see that?"

Dick regarded the object blankly, then with a quick gesture dived into
his pocket and brought forth another of the same general character.
"How about this?" he asked.

Each had one of Reba Larrabee's Christmas cards but David had the
first unsuccessful one and Dick the popular one with the lonely
little gray house and the verse about the folks back home.

The men looked at each other in astonishment and Dick gave a low
whistle. Then they bent over the cards together.

"It was mother's picture that pulled me back to Beulah, I don't mind
telling you," said David, his mouth twitching. "Don't you see it?"

"Oh! Is that your mother?" And Dick scanned the card closely.

"Don't you remember her portrait that always hung there after she
died?"

"Yes, of course!" And Dick's tone was apologetic. "You see the face is
so small I didn't notice it, but I recognize it now and remember the
portrait."

"Then the old sitting-room!" exclaimed David. "Look at the rag carpet
and the blessed old andirons! Gracious! I've crawled round those
Hessian soldiers, burned my fingers and cracked my skull on 'em, often
enough when I was a kid! When I'd studied the card five minutes, I
bought a ticket and started for home."

David's eyes were suffused and his lip trembled.

"I don't wonder," said Dick. "I recognize the dear old room right
enough, and of course I should know Letty."

"It didn't occur to me that it _was_ Letty for some time," said her
brother. "There's just the glimpse of a face shown, and no real
likeness."

"Perhaps not," agreed Dick. "A stranger wouldn't have known it for
Letty, but if it had been only that cape I should have guessed. It's
as familiar as Mrs. Popham's bugle bonnet, and much prettier. She wore
it every winter, skating, you know,--and it's just the color of her
hair."

"Letty has a good-shaped head," said David judicially. "It shows, even
in the card."

"And a remarkable ear," added Dick, "so small and so close to her
head."

"I never notice people's ears," confessed David.

"Don't you? I do, and eyelashes, too. Mother's got Letty's eyelashes
down fine.--She's changed, Dave, Letty has! That hurts me. She was
always so gay and chirpy. In this picture she has a sad, far-away,
listening look, but mother may have put that in just to make it
interesting."

"Or perhaps I've had something to do with the change of expression!"
thought David. "What attracted me first," he added, "was your
mot