bitt very cheerfully.

"Mrs Nesbitt has a letter for you, Effie," said Aunt Elsie; "but you
must make tea first. The bairns have it ready, and Mrs Nesbitt needs
it after her walk."

Effie fancied that the letter Mrs Nesbitt had brought came from some
one else than Christie, or she might not have assented with such seeming
readiness to the proposal to have tea first. As it was, she hastened
Nellie's nearly-completed arrangements, and seated herself behind the
tray. Mrs Nesbitt looked graver than usual, she thought; and as she
handed her her cup of tea, she said, quietly:

"You have had no bad news, I hope?"

"I have had no news," said Mrs Nesbitt. "Alexander told me there were
two letters for you in the post, so I sent him for them, and I have come
to you for the news."

As she spoke she laid the two letters on the table. One was from
Christie, but she broke the seal of the other one first. It was very
short, but before she had finished it her face was as colourless as the
paper in her hand.

"Well, what is it?" said her aunt and Mrs Nesbitt, in the same breath.
She turned the page and read from the beginning:

"My dear Miss Redfern,--I have just returned from visiting your sister
at the hospital. I do not think you can have gathered from her
letters how ill she is, and I think you ought to know. I do not mean
that she is dangerously ill, but she has been lying there a long time;
and if you can possibly come to her, I am sure the sight of you would
do her more good than anything else in the world. Christie does not
know that I am writing. I think she has not told you how ill she is,
for fear of making you unhappy; and now she is troubled lest anything
should happen, and her friends be quite unprepared for it. Not that
you must think anything is going to happen,--but come if you can.

"My dear Miss Redfern, I hope you will not think me impertinent, but
father wishes me to say to you that we all beg you will let no
consideration of expense prevent your coming. It will be such a
comfort to Christie to have you here."

There was a postscript, saying that the poor girl had been in the
hospital since the end of April.

"The end of April!" echoed Aunt Elsie and Mrs Nesbitt at once. Effie
said nothing, but her hands trembled very much as she opened the other
letter. I need not copy Christie's letter, we already know all she had
to tell. Effie's voice failed her more than onc