rty.

"I can't think of anything just this minute," answered her mother with a
gentle smile, "but if you will bring Freddie in out of the hot sun, and
get something to amuse him near here, I'll try to think."

"Oh! do, please. And mind, mamma, it must be something for me to do
without--not you."

Marty ran down the yard to where Freddie, with red face and without his
hat, was rushing up and down playing he was a "little engine."

"Freddie," she called, "don't you want to come and make mud pies?"

This was a favorite amusement of the small boy, and instantly the little
engine subsided into a baker. Marty led him up near the porch, where
there was a nice bed of mould--"clean dirt," Mrs. Stokes called it--and
they were soon hard at work on the pies.

Marty enjoyed this play as much as Freddie, and it was some time before
she thought of asking,

"Mamma, have you thought of anything yet?"

Mrs. Ashford smiled and nodded.

"What is it?" exclaimed Marty, bounding up on the porch.

"I don't know whether you will like the plan or not, but it is the only
thing that occurs to me. Your school coat will be too short for you next
winter, and I was going to get you a new one. But the old one could be
altered so that you might wear it. I have some of the material, and
could piece the skirt and sleeves and trim it with braid. As it always
was a little too large for you about the shoulders, it would fit next
winter well enough that way. Doing that would save about five dollars as
near as I can calculate."

"Then we should have five dollars for Jimmy?"

"Yes."

"But would it be much trouble to you to alter the coat?"

"It would be some trouble, but I am willing to take that for my share."

"Oh! then let's do it," cried Marty.

"Wait, wait," said her mother. "You must think it over first. You know
when you do things in a hurry, sometimes you regret them afterwards."

"I know I sha'n't regret this," Marty protested; "but I'll go and think
a while."

She went and sat down on her last batch of pies, resting her head on her
knees, with her eyes shut. In a very short space of time she was back at
her mother's side.

"Oh! you have not thought long enough," said Mrs. Ashford. "I meant for
a day or two."

"There's no use thinking any longer, for I know I'll think just the
same. I've thought all about how the coat will look when it's pieced,
and how all the girls will know it's pieced, and how I'd a great deal
rather have