y! What a fright!" with
brotherly candour.

Betty snapped, of course, and snapped vigorously. It was not her fault,
she reflected. No one could be expected to be patient if other people
would insist on being so horrid and exasperating!

CHAPTER THREE.

THE TREVOR FAMILY.

The family dinner was served at seven o'clock, and all the children,
down to Pam herself, appeared at table, for Dr Trevor liked to have his
family round him at the close of the day, and, thanks to his wife's good
management, the meal was always a bright and cheery occasion.

Mrs Trevor was a devoted mother to every one of her flock, but the
person in the house whom she mothered most of all was her hard-working
husband, whose life was so devoted to others that he had little time to
consider himself. From the children's earliest years they had been
taught that to "worry father" was one of the most serious offences which
they could commit.

"Father spends his life going about from one sickroom to another; all
day long he is meeting people who are ill, and anxious, in fear, and in
pain, and when he comes home he must have a cheery welcome. If you want
to grumble about anything, grumble to yourselves or to me; if you have
anything disagreeable to tell, let it wait until we are alone. Meal-
times with father must be devoted to pleasant subjects alone." Such
were Mrs Trevor's instructions, instilled into her children's minds
with such persistent firmness that they were never disobeyed, with the
result that the tired doctor came home with the happy certainty of
enjoying a cheery, harmonious hour, and the young people themselves
learnt a lesson in self-restraint which was of infinite value in after
life.

Betty might grumble and tirade outside the schoolroom door, but as she
approached the dining-room she mechanically smoothed her brow and
adopted a cheerful expression. To-night Dr Trevor was already seated
in his place at the end of the long table, for his wife took the head,
to save him the fatigue of carving for so large a party. He was a tall,
thin man, with a lined face lit by the keen, thoughtful eyes of the true
physician. He looked up as his eldest daughter entered the room, and
held out his hand to her in a mute caress. She bent to kiss his
forehead, and stood holding his hand to chat for a few minutes until the
other members of the family made their appearance. He noticed the
Puritan-like coiffure--there were few things that