ht; Lilias flitted among the flower--beds, gesticulating
with graceful _abandon_ as she called Ned's attention to the choicest
blooms. Maud could hear her pretty ecstasies as plainly as though she
had been standing by her side.

"The little dears! Aren't they just _too_ sweet? Don't you love the
first spring flowers? They seem so full of hope and promise!"

She had heard it all before, every time that a visitor was taken round
the garden; and just for a moment a wish passed through Maud's mind that
her beautiful sister were not quite so fond of acting a part for the
benefit of strangers! As a matter of fact, Lilias took less interest in
the garden than any of the girls, yet she always gushed the most! The
next moment she pulled herself up sharply, abashed to have cherished
such uncharitable sentiments, and went on resolutely with the laying of
the table. Spoons and forks had been neatly laid in their places before
Nan's approaching footsteps could be heard ploughing upstairs to an
accompaniment of jingling glass and steel. She had taken the warning to
heart, apparently, for there was a noticeable pause between each
footstep; but, alas! when the top of the stair was reached, there came a
sudden and violent change in her procedure. Maud heard a gasp, and
then, even as she started forward to investigate the cause, in rushed
Nan, head foremost, the contents of the tray raining on the ground,
while she stumbled helplessly forward, and finally collapsed on the
floor in a nest of knives and broken glass, to lift up her voice in a
wail of anguish.

"Oh, oh, oh! I caught my foot! That horrid braid tripped me up at the
very last step, and sent me flying forward. What shall I do?"

"I told you,"--began Maud, but stopped abruptly, knowing by experience
how trying it was to be reminded of past warnings. "Oh dear, the fright
you gave me! To fall down with such a dangerous load. Nan, are you
hurt?"

"I'm killed!" cried Nan, with a sniff. "Talk of your fright, indeed:
I'm shaking all over. I'll run away and drown myself. Always make a
mess of everything I do! What will mother say?"

"Don't worry about that, dear. You were trying to help, and being so
good and kind, and half a dozen tumblers are not a deadly thing. That
won't ruin us. It might have been far worse."

"It is!" sighed Nan. "Two water-bottles--the best ones, too. I thought
they'd look so nice. Oh dear; oh dear; and just when I thought I was