UCSB LIBRARY
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER
 
 ANNA CHAPIN RAY'S 
 WRITINGS 
 
 TEDDY, HER BOOK. 
 PHEBE, HER PROFESSION. 
 TEDDY, HER DAUGHTER. 
 NATHALIE'S CHUM. 
 URSULA'S FRESHMAN. 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER. 
 EACH LIFE UNFULFILLED. 
 THE DOMINANT STRAIN. 
 BY THE GOOD SAINTE ANNE.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Clje Last of tf>e jmcaifetet Hecorte 
 
 BY 
 
 ANNA C-HAPIN RAY 
 
 AUTHOH OP "TEDDY, HER BOOK," " PHEBE, HER PROFESSION," 
 "NATHALIE'S CHUM," "URSULA'S FRESHMAN," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 ALICE BARBER STEPHENS 
 
 BOSTON 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 
 1907
 
 Copyright, 1904, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 Published September, 1904. 
 
 9t(ntar* 
 8. J. PAKKHILL & Co., BOSTON, U. 8. A.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 " 'Now look here, my girl, I 've got to have 
 
 those papers ' " Frontispiece 
 
 " With a swift gesture, Nathalie caught the 
 
 snow-white head in her hands " . . . Page 6 
 
 " The man sat up hastily, and rescued a corner 
 
 of The Egoist from Sophia's teeth " . " 33 
 
 "'Peggy, dear, what is it? Is something 
 
 wrong?' Ursula asked again " ... " 98 
 
 " She took a steady look at the brown head 
 
 in her lap " " 216 
 
 " Peggy, a little pale and very determined, 
 
 had been put upon the stand" ... " 279
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER ONE 
 
 " fT^HAT may be ; but it 's no reason for 
 
 JL sending her to be butchered." 
 
 " It is n't butchery ; it 's chloroform, Na- 
 thalie," Mrs. Barrett corrected blandly. 
 
 But impatiently Nathalie brushed her yellow 
 hair off from her heated forehead, and swept 
 on with her arraignment. 
 
 " Yes, it is butchery. It does n't make any 
 difference whether you do it with a guillotine 
 or a ten-ounce bottle of chloroform. If you 
 could have seen the corners of her mouth when 
 I met her ! " 
 
 " I can imagine. She has in her the making 
 of an ideal undertaker." 
 
 " What did you get her for, in the first 
 place ? " Nathalie demanded. 
 
 " Ornament. I thought she would be so im- 
 pressive, stalking along beside me when I went 
 to market." 
 
 1
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " She will, if you give her the chance." 
 
 Bending over, Mrs. Barrett tightened a pin 
 in the yellow hair beside her knee. 
 
 " Unfortunately, she has begun going to 
 market on her own account." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " That, in the last four days, she has killed 
 thirty-seven of Mrs. Babcock's chickens. Mrs. 
 Babcock loves her chickens. She boils corn- 
 meal mush for them, and then she stands and 
 watches them eat it." Mrs. Barrett's shoulders 
 finished the paragraph and registered her im- 
 pression of Mrs. Babcock. 
 
 Nathalie moved to the other end of the step, 
 where she could sit facing Mrs. Barrett, 
 
 " And so do you love Sophia," she remon- 
 strated. 
 
 " Sophia Smith, if you please. Ted named 
 her in the spasm of loyalty that followed her 
 class reunion. Well ? " 
 
 " Then why did n't you protect her ? " 
 
 " How could I ? Mrs. Babcock descended 
 upon me, yesterday, with eighteen downy corpses 
 spread out in an accusing row on a board, and 
 Sophia stood on her hind legs to greet her, with 
 the nineteenth dangling out of the corners of her 
 mouth. I was penitent enough to answer for
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 3 
 
 us both; but Mrs. Babcock refused to be ap- 
 peased. All I could do was to beg for one more 
 trial. It came off this morning : a race between 
 Sophia and Mrs. Babcock, with a chicken for 
 the prize. I grieve to say that Sophia won." 
 
 " And you are going to have Dr. Allen kill 
 her?" 
 
 " Yes. Giff seemed to think he could n't do 
 it, right in the middle of the love-song he is 
 writing for Monterro." 
 
 Nathalie spoke slowly, her chin resting on 
 her fists, 
 
 " Aunt Babe, give Sophia to me." 
 
 " What would you do with her ? " 
 
 " Save her life, and then train her." 
 
 "And the -chickens?" 
 
 " I '11 keep her tied." 
 
 "What will Mac say?" 
 
 Nathalie raised her brows and cocked her 
 eyes up at Mrs. Barrett. 
 
 " Our honeymoon won't be over till next 
 Wednesday," she observed demurely. 
 
 " Hm ! Well, I suppose that settles it. Talk 
 it over with father, and, if he is willing, tele- 
 phone to Dr. Allen to send her back. I doubt 
 if the expressman will bring her, though. He 
 said she not only filled up his whole wagon, but
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 she was so l tiddley on her pins/ as he phrased 
 it, that he had to walk his horses for fear she 
 would capsize. Giff is calling me, Nathalie, 
 and I must go. I wish you joy of your pet, and 
 all the chicken stew your appetite can desire." 
 
 With a swift but leisurely step, Nathalie went 
 up the shady street, crossed the broad lawn at 
 The Savins, and threw herself down at the feet 
 of the old man on the veranda. 
 
 " Grandpa McAlister ? " 
 
 He looked up from his , paper with a gay 
 smile which belied his more than fourscore 
 years. Nathalie smiled back at him in perfect 
 understanding. Few more precious gifts had 
 her wedding brought her than the kinship with 
 Dr. John McAlister. 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " I want something, want it very badly." 
 
 His laugh still held its mellow ring. Even 
 in his great age, Dr. McAlister was young at 
 heart, and Nature, always just, was repaying 
 him for a well-spent life with an old age of rare 
 vigor and sweetness. 
 
 " Last night in the twilight," he suggested ; 
 " I am sure I heard you confiding to Mac that 
 you had nothing left to wish for." 
 
 " I had n't then ; I have, to-day. Mac is
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 away, gone for this whole blessed afternoon, 
 and I need a companion." 
 
 " So soon ? " 
 
 " Yes, for he will be sure to go again. Next 
 time, it will be even worse. Grandpa McAlister, 
 I want " She paused, as if to add weight 
 to her words. 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " Aunt Babe's Sophia. She is on her way to 
 be killed, unless I save her life." 
 
 " Then I should advise you to go in search 
 of a telephone," Dr. McAlister suggested. 
 
 " But you don't understand. It is n't as if 
 Mac and I were in our own home. If I take 
 her, she will howl in your ears, all night; she 
 will dig holes in your lawn, all day, and gnaw 
 up your door-mats, and chase the cat between 
 whiles." 
 
 As she halted for breath, Dr. McAlister bent 
 over her for a moment. 
 
 " My dear little lady, I have had a puppy or 
 two in my time. Moreover, when I begged you 
 and Mac to keep house for me, this summer, I 
 expressly stated that The Savins was to be as 
 much home to you as to me. It is a good deal 
 for me, you know, to have you and the boy with 
 me, all summer long. For the sake of that alone,
 
 6 . NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 I would be willing to have a dozen Sophias 
 wailing in unison." 
 
 With a swift gesture, Nathalie caught the 
 snow-white head in her firm, brown hands. 
 
 " Don't spoil me," she begged. " And be- 
 sides, what about the two extra Arterburns who 
 are coming ? " 
 
 " I have scarcely seen your sister. Harry 
 would be welcome at The Savins at any time." 
 
 Her answering smile was half mocking, half 
 tender. 
 
 " You Ve learned the way to my heart, 
 Grandpa McAlister. Mac and Harry make up 
 a large share of my solar system, and it is very 
 good to have you care for them, too." She rose 
 as if to go to the telephone. Then she turned 
 back again impulsively. "It is so good to be 
 here with you all, and to have Hal coming, to- 
 day. I wish you could know how happy I am." 
 
 Two hours later, she appeared in the doorway 
 with her hat on. 
 
 " I am going in town to see Dr. Allen," she 
 announced. " I can't extract any satisfactory 
 information out of the telephone, and I am 
 afraid of what the chloroform bottle may do, 
 unless I bestir myself. I '11 be out on the five 
 o'clock train."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 She found Sophia Smith lashed to one of the 
 posts in the stable of the veterinary hospital. 
 The corners of Sophia's mouth drooped more 
 disconsolately than ever, and all the curl had 
 gone out of the tail, which wagged a forlorn 
 welcome as Nathalie appeared. A thorough- 
 bred staghound whose pedigree was coextensive 
 with those of half the belted earls of the British 
 Isles, Sophia's lank frame, nevertheless, was 
 covered with a coat of the texture of a frayed 
 door-mat, of the color of a much-washed linen 
 duster. One ear lopped forward over her brow, 
 and her flanks met in the gaps between her 
 ribs. 
 
 " Sophia," Nathalie said softly. 
 
 Slowly Sophia rose on her haunches. From 
 her haunches she rose on her hind legs, and her 
 fore paws met in an embrace which lost some- 
 what of its fervor by reason of its occurring in 
 mid-air, three feet above the head of its object. 
 
 " You came to take her home ? " the attendant 
 suggested affably. 
 
 " No. At least, where is the expressman ? " 
 
 " He would n't answer the telephone." 
 
 " Why don't you try again ? " 
 
 " Because I got him, the first time. He an- 
 swered till he found out who was talking to him.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Then he hung up, and I couldn't get him 
 again." 
 
 " Then send for another." 
 
 " There is n't any other that goes your way." 
 
 A silence followed. Nathalie stared anx- 
 iously at Sophia Smith, who gazed gloomily 
 back at her. 
 
 " How can I ever get her home ? " she asked 
 blankly at length. 
 
 " You 'd better lead her right along with 
 you now," the man advised. 
 
 " Yes but " Nathalie's eyes turned 
 again to Sophia, who was making lunges at a 
 passing cat until the post creaked with the 
 strain. 
 
 " I '11 lend you a lead," the man volunteered. 
 " She'll go quietly enough, once she gets started. 
 Bless your heart, she 's nothing but a little 
 puppy." 
 
 With a sigh and a glance at her trim walk- 
 ing-gown, Nathalie yielded to the inevitable. 
 Sophia, meanwhile, appeared to have taken root 
 beside the post, and bent her neck patiently this 
 way and that, in answer to Nathalie's tuggings 
 at the lead which the attendant had snapped on 
 her collar. At length, however, Sophia, too, 
 yielded to the inevitable. Converted into a
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 9 
 
 wheelbarrow by two firm hands upon her rear 
 ankles, she allowed herself to be trundled out 
 into the street and headed towards The Savins. 
 Then of a sudden her pride of birth reasserted 
 itself, and, as beseemed a staghound of sorts, 
 she assumed full control of the situation. 
 
 More than an hour later, she was still holding 
 control of the situation. It was four miles from 
 town to The Savins. Nathalie, who would have 
 thought nothing of a four-mile course on the 
 golf links, wondered vaguely how many barley- 
 corns there were in four miles ; but her thoughts 
 were not sufficiently consecutive to allow her to 
 perform the needful multiplications. Once she 
 progressed as far as yards. Then a cat loomed 
 up upon the horizon, and she lost count. Her 
 physical progress was as unsteady as her mental 
 one. Sometimes she bounced; sometimes she 
 broke into a canter, then quickened her pace 
 to a gallop, and went pounding forward at a 
 speed which strewed her path with hair-pins. 
 Then of a sudden Sophia went back for another 
 look at something she had passed, and, quite as 
 a matter of course, Nathalie went too. Worst 
 of all, Sophia was so long and elastic, and the 
 lead so very, very short. 
 
 For reasons connected solely with human
 
 10 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 vanity, Nathalie had forsaken the direct road 
 towards home. It was shorter; but it was one 
 of the favorite drives out of town, and at that 
 hour of the afternoon it was sure to be crowded 
 with carriages. All in all, it seemed better to 
 her to follow another route, one which led 
 through a succession of undesirable neighbor- 
 hoods. Nathalie's sense of direction was a keen 
 one. Twice she had driven over the road, and 
 she was sure of its every turn. For so much 
 she was thankful; but it soon became her soli- 
 tary cause of thankfulness. 
 
 In the first place, there was a superabundance 
 of dog along the roadside. With each successive 
 dog Sophia paused to have a romp, dragging 
 Nathalie through a species of Virginia reel 
 which occupied the street from curb to cu:-b. 
 The romp usually ended in Sophia's tumbling 
 over and lying prostrate in the dust until her 
 new mistress, with infinite toil, succeeded in 
 prying her up and setting her on her long legs 
 again. By that time, the first dog had vanished 
 and a new one had arisen to take his placo. 
 According to Nathalie's exhausted computa- 
 tion, there were about seventy-seven dogs to 
 the mile. Then Sophia grew thirsty, and, in 
 her search for a drink, she made her way into
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 11 
 
 the first open door she could find. The open 
 door chanced to be that of a saloon, and Sophia 
 and Nathalie had a prolonged difference t of 
 opinion at the foot of the steps. From the door- 
 way, the man eyed her thoughtfully. 
 
 "Did you buy it to ride, missus ?" he queried, 
 when Sophia, exhausted with her efforts, sat 
 down to rest with an abruptness which caused 
 Nathalie to seat herself upon the shaggy back. 
 
 Sophia rose abruptly. For the once she was 
 powerless to stand against the strain on her 
 lead ; and Nathalie, her chin in the air, stalked 
 away down the street. Ten feet from the door, 
 however, Sophia saw a cat on the other side of 
 a wide puddle, and Nathalie's dignity suddenly 
 vanished. A young staghound can jump farther 
 than a young woman, and Nathalie's crisp pique 
 skirt drank up the water greedily. 
 
 " Sophia, no ! Come back ! " she ordered. 
 
 The tone was commanding. Sophia came. 
 This time, in her eagerness to make peace, she 
 came through, not over, the puddle. Her thick 
 paws landed on the points of Nathalie's shoul- 
 ders, and her peaked muzzle and straggling 
 mustache were pressed against the girl's cheek. 
 Then, light of heart, she dropped back to the 
 ground, with a single sweep of her paw knocked
 
 12 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 over a fox terrier and rolled over on top of 
 him. 
 
 Just as Nathalie had succeeded in extricating 
 her charge from the attacks of the terrier, a 
 group of three people were standing in the 
 door of the railway station. Of the two men, 
 one was tall, yellow-haired, and full of the 
 alertness which comes from superb health; the 
 other was more slender, more delicate, yet quite 
 as attractive as his companion. Both men were 
 of thoroughbred stock; both bore the marks of 
 refined and earnest living. The third member 
 of the party was a girl of fifteen, not especially 
 pretty, but comely with health, and with an 
 aggressive poise of her head that spoke volumes 
 for her character. In one hand she carried a 
 caddy bag, and a bow and a bundle of arrows ; in 
 the other was a heavy suit-case. 
 
 " Thank you, no. I always carry my own 
 things," she said, as the taller of the men tried 
 to relieve her of a part of her burden. 
 
 " But I have nothing but my umbrella," he 
 objected, with a smile. 
 
 " I can't help that. If I am going to have 
 things, it is my place to look out for them," she 
 returned uncompromisingly. " You are n't 
 likely to wear my gowns or to shoot with my
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 13 
 
 arrows, so there is no especial reason you should 
 carry them." 
 
 " Only my own satisfaction." Then he 
 turned to his other companion. " The five 
 o'clock is gone, Hal, and there 's not another 
 train till seven, so we shall have to drive. I 'm 
 sorry; but it is the best we can do. It was 
 disgusting of the train to be so late." 
 
 He signalled to a driver and gave hrs 
 orders. 
 
 " To The Savins. By the back road, I think. 
 It will be less crowded, and we can make better 
 time, that way. Now, Peggy, can I help you 
 in?" 
 
 " Yes," he said, as they were rolling swiftly 
 along ; "I am perfectly happy. Nathalie is all, 
 and even more than I imagined her, and it 
 seems to me that she grows more beautiful, 
 every " 
 
 The horses shied with a violence that broke 
 his speech in two; and he leaned out of the 
 carriage to discover the cause of the driver's 
 sudden profanity. A heavy wagon just ahead 
 of them was raising a cloud of dust which 
 thickened the air and blinded him with the sun- 
 light that streamed across it. In the thickest 
 of the dust, a dust-colored beast as large as a
 
 14 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 calf was plunging madly about, dragging behind 
 it a woman with sodden skirts, and frowsy hair 
 lopping sidewise under her loosened hat. On 
 the curbstone, a knot of urchins uttered dis- 
 passionate comments upon the scene. 
 
 " What is it ? " Peggy demanded. 
 
 " I can't make out. It 's some sort of a street 
 show ; possibly a dancing bear. Horses always 
 shy at them." 
 
 But Peggy shook her head. 
 
 " It 's too light for a bear. Maybe it 's Uncle 
 Tom's Cabin. They generally have a street 
 parade." 
 
 The carriage passed on for a few yards. Sud- 
 denly an arm waved wildly, and the air was 
 cleft with a cry, 
 
 "Mac! Mac! Wait for me! Mac!" 
 
 " By Jove, it 's Nathalie ! " And he was out 
 of the carriage with a bound. 
 
 Side by side, and breathless with mutual 
 explanation, they came up to the carriage, with 
 Sophia Smith trudging demurely along under 
 Mac's strong hand. Peggy turned upon her 
 sister the stony eye of disfavor. 
 
 " Nathalie Arterburn ! " 
 
 " Holden," Mac corrected her. 
 
 " Well, Holden, then. Of course I knew you
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 15 
 
 were married, else you would n't be here. But 
 do you know how you look ? " 
 
 "I I rather think I do," Nathalie said 
 wearily, as Mac handed her into the carriage. 
 
 Peggy drew her skirt aside and made a pro- 
 tecting barrier of caddy bag. 
 
 " I hope there 's a bath-tub at The Savins," 
 she said tartly. " I begin to think we all may 
 need it. Mac Holden, you aren't going to 
 stuff that creature in here ? " 
 
 He laughed at her accent of despair. 
 
 "Unless you would like to lead her home," 
 he suggested. 
 
 Peggy dropped back into her corner. 
 
 " Well, of all the performances ! " she said 
 slowly. " Next time, I '11 plan to travel by 
 myself."
 
 16 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTEE TWO 
 
 " T T ARRY ARTERBTJRK" 
 
 JL JL Harry came out of a brown study 
 and turned to face his young sister. 
 
 " Peggy Arterburn ? " he responded inter- 
 rogatively. 
 
 She frowned. 
 
 " I do wish you could remember that my 
 name is Margaret," she observed. 
 
 " What 's the use of remembering a name 
 that does n't fit ? " 
 
 " But it does fit me ; that is, in my better 
 moments," she replied pensively. 
 
 In spite of himself, her brother laughed. 
 Then he controlled his merriment. It was one 
 of Peggy's idiosyncrasies never to allow herself 
 to be laughed at. 
 
 " You need n't sit and smirk at me," she 
 complained. " It 's not the way you would 
 treat Nathalie. Now it 's my turn. She is all 
 married off, and I 'm grown up. If I have to
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 17 
 
 be here, all this summer, I do wish you 'd treat 
 me with a little respect." 
 
 At her words, his face changed. 
 
 " Have to be here, Peggy ! Don't you love 
 to be here ? " 
 
 " That 's just what I wanted to talk to you 
 about," she said flatly. " No." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Because I don't fit in anywhere. I 'm like 
 a stray cat in a dog show: everybody larger 
 than I am, and nobody quite of my kind," she 
 returned shrewdly. 
 
 Tossing aside the magazine which the deep- 
 ening twilight had rendered useless, Harry 
 Arterburn rose, crossed the veranda, and paused 
 beside his young sister. For a moment, he 
 studied her wilful, spirited, discontented face, 
 while it slowly dawned upon him that, without 
 his having at all realized it, little Peggy had 
 changed from a simple, fractious child into 
 a maidenhood of endless and contradictory 
 possibilities. 
 
 " Let 's go for a little walk, Peggy," he sug- 
 gested, when the moment was ended. 
 
 His accent was respectfully grave, and, more- 
 over, exercise was always welcome to Peggy. 
 Side by side, the brother and sister sauntered 
 2
 
 18 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 across the lawn and down the street, among the 
 shadows that lay heavy under the elm trees. 
 At the gate, Harry turned to look back. 
 
 " What an ideal home it is ! " he said slowly. 
 
 His sister's eyes rested upon the two figures 
 dimly visible in the darkest corner of the ve- 
 randa, and there came a ring of mockery into 
 her tone. 
 
 " If I had anything to do with it, though, 
 I *d change the name and call it The Spoon- 
 holder," she responded. 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " Perhaps. But what can you expect, only 
 four weeks from their wedding day ? " 
 
 " Oh, it 's not just them ; it 's the whole 
 establishment," she answered, with a hostile 
 sniff. " Of course I expected they would be 
 intolerable. But, just across the fence, Mrs. 
 Farrington and her husband are as bad as Mac 
 and Nathalie. One would think that, with a 
 grown-up daughter and all the love-stories she 
 has written, she might know better. And Mrs. 
 Barrett is only four houses away, going to spend 
 the summer there; and now honestly, Hal," 
 she dropped her voice to an accusing murmur; 
 " I saw her and Mr. Barrett holding hands on 
 their front veranda, last night."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 19 
 
 " You don't say so ! " His tone echoed her 
 own. " Well, let 's us hold hands now." 
 
 Defiantly she stuck her hands into the side 
 pockets of her short blue jacket. 
 
 " I don't do that sort of thing. I 'm going 
 to be an old maid." 
 
 " So glad. Then you can be the companion 
 of my declining years, Peggy." 
 
 She eyed him distrustfully; then she edged 
 a trifle nearer to his side. Nevertheless, she 
 said shortly, 
 
 " I thought you 'd live with Nathalie." 
 
 " She has Mac." 
 
 " But she can have you, too." 
 
 " Better not," he said, with sudden gravity. 
 
 " Then what are you doing here ? " she 
 queried. 
 
 He made no answer, but walked on, with his 
 steady blue eyes fixed on the stripe of concrete 
 ahead of him. Out of the corners of her own 
 eyes, Peggy watched him furtively. Then, sud- 
 denly repenting of her late strictures, ,she took 
 her hand out of her pocket and stuck it into the 
 curve of his elbow. 
 
