d almost
make one believe her if there was a chance of it, but I've had every bit
of furniture out of the room, or turned about just to make sure. Miss
Maggie's a queer child, once she takes a thing into her head; but she's
not exactly obstinate either."

So Maggie, "unshriven and unforgiven," was put to bed in her misery,
with no kind kiss or loving "good-night." "If she would but own to it,
dreadful though it is," sighed Eleanor. But two days--two days, and,
worse still, two nights--went by, and still the child held out. Eleanor
herself began to feel quite ill, and Maggie grew like a little ghost.
Her character seemed to have changed strangely--she flew into no
passions, and called no one any names; apparently she felt no
resentment, only misery. But how terribly crushing was the Pariah-like
life she led in the nursery, probably none of those about her had the
least idea of. On the third morning there came a change.

"Miss Campbell! Miss Campbell!" said Patty and Edith, slipping with bare
feet and night-gowned little figures into their sister's room--quite
against orders, but it was a great occasion--"wake up, wake up, Maggie's
confessed!"

And so it proved. There sat Maggie upright in her cot, with flushed face
and excited eyes.

"I took them, Miss Campbell. I did take Towzer's goodies, and eatened
them up."

Eleanor sat down on the side of the little bed.

"Oh, Maggie!" she said reproachfully. "How could you! But, still more,
how could you deny it so often?"

Maggie looked at her bewilderedly, then meeting the stern reproach in
her sister's eyes, hid her face in the bed-clothes while she murmured
something about not having remembered before.

"Hush!" said Eleanor, "don't make things worse by false excuses."

"Make her tell all about it," whispered Patty.

"No," said Eleanor; "it would only tempt her to invent palliations. It
is miserable enough--I don't want to hear any more."

What "palliations" were, to Patty was by no means clear.

"At least," she persisted, "you might ask her what she did with the
box."

Maggie caught the words.

"I didn't touch the box," she said, "only the goodies."

"Oh, what a story!" exclaimed the twins.

"Be quiet, children; I will not have any more said. Don't you see what
it will lead her into," said Eleanor.

But some of her old spirit seemed to have returned to Maggie. Her eyes
sparkled with eagerness as she repeated, "I didn't touch the box; no, I
never did. Onl