e said. "Suppose you eat a sandwich first, and then the
pear, and some cake afterwards. You can offer the basket to your
friend, and perhaps he would like a sandwich, too."

Ruby was very much pleased to find that the old gentleman thought that
this would be a very good plan, and that he was glad of a sandwich, so
the party had quite a little picnic together. Aunt Emma ate her lunch
too, and Ruby spread the white napkin that was in the top of the
lunch-box over her lap, and laid the sandwiches out upon it, so that
the old gentleman might help himself.

The pear was such a big one that Ruby could divide it both with the old
gentleman and with Aunt Emma and still have plenty for herself, and
some time passed very pleasantly in eating the lunch, and putting what
was left carefully back into the box again.

By this time Ruby had begun to be very tired of riding in the cars.
She did not want to look out of the window any more, and she began to
feel a little homesick. She grew very quiet, as she began to wonder
what Ruthy was doing just now. The old gentleman had told her that it
was eleven o'clock, so she knew that Ruthy was probably having a nice
game at recess with the other children. This was the first day of
school at home, and Ruby remembered how she had always enjoyed that
first day. It was so pleasant to put everything to rights in her desk
just as she meant to have it all the year, to have her old seat by
Ruthy where she had sat ever since she first began to go to school, and
to look at the new scholars, and wonder whether she would have much
trouble in keeping at the head of the class.

The old gentleman wondered what made his little companion so quiet, and
looking down at her, he saw the tears beginning to gather in her eyes.
He guessed a little of what she was thinking about. Of course he could
not know all about school, and about Ruthy, but he knew she was
thinking about some one at home.

He looked back, and saw that Aunt Emma had put her head down upon the
back of the seat, and with a handkerchief over her face was trying to
take a little nap in the hope that it would help her aching head. He
wondered what he could do to keep Ruby from becoming homesick and tired.

"Let me tell you about one of my little grandchildren," he said, and
Ruby winked the tears away and looked up at him. "She is a little girl
just about your age, and sometimes when we go on a journey together, as
we often do,--for ever