiss her, 
 darlin', for you are all the relation she 
 has, an' you are goin' where you '11 never 
 see her again. Kiss her." 
 
 " Poor ! poor ! " echoed Winifred, 
 brightly, imitating with her own the 
 caressing motion of the matron's hand. 
 
 Then, laughing and crowing, she was 
 carried away, the little sister shaking 
 her own dimpled hands, pathetically 
 ignorant that she was left without a tie 
 to a human being in the world. 
 
 With many kisses the matron took 
 her back to the nursery. " It 's a dread- 
 ful queer world, darlin'," she murmured. 
 " It goes easy with some an' terrible 
 
The Twin Babies. 25 
 
 hard with others. An' you are a poor 
 little waif that nobody's wantin'." 
 
 But the baby was not dismayed at her 
 prospects in life. She curled herself 
 down on the matron's shoulder, and 
 cooed as contentedly as if she had been 
 adopted by a millionaire. 
 
26 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WILIFRED. 
 
 IT was in the spring following Wili- 
 fred's ninth birthday that the Morans 
 returned from Italy with the intention of 
 settling down upon their native heath. 
 They had visited all the health resorts 
 that had ever been heard of, but Mrs. 
 Moran was still very delicate. 
 
 " Mamma will be more likely to find 
 her health here than in any foreign 
 country," said Wilifred, who was de- 
 lighted to be in America again. " She 
 lost it before she went away, and I think 
 people had always better look for things 
 where they lose them." 
 
Wilifred. 2 7 
 
 The Doctor bought a fine old place 
 in, or rather near, his native town. It 
 was a pleasant college town, which may 
 be called Bridgemont. 
 
 " We shall be able to 'predate a home 
 after knocking about so long," Wili- 
 fred remarked when her father told her 
 of this arrangement. " Won't it be nice 
 and queer to stay all the time in one 
 climate, and not have Estelle always 
 packing or unpacking our things ? I 'm 
 so glad it 's a country place. Is it the 
 really, truly country, papa, where there 
 are fields with cows in 'em, and nice old 
 barns and haystacks, and lots of chick- 
 ens and pigs and horses and dogs and 
 things ? " 
 
 "Yes, it's the genuine country, al- 
 though I might not have described it in 
 such a poetical style, my dear," answered 
 the Doctor, pulling one of Wilifred's 
 curls. 
 
28 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Of course you would n't, you poor 
 prosy papa! But 
 
 I am a poet 
 
 And want you to know it, 
 
 For, say what you please, 
 
 You never can tease 
 
 Me." 
 
 This had been Wilifred's earliest po- 
 etical effort. As it had not been ap- 
 preciated as poetry, she had graciously 
 allowed it to serve as a joke, saying phi- 
 losophically, that after all she liked jokes 
 a great deal better than she did poetry. 
 
 " Delhaven," her papa went on, "is as 
 beautiful a country place as I know of 
 in America, having every natural advan- 
 tage, ancestral elms and all. The house 
 in itself is delightful, and, Will, there is 
 the prettiest room with an oriel window, 
 which shall be yours, my darling." 
 
 "Yes, thank you, papa!" said Wili- 
 fred. " But do tell me about the stables. 
 How many stalls are there ? " 
 
Wilifred. 29 
 
 " All we shall want, — ten or twelve, I 
 should say," was the answer. 
 
 " If there are so many, papa, you 
 might let me have one. I '11 exchange 
 that room with the oriel window for it." 
 
 " I don't think the little brass bed- 
 stead I bought for you will suit the style 
 of the stall," the Doctor objected gravely. 
 He adored his little daughter, but he 
 could not refrain from teasing her. 
 
 " O papa ! don't joke," she cried. 
 
 " Why not ? I thought you liked 
 jokes." 
 
 " I don't feel jokey now, papa. I 'm 
 awfully serious about the stall, and of 
 course nobody thinks of sleeping there. 
 I supposed you would not give me an 
 empty stall, for that would n't be a very 
 useful present. I can ride just as well 
 as the boys, and they are each to have a 
 horse." 
 
30 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Very well ; you shall have a horse 
 too, you wheedling little monkey." 
 
 " And a dog. I never could have 
 horses and dogs because we were al- 
 ways travelling about so. What 's the 
 good of settling down, if I cant have 
 a dog ? " 
 
 " None at all. I am going to settle 
 down just so you can have one." 
 
 " I like mastiffs," said Wilifred, pay- 
 ing no attention to this jest, " they are 
 so splendid and so big. Collies are 
 nice too, they run and jump so. And 
 there are those awfully 'cute little 
 terriers with their bright eyes. Every 
 one must like them. And pugs, papa, 
 the dear ugly little things ! I like pugs 
 and setters of course, and hounds and 
 spaniels." 
 
 " And you would like a few of each, 
 I suppose," laughed Dr. Moran, taking 
 
Wilifred. 3 1 
 
 the cigar from his lips to kiss the eager 
 little face beside him. . " Well, we will 
 have some dogs, my dear. You and 
 Arthur and I all love animals, don't 
 we? Arthur says he must have a 
 pointer." 
 
 " Yes, papa, he wants it for hunting. 
 I don't think Arthur is very fond of 
 animals; he just likes to shoot things. 
 I think it 's horrid of him to kill the 
 dear little birds, and I hope his pointer 
 won't point. But, dear me, how jolly 
 it will be to have a horse ! You wont 
 buy one for me that 's too gentle, will 
 you ? for you know I like to ride fast. 
 And you know, papa, I will need a 
 habit, for I had so outgrown the old 
 one that mamma left it in Italy." 
 
 " A habit ? Oh, certainly. Can't you 
 think of something else you would 
 like ? " 
 
32 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 The Doctor spoke in jest, but he had 
 so often asked a similar question in 
 earnest that the little girl took him at 
 his word, and answered promptly : 
 
 " Why, yes, papa, lots of things. 
 Since the time you asked me and I 
 could n't think of anything I have kept 
 a list." 
 
 " Dear me ! was there ever such 
 a time ? I am sure I don't remem- 
 ber it." 
 
 " I do. I have never forgotten it," 
 said Wilifred pensively. " It was so 
 stupid of me, and when it was too late 
 I did think of something that I wanted 
 very much. But what I am going to 
 ask for now is a phaeton," she went on 
 brightly. " If I have a horse, I may as 
 well have a phaeton, and perhaps I can 
 coax mamma into driving with me 
 sometimes, — that is, when the weather 
 
Wilifred. . 3 3 
 
 is just right, for you know mamma is 
 very particular about the weather.' 1 
 
 " Very well," was the answer. " You 
 shall have the phaeton, but you must 
 remember that you are not to go out 
 alone in it, for, although you drive very 
 well, you are yet a small child. And 
 what should I do if any accident were 
 to happen to you ? " 
 
 From the fores^oino; conversation it 
 may be seen how little Will was in- 
 dulged by the Doctor. To all remon- 
 strances he would reply with a shrug, 
 and declare there never was a child 
 more unselfish than she was, which 
 was a proof that he was not spoiling 
 her. 
 
 Wilifred often thought that of the 
 
 two her papa was really the least bit 
 
 fonder of her than her mamma, and 
 
 the truth is, that in the fulness of her 
 
 3 
 
34 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 health and spirits Wilifred sometimes 
 tried Mrs. Moran very much, and it 
 was impossible for her to sympathize 
 with her tastes as her father did. Then, 
 too, although Wilifred was very sorry 
 for her poor delicate mamma, and loved 
 her very much, she could not realize 
 how a trifling noise would set her 
 nerves aching and tingling, and how 
 much more comfortable she was with 
 only quiet and gentle persons around 
 her. 
 
 By the middle of May the Morans 
 were really settled at Delhaven, and 
 Will was enchanted. 
 
 Each day seemed to bring with it 
 some pleasant surprise, until she de- 
 clared that the only surprise possible 
 for her would be not to be surprised 
 at all. 
 
 At first, she had feared that the new 
 
Wilifred. 35 
 
 home was not in what she called the 
 " real country, but in a citified country 
 place, where things would be trim and 
 stylish." Wilifred had no taste for 
 suburbs. But as they drove from the 
 station to Delhaven it was over a genu- 
 ine old country road lying among the 
 varied charms of fertile green fields, 
 woods, and scrubby pastures. The 
 scrubbier they were, the better they 
 pleased Wilifred. 
 
 The new house pleased her too, 
 having been built in a generous and 
 comfortable style, with many city con- 
 veniences, of which, after all, she never 
 complained. The coveted stall once 
 hers, she had no objection to the pretty 
 room with its graceful furnishings, — 
 with its shelves of books and dainty 
 toilet articles. 
 
 The day this room was first occu- 
 
36 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 pied, the stable too had an inmate, — 
 a beautiful little chestnut mare, which 
 oddly enough received from its mistress 
 the name of Black Beauty. 
 
 " I don't see why not," Wilifred said, 
 when her brother Arthur objected to 
 this. " I knew a girl once who was 
 named Lily, and she was just as dark 
 as an Indian. You have named your 
 horse Colonel, but he is no more a 
 colonel than my horse is black." 
 
 And Arthur at once confessed that 
 Wilifred, as usual, had made her 
 point. 
 
 The Doctor bought two very fine 
 dogs, — a mastiff and a Gordon setter. 
 Then a collie was offered to him, which 
 was much too handsome an animal to 
 be refused. Arthur also had his pointer. 
 But to whomsoever the dogs belonged, 
 they were all of them devoted to Wili- 
 
Will f red. 3 7 
 
 fred. One clay a bright little Scotch 
 terrier followed the phaeton from town* 
 and, as its master could never be found, 
 resided permanently at the Morans un- 
 der the title of Tramp. 
 
 Among the various importations con- 
 stantly coming to Delhaven there was 
 One that did not please the little girl 
 overmuch. This was a rather formal 
 but highly accomplished lady as gover- 
 ness to Miss Wilifred. 
 
 It is a sad truth that this small per- 
 sonage would have been glad to post- 
 pone her education for an indefinite 
 period. When she thought of this pro- 
 cess, eventually to be passed through, 
 she felt deeply the tenderness of her 
 own age. It seemed to her a great 
 pity that one cannot acquire knowl- 
 edge as easily as one's physical growth. 
 However, the governess having already 
 
38 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 arrived, it was necessary to resign her- 
 self to the inevitable, — governesses, like 
 horses and dogs, being as she supposed 
 one of the results of settling down. 
 
 " There seems to be something bad 
 that comes with everything that 's good," 
 said this small philosopher, as she 
 watched Miss Weston's trunks being 
 carried into the house. " When it 's 
 summer there must be mosquitos, but 
 I 'd rather have summer come in spite 
 of the mosquitos, and I 'm glad we 've 
 settled down, even though I have to 
 have a governess. To be sure it is n't 
 quite the same thing, because you can 
 put up nets and keep the mosquitos 
 out, or if they get in you can kill 
 'em ; but you have to be polite to a 
 governess." 
 
 Wilifred always was very polite to 
 her governess, and they became good 
 
Vli/ifi'ed. 39 
 
 friends, although it is true, as Wilifred 
 said, they were " not exactly the same 
 kind." 
 
 " She is very nice, and I like her, but 
 she 's queer," Wilifred explained. " She 
 thinks it 's coarse to have so many 
 dogs, and she always screams when a 
 horse gets up on his hind legs, no 
 matter whether anybody is hurt or 
 not." 
 
 Everything was going on smoothly in 
 the Moran family, when one day the 
 boys came from the town with an aston- 
 ishing story of a little girl they had 
 seen there who was the very image of 
 Wilifred. 
 
 " It is the most remarkable likeness 
 you ever saw, Sir," said Randolph, 
 the elder lad, to his father. " I never 
 saw anything like it even between sis- 
 ters." 
 
4-0 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Nonsense ! nonsense ! " interrupted 
 the Doctor, rather crossly. " You have 
 seen another child with the same col- 
 ored hair and eyes. There are plenty 
 of children of Wilifred's complexion. 
 You would laugh at yourself if you were 
 to see them together." 
 
 " If they were dressed alike, I don't 
 believe we could tell one from the 
 other," persisted Arthur. " I want 
 you to see her, that 's all." 
 
 But the Doctor with a gesture dis- 
 missed the subject. No doubt he would 
 have been glad if the little girl also 
 could be so easily disposed of. 
 
 When Wilifred, who had been deeply 
 interested in the boys' story, left the 
 room, he reverted to it, but merely to 
 beg them never to mention this child 
 again. 
 
 In the afternoon, however, when he 
 
Wilifred. 4 1 
 
 went to the town, he had curiosity 
 enough to step into the lodging-house 
 called Bagley's, where he had been 
 given to understand the little girl could 
 be seen. 
 
42 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE " SLAVEY."' 
 
 IT was a long time after Wilifred 
 had been chosen by Dr. Moran 
 for his future daughter before a home 
 was found for her twin sister. 
 
 While one little girl became the 
 petted child of this rich man, the other 
 for some years was only one of twenty 
 little orphans who owed their living to 
 charity. One wore pretty clothes, had 
 many toys, and was taken from one 
 country to another, seeing what is most 
 beautiful and interesting in the world. 
 The other wore the plain uniform of 
 the asylum, had no toys to speak of, 
 and her pretty eyes had hardly looked 
 beyond the bare walls of the ugly insti- 
 
The Slavey. 43 
 
 tution building. More important than 
 all, one child was surrounded by the 
 love of her adopted parents, while the 
 other grew up with only an occasional 
 smile or kind word from the matron, 
 who of all people should not be blamed, 
 for without defrauding the nineteen 
 other children in her care, how could 
 she give any one of them more than 
 the twentieth part of her love ? 
 
 The child reached her second year, 
 and, no one coming forward to adopt 
 her, she was christened by the name of 
 her kind friend, the matron, Margaret 
 Purdy. 
 
 At six years of age little Margaret — 
 called Peggy — started out in the world 
 for herself. She was oh so brave and 
 so happy about it ! for she seemed to 
 fancy that this step was a promotion in 
 life, and she did n't in the least know 
 
44 The Little Sister of Wilifred, 
 
 what the world was like. How could 
 she, being only six years old, and never 
 having seen anything of it except that 
 tiny section called the home ? 
 
 This little Peggy had a remarkably 
 lovely face, an active mind, a patient 
 spirit, and a healthy body. She was to 
 start in life as a servant in the house of 
 a livery stable keeper, whose wife took 
 lodgers, which is not, on the whole, a 
 very elevated position in the world. 
 
 The place was not such a one as her 
 friends at the asylum had wished for 
 her ; but she was getting on in years, 
 at least as an inmate of that particular 
 institution, where the children rarely 
 remained after the asre of five. More- 
 over, it was promised that she should 
 go to school, and be decently brought 
 up ; and who could know that these 
 promises were not to be fulfilled ? 
 
The Slavey. 45 
 
 So one day little Margaret, smiling 
 and glad, kissed the friends of her baby- 
 hood, and courageously started forth 
 with her tiny hand in that of a strange 
 woman's, for the lodging-house known 
 in Bridgemont as Bagley's. 
 
 Here in spite of her tender years, and 
 the stipulation that she was to go to 
 school, Peggy was put immediately to 
 work. Al 1 day she was at the beck and 
 call of a dozen people, running here and 
 there for them, fetching this and that, 
 earning the name, by which Mr. Bagley 
 sometimes called her, of little Miss Step- 
 and-fetch-it. 
 
 The lodgers were nearly all colle- 
 gians. If they wished for anything, 
 they had a habit of coming out into the 
 hall and calling loudly for " Slavey," 
 until the quick patter of little feet an- 
 swered the summons. There was no 
 
46 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 one to think that perhaps Peggy ran 
 altogether more than was good for her. 
 Mrs. Bagley was an ignorant woman, 
 with a great many cares and a sharp 
 
 MRS. BAGLEY. 
 
 tongue. She was stout, with red hair, 
 snapping black eyes, and, as it seemed 
 at a first glance, a great many chins. 
 Her head hune back on her shoulders 
 
The Slavey. 47 
 
 and bobbed as she walked, in a way 
 Peggy unconsciously imitated, to the 
 great entertainment of the lodgers. As 
 one may imagine, in such a house there 
 was plenty of work to be done. When 
 Mrs. Bagley was at work she always 
 scolded, which was n't pleasant for the 
 family, but, like the noise of a machine, 
 had to be borne. Sometimes when she 
 left off work she forgot to leave off 
 scolding. 
 
 Mr. Bagley said he thought perhaps 
 it rested her, but it did n't rest other 
 people, and he was going to put his foot 
 down and stop it. Peggy used to keep 
 her eye on Mr. Bagley's feet, hoping 
 that some time he would suddenly do 
 as he threatened, and put one of them 
 down. There was so much of it that 
 she thought it ought to do some g-ood, 
 but when he put them down it was al- 
 
48 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 « 
 
 ways to skip out of the way as fast as he 
 could. It was more prudent, after all, 
 to retreat to the stable, but of course 
 Peggy could n't retreat to the stable, 
 so she bore more than her share of the 
 scoldings. 
 
 If the lodgers were unreasonable, if 
 she were cheated by the butcher, if it 
 rained on a washing-day, Mrs. Bagley 
 scolded Peggy. She scolded her be- 
 cause she herself was so stout, and be- 
 cause Peggy was so very long in grow- 
 ing up. Peggy felt her guilt in these 
 matters very deeply. 
 
 She was such a loving little soul, and 
 was so very lonely, that with the least 
 encouragement she would have loved 
 this cross Mrs. Bagley with all her 
 heart. Mrs. Bagley- never admitted 
 that she was cross, but she sometimes 
 confessed to being roused. And Peggy 
 
The Slavey. 49 
 
 always spoke of her mistress's temper 
 in the same delicate way. Although 
 Mrs. Bagley was generally cross, she 
 was sometimes not so cross as at others, 
 and once she actually patted Peggy's 
 head, and declared that, bad as she was 
 she might be worse. 
 
