careless
tone. "They can never take my real birthright from me. I'm the son of a
gentleman, and I come of the real old stock. It's thinking of father
that floors me, though, Molly. Why, this will just kill him."

"I'm awfully anxious about him," said Molly.

"How did he contrive to get into a scrape of this sort? I'm sure we
never were extravagant; we didn't care a bit what we wore nor what we
ate; and I know the grammar school at Nortonbury is cheap enough, and I
really don't think Jane Macalister gets ten pounds a year. I'm sure she
never has a new rag to her back; and as to you girls, of course I'm not
blind; but if you were dressed like other fellows' sisters, you and Nora
would look far and away the prettiest girls in the place."

"No, no, that's humbug," said downright Molly. "I'm not a bit pretty,
and what's more I don't want to be. Of course, Nora is different. I
acknowledge that she has a beautiful face."

"And you acknowledge another thing," said Guy; "that very little money
has been spent. How in the world has father got into this scrape?"

"Well, of course, we can't understand that," said Molly; "only I think I
can guess a little bit. Of course, these are bad times for all
landlords, and half the farmers don't pay their rents properly; and you
remember, Guy, last autumn, the lease of the Sunny Side farm fell in,
and father hasn't been able to let it since, because the whole place is
so fearfully out of repair that no one will take it until it is put in
order; but the real thing which has made it necessary to sell the Towers
is, that father went security a long time ago for a very large sum of
money, and all the other sureties have died or lost their money, and so
father has to pay. I know there was a great fear of that, because mother
told me of it more than a year ago. She said that father always
intended, if the worst came, to try and borrow the money. I suppose he
has failed to do so, and that must be the reason why the Towers has to
be sold."

"It's a bad business," said Guy, "and I can't realise it a bit yet; of
course we young ones must be as plucky as we can about it, that goes
without saying, but I can't take it in yet. I'm glad it's holiday time,
and I needn't go to school. I couldn't face the other fellows just for a
bit."

"I know you'll be splendid about it, Guy darling," said Molly looking
affectionately at her brother; "and now do you mind coming with me to
the Grange, for, of course,