d!" said Margaret heartily. "Who comes next?"

"George," said Peggy. "George isn't very nice, I think; I don't believe
you'd like him. He has been to college, you know, and he sneers and
makes fun of the rest of us, and calls us countrified."

Margaret was sure that she should not like George, but she did not say
so. "He's very clever," continued Peggy, "and Pa is very proud of him. I
s'pose I might like him better if he didn't tease Hugh, but I can't
stand that."

"Is Hugh your favourite brother?" Margaret asked softly.

"Of course. Hugh is the best of us all. He is lame. Jim and George were
fighting one day, when he was a little baby, just beginning to walk; and
somehow, one of them fell back against him and threw him downstairs. He
hurt his back, and has been lame ever since. Hugh is like an angel,
somehow. You never saw anybody like Hugh. He does things--well! Let me
tell you this that he did. He never gets into rows, but the rest of us
do, all the time. Jim and George are the worst, and when they are at it,
you can hear them all over the house. Well, one day Hugh was sick
upstairs, and they had an awful row. Pa was out, and Ma couldn't do
anything with them; she never can. Hugh can generally stop them, but
this time he couldn't go down, you see. I was sitting with him, and I
saw him getting whiter and whiter. At last he said, 'Peggy, I want
you--' and then he stopped and said, 'No, you are too big. Bring little
Peter here!' I went and brought Peter, who was about four then. 'Petie,'
said Hugh, 'take brother's crutch, and go downstairs, and give it to
Brother Jim and Brother George. Say Hugh sent it.' And then he told me
to help Petie down with the crutch, but not go into the room. I did peep
in through the crack, though, and I saw Petie toddle in, dragging the
crutch, and saw him lay it down between them, and say, 'Brudder Hugh
send it to big brudders.' They stopped and never said another word, only
Jim gave a kind of groan. Then he kissed Petie and told him to thank
Brother Hugh; and he went out, and didn't come back for three days. He
rides off when he feels bad, and stays away on the farm somewhere till
he gets over it."

"And George?" asked Margaret.

"Oh! George just went into his room and sulked," said Peggy. "That's
_his_ way! I do declare, he's like--" Here she stopped suddenly, for a
vision appeared in the doorway. Pale and scornful, with her great dark
eyes full of cold mockery, Rita stood gazing at