ce,
with a shudder.

"And the next," continued Nan, "is to find a nurse. The poor thing is
utterly helpless just now with that hurt ankle. She can't even keep up
the fire, and the weather's so cold she'd freeze to death if the fire
went out."

"If we only had a telephone," murmured Rhoda, as her eye wandered over
the place, though she knew beforehand that such an instrument would not
be found in that poor cottage.

"Well, we haven't," replied Nan. "So I'll tell you what we'll do. Bess
and I will stay here and try to make our patient as comfortable as we
can. The rest of you girls had better go right up to the Hall and tell
Dr. Prescott all about it. She'll have a doctor here in less than no
time, and she or Mrs. Cupp will know of some nurse they can get in the
town. We'll stay here anyway until they come. But the afternoon's going
fast, and you want to hurry as much as you can. It will probably be dark
anyhow when the doctor and the nurse get here, and, as we don't know
the road very well, we don't want to be too late in getting back to the
Hall."

"You needn't worry about that," said Grace, as she put on her wraps.
"I'll 'phone to Walter as soon as I get to the Hall and he'll come over
and take you home."

"In that case I'd better go along with you now," put in Bess, with a
mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I'm afraid it will be a case where two
is company and three's a crowd."

"Don't talk such nonsense," said Nan, though a slight flush had risen to
her cheeks at her chum's raillery. "But, girls, before you go there's
one other thing; and that is, the matter of money. I don't suppose," she
went on, lowering her voice lest the invalid should hear, "that the poor
woman has anything of any account. How much money have you girls with
you?"

What the warm-hearted girls had with them at the moment was very little,
but what it was they all handed over, and the total amounted to several
dollars.

"Of course we'll all club together and see that she has all she needs to
get through this trouble," declared Laura, and there was a unanimous
chorus of assent.

"And now, shoo!" commanded Nan, as she opened the door to hasten their
exit. "And see how quickly you can get the nurse and the doctor here.
Don't bother about the sled. We'll bring that along when we come, or
send over after it to-morrow."

The three girls promised to hurry, and made off. Nan and Bess watched
them until they had passed out of sight beyond the b