's all
right, and she can have Virginia's surah sash. Louisa Alcott can wear
her black silk skirt and borrow Queenie's blue cashmere waist. But
Harriet has nothing fit for an evening."

"Let her wear the sailor suit she came in, and say she's just home from
the seaside," suggested Marty, after a moment's meditation.

"Yes, that will do," replied Edith. "But what about Virginia? Her white
dress is soiled, her red gauze is badly torn, and she can't borrow from
the others because she's so much larger. To be sure she has this pale
blue tea-gown I made myself. Do you think it would be good enough?" and
she held it up doubtfully.

"No," said Marty candidly, "I don't think it would. It isn't made very
well. It's kind of baggy. Hasn't she anything else?"

"Nothing but a brown woollen walking dress and a Mother Hubbard
wrapper."

"Neither of those will do," Marty decided.

Then she put her finger to her lip and thought.

A bright idea occurred to her presently.

"Put her to bed and make believe she's sick. She can wear the best
nightdress, trimmed with lace, and we can put on the ruffled
pillow-cases and fix up the bed real nice."

"That will be splendid!" cried Edith. "I knew you'd think of something!"

They went to work on the plans proposed, and soon had the whole family
in presentable condition. So busy were they with the dolls that Marty
would have forgotten the errand she came on, had she not happened to
catch a glimpse of the blue box when Edith opened a drawer. Then she
exclaimed,

"Oh! Edie, what I came over for was to ask you why you save tenths."

"Why I do what?" said Edith, wondering.

"Why you put tenths away in your box. Why don't you save eighths or
ninths or something else?"

"Because the Bible says tenths," Edith replied.

"The Bible!" cried Marty. "Does the Bible say anything about saving
tenths for a mission-band?"

"No, not just that; but it says--wait, I'll get my Bible and show you
what it does say."

She ran into her room, and bringing her Bible, sat down on a low chair
and eagerly turned the leaves. Marty knelt close beside her, bending
over the book also, so that her brown curls pressed against Edith's wavy
golden hair.

"Here's one of the verses," said Edith. "Leviticus twenty-seventh
chapter and thirtieth verse: 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of
the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is
holy unto the Lord.'"

"There's nothing about tenths