everish, and she had persuaded him to go
to bed early, promising to hurry her dressing, and go in to sit with him
until the carriage came for her.

Now, as she arranged her great bunch of white roses, and tied them with
a long blue ribbon, before laying them ready beside her fan and gloves,
she was half resolving to give up the party and stay quietly at home
with Ned. Of the two boys, he was decidedly her favorite; and she
disliked the idea of leaving him to the mercies of Mrs. Pennypoker,
whose tenderness was a little too brazen in its nature to be acceptable
to an affectionate, impressionable lad like Ned. However, she knew that
her father was hurrying his return on purpose to act as her escort, so
she was unwilling to disappoint him at the last moment. She was still
hesitating what course to pursue, as she gathered up her train and
started for her brother's room, with the largest of the roses in her
hand, to leave with him when she went away. But, as soon as she came in
sight of Ned's face, she felt no further doubt. Unaccustomed to illness
as she was, she saw at a glance that the boy was worse, although he
opened his eyes and smiled at her approvingly as she paused beside him.

"You look just gay," he said hoarsely.

"Gayer than you feel?" Louise asked playfully, while she bent over him
and laid her cool hand against his flushed cheek.

"I'm all right; only I'm so warm, and my throat's a good deal sore," Ned
answered; then he settled back under the blankets, and closed his eyes
again.

Louise watched him closely for a moment. In spite of Mrs. Pennypoker's
assurances, this was not like any form of indigestion she had ever seen,
and she determined to send Wang Kum for Dr. Brownlee. From past
experience, she knew that Mrs. Pennypoker would object to such a course,
for she had unlimited faith in her stock of home medicines, and regarded
the professional services of a doctor as invariably leading to the
gloomy ministrations of the undertaker. Mrs. Pennypoker had never quite
forgiven Mrs. Burnam for disregarding the poultice she had prescribed
for Charlie's eye; and now, all day long, she had been persecuting Ned
with alternate doses of ginger tea and "boneset bitters," which were her
staple remedies for almost every ill to which flesh was heir. Louise had
submitted, much against her better judgment; but now she felt that the
time had come for decided action, so she stealthily made her way to the
kitchen in search of