ectly delighted with her, and carried her off home in a
paper sack, with her head poking out through a hole in one side, and her
tail sticking out the other. Two days later he stopped papa in the
post-office and told him, 'Your kitty's caught a mouse.' The next week
he met mamma and told her 'Kitty's caught three mice.' Then we didn't
see anything more of him for ever so long, and we supposed that was the
last of it; but, day before yesterday morning, he came to the door and
handed a bundle to mamma, and said he didn't like the kitty as well as
he thought he was going to, after all, so he'd brought her back. So here
she is. Don't you want her?"

"I wouldn't take such a looking cat as a gift," returned Allie
disdainfully. "But wasn't that just like Dr. Hornblower? He's very good;
but he's as stupid as he can be, and I don't s'pose it ever occurred to
him that he could pass the cat along to somebody else. Did you ever
notice the way Mrs. Pennypoker always calls him 'good old Dr.
Hornblower,' when she's ten years older than he is? I wonder how he'd
like it, if he could hear her."

"I don't believe he'd mind, for he likes her so well; at least, he's
there ever so much," said Marjorie innocently.

"H'm! you needn't think he goes to see Mrs. Pennypoker," said Allie
scornfully. "It's Miss Lou that he likes."

"Not that old man!" And Marjorie stared at her friend in amazement.

"He isn't so very old; and I don't know as I wonder if he does," replied
Allie, with an air of great enjoyment in her small gossip. "I should
think anybody might like Miss Lou, she's so pretty; and I just believe
Mrs. Pennypoker is helping him on. You wait and see."

The two girls were sitting alone in the open front door of the Fishers'
house, enjoying the late afternoon sun of a warm spring day. They had
been off for a long ride with the boys, as was their frequent custom.
The children all had their saddle ponies, and it was their delight to
canter off, soon after lunch, for an hour or two among the pleasant
mountain roads surrounding the town. On their return, they had stopped
for a moment at Marjorie's door, to find that Mrs. Fisher had gone out
to make some calls; and Marjorie had begged Allie to stay and keep her
company until Allie had at length yielded and allowed the boys to go on
without her.

There was a pause after Allie's last words; then Marjorie returned to
her original charge.

"Yes," she resumed; "Thursday is going to be her bir