 The poor child had been overjoyed 
 at this not very extravagant praise. She 
 pressed up to Mrs. Bagley's side, and 
 looked with her great velvety eyes into 
 the little beady ones ; and there is no 
 knowing: what she nwht have said if — 
 some domestic mishap occurring at that 
 moment — she had not been pushed 
 crossly aside. To make love to Mrs. 
 Bagley was certainly very discouraging 
 business. 
 
 The world is full of kind-hearted peo- 
 ple, and it would be strange if none 
 such crossed Peggy's path. In the 
 4 
 
50 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 course of time a good-natured young 
 man came to Bagley's, and generously 
 permitted Peggy to make an idol of 
 him. 
 
 This Mr. Bolander at once discovered 
 that the child was working harder than 
 she should, and declared that, for his 
 part, he did n't think a fellow who would 
 let a little q-irl wear herself out to wait 
 on him was much of a gentleman. He 
 said this so loudly and so often that at 
 last it reached the ears of a certain Mr. 
 Fullerton, who had the next room to his, 
 and who was constantly calling upon 
 Peggy; and a terrible quarrel was the 
 result of it. There were, no doubt, 
 other reasons for the quarrel unknown 
 to her, but at all events this speech was 
 the beginning of it, and Peggy, who was 
 a timid little creature, was always trying 
 to prevent a collision between the two 
 
The Slavey. 51 
 
 men, and pathetically imploring Bolan- 
 der not to fight a duel for her sake. 
 That any human being should speak a 
 word in her behalf was a wonderful 
 thing to Peggy, and her gratitude knew 
 no bounds. 
 
 Peggy's champion was a small man, 
 with a boyish face and a gentle voice. 
 His brown hair curled lightly all over 
 his head and looked, Peggy admiringly 
 thought, like a beautiful French doll's. 
 He had pink cheeks, gray eyes, and a 
 pair of ears that were certainly too large 
 for beauty and projected very far from 
 his head. These ears, together with a 
 budding mustache that Peggy unkindly 
 called his third eyebrow, prevented the 
 likeness to the French doll being very 
 pronounced. Bolander's allowance was 
 small, so that he was obliged to cut down 
 his expenses to the smallest possible 
 
52 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 sum, and he wore coats that were very 
 shiny, and trousers dreadfully baggy at 
 the knee. In short, as he often said as 
 he looked at himself in the little cracked 
 mirror his landlady furnished, he had n't 
 any sort of style. He was what the 
 college boys call a dig, and had no time 
 to make himself popular with anybody 
 but the Slavey. 
 
 There were not many ways by which 
 Peggy could show her gratitude, but one 
 may be sure that Jack Bolander's match- 
 box was always filled, that his room — 
 one of Bagley's poorest — was carefully 
 dusted, and the least worn of the towels 
 put on his stand. Those that were 
 especially thin and miserable usually 
 found their way to Mr. Fullerton's room, 
 who in consequence was always grum- 
 bling about boarding-house towels. 
 Peggy always dreaded going into Mr. 
 
The Slavey. 53 
 
 Fullerton's room, for, beside cordially 
 disliking that young gentleman himself, 
 he kept there two little dogs who, when 
 she opened the door, flew out and 
 snapped at her. If the dogs escaped 
 she was obliged to fetch them back, — 
 Mrs. Bagley not allowing them in any 
 other part of the house, — and Peggy 
 was dreadfully afraid of dogs. 
 
 It was a very large house the child 
 often thought as she ran from one end 
 of it to the other, and there were many 
 rooms ; but, oddly enough, there was no 
 room for Peggy herself, who therefore 
 slept in the attic in a sort of closet 
 lighted by a skylight. 
 
 When she lay on her bed she could 
 see through the skylight on some nights 
 a particularly bright star, which with a 
 little girl's liking for ownership she 
 called her star. She thought it must be 
 
54 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 the one Mrs. Bagley meant when she 
 told her she might thank her lucky star 
 that she had been taken away from 
 that horrid home into a respectable 
 family. Peggy was very grateful that 
 she had a lucky star at all, and she 
 hoped it would help her to become good 
 and wise and rich. It is really a pity 
 to add the third adjective, as perhaps 
 Peggy's ambition would seem nobler 
 without it, but as the wish of a little 
 girl who slept in a closet it is not after 
 all to be wondered at. 
 
 The closet was bitter cold in winter, 
 and hot and stifling in summer, but was 
 very nice in spring and fall, Peggy said, 
 for she was a patient little thing who 
 never nursed her grievances. She was 
 always sorry that after her long day's 
 work, when she had the opportunity 
 of quietly thinking of all the pleasant 
 
The Slavey. 55 
 
 things her lucky star would bring her, 
 she should always fall asleep ; but in 
 reality this was the very luckiest thing 
 that could possibly happen to a tired 
 little girl who was a "slavey." 
 
 " Mr. Bolander," said Peggy one after- 
 noon when she had come into his room 
 with the towels and stopped for a few 
 moments' chat with her hero, " did you 
 ever hear of a self-made woman ? " 
 
 " A self-made woman. What do you 
 mean, chicken ? " 
 
 "Why, I heard Professor Whitney 
 talking about a very celebrated man, 
 and he said he was a self-made man. He 
 never had any advantages, the Professor 
 said, and no money, no one to help him, 
 and he had to do everything- for himself. 
 And now he is very celebrated. Could 
 a woman make herself ? " 
 
 " Why yes, certainly," said Mr. Bo- 
 
56 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 '• Well, then, that 's what I mean to 
 do. Do you know that, although I 'm 
 quite willing to be a slavey just for 
 now," Peggy said with a smile, " I don't 
 want to be one always. I would n't tell 
 Mrs. Bagley this, because she might 
 think I am ungrateful." 
 
 " I should think so," grunted Bolan- 
 der, scowling, as he always did when 
 his landlady was mentioned. 
 
 " Yes, I '11 be a self-made woman," 
 Peggy went on. She was afraid of 
 almost every one, but not of Jack Bolan- 
 der, — not even when he scowled. " Do 
 you think it will be very difficult ? I 
 suppose it 's easier to have some one else 
 make you than to make yourself." 
 
 " To be self-made means an awful 
 grind, Peg." said her friend in such a 
 way that she broke out, — 
 
 " Why, you mean to be self-made too ! 
 
The Slavey. 57 
 
 Well, I know you will come out all right. 
 There 's no trouble about you, who are 
 so awfully clever. I wonder what I can 
 be ? " 
 
 "What do you want to be, dear?" 
 asked the young man very gently, as he 
 lifted the poor little thing on his knee. 
 " There was once a poor washerwoman 
 who became the Empress of Russia." 
 
 " Oh, I don't want to be the Empress 
 of Russia," said Peggy, rather dolefully. 
 " I 've never been an empress yet, and I 
 don't know as I should like it. I don't 
 know how to speak Russian, and it \s so 
 far away you would never get to see me." 
 
 " Well, you are not obliged against 
 your will to be the Empress of Russia," 
 Bolander reminded her, " and there are 
 lots of other things. For instance, you 
 might be a prima donna and tra la la 
 yourself into a fortune. How does that 
 
58 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 strike you? I shall go and fling boun- 
 cing bouquets at Mademoiselle Peggi- 
 ana Purdioso." 
 
 " I am afraid I could n't be that," said 
 Peggy, laughing. " I can't sing worth 
 a cent, Mrs. Bagley says, and she ought 
 to know, for she sings beautifully her- 
 self. Did n't you ever hear her sing, 
 
 ' Are we almost there? are we almost there ?' 
 
 It 's the song of a girl that 's dying, and 
 she plays a lovely accompaniment on 
 the piano." 
 
 " Who, the girl that 's dying ? I 
 should think she would be too weak." 
 
 " No, Mrs. Bagley, of course. They 
 are taking her home to die, you know. 
 It goes like this." 
 
 Peggy straightened herself at the 
 table, drew in her chin with a view to 
 making it double, and, casting her eyes 
 
The Slavey. 59 
 
 toward the ceiling, began to play an 
 imaginary tune on an imaginary piano. 
 Then in a very deep voice she sang : 
 
 " Are we almost there ? are we almost there ? 
 Said the dying girl to her mother fair." 
 
 " It s lovely, but I 've forgotten the 
 rest. It always makes me want to 
 cry. 
 
 "So it does me, — just howl," said 
 Bolander. " Yes, I 've seen her do it. 
 Perhaps you could do something in the 
 burlesque business. I did n't know be- 
 fore you had a talent for that sort of 
 thing, but on the whole I don't believe 
 that would suit you. You are going to 
 be one of those dovey kind of women 
 that don't feel at home in a crowd. 
 The soft-eyed kind, with hair brought 
 down like that," he said, laughing, as he 
 tried to flatten Peggy's curls down on 
 either side of her pretty forehead, " and 
 
60 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 I must try and think of some genteel 
 thing you can do at home." 
 
 " I don't know how to do anything 
 but to sweep and dust, and to wait on 
 people," said Peggy, rather sadly. 
 
 " You certainly are sufficiently prac. 
 tised in that last art ; but though it re- 
 quires the patience of a saint, it never 
 leads to glory." 
 
 " I don't care for glory, I want to be 
 rich. You are making fun of me, Mr. 
 Bolander, 'cause you know I could n't 
 be any of the fine things you say. But 
 you know one might be different from 
 me and yet not be an empress, or any of 
 those other kind of ladies you spoke of." 
 
 " Yes, so you might," admitted Bo- 
 lander, stroking the rough little hand of 
 the slavey. 
 
 " There 's Mrs. Bagley. She is n't an 
 empress, but she is a great deal better 
 
The Slavey. 61 
 
 off than I am," said Peggy. " But 
 then I want to be different from Mrs. 
 Bagley." 
 
 " She is n't my ideal either, Peggy ; 
 but we are an ambitious lot." 
 
 " Mr. Brewer, who lives in the hand- 
 some house on the corner," went on 
 Peggy, paying no attention to this play- 
 ful sarcasm, " made all his money, Mr. 
 Bagley says, by inventing an egg-beater. 
 Just an egg-beater ! Mrs. Bagley 
 bought one the other day, so as to be 
 neighborly, I suppose, and I have used 
 it. It makes your arm ache dreadfully, 
 but he got rich by it all the same. 
 Then there was the man that invented 
 rubber for the end of pencils. Mr. 
 Bagley said he made heaps of money, 
 and I Ve made up my mind that the 
 best thing for me to do is to invent 
 something, — i don't know what exactly. 
 
62 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 The only thing I have thought of yet 
 is a rubber for the other end of the 
 pencil." 
 
 " That 's a strikingly original idea," 
 laughed Mr. Bolander. Then he looked 
 at her again, and his boyish eyes filled 
 with tears as he thought of her help- 
 lessness. He put her down on the 
 floor, and, walking up and down, he 
 said to himself : " The poor little mite ! 
 If ever I succeed, if ever I 'm able to 
 do more than drag my miserable self 
 along, I '11 help this poor chicken." 
 
 " Peggy," he asked, suddenly sitting 
 down again, " do you know the multi- 
 plication table ? " 
 
 " No," said Peggy, sadly, " I don't." 
 " Do you know how to read, dear ? " 
 " Not much, Mr. Bolander." 
 " Have you ever been to school ? " 
 " Yes, I went a week once all at one 
 
The Slavey. 
 
 63 
 
 time. I ought to have learned to read 
 then, when I had such a good chance. 
 
 BOLANDER AND PEGGY 
 
 And beside that I 've been to school on 
 extra days now and then, but usually 
 there has been too much to do at home. 
 
64 The Little Sister of Wilifred* 
 
 There is no time for anything, you 
 know, if you take lodgers, Mr. Bo- 
 lander," added Peggy, probably quoting 
 Mrs. Bagley. " It 's work from Monday 
 till Saturday, and even the blessed Sab- 
 bath is no day of rest for me." 
 
 " So it isn't; and a great shame, too, 
 you poor abused child ! " 
 
 " O no, I am not abused. Mrs. Bag- 
 ley is very kind, you know, to give 
 me a home and all my clothes," said 
 Peggy, looking down gratefully at the 
 graceless brown frock and patched pin- 
 afore she wore. " She says it costs a 
 fortune to keep me in shoes, and she 
 can't think how I wear them out so 
 fast." 
 
 " Can't she ? " growled Bolander. 
 " Well, you tell her that, if she did n't 
 keep you running all day long, your 
 shoes would n't cost her so much." 
 
The Slavey. . 65 
 
 " I don't think she would like it if I 
 were to tell her that. It would sound 
 as if I were complaining, you know, and 
 I don't mean to complain. What 's the 
 use when I 'm going to invent some- 
 thing, and be rich enough to have 
 what I like by and by," said Peggy, 
 cheerfully. 
 
 " What I would do if I were in your 
 place, Peg, would be to learn the multi- 
 plication table, to read well, and to write 
 a good plain hand," advised Bolander. 
 
 " But, you know," suggested Peggy, 
 gently, " I have n't very much time, and 
 beside I 'm afraid I should n't know 
 how to begin. I 'm 'most too stupid to 
 learn such hard things all by myself, 
 but if you think I could, I might try. I 
 suppose if I 'm to be self-made, I ought 
 to do it alone." 
 
 Fortunately, Mr. Bolander did not 
 
 5 
 
66 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 think she need push things to this ex- 
 treme. His intention was to persuade 
 Mrs. Bagley to let the child come to 
 him for an hour's instruction each 
 afternoon. 
 
 " That 's what it is to have a lucky 
 star," said Peggy, when this plan was 
 explained to her. " But you know you 
 study yourself in the afternoon, and 
 Mrs. Bagley — she would n't feel that 
 she could spare me." 
 
 Peggy never knew what arts Mr. Bo- 
 lander practised upon Mrs. Bagley, but 
 at a certain hour each afternoon she 
 was released from work with the gra- 
 cious remark, " Now scoot. If those or- 
 phan asylum folks knew of the advan- 
 tages I 'm giving you with a private 
 tooter, like the child of a dook, I should 
 think they might be satisfied." 
 
 So Peggy would joyfully fling down 
 
The Slavey. 67 
 
 her dish-towel or her broom, as the case 
 might be, and skip upstairs to more 
 congenial tasks. 
 
 The story got abroad that Bolander 
 was teaching trigonometry to the slavey, 
 and he was ridiculed unmercifully for a 
 simple act of kindness, but no amount 
 of ridicule could alter his purpose. 
 
 " I may be deficient in humor," he 
 would say, " but I can't see anything 
 so funny in helping a little girl who 
 has the good sense to care for an educa- 
 tion." 
 
 Sometimes their whole hour would be 
 wasted by these frolicsome young gen- 
 tlemen, who would beat a tattoo on the 
 door until Peggy's little head whirled, 
 and Mr. Bolander danced about the 
 room in helpless anger. 
 
 Once a number of them, each wearing 
 a checked pinafore and carrying a book 
 
68 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 under his arm, followed her into the 
 room, and recited in chorus, " Mary had 
 a little lamb." They looked so absurd, 
 that Peggy could not help laughing; 
 but Mr. Bolander jumped up in a great 
 rage and burst out, in a tone that was 
 meant to be very dignified, " Gentlemen, 
 this no longer ceases to be funny." 
 
 A speech which was followed by such 
 shouts of laughter that it was some time 
 before he could add, pointing to dis- 
 tressed little Peggy, " If you must have 
 diversion, don't let it be at the expense 
 of a friendless little thing like that." 
 
 Perhaps the young men realized the 
 meanness of their fun, for one by one 
 they departed, leaving Peggy and Bo- 
 lander masters of the field. 
 
A Puzzling Question,. 69 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A PUZZLING QUESTION. 
 
 IT is wonderful how far a little girl's 
 education can progress with only 
 an hour a day for study. At the end of 
 one year Peggy had some knowledge of 
 the three R's. The truth is, that beside 
 having a natural love of books, the poor 
 child was secretly trying to " catch up 
 with Mr. Bolander." Her chief ambi- 
 tion was to undertake the study of Latin, 
 and at the completion of each task she 
 would look up with those patient wistful 
 eyes of hers into Bolander's face and ask 
 if it were not almost time to bes;in. 
 
 It was because they were so very 
 patient and wistful, and Jack Bolander's 
 
7<3 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 heart so very soft, that one day in a 
 weak moment he yielded. It was weak 
 of him, because he really felt that it 
 would be better for Peggy first to learn 
 simple things, but his consent gave her 
 such pleasure that he really could not 
 withdraw it. 
 
 When he took down from his shelf a 
 Latin grammar, and, opening it before 
 her, repeated a few words that he said 
 she might learn, Peggy's heart nearly 
 burst with pride. 
 
 It was the declension of a Latin noun, 
 and it may be that he had no idea what 
 a tremendous task he was setting for his 
 pupil, or perhaps he thought the ordeal 
 of learning it would weaken her wish to 
 study the language. If this was his 
 plan it did not work as he anticipated, 
 for Peggy would have studied all night 
 rather than fail in this lesson. When 
 
A Puzzling Question. 71 
 
 the time came to recite it, the old famil- 
 iar words came tripping from her rosy 
 lips in a way that sent Bolander off into 
 peals of laughter. 
 
 " What 's the matter? did n't I say it 
 right ? " Peggy anxiously inquired. 
 
 " You are such a mite, Peg, you 
 have n't an idea how funny it sounds. 
 Just say it again, will you ? " 
 
 So once more she carefully pronounced 
 the words, which were followed by an- 
 other shout of laughter. 
 
 " Oh hush ! there goes Mr. Fullerton, 
 and he '11 be coming in to see what 's 
 the matter." 
 
 " Let him come," said Bolander ami- 
 ably. " It 's as good as the circus any- 
 how. Peggy, what earthly use do you 
 ever expect to have for Latin ? " 
 
 " Why, I did n't suppose it 's ever of 
 any use to anybody. Is it, Mr. Bolan- 
 
72 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 der ? What use will it ever be to 
 you r 
 
 " I am going to be a doctor, you 
 know, and will have to write my pre- 
 scriptions in Latin. Don't you know if 
 they are not written in Latin they 
 won't effect a cure ? " 
 
 " You are trying to chaff me," cried 
 Peggy, who of course picked up all sorts 
 of queer college words. " Goose oil is 
 not a Latin name, and it cured my sore 
 throat." 
 
