eth Davenport entered, carrying in her
arms a little ball of fluffy gray.

Elizabeth, or Beth, as she was more commonly called at the age of
seven, might have been compared to a good fairy had she not been so
plump. She almost always radiated sunshine, and her face was generally
lighted with a smile, the outcome of a warm heart. Sometimes clouds
slightly dimmed the sunshine, but they always proved to be summer
clouds that quickly passed. Her face was now flushed, and her eyes
sparkled.

Mrs. Davenport turned, and smiled in greeting, but, at the same time,
brushed a tear from her eye.

"Why, mamma, dear, what's the matter?" cried Beth.

Mrs. Davenport's eyes filled, but she bravely smiled. "I'm a little
unhappy over leaving all our friends, Beth. Florida seems very far
away."

"I wouldn't be unhappy."

"How would you help it, dearie?"

"Why mamma," she answered triumphantly after a second's thought, "there
are so many pleasant things to think about that I just never think of
the unpleasant ones," and her face broke into a smile, so cheery that
Mrs. Davenport's heart lightened.

"Mamma," she continued, "it's very easy for me to be happy. Every one
is so good to me. The chambermaid just gave me this dear, dear kitty.
Isn't it too cute for anything? I mean to take it to Florida with me."

"Why, Beth, that would never do."

Beth was about to demur, when a door into an adjoining room opened, and
Mr. Davenport called:

"Mary, come here a minute, please."

Mrs. Davenport hastened to answer the call. She was hardly out of the
room before Beth rushed to an open trunk. Impatiently, she began
pulling things out. She burrowed almost to the very bottom. Lastly,
she took out a skirt of her mother's, and wrapped something very
carefully in it.

The door into the adjoining room creaked. Beth blushed scarlet, and
dropped the bundle into the trunk. Then as no one came, she threw the
other articles pell-mell on top of the bundle, and scampered guiltily
to the other end of the room. Not an instant too soon to escape
immediate detection, for Mrs. Davenport reentered the room, followed by
a girl of thirteen. This was Marian, Beth's sister. The two girls
were totally unlike both in looks and in disposition. Marian was a
tall blonde, and slight for her age. She had quiet, gentle ways.

"Mother, here's my red dress on the floor," she said, picking it up
near the trunk.

"Beth, what have you been doing?"