"Then Irene told me the meanest, most contemptible thing that someone
had said about Walter. I won't write it down--I can't. Of course, she
said it made her furious to hear it and all that--but there was no need
for her to tell me such a thing even if she did hear it. She simply did
it to hurt me.

"I just exploded. 'How dare you come here and repeat such a thing about
my brother, Irene Howard?' I exclaimed. 'I shall never forgive
you--never. Your brother hasn't enlisted--hasn't any idea of enlisting.'

"'Why Rilla, dear, I didn't say it,' said Irene. 'I told you it was
Mrs. George Burr. And I told her--'

"'I don't want to hear what you told her. Don't you ever speak to me
again, Irene Howard.'

"Oh course, I shouldn't have said that. But it just seemed to say
itself. Then the other girls all came in a bunch and I had to calm down
and act the hostess' part as well as I could. Irene paired off with
Olive Kirk all the rest of the afternoon and went away without so much
as a look. So I suppose she means to take me at my word and I don't
care, for I do not want to be friends with a girl who could repeat such
a falsehood about Walter. But I feel unhappy over it for all that.
We've always been such good chums and until lately Irene was lovely to
me; and now another illusion has been stripped from my eyes and I feel
as if there wasn't such a thing as real true friendship in the world.

"Father got old Joe Mead to build a kennel for Dog Monday in the corner
of the shipping-shed today. We thought perhaps Monday would come home
when the cold weather came but he wouldn't. No earthly influence can
coax Monday away from that shed even for a few minutes. There he stays
and meets every train. So we had to do something to make him
comfortable. Joe built the kennel so that Monday could lie in it and
still see the platform, so we hope he will occupy it.

"Monday has become quite famous. A reporter of the Enterprise came out
from town and photographed him and wrote up the whole story of his
faithful vigil. It was published in the Enterprise and copied all over
Canada. But that doesn't matter to poor little Monday, Jem has gone
away--Monday doesn't know where or why--but he will wait until he comes
back. Somehow it comforts me: it's foolish, I suppose, but it gives me
a feeling that Jem will come back or else Monday wouldn't keep on
waiting for him.

"Jims is snoring beside me in his cradle. It is just a cold that makes
him snore