 "But this isn't telling me why you 
 wish to study Latin," persisted Bolander. 
 " You must explain yourself." 
 
 " Well, maybe I '11 be a doctor too." 
 
 " That 's gammon. You 're going to 
 be an inventor, you know." 
 
 " I may invent pills, and they won't 
 effect a cure unless they have a Latin 
 name," cried Peggy in triumph. 
 
A Puzzling Question. 73 
 
 Mr. Bolander had first taken notice of 
 Peggy out of pity, but he came to care 
 for her very much. He often thought 
 he should always remember the little 
 figure in its rather dirty brown frock 
 studying Latin at his side as that of the 
 only intimate friend he had made during 
 his college days. He was a sociable 
 fellow, and, having found that a secret 
 was safe with Peggy, often took her into 
 his confidence. Thus she came to know 
 very well how many economies unknown 
 to the other young men he was forced 
 to practise, in order to go through the 
 college course, and she did her little 
 best to cheer and help him. She had 
 cut off the frayed edges of his cuffs 
 until they were pinked all round where 
 the scissors had slipped, and she had 
 slashed into the linen, and his hat was 
 almost worn out with frequent brushing. 
 
74 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 If he only were dressed in such smart 
 suits as the other boys wore, she was 
 sure he would look very handsome ; and 
 when after much pinching he bought his 
 new mackintosh, Peggy was as pleased 
 as if it had been a new dress for herself. 
 When the examinations came off, the 
 little girl's anxiety equalled his own. 
 How could he help loving her, even if 
 she were but a little servant, and not 
 always over clean ? 
 
 But Mr. Bolander was destined to 
 make other friends than Peggy. The 
 first of these was Randolph, the elder of 
 Dr. Moran's two sons. 
 
 Randolph was to enter college the 
 following fall, and hoped that he was 
 qualified to enter the second year, in 
 which case he would be a classmate of 
 Bolander's. It was upon his first visit 
 to Bolander's room that he saw Peggy, 
 
A Puzzling Question. 75 
 
 for it was the little girl's study hour at 
 that time. 
 
 " She is the very image of my little sis- 
 ter," he said, staring at her in astonish- 
 ment. " By the likeness any one would 
 take them for twin sisters. Whose kid 
 is she, Bolander? Where does she 
 come from ? " 
 
 " She comes from Mrs. Bagley's kitch- 
 en. She is my landlady's assistant," 
 Bolander answered, " and she has a turn 
 for the classics. Peggy, my dear, we 
 are so nearly through with the lessons 
 I think I will let you off now." 
 
 But before she was permitted to go 
 Randolph called Arthur, who was also 
 in the house, who came and testified to 
 the likeness. 
 
 When released, Peggy went upstairs 
 to her closet with the skylight, and, a 
 few minutes of her hour yet remaining, 
 
j 6 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 she threw herself down on her cot. As 
 she lay there a great many thoughts 
 came swarming into her little head, — 
 thoughts principally of the home and 
 the kind matron there, who used to tell 
 her sometimes of the day she and a little 
 twin sister were first brought to her, and 
 the pretty way they played together, 
 like two kittens, on the floor. A gen- 
 tleman had come, at length, and carried 
 away her little sister. He had adopted 
 her as a child of his own, Peggy was 
 told, and she would probably never see 
 her a^ain. 
 
 But this sometimes seemed to her too 
 cruel to believe. When she first came 
 to the Bagleys, in the terrible loneliness 
 of the big houseful of people, all careless 
 of herself, she thought continually of the 
 matron's story, and comforted herself 
 with the belief that some time she would 
 
A Puzzling Question. 77 
 
 find her sister, and they would live to- 
 gether as other sisters did. 
 
 But children's memories are short. 
 When Mr. Bolander came and befriended 
 her, Peggy's mind was filled with other 
 thoughts. He was much more inter- 
 esting than a sister she could not re- 
 member, and whom she was never again 
 to see. 
 
 But now as she lay on the cot looking 
 up to the square patch of blue sky above 
 the skylight she carefully recalled every 
 word she had ever heard about her 
 sister. 
 
 It seemed as if this little girl they 
 spoke of must be the same child that had 
 played with her at the home; and yet 
 if she were the sister of these fine young 
 gentlemen she could not be hers. It 
 was a terrible puzzle to Peggy. 
 
 At length, one day she slipped out of 
 
78 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 the house determined to see this little 
 girl who was said to bear such a wonder- 
 ful likeness to herself. 
 
 When she reached Dr. Moran's 
 grounds, Wilifred happened to be 
 playing tennis with Arthur, — the 
 Doctor watching the game from one 
 of the seats under the maple trees. 
 It was he who spied poor Peggy as 
 she stood by the wall, looking with 
 curious eyes at Wilifred as she darted 
 hither and thither over the ground. 
 
 Peggy was thinking, as she stood 
 there, that this little girl in her pretty 
 dress and jaunty tennis cap, although 
 much more beautiful, yet bore a strange 
 resemblance to the reflection she some- 
 times caught in the mirrors of the lodg- 
 ing-house slavey. She had just such a 
 tangle of red gold curls, just such soft 
 hazel eyes, and a nose and a mouth 
 
u.h 
 
 /■ 
 
 \M'-:*-JPS *j 
 
 \- 
 
 mmWP 
 
 
 
 
 
 ••WHAT DO YOU WANT HERE? - ' HE ASKED. 
 
So The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 which for the first time it occurred to 
 her were very pretty. As for the little 
 girls companions she hardly saw them, 
 so that when the Doctor suddenly 
 spoke close beside her she gave a start 
 of surprise. 
 
 " What do you want here ? " he 
 asked, in a tone which he tried to make 
 sharp, but which his really kind heart 
 forbade. 
 
 The look Peggy gave him from out 
 her timid eyes carried him back to 
 that day when she had hidden her face 
 in the matron's lap, while her sister had 
 toddled across the floor to his side. 
 Then he had wished to carry her off 
 with the other child ; but now his chief 
 desire was that he might never, or more 
 particularly that Wilifred might never 
 see her again. For the Doctor was a 
 proud man, and he did not like to think 
 
A Puzzling Question. Si 
 
 that this girl, so ragged, dirty, and 
 humble, could claim any kinship to his 
 little daughter ; and beside he wished 
 Wilifred to identify herself with his own 
 family, and never realize that she had a 
 sister of her own. 
 
 At the sudden question, shy little 
 Peggy moved away from the stone wall 
 upon which she had been leaning, and 
 answered, " I only wanted to see the 
 little girl ; I 'm not doing any harm." 
 
 " You are loosening the stones in the 
 wall," said the Doctor, feeling that on 
 some pretext or other he must drive the 
 harmless, soft-eyed little creature away. 
 He took a coin from his pocket, and, 
 hardening: his heart, went on, " Take 
 this and be off, and don't let me catch 
 you hanging about here again." 
 
 He felt like a brute as he watched 
 her move obediently on in the direction 
 
82 The Little Sister of Wilifrcd. 
 
 his cruel forefinger indicated, — but 
 at least Will had not even seen her. 
 Peggy's eyes had that dumb, patient 
 look that is seen in the eyes of ill-used 
 animals, — touching, because it seems 
 as if they realized their own helpless- 
 ness ; and she turned them to him as 
 she walked away, making him feel still 
 more uncomfortable. It is a sad thing 
 to be forbidden even so much as to look 
 at one's own sister, — the only relation 
 she had in the world, as the matron had 
 told him. 
 
 It seemed like a cruel breaking of 
 one of the sweetest ties of nature, and 
 although he could form for Wilifred 
 other ties to take the place of this, yet 
 who had considered the wrong to this, 
 lonely little girl, that, as he had been 
 told, was merely the servant of a lodg- 
 ing-house keeper? 
 
A Puzzling Question. S 
 
 o 
 
 The coin which the child had not 
 even noticed was still in his hand. He 
 dropped it into his pocket and walked 
 on, devising a scheme which he hoped 
 would atone for any wrong he might 
 have done to Peggy. 
 
84 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 # 
 
 CONTRASTS. 
 
 AS she walked home, Peggy felt 
 that she was no nearer the so- 
 lution of the puzzle than before It did 
 not seem to her that the dainty little 
 creature she had just seen could be the 
 same child that as a baby had played 
 with her on the floor at the home. 
 
 She was thinking too intently of this 
 matter to be much troubled by what the 
 Doctor had said. Beside, she was too 
 accustomed to snubs to be astonished 
 or to resent them, accepting them 
 meekly as the hard luck of a slavey. 
 Moreover, half-way between Delhaven 
 and the town she came upon a bit of 
 
Contrasts. 85 
 
 roadside literally gemmed with violets. 
 Sisters were sometimes unsubstantial 
 property, it seemed, but the violets 
 were really before her, and oh how big 
 and sweet they were ! 
 
 She remembered once having heard 
 Mr. Bolander say that he 'thought no 
 flower was so beautiful ; and Peggy 
 thought it would be pleasant to gather a 
 whole bunch of them, and place them 
 on his table as a surprise. However, it 
 was too late to gather them then, for 
 there were yet many tasks to be per- 
 formed at home. 
 
 So, promising herself to come for the 
 violets the following afternoon, she 
 went happily on. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley had been receiving a 
 call, and had not even noticed Peggy's 
 absence. She was in a wonderfully 
 good-natured and sociable mood, and 
 
86 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 for the want of an older listener began 
 talking to Peggy. 
 
 " I can tell you Mis' Brewer holds her 
 head pretty high, but why should n't she, 
 with all the money they 've made out of 
 that egg-beater. She don't set so much 
 by education as I do. I could see that ; 
 but lor', there 's odds in passengers. 
 That shawl she wore would be a passe- 
 pour-tout, as the French say, into any 
 s'ciety, though shawls has rather gone 
 by. I studied French when I was a girl, 
 Peg." (Mrs. Bagley pronounced this 
 word geurl when she was in company, 
 and she was still speaking as if she 
 thought Mrs. Brewer might be hidden 
 under the sofa.) " To be sure, I never 
 got so 's to speak it, but my father paid 
 enough for me to have learned to speak 
 it like a native born, and that comes to 
 the same thing. He gave his children 
 
Contrasts. 8y 
 
 every advantage, for he used to say they 
 were of good breed and worth training". 
 Lor' ! I little thought in them palmy 
 days how all the accomplishments he 
 was a-paying for would be wasted in 
 this kitchen. I never walked into the 
 kitchen in them days, for we kep' plenty 
 of help, — colored help, — my mother 
 would n't have white women, because 
 she said they always wanted to mix and 
 mingle with you. An' to think," ex- 
 claimed Mrs. Bagley, pathetically, with 
 a disparaging look at her meek little 
 handmaid, — " to think how I have now 
 to do all my work with only a worthless 
 young one to help me." 
 
 " I 'm growing as fast as I can," 
 said Peggy, swallowing her mortifi- 
 cation, with a smiling resolve to grow 
 as fast and be as useful as she could, 
 and thus make the contrast between 
 
88 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 those palmy days and the present less 
 painful. 
 
 " You '11 take your time about it, I 
 expect," snapped Mrs. Bagley. " Chil- 
 dren from 'sylums, that folks bring up 
 to be a help to 'em, are always slow 
 growers. Well, as I was saying, we 
 geurls had every advantage. I could 
 have gone to Europe and taken lessons 
 of the old masters if I 'd wanted to, but 
 I was always retiring. That 's been the 
 trouble with me, or I should have made 
 my mark long ago. Seems 's if 't was 
 an awful sacrifice to have gone an 1 mar- 
 ried Bagley, but 't is as 't is. I 'spect 
 the powers that be must have seen 
 he could never have got along by 
 himself." 
 
 And now, suddenly, Mrs. Bagley re- 
 sumed her usual manner, saying crossly, 
 " Bagley ! He don't no more care 
 
Contrasts. 89 
 
 whether I slave myself to death than 
 you do. What under the canopy do 
 you set there starin' at me for with all 
 there is in this house to do ? Go to 
 work this minute, Peg." 
 
 Thus being brought back to the real- 
 ities of life, Peggy now flew about to 
 make up for lost time ; but it was al- 
 ready growing dark when she went up- 
 stairs with the lamps. The rooms were 
 nearly all vacant, and Peggy, depositing 
 the last and the best of the lamps on 
 Mr. Bolander's table, sat clown to take 
 breath. 
 
 She curled herself up in his big chair, 
 meaning to wait until he came in. Pen 
 haps, having heard none all day, she 
 longed for a kind word ; for Mr. Bolan- 
 der was cramming for an examination 
 just then, and her lessons had been 
 omitted. Perhaps she wished to know 
 
90 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 how it had passed, and to give him the 
 pleasant word instead of receiving it. 
 
 She heard the other young men come 
 in, one by one, and then go out again 
 for the evening ; but Peggy still waited, 
 and at last a very strange thing hap- 
 pened. 
 
 Some one quietly opened the door 
 and stepped stealthily in. It was Ful- 
 lerton, and she was so taken by surprise 
 that she sat perfectly motionless while 
 he tiptoed across the floor to the table. 
 His back being toward her, Peggy 
 could not see exactly what he was 
 doing there, but she distinctly heard 
 the rustling of papers. Presently, quite 
 unconscious that the bright eyes of the 
 slavey had been upon him, Fullerton 
 crept out again. 
 
 Peggy was stunned, but she knew 
 what she had seen. " He is playing 
 
Contrasts. 9 1 
 
 some mean joke off on Mr. Bolander," 
 she whispered, with tears. 
 
 She waited until she heard him ofo 
 down stairs, and knew that he was out 
 of the house, and then went into his 
 room and looked about it as if to find 
 some explanation of his strange conduct. 
 
 "Why had he meddled with Mr. 
 Bolander's papers ? " she asked herself 
 anxiously. 
 
 On his own table were a number of 
 well written sheets of paper. One of 
 these as Peggy touched it slipped out, 
 and fell from the table into the waste- 
 basket beneath. A slam of the front 
 door now hurried Peggy from the room, 
 in which she had no wish to be caught. 
 
 In the morning she meant to put the 
 sheet of paper in its place with the 
 others ; but there was no time then, and 
 in the mean time, if Mr. Fullerton had a 
 
92 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 vain search for it, she told herself that 
 it would be no more than he deserved. 
 
 But in the morning Peggy forgot this 
 little incident altogether, for the morn 
 ing brought a train of troubles. It 
 was washing-day, and no matter how 
 hard she tried, she could not please 
 Mrs. Bagley, who was tired and cross. 
 
 The stove smoked, and the clothes 
 would not dry. Everything went wrong, 
 but no one was to blame, least of all 
 little Peggy, who nevertheless had to 
 suffer for it. One would not think 
 that even a person in a temper would 
 have the heart to scold the gentle little 
 soul, who never thought of answering 
 back, but worked patiently on, with her 
 pretty face full of trouble. 
 
 There was no lack of hard work that 
 day, and Peggy's legs ached and ached, 
 and nobody noticed and nobody cared. 
 
Contrasts. 93 
 
 When the afternoon came, she was 
 really too tired to go for the violets, but 
 she felt it would not do to neglect so 
 unusual a chance of giving pleasure to 
 Mr. Bolander. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley, upon being asked for 
 her permission, declared that, as she was 
 not good for much of anything at home, 
 she might as well go, and Peggy took 
 advantage of the permission without 
 stopping to think of the unkindness of 
 her words. 
 
 When she reached the spot where the 
 violets grew, she was so tired, and every- 
 thing seemed so miserable, that she 
 would have liked for once to have a 
 good cry ; but she winked away the 
 tears, trying to think of something 
 pleasant, and the sagest philosopher 
 could not have counselled a wiser 
 course. 
 
94 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 She stretched her tired little body on 
 the ground where the bushes hid her 
 from the road, and, laying her hot cheek 
 against the fresh turf, listened to the 
 comfort the chirping little creatures 
 that lived there had to offer. 
 
 Presently the sound of wheels aroused 
 her, and then she heard the voice of 
 a little girl exclaim, " O papa ! what 
 lovely violets ! I want to get out and 
 gather some of them ! " 
 
 " Well, you must make haste then, 
 Will," answered a man's voice, and 
 Peggy, recognizing it as the voice of 
 Dr. Moran, shudderingly drew back 
 still farther behind the bushes. " You 
 know how Barbarina hates to stand." 
 
 " O papa, you go on, and take me 
 up when you come back," cried the 
 little girl.. " It takes ever so long to 
 pick violets." 
 
THE CHILDREN STOOD PERFECTLY QUIET, LOOKING GRAVELY AT 
 EACH OTHER. 
 
g6 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " I don't know about leaving you here 
 alone," said Dr. Moran, anxiously; but 
 Barbarina approved so strongly of the 
 plan as to overcome the objections of 
 the Doctor, who finally drove off, leaving 
 Wilifred smiling by the roadside. 
 
 Thus it was that the meeting took 
 place that he was trying so earnestly to 
 prevent, for in a moment more Wilifred 
 and Peggy were standing face to face. 
 
 It was a curious moment, for the 
 children stood perfectly quiet, looking 
 gravely at each other, without speaking. 
 
 " You are the little girl they say looks 
 so like me," Wilifred said at length. 
 " I am very glad you are not homelier." 
 
 " Oh ! did you ever hear of me be- 
 fore ? " cried Peggy, humbly. " I saw 
 you yesterday when you were playing 
 tennis. Your papa came to our house, 
 and said he did n't want us to see each 
 
Contrasts. 97 
 
 other, and Mrs. Bagley scolded me for 
 going where I am not wanted." 
 
 " Well," said Wilifred, smiling, " here 
 we are anyhow, and it is n't your fault, 
 and it is n't mine. I came to gather 
 some violets." 
 
 " So did I," said Peggy. 
 
 The children stooped down and be- 
 gan to pick the flowers, but Wilifred 
 went on talking. 
 
