essons were going on in the evening Steve soon began to
spell over the words to himself as Nancy spelled them, and then it
came about that often at odd times the brown shock of hair and the
little yellow curls bent together over bits of paper, as the little
girl pointed out and explained the make-up of the letters to the big
boy.

"Don't you see, Steve, this little chicken coop with a piece across it
is big A, and this one with the piece standing up and two curly things
at the side is big B." The peculiarities of similar letters were
discussed, how the bottom curly thing in big R turned the other way,
while P didn't have any bottom curly thing at all, and F didn't have
any bottom cross piece, while E did.

"See here," said Steve, growing alert, "here's a powerful nice gate;
whut's that?"

"Oh, that's big H," said Nancy, "and wriggly, twisty S is just the
prettiest letter of all, I think. Oh, Steve, that is the letter which
begins your name," said she, in generous, childish joy.

"Is that so?" exclaimed Steve, with eager pleasure because she was
pleased. "And which is the one whut begins yourn?"

"Oh, mine is just two straight standing up pieces with a slanting
piece between. It's one kind of a gate but not just like H," and she
hunted out an N to show him.

"_I_ think that's the prettiest letter of all," said Steve, with
unconscious gallantry. "Whar's the other letters in yo' name?" he
inquired, and Nancy hunted them all out. Then she found the other
letters in his name, and Steve had an undefined disappointment that
his name did not have a single letter in it which belonged to her
name. It seemed to shut him out more completely from the things which
belonged to her.

So the lessons went on from the little girl to the big boy, and Mrs.
Follet was amazed one day to find that Steve could read quite well. He
studied every book and paper within reach as he found time, though he
never neglected his duties.

Corn was constantly brought Mr. Follet in exchange for goods at the
store, and one of Steve's duties was to take the old horse with two
big bags of corn over to the Greely mill to be ground into meal. Nancy
was mounted upon the old horse in front of the bags to show Steve the
way on his first trip, and afterwards she always begged to go. To
Steve it was the greatest joy to take the little girl with him, though
he wouldn't have dared ask it. He taught her to put her small foot in
his hand while he sturdily lifte