f upon him with such a
pretty confidence that Will took her right into his big boyish heart,
and wished on the spot that Dowsy was a raging lion, or, to say the
least, Neighbor Stethaway's cross bull.

"After all," he confided to Almida, "she's only a poor city child: what
can you expect? _I_ don't mind seeing to her."

"Laws, no," said Almida, with a matronly air. "And if her father's gone
to Europe, and every day is baking, or washing, or mending, or
something, who is there besides you and me for her to look to, I'd like
to know? Only you needn't think you're going to have more than just your
own half of the care-taking, Will Handly."

The mother looked on in silence, and understood perfectly the very
things which her children thought she had not noticed.

"At first I was troubled lest Will and Almy wouldn't notice the child,"
she said, one afternoon, to Mrs. Stethaway, as they watched the three
children crossing the opposite field. "Next I thought they would
tyrannize over her, and that Will would tease her to death."

"And now," said Mrs. Stethaway, "it looks as if they would neglect
everything just to follow her bidding. What are you going to do about
that?"

"Well," said Mrs. Handly, smiling after the children as they disappeared
among the daisies, "it isn't always that old folks know the best turn to
take. I'm going to see what the little one's course will be. It seems
very much as if my own two children were in the way of getting some
lessons in gentleness and self-forgetfulness from the poor little
motherless child, which I don't know so well as she does how to teach
them."

The children went through the field, the orchard, and over the bars into
the lane, through which Ria Bell was just driving the cows.

"Quick! quick! Oh! oh!" screamed Marianne, as soon as she saw the cows.

"Not that way; you're running right into the face of the enemy, Ranna,"
said Will, laughing, and taking hold of her as she was trying to climb
the bars.

But Ranna struggled, crying, "Get me over! get me over! I ain't 'fraid
of tows; it's the birds;" and was so excited that Will on one side and
Almida on the other lifted her into the lane as quickly as possible.

"Oh, goodness!" screamed Almy, as Ranna made a dive, right under
Dowsabell's very nose, toward a little mound of leaves. Crouching down
and spreading her arms over it, she looked up at Dowsy so savagely that
Will exclaimed, much amused: "Thunder and lightning! what