f a brother who is a cripple."

"I love him better than anything else in the world," said Betty simply.

At that moment the apartment house was reached.

"Isn't it strange that we live in the same house and never spoke to each
other before?" remarked Winifred, as they mounted the first flight of
stairs together. "We haven't lived here very long, though; only since
January."

"We have lived here for two years," said Betty, "and we don't know any
of the people in the house."

Winifred's eyes opened wide in surprise, but they were already on the
first landing, and her mother had rung the bell of their own apartment.

"Good-bye," she said, "this is where we live. I hope I shall see you
again soon."

Betty stood for a moment gazing at the closed door, behind which her new
acquaintances had disappeared, and then she toiled on, up three more
long steep flights of stairs, until, on the very top landing of all, she
paused, and taking a key from her pocket, proceeded to open a door on
her right.

"Is that you, Betty?" called an eager little voice, as the door swung
open, and Betty passed into the small, narrow hall of the "top floor
rear apartment."

"Yes, dear; but, oh, Jack, I'm so sorry; I slipped on a horrid piece of
orange peel and spilled all the cream cakes. It'll have to be cold meat
and bread and butter to-day."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" the anxious little voice inquired.

"Oh, no, not a bit, and quite an interesting thing happened. Just wait
till I take off my hat, and get your lunch ready, and I'll tell you all
about it."

Five minutes later, Betty, her little dark face somewhat flushed from
recent exertions, but looking, on the whole, very bright and happy,
entered the small front room, bearing a tray containing milk, cold
meat, and a pile of thin bread-and-butter sandwiches.

"I'll put it on the little table, and we can have lunch together," she
said cheerfully. "See what a lot of sandwiches mother's made for us."

As she spoke, Betty drew a small table close to the sofa on which lay
the little cripple. Jack watched her every movement with loving eyes.
Such a pale, wan face as it was; such a poor, shrunken little body! But
it was not a dull face, and the large, beautiful blue eyes had a bright,
glad light in them, despite the fact that their owner spent all his poor
life confined to a sofa.

"Now tell me about the interesting thing," Jack said, when Betty, having
completed her arrangeme