es he live on?" asked Ben.

"Ask your grandpa," answered Mrs. Willis smiling across at her husband.

"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed Mr. Willis, "nobody counts a load of wood or a
bag of potatoes once in a while. I must stop and see if I can't draw him
out of his shell some of these days."

"Talk to him about when you were boys, grandpa," said Ben; "that will
fetch him."

Just here, Reliance came to the door to say that Ira would like to speak
to Mr. Willis, and Mrs. Barker appropriated Ben, so Edna was left to her
grandmother and her mother.

"So we are going to lose our little girl to-morrow," grandma began.

"You won't be left without any little girl," replied Edna cheerfully,
"for you will have Reliance."

"But that isn't the same thing as having my own little granddaughter,"
responded Mrs. Willis.

"No," returned Edna. "When are we coming here again, mother?"

"Why, my dear, I don't know. We have made grandma a good, long visit
this time."

"It isn't what I call a long visit," grandma observed. "When I was a
child I spent months at a time at my grandparents."

"I spent months at Uncle Justus', but then I was there at school,"
remarked Edna. "I don't see why I couldn't come here on holidays,
mother."

"You can do that sometimes, surely. We have promised you to Uncle Bert
for the Christmas holidays, but maybe you could come at Easter, if
grandma would like to have you."

"Grandma would like very much to have her," said that lady.

"Even if I came without mother?" questioned Edna.

"Even if you came by your own little self. We shall claim her for the
Easter holidays, daughter, and you must let nothing prevent her coming.
If it is not convenient for any of the rest of you to come, just put her
on the train upon which Marcus Brown is conductor and he will see that
she gets off safely at Mayville."

Edna looked a little doubtful at the idea of making the journey by
herself but she did not say anything.

"However," grandma went on, "I don't see why Celia couldn't come with
her, or perhaps Ben could."

"Well, we shall see," responded Mrs. Conway. "Well try to get her here
in some way."

"Then we shall consider that quite settled," said grandma with a
satisfied air.

"I've had an awfully good time," said Edna thoughtfully.

"Even though you have been sick abed, and have had all sorts of
unpleasant adventures?" said grandma with a smile.

"I wasn't so very sick," returned Edna, "and I wouldn't have minded