e
here to live, would you get tired? Or would she dislike to help care
for the linen mending? Of course, you would be paid a fair wage as
well as she. What do you think?"

What Robin thought was evident: for away he ran to Dorothy's side and
catching her hand kissed it over and over.

"Oh! you dear, good girl! It was you who helped the doctor set my
bones, it was you who let me slide on your new toboggan, and it's you
who've 'spoke for me' to this lady. Oh! I do thank you. And now I'm
not afraid to go back and see Mr. Gilpin. He was so vexed with me
because he thought--May I go now, Ma'am? and when do you want us,
Mother and me?"

"To-morrow morning, at daybreak. Will you be here?"

"Will I not? Oh! good-by. I must go quick! and tell my Mother that she
needn't worry any more. Oh! how glad I am!"

With a bow toward Miss Tross-Kingdon and a gay wave of his hand toward
the girls, he vanished from the room, fairly running down the corridor
and whistling as he went. The rules of Oak Knowe had yet all to be
learned but it certainly was a cheerful "noise in halls" to which they
listened now.

"And that's another 'link' in life, such as Uncle Seth was always
watching for. If I hadn't delayed that telegram and he hadn't fallen
down and--everything else that happened--Robin would never have had
such a lovely chance," said Dorothy proudly.

"That's a dangerous doctrine, Dorothy. It's fine to see the 'links'
you speak of, but not at all fine to do evil that good may come. I'd
rather have you believe that this same good might have come to the lad
without your own first mistake. But it's time for studying Sunday
lessons and you must go."

"Catch me studying 'links' for things, Dolly, if it gets a body
lectured. Dear Lady Principal does so love to cap her kindnesses with
'a few remarks.' There's a soft side and a hard side to that woman,
and a middle sort of schoolma'amy side between. She can't help it,
poor thing, and mostly her soft side was in front just now.

"Think of it! Wax Works and Ice Palaces all in one term! I do just
hope Mrs. Jarley'll have a lot of real blood-curdling 'figgers' to
look at and not all miminy-piminy ones. Well, good night, honey, I'm
off to be as good as gold."

Every pupil at Oak Knowe, in the week that followed, tried to be "as
good as gold," for a pleasure such as Lady Jane proposed to give the
school was as welcome to the highest Form as to the lowest Minims, and
the result was that none