n which he had been living,
hardly taking a breath in his excitement as his narrative swept along.
Suddenly he became quiet and bent toward her anxiously, penitently.

"Go on," she urged; "it's fine!"

"But I've forgotten to ask you how you've been and what you've been
doing. Or whether--next year--Of course I wish awfully that you could--"

He faltered, stopped. Then, after a moment, "But you're as brave as can
be to just go right on at this school and let your teacher help you all
she can. It'll all count, you'll find, when you start in studying some
place else."

She laughed merrily. "You haven't heard," she said. Even in the dusk he
could see that her face was beaming.

"Heard what?" he asked.

"That I've been going to school, but--not in the way you think."

He halted in the road. "What do you mean?"

"I've been teaching."

* * * * *

IT was a long way from the school to the farm-house, yet the colonel's
son and the little girl had so much to tell each other that they were
not done even when the lane was reached. So they paused in its gloom,
under the budding ash-boughs. A red-breasted thrush, just returned to
his old haunts, twittered inquiringly at them from a twig above, and the
horses nickered and champed on their bits. But they heard only each
other until, having lighted the lamp in the sitting-room, the biggest
brother strolled toward them, singing a gay love-song.

XIX

TOWARD THE RISING SUN

THE big brothers sat in a sullen circle about the sitting-room table,
the eldest smoking, the biggest studying his fingers, the youngest
whittling jackstraws. Near, silent and troubled, hovered the little
girl, watching the three who, like the Fates themselves, seemed to be
settling her destiny.

"So you don't want her to go," said the biggest, taking up the
discussion where it had been dropped a few moments before; "though you
know it was mother's last wish, an' that the youngster's always wanted
it. Well, your reasons; let's hear 'em again from first to last."

"What'll she do with all this eddication she's hankerin' for?" demanded
the eldest, flashing angry eyes around. "Tell me that."

"Huh!" grunted the biggest, and he threw back his head with a hearty
laugh. "Well! well!" he exclaimed, when he could speak; "_that's_ what's
worrying you, is it! Jus' let me ask _you_ something. Did you ever hear
of anybody in your life that had an eddication fastened on to '