hand again and drew me close to him.
To think that that wonderful Idol should feel like that about
insignificant me!

And father looked as impressed as he ought to have been, and begged my
pardon in the proper manner; only I saw the bat in his eyes that
showed how amused he was.

"Well," he said slowly, "Phyllis is a dangerous person to tell secrets
to, or even to live an ordinary life before. Her penetration is so
keen that she sees a man in his true character--and gets a thousand
dollars from him for her estimate of his personality. I am glad to buy
the opinion of me that you sent your cousin Gilmore at a thousand
dollars, Phyllis,--it is worth more than that to me--from you!" His
eyes were very tender to me though then, laughing: "Want to see
yourself as she sees you in this thousand-dollar book I'm going to
have printed, Byrd?" he asked teasingly.

"Oh, no!" I gasped; "I hoped he would never see that! Don't give him
one, if you bought it. Don't even talk about it!" Let's go telegraph
the doctor--we have forgotten the eyes too long now."

"That will not be necessary," said Father, with the lovely look that
comes into his face when Lovelace Peyton is even mentioned. "When I
read your letter to Gilmore, I hunted around immediately and brought
the best man in New York with me to see to those eyes. He is over at
the house getting rested and ready, and will have to make his
examination in less than an hour now, so you two had better hustle to
get Dr. Byrd ready for him. Everything must be antiseptic."

Antiseptic, with those fishing worms and the hen and the pet toad and
the June bugs in his bed! Roxanne fled, calling Uncle Pompey on her
way.

"Then my thousand dollars won't--won't be needed?" I asked with a
contemptible feeling of disappointment that the Byrds had got so rich
before I had been able to do this one thing for them. I looked up at
old Grandmother Byrd over the mantelpiece and said in my heart: "You
have won."

But what happened then? The Idol, with the comprehension which is one
of the symptoms of all genius, turned to me quickly and put his arm
across my shoulder.

"Phyllis," he said, with his most wonderful eyes shining down into
mine, "that check is going to the doctor just as soon as your Father
gives it to you. I told you that Lovey's eyes would be more valuable
if saved by you--and--and I meant it."

I didn't have to say anything, and I couldn't--he understood! I just
clung!

"Young idio