 " Hal, 'fess up," she said quickly. " Don't 
 you feel lonesome here ? I know you do ; I know 
 you miss feeling that Nathalie is yours. I 've
 
 20 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 some sense, even if I am nobody but Peggy ; and 
 I know she has made up your life, the last three 
 or four years. Now she belongs to Mac, and 
 you 've come here just to have the satisfaction 
 of seeing him take possession. It is n't fun to 
 you, not the least bit." 
 
 " No," he assented ; " it is n't. But how did 
 you know ? " 
 
 " Common sense, I suppose," she replied 
 shortly. " But it 's an awful place here for a 
 lone orphan, Hal. Everybody else belongs to 
 somebody in particular, and they all belong to 
 that dear old Dr. McAlister. He is a dear; 
 but I am just as afraid of him as if he were 
 Gabriel, horn and halo and all. Angelic people 
 always terrify me." 
 
 "Afraid of Dr. McAlister?" 
 
 " Yes. You are n't, though, of course. 
 You 've a taint of the angelic in you, too, from 
 all accounts. But they all adore him and each 
 other. What 's more, they have a little adora- 
 tion left over for you. I 'm the odd one, like 
 a person left on the outside in a ring play. I 
 believe I '11 drop the handkerchief to that nice 
 Mr. Hubert. He probably would say, ' Go 
 away, bad little girl. You are n't playing in 
 my game.' ' She paused for breath; then she
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 21 
 
 asked abruptly, " Hal, do you truly miss Na- 
 thalie so much ? " 
 
 " Yes," he said, after a pause. " More than 
 I had any idea I could do. But I am going to 
 stop it." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " Shutting my teeth and taking the dose like 
 a man. Nathalie belongs to Mac Holden now. 
 He ought to stand first, and I 'm glad he does. 
 Only " 
 
 " Only it leaves you without a chum. You '11 
 have to take a new one." 
 
 " There will never be another Nathalie," he 
 said slowly. 
 
 She put her hand in her pocket again and 
 laughed. Her voice was a bit clearer, as she 
 answered, 
 
 " Then you '11 have to take up with an 
 inferior quality ; that 's all. As for me, I 'm 
 going to weigh the merits of Sophia Smith and 
 Mr. Hubert. He is more restful; but she has 
 a better sense of fun. What is the reason he 
 never married, Harry ? " 
 
 " Years ago, Mac told me, he was engaged, 
 and the girl died. Since then he has been " 
 He hesitated for the right word. 
 
 Peggy supplied it.
 
 22 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " A confirmed old bachelor. Well, I wish 
 there were more like him. He 's neat without 
 being finicky, and set without being cranky. If 
 I were twice as old, I would set my cap at him. 
 It would n't do a bit of good, though. He has 
 just two ideas, his father and Mrs. Farring- 
 ton. I don't believe it has dawned on him yet 
 that the world holds an Arterburn. He's as dear 
 as can be, when he meets me at the table, and 
 always looks out that I get a crusty muffin ; but 
 if you came on him suddenly and asked the 
 name of the girl with the big nose and the blue 
 clo'es, he could n't tell you for the life of him." 
 
 She lapsed into a silence which her brother 
 was too absorbed in himself to break. Then 
 she began again. 
 
 " Hal, it is great fun to kick against the 
 pricks now and then." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 She frowned, and withdrew to the other edge 
 of the walk. 
 
 " You have n't heard a word I Ve been say- 
 ing," she protested. 
 
 He roused himself guiltily. 
 
 " Yes, truly I have, Peggy." 
 
 " What was the last thing I said ? " 
 
 " That I 'd have to take a new chum."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 23 
 
 " Oh, Harry ! You are n't any use at all. 
 Why can't you listen, when I 'm half desper- 
 ate?" 
 
 This time, he came completely out of his 
 reverie and stared at her in surprise. 
 
 " Desperate, Peggy ? What 's the matter ? " 
 
 " I tell you I 'm kicking against the pricks." 
 
 " What pricks ? " 
 
 " Everything. You, and The Savins, and the 
 whole McAlister tribe." 
 
 " What have we all done ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " Then what 's the matter ? " 
 
 " That 's the matter. You 're all so perfect 
 that you exasperate me. It 's a heavenly place, 
 and you 're heavenly people ; but I 'm no angel, 
 and now and then I 'd like another sinner to 
 play with." 
 
 " But you have n't been used to sinners, as 
 a rule." 
 
 " Yes, I have," she persisted. " Cousin 
 Eudora was a righteous woman and a Christian 
 Scientist; but she was a sinner by comparison 
 with this community. She used to say ' pesky ' 
 and slap the cat. There 's always some comfort 
 to be gained, when old people get vicious. You 
 feel as if you weren't quite so hopeless, yourself.
 
 24 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 But here ! Fancy Mr. Hubert slapping Sophia 
 Smith!" 
 
 She laughed, but her voice was not quite 
 steady. As they passed a street light, her brother 
 looked down at her face, and he was surprised 
 at its flush and at the trouble in her gray eyes. 
 
 " Peggy," he said, as he took her arm and 
 drew it through his own, just as he had so often 
 done with Nathalie ; " I was feeling blue, to- 
 night, but I believe you 're bluer. Let 's match 
 up the dye. In a sense I Ve lost Nathalie, and 
 not all The Savinses in the world can make up 
 for it. Now, what 's your grievance ? " 
 
 " That I never had anybody to lose." 
 
 " Well, try me," he suggested. 
 
 She eyed him a little defiantly. 
 
 " Are you taking me Jack-at-a-pinch ? " she 
 demanded. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Do you want me for a chum ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then why did n't you say so sooner ? " 
 
 " Because because I never really knew 
 you, Peggy." 
 
 " You might have done, you had plenty of 
 chance. Besides, are you sure you know me 
 now?"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 25 
 
 " No." 
 
 Something in the answer pleased her. She 
 followed it up with another question, 
 
 " Have you any idea that I '11 ever take 
 Nathalie's place with you ? " 
 
 He hesitated. 
 
 " No ; I have n't," he said honestly, at last. 
 
 She nodded to herself. 
 
 " No ; you have n't. Harry Arterburn, I 
 never would have forgiven you, if you had 
 fibbed then. Most people would. As it is, if 
 you want to patch up some kind of an intimacy, 
 I 'm willing. You probably won't like me ; 
 I 'm not a ^bit like Nathalie. But honestly, 
 Hal, I 'm not half as bad as I seem." 
 
 Under cover of an arching birch tree, he put 
 his arm around her and drew her to his side. 
 She wriggled out of his grasp. 
 
 " No ; I 'm not ready for that. You don't 
 mean it yet, and I 'd rather you saved it up till 
 it counts for a little more. I '11 fight for you, 
 Hal, fight with my fists ; but " her voice 
 dropped a little sadly ; " but I 'm afraid I 'm 
 not one of the hug-gy kind. I 'm not Nathalie, 
 you know." 
 
 That same night, as Harry Arterburn sat by 
 the open window of his bedroom, he went over
 
 26 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 the talk in detail. At the end of it all, he 
 echoed Peggy's own words. She was not Na- 
 thalie; no, nor ever would be. Nevertheless, 
 he found himself wondering whether, in way- 
 ward, independent Peggy, Peggy who described 
 herself as not being of " the hug-gy kind," he 
 might not in time find a comrade who in a 
 measure would atone for the loss of Nathalie. 
 
 The intimacy between Harry and Nathalie 
 Arterburn had been a peculiar one. Parted by 
 Harry's student life and by the inevitable 
 breaking-up of their home which had followed 
 the death of their parents, they had come to- 
 gether again when Nathalie was fifteen and 
 Harry eleven years her senior. For the next 
 four years, they had been inseparable. Side 
 by side, they had gone through the wear and tear 
 of housekeeping on a tiny income, through ill- 
 ness and anxiety, each one the stronger from 
 being able to rely upon the complete under- 
 standing and sympathy of the other. 
 
 Then the clouds had thickened. But, just 
 as Harry Arterburn was bravely facing a future 
 of weakened health, facing the double anxiety 
 for himself and his sister, that sister had be- 
 come the promised bride of Dr. McAlister 
 Holden, his own most intimate friend. No
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 27 
 
 nobler type of man could have been sought. 
 Nathalie Holden would have all the love, all 
 the luxury that a girl could desire, and it had 
 seemed to Harry Arterburn that, one twilight 
 in early June, he had given up his sister with- 
 out a regret. Later he learned his mistake. 
 
 Peggy, meanwhile, had been more a matter of 
 theory than of fact, in so far as his life was 
 concerned. Two years old when he started for 
 college, she had passed her tenth birthday be- 
 fore he had once more come in contact with 
 her. Then, for a year, he had tried to keep the 
 little family together in New York. The one 
 year had proved the futility of the attempt. 
 Peggy and her two brothers had been sent to the 
 care of an old cousin in the country, and, since 
 that time, he had seen her but rarely. To his 
 mind, she was still the fretful, fractious child 
 who had resisted his discipline and rebelled at 
 his needful economies. For the rest, he had 
 paid her bills, seen her at least once a year, and 
 worried about her without ceasing. 
 
 It had been decided, almost as a matter of 
 course, that Harry was to spend his summer at 
 The Savins. Only upon condition that his 
 home should be with them, had Mac and Na- 
 thalie been married, that June. The wedding
 
 28 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 had been the occasion for the gathering of the 
 entire McAlister clan, and Mrs. Barrett's house 
 had swarmed with Mac's adoring relatives, who 
 one and all took Nathalie, and then Harry, into 
 the family embrace. Then Mrs. Holden had 
 gone back to her Rocky Mountain home, and 
 had carried off Mrs. McAlister in triumph with 
 her. Such an opportunity was not to be lost. 
 Dr. McAlister was too old to undertake so long 
 a journey ; but Mac and Nathalie would spend 
 an ideal honeymoon summer with him in the 
 old family home, and Mrs. McAlister wisely 
 felt that a honeymoon should have the fewest 
 possible feminine eyes turned upon it. 
 
 She reckoned entirely without Peggy, whom 
 Mac, in the fulness of his joy, had bidden to 
 spend the summer with them.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 29 
 
 CHAPTER THREE 
 
 " 1VT AC ' dear! " 
 
 1 V J. Instantly Mac rose and stood, hat in 
 hand, under his lady's window. 
 
 " Yes, dearest." 
 
 " Sh ! " This time the voice was even more 
 faint. " Do be careful. Peggy may hear us." 
 
 " What if she does ? " Mac asked, in a defiant 
 whisper. 
 
 " She laughs at us so. But, Mac, we can't 
 help it ; can we ? " 
 
 " I don't want to help it." On Mac's fore- 
 head the veins stood out distressfully, in his 
 efforts to make his stealthy whisper carry up 
 to the closed blinds above. 
 
 From inside the blinds, there came a laugh 
 softer even than the whisper. Then the voice 
 came again. 
 
 " Then you are n't sorry ? " 
 
 " Sorry, dearest ! Come down and let me 
 show you how sorry I am."
 
 30 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I can't ; I 'in busy. But I heard you down 
 there, and I did just want to speak to you." 
 
 " That 's a dear girl. Come down as soon as 
 you can." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " To keep me company." Mac's accent 
 belied his robust dimensions; but much must 
 be forgiven to a man just coming through his 
 honeymoon. 
 
 " By and by. Meanwhile, you might throw 
 me a kiss." 
 
 With a look of ineffable content, Mac obeyed. 
 From inside the blind there was an answering 
 sound. 
 
 " We are happy ; are n't we, Mac ? " 
 
 " Very, dearest." 
 
 " But I wish you would tell me just one 
 thing; tell it truly as truly can be." 
 
 "What now?" 
 
 " Don't you ever feel, Mac, as if you had 
 married the whole Arterburn family ? " 
 
 " Never." 
 
 In its fervor the whisper became unduly loud, 
 and it was promptly rebuked. 
 
 " Sh ! Sh, Mac ! But I was so afraid you 
 would think so." 
 
 He shook his head, while the glaring sun
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 31 
 
 above him turned his hair to the likeness of 
 burnished gold. Tall, strong, manly, he looked 
 a veritable Viking as he stood there. 
 
 " No, dearest ; I have married only one 
 Arterburn." 
 
 " And she ? " The window blind stirred 
 slightly. 
 
 " And she is the girl above me now." Mac's 
 tone was almost reverential. 
 
 With a flap the blind flew open, and Peggy 
 responded composedly, 
 
 " I am glad to know it. I had n't suspected 
 it before." 
 
 " Peggy, you wretch ! Where is Nathalie ? " 
 
 " Down there." 
 
 She pointed across an open stretch of lawn 
 to the spot where Nathalie, with Harry at her 
 side, was strolling towards the house, her hands 
 full of late daisies. With an indignant glance 
 up at the window, Mac turned away and went 
 striding off in search of his wife. Peggy, mean- 
 while, picked up her bow and arrows, remark- 
 ing sagely, as she did so, 
 
 " There 's nothing so idiotic as a man in love. 
 I wonder what Dr. Holden's patients would 
 have said, if they 'd heard him cooing l Dearest ' 
 in a stage whisper. Next time, maybe he will
 
 32 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 find out whom he 's talking to, before he gets 
 quite so loving. Oh, but did n't he look hand- 
 some when he finally lost his temper ! It 's 
 becoming to big men to rage; little men are 
 always funny when they get in a tantrum." 
 
 She paused on the back veranda long enough 
 to unchain Sophia Smith who lay snoozing on 
 the old couch which Mac had provided for her 
 benefit. Then, with her bow in one hand and 
 the end of Sophia's chain in the other, she 
 crossed the lawn and went up the hill beyond. 
 Sophia, her eyes still heavy with the sleepiness 
 of puppyhood, trudged solemnly at her heels. 
 
 The Savins measured itself by acres, and, 
 save for the hill on which the house stood, it 
 was left largely to the hand of nature. Winter- 
 green and checkerberries throve on rocky ledges 
 and in mossy hollows, and daisies yellow and 
 white, scarlet columbines, white anemones, and 
 the dainty blue quaker-ladies, each in its season, 
 spotted the broad stretches of grassland. Above 
 it all, and the glory of it all, were the trees, 
 huge oaks and huger chestnuts, slender birches 
 and sturdy hickories, their branches a breeding 
 ground for all the birds of the region. On one 
 side, the town had edged close to its skirts ; on 
 the other, far to the westward, the eye rested
 
 )l 
 

 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 33 
 
 pleasantly upon distant hills whose open fields 
 were dotted here and there with an occasional 
 farmhouse. 
 
 Peaceful and quiet under the dappling sun- 
 beams lay the western slope of The Savins. 
 Peaceful and quiet on the hillside lay a tall 
 man, his brown, gray-sprinkled hair resting 
 on a grass mat, and a volume of George Mere- 
 dith held in the air, above his eyes. Peace and 
 quiet vanished speedily, however. With a yelp 
 of recognition, Sophia Smith came plunging 
 towards him, stumbled in the tall grass, and, 
 unable to check her momentum, finished her 
 rush on her haunches, with her tongue lolling 
 out foolishly from her seven-inch jaws. At the 
 end of the chain there also came Peggy, her 
 hat awry, one sleeve ripped from its arm-hole, 
 and her long bow tripping her up at every 
 step. 
 
 " Well, Diana ? " The man sat up hastily, 
 and rescued a corner of The Egoist from 
 Sophia's teeth. 
 
 "Diana had a stag; this is a staghound," 
 she said, as, yielding to a jerk in the reverse 
 direction, she rolled over backwards on the 
 grass. 
 
 " Let me take her." 
 
 3
 
 34 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Careful ! She '11 get away from you," she 
 cautioned. 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " I was stroke of my crew, Miss Peggy." 
 
 " Yes ; but that was a good while ago," she 
 reminded him, with unflattering directness. 
 
 " Alas, yes ! Still, I think I can hold Sophia. 
 Better yet, suppose I moor her to a tree ? " He 
 suited the action to the word. Then he came 
 back to Peggy's side. " Wherefore the bow ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " To shoot with." 
 
 His eyes twinkled. 
 
 " Is your appetite for venison or bear ? " 
 
 "Neither," she said shortly. "I shoot at a 
 target." 
 
 " And where is the target ? Or did you mean 
 to use Sophia ? " 
 
 " I have n't any target yet. I Ve only just 
 bought my bow." The accent was still more 
 curt. 
 
 He saw that his bantering tone displeased 
 her, and he spoke gravely. 
 
 " Is this the latest fad ? " 
 
 " Not yet. It 's going to be." 
 
 " Are you a prophet ? " 
 
 " No, not exactly," she said, thawing a little
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 35 
 
 in response to his more respectful tone. " I 
 read in one of the New York Sunday papers 
 that archery was to be the coming sport. I was 
 too little to play golf when it began, so I 
 would n't learn. I do hate to come in on the 
 tail of things, Mr. McAlister. This time, I 
 thought I would ride on the cow-catcher." 
 
 In spite of himself, Hubert McAlister laughed 
 at the mixture of her metaphors. 
 
 " A successful journey to you. And can you 
 shoot ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ; anybody can." 
 
 " I 'm afraid I could n't." 
 
 " Yes, you could. Shooting is easy enough. 
 It is the hitting something that is the hard 
 part." 
 
 " Yes, I should Did you drop an arrow ? 
 Sophia is eating something suspiciously like 
 one." 
 
 Peggy scrambled to her feet ; but she was too 
 late. With a crunching snap, the two ends of 
 the arrow fell apart, and Sophia turned her 
 attention to a tuft of grass. 
 
 " Oh, Sophia ! How could you ? That was 
 my very best arrow of the whole lot," Peggy 
 admonished her. 
 
 With the heads of the long grass resting in
 
 36 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 her stomach and the earthy roots mingling 
 with her stiff beard, Sophia surveyed them 
 mournfully. Then, with a gulp, the roots 
 vanished. 
 
 " She's worse than a goat," Peggy said venge- 
 fully, as she jerked herself down again at Mr. 
 McAlister's side. " She has swallowed half the 
 netting of a screen door since lunch. At least 
 it 's gone, and we can't find it without an 
 autopsy. This having a thoroughbred dog that 
 you can't whip " 
 
 " Why can't you ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Barrett told Nathalie so. It might 
 break her spirit. Nathalie believes it ; she just 
 pat-a-cakes her and calls her ' oo naughty dirl.' 
 I '11 risk her spirit. She has n't any, anyway ; 
 but, if she were mine, I 'd run the risk of crack- 
 ing it." 
 
 There was silence, for a minute. Then Peggy 
 spoke again. 
 
 " And now we are spoiling your reading. I 
 did n't know you were at home." 
 
 " Saturday afternoon," he reminded her. 
 
 " "Why is a lawyer like a schoolboy ? " she 
 propounded gravely. " Well, I '11 leave you to 
 your book." 
 
 " But you were going to shoot."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 37 
 
 " No matter. Sophia has wrecked my best 
 arrow and my good temper. But I never sup- 
 posed I 'd find you here. Nathalie made me 
 solemnly promise I would n't shoot nearer the 
 house than the top of the hill up here, and that 
 I would always aim out over the fence. Na- 
 thalie is so dreadfully fussy. Still, I suppose 
 she didn't want me shooting any of you ; though, 
 with two doctors in the house, it might not be 
 so very serious." 
 
 Her tone was so dispassionate that again Mr. 
 McAlister laughed. 
 
 " Did Mrs. Barrett come over after lunch ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Yes, just for a minute. She hurried back 
 again, to make sure that Rex's room was in 
 order. To hear her talk, you would think he was 
 the King of Siam at the very least." 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Well, he is n't. He 's nothing but a sopho- 
 more," she said uncompromisingly. 
 
 " That 's where you 're dead wrong, Peggy 
 Ann," remarked a cheerful voice from the rear. 
 " Howdy, Uncle Hubert ? Peggy, behold the 
 junior ! " 
 
 With an assumption of grown-up indifference, 
 she rose and held out her hand.
 
 38 NATHALIE'S SISTER' 
 
 " How do you do, Kingsley ? " she said 
 decorously. 
 
 Kingsley Barrett's gray eyes lighted mirth- 
 fully. 
 
 " Well, by Jove, is this little Peggy Arter- 
 burn ? How you 've grown, my dear ! " he 
 returned. 
 
 Her spine stiffened, and her chin rose in the 
 air. 
 
 " Yes, I am Miss Arterburn," she assented 
 haughtily. 
 
 " Worse luck ! I shall never forgive Mac for 
 gobbling up Nathalie. Is Hal here ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How is the dear fellow ? " 
 
 " Very well, thank you." 
 
 " No more collapses ? " In his eagerness, 
 Kingsley quite forgot his intention of teasing 
 the tall girl before him. 
 
 " I have n't heard of any." 
 
 Kingsley's eyes narrowed. 
 
 " Well, you 'd have been rather likely to," he 
 observed. Then, dropping down on the grass, 
 he turned to his uncle. " Everything all right 
 at The Savins ? " 
 
 " Yes, righter for your coming." 
 
 " You can just bet I 'm glad to be here. A
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 39 
 
 fine scheme, the mater's spending the summer 
 up here! Quantuck is worn thin and thread- 
 bare, and as long as the pater could n't go to 
 Europe, this year, The Savins is the spot for me. 
 What do you think of it, Peggy Ann ? " 
 
 There was no answer. Kingsley's lips 
 twitched, as he saw the studiously averted face. 
 Pulling up a handful of grass, he flung it into 
 her lap, while he repeated his question. She 
 gave a well-feigned start of surprise. 
 
 " Oh, were you speaking to me ? " 
 
 " I did myself the honor to mention your 
 name." 
 
 She saw the look of amusement that passed- 
 between uncle and nephew, and the blood rushed 
 into her cheeks. 
 
 " You did not," she contradicted explosively. 
 " You called me Peggy Ann. My name is 
 Margaret." 
 
 With perfect deliberation, Kingsley turned 
 himself about until he faced her. 
 
 "Who'd 'a' thunk it?" he remarked com- 
 posedly at length. 
 
 Peggy's dignity was crushing, as she rose and 
 freed Sophia Smith who had long been cast- 
 ing covetous glances upon the scarlet-coated 
 Egoist.
 
