when you
always come laden like a good angel!"

"I would like--to--see--my--lady!" repeated Pansy, with impressive
dignity, and some severity of manner; for what did she care about jelly,
and good angels, and all that. "I haven't seen her since the other day
before yesterday morning."

"You shall see her right away," laughed Bea, setting down the basket.
"Excuse me a moment, Miss Clara, Kittie is busy in the kitchen. I'll
take Pansy out there, before we go up stairs."

Kittie was pealing apples, and meditating on how she would trim her hat,
since it had to be trimmed over, and nothing new to do it with; but she
put all such thoughts aside when she saw her visitor, and made a seat
for her on the bench.

"I 'spect I'm most gladder to see you than I ever was before," said
Pansy, with a devoted smile, as she took her seat near Kittie.

"Why, what are you sitting there for? Here I am," said Kat, who sat
opposite slicing apples. "I thought you always knew me."

Pansy looked from one to the other, for a moment, then nestled close to
Kittie, as she remarked with decision:

"You're not my lady; you're the other one."

"How do you know?"

"Well, I 'spect I couldn't jes tell, but then you are."

"I shouldn't wonder if you were right, but I want to tell you that you
mustn't love Kittie so much; she's mine, and I'm jealous," said Kat,
with a foreboding shake of her head.

"But she keeped the bear from eating me up," cried Pansy, with unshaken
belief that she would have been forever lost except for Kittie's timely
arrival. "I jes never'd seen my papa once any more, 'f she hadn't finded
me in the woods; and he said I ought to love her jes as much more as
ever I could, and I _do_," accompanying the assertion with a loving
clasp of Kittie's arm, the suddenness of which sent her apple spinning
across the floor.

"There, see; I'll get it," she cried, running after it, with a
triumphant glance at Kat. "'F I'd knocked your apple, you'd a scolded
me."

"Oh, no; I'm an angel," laughed Kat. "Kittie's the one that scolds."

"Do you?" asked Pansy, leaning against Kittie, with a devotion that
nearly knocked the whole pan of apples over.

"I never scolded you, did I?" asked Kittie.

"No, but Auntie Raymond says I mind you the bestest of anybody. I think
I do. I 'spect it's because I love you best, right up next to my papa;
do you love me?"

"Ever so much."

"Well, I don't know what I'll do," said Pansy, with a long sigh, a