 " I don't see why papa should mind 
 my seeing you. I used to play with a 
 little peasant girl in Nice, and he never 
 cared for that. If you were ugly, he 
 might think it would hurt my feelings, 
 because the boys say you look so like 
 me. But no," said Wilifred slowly, tak- 
 ing another look at the child, — " you 
 are certainly not ugly. How you stare 
 at me ! You had better pick your violets, 
 or I shall get them all." 
 
98 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 "Well, you may have them. I don't 
 care for the violets now. Your name is 
 Wilifred, is n't it? Mine is Peggy," one 
 little sister announced to the other. 
 
 " They are not the same sort of names, 
 are they ? Mine is finer than yours ; 
 but no matter. I '11 tell you something, 
 Peggy, — you are really prettier than 
 I am." 
 
 " O no," gasped modest Peggy, " not 
 nearly as pretty." 
 
 " Yes, I can't tell you why, but you 
 are. Perhaps it 's because your eyes are 
 so soft and shining. You look gentle 
 and good. Peggy is n't a pretty enough 
 name for you." 
 
 " I was called Margaret at the home." 
 
 " The home ? " echoed Will, staring a 
 little in turn. 
 
 " Yes, that was before I came to the 
 Bagleys'. Where did you live before 
 you came here ? " 
 
Contrasts. 99 
 
 " O, we travelled about all the time. 
 In Italy, France, Germany, wherever 
 mamma wished to go." 
 
 " Well, where were you when you 
 were a baby," persisted Peggy. 
 
 " I don't know," said Wilifred ; but no 
 sooner had she spoken the words than 
 the almost forgotten story of the nurse 
 flashed into her mind. 
 
 " Are you really the sister of the 
 young gentlemen I saw in Mr. Bolan- 
 der's room ? They said you were their 
 sister, but that you and I are like twins. 
 I have a twin sister, but she was taken 
 away from me when we were babies, 
 and I don't know where she is now. I 
 could n't help thinking that perhaps you 
 might be she. Please don't be angry 
 with me," said Peggy, meekly. 
 
 Wilifred's cheeks flushed. It was 
 never her wish to tell strangers that the 
 
ioo The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Doctor was not her own papa, and he 
 himself had once told her that she had 
 better not answer questions like this, it 
 being a subject which only concerned 
 themselves. But here was this strange 
 little girl, with her great steady eyes 
 fixed upon her face, and whose earnest- 
 ness would have an answer. 
 
 " They are not my own brothers," she 
 said at length, " and I too had a twin 
 sister." 
 
 The two children looked again stead- 
 ily at each other. Peggy's tace was 
 shining with happiness. 
 
 " You are my twin sister," Wilifred 
 went on ; for, indeed, looking at the face 
 so like her own, who could doubt it ? 
 
 " Oh, I am so happy ! so happy ! " 
 laughed little Peggy. " I knew I should 
 find you some time, although the matron 
 said I never would. She used to tell 
 
Contrasts. 101 
 
 me how cunning you were, and how 
 nicely we played together when we were 
 babies, and just how it all happened." 
 
 " How did it happen ? " asked Will. 
 
 " Well, you see, a gentleman came 
 one day to the home to choose a little 
 girl for a daughter," Peggy began in the 
 very words she had so often listened to. 
 " It was Dr. Moran, of course, only I 
 never knew his name before, and we 
 were babies just learning to walk and to 
 talk. We were just alike, and the ma- 
 tron always said we were very good and 
 cunning." 
 
 " I think we must have been very 
 pretty babies," interrupted Wilifred, with 
 a look at Peggy. 
 
 " Yes, we must have been pretty," 
 Peggy assented, with her admiring eyes 
 fixed upon her sister's lovely little face. 
 " At any rate, we looked exactly alike, 
 
102 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 and the gentleman at first could n't 
 make up his mind which of us to choose. 
 So while he was looking at us and trying 
 to decide, what should you do, Wilifred, 
 but run up to him, calling, ' Papa ! papa ! ' 
 So he chose you." 
 
 " Is that all ? " asked Wilifred. 
 
 " Yes, that 's about all. The matron 
 said that, before they took you away, she 
 put you down beside me and you patted 
 my face, saying, ' Poor ! poor!' just as 
 babies do." 
 
 Will leaned forward and repeated 
 the caress, looking pityingly at Peggy. 
 Then she impetuously broke out, " I 
 think I was a real scheming: selfish 
 kind of a baby to get ahead of you so ! 
 I 'm ashamed of it." 
 
 " O no, you were just as sweet and 
 cunning as you could be," protested 
 Peggy. " I was a silly baby, and afraid 
 
Contrasts. 103 
 
 of people, I suppose, just as I am 
 now." 
 
 " If I had n't gone to him and called 
 him papa he might have chosen you. 
 Then you would now be in my place, 
 and I — why, I would be Mrs. Bagley's 
 servant, would n't I ? How I should 
 hate it ! but then it would be no worse 
 for me than it is for you. I feel just as 
 if I had cheated you. O Peggy, is it 
 very horrid at the Bagleys' ? " 
 
 " It 's not so very bad," was the 
 patient answer. " Of course, I don't 
 wear pretty clothes as you do. I 'm 
 just the slavey." 
 
 " The slavey ? " 
 
 " Yes, that s what the college boys 
 call me." 
 
 " Well, it 's a shame, for you are much 
 too pretty for a slavey," broke out Wili- 
 fred, and then blushed, feeling that she 
 
104 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 had been paying herself a compli- 
 ment. 
 
 " But I am a slavey," said Peggy. " I. 
 have to wait on the lodgers, you see ; 
 there is n't anybody else to do it. And 
 when I am not waiting on the lodgers I 
 am waiting on Mrs. Bagley. It 's hard 
 work, to be sure, and it makes your legs 
 ache sometimes, I can tell you. But 
 then they get rested again." 
 
 Wilifred sighed, and an expression 
 of real distress clouded her soft, hap- 
 py little face. Peggy's life seemed 
 dreary as she thought of the brightness 
 and love in her own, so that her voice 
 was very earnest as she said, " If 
 I could, I would share everything I 
 have with you. Once I knew two 
 twin sisters, and if one had a thing the 
 other had to have it too. That 's always 
 the way with twins. Indeed, Peggy, 
 
Contrasts. 105 
 
 I was a selfish baby to get ahead of 
 you so." 
 
 "Oh, but you didn't know what you 
 were doing," Peggy cried, " and I 'm sure 
 I 'm ever so glad that you are n't a 
 slavey too. I don't mind it so much 
 except when the young gentlemen make 
 fun of me, — they are so full of fun, you 
 know. But Mr. Bolander won't let 
 them tease me much now. You need n't 
 mind about me. I 'm lots happier, too, 
 for knowing I belong to somebody. 
 It 's nice even if people don't seem to 
 like it. When Mrs. Bagley says to me, 
 ' Well, who are you, I 'd like to know ? ' 
 I shall say to myself, ' I 'm the sister of 
 Wilifred,' and I shall feel so proud and 
 happy. It never seemed as if I was 
 anybody before. You are so good to 
 me, Wilifred ! You might have been 
 cross." 
 
106 The Little Sister of Wi I if red. 
 
 " I should think you are the one to be 
 cross ; but I 'm going to try and think 
 of some way of making things fairer. 
 There ought to be a way." 
 
 " O, no matter about that. Tell me, 
 are n't you dreadfully afraid of Dr. 
 Moran ? " 
 
 Wilifred shouted, " He 's the nicest of 
 all the nice things I have." Then, while 
 Peggy listened in wonder, she went on 
 to explain how fond she was of him, and 
 how good he always was to her. 
 
 " Do you go to school ? " Peggy asked, 
 having tried in vain to imagine Wili- 
 fred's life. 
 
 " No, I have a governess." 
 
 " That 's nice," said Peggy. 
 
 14 Do you call it nice ? I think it 's 
 horrid," answered Wilifred. " But I 
 don't study hard, because it 's summer 
 now, and papa told Miss Weston that I 
 
Contrasts. .107 
 
 must n't be taxed. She reads history 
 to me. We are reading about Mary, 
 Queen of Squats." 
 
 " That sounds interesting. Was she 
 a dwarf ? " 
 
 " No, indeed. I saw her once. She 
 was in a tableau, and she was very tall 
 and elegant, in a velvet dress with jew- 
 els on it. Old Elizabeth was jealous 
 of her, and had her put to death. She 
 was just going to execution when I saw 
 her." 
 
 " O dear ! " cried little Peggy ; " did n't 
 some one come and save her just at 
 the last moment ? " 
 
 " No ; but don't worry, Peggy. After 
 the curtain fell, she took an ice cream 
 behind the scenes," laughed Wilifred. 
 
 " The real one did n't," said Peggy. 
 
 u No, but the real one died ages ago. 
 She would have died long before this 
 
108 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 anyhow. If you are going to cry, it had 
 better be because you are a slavey." 
 
 " O, I don't want to cry for that," 
 said Peggy, cheerfully. " I 'm all right. 
 Tell me some more about yourself." 
 
 " Well, there is nothing to cry over 
 about me. I 'm awfully happy, — that 
 is, except when Miss Weston scolds me 
 for not putting my mind on my lessons. 
 O, I hate dreadfully to be scolded. I 
 have to do all sorts of things so as not 
 to get angry. Sometimes I count the 
 ands she says, or the buts, and when I 
 get ten I make up a sentence that must 
 begin with the letter that ends the last 
 word. It has to be something that fits 
 in, you know, and it has to be something 
 that 's perfectly respectful. I would n't 
 be disrespectful for anything, for papa 
 would n't like that." 
 
 " I should think she would want you 
 
Contrasts. 109 
 
 to listen when she scolds," said Peggy, 
 who always paid a troubled attention to 
 every word of Mrs. Bagley's. 
 
 " Listen ! My, you don't know how 
 you have to listen to do it ! You had 
 better try some time. Does Mrs. Bag- 
 ley ever scold you?" 
 
 " Y-e-s, when she is roused," said 
 Peggy, delicately. " I 'm so trying, you 
 see. I try not to be trying, but she 
 says it 's natural to me." 
 
 " I don't believe it. I believe you are 
 just as good and gentle as you can be. 
 And to think you are my twin ! I 
 ought to be the proud one. I 've a 
 dreadful temper. Mrs. Bagley ought to 
 have me." 
 
 " What sort of a window was that 
 you said was in your room," asked 
 Peggy 
 
 " An oriel window, and it has seats 
 
no The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 all round it, and shelves at the sides 
 with books, where one can sit and read. 
 What sort of a window do you have in 
 your room ? " 
 
 " They call it a skylight," was the 
 cheerful answer. " It 's first-rate unless 
 it rains. If it rains, you have to shut it 
 whether the weather is warm or cold, 
 and anyhow the rain leaks in some- 
 times. It drips down on the bed." 
 
 " I should think you would move the 
 bed to some other part of the room." 
 
 " There is n't any other part of the 
 room. The bed covers most all the 
 room there is. I asked Mrs. Bagley to 
 let me have her old umbrella to hold 
 up ; but she said, if she did, by and by 
 I 'd want her gold watch and fur tippet. 
 She thinks I 'm never satisfied." 
 
 " And don't you have anything then 
 that is pleasant ? " asked Will. 
 
Contrasts. 1 1 1 
 
 " Why, yes, of course I do," protested 
 Peggy. " There 's Mr. Bolander. No- 
 body could be pleasanter than he is. 
 He is my chum." 
 
 " I 've seen Mr. Bolander. He came 
 to see Randolph this morning, and he 
 had a great deal to say about the like- 
 ness between you and me. He is quite 
 a nice little man," said Wilifred, in a 
 patronizing tone that did not alto- 
 gether please Peggy ; " but, dear me ! 
 have n't you anything pleasant beside 
 Mr. Bolander?" 
 
 " Yes, I 've a lucky star. I see it at 
 night through the skylight. I hope 
 you have one, too, Wilifred, — it 's such 
 a comfort." 
 
 " I don't know whether I 've one or 
 not, and I don't care. What good can 
 a star be to you, when it 's ever and ever 
 so far away ? " 
 
1 1 2 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " It 's a great deal of good," answered 
 Peggy, eagerly. " I never feel half so 
 tired on nights when I can see my star. 
 It makes me feel as if the next day 
 everything was going to be different." 
 
A Bold Plan. • 1 1 3 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A BOLD PLAN. 
 
 WILIFRED lay back in the grass, 
 trying to think of some plan 
 by which she could share her blessings 
 with Peggy. She had always carried 
 her perplexities to Dr. Moran, but in 
 this case she feared he would not help 
 her. And yet something must be done. 
 Wilifred would have ceased to be her- 
 self if she had not made this resolve. 
 
 " Poor little Peggy,' 1 she thought, 
 •' how queer it is, when she is so gentle 
 and good, that papa should not have 
 had her, and that horrid Mrs. Bagley 
 have had me! It's just what that cross 
 
ii4 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 creature deserves, and perhaps it 's what 
 I deserve too." 
 
 And then straightway the strangest 
 idea came into that little girl's head, the 
 like of which would never have occurred 
 to any other than a generous, venture- 
 some child like herself. 
 
 She started up in the grass, looking 
 with her bright eyes at Peggy, like a 
 determined little squirrel. 
 
 " I knew I could think of a plan," she 
 said. " Now, I '11 tell you what, — we 
 will take turns being Mrs. Bagley's ser- 
 vant. I 'm sure that 's fair. Randolph 
 and Arthur said that, if we were dressed 
 alike, no one could tell us apart ; so we 
 have only to change our clothes, and 
 you can go home with papa, and I will 
 go to Mrs. Bagley's. Won't it be 
 funny ? " 
 
 Peggy, however, naturally shrank 
 
* jtfe- 
 
1 1 6 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 back in alarm from this wild scheme, 
 saying, " Oh, we could n't do that ! I 
 would be afraid, indeed I would." 
 
 But Wilifred would listen to no ob- 
 jections. She dragged her behind the 
 bushes, and by the force of her deter- 
 mination made her disrobe herself and 
 put on her own pretty clothes, while she 
 hastily dressed in those of Peggy. 
 
 The children were transformed by 
 the change of clothing, and for some 
 time amused themselves by looking at 
 each other. At length Wilifred said : — 
 
 " Once I read a story of two girls who 
 were discontented and wished to change 
 places with each other, but they had to 
 have a fairy to help them. We can do 
 it without a fairy. Those girls in the 
 book had a terrible time, and were glad 
 enough to be themselves again. But 
 this is quite different, is n't it? for I — " 
 
A Bold Plan. 117 
 
 she started to say, " am not discontented 
 and don't really wish to change places 
 with anybody," but thinking this might 
 not be pleasant for Peggy to hear, 
 hastily changed her sentence into — 
 " shall play I 'm a princess in disguise, 
 and so I won't mind being a slavey. I 
 hope you will have a lovely time, and I 
 promise to stand it as long as I can." 
 
 " It s well enough to pretend now," 
 answered Peggy, "but of course we can't 
 do any such thing. Dr. Moran will be 
 cominsf, and we had better change our 
 clothes again." 
 
 " But I say we will do it," was the 
 answer, made with a determined nod 
 that set all Will's curls dancing. " Yes, 
 Peggy dear, you must make up your 
 mind to it, for I 'm bent upon being the 
 Bagleys' servant myself for a while. 
 Don't you see it s no more than fair, 
 
1 1 8 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 and I should be uncomfortable if I 
 did n't. I want you to have a lovely 
 time, and forget all the horrid things 
 you 've borne. When I go back in your 
 place, what will I have to do first ? " 
 
 " Well, there will be the lamps and 
 the towels to take round to the different 
 rooms. You must be sure and give the 
 best to Mr. Bolander." 
 
 " Yes, he has been good to us, and he 
 shall have the best lamp as a reward," 
 laughed Wilifred. " What else must 
 I do?" 
 
 " O Wilifred ! you know you will 
 never go there," her sister cried ; but 
 she went on obediently to answer her 
 question. " There will be the table to 
 set for supper and the dishes to wash 
 up. You could n't do that." 
 
 " Plenty well enough for the Bagleys," 
 answered Wilifred, quite undismayed at 
 the prospect. " Go on. What else ? " 
 
A Bold Plan. 1 1 9 
 
 " You will have to bring in the kin- 
 dlings for morning, and I think there 
 are some dish-towels to hem." 
 
 " Well, I can do them after a fashion, 
 though I must say I never expected to 
 hem Mrs. Baglev's dish-towels. Let 's 
 see : I know the house quite well, — the 
 brown one next to the livery stable, and 
 it has high steps to the door." 
 
 " Yes, but you must go to the back 
 door, or Mrs. Bagley will scold you," 
 said Peggy. Then, quite overwhelmed, 
 as she well might be, at the boldness of 
 the plan, she cried out, " Oh, I can't let 
 you go there, Wilifred ! And besides I 
 would n't dare to take your place at the 
 Morans. Indeed, I would n't dare to do 
 such a thino-." 
 
 " You can't be my twin, after all, if you 
 are such a coward as that," said Wili- 
 fred, laughing at Peggy's fears. " Why, 
 
120 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 you will have nothing to do except when 
 the carriage comes to jump in and go 
 home. There will be no dish-towels to 
 hem, I can tell you. You must go and 
 kiss mamma good night before you go 
 to bed, — I always do that." 
 
 " Oh ! " gasped Peggy, " I never can. 
 Please give me back my clothes, Wili- 
 fred. You must." 
 
 " And be good to Black Beauty, giv- 
 ing him sugar when you ride him, and 
 take lots of notice of Tramp." 
 
 " A dog ! " cried little Peggy. " One 
 of Mr. Fullerton's dogs bit me once. I 
 don't like dogs." 
 
 " We are not twins as to dogs then," 
 replied Wilifred, regarding her thought- 
 fully. " Well, Tramp won't bite. He 
 will just wag his tail and lick you." 
 