 40 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I think it is time I went back to the house," 
 she said, with as much calmness as was com- 
 patible with the antics of Sophia, already play- 
 ing tag with herself in the tall grass. 
 
 " Sorry. I 'd advise you to unwind yourself 
 a little before you start," Kingsley suggested. 
 
 But Mr. McAlister had risen, released Peggy 
 from the coils of the chain and put her bow 
 into her outstretched hand. 
 
 " Thank you," she said, with a gratitude 
 which was not altogether unmixed with spite. 
 " It is always a comfort to meet a gentleman." 
 
 Gravely he raised his cap, just as Kingsley 
 observed, with equal gravity, 
 
 " I knew you 'd be glad to see me, Peggy 
 Ann." 
 
 She nodded to Hubert McAlister. Then, 
 without a glance at Kingsley, still prostrate in 
 the grass, she moved slowly away. Now and 
 then she stopped short and bent her weight 
 backward upon the chain; once she made a 
 swift detour to one side, and then met with 
 some difficulty in untangling herself from a 
 barberry bush. Nevertheless, her pace was 
 comparatively steady until Sophia, some feet 
 in advance, reached the crest of the hill. Then, 
 inspired by the sight beyond, Sophia went
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 41 
 
 plunging away down the slope, dragging Peggy, 
 bow and all, at her heels. 
 
 " But, after all, Rex," his uncle said, when 
 they had found their voices again ; " it is too 
 bad for you to tease her so." 
 
 " Good for her," Kingsley replied, with un- 
 ruffled good temper. 
 
 " I 'm not so sure of that." 
 
 Kingsley hurled a stone at a distant tree 
 trunk. 
 
 " You have n't known Peggy 'Ann as long as 
 I have, Uncle Hubert." 
 
 " Perhaps not. I 've known her long enough 
 to discover that she is like a nettle, and stings 
 at a rough touch." 
 
 " That 's why I 'm gripping her. If I go at 
 her hard enough, she '11 stop stinging." 
 
 " I don't think so." 
 
 Kingsley dropped his chin on his clenched 
 fists. 
 
 " Uncle Hubert, I Ve known Peggy Arter- 
 burn off and on for four years. She is smart 
 as a steel trap, and just about as tender-hearted. 
 Ralph is well enough ; but all the real, positive 
 good in that family went into Nathalie and Hal. 
 They 've got enough for a dozen, and, at that 
 rate, it could n't be expected to go round. If
 
 42 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Peggy Arterburn ever gets to where she is 
 worthy to brush the dust out of Nathalie's skirt, 
 she will astonish me." 
 
 Hubert McAlister rose and tucked The Egoist 
 under his arm. 
 
 " Then you are going to be astonished, Rex," 
 he said quietly. " Now come and find your 
 grandfather."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 43 
 
 CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 r\O you know, Billy," Mrs. Farrington 
 
 JL^ said to her husband, one night ; " I 
 think Babe is foredoomed to a high seat in 
 heaven, after all." 
 
 " Yes, I think in time she may work up far 
 enough to be in sight of us," Mr. Farrington 
 responded amicably. " What now ? " 
 
 " Keeping open house to the rising genera- 
 tion, this summer." 
 
 Mr. Farrington nodded. 
 
 " It is a good deed. Still, Babe owes the 
 world a few good deeds to atone for her own 
 childhood. She was a terror, Ted." 
 
 " But she has outgrown it," his wife re- 
 turned, with sisterly loyalty. " Babe is a fine 
 woman." 
 
 " I know it ; and yet, curiously enough, she 's 
 the very same old Babe that brandished your 
 pigtail before my eyes on this same hearthstone. 
 Ted, does it ever seem as if I had spent the best 
 part of two years on my back ? "
 
 44 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 She crossed the room to his side, and stood 
 looking down, with her hand on his shoulder. 
 Mrs. Theodora Farrington was an impressive 
 woman; nevertheless, for the moment her im- 
 pressiveness was lost in. an infinite gentleness. 
 
 " Yes, Billy, it does. I love to remember 
 those days, too. They prepared the way for all 
 our happy years together." 
 
 Without an answering word, he stretched up 
 his hands to her face. 
 
 " That Peggy is a character," he remarked 
 at length, with a complete change of subject. 
 " What do you think of the girl, Ted ? " 
 
 " Hubert says she has good stuff in her ; but 
 Babe abhors her," Mrs. Farrington answered 
 evasively. 
 
 " Set a thief to catch a thief. I '11 trust 
 Babe's judgment." 
 
 " They are a good deal alike. Peggy's per- 
 versities remind me of Babe at her age. Still, 
 I suspect Peggy is more affectionate than Babe 
 used to be." 
 
 " I fail to see it." 
 
 " That 's because you are a man. I 've been 
 there, myself, and I know. When Peggy is most 
 cantankerous is just the time when she is most 
 wishing that somebody loved her to distraction."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 45 
 
 Mr. Farrington laughed. 
 
 " How she must love Kex, then ! " 
 
 " Poor Peggy ! Rex torments the life out of 
 her. I really don't blame her for resenting it." 
 
 " He would stop, if she took it a little more 
 calmly." 
 
 " That 's just what she won't do. They are 
 like flint and steel. Perhaps, when Ursula 
 comes, he may give Peggy a little peace." 
 
 " In other words, you 'd sacrifice Ursula to 
 save Peggy. When do they get here ? " 
 
 " To-morrow." 
 
 Mr. Farrington drummed idly on the arm of 
 his chair. 
 
 " How did Babe happen to ask them ? " 
 
 Mrs. Farrington offered the explanation 
 which had been in active service for the past 
 forty years. 
 
 " Sheer Babe-ishness. Because there was no 
 real reason she should do it. Have n't you 
 learned that Babe's blessings fall without rhyme 
 or reason, according to her own sweet will ? It 's 
 a good thing that Giff has an enormous income." 
 
 " Where did she pick them up, in the first 
 place ? " 
 
 " Via Nathalie." 
 
 "Nathalie?"
 
 46 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Yes. Babe accumulated the Arterburns for 
 the sake of Rex, and fell in love with them on 
 her own account. Then these new-rich Myerses 
 imported a niece, and meanwhile proved to be 
 some sort of a connection of Harry Arterburn. 
 He was named for Mr. Myers, I think; and 
 Mr. Myers benevolently hired him as tutor for 
 Ursula. It 's a regular House That Jack Built. 
 John Myers had a cousin, Ursula Thain. Ur- 
 sula had a tutor, Harry Arterburn. Harry had 
 a sister, Nathalie, and Nathalie had a friend, 
 Babe Barrett." 
 
 " Therefore John Myers also had a friend, 
 Babe Barrett." Mr. Farrington summed up 
 the situation for her. 
 
 " Yes, Babe was wonderfully good to them, 
 after Mr. Myers failed. I must say they de- 
 served it, for they took the crash superbly. 
 Ursula refused to go home ; she has stayed with 
 Mrs. Myers, all winter long, and I suspect that 
 she has done a good share of the housework. 
 Rex has been helping John all he could, and the 
 boy has supported himself and made a good 
 record for his freshman work." 
 
 Her husband nodded approvingly. 
 
 " That is the kind that counts." 
 
 " It is. And it has been good for Rex to be
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 47 
 
 thrown with some one who can show him the 
 grinding side of life. From all accounts, John 
 has changed from an impossible little prig to a 
 fellow with a spine of his own. Then Babe 
 came here to be near us, this summer. She de- 
 clares that the house is quite too large for three 
 people; and, the day after she was settled, 
 she wrote to Mrs. Myers, demanding John and 
 Ursula for the entire vacation." 
 
 Mr. Farrington rose, and stood with his back 
 to the andirons. 
 
 " How exactly like Babe ! " he commented 
 deliberately. 
 
 John and Ursula came, the next afternoon. 
 Kingsley met them at the station. 
 
 " By Jove, I thought you 'd never get here ! " 
 he exclaimed, as he seized Ursula's suit-case, 
 and gave his other hand to the boy at her side. 
 " The mater would have come, too ; but she 
 stopped at home to brew a pudding for dinner, 
 some especial kind of a mess that nobody else 
 can do to suit her. How goes it, Ursula ? I 
 must say you look blooming." 
 
 " So I am. I hope Jack will bloom, too. He 
 needs a treat after his long grind, and your 
 mother was an angel to ask us. How is 
 Nathalie?"
 
 48 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Pretty as a peach, and of no earthly use to 
 anybody but Mac." 
 
 Ursula laughed. 
 
 "She has it hard?" 
 
 " You bet she has ! Even poor old Hal is 
 side-tracked, and the joints of my nose have 
 missed connection entirely. Petti jack, with 
 your help, I '11 put Mac out of commission, 
 before the fall of twilight." 
 
 " But she behaved so well through the engage- 
 ment," Ursula said thoughtfully. 
 
 " And now she is making up for it. She and 
 Mac are a mixture of sugar and gum arabic, 
 sweet and sticky. Petti jack, how is your lady 
 mother ? " 
 
 " Well, and superb." 
 
 " I can answer for the last. Next to the 
 mater and Aunt Ted, she is the strongest woman 
 I know. And your father ? " 
 
 " Well, and working like a dog." 
 
 " Will they get out of town, this summer ? " 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " I 'm afraid not. I feel it 's rather beastly 
 for me to leave them ; but they insisted " 
 
 " That 's where you are wise," Kingsley in- 
 terrupted. " You look horridly done up, and 
 you must have a rest. As for Ursula, they
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 49 
 
 could n't endure her, so the mater took her off 
 their hands. Now, Petti jack, as a man and a 
 sophomore, heed my advice." 
 
 "What now?" 
 
 " Cast your conscience to the winds, forget 
 your family, and put in a frivolous summer. 
 You may as well. We Ve got you, and we in- 
 tend to keep you ; so you 'd better settle down 
 and make the best of it." 
 
 " That 's asking a good deal of us, Rex," 
 Ursula said merrily. 
 
 Kingsley shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " There 's always Peggy," he answered 
 concisely. 
 
 " What has she turned into ? " Ursula 
 questioned. 
 
 This time, Kingsley's answer was still more 
 concise. 
 
 " A Tartar." 
 
 Hubert McAlister sat alone on the veranda, 
 that night, when Kingsley with his two com- 
 panions came sauntering across the lawn. Over 
 the top of his paper, he eyed the new-comers 
 curiously. His glimpse of them at Mac's wed- 
 ding, a month before, had been too hasty and 
 too impersonal to have left much impression 
 upon his mind. Now that they were to be the 
 4
 
 50 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 guests of his sister and his own neighbors, all 
 summer long, he found himself more interested 
 in them. Moreover, Hubert McAlister had a 
 fashion of regaining his own long-gone boyhood 
 by association with the boy and girl acquaint- 
 ances of his later years. 
 
 Something in the appearance of John Myers 
 and Ursula Thain pleased him. It was not 
 altogether John's blond face, too delicately 
 handsome for a boy who must cut his own way 
 through the world; it was not entirely the 
 vigor and grace of Ursula who, brown as a 
 gypsy, was of a type that leaves far prettier 
 girls lurking in unseen corners. If only by way 
 of contrast, both in coloring and vitality, the 
 two cousins were good to watch. But Hubert 
 McAlister, middle-aged bachelor that he was, 
 looked deeper than that. He took swift note 
 of the steadiness of John's eyes, of his close- 
 shut lips, of the poise of his head. He studied 
 Ursula, as she met him fearlessly, yet with a 
 girlish modesty that he had found too rare in 
 the girls he had known of late years. 
 
 " Where is Nathalie ? " Kingsley asked ab- 
 ruptly, breaking in upon the last syllable of his 
 uncle's words of welcome. 
 
 " Over the hill. She and Harry and Mac
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 51 
 
 went out there, not ten minutes ago. Nathalie 
 told me that you were to be sent after them, if 
 you came." 
 
 " If we came ! I like that," Kingsley pro- 
 tested. " We only waited for the mater to ask 
 half a thousand questions, and to make sure that 
 Petti jack had n't taken off his flannels. She 
 has a mistaken notion that he 's a tender plant ; 
 but he is n't. It 's just a mere matter of com- 
 plexion. Over the hill? All right. Come 
 along, Ursula." 
 
 " Where is Peggy ? " Ursula inquired. 
 
 " Where is she, Uncle Hu ? " 
 
 " Out on the back lawn, teaching Sophia 
 Smith to retrieve." 
 
 "Well, I'd leave her there. She's out of 
 mischief, and Sophia is her boon companion." 
 
 " But " John remonstrated. 
 
 " Oh, she '11 keep. It 's Nathalie we want 
 now, Nathalie and the eternal Mac." 
 
 But Ursula objected. 
 
 " I want to see Mr. Arterburn, myself." 
 
 Kingsley stooped to break off a heavy rose, 
 and handed it to her with an exaggerated bow 
 and smile. 
 
 " Oh, do you ? " he said gravely. " Much 
 better for you to see me."
 
 52 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " As you said of Peggy, you '11 keep. Mr. 
 Arterburn is more of a novelty." 
 
 Half an hour later, the twilight lay thick over 
 the oak trees, and above them the blue was 
 changing to a purplish black. 
 
 " I suppose it really is time we were going 
 back to the house," Nathalie said regretfully. 
 
 "Oh, don't," Kingsley objected. "This is 
 so like a reunion of the crowd that used to make 
 merry in your apartment, why can't you leave 
 us in peace, Nathalie? One is willing to 
 concoct a cold in the head for old sake's 
 sake." 
 
 "Wait till you begin to sneeze," she cautioned 
 him. " What do you think, Mac ? " 
 
 " We want your advice as medical man, not 
 as tender husband," John Myers added hastily. 
 " We are going to spend the evening with you 
 anyway, Dr. Holden, so you won't gain any- 
 thing by starting us towards the house." 
 
 Deliberately Mac stretched himself out again 
 at Nathalie's feet. 
 
 " In that case we may as well stay here," he 
 said resignedly. " Nathalie, if you are cold, 
 Rex will run down to the house for a rug." 
 
 " Not if he knows himself. I 'm fagging for
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 53 
 
 Ursula, these days. Miss Thain, are your royal 
 shoulders aware of any chill ? " 
 
 " No, I 'm perfectly warm and perfectly con- 
 tent," she said languidly. 
 
 " Then what makes you talk so much ? " 
 
 " I 'm listening to the wind in those trees, 
 and trying to imagine the roar of Broadway. 
 It 's going on now, the everlasting rumble and 
 rush. Can you make it seem real ? " 
 
 Kingsley held up a warning hand. 
 
 " Speaking of rumble and rush," he observed ; 
 " here come Peggy and her puppy." 
 
 A gaunt, pale form shot past them in the dim 
 light. The next moment, Peggy descended into 
 the midst of the group. 
 
 " Well, if this is n't a pretty trick ! " she said 
 hotly. " If Mr. Hubert had n't told me where 
 you were, I never should have found you." 
 
 " One more nick in my score against Uncle 
 Hu," Kingsley growled in an aside to Ursula, 
 while Nathalie said apologetically, 
 
 " But we asked you to come with us, you 
 know, Peggy." 
 
 " Oh, yes, you," she returned with unflatter- 
 ing emphasis. " I was busy then. But you 
 might have known I 'd want to see John and 
 Ursula."
 
 54 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Kingsley felt in a succession of pockets, dis- 
 covered a match, scratched it on his heel, and 
 held it up in the air. 
 
 " Well, look at them now," he bade her. 
 
 " Whoo ! " Bending forward, she blew out 
 the match. " You know very well that 's not 
 what I meant, Rex. I 'm awfully glad you 've 
 come, John. I want you to help me make a new 
 target." 
 
 " P e ggy " Nathalie warned her. 
 
 Peggy turned to her wearily. 
 
 " Oh, Nathalie, do keep still for once. 
 You 're so used to being waited on that you 
 don't know what it is to have to ask a favor. 
 I might wait forever. My target was left out in 
 the rain, a week ago, and the stuffing swelled up 
 and busted." 
 
 This time, Harry admonished her, though 
 with a laugh which took much of the sting from 
 the rebuke. 
 
 "Busted, Peggy?" 
 
 " Yes, busted," she persisted. " It did n't 
 break, nor even split; it just busted all over 
 itself. It was n't worn any ; I had n't hit it 
 once. I know Jack will help me ; he 's so good- 
 natured and accommodating," she added, with 
 a vindictive glance at Kingsley.
 
 NATHALIE'S S1STAR 55 
 
 " Delighted, I 'm sure," John returned 
 gallantly. 
 
 Peggy hitched a few inches nearer to her 
 brother. 
 
 " No ; you are n't, either." 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " 
 
 " If you were, you would n't say it in that 
 sirupy tone." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," John said, with a 
 meekness which was only half feigned. 
 
 " Oh, it 's no account. I '11 ask Mr. Hubert. 
 He offered; but I hated to trouble him, when 
 there were so many younger men sitting around 
 and doing nothing." 
 
 Kingsley rolled over on his back and turned 
 to face her. 
 
 "What's r'iled you, Peggy Ann?" he 
 queried. 
 
 " Nothing," she said shortly. " How do you 
 do, Ursula ? I 'm so glad you are going to be 
 here, this summer. I do hope you like dogs, 
 for Nathalie has one that I am training for 
 her. Here she comes now." 
 
 As she spoke, the ghostly form bounded past 
 them again and vanished in the direction of 
 the house. The next moment, there came a 
 voice,
 
 56 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Down, Sophia ! Is Peggy over here ? " 
 
 " Here she is, Uncle Hu," Dr. Holden called 
 back to him. 
 
 " Crazy child ! " Mr. McAlister said, as he 
 came up behind her and dropped her jacket 
 over the thin embroidery of her gown. " Do 
 you know that you romped for half an hour 
 with Sophia, before you came out here to sit 
 on the grass ? " 
 
 With sudden gentleness, she rose and stood 
 beside him. 
 
 " It 's very good to have somebody coddle 
 me," she said, with an odd little quaver in her 
 voice. " I 've never been much used to that 
 kind of thing, somehow or other."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 57 
 
 CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 "I~YESERTED, Peggy?" 
 
 1 J At the question, she glanced up alertly. 
 
 "Don't I look it?" 
 
 Hubert McAlister came out of the house and 
 took the veranda chair at her side. 
 
 " Where are the others ? " he asked. 
 
 " Gone for a drive." 
 
 "All of them?" 
 
 " Yes. Not in procession, though. Mrs. 
 Barrett took Jack and Harry and went to the 
 east; the others went west with Mac and 
 Nathalie." f 
 
 " How does it happen you did n't go ? " 
 
 " Did n't want to." 
 
 He saw that something was amiss, and he 
 pursued his investigations. He had not been 
 slow to learn that, in some unaccountable 
 fashion, he had won Peggy's liking and, what 
 was more, her trust. He was also learning that 
 Peggy Arterburn bestowed neither liking nor 
 trust at random.
 
 58 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " How does it happen you did n't want to 
 go?" 
 
 She pointed to the hat on the floor beside her, 
 and her face flushed a little. 
 
 " I was all ready to go. Then Kingsley said 
 something that something disrespectful, and 
 I changed my mind," she answered, with some 
 dignity. 
 
 Most men would have smiled at the ob- 
 vious euphemism; but Hubert McAlister knew 
 better. 
 
 " I am afraid Rex is n't always respectful," 
 he said gravely. 
 
 Peggy's heels struck the floor sharply. 
 
 " Well, I should rather say he was n't." 
 
 " But what is the use of caring ? " 
 
 " Any girl likes to be treated politely." 
 
 " He only does it to tease." 
 
 " Then he 'd better stop." 
 
 " He will, when he sees you don't care." 
 
 "But I do care." 
 
 " What 'a the use ? " he asked, patiently be- 
 ginning on his second round of the circle. 
 
 She faced him squarely. 
 
 " Mr. Hubert, I did think you would under- 
 stand," she said, with an accent of rebuke. 
 
 " I am sorry, Margaret. I wish I did."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 59 
 
 She relented, as she always did when he 
 called her Margaret. Heretofore, the use of 
 the name had been confined solely to the record 
 in the family Bible. 
 
 " I don't know how you could. I suppose 
 it 'a more wonder that you understand as often 
 as you do ; but I 've come to count on it. You 
 are n't a girl, either. But it 's this way. Rex 
 can be adorable, when he chooses. He does 
 choose, when it 's a case of Nathalie and Ursula. 
 I 'm the only other girl here, and I don't see 
 why he should n't treat me in the same way," 
 she explained elaborately. 
 
 He meditated for a minute or two. 
 
 " Peggy, do you know anything about 
 fencing ? " he asked then. 
 
 " No. Do you ? " she answered a little 
 blankly. 
 
 " Something. Enough to know it is good 
 sport, if the adversaries are well matched. Some 
 day, perhaps, we will get out my old foils. 
 Meanwhile, I am going to give you the first 
 lesson. Be sure you keep your temper. Be 
 sure the buttons are on your foils. Then strike 
 home." 
 
 She looked puzzled. 
 
 " You mean ? "
 
 60 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " That, when Rex teases you, you '11 return 
 the compliment with interest." 
 
 " He '11 get mad." 
 
 " Not if you don't. Rex is n't ugly. He 
 torments you, just as Sophia torments the cat, 
 for the sake of seeing her put up her back at 
 him." 
 
 " But you scold Sophia," she retorted. 
 
 " How do you know that I don't scold Rex ? " 
 he asked, laughing. Then, of a sudden, he rose. 
 " Peggy, did you know I had a horse of my 
 own?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Well, I have." 
 
 " The little black one you were riding, one 
 night ? " she questioned eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, that is my especial property. Don't 
 you want to go for a drive with me ? " 
 
 She started up enthusiastically. Then her 
 eyes clouded. 
 
 " But I would n't go with Mrs. Barrett." 
 
 He liked her admission. 
 
 " I will explain it all to Mrs. Barrett, and she 
 won't care. There is time for a long drive 
 before dark, and we can finish up our talk on 
 the way." He smiled down at her invitingly; 
 then the smile broadened into a laugh, as he
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 61 
 
 added, " And you know you 'd like to drive 
 Mark." 
 
 She echoed his laugh. 
 
