s, I believe it
is mine," she said. She tossed it back and forth from one hand to the
other as she stood thinking.

"Ellis Dixon came along just after we found it, and he seemed awfully
pleased," Grace went on.

Miss Ada laughed softly. "Thank you very much, Grace, dear," she said.
"It was good of you to bring it right to me." Then changing the
subject she asked, "How is your grandmother to-day?"

"Not so very well," Grace replied. Then with sudden remembrance, "I
must go right back, for she worries if I am not in time for supper."
And she sped away.

Miss Ada stood still smiling and looking from one of her nieces to the
other. She continued to toss the little star from one hand to the
other. "I know what I am going to do with it," she said looking at
Mary. "I'm going to give it to Luella for a wedding present."

_CHAPTER VIII_

_Ellis and the Baby_

That evening Polly was told the whole story and was properly contrite.
She felt a little aggrieved that she had not been one of the party to
go to Elton woods, but she realized that it was her own fault, and
offered at once to "make up" with Molly and Mary. So all was serene
again, and the three children sat side by side all evening before the
open fire, listening to a fascinating story Uncle Dick read aloud to
them, and at last the three fell asleep all in a heap, Molly's head in
Polly's lap, and the other two resting against Miss Ada's knees. When
they all stumbled upstairs to bed, they were not too sleepy, however,
to kiss one another good-night, and indeed were so bent upon showing no
partiality that they all tumbled into the same bed, which happened to
be Mary's, where they went to sleep, hugging each other tight.

The brightness of the restored pin seemed to be reflected upon them all
after this. Uncle Dick was so tremendously funny at breakfast that
Polly fell from her chair with laughter, and Luella giggled so that she
held a plate of griddle cakes at such an angle that the whole pile slid
off on the floor; then every one laughed more than ever and Molly said
that her jaws fairly ached and that she would have to spend the day
with Cap'n Dave's old white horse, for he had such a solemn face it
made you want to sigh all the time. Of course this started the
children off again and they left the table in high spirits.

Yet before the day was over they had occasion to look serious without
the society of old Bill horse, for about ten o'clock Ell