he sky;
The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh,
'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff;
Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white,
And 'Gallop,' gasped Joris, 'for Aix is in sight!'"

Her hand shot out toward the imaginary Aix, the ill-fated grammar was
forgotten, it slipped from her loosened clasp, flew through the air and
struck the elder Catt a heavy blow in the stomach.

"Uh!" grunted the startled man, the tilted chair tipped uncertainly, he
clutched wildly at the smooth wall, and landed in an undignified heap in
the middle of the kitchen floor, rapping his head smartly against the
pantry door.

"Tabitha Catt!" She held her breath in dismay and waited for the
punishment she was sure would follow. "Go on with that piece!"

Nothing could have surprised her more than that command, and for a brief
moment speech forsook her. Then gathering up her scattered wits, she
finished her recitation with all the vim she could muster, and waited.
Though possessing a keen sense of the ludicrous, Tabitha's own troubles
never appealed to her in this light, and as she stood looking down at
the tall form sprawling on the floor, the amusing side of the situation
never occurred to her. She was too busy wondering what would come next.

"Hm!" was the unexpected comment after a thrilling silence. "You did
well in the first part, but toward the end where the excitement should
increase, you let it fall. How would you like to go to boarding school
with Carrie in September?"

"Oh, Dad, if I only could!" The voice and face expressed all the pent-up
longings of the little heart, and Mr. Catt felt a great lump rise in his
throat as he watched this one small daughter and realized his own
shortcomings; but he swallowed it back and said briefly, "If you are a
good girl, I reckon maybe you can go."

A long sigh of rapture burst from her, and seizing her father's black
head in her arms, she gave it a quick, impetuous hug. Then, disconcerted
by this unusual display of affection, she fled out of the house and up
to her seat on the mountainside, overlooking the ruins of the hermit's
hut, where she held an ecstatic thanksgiving service all by herself.

CHAPTER XIV

TABITHA'S ROOM-MATE

The long, hot summer weeks came to an end at last, the dainty dresses
were finished, the trunk packed, the short journey completed, and
Tabitha stood breathless and quaking on the great stone steps before