 " How did you know I love, just love dearly, 
 to drive ? " 
 
 " Lawyers know things without being told. 
 I have watched you with Sophia. Get a warm 
 coat, then, and I will be ready in ten minutes," 
 he said over his shoulder, as he started towards 
 the barn. 
 
 " But why Mark ? " she asked, when they 
 were scudding along the country road to the 
 west of The Savins. 
 
 " Marcus Aurelius, if you please, because he 
 is given to long meditations." 
 
 " He does n't suggest it now." 
 
 For his only answer, he passed her tlie reins. 
 Mark dropped into a leisurely shamble. 
 
 " Why won't he go ? " she demanded, after 
 an interval of urging. 
 
 " He knows his master. I bought him, name 
 and all, with the reputation of being the sleepi- 
 est horse in town. I proceeded to wake him up." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " By showing him that I understood all his 
 tricks, and that I proposed to have him drop 
 them."
 
 62 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 She looked up at him sharply. 
 
 " Is that the method you are trying with 
 me ? " she queried. 
 
 Her question was unexpected; nevertheless, 
 he answered coolly, 
 
 " Yes. How do you think it is going to work 
 in your case ? " 
 
 She raised her brows and shook her head. 
 
 " I don't know. It 's too soon yet to judge. 
 I 'm sorry, though, that I found out your 
 game." 
 
 "Because ?" 
 
 " Because now I shall keep studying how to 
 beat you at it." Then she looked back over her 
 shoulder. " I thought I heard something be- 
 hind us," she explained. 
 
 He glanced backward. 
 
 " It is an open road, and nothing is in sight. 
 Are you tired of driving ? " 
 
 " No ; but I do like to go a little faster," she 
 said, as she returned the reins to his hands. 
 " Besides, I want to see how your method works 
 on Mark." 
 
 " This way." The reins tightened with a 
 steady pull, and Mark went flying away towards 
 a distant hill. Mr. McAlister pointed to it with 
 his whip. " Peggy, did you ever hear how Mrs.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 63 
 
 Barrett upset her husband, the first time she met 
 him?" 
 
 " The time she and the skeleton ran into his 
 bicycle ? " 
 
 " Yes. That hill is the scene of the disaster. 
 It is the one historic event I am sorry to have 
 missed. Washington crossing the Delaware 
 would have been nothing in comparison." 
 
 " Where did she get her skeleton ? " Peggy 
 asked, as once more she glanced backwards over 
 her shoulder. 
 
 " Bought it second-hand." 
 
 " What on earth did she want of it ? " . 
 
 Mr. McAlister loosed the reins as they drew 
 near the foot of the hill. 
 
 " Oh, that was when she had the medical bee 
 in her bonnet." 
 
 "The what?" 
 
 " The medical bee. Did n't you know she 
 started out to be a doctor ? " 
 
 " No, never." 
 
 "Yes, she studied for a year or two. Mr. 
 Barrett was her first and only patient." 
 
 " And she would have cut up people ? " 
 Peggy's accent betrayed her disgust. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How very messy I "
 
 64 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " That was what Mr. Barrett thought, and he 
 persuaded her to give it up." 
 
 " I should hope so ! " she responded fervently. 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " But you don't think Dr. Holden is messy." 
 
 " BTo ; but he does n't have to wear fancy 
 sleeves and long skirts. It 's different for a 
 man. I don't think women ought to do such 
 things," she said loftily. 
 
 "What should they do? Housekeep?" 
 
 " Yes, if they must ; only they ought to have 
 somebody to do dishes and clean the stove," she 
 said, with a glance down at her carefully-kept 
 hands which were large, but comely. " And 
 then they can write books, and paint pictures, 
 and teach school, and and " 
 
 " What about law ? " he asked, laughing 
 again. 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " Oh, we all like to talk. What do you think 
 I 'm going to be ? " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " An actress ; or else somebody that plans 
 gowns for famous people. I don't mean I shall 
 sew them. I hate sewing ; but I think I 'd like 
 to plan wonderful things out of silk and lace 
 and ribbons, and tell them when to wear their
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 65 
 
 good clothes, and not to go shopping with all 
 their diamonds on." 
 
 " I am afraid you might have hard work 
 with some of your clients, Peggy. But what is 
 the matter ? " 
 
 Once more she was bending far out at the side 
 of the carriage, her nose in dangerous proximity 
 to the rear wheel. At his words, she straight- 
 ened up abruptly. 
 
 " It 's Sophia Smith," she said. " I was sure 
 I heard something. She has been following us 
 all the way." 
 
 Mr. McAlister reined in Mark, then he 
 leaned out of the carriage on his own side. 
 
 " Sophia ! " he said sternly. 
 
 Out from under the carriage Sophia came 
 with a bounce of joy that at last her presence 
 was recognized. Her tail, which was slowly 
 shaping itself to an aristocratic ring at its end, 
 was wagging furiously. From her lips, tight- 
 closed, yet smiling, there dangled negligently 
 the limp body of a half -grown chicken. 
 
 The occupants of the carriage exchanged a 
 glance of consternation. Then they asked, 
 simultaneously, 
 
 " Where in the world do you suppose she got 
 it?"
 
 66 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " What in the world are we going to do with 
 her?" 
 
 Laying the chicken tenderly on the ground, 
 Sophia seated herself by the roadside and 
 smirked at them, while she waited for them to 
 proceed. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! I wonder if we ought to go 
 back," Peggy said ruefully, after a vain attempt 
 to stare Sophia out of countenance without 
 laughing. 
 
 Mr. McAlister shook his head. 
 
 "No; I think she wiU follow." 
 
 " There does n't appear to be much doubt of 
 her ability in that direction," Peggy said grimly. 
 " It 's only a question of the amount of hunting 
 she may attempt to do on the way. I can't 
 answer for her, Mr. Hubert." 
 
 " But you don't want to go home ? " 
 
 " Not a bit. I am having too good a 
 time." 
 
 " Go on, Mark." 
 
 " If anything happens, remember you were 
 the one to decide," she warned him, as Mark 
 sped away along the crest of the hill. 
 
 " I promise to bear all the consequences," 
 he answered, in the same tone. 
 
 For a time, it seemed that nothing was likely
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 67 
 
 to happen. Mark had settled into a swift, even 
 trot, and Sophia, a dust-colored patch upon the 
 dusty road, went leaping away, half a hundred 
 feet in advance. Now and then she made a 
 slight detour to this side or to that ; but for the 
 most part she attended strictly to business, and 
 behaved herself as a well-descended dog should 
 do. From occasional references to her, the talk 
 drifted away from her entirely, and Mr. Mc- 
 Alister. and Peggy fell to chatting about all 
 manner of impersonal details. Mark, mean- 
 while, fired by the flying feet before him, was 
 flying over the road at a great pace, his head 
 up, his nostrils distended in excitement over 
 this novel race. 
 
 Then came the unexpected. From under the 
 very feet of Sophia there sprang a wild rabbit 
 which went leaping away, straight towards the 
 advancing horse. In an instant, Sophia's hunt- 
 ing instincts were on the alert. Nose to earth, 
 she went bounding after the rabbit, and flew 
 down the road directly towards Mark's nose, at a 
 speed which would have discomposed the nerves 
 of a plough horse. Even Mr. McAlister held 
 his breath at the bolt-like rush. He tightened 
 his grip on the lines; but he was a second too 
 late. Mark shied violently, and came into col-
 
 68 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 lision with Sophia, who, not counting upon his 
 shying, had swerved slightly to one side. There 
 was a frightened snort, a high-pitched yelp; 
 then Sophia Smith, uninjured save for the blow 
 to her pride, rolled to one side out of harm's 
 way, while Mark went tearing up the road, with 
 the broken-thilled carriage skittering this way 
 and that at his heels. 
 
 " Stay where you are, Peggy ! Don't jump !" 
 
 Her answering voice was steady and even. 
 
 " I 'm all right. Mark will go to meditating 
 in a minute." 
 
 " Not this time. Hold tight. We 're going 
 to strike the post." 
 
 The forward wheel crashed against a tele- 
 phone pole, and Mark broke away and raced up 
 the road. A moment later, Peggy, half-dazed 
 with the shock of her fall, sat up and looked 
 about her. 
 
 " Are you hurt, Margaret ? " 
 
 The voice sounded rather far away, consider- 
 ing the fact that Mr. McAlister was standing 
 close at her side. She rubbed her hand across 
 her face. Then, pulling together her scattered 
 senses, she sprang to her feet. 
 
 " Not a bit,", she answered him. 
 
 " You are quite sure ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 69 
 
 " Perfectly. I am tough, and can stand an 
 occasional upsetting. Where is Mark ? " 
 
 " In the next town, by this time." 
 
 "And Sophia?" 
 
 He pointed backward to the dust-colored spot 
 flying up the road towards them. Then sud- 
 denly Peggy bethought herself, and glanced up 
 into his face. It was white, and there was a 
 bluish ring about the lips. 
 
 " Oh, are you hurt ? " she cried, in sudden 
 alarm. 
 
 " Only my finger." 
 
 "And that?" 
 
 He held up his right forefinger and frowned 
 at it ruefully. 
 
 " I am rather afraid it is broken," he said 
 quietly. " It is growing late, Peggy. What if 
 we walk on until we come to a house ? "
 
 70 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER SIX 
 
 THE Sabbath quiet of the next afternoon 
 was broken by the scratch of Peggy's stub 
 pen and the creak of Peggy's rocking-chair, 
 which mingled in a dismal duet. She raised her 
 eyes from her letter, as the six young people 
 crossed the lawn. 
 
 " Well, I hope you feel better in your con- 
 sciences," she remarked affably. 
 
 " We were only sorry you were n't with us, 
 dear. It was a lovely service," Nathalie said, 
 as she sat down on the edge of the veranda, and 
 drew up a chair for her hat and prayer-book. 
 
 " I thought I 'd do more good staying at 
 home." 
 
 " And putting in the time making some good 
 resolutions ? " Kingsley inquired. 
 
 She frowned. 
 
 " No ; writing to Cousin Eudora." 
 
 Her brother nodded up at her from his place 
 at her feet.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 71 
 
 " That is a good deed, Peggy. I have been 
 meaning to do it; but I kept putting it off." 
 
 " If I put things off, I never do them." 
 
 Dr. Holden laughed. 
 
 " That sounds suspiciously like a rebuke to 
 you, Hal." 
 
 " It 's no such thing. When I rebuke, I do 
 it straight, not with a back-handed slap," Peggy 
 retorted. " Besides, there is no especial reason 
 I should rebuke Hal. The truth is, I forgot all 
 about Cousin Eudora until to-day." 
 
 " Because you were having such a good time 
 with us, Peggy Ann ? " Kingsley asked. 
 
 " Because I was so busy training Sophia 
 Smith. I 've a good mind to ask Cousin Eudora 
 how Christian Scientists train dogs not to slip 
 their collars." 
 
 " Tighten them," John suggested. 
 
 " The collars, or the dogs ? " 
 
 " Both. If I were in your place, Peggy, I 
 would tie a knot in her neck to hold the collar 
 down." 
 
 " Good idea, Jack ! It is long enough. Na- 
 thalie Arterburn, did you wear*those gloves to 
 church with that plain hat ? " 
 
 " Yes. Why not ? " 
 
 " Because they don't match."
 
 72 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " They 're both white." 
 
 " Yes ; but one is fit for a party, the other 
 goes with your walking-clothes," Peggy admon- 
 ished her severely. " At least, just while you 
 are a bride, and everybody is watching you, I 
 do wish you would be a little bit more careful." 
 
 " You might make a catalogue of her clothes, 
 with cross references to the ones that go to- 
 gether," Ursula suggested, just as Mac observed, 
 in pretended alarm, 
 
 " I* e ggy> do you really mean that everybody 
 is watching us ? " 
 
 " Not you ; only just Nathalie," she answered 
 ruthlessly. " The man never counts for much/' 
 
 It was Ursula who changed the subject. 
 
 " And so, if it is pleasant to-morrow, we are 
 really to go to the Glen," she said. 
 
 Harry looked up. 
 
 " I have n't heard of it. Who are going ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " All of us. Mrs. Barrett has been planning 
 it for a week; but it takes all day, and the 
 mornings have been so threatening. She prom- 
 ises us a good day, to-morrow, though." 
 
 " How are you going ? " Nathalie inquired. 
 
 " That 's the question." Kingsley rose as he 
 spoke, coolly pushed Mac to one side, and took
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 73 
 
 his place beside Nathalie. " There will be, 
 let 's see, how many of us ? Four from our 
 house and four of you." 
 
 " Then take your trap and our surrey," Mac 
 suggested. " Rex, you and Ursula can come 
 in with us, and Peggy and Hal can go with your 
 mother. That breaks up two family parties." 
 
 " If that is what you are after, you 'd better 
 put Nathalie in with Mrs. Barrett," Peggy ad- 
 vised them dryly. " Nathalie, is that the 
 prayer-book you were married out of ? " 
 
 " Yes. Dr. Aldrich always gives it to the 
 bride." 
 
 " I should think you would be more careful 
 of it." 
 
 " I am careful." 
 
 " But it is getting scratched already. 
 Have n't you another one you could use ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Why don't you use it, then, and save this ? " 
 
 " Because I don't wish to, Peggy." 
 
 Nathalie's patience was about ended, and her 
 dignity was a bit overpowering. Kingsley came 
 to the rescue. 
 
 " Peggy Ann," he inquired ; " if you had a 
 brand-new husband, should you use him, or 
 should you put him in the closet to save him ? "
 
 74 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " If I had a brand-new husband, I should n't 
 scratch him all up, the first thing," she retorted. 
 
 Kingsley whistled thoughtfully. 
 
 " Mayhap," he observed. " Still, I have my 
 doubts." 
 
 " What about lunch ? " Nathalie said, break- 
 ing in upon the sparring. " What time do we 
 start, Ursula ? " 
 
 " As soon after nine as we can be ready." 
 
 " Then I must rise with the lark and cook 
 things." 
 
 "What's the use? The mater has stuff 
 enough planned for us all but Peggy. We can 
 buy her a loaf of bread, as we pass the bakery." 
 
 Peggy raised her head. Seated nearer the 
 window than the others, she was the only one to 
 hear the voices within the house. 
 
 " Yes, it 's a confoundedly bad time," Hubert 
 McAlister was saying to his father. " Both 
 clerks are away, and I have to get together some 
 sort of notes on the Thomas case. I never sup- 
 posed a forefinger was so useful." 
 
 " Whom can you get ? " his father asked. 
 
 " I don't know. Midsummer is a bad time. 
 I '11 start early, to-morrow, and I may be able 
 to find somebody." 
 
 The creak of Peggy's chair stopped short.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 75 
 
 " You can save your loaf, then," she said 
 abruptly. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " That I 'm not going." 
 
 "Oh, Peggy!" ' 
 
 She liked John, and she was pleased at his 
 accent of regret. 
 
 " I 'm sorry, Jack," she said more gently. 
 
 " Then do go. It will spoil all the fun, if you 
 are n't there." 
 
 " My going or not going is n't as important 
 as all that," she answered grimly. 
 
 " But Mrs. Barrett wants us all, Peggy," 
 Ursula urged her. 
 
 " I 'm sorry." 
 
 Her brother turned and rested his arm across 
 her knee. 
 
 " Won't you please go, Peggy ? " he asked. 
 " I wish you would." 
 
 She dropped her hand over his. 
 
 " I 'm sorry, Hal," she repeated slowly ; " but 
 really I can't. I have something else that I 
 must do." 
 
 And that was all she would vouchsafe to 
 tell them. 
 
 There was no vacant seat, however, when the 
 two carriages drove away from The Savins, the
 
 76 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 next morning. By dint of much persuasion, 
 old Dr. McAlister had been coaxed into joining 
 the expedition, and even Peggy's most loyal 
 adherents could not but admit that their plea- 
 sure had gained by her resolution to remain at 
 home. Directly after breakfast, Peggy had 
 mysteriously vanished, so Hubert McAlister 
 stood alone on the steps to wish them a jovial 
 day. Then he took his hat and started in the 
 direction of his office. 
 
 * 
 
 Half an hour later, he wearily mounted the 
 stairs and opened his office door. Even Hubert 
 McAlister's customary optimism was at a low 
 ebb, that morning. His finger ached dully, and 
 his back had been wrenched by his fall. Under 
 some conditions he would have felt justified in 
 taking the advice of his father, and spending 
 the day in bed. Instead of that, notes must be 
 prepared and records copied for an important 
 case, and a diligent search of the town had dis- 
 closed to him the fact that not a copyist was to 
 be had. 
 
 " Good-morning again," a composed voice met 
 him as he entered. * 
 
 He halted in amazement, one hand on the 
 door, the other just in the act of lifting his hat 
 from his head.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 77 
 
 " Where did you come from ? " 
 
 Peggy rose from her seat beside the table. 
 Dressed in spotless blue gingham, her cuffs cov- 
 ered with coils of brown paper, and her hair 
 brushed smoothly away from her face, she 
 looked as pretty and demure a clerk as a busy 
 lawyer could desire. 
 
 " From The Savins," she answered non- 
 chalantly. 
 
 " But how did you get in ? " 
 
 " The janitor. I told him you wanted 
 me." 
 
 " But I did n't." 
 
 " I 'm sorry," she said, with apparent meek- 
 ness. " Still, one is allowed to fib a little in a 
 good cause. It 's not altogether a fib, either. 
 You wanted a clerk." 
 
 " Yes, but " 
 
 " Well, I 'm your man. That 's what I came 
 for. I wish I 'd known you were going to be 
 so late, though, for then I could have given 
 Sophia her morning walk." 
 
 He still looked a little puzzled. 
 
 " Well, go and give it to her now." 
 
 Half impatiently she seated herself at the 
 table again. 
 
 " What a bat you are ! " she said explosively.
 
 78 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I should think anybody would see that I 
 ready to go to work." 
 
 " To work at what ? " 
 
 " Copying your stuff. Lawyers always have 
 reams of copying to do, and you know you can't 
 write with your finger all splinted up." 
 
 He held out his left hand to her. 
 
 " Margaret, this is good of you. I appreciate 
 it, child; but I can't have you shut up in this 
 office, the whole morning." 
 
 " Then leave the door open," she advised 
 
 him. " Where are your papers ? " 
 j j 
 
 Her chin rose in the air. 
 
 " Of course, if you think I don't write well 
 enough " she said a little haughtily. 
 
 Even while he wondered at her quick-witted 
 reading of his thoughts, he saw that there was 
 no use in denying the charge. 
 
 " I suppose lawyers are fussy people," he 
 began apologetically; but she interrupted 
 him, 
 
 " Yes, and so are bachelors. Still, I '11 do 
 my best, and you might have given my common 
 sense the benefit of the doubt. I should n't 
 have offered, if I had expected to spoil your 
 work. But there, will that do ? " And she
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 79 
 
 rapidly wrote a few lines on a sheet of paper 
 and tossed it to him. 
 
 He smiled in approval. 
 
 " It is perfect, much better than Miss Crom- 
 well's work. What are your charges by the 
 hour?" 
 
 For a moment, she stared blankly at him. 
 Then the color rushed to her cheeks, and her 
 eyes glittered angrily. Rising, she removed her 
 paper cuffs and put on her hat. 
 
 "Why, Peggy, child, what's the matter?" 
 he asked in blank amazement. 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " Where are you going ? " 
 
 " Home. That is, to The Savins." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because I want to." 
 
 " But I thought you were going to help 
 me." 
 
 " I was ; but I 'm not," she said, with a sus- 
 picious gulp. 
 
 " But I need help, Peggy." 
 
 Even at sight of his bandaged finger her face 
 did not relent. 
 
 " And your writing is very clear and clean." 
 
 Behind her shut teeth she swallowed hard. 
 
 " And I 'd pay you well," he blundered on,
 
 80 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 quite unconscious of the girlish devotion he was 
 wounding to the quick. 
 
 She turned on him sharply. 
 
 " That 'a just it. I don't want your old 
 money." 
 
 " But I 'd have to pay any clerk." 
 
 " I 'm not your clerk," she snapped. Then 
 of a sudden her voice turned appealing. " Mr. 
 Hubert, can't you imagine having a thing done 
 out of mere friendship ? " Her voice steadied 
 again. " But even if you can't, I Ve a right to 
 do your work for a few days. It is only squar- 
 ing up a debt." 
 
 "What debt?" 
 
 " Your finger. My dog did it." 
 
 "Your dog?" 
 
 She mistook the force of his question. 
 
 " Well, Nathalie's dog, then," she said im- 
 patiently. " I have all the care of it, so I called 
 it mine. I didn't suppose I needed to be so 
 accurate as all that." 
 
 " But how did your dog break my finger ? " 
 
 " By running into Mark and making him 
 upset things. You 're a lawyer, and you ought 
 to know that you could collect damages." She 
 spoke hotly. Then she paused. " Mr. Hubert," 
 she said at length, as she held out her hand ; " I
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 81 
 
 did n't mean to be cross ; but you made me. All 
 night long, I have been counting on coming down 
 here to help you until your finger grew up. I 
 thought I should have such a good time. And 
 now you 've made me cross ; and I never sup- 
 posed you could do it. You Ve been good to 
 me since I came here. But about my being 
 down here : if I can't help you, say so, and send 
 me home. If I can be of any sort of use, then 
 let me stay. But, for mercy's sake, don't talk 
 about paying me. There are some things that 
 are n't a question of money." 
 
 He glanced down at the strong, firm hand 
 lying inside his own, then up at the intent face. 
 
 " Thank you, Margaret," he said gratefully. 
 " I shall be glad to have you stay."
 
 82 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 PEGGY pursued her investigations. 
 " But how did you know when you had 
 it?" 
 
 " Had ? " Mrs. Farrington asked blankly. 
 
 " Inspiration. How did it feel, when it first 
 came to you ? " 
 
 Mrs. Farrington laughed with a girlish blithe- 
 ness which belied her fifty years. 
 
 " I did n't even know I had it now, Peggy." 
 
 " Of course you must have it. Else how do 
 you write your books ? " 
 
 " With a pen." 
 
 " Yes, but what animates the pen ? " Peggy 
 persisted. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington's eyes twinkled at the gran- 
 diloquent phrase. 
 
