ful in any way. Toby and the twins are almost
beyond her control now. Some of us neighbors have tried to get her to
send part of the tribe at least to a Children's Home. Such an
institution would certainly give them the training that she can't--"

"O, but think of having to eat oatmeal every morning without milk or
sugar," interrupted Peace in horrified accents, "and your bread and
potatoes without any butter, and never having any pie or cake, and meat
only once a week, and hardly any fruit, and--ugh! I'd starve!"

"Peace, oh, Peace," called Allee's voice from outside the window, "come
see what I've found." And the crippled sister, hastily adjusting her
crutches, went to discover what was wanted.

The next day while she was sitting alone under the great tree in the
back yard, she heard a stealthy rustling in the grass beyond the fence,
and glancing up from the book she had been trying to interest herself
in, she again saw the dirty face of Tobias McGee peering at her through
the lattice work. Then Antonio appeared, followed one by one by the rest
of the tousled McGees. She surveyed them critically from head to heels
and then scathingly remarked, "I sh'd think you would be ashamed to go
so dirty."

"We--we ain't none of us got such pretty clo'es as you," stammered
Tobias, much confused by this unlooked-for reception, and he thrust both
grimy hands behind his back as if that would hide all his filth.

"You don't have to have pretty clothes to have 'em clean," Peace
retorted.

"Ma ain't got time to keep us washed up," explained Tobias,
apologetically.

"Why don't you do it yourselves then?"

"But--we--can't," they gasped in chorus.

"I don't see why."

"We ain't big enough."

"You are, too. Feely's as old as Hope was when we were in Parker, and
Hope kept after us till we were glad to wash our faces and hands and
brush our hair. Of course she helped, but there were Cherry and Allee
and me all younger'n her. And we helped Gail, too. I churned the butter
once, and we helped houseclean and--and pick chickens, and run errands
and bring in the wood--"

"Huh, us boys do that," broke in Gus scornfully. "Girls ain't s'posed to
fetch wood and water."

"All our boys were girls," replied Peace loftily, "and some of us _had_
to bring in the wood or else how would it have got there?"

"Did you wash dishes?" asked Ophelia, with a slight display of
curiosity.

"Cherry washed and I wiped."

"How old was Cherry?" deman