all the troubles that have marred
these days for you. I am sorry I did not know as much three months ago
as I do now."

"I am, too, but folks are never too old to learn, grandpa says," Peace
answered happily, and departed with beaming countenance, for Miss Peyton
had "passed her" after all.

CHAPTER XI

PEACE FINDS NEW PLAYMATES

It had been decided that Giuseppe Nicoli was to live at the stone house
and be educated as the Lilac Lady's protege.

The Humane Society had thoroughly investigated the case and found that
the poor little waif was an orphan, whom greedy-eyed Petri had taken in
charge on account of his unusual musical talent. There were no relatives
on this side of the water to claim the homeless lad, and those in old
Italy were too poor to be burdened with his keep; so the Society gladly
listened to the lame girl's plea, and gave Giuseppe into her keeping.

It would be hard to tell which was the more jubilant over his good
fortune, the child himself, or Peace, who was never tired of rehearsing
the story of his rescue from the brutal organ-grinder's clutches. So the
minute she knew that the big house was to be his future home, she raced
off to the corner drug store to telephone the good news to Allee and the
rest at home, who were much interested in the doings at the little
parsonage, and only regretted that the Hill Street Church was not yet
able to afford a telephone of its own, for Peace could make only one
trip daily to the drug store, and often the girls thought of something
else they wanted to ask her after she had rung off. Also, the drug clerk
was sometimes impolite enough to tell Peace that she was talking too
long, and that does leave one so embarrassed.

This day, however, he had no occasion for uttering a word of complaint,
for after a surprised exclamation and three or four rapid questions of
the speaker at the other end of the line, Peace banged the receiver on
its hook, and turned rebellious eyes on the idle clerk lolling behind
the counter, saying, "Now, what do you think of that?"

"What?" drawled the man, who was in his element when he could tease
someone. "Do you take me for a mind reader?"

"I sh'd say not!" she answered crossly. "It takes folks with brains to
read other folks' minds."

"Whew!" he whistled, delighted with the encounter. "Your claws are out
today. What seems to be the matter?"

"Grandpa has taken grandma and the little girls to the Pine Woods
without so m