 " Elbow grease," she responded calmly. 
 
 Peggy's impatience caused her to bounce in 
 her chair like a kernel of corn on a red-hot 
 stove.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 83 
 
 " Oh, don't laugh at me," she begged. " I 
 want to be an author, and I do wish you 'd tell 
 me how to go to work." 
 
 " It depends something upon what you want 
 to auth," Mrs. Farrington said, still laughing 
 a little. 
 
 " Books, just like yours," Peggy answered 
 with admiring fervor. 
 
 " Oh, but I hope you will try for something 
 a great deal better than that." 
 
 " I could n't." 
 
 " What about Pride and Prejudice ? " Mrs. 
 Farrington reminded her. 
 
 " I know ; but they are n't to-day. I must do 
 something that 's up to date," Peggy answered. 
 " That 's the reason I like your books ; your 
 heroine's clothes are always such good style." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington could contain herself no 
 longer, and her laugh rang out so infectiously 
 that even Peggy joined in it. A moment later, 
 however, Peggy turned grave again, and her 
 accent was rather aggrieved, as she said, 
 
 " Truly, Mrs. Farrington, I never thought 
 you would laugh at me. Only yesterday, Mr. 
 Hubert was telling how good you were to be- 
 ginners. I supposed you would be willing to 
 tell me how to go to work in the first place."
 
 84 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I am afraid you would n't take my advice." 
 
 " Yes, truly and honestly I would." 
 
 " Are you sure ? Well, get all the paper and 
 ink you want, and go to work. Write to your 
 heart's content ; but be sure you have a good hot 
 stove within reach." 
 
 Peggy sat up alertly. 
 
 " Does it make cold chills go down your back 
 that much ? " she asked, with a sudden lapse 
 into the vernacular of her Vermont home. 
 
 " No. I think I usually get rather warm 
 over my work, and the paper inclines to get 
 sticky," Mrs. Farrington responded prosaically. 
 
 " Then what is the stove for ? " 
 
 " To burn things." 
 
 " Burn up my stories ? " Peggy demanded in 
 consternation. 
 
 " Yes, for a few years." 
 
 "You didn't." 
 
 " Ask Mr. Farrington to tell you about my 
 first novel. But, Peggy, child, what makes you 
 want to write ? " 
 
 " I think I have it in me. Besides, it must 
 be so perfectly lovely, when the checks come in." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington frowned. 
 
 " That is the least of my care," she answered 
 a little abruptly.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 85 
 
 " How queer ! But then you 're rich. I sup- 
 pose that makes a difference. I don't see what 
 people write for, if it is n't to get money. Some 
 authors get a cent a word, and there are ever 
 and ever so many words in a book." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington rose. 
 
 " Peggy, you have been reading the Advice 
 to Young Authors columns. They never tell the 
 truth. But even if they did, child, no writer 
 worthy of the name works merely for the 
 money." 
 
 " What, then ? " Peggy asked incredulously. 
 
 " Because she has something to say that seems 
 to her worth the saying." 
 
 Peggy's next question hit the bull's-eye. 
 
 " But, even after you 've said it, how do you 
 know it is worth saying ? " 
 
 Mrs. Farrington suddenly changed her mind 
 and sat down again. 
 
 " We don't, Peggy. We can only do the 
 very best that 's in us, and then abide by the 
 consequences." 
 
 " But I want to write," Peggy reiterated 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " I must do something. I get tired of myself 
 and everybody else, unless I keep busy."
 
 86 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " But why write ? " Mrs. Farrington per- 
 sisted. 
 
 The answer was unexpected. 
 
 " Because it is clean and ladylike." 
 
 " If that is all, I think you 'd better try some- 
 thing else, Peggy." 
 
 " I don't see why. I may be inspired without 
 knowing it. You said only just now that you 
 did n't know you had any inspiration." 
 
 " Peggy, dear, what is inspiration ? " 
 
 Again Peggy's answer was unexpected. 
 
 " Something that makes you weep over what 
 you have written, even before the ink is 
 dry." 
 
 " I should call that nothing in the world but 
 hysterical conceit," was Mrs. Farrington's com- 
 ment. " Peggy, what do you suppose are the 
 only three things needed for a novel ? " 
 
 Peggy shook her head. 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " An idea, grit enough to do a great deal of 
 hard, grinding drudgery, and conscience enough 
 not to write anything that you know is harmful." 
 
 " Hm ! " Peggy commented. " If that 's all, 
 I think I may as well begin. I can do that as 
 well as anybody else." 
 
 " Perhaps. Time will show." Then she
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 87 
 
 bent forward and took the girl's hand into her 
 own. " Peggy, dear, I believe you are a little 
 homesick." 
 
 " Yes. But how did you know ? " 
 
 " When a girl of your age gets restless and 
 wants to take a profession, there is always some- 
 thing wrong. Sometimes it 's digestion, some- 
 times it is nothing at all but discontent. Your 
 digestion is perfect. Why are n't you happy 
 here?" 
 
 " Because I don't count for anything to any 
 of you." 
 
 " Not even to Harry ? " 
 
 " Not enough to say so." 
 
 " Peggy, only last night he was talking to me 
 about you. He told me of some long walks you 
 had been taking together, and he said he had 
 had no idea what a companionable girl you 
 were." 
 
 " Companionable ? Yes. But let Nathalie 
 come in sight and he forgets all about compan- 
 ioning me." 
 
 " Do you wonder ? " 
 
 " No, I don't know as I do. Nathalie is 
 good. I 'm not." 
 
 " That was n't what I meant. Nathalie and 
 Harry have been together, all the time for the
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 last few years. You have been away from him, 
 and " 
 
 " Whose fault was it, I 'd like to know," 
 Peggy interrupted. 
 
 " Nobody's fault. Necessity made it. But 
 Harry has grown to depend on Nathalie ' for 
 everything." 
 
 " I should just say he had," Peggy grumbled. 
 " I don't count for a row of pins." 
 
 " I 'm not so sure. Even if you don't, though, 
 the remedy is within your reach." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 " By making yourself as dependable as 
 Nathalie." 
 
 " She was born so. I was n't." 
 
 " Then grow so." 
 
 " I can't. Goodness does n't come natural to 
 me, Mrs. Farrington." 
 
 " Acquire it, then." 
 
 Peggy eyed her despairingly. 
 
 " You don't know anything about it," she 
 broke out. " You never were bad, real down- 
 right ugly, in your life." 
 
 " Were you ? " 
 
 " Yes, lots of times," Peggy confessed, in a 
 sudden wave of contrition. " I don't go to do 
 it. It just does itself. You people that are
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 89 
 
 always so good, and so meek, and so ladylike, 
 don't have much mercy on a girl like me." 
 
 She had pulled away her hand, and she now 
 sat with her elbows on her knees, her chin in 
 her palms, scowling thoughtfully out across the 
 lawn. Mrs. Farrington watched her in silence 
 for a moment. 
 
 " Peggy," she said then ; " there are a good 
 many episodes of my own girlhood that I would 
 like to forget; but they won't be forgotten. 
 There are whole weeks at a time that I would 
 cross out if I could ; but I can't. I imagine that 
 is the case with most girls. But I was n't as 
 steady and as thoughtful as I might have been ; 
 my temper used to run away with me again and 
 again.- What do you suppose steadied me more 
 than anything else ? " 
 
 " I 'm sure I don't know." Peggy spoke 
 slowly, her eyes still on the farther side of the 
 lawn. 
 
 " The loyalty of my brother Hubert, and the 
 finding out, all at once, that Mr. Farrington 
 counted on me as he did. For two or three 
 years, when I first knew him, he was an invalid, 
 tied to a couch and a wheeled chair. We grew 
 to be such good friends, and I found out that he 
 needed me, missed me when I forgot him, was
 
 90 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 hurt when I was cross, and blue when I left him 
 alone." 
 
 " Yes, but that was different from most cases. 
 He could n't get anybody else," Peggy com- 
 mented unflatteringly. " But I have n't any- 
 body like that." 
 
 " Not just like that. But what about 
 Harry?" 
 
 "Hal?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " My brother Harry ? " The accent was 
 incredulous. 
 
 " Yes. He needs you, Peggy. He would 
 count on you, if you would let him." 
 
 " I 'd like to see him. It 's Nathalie that he 
 wants." 
 
 " Peggy," Mrs. Farrington asked suddenly ; 
 " are you jealous ? " 
 
 " Of Nathalie ? Not much ! She has her 
 place; I have mine. Her place is with Hal; 
 mine is n't." 
 
 " Her place now is with Mac. In a way, 
 Harry is left alone. He knows it, too. You are 
 the only person in the world who can stop that 
 loneliness." 
 
 " How, then ? " Peggy's tone was a little 
 incredulous.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 91 
 
 " Just as Nathalie did when she was your 
 age. Care for his interests. Talk over his work 
 with him, and, what 's more, talk over your own 
 play. Ask his advice about your plans, and 4 
 before long he will be asking your advice about 
 his. Peggy, you are n't a child any longer. In 
 some ways you are a good deal of a woman. 
 Every man needs a woman to help him along. 
 She need n't be related to him ; but it is better 
 if she is. One of the sweetest relations of all 
 is between brother and sister; but, in the very 
 first of it, it must be made by the sister. It was 
 Nathalie, not Harry, who made the first ad- 
 vances. It must be you." 
 
 " How do you know he wants them made ? " 
 
 " Because he is lonely for Nathalie, for 
 the old Nathalie who was all in all to him; 
 because he is delicate and depressed." 
 
 " What depresses him ? " 
 
 " The knowing that he is n't strong, and that, 
 every single day, he must work a little beyond 
 the limit of his strength." 
 
 " What does he work so hard for ? " she asked 
 restively. " I don't see any need for it." 
 
 " Who else would pay Ralph's bills in An- 
 dover, and buy your gowns, and get things for 
 Fizzums ? "
 
 92 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Peggy looked rather aghast. 
 
 " I never thought much about all that," she 
 said slowly. " The money always came, after 
 a fashion; and I supposed, as much as I ever 
 stopped to suppose anything at all, that Hal 
 worked himself to death just for the pleasure of 
 working." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington shook her head. 
 
 " Then the long and the short of the matter 
 is that I Ve been acting like a pig," Peggy burst 
 out penitently. " But how could I know with- 
 out being told? I suppose I ought to have 
 known it. I did n't, though." She pondered 
 the situation for a minute or two. Then she 
 asked abruptly, " Mrs. Farrington, do you think 
 Hal would ever care about a thorny thing like 
 me?" 
 
 " He does care now, Peggy." 
 
 " Care as he used to care for Nathalie ? " 
 
 " Sometimes the sweetest and spiciest roses 
 have the sharpest thorns," Mrs. Farrington sug- 
 gested, with a smile. 
 
 " I 'm no rose. I 'm a bramble. Truly, if 
 I made the advances you tell about, Hal would 
 dodge out of my way." 
 
 " Try him and see." 
 
 "I would, only "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 93 
 
 "Only what?" 
 
 " What makes you think it 's in me to make 
 them at all ? " 
 
 " Because, under the brambles, you 're very 
 much of a woman," Mrs. Farrington answered 
 quietly. 
 
 " Me ? Who said so ? " 
 
 " My brother, for one person." 
 
 " Mr. Hubert ? " Peggy's hands dropped 
 into her lap, and she turned sharply to face 
 her companion. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What does he know about it ? " she queried 
 blankly. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington laughed. 
 
 " Did n't he help bring me up ? And, besides 
 that, you were in his office every day for two 
 weeks." 
 
 " Yes, and I did have such a good time," 
 Peggy sighed regretfully. 
 
 " So did he." 
 
 Her face grew eager. 
 
 " Did he like it, too ? " 
 
 " So much so that he spoke to me about it." 
 
 " I wish it had lasted longer," Peggy said, 
 with a second sigh. 
 
 "Why did n't it?"
 
 94 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " His finger grew up, and his clerk came 
 back." 
 
 " Why not go back there ? " 
 
 " He does n't need me." 
 
 "But if he did?" 
 
 " And you say Hal does." Her tone was still 
 regretful. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington took a sudden decision. 
 
 " Not in the same way, not for so much time. 
 One need n't hinder the other. Now, Peggy, 
 my brother says you are one of the best helpers 
 he has ever had. If he should find that he still 
 needed you for a part of each day, would you 
 go back into the office and spoil your lazy 
 summer ? " 
 
 Peggy's hands shut, thumbs out. 
 
 "Oh, if I could!" 
 
 " I think you can. I will ask him, to-night, 
 and see what he says." 
 
 Peggy looked up sharply. 
 
 " Now don't you go to cramming me down his 
 throat," she objected. " Mr. Hubert is so good 
 to me, he 'd take me and make something for me 
 to do, if he thought I wanted it. That 's not 
 what I do want, though. People must really 
 need me and want me, or else I am somewhere 
 else."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 95 
 
 Mrs. Farrington answered her with perfect 
 gravity. 
 
 " I know what you mean, Peggy, and I should 
 feel just as you do. I can make my brother 
 understand, I know ; but I think he will be glad 
 to have you." 
 
 Peggy drew a long breath. 
 
 " Mrs. Farrington," she said slowly ; " I 'm 
 afraid you must change your mind now about 
 your having real inspirations." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington smiled down at the brighten- 
 ing face. 
 
 " No inspiration, Peggy, only a little com- 
 mon sense and a good deal of experience. As a 
 rule, a healthy girl detests being idle. I wonder, 
 though, whether you won't find this as satis- 
 factory as writing books." 
 
 Peggy rose and stood beside her. 
 
 " I '11 wait till I have tried them both," she 
 answered, laughing. " One is as clean as the 
 other and as ladylike. I 'm not sure, though, 
 that it is as profitable or as exciting; but I am 
 going to try them both, and judge for myself."
 
 96 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 OVER the western slope of The Savins the 
 afternoon sunshine lay in heavy yellow 
 bands between the tall trees. The strip of salt 
 marsh and the open country beyond it glowed 
 in the clear yellow light, and the one distant 
 glimpse of blue sea glittered with silver re- 
 flections from the crests of the waves. Birds 
 wheeled to and fro in the air and chittered in 
 the trees, where the squirrels waged with them 
 their daily war for possession. Everything was 
 full of life and sunshine and content, except 
 Peggy Arterburn and Sophia Smith. 
 
 Thrown face downward on the soft moss, her 
 tear-stained face resting on her crossed arms, 
 Peggy lay motionless, save for the long sobs that 
 now and then shook her whole lithe body. Be- 
 side her, her face full of anxious consternation, 
 her lips drooping sorrowfully, and one ear tilted 
 rakishly upward across her brow, Sophia Smith 
 sat in sympathetic silence. Even to her puppy 
 soul it was plainly apparent that something was
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 97 
 
 wrong. She was full of pity; nevertheless it 
 was impossible for her to express that pity save 
 by the somewhat inadequate method of licking 
 away the tears as fast as they came. She had 
 tried that method. It had not only eased her 
 mind, but she had discovered that salty water, 
 taken in moderation, tasted good on a hot day. 
 Accordingly she had licked again, too greedily 
 this time, with the discouraging result that her 
 young mistress had rolled over on her face. For 
 a minute or two longer, the soft tongue had pried 
 into Peggy's neck, into her ears, twined itself 
 through a loophole of the sheltering arms. Then 
 Sophia had given up in despair. Sympathy 
 and salt water alike were beyond her reach. She 
 removed herself to Peggy's feet, where she sat 
 watching, an anxious frown furrowing her dust- 
 colored brow. 
 
 Suddenly her tail uncurled itself and began 
 to thump the moss, while she gave a little 
 soprano bark of welcome. The next minute, 
 Ursula came strolling along the crest of the hill, 
 crooning happily to herself. 
 
 Peggy's head nestled more closely into the 
 moss, as if, ostrich-like, she hoped to avoid 
 observation. 
 
 "Why, Peggy!" 
 
 7
 
 98 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 " Down, Sophia ! Charge, or whatever you 
 call it ! Peggy, is something wrong ? " 
 
 Peggy's arms closed over her head, and her 
 nose buried itself among the roots of the moss. 
 
 Ursula came a step nearer. Her brow was 
 wrinkled with an anxiety akin to that of Sophia, 
 who, now that her hospitable greeting had been 
 given, had returned to her seat beside Peggy's 
 heels. 
 
 " Peggy, dear, what is it ? Is something 
 wrong ? " Ursula asked again, as, casting aside 
 the greenish white clovers in her hand, she 
 dropped down at Peggy's side. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What is it " 
 
 " I 'm not going to tell you." There was a 
 hostile accent on the final word. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Because you 'd walk straight off and tell 
 Nathalie." 
 
 " Not if you did n't want me to." 
 
 " You would, too. You tell her everything. 
 And Eex, too." 
 
 " Perhaps Rex does. I don't." 
 
 " I don't mean that, Ursula Thain." 
 
 In the acuteness of her exasperation, Peggy
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 99 
 
 lifted her nose from the ground, disclosing a 
 tear-streaked face dappled with bits of earth 
 and dried moss. Sophia licked her lips hungrily 
 at the sight, while Ursula made a brave struggle 
 against her sense of humor. 
 
 " What do you mean, then ? " she asked, as 
 soon as she dared to speak. 
 
 Again the answer came, moss-ruffled. 
 
 " I mean that you tell Eex Barrett every- 
 thing, every single thing that stirs." 
 
 " But I don't, Peggy." 
 
 With a bounce as sudden as if some one had 
 touched a hidden spring, Peggy sat up. 
 
 " Who told him about the target ? " she de- 
 manded. 
 
 This time Ursula laughed, not, however, at 
 Peggy, but at the memory which Peggy's words 
 evoked. The day before, Sophia, accidentally 
 left free to make a tour of discovery, had toured 
 through the length and breadth of The Savins, 
 and had discovered Peggy's target, fastened 
 high on a tree trunk. Something in the gaudy 
 colors had appealed to Sophia's artistic soul. 
 Standing on her hind legs, she had stretched 
 herself to the full of her elastic length, and then, 
 with infinite dexterity and infinite toil, she had 
 succeeded in possessing herself of her unwieldy
 
 100 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 booty. Once it was in her possession, she had 
 lost no time in reducing it to its elements. It 
 had taken Peggy a long hour to rake up the 
 scattered stuffing; but, save for a gaudy tatter 
 hanging from Sophia's lips, the covering had 
 vanished as completely as the roses of yester- 
 year. The next day, however, the chain of 
 evidence was lengthened by Sophia's mysterious 
 and acute illness, and Ursula, who had come 
 upon Peggy in the midst of her raking, had 
 not been slow to join the links of the chain. 
 For three long hours, it seemed that Sophia's 
 puppy life was about to be ended. At last, 
 however, Mac rose to his feet, drew a deep 
 breath, and turned down his sleeves. 
 
 " There, Nathalie," he said, and his voice 
 was triumphant ; " I never worked harder over 
 a human baby in my life; but, in a case like 
 this, it is the work that tells. I think Sophia 
 is good for ten years yet; but, if we hadn't 
 found her when we did, ten minutes more would 
 have been the finish of her." 
 
 And Nathalie had wiped her eyes, and then 
 gone in search of Peggy. An hour before, 
 Kingsley had suggested the probable cause of 
 Sophia's illness. While his suggestion had been 
 of use to Mac in helping him to diagnose the
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 101 
 
 case, it had also been the cause of Peggy's re- 
 buke to Ursula. Ursula sought to defend 
 herself. 
 
 " But that is only one thing, Peggy." 
 
 "What if 'tis n't? It's enough. Besides, 
 straws show the way the wind blows." 
 
 " Yes, I noticed that, yesterday, while you 
 were raking them up," Ursula responded 
 irrepressibly. 
 
 With a second bounce, Peggy once more buried 
 her face in the moss. 
 
 " Yes, that 's just the way ! " she lamented 
 brokenly. 
 
 Ursula looked puzzled. 
 
 " What way ? " 
 
 " The way you all make fun of me." 
 
 " But, Peggy, we don't. Now that Sophia 
 is all right again, even you must see how funny 
 it all was." 
 
 " For my part, I can't see any fun. I 'm 
 glad you can," Peggy returned haughtily, as 
 she sat up again and wiped her eyes. " But 
 you thought things, and then you had to rush 
 off and tell them to Rex. He told Nathalie, and 
 now " 
 
 "Now?" 
 
 " Now Nathalie has been scolding my ears
 
 102 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 off," Peggy said hotly. " It 's all your fault, 
 too." 
 
 " My fault ? I did n't feed your old target 
 to the dog, and, what 's more, I don't believe 
 Nathalie ever scolded you in her life," Ursula 
 responded, with equal heat. 
 
 " That shows you don't know anything about 
 it." With a jerk Peggy tightened the ribbon on 
 her hair. 
 
 " I know Nathalie Arterburn well enough 
 to know that, if she scolded you, you richly 
 deserved it," Ursula answered, with some 
 spirit. 
 
 " I did not deserve it. I tell you, you 
 don't know anything about it. You were n't 
 there." 
 
 " What did she say ? " 
 
 " All sorts of cruel things." 
 
 Ursula cast a stick in the direction of Sophia, 
 who, still languid from her recent illness, 
 watched it with indifference, then turned her 
 brown eyes back to her young mistress. 
 
 " Nathalie is never cruel," Ursula said 
 shortly. 
 
 " She was then. She began to scold me, with- 
 out asking me a question how it happened." 
 
 " How what happened ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 103 
 
 " Sophia and the target, of course. Anybody 
 with some sense would know what I was talking 
 about. She said I was careless, and and " 
 
 Ursula eyed her meditatively. 
 
 " Well, you were," she said. 
 
 " I was not." 
 
 " Then how did she get loose ? " 
 
 " I untied her." 
 
 "And forgot her?" 
 
 " N not exactly. Harry called me off, and 
 I did n't go back for a little while." 
 
 " Oh, but I suppose you kept thinking of 
 Sophia all the time you were gone." 
 
 In the face of Ursula's mockery, Peggy cast 
 veracity to the winds. 
 
 " Certainly," she answered, with crushing 
 dignity. 
 
 Again Ursula laughed. 
 