 " Ow ! that 's just as bad." Peggy 
 drew back, as if the dog were already 
 
A Bold Plan. 1 2 1 
 
 present. " I don't like the feeling of 
 their great flapping tongues," she 
 declared. 
 
 " Hush ! here comes the carriage," 
 suddenly announced Wilifred. 
 
 The children looked at each other, 
 Peggy turning very white and whis- 
 pering, " Give me my clothes ! Give 
 me my clothes ! " 
 
 Barbarina was coming at her fastest 
 pace, and the Doctor must already have 
 seen them. 
 
 " It 's too late now, 1 ' said Wilifred, in 
 a firm voice. " If you do not do as I 
 tell you, we shall get into trouble. You 
 must let no one know what we have 
 done. Good by, Peggy, and be sure 
 and enjoy yourself all you can." 
 
 She slipped away behind the bushes, 
 leaving her less resolute companion 
 trembling bv the roadside. 
 
122 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 In a moment more the carriage 
 stopped at her side, and a gloved hand 
 was held out to her while the Doctor 
 said, "Jump in, jump in, child! Bar- 
 barina is in a hurry." 
 
 And Peggy, after a moment's painful 
 hesitation, scrambled into the buggy. 
 
 " What became of that child ? " asked 
 Dr. Moran, looking first on one side of 
 the road and then on the other. " That 
 was the lodging-house woman's child I 
 saw with you, Wilifred. Where has she 
 gone r 
 
 " Off," answered Peggy ; and, short as 
 the word is, it cost her a great effort to 
 utter it. 
 
 " All the better," the Doctor grum- 
 bled. " I wish she would keep off. 
 There is a great social gulf between you 
 and that little girl, my pet. I would 
 rather you would have nothing to say to 
 her." 
 
A Bold Plan. 123 
 
 Not being by nature deceitful, Peggy 
 tried to summon courage to explain 
 what had been done, so the Doctor 
 would stop Barbarina and call Wilifred 
 back; but she was such a timid little 
 thing, and she recalled so distinctly 
 how big and angry he looked when he 
 had sent her away from Delhaven bid- 
 ding her never to come back again, 
 that she shrank back in the carnage, 
 thankful that Wilifred's large hat shaded 
 her face, and thinking it would be easier 
 to tell him by and by. 
 
124 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A PRINCESS IN DISGUISE. 
 
 WHEN Wilifred saw Peggy get 
 into the carriage and drive 
 away in her place, she felt very strangely. 
 She impulsively scrambled out of the 
 bushes and ran into the road screaming, 
 " Papa ! papa ! " 
 
 But Dr. Moran did not hear her, for 
 which she was immediately very glad. 
 
 " I must really be very selfish," she 
 thought. " Here I have had everything 
 to make me happy all this time that 
 Peggy has been a slavey. And now I 
 don't seem to be willing to change 
 places with her. If papa had heard me, 
 
A Princess in Disguise. i 2 
 
 he would certainly have stopped, and off 
 
 I should have gone with him, just as I 
 
 did when I was a baby. Yes, I 
 
 am a horribly selfish little girl." 
 
 And so scolding herself she took 
 
 . -■'. .- : :~.\ ner way to the 
 
 '. ■ ■" ''^ '- rk--^ ,ir town. 
 
 IgCjjy^ By the time 
 
 '^%0 e: the big board- 
 ing-house came 
 in sight she had 
 k recovered her 
 
 "L ..-.- spirits, — it was 
 always so easy 
 for Wilifred to do this, — 
 and made her way to the 
 back of the house, feeling 
 mg |„ apa ' pa ~ that now the play was go- 
 ing to begin. 
 " It 's going to be ever so exciting," 
 the daring little damsel said to herself, 
 
 She ran into 
 the road scream- 
 
T26 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " and maybe I shall enjoy it after all. — 
 Halloo ! Stop ! Ugh ! I 'm all covered 
 with water." 
 
 This last remark was meant for Mrs. 
 Bagley herself, who, it appeared, was in 
 the act of washing up her back entry, 
 and, just as Wilifred reached the door, 
 flung from it a bucketful of dirty water. 
 
 " Dear me ! " she cried angrily, " you 
 give your orders as if you were the 
 queen. When I took you from the 
 'sylum, they did n't give me to under- 
 stand that you were a scion of royalty." 
 
 " I don't like to have dirty water 
 thrown at me, if I 'm not a scion, — 
 whatever that is," answered Wilifred 
 pertly. Her eyes were black, her 
 cheeks red, and her manner as different 
 as possible from meek little Peggy's. 
 
 " I s'pose you have been hangin' 
 round that Moran child again, in spite 
 
A Princess i?i Disguise. 127 
 
 of what I told you her pa said, an' 
 you are tryin' to imitate her airs. I 
 won't stand 'em long, I can tell you 
 that. Who are you, I 'd like to know, 
 anyhow ? " Mrs. Bagley never waited 
 for a reply to this question, which she 
 frequently used as an extinguisher of 
 possible pride in Peggy, and immedi- 
 ately went on : " You are an ungrateful 
 viper I took to my bosom from the 
 orphan 'sylum, — an' the most foolish 
 day's work I ever done." 
 
 The idea that she had been hanging 
 round the Mo ran child so pleased Wili- 
 fred, that she immediately recovered her 
 good nature. 
 
 " Can't I come into the house ? " she 
 asked, in what she meant for a very 
 meek tone. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley's portly person had 
 blocked up the entrance, but now she 
 
128 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 stood aside to let Wilifred pass. The 
 child carried herself in an unusually 
 erect and spirited way, she thought. 
 There was a careless smile on her lips, 
 and her eyes met her own in a strange, 
 fearless way, unlike Peggy's usual gentle 
 glance, which by no means pleased her. 
 
 " If you want to go in, step quick," 
 she said, looking at her closely. " You 
 can dry yourself off by the kitchen fire." 
 
 Wilifred stepped in. She thought 
 Mrs. Bagley the Grossest of women. 
 Peggy could have told her that it was 
 a mood that, with her, always accom- 
 panied the process of washing floors. 
 She was by no means the pink of neat- 
 ness, and such a task was put off as 
 long as possible ; but when the deed 
 must be done, Mrs. Bagley rolled up her 
 sleeves, and performed it with a great 
 swashing of water, and much scolding. 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 129 
 
 Wilifred found the kitchen damp and 
 dismal, and a man whom she rightly 
 conjectured to be Mr. Bagley sitting 
 disconsolately in one corner of it. 
 
 " When the missis is in one of her 
 cleaning moods," he had once said to 
 Peggy, " wherever you sit, you are 
 always in the way. I always try to get 
 into the farthest corner, and I can't get 
 far enough into it at that." 
 
 He looked up at Wilifred, and told 
 her to bring him his boots, for it was 
 time he should get the colt in from the 
 pasture. 
 
 In a field at the side of the house, 
 Wilifred had noticed a pretty little bay 
 horse. Even in her excitement, she 
 had stopped a moment to admire it, and 
 now, as Mr. Bagley seemed reluctant to 
 leave his corner, she volunteered to go 
 for the colt herself. 
 9 
 
130 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " You go ? That 's a good one," he 
 said. " You would faint away, if he was 
 to come within a rod of you." 
 
 " Oh, indeed I would n't ! " protested 
 Wilifred. " Do let me go." 
 
 " Don't be a silly, Peg*. Maloney 
 would bring him in for me ; but that 
 colt won't come anear any one but me. 
 You know you could n't catch him." 
 
 "Peggy! lor', I should think not," 
 said Mrs. Bagley, who was now wiping 
 her hands on the kitchen roller. " I 
 did n't tell you, 'Lish, that Dr. Moran 
 has been here again, and has offered to 
 send her off somewhere to boardin' 
 school. He takes a deal of interest in 
 Peg, don't he ? " 
 
 Wilifred's heart gave a terrible thump. 
 Suppose that, before she could change 
 places with Peggy again, she would 
 be whisked away to a boarding-school, 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 131 
 
 where there would be no chance at all 
 of escape. But from Mrs. Bagley's 
 next words it seemed there was no fear 
 of such a catastrophe. 
 
 " I told him," she went on, " that I 
 took the child from the 'sylum to wait 
 on me, an' not to make a fine lady of. 
 I promised 'em there that she would be 
 brought up to work, an' I aint goin' 
 back on my word. Yes, Peggy has got 
 to work ; but as for gittin' in the colt, I 
 guess she can't do that." 
 
 " Somebody beside me '11 have to do 
 it," answered her husband, throwing 
 down his boot with a groan, and hold- 
 ing his foot out straight before him. 
 " Look at that bunion, will you ? I 
 can't get a boot over that. She will 
 have to do it, or you will." 
 
 " Well I won't, you know," said Mrs. 
 Bagley. " Peggy, tell Maloney that Mr. 
 
132 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Bagley can't get his boot on, and he 
 will have to get the colt in. He is 
 standing right in the door of the stable." 
 
 Wilifred ran out and hailed the man 
 as if she had known him all her life. 
 
 " Maloney," she said, " Mr. Bagley 
 wants you to go for the colt. But he 
 won't let you catch him, and I think 
 you had better let me go." 
 
 " You, Peggy ? Sure, you 'd be 
 afraid av the shadder av the baste, let 
 alone the rale animal." 
 
 Although he declared it would be 
 useless for either of them to go, he got 
 a box of oats from the stable, and for 
 some time Wilifred watched him run 
 hither and thither, at the sport of the 
 wilful colt. 
 
 " I 'd like to break the bones av him," 
 Maloney grumbled, coming back to the 
 bars where the little girl stood. " Whin 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 133 
 
 you git up to him, sure he 's niver 
 there." 
 
 Wilifred took the oats, and, slipping 
 past him, walked slowly towards the 
 colt, who was now standing at the op- 
 posite end of the enclosure, watching 
 Maloney. She held out her hand and 
 talked to him, paying no attention to 
 Mr. Bagley, who stood with one boot 
 on in the doorway, calling to her. 
 
 " Come back here, Peggy, you can't 
 catch him.' 
 
 Right in the face of this declaration, 
 the pretty colt, with a toss of his head, 
 came trotting up to the child, and after 
 a moment, to the amazement of the 
 two men, followed her along to the 
 bars. 
 
 " She aint even got a halter on him," 
 murmured Maloney. 
 
 Smiling in triumph, with her hand 
 
134 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 just laid on his neck, Wilifred brought 
 the pretty creature up to him. 
 
 " You have only to be good and gen- 
 tle with him," she said. " There now, 
 see how you have jerked his head. He 
 will remember that to-morrow night 
 when you try to get him in." 
 
 " To-morrow night you will have 
 to get him in," said Mr. Bagley. " To 
 think how you have played scarey all 
 this time ! " 
 
 " She is sly ; that 's what 's the matter 
 with Peggy," Mrs. Bagley, who had 
 previously joined the group, now broke 
 in. " She pretends to be as meek 
 as a lamb, but she is foxy. Lor', I 
 would n't trust her." 
 
 The three elder persons looked 
 curiously at the child, and Maloney 
 laughed. 
 
 " You 're a 'cute one," he said. 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 135 
 
 Mrs. Bagley now declared that she 
 should go at once to her work, All 
 the young men had come in, she 
 said, and they would soon be calling 
 for lights. 
 
 Wilifred went into the hall, where, as 
 Peggy had told her, she found a row of 
 lamps and a big pile of towels. Taking 
 some of these, she went up-stairs and 
 boldly knocked at one of the doors. 
 
 A voice cried, " Come in," and, enter- 
 ing the room, she saw Mr. Bolander 
 seated at a table. 
 
 " Well, chicken, you are late to-night. 
 Why did n't you come for your les- 
 sons ? " he asked ; and then, looking up, 
 he suddenly ejaculated, " Ton my word, 
 that little sister of Moran's looks more 
 like you, Peggy, than you do like 
 yourself, so to speak. It 's a wonder- 
 ful likeness. I do believe, if you were 
 
136 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 dressed in her clothes, you could pass 
 yourself off to Dr. Moran as his own 
 child." 
 
 " I think so too," said Wilifred. 
 
 "Have you seen her?" asked Mr. 
 Bolander. " Have you ever seen her, 
 Peggy ? " 
 
 " Why, yes," answered Wilifred, " I 
 have." 
 
 " And what did you think of the like- 
 ness. Was it not like looking at your- 
 self in the glass ? " 
 
 Wilifred nodded. If she tried to 
 speak, she was sure she would laugh. 
 
 " Well, Miss Wilifred is a lucky little 
 damsel. What, I wonder, would she 
 say to such a life as yours, Peggy ? " 
 
 " She would say it is horrid, — per- 
 fectly horrid," cried Wilifred, hotly. 
 " And it is n't fair." 
 
 " So it is n't," said Bolander, drawing 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 137 
 
 the child up to him and kissing her, for 
 he thought that some especially cruel 
 thing must have happened that day to 
 draw such an expression of discontent 
 from the patient little soul. " Well, 
 never mind, little one," he went on con- 
 solingly, " I doubt if she makes as 
 much of her opportunities as you do 
 of yours." 
 
 " She does n't, I am sure she does 
 n't," cried poor Wilifred, looking solemn 
 enough, as she thought of her wasted 
 privileges, and contrasted her idle life 
 with the usefulness of Peggy's. 
 
 " Well, my little Cinderalla, your 
 time is coming yet. We self-made peo- 
 ple have to make the most of our 
 chances, — that \s all. We are poor 
 and lowly at present, Peg, but some 
 time we may be at the top of the 
 heap." 
 
138 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Slavey ! slavey ! " cried a voice at 
 that moment in the hall. 
 
 " There 's a nice young gentleman in the next door. 
 Towels are wanted at number forty-four." 
 
 hummed Bolander. " That 's Fullerton 
 calling you." 
 
 " Me ? " exclaimed Wilifred ; — and 
 then, recollecting her part, she added, 
 " Why, yes, of course," and ran into 
 the hall. 
 
 A young man with a pitcher in his 
 hand immediately hailed her with the 
 order, " Here, you slavey. I want you 
 to cut down stairs and bring me some 
 hot water." 
 
 Mr. Fullerton was looking distractedly 
 over the numerous articles on his table 
 when Wilifred, after many difficulties, 
 succeeded in getting what he wanted. 
 Evidently something was missing. 
 
 " Look here, Peggy," he said, on see- 
 
LOOK HERE, PEGGY," HE SAID, " I BELIEVE YOU HAVE BEEN 
 MEDDLING WITH MY PAPERS." 
 
140 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 ing the child, " I believe you have been 
 meddling with my papers." 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Wilifred, " what 'cute, 
 what lovely little dogs these are. What 
 kind of dogs are they ? " 
 
 " Now, see here, that 's just too thin," 
 said the suspicious Fullerton. " You 
 have pretended to be afraid of those 
 dogs too long to take this sudden inter- 
 est in 'em. You are trying to throw 
 me off the scent, but I will have an 
 answer. Now what have you done with 
 that paper ? " 
 
 " I have n't touched it. What pretty 
 brown eyes this dog has, and how affec- 
 tionate his little brother is ! See, he is 
 kissing my hand." 
 
 Wilifred had flung herself down up- 
 on the floor, and had both dogs in 
 her lap ; but suddenly she felt herself 
 lifted up by no very gentle hand, and 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 141 
 
 deposited at the other end of the room 
 by the wall, while Fullerton, completely 
 mastered by his irritation, stood in front 
 of her. 
 
 " You imp," he cried, " I have a mind 
 to break your impudent little head." 
 
 " If you touch me, I '11 tell papa, and 
 he will have you punished," cried Wili- 
 fred with flaming cheeks. 
 
 " Your papa indeed ! I suppose you 
 mean old Bagley. If you don't want to 
 get yourself into trouble tell me directly 
 what you have done with that paper." 
 
 But Wilifred was too angry to an- 
 swer. " Let me go," she screamed. 
 " Mrs. Bagley ! Mrs. Bagley ! Mrs. Bag- 
 ley ! " 
 
 There was a scuffle of feet in the hall, 
 and immediately the room was filled 
 with young men. 
 
 " The slavey is rantankarous, is n't 
 
142 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 she ? " cried one. " What 's the matter, 
 Fullerton ? " 
 
 While Mr. Bolander's voice called 
 angrily out, " Do leave that poor child 
 alone. What has she done?" 
 
 " She has been meddling with my 
 papers. The first page of my thesis 
 is n't here. And she won't deign to 
 answer a civil question." 
 
 " I suppose, as usual, you have fright- 
 ened her out of her wits. The child is 
 very timid. Let me have her; she will 
 tell me," said Bolander. 
 
 But Fullerton only laughed sarcasti- 
 cally, " She looks timid, does n't she ? " 
 
 Every eye turned upon Wilifred, who 
 was standing with clenched fists and 
 flaming cheeks, glaring at Fullerton. 
 
 " Upon my word, she looks like a 
 young tiger," one young man said to 
 another. " I did n't think the slavey 
 had so much spirit." 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 143 
 
 None of them, however, were as sur- 
 prised at this sudden exhibition of tem- 
 per on the part of the usually meek 
 slavey, as Bolander, who nevertheless 
 tried his best to defend her. 
 
 " What do you suppose the child 
 wants of your thesis ? It 's absurd to 
 suspect her of taking it." 
 
 " I don't suspect her of taking it," 
 Fullerton answered, " but I think it 's 
 quite likely she has thrown it away, 
 thinking it no good, though I Ve told 
 her no end of times never to touch the 
 things on my table. Do be reasonable, 
 Bolander, and stand back, for she has 
 got to answer me. Now, Peggy, you 
 imp, do you know what has become of 
 that paper? " 
 
 Poor Wilifred could make but one 
 answer to all questions. How could 
 she tell what had become of the young 
 
144 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 man's property ? But her eyes were 
 still angry, and Fullerton believed she 
 knew more than she would confess, and 
 all Mr. Bolander's eloquence could not 
 convince him to the contrary. He de- 
 clared he would appeal to Mrs. Bagley 
 herself, who should make her obdurate 
 slavey speak. 
 
