o the
pale-blue sky.

At the window stood a sofa of old maroon leather, its dark hue
throwing out in strong relief two figures who sat upon it. And when
Tom had once looked at them, he looked at nothing else.

There sat the sick girl, her head nestling upon the shoulder of Grace
Harvey; a tall, delicate thing of seventeen, with thin white cheeks,
the hectic spot aflame on each, and long fair curls, which mingled
lovingly with Grace's dark tresses, as they sat cheek against cheek,
and hand in hand. Her eyes were closed; Tom thought at first that she
was asleep: but there was a quiet smile about her pale lips; and every
now and then her left hand left Grace's, to move toward a leaf full of
strawberries which lay on Grace's lap; and Tom could see that she
was listening intently to Grace, who told and told, in that sweet,
measured voice of hers, her head erect, her face in the full blaze of
sunshine, her great eyes looking out far away beyond the sea, beyond
the sky, into some infinite which only she beheld.

Tom had approached unheard, across the farm-yard straw. He stood and
looked his fill. The attitude of the two girls was so graceful, that
he was loth to disturb it; and loth, too, to disturb a certain sunny
calm which warmed at once and softened his stout heart.

He wished, too--he scarce knew why--to hear what Grace was saying;
and as he listened, her voice was so distinct and delicate in its
modulations, that every word came clearly to his ear.

It was the beautiful old legend of St. Dorothea:--

"So they did all sorts of dreadful things to her, and then led her
away to die; and they stood laughing there. But after a little time
there came a boy, the prettiest boy that ever was seen on earth, and
in his hand a basket full of fruits and flowers, more beautiful than
tongue can tell. And he said, 'Dorothea sends you these, out of the
heavenly garden which she told you of--will you believe her now?' And
then, before they could reply, he vanished away. And Theophilus looked
at the flowers, and tasted the fruit--and a new heart grew up within
him; and he said, 'Dorothea's God shall be my God, and I will die for
him like her.'

"So you see, darling, there are sweeter fruits than these, and gayer
flowers, in the place to which you go; and all the lovely things in
this world here will seem quite poor and worthless beside the glory of
that better land which He will show you: and yet you will not care to
look at them;