 " I suppose that 's some of the Christian Sci- 
 ence you got from Miss Eudora. You gave 
 Sophia absent treatment to keep her from run- 
 ning away. Well, it worked as well as most 
 absent treatment does." 
 
 Peggy rose to her feet. Sophia rose also and 
 ranged alongside. Peggy's brown hand shook 
 a little, as it lay on the dog's shaggy neck. 
 
 " Ursula," she said, with a sudden quiet dig-
 
 104 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 nity ; " if all you can do is to make fun of me, 
 I think we have talked long enough." 
 
 Ursula's face changed at the tone. 
 
 " Come back here, Peggy,'.' she said. 
 
 " No. I am going into the house." 
 
 " Please don't go yet. I 'm sorry I laughed 
 at you ; I did n't suppose you would care. I 'm 
 a good deal more sorry, though, to have made 
 you get a scolding." 
 
 " And yet you think I deserved it." s 
 
 " Yes, I do. Still, that 's no reason I should 
 mix up in it. I did n't suppose there would be 
 any harm in my saying what I thought, and I 
 don't suppose Rex did, either." 
 
 Peggy's chin stiffened. 
 
 " It 's generally better to let other people's 
 affairs alone." 
 
 " I know that ; so do we all. But we keep 
 on mixing up in them. I did n't tell Rex that 
 I thought you were careless, Peggy. That came 
 from somewhere else along the line." 
 
 " From Rex, most likely," Peggy said, with a 
 sudden wave of hostility. 
 
 " No, I don't think so." 
 
 " Then from Nathalie. It 's twice mean 
 from her, for she ought to be grateful to me for 
 training her everlasting old puppy."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 105 
 
 " She is." 
 
 Peggy cast herself down on the ground again 
 with a sudden flop. 
 
 " Well, she ought to be. She would n't have 
 any sort of sense about it, herself." 
 
 " You are doing it well, Peggy. Where did 
 you learn it ? " 
 
 Peggy answered more quietly, for she was 
 somewhat mollified by Ursula's tone of ad- 
 miration. 
 
 " Froebel," she replied concisely. 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Froebel. I am bringing her up according 
 to kindergarten ideas," Peggy explained loftily. 
 
 " Really ? How did you learn them ? " 
 
 " From Fizzums. He went to a kindergarten 
 for a few months once, and some of it was 
 awfully funny." 
 
 " But I thought kindergarten meant braiding 
 paper mats and sewing pricked cardboard," 
 Ursula said a little blankly. 
 
 " Oh, that 's only part. Sophia does n't do 
 that part." 
 
 " What does she do, then ? " 
 
 " Not get whipped, and make her lessons into 
 games, like jumping fences for a biscuit, and 
 suggesting new ideas to her, and changing them 
 very often."
 
 106 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Oh ! And you teach Sophia that ? " 
 
 "Yes." Suddenly Peggy bent over and buried 
 her face in the hairy side. " It works, too. She 
 knows I love her and am trying to make her 
 grow up good, and she '11 let me do anything 
 with her." 
 
 " Even to taking a bone away from her ? " 
 
 " Of course." Peggy's accent was scornful. 
 " I could take a whole shank of beef away from 
 her, and she would n't make the least bit of 
 fuss." 
 
 Ursula nodded in approval. 
 
 " You are doing well with her, Peggy." 
 
 " Then at least my summer is n't being alto- 
 gether wasted," Peggy said rather grudgingly. 
 
 " Who said it was ? " Ursula demanded in 
 astonishment, as Peggy's mood went off on this 
 fresh tack. 
 
 " Nobody. One does n't have to be told 
 facts." 
 
 " But it is n't a fact." 
 
 " Yes, it is, too." 
 
 " And besides, when it comes to that, are n't 
 we all wasting our summers ? " 
 
 " You are supposed to be resting, and so are 
 the boys." 
 
 "Well, aren't you?"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 107 
 
 " No. I 'm not resting, for the simple reason 
 that I 'm not aware of being tired." 
 
 " And then you are the only one of us all 
 who pretends to do anything," Ursula urged, 
 still trying to console the feelings of her refrac- 
 tory companion. 
 
 "What do I do?" 
 
 " Spend your mornings in Mr. McAlister'a 
 office." 
 
 For the moment, Peggy's face cleared. 
 
 " Oh, that 's not work," she said. 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because we have a fine time doing it." 
 
 " Well, your ideas of a fine time and mine 
 don't match very well," Ursula observed. " It 
 would n't be my ideal of bliss to spend these 
 lovely mornings on an office stool, copying briefs 
 and wills and things." 
 
 " That 's all you know about it. I sit in a 
 chair, a swivel chair with arms, and I 
 copy contracts." 
 
 " Well, copy poems about death, if you choose. 
 What I mean is that I should hate the being 
 shut up and the copying things." 
 
 Peggy lifted her chin. 
 
 " That 's because you don't know Mr. Mc- 
 Alister," she said, with crushing finality.
 
 108 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " No," Ursula said ; " I don't. I 'm not so 
 sure that I want to, either." 
 
 The blood rushed to Peggy's cheeks. 
 
 " I should like to know why ? " she demanded. 
 
 " Because I am most mortally afraid of him," 
 Ursula confessed. 
 
 Peggy's face relaxed something of its se- 
 verity. 
 
 " But don't you admire him ? " she asked. 
 
 " Ye es, as one admires John Quincy 
 Adams and the Apostle Paul." 
 
 It was Peggy's turn to be perplexed. 
 
 " What in the world are you driving at, 
 Ursula?" 
 
 " That he is too good, and too calm and 
 respectable." 
 
 " He 's no such thing." Then Peggy's face 
 relaxed still more. " But that is because you 
 don't understand him, Ursula," she explained. 
 " I used to feel that way, before I really knew 
 him. Now I think he is the nicest person 
 here." 
 
 "Nicer than Sophia Smith?" Ursula 
 asked, in no wise vexed at Peggy's accent of 
 superiority. 
 
 But Peggy's serenity was not as yet suffi- 
 ciently deep-seated to be proof against teasing.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 109 
 
 " What a dunce you are, Ursula ! " she said 
 sharply. 
 
 " Thank you. Is there anything else you 
 would like to say ? " 
 
 " Yes. I think you are a meddlesome minx." 
 
 " Anything else ? " Ursula's drawl was not 
 calculated to placate an angry soul. 
 
 " Yes. You are the most disagreeable person 
 I ever saw, and I don't see how Hal can endure 
 to have you around." 
 
 " You mean you think I am the most dis- 
 agreeable," Ursula corrected blandly. " Any- 
 thing else ? " 
 
 " No. You 're not worth talking to." 
 
 " Then I '11 take my turn ; it 's only fair." 
 Her tone lost its drawl and became incisive. 
 Arterburn, I think you are very 
 
 cross. 
 
 M 
 
 I don't care what you think." 
 " And I think you are very selfish." 
 " Think away, if you want to." 
 " And I think you are very rude." 
 "What of it?" 
 " And I think you are old enough to know 
 
 better." 
 
 " Suppose I am ? It 's not your place to tell 
 
 me so."
 
 110 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " And I think, if you keep on, you won't have 
 a friend left in the world." 
 
 " How do you know I have any now ? " 
 
 The unruffled insolence of Peggy's manner 
 was maddening. Ursula yielded to it. 
 
 " I think that, if you have any at all, you Ve 
 a whole lot more than you deserve," she said 
 angrily. 
 
 The scarlet tide rushed up to the roots of 
 Peggy's hair. Then it receded, and in its wake 
 her face went white to the lips. There was an 
 interval before she spoke. Then she said 
 quietly, 
 
 " I had supposed I had just two, Hal and 
 Mr. Hubert. Now I don't know but I 've three, 
 and the third is Ursula Thain. If you had 
 minced matters any, Ursula, I should have hated 
 you, hated you with all my might. As it is, 
 I rather like you. It was n't any of your busi- 
 ness to interfere, and it was n't good manners 
 to sit down in cold blood and tell me what you 
 think of me. You 're like an emergency doctor 
 that comes of his own accord and gives a horrid 
 great pill. Still, I should n't wonder at all if 
 the pill did me good." As she spoke, she looked 
 up to meet Ursula's brown eyes with eyes that 
 held no cloud of bitterness. Then she laughed.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 111 
 
 " And what 's more," she added ; - " I should n't 
 wonder at all, either, if you sometimes needed 
 a similar pill yourself." 
 
 And hand in hand they went down the hill 
 together, with Sophia Smith trudging neglected 
 at their heels.
 
 112 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER NINE 
 
 IN spite of the chorus that hailed her as she 
 passed the veranda, Peggy went her way. 
 Under her arm was a portfolio, over her arm 
 was a rug, and at her heels was the omnipresent 
 Sophia Smith, dangling along like an enormous 
 chatelaine at the end of her chain. The group 
 on the veranda was too remote from Peggy's 
 pathway to see the pen rampant in her hair and 
 the determined light in her eyes. ; 
 
 " What do you suppose it is now ? " Kingsley 
 inquired from the hammock. 
 
 " There 's never any telling. It may be 
 letters; it may be she is going to write out a 
 list of directions concerning the exercise of 
 Sophia Smith," Mac responded. 
 
 " Does n't it ever remind you of ' Mary had 
 a little Lamb ' ? " Nathalie asked. " But when 
 I took Sophia, I fondly imagined that I was 
 going to have a dog to play with. Now Peggy 
 has assumed such strict control that I feel as if 
 I ought n't to interfere."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 113 
 
 " She is bringing her up well, though," Mac 
 said defensively. 
 
 " Too well. Sophia is growing in grace and 
 goodness. Still, it is a new idea that a puppy 
 can't have a bedtime romp because it makes her 
 too nervous to sleep, and that she must be tucked 
 up in a blanket when she comes in warm from 
 a run." 
 
 " How is her appetite ? " John asked. 
 
 " Superb ; but even there Peggy reigns su- 
 preme. Jack Myers, that poor, defenceless 
 animal, is brought up, day in and day out, on 
 porridge, nothing but porridge. Peggy sees 
 to it, herself, boils up a fresh supply, every 
 morning. She nearly took my head off, yester- 
 day, when she found me feeding Sophia a slice 
 of stale cake." 
 
 " Let her work," Kingsley advised indo- 
 lently. " It can't more than kill the dog, and 
 it keeps Peggy amused. Likewise, it keeps her 
 out of our way." 
 
 " Now, Rex," Nathalie protested ; " do have 
 a little regard for the possible feelings of 
 Peggy's relatives." 
 
 Kingsley sat up, Turkwise, in the hammock, 
 and clasped an ankle in either hand. 
 
 " Oh, come down off your injured innocence, 
 8
 
 114 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Nathalie," he admonished her. " You know 
 yourself that Peggy is sometimes a trial." 
 
 " Do you know, I am beginning to wonder 
 whether any of it is our fault," Ursula said 
 bluntly. 
 
 " Of course not. We don't have faults." 
 And, having disposed of the matter to his own 
 entire satisfaction, Kingsley stretched himself 
 out at full length again. 
 
 " No ; but really," Ursula persisted. " I 
 don't mean just here. It began, last summer. 
 We treated her like a child, and gave her to 
 understand that she was too young to belong to 
 our set. I don't know as I wonder that it made 
 her turn fractious." 
 
 " But it did n't," Kingsley objected lazily. 
 
 " Yes, I think it did." Ursula's tone was 
 thoughtful. 
 
 Kingsley shook his head. 
 
 " No ; born so," he returned concisely. 
 
 Ursula turned upon him with unexpected 
 warmth. 
 
 " Really, Rex, you are n't fair to Peggy." 
 
 " Prove it," he advised her. 
 
 " Well, for one thing, I had it out with her 
 yesterday " 
 
 " Meaning a tooth ? " her cousin inquired.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 115 
 
 Ursula frowned. 
 
 " Jack, don't interrupt, when I 'm in earnest. 
 In fact, it 's better not to interrupt at all, unless 
 you have something worth saying. But I told 
 Peggy a few of her sins, and she took it 
 superbly." 
 
 " Then you 'd better get to work on the bal- 
 ance of them," Kingsley suggested. 
 
 But Ursula shook her head. 
 
 " Laugh, if you want to," she answered ; " but 
 I am going to look out for Peggy, and, what 's 
 more, Jack, you 've got to do it, too." 
 
 Meanwhile, the subject of the discussion had 
 made her way to her favorite refuge under a 
 distant oak tree, chained Sophia to the tree 
 trunk, and spread out her rug on the moss. 
 There she settled herself, with her back against 
 the tree, her chin in her hands, and her elbows 
 on her portfolio. Sophia, prostrate at her side, 
 thoughtfully chewed at the stick which Peggy 
 had provided for her entertainment. On the 
 level ground at their feet, the late daisies nodded 
 in the breeze. A kingbird over their heads 
 scolded shrilly, and a procession of black ants 
 meandered ceaselessly to and fro across the rug, 
 across Sophia's flanks, and across Peggy's trim 
 ankles. And still Peggy sat motionless, her
 
 116 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 brows bent into a frown, her eyes fixed upon 
 the trio of giant chestnuts in the middle distance. 
 
 All at once her brow cleared. In her relief, 
 she even spoke her thoughts aloud. 
 
 " I don't really believe there 's any use in 
 doing the first chapter now," she observed. " I 
 can fill that in, any time, and I might as well 
 get to work on the love part. That 's easier, 
 and I won't need to take so much pains with it, 
 for people will be interested in it, anyhow." 
 
 She was silent again, and sat with her eyes 
 fixed on a patch of waving grass beside her. 
 The heavy brown heads, nodding and swaying 
 on their thin green stalks, held her attention 
 fascinated for a few minutes. Then she felt 
 her eyes narrowing, and, rousing herself, she 
 opened her inkstand with a click. The click in 
 turn aroused Sophia who promptly came into 
 collision with the ink, and dyed one forepaw 
 in the black pool which trickled down into the 
 moss. 
 
 " Never mind, dear. You did n't mean to 
 be bad. You can lick it off, and I 've enough 
 left for to-day," Peggy said consolingly. " Oh, 
 dear, dogo back to sleep. How can I do any- 
 thing, if you ramp around so ? " 
 
 By dint of much persuasion, Sophia was lulled
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 117 
 
 to sleep again, and Peggy opened her portfolio, 
 dipped her pen, and once more fell to staring 
 at the grass. Sophia stirred slightly in her 
 sleep, and Peggy, bending forward, thought- 
 fully wiped her pen on the nearest cushiony 
 toe. 
 
 " Oh, dear me ! " she sighed. " How do you 
 suppose she goes to work to begin ? " 
 
 But beyond a sleepy kick in the direction of 
 the ink, Sophia vouchsafed no reply, and Peggy 
 returned to her musing. Her frown deepened 
 and grew more anxious. From time to time she 
 dipped her pen with an energy that extorted a 
 discordant scraping from the bottom of her 
 inkstand; but, save for a decorative border of 
 polyangular pigs, her paper stared back at her 
 blankly. 
 
 " Oh, Sophia Smith, how ever shall I begin ?" 
 she demanded at last. 
 
 Sophia's sleep was never so sound as to deafen 
 her to Peggy's voice. She stirred, stretched, 
 then licked a trio of new-made pigs into inky 
 formlessness. The next minute, her inky tongue 
 descended upon Peggy's nose. With a patience 
 shown to no one else, Peggy gently pushed the 
 dog away. 
 
 " There, Sophia ! That will do. You don't
 
 118 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 help me any. Or do you mean that I am to stop 
 drawing pigs and get to work ? " 
 
 Sophia yawned politely. She was still rather 
 sleepy, and the conversation struck her as being 
 too abstract to be interesting. Peggy kissed her 
 again, this time on the bridge of her nose ; then 
 she gripped her will with both hands, roused 
 herself from her lethargy, and set to work. 
 
 An hour later, her pen was tearing madly 
 over the paper. A pile of loose sheets lay on the 
 moss beside her, some of them filled on both 
 sides, some with but a line or two, as if the 
 idea had suddenly lost coherence and had been 
 laid away for another time. Little dabs of ink 
 dotted them here and there, and one single leaf 
 was adorned, aside from its four lines of writ- 
 ing, with a triple rank of polyangular pigs. 
 Obviously, at that point Peggy's Pegasus had 
 shown an inclination to balk. 
 
 A sudden breeze fluttered the pages and sent 
 a dozen of them scurrying off up the hill. With 
 a startled exclamation, Peggy sprang to catch 
 them, chased them over the crest of the slope, 
 and brought them back in triumph. Her ab- 
 sence was short; nevertheless, it was long 
 enough to give Sophia time to develop a taste 
 for literature. Peggy dropped down on the rug
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 119 
 
 again to find her last sheet licked into an inky 
 puddle, and beside it Sophia, seated in digni- 
 fied silence, with the lid of the inverted ink- 
 stand delicately held in her bared teeth. Only 
 her bristly beard suggested that, next time her 
 mistress left ink in the way, a mustache cup 
 would be a wise receptacle. 
 
 "Sophia!" 
 
 At the rebuke, Sophia dropped the inkstand 
 and sought to appease her mistress with a caress. 
 Peggy took refuge behind a corner of the rug, 
 and Sophia, mistaking her defensive operations 
 for a new sort of game, frisked around and 
 around the tree until Peggy, like the martyrs of 
 old, was securely bound to the stake. Then, 
 with a final lunge and a sweep of her paw, 
 Sophia capsized her martyr and, removing her- 
 self to the brief limit of her chain, sat down 
 to see what happened next. 
 
 As it chanced, it was Kingsley Barrett who 
 happened. 
 
 " Hullo, Peggy Ann ! That the latest thing 
 in ring games ? " he inquired affably, as he 
 sauntered down the hill. 
 
 For the once Peggy was unable to stand on 
 her dignity. Prostrate on the ground, moored 
 by her armpits to the oak tree and with her
 
 120 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 heels muffled in the inky rug, she was discour- 
 aged to find that, in this hour of need, her 
 dignity refused to yield her any support. 
 
 " Oh, Rex, do come and unfasten Sophia," 
 she begged him. 
 
 Kingsley paused to survey the group. 
 
 " It strikes me it would be a good deal more 
 to the point to unfasten you," he remarked 
 coolly. 
 
 " Well, anybody. Do hurry up and not be 
 all day about it," she urged impatiently. 
 
 " Oh, no ; I '11 be through by dinner time," 
 he reassured her. 
 
 " Yes ; but hurry ! " She emphasized her 
 words by a futile little kick into the heart of 
 the rug. 
 
 " What >s the matter ? Are n't you comfy ? " 
 
 " Try it, yourself." 
 
 " I don't want to. I 'm not Froebelizing a 
 puppy. Honestly, Peggy, if I were in your 
 place, I would n't use more than fifty feet of 
 chain. It gets in knots, you know, if it is too 
 long, and I hate to pick out knots. I always 
 did. The mater always used to unsnarl my 
 fish-lines for me, when I was a kid." 
 
 " Kingsley Barrett, let me loose ! " 
 
 " All in good time, Peggy Ann. I am work-
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 121 
 
 ing as hard as it is safe for me to work, this hot 
 weather. What were you going to do, when 
 Sophia interrupted you ? " 
 
 Peggy deigned to give no reply. With her 
 teeth tight shut, she held her peace until, the 
 last twist unwound, she could rise to her feet. 
 Then she stooped to gather up her belongings. 
 
 " Thank you, Kingsley," she said, with 
 crushing brevity, as she turned away in the 
 direction of the house. 
 
 That same evening, the entire household of 
 The Savins was grouped on the east veranda, 
 when Kingsley, with Ursula at his side, came 
 across the broad patches of yellow moonlight 
 that spotted the smooth-cropped lawn. 
 
 " Great old night ! " he observed, as he 
 dropped down on the edge of the veranda at 
 Nathalie's feet. " Seen any stray geniuses 
 around here lately ? " 
 
 " Only me. Why ? " Harry asked. 
 
 " I came on the fresh trail of one, to-day ; but 
 you need n't pose for it, Hal. It 's not your 
 size." 
 
 " What size is it, then ? " 
 
 " Bouncing, but feminine, I should say. It 's 
 not always easy to be sure, though." 
 
 " Where was it ? "
 
 122 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " That 's telling." 
 
 " How did you find it ? " 
 
 " That 's also telling." 
 
 " What was it ? " 
 
 " This." From his side pocket Kingsley drew 
 out some loose sheets of paper and waved them 
 in the moonlight. " What 's the matter, Peggy 
 Ann ? Did a mosquito bite you ? " 
 
 Peggy had drawn in her breath with a sharp 
 catch. Then she was still, utterly ignoring 
 Kingsley's question. 
 
 "Peggy Ann?" 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " Did something bite you ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "What!" 
 
 " Something with a sharp tongue," she 
 retorted. 
 
 " Things don't bite with their tongues, they 
 use their teeth, Peggy-Ann." 
 
 " Oh, stop talking nonsense, and show us 
 your trail," Nathalie urged him. 
 
 " In Dutch they call it spoor. I too say it 's 
 poor," Kingsley observed. " Doubtless the 
 genius called it polite light literature." 
 
 From her distant corner, Mrs. Farrington 
 started up in alarm.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 123 
 
 " Rex, did I drop any of my new novel 
 around in public ? " 
 
 " No such luck, Aunt Ted. I only wish you 
 had. No, this is n't of your sort. It is far 
 more elegant and hifalutin than the products 
 of your pen." 
 
 " Oh, read it, Rex. We were just longing for 
 a little excitement." 
 
 " This is sure enough excitement. It makes 
 my blood fair run cold. What 's the matter, 
 Peggy?" 
 
 " I 'm going in," she said shortly. 
 
 " Oh, it 's not so chilly as all that. Do stay 
 and hear it. You '11 find it quite worth your 
 while." 
 
 " You 'd better stay, Peggy," Mr. McAlister 
 advised her. " Else we may think you wrote 
 it." 
 
 " But you can't read it in this light, Rex," 
 Nathalie suggested. 
 
 " That depends on whether you can hold a 
 candle to it," he returned. 
 
 " It depends a good deal more on whether it 
 is worth the candle." 
 