 Much perplexed, Mr. Bolander took 
 the child away. Sitting down in his 
 own room, he drew her in front of him, 
 and looked at her closely. 
 
 " Peggy, my little girl," he said, 
 "what's come over you? I've seen 
 you bear no end of hard usage with the 
 gentle patience of a lady ; but to-day 
 you flared up at nothing at all, like a 
 regular little vixen. I hope you won't 
 let your temper be ruffled up in that 
 ugly shape any more. 'Pon my word, 
 you were not like yourself." 
 
A Princess in Disguise. 145 
 
 At this, Wilifred struggled a little to 
 free herself, but Bolander held her fast. 
 
 " Stand still a bit," he said, " I want 
 to look at you, and make sure you 
 really are my gentle Peg. When you 
 were fizzing out there at Fullerton like 
 a little cat, it seemed as if some other 
 child must be standing in your place." 
 
 This was certainly very trying to 
 Wilifred, who felt more and more un- 
 comfortable under Mr. Boiander's clear, 
 searching eyes. She took refuge in 
 silence, and as soon as she could left 
 the room. 
 
 What he had said, however, sank 
 deep into her heart, for she was 
 ashamed that Peggy, who had never 
 had any training at all, behaved so 
 much more like a lady than herself, 
 who had enjoyed so many advantages. 
 Beside, she did not like that word vixen, 
 
146 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 and she did not mean ever again to 
 have it truthfully applied to herself. 
 
 In the evening, when the dish-towels 
 were given her to hem, Wilifred tried to 
 work in the same meek and patient 
 spirit in which she thought Peggy's 
 tasks were performed. The result was 
 best known to herself ; but when bed- 
 time came and she folded her work and 
 put it away, it was with a feeling of 
 thankfulness that the day had really 
 come to an end. 
 
 The little girl, with a lump in her 
 throat, groped her way up the strange 
 stairs that led to the attic. She did not 
 remember having ever in her life gone 
 to bed without a good night kiss, and 
 she thought she would not be able to 
 sleep for the want of it. Peggy's room 
 was easily found, for the door stood 
 open, showing the cot under the sky- 
 
A Pr i? i cess in Disguise. 147 
 
 light, and she flung herself on the bed 
 with the reflection that she could not 
 remain another day in Peggy's place. 
 
 It was late before sleep closed those 
 wide, tired eyes of Wilifred. She tossed 
 from side to side, grieving over Peg- 
 gy's hard lot in life, and wondering 
 if there could not be some easier way 
 than this of helping her. 
 
148 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A LITTLE INTERLOPER. 
 
 '"THE truth is," said Dr. Moran to 
 his wife, " Wilifred is not well. 
 The idea of her being so upset because 
 the dogs jumped on her ! Why, they 
 are always jumping on her." 
 
 " I don't wonder at all," answered 
 Wilifred's mamma. " I saw you as you 
 drove up to the house, and the moment 
 she got out of the carriage the whole 
 pack flew at her, and almost knocked 
 her down. I 'm sure it would have 
 made me very nervous." 
 
 " Of course ; but Wilifred's nerves 
 are those of a strong, healthy child. It 
 
A Little Interloper. 149 
 
 usually takes a great deal to upset them. 
 Then she cried," went on the Doctor, 
 gravely. " You know how seldom that 
 happens ; and when I took her up, she 
 was trembling like a leaf, so I carried 
 her up to her room and told her to lie 
 down for an hour. It was not alto- 
 gether the dogs, either, for she was not 
 like herself before they jumped en her. 
 I noticed as we were driving home that 
 she seemed languid, and I could hardly 
 get a word out of her. Oueer she 
 should run down so all of a sudden." 
 
 " I will send Estelle for her by and 
 by, and give her some quinine," Mrs. 
 Moran said. " She is a little run down, 
 perhaps, but it 's nothing to worry 
 about." 
 
 When the dogs had flung themselves 
 upon Peggy, under the delusion, no 
 doubt, that they were welcoming their 
 
150 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 little mistress home, she had received a 
 great shock. Over and over again dur- 
 ing the drive to Delhaven she had re- 
 pented of having consented to Wilifred's 
 plan. Wilifred herself had been too 
 busily occupied in devising a scheme 
 to give happiness to Peggy, to realize 
 how much deceit lay in it ; but Peggy's 
 tender conscience gave her no rest from 
 its sharp stings. 
 
 As she stepped out of the carriage at 
 Wilifred's beautiful home, she was a 
 very miserable child, and the terror of 
 the dogs, added to all the other uncom- 
 fortable feelings, completely unnerved 
 her ; so that, losing all control of her- 
 self, she burst into a storm of tears. 
 
 It was anything but reassuring to 
 Peggy to be caught up in the Doctor's 
 arms, although in the tenderest way, 
 and carried up-stairs. It was not un- 
 
A Little Interlopci'. 151 
 
 til she had been deposited upon Wili- 
 fred's bed, and the Doctor had left her, 
 that she stopped trembling and wiped 
 her eyes. 
 
 She had been bidden to lie perfectly 
 quiet for an hour, and Peggy was too 
 obedient to get up, but she looked 
 around the room with a great deal of 
 interest. What a grateful girl the right- 
 ful owner of this pretty room must be ! 
 No wonder her eyes had that bright, 
 happy look in them. No wonder she 
 was good and generous. 
 
 There was the oriel window, even 
 prettier than she had fancied it, and 
 there were books, oh ! ever so many 
 books, which of themselves would make 
 any room delightful to Peggy ; but 
 nevertheless heartily did she wish that 
 she were in the closet with the skylight, 
 where she rightfully belonged. 
 
152 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 When Estelle, Mrs. Moran's French 
 maid, tapped at the door, she was so 
 long in mustering courage to bid her 
 enter, that the girl came to the con- 
 clusion that Miss Wilifred had fallen 
 asleep, and was just going away, when 
 Peggy's timid " Come in " was heard. 
 
 Estelle had come to dress her for 
 dinner, and many an exclamation she 
 uttered at the tangled condition of the 
 child's bright locks, and the unusual 
 roughness of her hands ; but as these 
 were made in French, Peggy was 
 spared any distress on that score. 
 
 Peggy made her first acquaintance 
 that day with various devices of the 
 toilet. When the process was over, 
 Estelle led her into another room, and 
 left her. 
 
 Here the light was so subdued by the 
 window hangings that Peggy hardly 
 
HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW, DEAR ? " ASKED MRS. MORAN, ANXIOUSLY. 
 
1 54 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 distinguished a figure lying upon the 
 bed, until a soft voice said to her, " Is 
 that vou, darling ? Come here to 
 mamma." 
 
 For a moment Peggy was undecided 
 whether to obey the voice, or to run 
 away and hide herself ; but she finally 
 went up to the side of the bed, and 
 looked down on the sweet face upOn 
 the pillow. No child would ever be 
 afraid of Mrs. Moran, with her tender 
 eyes and gentle voice, and Peggy let 
 herself be drawn down beside her on 
 the bed, and her heart began to ache 
 with pity for herself that she too had 
 not a mother. 
 
 " How do you feel now, dear? " asked 
 Mrs. Moran, anxiously. " Are you 
 rested ? " 
 
 Now Peggy, as it seemed to her, was 
 never so tired in her life as at this mo- 
 
A Little Interlope?'. 1 5 5 
 
 ment, and, creeping into the mother 
 arms that were held out to her, began 
 to cry. It was such a wonderful thing 
 to be pitied and petted, instead of 
 scolded. It was so nice to have any 
 one seem to care that she was tired, 
 and speak soft and loving words to her. 
 To be sure they were meant for Wili- 
 fred, but sore little Peggy listened, and 
 let herself be comforted by them. 
 
 By and by, she stopped sobbing alto- 
 gether, and lay with a soft, contented 
 smile, listening to Mrs. Moran, who was 
 trying to amuse her. She did not un- 
 derstand what was said. She had never 
 heard before of Uncle Jack, who it seems 
 had written her a letter ; or of Cousin 
 Morgan, who was in England ; or Janey 
 Wells, who was learning to play tennis ; 
 but she liked the cooing, tender voice, 
 and for the time felt very happy. 
 
156 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Presently Estelle came in, and an- 
 nounced that dinner was ready. 
 
 " Then, darling, you must go," said 
 Mrs. Moran. " Papa will be waiting 
 for you." 
 
 At the mention of the Doctor, Peggy 
 began trembling again. She thought 
 she would much rather not have any 
 dinner than to eat it in his company. 
 "Aren't you coming, too?" she asked. 
 
 " Why, you know I seldom do," was 
 the answer. " I shall take mine here as 
 usual." 
 
 " I wish I could have my dinner with 
 you," said Peggy, in her plaintive tone. 
 
 Now the way Peggy clung to her, 
 so different from the independence of 
 Wilifred, went straight to Mrs. Moran's 
 heart. Wilifred had never been known 
 to wish to eat dinner in this darkened 
 chamber in her company, and the ex- 
 
A Little Interloper. 157 
 
 , pressed desire of Peggy to do so pleased 
 and astonished her. 
 
 Accordingly dinner for two was sent 
 up, and, the servant being dismissed, 
 Peggy in her pretty, patient way, waited 
 on Mrs. Moran, who appreciated each 
 little service, the only flaw in her hap- 
 piness being Peggy's utter want of 
 appetite. 
 
 " It is so strange, dear, that you can 
 eat nothing," she said. " What can be 
 the matter with you ? " 
 
 " Oh, I aint hungry, that 's all," an- 
 swered Peggy. 
 
 "Don't say aint. It's ungrammat- 
 ical." 
 
 " I know it." cried Peggy. " Mr. Bo- 
 lander told me that." 
 
 " Mr. Bolander. Why, who is he ? " 
 
 " W T ell, he 's — er — Mr. Bolander," 
 faltered Peggy, realizing what she had 
 said. 
 
158 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Where did you see him, and how 
 did he happen to correct your gram- 
 mar ? " was the natural inquiry. 
 
 Peggy might have answered that Mr. 
 Bolander had been to Delhaven that 
 day, for so Wilifred had told her ; but 
 she was not practised in deceit, the use 
 of which was now making her thor- 
 oughly uncomfortable, and she longed 
 for courage to confess the truth and end 
 it all. " I have seen him in the village," 
 she stammered. " He lives at the big 
 lodging-house there." 
 
 " You ought not to go there. You 
 know your papa has forbidden it, for he 
 wishes you to keep away from that little 
 girl who is said to look so much like 
 you. Already you have caught a very 
 inelegant way of expressing yourself. 
 Promise me, Wilifred, that you will re- 
 member our wish." 
 
A Little Interloper. 159 
 
 Poor Peggy was wondering how she 
 could promise to keep away from her- 
 self, when Estelle came in and inter- 
 rupted the converstion. 
 
 She spent the whole of the evening 
 in Mrs. Moran's room, refusing to leave 
 her, declaring she was happier there 
 than she would be elsewhere. Having 
 spent so many evenings alone, Mrs. 
 Moran was cheered by the little girl's 
 company. She petted Peggy, — who, 
 unlike her sister, enjoyed being made 
 a baby of, — with the reflection that, as 
 Wilifred grew older, she grew more af- 
 fectionate, and that she would yet be a 
 comfort to her. 
 
 Presently the Doctor joined them. 
 Lying beside the mother, with her hand 
 in hers, Peo-o-v was not afraid ; but when, 
 sitting down upon the edge of the bed, 
 he drew her over to him, putting his 
 
160 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 hand on her forehead and feeling her 
 pulse, all the old fear came back. 
 
 " Her head is hot, her pulse too fast, 
 and her heart beats like a trip-hammer," 
 he announnced, unconscious that he 
 himself was the cause of this unhealthy 
 excitement. " It 's very strange the 
 dogs should have given her such a 
 shock." 
 
 " They must be kept in the stable in 
 future," Mrs. Mo ran said, with a decis- 
 ion that pleased Peggy. " This must 
 never happen again." 
 
 At about the same hour that Wilifred 
 folded away her dish-towels, Peggy, hav- 
 ing been tenderly kissed by both par- 
 ents, was carried off for a warm bath 
 and put to bed. 
 
 In the morning she slept late, and 
 when in some anxiety Mrs. Moran went 
 to call her she found her cheeks flushed, 
 
A Little Interloper. 161 
 
 her head hot, and feeling too tired to 
 get out of bed. The little girl had cried 
 herself to sleep, miserably wishing her- 
 self back in Mrs. Bagley's closet, and 
 was really ill, her over-tasked body 
 at last giving out under this mental 
 strain. 
 
 Mrs. Moran advised her to lie quietly 
 in bed for the rest of the morning ; but 
 Peggy was fearful of losing a chance to 
 escape from her uncomfortable position, 
 and begged to get up. She hoped that 
 in the bright morning lio'ht the discov- 
 ery would be made that she was not 
 Wilifred, but a poor little interloper, 
 who would then be released from her 
 misery. But strangely enough, when 
 there seemed any actual chance of this, 
 her heart beat so fast with fear that she 
 did all she could to prevent it ; and as 
 any strangeness in her behavior was 
 
1 62 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 attributed to her evident illness, no such 
 discovery was made. 
 
 The Doctor and his two sons were 
 already at the table when Peggy en- 
 tered the breakfast-room, and all three 
 rose and gave her a morning kiss. 
 
 " I declare she does n't look well," 
 said Randolph, trying to get a good 
 look at her downcast face. " Actually 
 pale. It is n't often that Wilifred loses 
 her color." 
 
 " And her spirits," added Arthur. 
 " She 's as grave as a deacon, this 
 morning." 
 
 Peggy was thankful when the conver- 
 sation was turned from herself. For a 
 time it ran upon matters in which she 
 took no interest, but at length her at- 
 tention was claimed by a remark of 
 Randolph's. 
 
 " You remember Bolander, don't you, 
 
A Little Interloper. 163 
 
 father? That fine fellow I told you of 
 who is having such a grind to get 
 through college. Well, he was sus- 
 pended last night." 
 
 " So ? " said the Doctor, who had 
 caught this exclamation in Germany. 
 
 " They say he sent an awfully insult- 
 ing paper in place of his thesis," said 
 Arthur. " I don't understand how he 
 ever came to do it, for he does n't seem 
 to be that sort of a fellow. He s tre- 
 mendously ambitious, you know, and 
 this will be such a set-back." 
 
 " But he denies having written the 
 paper, and declares it must have been 
 substituted by somebody for the thesis 
 he did write," said Randolph. " If he 
 can prove this, it will all be made right, 
 but the paper was signed with his name, 
 and things look black for him. Halloo, 
 Wilifred, what's the matter? " 
 
164 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Poor Peggy had listened in horror to 
 the foregoing conversation, and now, in 
 her grief for her friend, and despair at 
 her own helpless situation, burst into 
 tears. 
 
 Bolander's fate was instantly forgotten 
 in this distress in the family circle. The 
 Doctor and both boys endeavored to 
 comfort the tearful Peggy, who refused 
 to be comforted, and was finally carried 
 to Mrs. Moran. 
 
 "It's my opinion Will is going to 
 have a fever, or something. Who ever 
 heard of her cutting up in this style 
 before ? She is uncommon queer this 
 morning," — she heard Arthur say, as 
 she was being borne out of the room 
 by the astonished Doctor. 
 
 Left with Mrs. Moran, Peggy soon 
 recovered herself, and presently lay 
 quietly on the bed, while her anxious 
 
A Little Interloper. 165 
 
 nurse found a book and read a lively 
 tale to cheer her. But Peggy's mind 
 was too much occupied by a story of 
 her own to listen. She was thinking of 
 her poor chum, and of the trick Mr. 
 Fullerton had played upon him ; for it 
 was clear enough now to Peggy what 
 he had been doing that evening in Mr. 
 Bolander's room. The puzzling ques- 
 tion was how a knowledge of Fuller- 
 ton's act should be conveyed to the 
 faculty, who supposed themselves in- 
 sulted by her poor righteous Bolander. 
 She stood in much awe of those disrni- 
 taries, but felt, if she were only once 
 more the little servant of Mrs. Bagley, 
 she could face them all. As it was, 
 something must be done, — even Peggy 
 saw that. 
 
 When the Doctor came in and said 
 that William, the coachman, was going 
 
1 66 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 to the harness shop in town, and she 
 might, if she wished, go with him, she 
 hailed with delight the opportunity of 
 leaving Delhaven, with its possible 
 chance of seeing Wilifred. Dr. Moran 
 said that he also was going to the town, 
 but that he might be obliged to stay 
 there some time, so that she had better 
 go with William. Peggy made no ob- 
 jection to this plan. 
 
 As she drove into the town, she 
 looked with strange interest at each fa- 
 miliar feature. It seemed as if a long 
 time must have passed since she had 
 taken that walk to the spot where 
 the violets grew. When Mrs. Bagley's 
 lodsdnor-house was reached, she almost 
 fell out of the carriage in her desire to 
 see what was going on there. After 
 all, there was nothing more interesting 
 to be seen than the slouchy figure of 
 
A Little Interloper. 167 
 
 Maloney, who as usual was standing in 
 the doorway of the stable. 
 
 Peggy caught the familiar sound of 
 Mrs. Bagley's voice raised in scolding. 
 The voice came from the kitchen, and 
 there was not much doubt that Wilifred 
 was the victim. 
 
 " Oh dear ! that 's my scolding," 
 thought Peggy, enviously. " I ought 
 to be there to get it." 
 
 William's errand occupied but a few 
 moments, and they were soon upon 
 their homeward way. When again they 
 approached the lodging-house, Peggy 
 asked him to drive by very slowly. 
 
 " That 's Barbarina," he said, pointing 
 with his whip at a horse hitched to the 
 post in front of Mrs. Bagley's door. 
 " Your father must be in there, miss." 
 
 Peggy wondered what the Doctor 
 could possibly wish at Mrs. Bagley's, 
 
1 68 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 but it did not seem as if it could be any- 
 thing that concerned herself. Wilifred 
 was not in sight, and she had seen noth- 
 ing of Mr. Bolander, nor had anything 
 happened as she had hoped. She put 
 her ringers on her eyelids to keep the 
 tears back, and tried to think what she 
 could do. 
 
