moment longer,
he thought to lay her on the grass. But she stood upright on her feet.
Her hood had dropped, and her hair fell about her. The first gleam
of the morning was caught on her face: that face was bright as the
never-aging Dawn, and her eyes were lovely as the sky of darkest blue.
The prince recoiled in overmastering wonder. It was Daylight herself
whom he had brought from the forest! He fell at her feet, nor dared to
look up until she laid her hand upon his head. He rose then.

"You kissed me when I was an old woman: there! I kiss you when I am a
young princess," murmured Daylight.--"Is that the sun coming?"

CHAPTER XXIX. RUBY

THE children were delighted with the story, and made many amusing
remarks upon it. Mr. Raymond promised to search his brain for another,
and when he had found one to bring it to them. Diamond having taken
leave of Nanny, and promised to go and see her again soon, went away
with him.

Now Mr. Raymond had been turning over in his mind what he could do both
for Diamond and for Nanny. He had therefore made some acquaintance with
Diamond's father, and had been greatly pleased with him. But he had come
to the resolution, before he did anything so good as he would like to
do for them, to put them all to a certain test. So as they walked away
together, he began to talk with Diamond as follows:--

"Nanny must leave the hospital soon, Diamond."

"I'm glad of that, sir."

"Why? Don't you think it's a nice place?"

"Yes, very. But it's better to be well and doing something, you know,
even if it's not quite so comfortable."

"But they can't keep Nanny so long as they would like. They can't keep
her till she's quite strong. There are always so many sick children they
want to take in and make better. And the question is, What will she do
when they send her out again?"

"That's just what I can't tell, though I've been thinking of it over and
over, sir. Her crossing was taken long ago, and I couldn't bear to see
Nanny fighting for it, especially with such a poor fellow as has taken
it. He's quite lame, sir."

"She doesn't look much like fighting, now, does she, Diamond?"

"No, sir. She looks too like an angel. Angels don't fight--do they,
sir?"

"Not to get things for themselves, at least," said Mr. Raymond.

"Besides," added Diamond, "I don't quite see that she would have any
better right to the crossing than the boy who has got it. Nobody gave it
to her; she only took it. An