 " Listen, and judge for yourself," he coun- 
 selled her, as he crossed the veranda and sat 
 down in the patch of light that shone out from
 
 124 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 a window. " I 'm sorry to say that I have only 
 five pages, and apparently they don't hitch 
 together. Still, they are fruity pages. ISTow 
 listen. I suppose there might have been some- 
 thing that came before, to serve as preface to 
 explain who this gentleman was. l But Richard 
 Balfour in his narrow padded cell may loom 
 large in the future, but to-night a divine bliss 
 has her in thrall and ' 
 
 " Who 's her? " Mr. McAlister asked. 
 
 " Does n't say, Uncle Hubert. It is just 
 plain HER. Well, as I was saying, ' thrall and 
 this Iron God of Love,' all capitals, ' that is to 
 lead her, has decreed that the front steps ' no, 
 ' the first steps shall be strewn with rose 
 leaves.' There! Isn't that awful pretty?" 
 Kingsley looked up for admiration. 
 
 " Wonderful ! Go on, Rex. Ted, you may 
 get a few points from this." 
 
 " Who did it, Rex ? " 
 
 " 'F I know." 
 
 " Where did you find it ? " 
 
 " I 'm not telling." 
 
 " Oh, go on," Ursula demanded. " I want 
 some more." 
 
 " ' The night walk back to the Manor through 
 the scented, star-lit garden was a strange and
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 125 
 
 wonderful one to them both. For he was as 
 pagan as she. Both at marrow had lived the 
 same hard, imperious lives, and with the in- 
 coming of this strange new power, strange new 
 thoughts and feelings came suddenly to life. 
 Arthur, pulling forward an, arm-chair, is in a 
 cool way telling the squire where they had 
 been.' " 
 
 "Arm-chair?" 
 
 " Yes. This hitches on all right. It 's page 
 fifty-one, and the other was fifty. Don't inter- 
 rupt, Nathalie." 
 
 " But where did he get his arm-chair ? " 
 
 " Out of his pocket, most likely. ( Eleanor, 
 shaking still, wonders at his calmness. The 
 next minute she is still more surprized ' 
 with a z ' when he turns to her.' Then there 
 are a whole lot of dashes. ' His muscular hand 
 is on her chair; he is looking down at her.' 
 More dashes. Isn't that a thrilling climax? 
 ' Under that tender, ardent look,' " Kingsley's 
 voice mounted to a falsetto ; " ( she quivers her 
 whole being, stirred ' : 
 
 " Do mind your pauses, Rex." 
 
 " I was trying to mind hers, and they 're past 
 all finding out. Well, if you insist, ' She 
 quivers, her whole being stirred to its utmost,
 
 126 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 inmost depth.' Another dash, a good long one. 
 ' Then suddenly, with a wild shriek, she sees 
 the face of Another Man ' great big capitals 
 and underlined, and then a dash. Where was 
 I ? Oh. ( Another Man the one that she 
 hated to remember, Richard Balfour. Then 
 for one long terrible second she has all the 
 horror of one sliding down a flower-covered 
 precipice. She closes her eyes with a sick feel- 
 ing of fear. When she opens ' Each sen- 
 tence begins a new paragraph. ' When she 
 opens them it is to find her satin-shod feet be- 
 neath their frothy ruffles resting on a ' 
 
 " Rex Barrett, stop ! That does n't come 
 next, and you know it." Then, moved to sudden 
 despair by her involuntary self-betrayal, Peggy 
 snatched the leaves from Kingsley's hands, 
 gulped down a monstrous sob, and rushed away 
 into the house, leaving the others to stifle their 
 mirth as best they could, while Kingsley exulted 
 in the full success of his experiment.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 127 
 
 CHAPTER TEN 
 
 " T DON'T think I was meant for an 
 
 JL author," Peggy said ruefully, the next 
 morning. 
 
 " Perhaps not. There are other things in the 
 world than writing books." 
 
 " Yes, darning stockings," she returned 
 grimly. " That does n't signify that I care to 
 do them, though." 
 
 " And do you care to do literature ? " 
 
 " Yes. At least, I did until you all made fun 
 of me. Really, Hal, I think Rex was very 
 horrid." 
 
 " He probably had no idea that you would 
 care so much." 
 
 " Then he does n't know much," Peggy re- 
 sponded flatly. " Anybody cares about being 
 laughed at. Besides, that story was bone of my 
 bone and ink of my ink-pot. It was n't so very 
 bad, either."
 
 128 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Harry maintained a discreet silence, and she 
 prodded him with a question. 
 
 " Was it so very bad, Hal ? " 
 
 " N no." 
 
 " What was the matter with it ? " she de- 
 manded, in swift defiance. 
 
 "I I 'm not sure." 
 
 " But something was." 
 
 " It was n't quite up to Mrs. Farrington's 
 work," he said guardedly. 
 
 " Why should it be ? She has done whole 
 dozens of them; this was my first, and I 
 could n't seem to make it go." 
 
 " Perhaps you '11 get the trick * of it in 
 time," her brother suggested, with an effort at 
 consolation. 
 
 " No, that 's what I 'm driving at. I can't, 
 and I 'm not going to try it again." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " Too hard work. Making something out of 
 nothing is n't my line. I need something be- 
 sides ink to start on." 
 
 He smiled at her intent face. 
 
 " How many irons do you wish to roast at 
 once, young sister ? " 
 
 " One." 
 
 " But you have two now."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 129 
 
 "What ones?" 
 
 " What two, you mean. Law and pedagogy, 
 Mr. Hubert and Sophia Smith." 
 
 She sniffed disdainfully. 
 
 " They both are just fun. Besides, they will 
 end with the summer. I want something to 
 last, something I can do after I go back to 
 Northford." 
 
 " There will be school then." 
 
 Once more she sniffed. 
 
 " Yes ; but such a school ! And that does n't 
 take much time. Besides, I 'm in the top room 
 now. I am old enough to be beginning to think 
 what next. I don't want to stay in Northford 
 under Cousin Eudora's thumb, all my days. 
 She can sew patchwork and eat boiled beef for- 
 ever, if she chooses. I want something else." 
 
 " And yet you don't like it here." 
 
 "Who says I don't like it?" she asked 
 contradictiously. 
 
 " You said so." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 " One night when we walked up to the reser- 
 voir in the twilight." 
 
 " Oh, then. That was before I was used to 
 it, when I did n't have anything to do." 
 
 " And now you have changed your mind ? " 
 9
 
 130 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Meditatively she dropped her chin on her 
 hands, and spoke with slow deliberation. 
 
 " Well, I should just say I had." 
 
 " What has done it ? " 
 
 " The same thing that has done all my deeds 
 of grace, getting busy and keeping so," she 
 answered gravely. " There 's something the 
 matter with me, Hal. As soon as I get lazy, I 
 get cross. I like to work." 
 
 " And yet Cousin Eudora says " he re- 
 minded her. 
 
 She interrupted him hotly. 
 
 " Cousin Eudora is an old poke. Her idea 
 of work is peeling potatoes and weeding the 
 zinnia bed. I hate zinnias; and, when I keep 
 house, I '11 cook my potatoes in their skins. But 
 I don't mean the everlasting work that 's never 
 done; I mean something that counts." 
 
 " I was under the impression that house- 
 keeping counted," he suggested. " Nathalie " 
 
 Again she interrupted. 
 
 " Yes, Nathalie would potter with her pots 
 and pans, all day long. She had n't any 
 ambition." 
 
 " Perhaps not. She has turned into a good 
 deal of a woman, though." 
 
 Peggy's mouth drooped at the corners.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 131 
 
 " I suppose that means me," she said, in 
 plaintive resentment. 
 
 Her brother laughed. Then he bent down 
 and took her face in his two slim hands. 
 
 " Yes, Peggy, it does mean you. It always 
 will mean you, when you try to slur Nathalie. 
 Without her, my life would have been dreary 
 enough, little sister, and I owe her more than 
 you can ever dream. But because Nathalie is 
 domestic it does n't signify that you must be 
 just like her. We don't all need to do the same 
 work, and I am not sure that you ought to cook, 
 and weed flower beds till the end of time." 
 
 " But I can't take Mr. Hubert's office back to 
 Northford with me ; and I 've about decided 
 that it 's no use for me to try to write novels," 
 she said despondingly. 
 
 " No, but is n't there anything else ? " 
 
 " I had thought a little of being an actress," 
 she replied slowly. 
 
 In his astonishment, Harry Arterburn sat 
 upright in the hammock and stared at her. 
 
 " Peg-gy Arterburn ! " 
 
 "Well, what of it?" she returned a little 
 defiantly. 
 
 He caught the ring of defiance, and controlled 
 his amusement.
 
 132 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I am afraid you would n't find that much 
 more satisfactory than authorship," he replied, 
 with becoming gravity. 
 
 " But I can do it. I can't seem to get the 
 hang of doing novels." 
 
 " How do you know you can act ? " 
 
 " Oh, I Ve tried that," she answered, with the 
 conscious pride of a Siddons. 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " In Northford, lots of times. Really, I have, 
 Hal." In her eagerness, she rose and seated 
 herself in the hammock at his side. " Last 
 Christmas was the best. We did The Mistletoe 
 Bough, and I was the bride. There was a 
 lovely song that went with it, Young Lovel's 
 Bride, with trotting horses and queer ghosts 
 spooking about, and everything; but everybody 
 said that I was the best part of it all." 
 
 Harry smiled, as he looked down into the ani- 
 mated face. 
 
 " I don't doubt it," he said heartily. " I only 
 wish I could have been there." 
 
 " It was in the town hall, at a school enter- 
 tainment, and I wore Cousin Eudora's mother's 
 wedding clothes. They pinched me half to 
 death, too ; and I thought they 'd never drop 
 the curtain and let me crawl out of my chest.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 133 
 
 We only had three rehearsals, and how 1 did 
 love them ! Hal ! " 
 
 "Peggy!" 
 
 " I wish they 'd let us give a play here." 
 
 " I am afraid they would n't." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Too much fuss." 
 
 She shook her head undauntedly. 
 
 " No. We could give it out of doors, the 
 way all the colleges are doing. Rex and Ursula 
 and Jack could act, and I truly want you to 
 see how well I can do." 
 
 " It would be fun, Peggy ; but I 'm afraid 
 it 's impossible." 
 
 " You wait. I am going to talk to Rex about 
 it. Then you would see what I mean by wanting 
 to be an actress." 
 
 " Yes, dear ; but " 
 
 Impatiently she broke in. 
 
 " When you call me dear, Harry Arterburn, 
 I always know there 's a but coming." 
 
 He slid his hand through her arm, noting 
 with surprise that she made no attempt to 
 draw away. 
 
 " There is a but, Peggy, a good large one. 
 Have you ever been behind the scenes at a real 
 theatre ? "
 
 134 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " I was never even in front of them," she 
 confessed. 
 
 " You will be, some day. But I hope you will 
 never go any farther. A near view of the paint 
 and spangles takes off most of their beauty. And 
 the endless hours of study and rehearsing, and 
 more study and more rehearsing, make it dreary 
 work for all but the one or two great actors who 
 get to the top. Amateur theatricals are good 
 fun, Peggy ; but, if I were you, I 'd stop at 
 those and not think much about the rest." 
 
 " I never supposed there was so much work 
 to it," she said thoughtfully. 
 
 " There is work about most things, little 
 sister." 
 
 " So I notice," she answered soberly. " I 
 
 don't want to shirk, Hal. What can I do ? " 
 
 \ 
 
 " Stay in Northford and finish your school." 
 
 " That 's only one more year. What then ? " 
 
 "College." 
 
 Her eyes met his eyes squarely. 
 
 " Hal, I won't. I don't want to go, and it 
 would be a wicked waste of money to send me. 
 Study goes against my grain. If I want to 
 know things, I can read them. Otherwise, I 
 might as well let them alone,, for they won't 
 stick in my mind."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 135 
 
 " But I wanted to send you to college, Peggy." 
 
 " What for ? Nathalie did n't go." 
 
 " No ; but it seemed to me more in your 
 line." 
 
 " I 'm not sure I have any line," she an- 
 swered, with a sigh. " Seems to me I 'm only a 
 muddle." 
 
 " How old are you, Peggy ? " 
 
 " Sixteen in the fall. You ought to know the 
 ages of your own family, Hal." 
 
 He ignored the implied accusation. 
 
 " The line has n't had time to show itself 
 yet." 
 
 " Mrs. Farrington had written a story, before 
 she was as old as I am." 
 
 " She was the exception that proves the rule, 
 then. You Ve plenty of time yet to decide what 
 you want to do." 
 
 " Yes ; but I 'd like to be about it. It 's easier 
 to reach out, if you know what you 're reaching 
 after," she said restively. 
 
 " Then sit still for a year." 
 
 She turned her eyes on him rebukingly. 
 
 " Hal, I should die." 
 
 He laughed at her energy. Then his face 
 grew grave. 
 
 " We all have to sit and wait now and then.
 
 136 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Do you remember me, last summer, after I was 
 illinNorthford?" 
 
 Her face softened at the recollection. 
 
 " Yes. That was the first I ever thought 
 much about you. You taught me to play soli- 
 taire then, you know; and I found it such a 
 comfort, whenever Cousin Eudora elected to 
 sweep the whole house in one morning." 
 
 " Peggy, I don't believe you like housework." 
 
 " No ; I abhor it," she answered, with an 
 energy that set the hammock to swinging in a 
 wide arc. 
 
 " I am sorry." 
 
 " I don't see why." 
 
 " Because I had begun to dream dreams, 
 Peggy." 
 
 " Do talk sense, Hal. You sound senti- 
 mental," she rebuked him. 
 
 " Perhaps I am," he confessed. 
 
 " Don't. Nathalie is enough for one family," 
 she said shortly. " I hoped you had more 
 sense." 
 
 There was a prolonged pause. Then, as she 
 looked up, she was surprised at the expression 
 in his blue eyes. He was balancing his glasses 
 on his thumb ; without them he looked younger, 
 less strong, and infinitely pained. With a swift
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 137 
 
 gesture she bent towards him and laid her hand 
 on his, glasses and all. 
 
 " Hal, I did n't mean to be snappy," she said 
 contritely. " You did sound very soft ; but 
 I suppose it 's your age, and all that. What 
 were your dreams about ? " 
 
 " About you, Peggy, and about me." 
 
 " What about us ? " 
 
 " Nothing that you would like, I 'm afraid. 
 It 's only that I have been wondering whether 
 whether you could be happy to live in New 
 York." 
 
 Her brows rose dubiously. 
 
 "With Nathalie?" 
 
 " No, with me." 
 
 " But that would be with Nathalie, too." 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Not after this first year.- I have promised 
 to stay with them, this winter. After that they 
 will be better alone. They would be better 
 alone now ; only Mac worries about me, and he 
 lets Nathalie worry. By the end of another 
 year, I shall be so strong that there will be no 
 need of Mac's keeping his eye on me. And 
 then " 
 
 " Well ? " Peggy's accent was interrogative. 
 
 " Then I had n't known what next. But, as
 
 138 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 we get better acquainted, it seems to me we 
 might have good times living together, just as 
 Nathalie and I used to do." 
 
 Her face brightened. Then she shook her 
 head. 
 
 " It would be no use, Hal. I 'm too snappish. 
 I should hurt you, day in and day out. Some- 
 times I might mean to; sometimes I should do 
 it accidentally, as I did just now. I 'm too 
 thorny. I must live with people who have skins 
 thick enough not to mind the thorns." 
 
 " Then you don't want to do it, Peggy ? " 
 
 " Yes, I do. That makes it all the worse. 
 I like you, Hal, like you a lot better than I ever 
 meant to ; and, for the sake of being with you, 
 I would put up with almost anything, house- 
 work and all. Only, I don't know anything 
 about housework." 
 
 " Could n't you learn ? Nathalie did." 
 
 She frowned. Then she faced him sharply. 
 
 " Oh, Harry, do please, please, please stop 
 quoting Nathalie to me! You don't know how 
 it goes against the grain. Besides, it 's no man- 
 ner of use. She's Nathalie; I'm me. You can't 
 make us over into each other, if you work over 
 us till the crack of doom. She pussy-cats you to 
 death; I don't believe in that sort of thing,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 139 
 
 myself. And yet, after all, if I tried hard 
 enough, I honestly think I could make you just 
 as comfortable as Nathalie did." 
 
 Her eyes dropped to the ground too soon to 
 let her see the srnile with which her brother 
 noted the unconscious tightening of her fingers 
 over his hand. 
 
 " But would you be contented, Peggy ? " 
 
 " Yes, if I thought you were." 
 
 " As contented as if you were an actress ? " 
 
 " Yes. That is, if I did things really well. 
 I don't want to be doing any second-rate work, 
 or doing it in a second-rate way." 
 
 " But I thought you called housekeeping 
 second-rate." 
 
 " That depends on whether you eat boiled 
 beef and cabbage for Sunday dinner," she an- 
 swered quickly. " So is copying law papers 
 second-rate work, if you get in a hurry and blot 
 things. I don't care so much what the work is, 
 as long as it is something that counts. And, 
 Hal The words caught in her throat. 
 
 "Yes, Peggy?" 
 
 " I 'm queer and thorny ; but it does count a 
 good deal that, in spite of it all, you want to 
 have me around." 
 
 He saw that the tears were near the surface,
 
 140 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 and he longed to take her into his arms; but 
 he knew that his young sister would resent 
 such a proceeding as an affront to her dignity. 
 Accordingly, he contented himself with holding 
 out his hand. 
 
 " Is it a bargain, Peggy ? Do we keep house 
 together after this year ? " 
 
 Her answer surprised him almost as much 
 as did the strength in her slim brown fingers. 
 
 " For always and always, Hal, if you '11 let
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 141 
 
 CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 ""[I /TARGARET! Margaret!" 
 
 1 V A lip-stairs in her room Peggy was 
 chanting Comin through the Rye at least two 
 octaves higher than the law allows, and with a 
 lusty vigor that should have been death to sen- 
 timent. At the call, she stopped her song in the 
 very middle of a note, and rushed to the head 
 of the stairs. 
 
 " Here I am. Do you want me ? " 
 Hubert McAlister was standing in the hall, 
 a telegram in his hand and an anxious light in 
 his eyes. Nevertheless, he smiled up at the 
 animated face above him. 
 
 " Come down here, if you are n't busy." 
 With a headlong rush which irresistibly re- 
 minded him of Sophia Smith, she dropped down 
 on the seat at the foot of the stairs. 
 
 " I 'm never too busy to talk business," she 
 returned promptly. 
 He smiled again.
 
 142 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " How do you know it is business ? " 
 
 " Your eyes say so. They are awful tell-tales. 
 Moreover, it 's not only business ; but it is some- 
 thing that worries you. You might as well 
 have it out," she advised him, much in the tone 
 of the dentist who advises the removal of an 
 aching tooth. 
 
 He sat down beside her and glanced again at 
 the telegram in his hand. 
 
 " Is that it ? " she asked. 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " Let me see that is, if you 're willing," 
 she amended hurriedly, for Hubert McAlister 
 was one of the few persons to whom she in- 
 tended to accord full deference. 
 
 He handed her the paper, and she knitted her 
 brows over its contents. 
 
 " Eliza dead. Red handkerchief on parlor 
 table. Elegant swimming." 
 
 He surveyed her quizzically, and she laughed 
 as she met his eyes. 
 
 " It sounds like a page of my novel," she said. 
 " But who is Eliza, and is she drowned ? " 
 
 " No. It is a private code. Never mind just 
 what each word means. It amounts to this: 
 there has come up some new evidence in the 
 Thomas case, evidence that I can't afford
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 143 
 
 to miss, and I must go to New York, this 
 morning." 
 
 " \Yhat fun ! Is the evidence there, and will 
 it help you to win the case ? " she asked eagerly ; 
 for long since she had discovered that this case, 
 involving a will and a property of some hun- 
 dreds of thousands, was the chief interest of 
 her companion; that in it he was crossing 
 swords with some of the most brilliant and un- 
 scrupulous lawyers of the state. 
 
 " I can't tell. I hope so. Anyway, it is 
 worth the trying. I must go down, this 
 morning." 
 
 " Well, success to you ! Have you any orders 
 for the day ? " she asked, with a swift reas- 
 sumption of the clerkly manner which Mr. 
 McAlister found so amusing. 
 
 " The usual thing : see to the mail, of course, 
 and then you might copy those deeds we were 
 looking over, yesterday. I shall need the copies, 
 next week. But, Margaret, child, this will leave 
 you alone in that office, all day long." 
 
 She looked up sharply. 
 
 " Are you afraid I shall get into mischief ? I 
 promise not to meddle with things in the safe." 
 
 Under the mockery of her tone, there was a 
 little sharp edge that matched the light in her
 
 144 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 eyes. Both vanished, however, at Mr. McAlis- 
 ter's answering laugh, and her voice was 
 friendly again, as she added, 
 
 " Where is Miss Cromwell ? " 
 
 " Her vacation begins, to-day." 
 
 " Oh, I forgot. Well, I am glad she 's out 
 of the way. She wheezes like a grampus, and 
 she turns over her typewriter, every four words, 
 to make sure she has n't said anything reckless. 
 She 's good ; but she is awfully poky, and she 
 says How ? when you ask her a question. I 'm 
 glad she will be out of the way." Peggy's heels 
 struck the floor in time with her climax. 
 
 " I did n't choose her for her social qualities, 
 Peggy." 
 
 " No ; you took her because her mother had 
 lost her mind," Peggy answered bluntly, and 
 with fine disregard for her pronouns. " I know 
 all about that." 
 
 He ignored the charge. 
 
 " But I 'm afraid you '11 be very lonely." 
 
 " Not I. I 'm not that kind. But may I take 
 Sophia with me ? " 
 
 " For protection ? " 
 
 " No, for company. I don't need any pro- 
 tection. And I promise you she shaVt ramp 
 around the office. I '11 tie her to the desk."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 145 
 
 " Just as you choose. Don't let her drive 
 away any possible clients, though. I need all I 
 can get. And what shall I bring back from 
 New York ? " 
 
 " Evidence for yourself, Huyler for me," she 
 responded promptly. " Now I must scrabble 
 my room into some sort of order, if I 'm to be 
 at the office on time." 
 
 He smiled up at her, as she rose and stood 
 beside him. 
 
