d upon Julia Cloud for her bedroom as just the
finishing touch it needed, and Leslie took possession of two or three
smaller blue rugs for her room. Then they turned their attention to
pictures, bits of jade and bronze, a few rare pieces of furniture, a
wonderful old bronze lamp with a great dragon on a sea of wonderful
blue enamel, with a shade that cast an amber light; brass andirons and
fender, and a lot of other little things that go to make a lovely
home.

"Now," said Allison, "when we get our books unpacked, and some
magazines thrown around, it will look like living. Cloudy, can we
sleep here to-night?"

"Why, surely," said Julia Cloud with a child-like delight in her eyes.
"What's to hinder? I feel as if I was in a dream, and if I didn't go
right on playing it was true I would wake up and find it all gone."

So they rode back to the inn for their supper, hurried their
belongings into the trunk, and moved bag and baggage into the new
house at nine o'clock on Saturday night.

While Leslie and her aunt were up-stairs putting away their clothes
from the trunk into the new closets and bureau-drawers, Allison
brought in a few kindlings, and made a bit of a fire on the hearth;
and now he called them down.

"We've got to have a housewarming the first night, Cloudy," he called.
"Come down and see how it all looks in the firelight."

So the two came down-stairs, and all three sat together on the
deep-blue velvet settee in front of the fireplace, Julia Cloud in the
middle and a child on either side.

They were all very tired and did not say much, just sat together
happily, watching the wood blaze up and flicker and fall into embers.
Presently both children nestled closer to her, and put down a head on
each of her shoulders. So they sat for a long time quietly.

"Now," said Julia Cloud, as the fire died down and the room grew dusky
with shadows, "it is time we went to bed. But there is something I
wish we could do this first night in our new home. Don't you think we
ought to dedicate it to God, or at least thank God for giving it to
us? Would you be willing to kneel down with me, and--we might just all
pray silently, if you don't feel like praying out loud. Would you be
willing to do that?"

There was a tender silence for a moment while the children thought.

"Sure!" growled Allison huskily. "You pray out, Cloudy. We'd like
it."

"Yes," whispered Leslie, nestling her hand in her aunt's.

And so, trembling, ha