st of the winter. I hope by spring some
other arrangement can be made to keep you apart. We shall never have any
peace while--"

The rest of the sentence was lost to Ally. But she was quite sure it
was--"while Ally is with us;" and a fresh gust of stormy sobs and tears
shook the child's frame, as she thus concluded the sentence. A fresh
gust also of stormy resentment and self-pity shook the girl. "Oh, yes,
it's always Ally, always Ally, that's to blame," she said to herself. "It
would be very different if I wasn't a poor little beggar of an orphan;
yes, indeed, very different. If I was a _rich_ orphan, if papa and mamma
had left a lot of money to be taken care of with me, I guess things
would be different,--I guess they would. I guess Florence Fleming and
her mother wouldn't lay everything that goes wrong to _me_ then, and I
guess Aunt Kate wouldn't say that she dreaded the winter on account of
me,--no, I guess she wouldn't! Oh, oh!" with a fresh sob, "I wish some
other arrangement _could_ be made away from 'em all. They don't any of
'em want me, not any of 'em, and I'd rather go to an orphan asylum. I'd
rather--I'd rather--oh, I'd rather go to _jail_ than to _them_!" and
down into the pillow again went the fuzzy yellow head of this little
hot-tempered Ally Fleming, who called herself so pityingly "a poor
little beggar of an orphan."

The facts of the case were these: Ally's father and mother had both died
when she was seven years old, leaving her to the care of her two nearest
relatives,--her father's two brothers,--Mr. Tom and Mr. John Fleming. As
her father had little or nothing to leave her, he had requested that the
burden of her maintenance should be equally divided between the uncles,
the child to live alternately with each family, six months with one and
six with the other. She had been old enough when she was thus
transplanted from her own home to realize more or less the peculiar
condition of things; and as she was quick-tempered and sensitive, she
very soon began to take note of any comment or remark regarding herself
that was dropped in her hearing, and very often misunderstood or made
too much of it. But there was no denying, whichever way you looked at
it, that it was rather a difficult situation for both sides, and that
the Fleming aunts and uncles and cousins had something to put up with,
as well as Ally. But that Ally was the most to be pitied there was also
no denying, for she could remember with unfa