 There were two roads that led from 
 the town to Delhaven. The one usually 
 taken was the shorter, on which the vio- 
 lets grew; but now William turned into 
 the longer road. Peggy's mind was so 
 busy with her own thoughts that at first 
 she did not notice where they were go- 
 ing ; but the moment she did, it oc- 
 curred to her that they would pass by 
 Professor Whitby's house. Her heart 
 thumped with the knowledge that this 
 was a chance of giving him the infor- 
 mation that burdened her. 
 
A Little Interloper. 169 
 
 Before she had time to realize the au- 
 dacity of this plan, the house was in 
 sight, and she had told William to stop 
 there. Then Peggy got out and walked 
 as fast as she could on her trembling 
 little legs to the door. 
 
 The Professor's daughter, Miss Mary, 
 a young lady of whom Peggy had often 
 heard the collegians talk, was sitting on 
 the piazza, and, when Peggy asked for 
 her father, looked in at a window, 
 saying, " Papa, you 've a visitor, — little 
 Wilifred Moran." 
 
 " Hm-m-m," murmured a voice within. 
 " Well, well, bring her in." 
 
 To be introduced as Wilifred made 
 Peggy's errand seem more awkward 
 than before ; but there was no chance 
 of retreat now, and beingr led into the 
 Professor's presence she was forced to 
 explain it. 
 
i jo The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " I came to tell you about Mr. Bolan- 
 der, and how Mr. Fullerton played a 
 trick on him." 
 
 The Professor took off his glasses, 
 and peered down upon the top of Wili- 
 f red's hat, which completely hid Peg- 
 gy's shy face from view, and gravely 
 addressed the ostrich feather on the 
 crown. 
 
 " If you really know anything about 
 the matter, I shall be glad to hear you, 
 Miss Wilifred." 
 
 " My name is Peggy, and I 'm the 
 slavey at Mrs. Bagley's. She keeps the 
 lodging-house, you know, where Mr. 
 Bolander lives, and that 's how I came 
 to know anything about it." 
 
 It was Peggy's intention to explain 
 the matter as clearly and as quickly as 
 she could. 
 
 " The slavey at Mrs. Bagley's," re- 
 
A Little Interloper. i 7 1 
 
 peated the Professor slowly, looking in- 
 tently at the little figure in the white 
 embroidered frock and befeathered hat ; 
 but happily the Professor's thoughts 
 were not upon this unfitting ornament 
 of Mrs. Bagley's servant. 
 
 " That 's what the young gentlemen 
 call me," explained Peggy ; " all except 
 Mr. Bolander, who calls me his chum." 
 
 The kind smile the Professor be- 
 stowed upon her emboldened Peggy, 
 and in a few moments she had told all 
 she knew of the affair, and was on her 
 way to Delhaven feeling she had done 
 what she could to set matters straight. 
 
 " That little girl is Wilifred Moran," 
 said Miss Mary, having coaxed the 
 whole story from the Professor. " I 've 
 seen her with the Doctor a hundred 
 times. And the child said she was 
 Mrs. Bagley's slavey, did she ? And 
 
172 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 you believed her ? Slaveys do n't wear 
 ravishing feathers like that, papa; if 
 they did, who would n't be a slavey ? " 
 
 "I didn't notice what the child 
 wore," answered the Professor, with 
 rather a crestfallen air. " At all events, 
 she told a very straight story." 
 
 " I think 't was a ridiculous story. 
 The idea that Mr. Fullerton would do 
 such a shabby thing is nonsense. I 
 like him a great deal better than little 
 Bolander, with his pink cheeks and big 
 ears." 
 
 But these prejudicial features had 
 made no impression on the Professor s 
 mind, while he distinctly remembered 
 that the young man bore a reputable 
 character whereas Mr. Fullerton had 
 been caught in a dozen dark deeds. So 
 he resolved that he would send to Mrs. 
 Bagley and make inquiries concerning 
 
A Little Interloper. 173 
 
 this child, and this he would do at 
 once. 
 
 Peggy was so much cheered by the 
 knowledge that she had really been of 
 service to Mr. Bolander, that, in spite 
 of all other discomforting thoughts, she 
 was brighter than she had been at any 
 time since she had left Wilifred at the 
 cross-roads. The Doctor said that the 
 fresh air had done her good, and in the 
 afternoon he himself would take her for 
 a Ions; drive with Prince Edward. 
 
 " Wilifred is the only girl I know 
 who would n't be afraid of Prince Ed- 
 ward," observed Arthur. " He shies 
 dreadfully sometimes." 
 
 This remark threw poor Peggy into 
 a panic. She tried to console herself 
 with the reflection that there might yet 
 be some escape from the ordeal. The 
 Doctor might change his mind, and have 
 
1 74 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Barbarina harnessed instead of Prince 
 Edward, or better than that — much 
 better — Wilifred might come and re- 
 lease her : for she did not believe that 
 Wilifred would stay long with Mrs. 
 Bagley. She strolled out to the road, 
 and, weak as she was, walked to the 
 spot where the violets grew, hoping 
 Wilifred might be waiting for her there, 
 but no Wilifred was to be seen. How 
 she longed for courage to present her- 
 self in her borrowed plumes to Mrs. 
 Bagley, and tell her the awful truth ; 
 but after thinking awhile of her prob- 
 able reception she walked back to Del- 
 haven. The poor little thing had not 
 resolution enough to extricate herself 
 from the situation Wilifred's persistence 
 had forced her into, and she could only 
 bear it with her usual patience. 
 
 So the moments flew by, and soon 
 
A Little Interloper. 
 
 175 
 
 Peggy knew there was no escape from 
 the dreaded drive. Greatly trembling. 
 
 
 WATCHING FOR WILIFRED. 
 
 she allowed herself to be lifted into the 
 buggy, and as Prince Edward flew over 
 
i 76 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 the ground at what she thought a 
 furious pace, her face grew whiter and 
 whiter, and her heart beat faster and 
 faster, till at last, Prince Edward giving 
 a sudden plunge, she cried out ner- 
 vously, and begged to be allowed to get 
 out of the carriage. 
 
 This odd behavior took the Doctor 
 by surprise, but he held the horse in 
 with a firm hand, and, with many kind 
 and reassuring words to Peggy, turned 
 home again. 
 
 He was now convinced that the 
 child was seriously ill, and resolved to 
 take her immediately to the sea-shore, 
 hoping the salt air would tone her up 
 again. Preparations for such a trip 
 were already being made, which added 
 a good deal to Peggy's worries. 
 
 Sick and frightened, the little girl 
 clung to Mrs. Moran, trying to tell her 
 
A Little Interloper. 177 
 
 the secret that burdened her conscience. 
 The thought that when it was told she 
 would never again lay her head on that 
 gentle breast filled little Peggy with 
 bitter sorrow. 
 
178 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 for peggy's sake. 
 
 IF Peggy had known all the strange 
 and harrowing experiences through 
 which Wilifred was passing, perhaps 
 she would have nerved herself to con- 
 fess. 
 
 In the cheerful light of the bright, 
 new morning, Wilifred determined to 
 bear Peggy's burdens awhile longer. It 
 would be cruel, she thought, to bring 
 her back to the drudgery of her life, 
 with but such a tantalizing glimpse into 
 the brightness of her own. A whole 
 long merry day, however, would be 
 something to remember, and Wilifred 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 1 79 
 
 resolved that, no matter how disagree* 
 able the day at the Bagleys' would 
 prove, she would bear it for Peggy's 
 sake. But oh how the hours drac-aed ! 
 By breakfast time her resolution was in 
 constant need of propping, and if ever 
 Mrs. Bagley was justified in scolding, it 
 was on that miserable morning. 
 
 " I declare to goodness I never saw 
 such an exasperatin' young one," she 
 said to Mr. Bagley. " An' stoopid, — 
 my sakes ! Just fancy her askin' me 
 where the kindlings is kep', when she 's 
 got 'em in that identical place in the 
 shed every mornin' these three years. 
 I can tell Mr. Bolander education is 
 wasted on her. Lor', I wish he 'd teach 
 her common sense instid of Latin." 
 
 After the breakfast dishes were 
 washed, Wilifred found that she had 
 work to do up-stairs. It was the time 
 
180 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 the young men's rooms were put in 
 order, and she followed Mrs. Bagley 
 about, helping in various ways. Pres- 
 ently she was left with a dust-pan and 
 brush to sweep down the stairs. 
 
 It was then, when Mrs. Bagley had 
 departed to the lower regions, that Mr, 
 Bolander called her. " Come in here, 
 Peg," he said softly, holding open the 
 door of his room. " I want to tell you 
 something. I 'm down on mv luck." 
 
 " What 's the matter ? " asked Wili- 
 fred, with some interest, but by no 
 means the lively concern that Peggy 
 would have shown. 
 
 " I Ve been suspended. Fact, Peg. 
 A pretty how do you do, is n't it, for 
 a fellow that can hardly pay his way on 
 a straight course ? " 
 
 " What do you mean by suspended? " 
 asked Wilifred. 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 181 
 
 " Why, Peg ! As if you did n't know ? 
 Don't you remember that Lorton was 
 suspended the first of the year on ac- 
 count of that lark." 
 
 " O Mr. Bolander," exclaimed Wili- 
 fred, brightening. " What have you 
 been up to ? " 
 
 Such a look of surprise as Bolander 
 gave her ! 
 
 " See here, child," he broke out 
 sharply; "that's a regular give away. 
 I suspected you yesterday, and now I 'm 
 certain. At my tale of woe, Peggy 
 would have melted in sorrow. Where 
 is Peggy ? " 
 
 For a moment Wilifred was silent ; 
 but she knew it was of no use to try 
 and deceive this sharp young man, 
 whose air of disapproval stirred her 
 conscience into remorse for the deceit 
 she had practised. 
 
1 82 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " Peggy is at Delhaven, pretending 
 to be me," she finally confessed. " I 
 made her go, though she did n't want 
 to. She was afraid, you know. It 's 
 all my fault." 
 
 " Well, 'pon my word," said Bolander, 
 ,; if that is n't a scheme ! Afraid ! I 
 believe you. She must be scared stiff 
 by this time. Poor Peg ! " 
 
 " Oh, don't you think she is enjoying 
 it ? 1 shall be cross enough if she 
 is n't." Wilifred scowled savagely in a 
 mighty effort not to cry. Her plan 
 seemed to be turning out so miserably, 
 and the duplicity of it seemed, more and 
 more appalling. 
 
 By adroit questions Bolander was 
 soon in possession of the whole story. 
 
 " Well, I see you meant well," he said 
 at length, " but there is a heap of harm 
 done by people who mean well. I sus- 
 pect you 've made trouble enough." 
 
For Peggy s Sake. iS 
 
 6 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Wilifred, " I shall tell 
 papa everything. He is so good I 
 know he '11 forgive me, and I 'm sure 
 he 11 let me help Peggy." 
 
 " Well, I hope he will. She is in a 
 bad enough fix now, poor child." 
 
 " Do you think Mrs. Bagley will be 
 very angry with her ? " 
 
 " I think, metaphorically speaking, 
 my dear, she will take her blessed little 
 head off." 
 
 " Oh dear ! " said Wilifred, miserably, 
 " I feel as if I was a horrid Elizabeth, 
 and Peggy poor sweet Mary, Queen of 
 Squats. Oh dear ! what can I do ? " 
 
 " Do you think Mrs. Bagley suspects 
 anything ? " asked Bolander, smiling to 
 himself at this belittling title of Scot- 
 land's stately Queen. 
 
 " No, I 'm sure she does n't," an- 
 swered Wilifred, " but she is awful 
 
184 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 angry with me, — that is, with Peggy. 
 You see, I 've made so many blunders 
 this morning, and I broke a whole lot 
 of her dishes. They were dreadfully 
 ugly, but she said they were real heir- 
 looms, and I would have to do without 
 any more clothes until she had saved 
 up enough money to buy some others, 
 — that is, of course, not really I, but 
 Peggy. And if they cost as much as 
 she says, Peggy will have to wear her 
 old clothes until she 's grown up. But 
 no, I 'm sure papa will buy Mrs. Bagley 
 some more heirlooms." 
 
 " At the heirloom counter, I sup- 
 pose," grinned Bolander. 
 
 " Oh don't make fun," pleaded Wili- 
 fred, " but tell me what I can do." 
 
 " I really don't know," said Bolander. 
 " But let me see, — yes, this will be the 
 best way. At four o'clock Mrs. Bagley 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 185 
 
 always lets Peggy come here for her 
 lessons, and at that time I will take you 
 home, and bring Peggy back." 
 
 " Oh ! " implored Wilifred, clasping 
 Bolander's arm, " you won't let Mrs. 
 Bagley know that she is n't I. I mean 
 that 1 was n't she. Oh, you know what 
 I mean."' 
 
 " I 'm not going to aid and abet you 
 in any of your deceitful practices," was 
 the severe answer ; but Bolander could 
 not forbear a reassuring pat on Wili- 
 f red's head, for he knew her fears were 
 all for Peggy, and he shared them. " I 
 shall try to propitiate the great Bagley, 
 and persuade her to make Peg's sen- 
 tence light." 
 
 Here a sharp and peremptory call for 
 Peggy forced Wilifred to hurry down- 
 stairs. The sharp voice proceeded from 
 the room off the " settin'-room," which 
 
1 86 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 was Mrs. Bagley's own, in which she was 
 now flying about in a frantic endeavor 
 to don her robes of state. 
 
 " That 's Mrs. Brewer at the door, 
 Peg," she called out, " but don't go yet. 
 You know sence the bell 's broke we 
 don't hear it first time it 's rung. Lor', 
 this waist aint within three inches of 
 meetin'. 'T is a wonder how I can 
 flesh up so, slavin' the way I *do in the 
 kitchen. Well, I spose I '11 have to 
 throw a shawl round me, an' let it go 's 
 it is. What are you laughin' at, you 
 impudent thing ? Go to the door this 
 minute ; don't you see I 'm all dressed ? " 
 
 Wilifred opened the door, not to 
 find Mrs. Brewer, but a gentleman, who 
 looked at her very sharply, she thought, 
 as he asked for Mrs. Bagley. 
 
 He had called to make inquiries about 
 Peggy, who, he said, had just been to 
 
For Peggy 's Sake. 187 
 
 Professor Whitby's to give information 
 concerning Mr. Bolander. 
 
 " Peggy aint been out of the house 
 this mornin'," Mrs. Bagley assured 
 him. She was feeling very hot in the 
 shawl, and very cross, because of her 
 disappointment about Mrs. Brewer. 
 " She could n't have gone to Professor 
 Whitby's, and as for Mr. Bolander I 
 don't know nothin' of the trouble he s 
 got into ; but I do say no respectable 
 young man lodger would get suspended 
 right in the middle of the year* an' leave 
 my room vacant." 
 
 Mrs. Bagley did not see fit to inform 
 W T ilifred, or rather Peggy, of the object 
 of this call. She was afraid the child 
 might get an idea by it that she was a 
 person of importance. 
 
 The gentleman had hardly gone when 
 the door-bell was again rung, and this 
 
1 88 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 time Wilifred was sent immediately to 
 answer it. 
 
 Imagine her surprise at seeing Dr, 
 Moran, who smiled, and said pleasantly, 
 " Is Mrs. Bagley at home ? " 
 
 In her pleasure in seeing him she for- 
 got Peggy, and looked up in his face 
 and laughed ; and if his eyes had not 
 been fastened upon the advancing fig- 
 ure of Mrs. Bagley he would certainly 
 have discovered that this merry child 
 was Wilifred, instead of the shy, mel- 
 ancholy little creature he had left at 
 home. 
 
 Before she could obey the impulse 
 that urged her to fling herself into his 
 arms Mrs. Bagley came forward, and, 
 motioning her to go down stairs again, 
 led the Doctor into the parlor. 
 
 Wilifred ran off, feel i nor that after all 
 she was very glad she had not betrayed 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 189 
 
 herself, and spoiled Mr. Bolander's plan 
 for helping Peggy. At four o'clock, as 
 far as she was concerned, everything 
 would be over, and how she would 
 laugh at her papa for not knowing 
 her. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley had a long interview 
 with Dr. Moran. When it was over 
 she came down into the kitchen where 
 Wilifred was, and informed her that he 
 was a perfect gentleman. Her face was 
 wreathed in smiles. She was abso- 
 lutely pleasant. 
 
 "Just think of it, Peggy, my dear, he 
 insists upon sending you to boarding 
 school, and he has fixed things up real 
 comfortable for me while your 're gone. 
 I 'm going to have Ann Sarah Martin 
 here to help me with the work." 
 
 " How soon am I going ? " asked 
 Wilifred. 
 
190 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 " This afternoon. He 'pears to be in 
 a terrible hurry and can't wait. He 
 says he has made arrangements for you 
 at the boarding school, and will tele- 
 graph 'em when to expect us. Well, 
 I shall have to fly round some to get 
 ready." 
 
 " But I have n't any clothes ! " pro- 
 tested Wilifred, thinking of the very 
 limited stock she had examined in Peg- 
 gy's room. " You can't go to boarding 
 school without clothes." 
 
 " There 's gratitude for you ! " ex- 
 claimed Mrs. Bagley, sitting down with 
 a gasp, and addressing the flies on the 
 ceiling. " No clothes ! An' this is the 
 child I took an' brought up decent, 
 when she had n't a friend of her own, — 
 fed her with food from my own table, 
 with two helps more often than not, an' 
 a raging, tearing appetite for everything 
 
"I'M NOT PEGGY. YOU MUSTN'T TAKE ME TO BOARDING 
 SCHOOL. 1 ' 
 
192 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 that 's costly. No clothes ! An' I Ve 
 taken 'em off my back and given 'em 
 to her/' 
 
 The stroke of the clock here brought 
 a realizing sense of the value of time, 
 and Mrs. Bagley jumped to her feet 
 crying, — 
 
 " Mercy ! the train starts at four, an' 
 here it is twelve. I must go right to 
 work ; but if I get through so 's to have 
 the time for it, if I won't shake the 
 pride out of you. You 've had a heap 
 more clothes than ever you deserved. 
 However, Dr. Moran has promised to 
 send me a box of things for you ; but 
 if he knew what an ungrateful thing 
 you are, he 'd keep 'em at home." 
 
