l choose the five-cent section. She's an
estimable old lady, but very economical."

"Why don't you say she's so mean she'd skin a flea for its hide and
tallow?" said Dan. "That's the plain truth."

"Well, I'm going to see about getting tea," said Felicity, "so the rest
of you will have to entertain her. You better go in and show her the
photographs in the album. Dan, you do it."

"Thank you, that's a girl's job," said Dan. "I'd look nice sitting up
to Aunt Eliza and yelling out that this was Uncle Jim and 'tother Cousin
Sarah's twins, wouldn't I? Cecily or the Story Girl can do it."

"I don't know all the pictures in your album," said the Story Girl
hastily.

"I s'pose I'll have to do it, though I don't like to," sighed Cecily.
"But we ought to go in. We've left her alone too long now. She'll think
we have no manners."

Accordingly we all filed in rather reluctantly. Great-aunt Eliza
was toasting her toes--clad, as we noted, in very smart and shapely
shoes--at the stove and looking quite at her ease. Cecily, determined to
do her duty even in the face of such fearful odds as Great-aunt Eliza's
deafness, dragged a ponderous, plush-covered album from its corner and
proceeded to display and explain the family photographs. She did her
brave best but she could not shout like Felicity, and half the time, as
she confided to me later on, she felt that Great-aunt Eliza did not hear
one word she said, because she didn't seem to take in who the people
were, though, just like all deaf folks, she wouldn't let on. Great-aunt
Eliza certainly didn't talk much; she looked at the photographs in
silence, but she smiled now and then. That smile bothered me. It was so
twinkly and so very un-great-aunt-Elizaish. But I felt indignant with
her. I thought she might have shown a little more appreciation of
Cecily's gallant efforts to entertain.

It was very dull for the rest of us. The Story Girl sat rather sulkily
in her corner; she was angry because Felicity would not let her make
the rusks, and also, perhaps, a little vexed because she could not charm
Great-aunt Eliza with her golden voice and story-telling gift. Felix
and I looked at each other and wished ourselves out in the hill field,
careering gloriously adown its gleaming crust.

But presently a little amusement came our way. Dan, who was sitting
behind Great-aunt Eliza, and consequently out of her view, began making
comments on Cecily's explanation of this one and that one amon