dressed finer and more fashionably than Laura and Ivy had not once
occurred to her.

"That sounds like poetry," she observed.

"Yes, she writes poetry, too!" Laura returned proudly. "You must let
Alene see some of it--and she keeps a book where she writes all about
the sky when the sun sets--she sees lovely rivers and golden hills and
ladies riding in skiffs--"

"Now, Lol!" cried Ivy with a hectic color reddening her cheeks. "It's
just silly stuff, you know, that I put down to pass away the time when
I'm laid up," she explained. "I thought of it one evening when the
boarders were at supper; the boys were eating and mother of course too
busy to stay with me. Hugh brought in my supper on a tray and hurried
back to the dining-room and I sat there alone and ate my meal and
watched the sky from my couch, which was drawn up close to the window.
What wonderful things I saw then!"

"Tell me about them, won't you?" implored Alene.

"There were great purple mountains and emerald lakes and wonderful
golden caves--people, too--angels with harps flying through the white
clouds, ladies with crowns and long robes gliding along and little
children swimming the river on the back of great swans like in the
fairy books. Every evening it changed and at last I commenced to write
about the different things I saw each day, and so I called it my Sunset
Book. As for sunrises--" Ivy gave a sudden arch glance at Laura.

"Lazybones, I don't believe you ever saw one!"

"I'd love to see your book!" cried Alene; "and there are some beautiful
sunsets looking from the Tower!"

Ivy glanced up toward the tower of the Big House that rose almost as
high as a church spire from the top of the hill.

"I do believe one could see behind the hills over there in the west, to
the other side of the world from those windows," she exclaimed.

"Well, you and Laura come up this evening and--"

"Won't your folks object?"

"There's no folks there but Uncle Fred and he's no objector. Promise
to come and see how far we can see!"

"'Over the hills and far away.'"

"Yes, we promise," cried Laura.

CHAPTER IV

THE GARDEN OF GOOD INTENTIONS

"Oh, Lol, I could hardly keep my face straight! To think we were
actually invited up to the Big House really and truly, and were right
there where we had so often pretended to live, you as Countess Terilla
and I the Lady Clare-Come-to-See; I could hardly make this face of mine
behave."

"Your eyes jus