"And won't you come this afternoon?" asked simple, straightforward
Duncan.

"I don't know," Elsie answered sharply. "It depends upon whether I feel
inclined. Duncan, what was that granny was asking about a piece of
paper?"

"She only asked me if I'd picked a piece up with writing on it, and said
she'd give me a penny if I found it."

"I dare say she would," laughed Elsie; "but you won't ever get the
penny, Duncan, so don't expect it. She didn't ask if I'd picked it up?"

"No, she didn't; but have you found it, Elsie? because I'll take it to
her, and give you the penny," Duncan remarked.

"A penny indeed!" laughed Elsie contemptuously. "I wonder whether you
really could keep a secret, Duncan?"

Duncan was rather hurt at the implied doubt. "I never told tales of you,
Elsie, never," he said, earnestly.

"Look here," Elsie exclaimed, "I was weeding my bit of garden just under
the kitchen window yesterday, and granny was sitting at the window, yet
never saw me. She was reading some old letters, peering at them ever so
hard through her spectacles, and talking to herself all the time. I
expect she'd taken them out of mother's drawer, for she kept on looking
round to see if any one was coming, and the best of it was I was
watching all the time, and she never knew it. I saw her put one piece of
paper down on the window-sill; she was saying very funny things to
herself. 'Meg shouldn't have done it; she wouldn't take my advice. Ah!
she'll rue it some day, I well believe,' and all on like that. Of course
Meg means mother, and I was just wondering what it was she was talking
about, when the wind blew quite a puff, and blew the piece of paper
right on to my garden. I was just going to peep at it, and see what it
was mother shouldn't have done. Then granny gets up, and goes peering
all round to see where the paper's gone. She pulled all the cushions out
of the chair, and turned up the matting, and looked over her letters
ever so many times, and never noticed that it had blown out of the
window. Presently I put my head through the window, and cried out,
'What's the matter, granny?' 'It's only I've dropped a little bit of
paper, my dear,' she says to me. 'Just come and see if your young eyes
can find it.' I went in and looked all round. Of course I didn't find
it, and I was almost dying of laughing all the time."

"And have you got it now, Elsie?" Duncan asked, with wide eyes.

"Yes, I have," Elsie replied shortly; "and it's