and every morning
when he arose; only then he added the petition, "God bless Mrs. Maxwell,
and make Billy good."

Cricket and Hilda, too much amazed to speak, but too much impressed
with Billy's earnestness to laugh, stood stock-still as they were; Hilda
in the act of stretching out her hands to draw Zaidee back from the
well-curb,--where she hung, in imminent danger of following George
W.,--and Cricket, still grasping the pole, and looking back over her
shoulder, and Helen staring with her great eyes.

As Billy ceased, there was an oppressive moment of silence. He remained
on his knees, swaying his gaunt frame slightly, with his eyes still
closed. Suddenly Cricket felt the bucket lurch as it lay on the surface
of the water below. She looked quickly over the well-curb.

"Oh, Hilda! Billy, hurrah! he's climbed upon the bucket at last! He's
way up on it. Now, we'll have him!" and with Hilda to help, she began
cautiously to raise the bucket.

Billy slowly got up from the ground, and dusted off his trouser knees.

"It's allers wuth while a-prayin' for things," he remarked.

In a few minutes the bucket was on a level with the well-curb, and while
Hilda held the pole, Cricket drew out her dripping, shivering pet.

Such a rubbing as he got in Marm Plunkett's little kitchen! He was very
much exhausted with his cold bath, and I'm afraid that a very few
minutes longer in the icy water would have ended one of George
Washington's nine lives.

"All the curl has gone out of Martha, even," remarked Cricket,
mournfully, surveying his straight tail.

"His tail will curl over again, when he begins to chirk up a bit," said
Marm Plunkett, comfortingly. "He'd orter hev a dish of milk het up for
him right away," she added. "Wisht I hed some to offer you."

"I'll go right home with him, then, Marm Plunkett, and I'll run all the
way. I'll borrow this little shawl of yours, if you'll let me, to keep
him warm. Now, I'm going to run, but the rest of you needn't come so
fast. Good-by, Marm Plunkett. I'll come and see you again, some other
day;" and off darted Cricket, followed more leisurely by the rest,
leaving Marm Plunkett still murmuring,--

"Have--I--seen--Miss--Cricket!"

CHAPTER XXII.

HELEN'S TEXT.

"Oh, dear me!" sighed Eunice, dolefully, the next morning at breakfast.
"What dreadful changes there are going to be! Hilda goes to-day, the
boys leave on Monday for their camp, and Edna goes on Tuesday to her
grandmot