 " Mrs. Bagley," broke out poor Wili- 
 fred, " I 'm not Peggy. You must n't 
 take me to boarding school." 
 
 " You are not Peggy ! Lor' me ! 
 Who are you ? Queen Victoria ? " 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 193 
 
 " I 'm Wilifred Moran. Peggy and I 
 have exchanged places." 
 
 " Exchanged fiddlesticks ! " was the 
 contemptuous reply. " I 'm in too much 
 of a hurry for nonsense. Now fly 
 round and get them potatoes pared for 
 dinner." 
 
 " Oh, but I can't stop ! I 'm going 
 home and will send Peggy right back 
 to help you. I think she will be glad 
 to go to boarding school." 
 
 Wilifrid's private thought was that 
 there could be no mode of life more 
 disagreeable than this as Mrs. Bagley's 
 servant, but she prudently kept this be- 
 lief to herself. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley, who was now clattering 
 about in a hasty effort to put her 
 kitchen in order, paid no attention to 
 Wilifred's speech. 
 
 " Get to work, Peg ; get to work," 
 13 
 
194 "The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 she cried, raising her voice above the 
 clatter of the kettles and pans. " We Ve 
 got to be off by four, and there 's no 
 time to lose." 
 
 It was distressingly evident that she 
 did not give a second thought to the 
 little girl's story, and for the first time 
 Wilifred was frightened. Not very 
 much frightened, for she was sure she 
 could presently set matters straight, but 
 frightened enough to make her tone 
 very serious as she cried, " Oh ! if I 
 could only see papa!" 
 
 " Papa ! " repeated Mrs. Bagley. " Of 
 all simpletons ! But I see what you 
 are doing, — pretending you are that 
 child of Dr. Moran's. I done such 
 things myself when I was a young 
 one, but I took care to keep it to my- 
 self. You opened the door for your 
 papa, — queer he did n't know you, 
 aint it ? " 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 195 
 
 " Oh, he has got mixed up," Will 
 cried, eagerly. " I must go and explain 
 to him." 
 
 " Folks don't have to explain to their 
 own father whose clfild they are. Now 
 quit this nonsense, Peg, and go to work. 
 Mr. Fullerton says you aint to be 
 trusted, an' I believe him." 
 
 Wilifred now realized the uselessness 
 of talking to Mrs. Bagley, but what was 
 she to do ? Time was precious. The 
 moments that should be employed in 
 finding Peggy were slipping away. She 
 could not wait for Mr. Bolander. 
 
 The entry door was wide open, and 
 as the little girl looked anxiously out 
 into the sunshine, she resolved to waste 
 no more words. She ran out and flew 
 like an arrow along the street, laughing 
 at Mrs. Bagley, who was panting behind 
 her. 
 
196 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 Escape seemed easy until Maloney, 
 being called, joined in the pursuit. It 
 was nothing for him to overtake a nine- 
 year-old girl, and poor Wilifred was 
 soon marched back to the kitchen. 
 Here she was watched too closely to 
 escape again, and was made to go on 
 with Peggy's tasks. 
 
 Her first thought was of Mr. Bo- 
 lander. If she could see him, he would 
 convince Mrs. Bagley that what she 
 said was true ; but she begged in vain 
 to be allowed to call him. 
 
 Mrs. Bagley declared that she was 
 already " all of a tremble," and she 
 would have no more scenes. She was 
 afraid, although she did not say this to 
 Wilifred, that, if things did not go 
 smoothly, the arrangement she had 
 made with Dr. Moran, and which was 
 very much to her own advantage, would 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 197 
 
 fall through, and she was now just as 
 anxious as he was that Peggy should 
 go to school. 
 
 The Doctor's coachman brought the 
 promised box, the contents of which 
 Wilifred recognized as some of her own 
 clothes which had been cast aside. 
 How well she remembered the day 
 Estelle had folded them up, with the 
 remark that some poor child would be 
 glad enough to get them ! 
 
 Mrs. Bagley showed them to her, 
 thinking she would no doubt be pleased 
 and grateful. It must be an odd feel- 
 ing to receive one's own cast-off cloth- 
 ing as a gift, and Wilifred did not know 
 whether to laugh or cry ; but in spite 
 of her protestations it was packed up 
 in a little black trunk with some of the 
 best of Peo-ory's clothing. 
 
 Time flew like a bird. One o'clock 
 
198 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 struck, — two — three. At half past 
 three Wilifred had been dressed and 
 locked up in the parlor for safe keeping 
 until the carriage came, which would be 
 at a quarter before four. 
 
 In a fever of excitement she watched 
 by the window for the return of Mr. 
 Bolander, who had been out of the 
 house since dinner ; for on Mr. Bolan- 
 der all her hopes now hung. 
 
 The clock on the mantle shelf, un- 
 mindful of her agony, ticked away those 
 last moments. Five of them had al- 
 ready gone ; five more flew by. With 
 beating heart poor Wilifred searched 
 the street for the figure of Mr. Bolan- 
 der, which, alas! was nowhere visible. 
 
 The only person in sight was Maloney, 
 who, as Mrs. Bagley opened the parlor 
 door, came up the front steps. 
 
 " There bes a fair prospect of bad 
 
For Peggy s Sake. 199 
 
 weather, mum," he said, following her 
 in. " Did ye moind the big cloud in 
 the wist? An' will ye be goin' rain or 
 shine, Mis Bagley ? " 
 
 Wilifred waited breathless for the 
 answer. 
 
 " Lor', what should I care for a 
 shower ? We '11 be as safe and as dry 
 in the cars as anywhere else. Come, 
 Peggy, be quick. Here 's the carriage." 
 
200 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ALL 'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL. 
 
 IT was a terrible night, and Peggy 
 had wandered sadly, from window 
 to window, where the rain was smiting 
 the panes in furious gusts. The family 
 were all together in the library where 
 they had been watching the thunder- 
 storms, as one after another gathered 
 and burst. The wind swayed the tall 
 pines and tossed the lighter foliage of 
 the elms, while the woodbine along the 
 piazza was whipped into strings. 
 
 Another storm was now coming, and 
 as Peggy listened to the thunder and 
 watched the lightning as it played 
 
All's Well that Ends Well. 201 
 
 across the sky, she thought it an ex- 
 cuse for a further delay in speaking the 
 words that had been all the evening 
 on her lips. For she had at length re- 
 solved that she would bear this life of 
 deceit no longer. 
 
 From time to time she glanced at 
 Mrs. Moran, her eyes filled with wistful 
 love, and her heart with a dread of the 
 lonesome, loveless life at Mrs. Baglev's. 
 As for the Doctor, poor Peggy dared 
 not look at him at all. What would 
 he say, she wondered, when he knew 
 how he had been deceived ? She had 
 no doubt that he would instantly send 
 her out of the house, and she would 
 have to go home with the thunder 
 crashing over her head and the light- 
 ning blinding her eyes. Then came the 
 thought that perhaps Mrs Bagley would 
 be too angry with her to take her back 
 
202 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 in the old place, and then what would 
 become of her? 
 
 So the evening wore away, until at 
 last the boys went up-stairs to their 
 gymnastics, and Mrs. Moran folded up 
 her work, and Peggy, knowing that she 
 could delay no longer, cleared her ach- 
 ing throat, and beo;an, " Dr. Moran — " 
 
 But a sudden clap of thunder drowned 
 her voice, and the Doctor got up, and, 
 looking out of the window, cried, " That 
 struck near. 'T is a terrible night. I 
 pity the poor wretches that have to be 
 out in it." 
 
 " Then you must pity me," suddenly 
 sobbed the poor child. 
 
 She fell down at Mrs. Moran's side, 
 and hid her face in her lap. She was 
 trembling from head to foot, and her 
 voice shook with tears. Mrs. Moran 
 held her close, while the Doctor, with 
 
SHE FELL DOWN AT MRS. MORAX's SIDE, AND HID HER FACE 
 IX HER LAP. 
 
204 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 an anxious face, stooped down beside 
 her. 
 
 " What ails the child ? Wilifred, my 
 darling, what is it ? " he cried. 
 
 " Oh, I 'm not Wilifred," Peggy whis- 
 pered, in her piteous little voice, and 
 cowering away from him. " I 'm Wili- 
 fred's sister, and only Peggy. Oh, don't 
 be angry ! don't be angry ! " 
 
 " She is delirious. I will take her 
 up-stairs, and she must be put immedi- 
 ately to bed," said the Doctor gravely. 
 And he would have lifted her up, only 
 at just that moment there was a sound 
 of li^ht, hurrvino- little feet in the hall, 
 and in from the rain and the dark night, 
 wide-eyed and pale, came Wilifred her- 
 self, crying, in her own sweet, confident 
 tone, " O papa ! papa ! I have come to 
 you at last. You nearly sent me to 
 boarding school instead of Peggy." 
 
All's Well that Ends Well 205 
 
 No one could doubt which of the two 
 children was the true Wilifred, for it 
 was easy enough to detect the differ- 
 ence between this bright, buoyant 
 child, and the sad-eyed, shrinking lit- 
 tle thing who had been with them in 
 her place. 
 
 The Doctor sprang forward and 
 caught her in his arms, finding with 
 thankfulness that she at least did not 
 shrink from his kisses. 
 
 "Papa, O papa!" Wilifred went on, 
 " I have had such a fearful time. I 
 thought I should never get back to you 
 and mamma again, for Mrs. Bagley 
 would n't believe what I told her. I 
 deserved it all because I had deceived 
 you ; though I did n't mean to deceive 
 you, but only to do something for poor, 
 poor Peggy." 
 
 Unnoticed in the surprise Wilifred's 
 
206 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 arrival had caused, Peggy had crept 
 aside, and now stood watching them 
 with her great, mournful eyes. 
 
 Wilifred, now turning in the Doctor's 
 arms, held out her hands to her, cry- 
 ing, "O Peggy! dear Peggy! I'm so 
 sorry, but I 've made everything harder 
 for you. Mrs. Bagley is angry, oh ! 
 dreadfully angry, and I don't know 
 what she will do to you." 
 
 " I knew she 'd be roused," murmured 
 Peggy ; " but no matter, I 'm not afraid, 
 — not so very much afraid." But her 
 teeth chattered, and she trembled vio- 
 lently. Presently she closed her eyes, 
 and for a moment everything was dark ; 
 and then suddenly she realized that she 
 was in Mrs. Moran's arms, that Wili- 
 fred was holding her hand, and, stran- 
 ger than all, the Doctor looking down 
 kindly upon her with no displeasure at 
 
All's Well that Ends Well. 207 
 
 all in his face. For the first time, her 
 heart free at last of its burden, and en- 
 couraged by his glance, she looked up 
 and smiled at him. " I ought not to 
 have come here, I know," she said, " but 
 I will go back now." 
 
 " No, you sha'n't go back, Peggy," 
 cried Wilifred, in generous pity. 
 
 She put her arms in a sweet protect- 
 ing way around her sister, and looked 
 up pleadingly at the Doctor. 
 
 " Papa will adopt you instead of me. 
 Oh, yes, papa, keep Peggy. She is 
 better than I. She is gentle and good. 
 I won't be selfish, but go back to Mrs. 
 Bagley. Yes, Mr. Bolander will take 
 me back again instead of you, Peggy." 
 
 " Nonsense, you shall neither of you 
 go back there," cried a voice that Peggy 
 with much wonder recognized as the 
 voice of Mr. Bolander ; for she did not 
 
2o8 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 know that he had come in just after 
 Wilifred. 
 
 " I have a plan for Peggy," he said, 
 turning to Dr. Moran, and mopping his 
 forehead, for he had been much over- 
 come at Peggy's faintness. " I mean to 
 take her to my grandmother, who lives 
 on a farm, and will at least be kind to 
 her. I shall manage to take care of 
 the child somehow, for she sha'n't go 
 back to Mrs. Bagley." 
 
 " Well, she is n't fit to go anywhere 
 to-night," said the Doctor composedly. 
 
 He took Wilifred on one knee, and 
 pulled Peggy upon the other, saying, as 
 he kissed first one child's cheek and then 
 the other's, " It 's rather a pity, Mr. Bo- 
 lander, to separate twin sisters. I told 
 Mrs. Moran that when this pair were 
 babies : I really have n't the heart to 
 do it again." 
 
All s Well that Ends Well 209 
 
 " We will never separate them," cried 
 Mrs. Moran, getting up, and hovering 
 over the children like a sweet, maternal 
 dove in a crocheted shawl. " I could 
 not bear now to give up little Peggy." 
 
 " All 's well that ends well," it is said, 
 and what ending could be better than 
 this ? Peggy almost cried for joy, and 
 Wilifred clapped her hands, shouting, 
 " 'T is a better plan than mine. I never 
 thought of anything half as good." 
 
 Then together the children told what 
 had taken place between them on the 
 day they had gathered the violets. 
 
 " And to think, papa," said Wilifred, at 
 length, " that you never knew me when 
 I opened the door for you at the Bagleys'. 
 But 't was lucky I could n't cheat Mr. 
 Bolander, for if I had, I should have 
 been whirled off to boarding school. 
 Oh, how glad I was when, just at the 
 
210 The Little Sister of Wilifred. 
 
 last moment, as they were putting me 
 into the carriage, he came running up, 
 crying, ' You have the wrong child there, 
 Mrs. Bagley. Hold on, Maloney, or I '11 
 have you up for kidnapping.' And 
 Mrs. Bagley scolded, and I screamed, 
 and then there was that awful clap 
 of thunder, and the rain came down. 
 That 's why we were so long coming 
 here." 
 
 Peggy at once became Margaret 
 Moran, and was as dearly loved as her 
 sister. In her sweet and thoughtful 
 way, she always showed a deep affection 
 for both parents, but in particular de- 
 voted herself to her adopted mother, as 
 Wilifred did to the Doctor. 
 
 With her help the cloud over Bolan- 
 der was dispelled. He was soon on 
 intimate terms with the Morans, and 
 many of the pleasures that came into 
 his life were due to grateful Peggy. 
 
All's Well that Ends Well. 211 
 
 She became a great student, and 
 made so much of her advantages, that 
 when, many years later, she graduated 
 from college, Bolander, now a famous 
 physician, declared that she knew so 
 much he was actually afraid of her. 
 
 The likeness between the sisters grew 
 stronger each year. In an atmosphere 
 of love and sympathy, Peggy conquered 
 her timidity, and, as she grew strong 
 and healthy, wore the blooming radi- 
 ance so natural to Wilifred, who in turn 
 caught the graces of patience and gen- 
 tleness from her sweet twin sister. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Roberts Brothers Juvenile Books. 
 
 Dear Daughter Dorothy. 
 
 BY MISS A. G. PLY MPT ON. 
 
 With seven illustrations by the author. Small 4to. Cloth. 
 
 PRICE, $1.00. 
 
 -■■"" ■ « 
 
 DEAR DAUGHTER DOROTHY. 
 
 " T\\p child is father of the man," — so Wordsworth sang ; and here is a j^Uy 
 story of a little girl who was her father's mother in a very real way. There were 
 hard lines for him ; and she was fruitful of devices to help him along, even hav- 
 ing an auction of the pretty things that had been given her from time to time, and 
 realizing a neat little sum. Then her father was accused of peculation ; and she, 
 sweetly ignorant of the ways' of justice, went to the judge and labored with him, 
 to no effect, though he was wondrous kind. Then in court she gave just the 
 wrong evidence, because it showed how poor her father was, and so established a 
 presumption of his great necessity and desperation. But the Detis ex machhia 
 — the wicked partner — arrived at the right moment, and owned up, and the good 
 father was cleared, and little Daughter Dorothy was made gLd. But this meagre 
 summary gives but a poor idea of the ins and outs of this charming story, and no 
 idea of the happy way in which it is told. — Christian Register. 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS, Boston. 
 
Messrs. Roberts Brothc'7's' Publications. 
 
 By the author of "Dear Daughier Dorothy." 
 
 BETTY, A BUTTERFLY. 
 
 By A. G. PLYMPTON. 
 
 With, illustrations by the author. 
 
 Square 12mo. Cloth. Price, $1.00. 
 
 " AM I NOT FINE ? " 
 
 Sold by all Booksellers. Mailed by the Publishers on 
 receipt of the price. 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS, Boston. 
 
Messrs. Roberts Brothers' Publications. 
 
 A LOST HERO. 
 
 By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Her- 
 bert D. Ward. With 30 illustrations by Frank 
 T. Merrill. Small quarto. Cloth. Price, $1.50. 
 
 The lost hero was a poor old negro who saved the Columbia 
 express from destruction at the time of the Charleston earthquake, 
 and vanished from human ken after his brave deed was accom- 
 plished, swallowed up, probably, in some yawning crevice of the 
 envious earth. The story is written with that simplicity which is 
 the perfection of art, and its subtle pathos is given full and elo- 
 quent expression. But noble as the book is, viewed as a literary 
 performance, it owes not a little of its peculiar attractiveness to 
 the illustrations with which it is now adorned after drawings by 
 Frank T. Merrill. — The Beacon. 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS, Publishers, 
 
 BOSTON. MASS. 
 
Jolly Good Times at Hackmatack. 
 
 " There,"' said Miss Patty, " that 's a surtout as is a surtout." 
 Page 259. 
 
 By MARY P. W. SMITH, 
 
 Author of " Jolly Good Times ; or. Child-Life on a Farm," " Jolly Good Times at 
 School," "Their Canoe Trip," -The Browns/' With illustrations. i6mo. Cloth. 
 Price, $1.25. 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS, Publishers, Boston. 
 
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