ed his
farewell and went off upon his errand, and Mrs. Emerson and Miss Merriam
drove to Mrs. Smith's where they found Elisabeth already installed in a
sunny room out of which opened another for Miss Merriam. The arrangement
had been made by Dorothy's moving into a smaller chamber over the front
door.

"I don't mind it a bit," she declared to her mother, "and please don't
say a word about it to Miss Merriam--she might feel badly."

So Gertrude Merriam accepted her room all unconsciously, and rejoiced in
its brightness. The baby was lying before the window of her own room
when Gertrude entered. It moved a listless hand as she knelt beside it.

"You little darling creature!" she exclaimed and Elisabeth gave her
infrequent smile as if she knew that woman's love and science were going
to work together for her.

CHAPTER IV

ELISABETH MAKES FRIENDS

Under Miss Merriam's skilful care Elisabeth of Belgium slowly climbed
the hill of health. She had grown so weak that she required to be
treated like a child much younger than she really was. Miss Merriam gave
her extremely nourishing food in small amounts and often; she made her
rest hours as long as those of a baby of a year and her naps were always
taken in the open air, where she lay warmly curled up in soft rugs like
a little Eskimo. At night she and her care-taker slept on an upper porch
where she drew deep draughts of fresh air far down into the depths of
her tiny relaxed body.

"Ayleesabet"--everybody adopted her own pronunciation--was napping in
Dicky's old perambulator on the porch of Dorothy's cottage one Saturday
morning early in December. The Ethels, their coat collars turned up and
rugs wrapping their knees, were keeping guard beside her. Both of them
were alternately knitting and warming their fingers.

"When she wakes up we can roll her down the street a little way," said
Ethel Blue.

"Did Miss Merriam say so?"

"Yes, she said we might keep her out until twelve."

"Are the Hancocks and Watkinses coming early to the Club meeting?"

"About half past two. The afternoons are so short now that they thought
they'd better come early so it wouldn't be pitch black night when they
got home."

"We ought to do some planning for Christmas this afternoon. There's a
lot to think about."

"There's one Christmas gift I wish Aunt Marian would give us."

"What's that?" asked Ethel Brown expectantly for she had great faith in
the ideas that Ethel Blue brough