 " A good day to you, Margaret ! I 'm learn- 
 ing to depend on my new clerk, and I find her 
 very dependable." 
 
 She nodded down at him. 
 
 " Thank you," she said, with sudden gravity. 
 " I only wish she were more so." 
 
 Half an hour later, she went up the stairs with 
 Sophia at her heels, and let herself into the 
 office. The morning sun and a fresh breeze 
 brightened the place, and Peggy's face was 
 quite content as she moved up and down the 
 great room, throwing the windows wide open, 
 unlocking the vault and gathering together the 
 letters to be opened at her leisure. Then she 
 tied Sophia to the desk and fell to work at the 
 morning mail. She glanced up, as the janitor 
 came in for orders. 
 
 10
 
 146 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Mr. McAlister has had to go to New York 
 this morning," she said. " I shall be here, all 
 day, except for his usual hour at noon. If any- 
 one comes then, Andrew, just say I shall be 
 here at two." 
 
 He smiled at her approvingly. Her bright, 
 girlish, off-hand ways pleased him; her inde- 
 pendence was altogether unlike the crankiness 
 of the " lady clerks " in the other offices. 
 Moreover, he was human enough to enjoy the 
 unvarying courtesy with which she treated both 
 himself and the boy in the elevator. Girls like 
 Peggy Arterburn and dogs of Sophia's breed 
 were rare objects in his life. He bent down to 
 inspect Sophia more closely. 
 
 Instantly Sophia resolved to spare him the 
 effort. Swiftly unfolding herself, she rose on 
 her hind legs and sought to embrace the air 
 above the janitor's head. The janitor dodged, 
 and Peggy sprang to the rescue. 
 
 " Oh, please excuse her ! " she begged, as she 
 jerked Sophia back with an energy that reduced 
 the dog to a sprawling heap under the desk. 
 " She 's only a puppy, you know." 
 
 Involuntarily he had withdrawn to the 
 threshold. From that safe vantage ground, he 
 now freed his mind.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 147 
 
 "Great Scott! What '11 she be when she 
 grows up into a dog ? " 
 
 The next minute, his retreating steps sounded 
 at the far end of the hallway. 
 
 For the space of two hours, Peggy worked 
 steadily. Then, with a yawn, she leaned back in 
 her chair and looked about her. The past five 
 weeks had made the room seem very familiar 
 to her, with its wide, leather-backed chairs, its 
 airy windows, and the great door of the vault 
 in the corner behind Mr. McAlister's desk. The 
 vault itself was especially attractive to Peggy. 
 Its files of papers suggested untold stories 
 enough to fill a library; the little square safe 
 in the corner, the safe of which no one but 
 Mr. McAlister knew the combination, might, 
 for all she could tell, be stuffed with golden 
 ingots, or crammed with the ashes of torn-up 
 wills such as do duty in the pages of the unwary 
 novelists who are not versed in law. Peggy 
 smiled to herself, as she recalled the merciless 
 criticism which Mr. McAlister had bestowed 
 upon one of her own favorite heroes for taking 
 the law into his hands in this summary fashion. 
 Then, turning from ,the vault, her glance 
 dropped to Sophia, snoozing on the floor at her 
 feet.
 
 148 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 "Is Mr. McAlister in?" 
 
 Her glance raised itself again with a jerk. 
 It rested upon the speaker, and it promptly reg- 
 istered the impression that he was not a gentle- 
 man. The impression came from his collar and 
 cravat, from the angle at which his hat was 
 tilted; above all, it came from his shifty eyes. 
 
 " No, he is not here, to-day." 
 
 " I am sorry. Is he out of town ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " When will he be back ? " 
 
 " Early to-morrow morning." 
 
 The man paused, as if thinking over the sit- 
 uation. Then he shook his head. 
 
 " I am afraid that will be too late. Can I see 
 his head clerk ? " 
 
 A little satisfied smile stole around the corners 
 of Peggy's lips. 
 
 " I am Mr. McAlister's clerk," she said, with 
 infinite dignity. 
 
 For an instant, the shifty eyes fell upon her. 
 Then they moved away again. However, that 
 instant had been long enough to convince the 
 man that he had taken the measure of this 
 attractive child. He rested one elbow on the 
 desk, and spoke with assurance. 
 
 " Well, if Mr. McAlister is n't here, I suppose
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 149 
 
 I can tell you what I want. Haswell and Deane 
 have sent me up to get the records of the Thomas 
 case. There 's a flaw in one of their copies, and 
 they need to verify them all, before the matter 
 comes into the courts." 
 
 " Haswell and Deane ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Are you their clerk ? " 
 
 " No. I 'm Mr. Haswell's brother-in-law. 
 He is short of help, this morning, and I said I 
 would run up here for him." 
 
 Peggy reflected swiftly. Haswell and Deane 
 were associated with Hubert McAlister in the 
 Thomas case. She knew that papers had passed 
 back and forth between them. There was no 
 especial reason that these records should not be 
 allowed to go into their hands. Nevertheless, 
 she distrusted the man. He was too glib. 
 Moreover, it was inconceivable to her that a 
 man of Mr. Haswell's type could have a sister 
 married to a man who wore his hat on the side of 
 his head. She thought rapidly and to the point. 
 
 " You have a note from Mr. Haswell ? " 
 
 "No. What for?" 
 
 Peggy's mind went back to an interview she 
 had overheard between Hubert McAlister and 
 a messenger boy, and she took her cue from that.
 
 150 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Unless you can show me some credentials, 
 it will be impossible for me to trust you with 
 the documents," she quoted gravely. 
 
 In spite of his annoyance, the man smiled, 
 as the weighty sentence rolled off Peggy's 
 tongue. Then he put his second elbow on her 
 desk. 
 
 " I 'm sorry," he said familiarly. " I sup- 
 posed my word would be enough." 
 
 " But it is n't," she returned undauntedly, 
 for she realized less and less dimly that some- 
 thing was wrong. 
 
 " But I must have those papers. Mr. Has- 
 well is waiting," he persisted. 
 
 She turned to the telephone on Mr. Mc- 
 Alister's desk, at which she was sitting. 
 
 " I can call up Mr. Haswell," she said, with 
 a sudden accent of relief. " I never thought of 
 that." 
 
 Quickly the man interposed. 
 
 " He is n't in his office." 
 
 " Well, somebody else is." 
 
 " Nobody else knew of his sending me." 
 
 Peggy's heart began to bump against her 
 ribs ; but she met his eyes without flinching. 
 
 " Then we can wait till Mr. Haswell gets 
 back."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 151 
 
 " He has been called away on business, and 
 won't be back until night." 
 
 Peggy swung her chair away from the tele- 
 phone. An angry light was blazing in her 
 eyes. 
 
 " Then we '11 wait until to-night," she said 
 shortly. " Meanwhile, if you '11 excuse me, I 
 must go to work." 
 
 Abruptly the man's tone changed. 
 
 " Now look here, my girl, I 've got to have 
 those papers. What 's more, I 'm going to have 
 them. There 's nobody else here to know what 
 has become of them. Give them to me, and I '11 
 make it worth your while." 
 
 " What ! " Peggy exploded into wrath, as 
 she sprang up from her chair. 
 
 " Yes. I '11 pay you well. You need n't 
 even give them to me. Just tell me where they 
 are. That will let you out of the charge of 
 having taken them." 
 
 With a sudden grinding blow, Peggy's heel 
 descended upon the outstretched paw of the 
 slumbering Sophia Smith. There was a high 
 soprano shriek, half of pain, half of anger; 
 then Sophia, like a vast Jack-in-the-Box, leaped 
 up out of the nook where she had lain hidden 
 from the man's sight. The man dodged back-
 
 152 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 ward, and his comment was monosyllabic and 
 utterly profane. 
 
 " Ssst ! Sophia, sssst ! " Peggy hissed softly. 
 
 Sophia heard and heeded. With a terrific 
 lunge she cast herself upon the man, rested her 
 paws on his shoulders, and fell to licking his 
 face in ecstatic welcome. 
 
 " Sophia ! " Peggy protested, midway be- 
 tween laughter and tears over the failure of her 
 ruse. 
 
 The man read her intention. 
 
 " Oh, don't mind. I like dogs, and this is a 
 beautiful one," he said genially. " Deerhound, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 " Staghound," Peggy corrected him. She 
 wished to prolong the situation until she could 
 decide what to do next. 
 
 " Really ? Not very common, are they ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " I thought not. Beautiful eyes." 
 
 " Yes." Peggy nodded ; but the nod was for 
 herself, not for her questioner. Her determina- 
 tion was taken. Assault failing, she would try 
 stratagem. Nevertheless, intrepid as she was, 
 Peggy's heart wellnigh failed her, as she faced 
 the man with a smile. " You were just say- 
 ing " she faltered hesitatingly.
 
 ' NATHALIE'S SISTER 153 
 
 The man interpreted her hesitation as being 
 the girl's reluctance to share in a crime. He 
 hastened to reassure her. 
 
 " That I would make it worth your while to 
 give me the papers ? Well, I will." 
 
 " But if I get caught ? " 
 
 " You won't. I '11 see to that. Just tell me 
 where the papers are. Then lock the door so 
 we need n't be interrupted, and go and stand 
 by the window. You can be looking down into 
 the street, and need n't see a thing till I have 
 unlocked the door and gone." 
 
 " Well," Peggy assented doubtfully. 
 
 "You'll do it?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Where are the papers ? " 
 
 A mocking light came into Peggy's eyes. 
 
 " What will you give me ? " 
 
 The answer was short and to the point. 
 
 " Ten thousand dollars." 
 
 She gasped at the amount. Then she rallied. 
 
 " Xot enough. Make it fifteen," she haggled. 
 
 The man eyed her with a certain admiration. 
 
 " Well, I must say, for so young a girl you 
 are a cool hand at this game. Well, fifteen it 
 is. Where are the papers ? " 
 
 " In the safe in the vault."
 
 154 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Noiselessly he shut the office door and locked 
 it. 
 
 " Now go and stand by the front window." 
 
 Her color came at the tone of command, and 
 her chin tilted upward aggressively. Then she 
 crossed the room to the window. 
 
 " Don't turn around, when you answer my 
 questions. Where is the safe ? " 
 
 " In the back left-hand corner of the vault." 
 
 "Is it locked?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Do you know the combination ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 Peggy hesitated. Then she answered 
 glibly, 
 
 " Two seven nine two." 
 
 The man repeated it after her. 
 
 " Two seven nine two. Is that 
 right?" 
 
 " Yes. It sticks a little ; but it will come 
 open. The papers are in the left-hand corner." 
 
 There was an interval while the man, on his 
 knees before the safe, wrestled with the combi- 
 nation. Outside, Peggy's hand opened and 
 shut nervously, as it lay on Sophia's ragged 
 back. The man's right elbow pointed straight
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 155 
 
 to the open pigeonhole where lay the records of 
 the Thomas case; but the vault was dark, and 
 he was too absorbed with the combination to 
 heed any open pigeonholes. 
 
 " Two seven nine two ? " he asked 
 at length, as he sat back on his heels and drew 
 his sleeve across his face. 
 
 " Two six nine two," Peggy cor- 
 rected him blandly. 
 
 " You said seven before." 
 
 " You must have misunderstood me. I said 
 six. Two six nine two." 
 
 Again she heard the turning of the knobs, 
 and she sidled a step nearer the door of the 
 vault, paused to listen, sidled another step, 
 listened again, and again moved stealthily on- 
 ward. Suddenly she gathered all her strength 
 and courage, grasped the heavy door with 'both 
 hands, and hurled it together with a clang. 
 There was the snap of the springing lock, the 
 pull of a bolt; then Peggy unlocked the office 
 door, threw it open, and, with Sophia leaping 
 at her heels, dashed away down the stairs in 
 search of the janitor.
 
 156 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 " ripEDDY, that is a good deal of a girl." 
 
 J_ Dr. McAlister, his son, and Mrs. 
 Earrington were sitting in the library of The 
 Savins. From the veranda outside came the 
 chatter of young voices ; but the silence within 
 had lasted long. Hubert McAlister broke it. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington nodded. 
 
 " You mean Peggy ? " 
 
 " Yes. She saved the day." 
 
 " You think the man was sent by the Thomas 
 heirs ? " Dr. McAlister asked. 
 
 " There is no doubt of it. He neglected to 
 look over his papers before he came ; and when 
 the officers went through his pockets, they found 
 evidence enough to convict him over the heads 
 of a bribed jury. Miss Cromwell would have 
 given him the papers. She is a trusting soul." 
 
 " Peggy is n't. She is always on the defen- 
 sive," his sister observed. 
 
 " Well for me that she was. If the man had 
 carried off those records, the heirs could have
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 157 
 
 snapped their fingers in my face. It was a 
 clever plan, giving me a false scent in New 
 York, and then terrorizing my own clerk in my 
 absence." 
 
 " So idiotic of them to think they could get 
 the best of you ! " 
 
 He smiled across at his twin sister. 
 
 " You 're a loyal soul, Ted. But still, even 
 you must admit that I was taken in completely. 
 Peggy deserves the praise." 
 
 " And has it," she reminded him. " She is 
 the happiest girl in New England to-night, Hu. 
 Your commendation has set her up on mental 
 stilts." 
 
 " Let us hope she won't tumble off," Dr. Mc- 
 Alister said indulgently. " I like the child. I 
 have n't had much to say to her ; but I have 
 been watching her cornerwise, and she seems to 
 me well worth the watching." 
 
 " She was, to-day," Mrs. Farrington added. 
 " I wish you had seen her, Hu, as she came 
 tearing up to the house, calling for Harry. She 
 was just like a live coal, bareheaded, out of 
 breath, and fairly shaking with excitement. 
 She just said, ' I 've got him,' and then dropped 
 down on the grass, while we were left wondering 
 who Him might be."
 
 158 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 They all laughed. Then Dr. McAlister took 
 up the tale, 
 
 " And so, as soon as I found the trouble was 
 at the office, I went over there with Harry. We 
 left Peggy getting her breath on the lawn here ; 
 but when we went into the office, there she was 
 with Andrew, standing guard over the vault, 
 and she hailed us with * He 's in there. I just 
 heard him.' ' 
 
 " And still you did n't know what it was \ " 
 Mrs. Farrington asked. 
 
 " Not an idea whether it was a bear or a 
 burglar. Andrew knew no more about it than 
 we did. Peggy had sent him up, post haste, 
 to see that He did n't escape, and then had 
 dashed off in search of Harry. Poor Andrew 
 looked badly scared; but by that time Peggy 
 was as calm as a May morning, and little by 
 little we extracted the story from her." 
 
 " And the fellow really tried to bully her 
 and then to bribe her ? " Hubert said thought- 
 fully. . 
 
 " Apparently. Harry telephoned for the 
 police, and we had him out in a hurry. He was 
 a most crestfallen villain, too, for he had to own 
 up to having been trapped by a girl of fifteen." 
 
 Rising, Hubert McAlister paced the length
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 159 
 
 of the room, and returned to his former seat 
 by the table. 
 
 " I wish I knew how to thank the girl," he 
 said slowly. " She might have done harm, to- 
 day, that could never have been set right. She 
 was in actual danger, too. The man had a 
 revolver in his pocket." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington started. Then she laughed. 
 
 " Nonsense, Hu ! He never would have used 
 it." 
 
 " You can't tell. He was playing a desperate 
 game, and was ready to take any chances. 
 Peggy was a plucky girl to face him." 
 
 Dr. McAlister came out of a short reverie. 
 
 " I think she rather enjoyed the fun of it 
 all," he said thoughtfully. " If I am any judge 
 of girls, Peggy is n't easily frightened." 
 
 " Look out that you don't spoil her, Hu," his 
 sister cautioned him. 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " If I know anything of girls," he quoted ; 
 " and I do, for I assisted at your youth, Ted ; 
 if I know anything at all about girls, when a 
 fifteen-year-old girl has done a really fine thing, 
 I see no harm in telling her of the fact. Some- 
 times a little praise acts as a goad. It sets a 
 pace that she feels in honor bound to keep up."
 
 160 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Mrs. Farrington nodded meditatively. 
 
 " Hu, you ought never to have been a bach- 
 elor," she said. 
 
 Peggy, meanwhile, was enthroned in the ham- 
 mock, with Kingsley and John at her feet, while 
 she told the tale of her adventures. For the 
 once, she was queen bee of the hive, and she was 
 taking infinite delight in her supremacy, infinite 
 pleasure in the consciousness that, for the once, 
 even Kingsley Barrett was treating her with 
 respect. 
 
 " But, really and truly, were n't you fright- 
 ened, Peggy ? " Ursula asked at length. 
 
 " Not half so frightened as I was wrathy at 
 Sophia. Great stupid! She could have made 
 the man think she was about to eat him up. 
 Instead, she greeted him like a long-lost brother, 
 and kissed his hair into sticky little spikes all 
 over his forehead." 
 
 " What did he look like ? " John inquired. 
 
 " Horrid," she replied tersely. 
 
 " Just a plain, every-day sort of villain ? " 
 Kingsley queried. 
 
 " Not according to my idea. He was short, 
 and used cheap perfumery and a patent collar 
 all shiny blue. I prefer a villain in top boots 
 and a red neckerchief, myself. They are much 
 more inspiring."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 161 
 
 " Suppose he had heard you moving towards 
 the door, and bounced out at you ? " Ursula 
 suggested. 
 
 " Then I should have banged him with the 
 big office ruler, and called Andrew," Peggy 
 replied tranquilly. " There 's no use in bring- 
 ing up bugbears that didn't happen, Ursula. 
 It was all very matter of fact and funny. The 
 only question was whether I could coax him 
 into the vault." 
 
 " Where did you get the idea, Peggy Ann ? " 
 Kingsley inquired. 
 
 " Ask Cousin Eudora. There 's a dark closet 
 under the front stairs," Peggy explained. 
 " What 's sauce for the gosling is sauce for the 
 gander. Of course I could n't order him into 
 the closet, as Cousin Eudora used to order me, 
 so I had to trap him." 
 
 " You certainly did it," John said admir- 
 ingly. " I wish I had been there to see." 
 
 Peggy laughed at the memory. 
 
 " I wish you had been there when we opened 
 the vault door, Jack. It was so funny and so 
 solemn ; just like the way one calls the cat and 
 opens up a mouse-trap. Andrew opened the 
 door, and Hal pulled me out of the way into 
 a corner, and the policemen stood in a ring, with 
 U
 
 162 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 their clubs ready to knock him down. Then 
 Andrew put his eye to the crack and opened the 
 door a bit wider. There was an awful pause; 
 but nothirfg happened. Then he banged the 
 door wide open, and we all looked in. The 
 man was sitting there, with his back against 
 the safe and his shoe-soles in our very faces, 
 and his hair dried all into spikes, as Sophia 
 had left it." 
 
 " What did he say ? Did he swear very 
 badly ? " Ursula asked greedily. 
 
 Peggy giggled again. 
 
 " That was the funniest part of the whole. 
 He just said, ' Gentlemen, that girl has trumped 
 my ace.' Then he stood up and dusted himself 
 off as calmly as if he had merely slipped off his 
 bicycle." 
 
 From his seat on the floor, Kingsley looked up 
 at her approvingly. 
 
 " Peggy, you 're a brick," he said. 
 
 Her cheeks dimpled ; then an echo of the old 
 hostile ring came back into her voice as she 
 answered, 
 
 " Don't be too sure. And, anyway, it seems 
 to have taken some time for you to discover it." 
 
 The next afternoon, however, found her re- 
 penting her words.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 163 
 
 " I wish Rex did n't exasperate me so, Jack," 
 she said suddenly. 
 
 " What 's the matter with you two ? You 
 never seem to get on," John responded, with 
 masculine bluntness. 
 
 " I know it. I 'm sorry ; but I don't think 
 it 's all my fault." 
 
 " But everybody likes Rex." 
 
 " I 'm somebody," she retorted. 
 
 " Well, why don't you like him? " 
 
 " Because he is so everlastingly cocky," she 
 replied frankly. " From the first day I ever 
 saw him till to-day, I 've never seen him when 
 he did n't behave as if he were the one great 
 toad in a puddle full of tadpoles. It drives me 
 half frantic. He 's polite to the tadpoles 
 sometimes ; but his very politeness goes against 
 my grain." 
 
 y u are n>t fair to Rex." 
 Peggy liked John. In certain ways, the tall, 
 
 blond, self-contained fellow came rather near 
 
 to her girlish ideals. Just now, she liked his 
 
 direct defence of his friend. 
 
 " What makes you think so ? " she asked more 
 
 gently. 
 
 " I don't think ; I know. You take him on 
 
 the surface, and you hate him because he teases
 
 164 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 you. Of course he teases you. He teases every- 
 thing. But you don't see the other side, that 
 he 'a always generous and jolly, always ready 
 to share his bread and cheese with the next 
 man." 
 
 " And always ready to let you know he 
 thinks he is just about perfection," Peggy 
 added discontentedly. 
 
 John looked at her haughtily for a moment. 
 
 " Peggy Arterburn, if you were a boy, I 'd 
 thrash you for that speech. As long as you 're 
 a girl, I suppose I Ve got to reason with you, 
 though I never yet saw a girl that would listen 
 to reason," he said sharply. 
 
 Peggy stared approvingly at the scarlet spot 
 that was showing itself in either cheek. Anger 
 was undoubtedly becoming to John Myers. 
 
 " And I never yet saw a man who would take 
 time to do any reasoning," she retaliated. 
 
 " Well, you just listen now. Rex Barrett 
 was brought up in a family that thought the 
 world was n't good enough for him." 
 
 " So were you." Peggy's accent was full of 
 composure. 
 
 "What if I was? But there 's the point. It 
 came within an ace of spoiling me. Ask Ursula. 
 But Rex never has been spoiled."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 165 
 
 " No," Peggy drawled. " He 's past that." 
 
 John crossed his knees with an angry jerk. 
 
 " Look here, Peggy Arterburn, you don't 
 know what you 're talking about. There is n't 
 a more popular man in his class than Rex 
 Barrett ; there is n't a more generous one, or 
 one more loyal to his friends than he is." 
 
 " That 's what Nathalie says," Peggy an- 
 swered calmly. " I don't agree with her, 
 though." 
 
 " Just because you don't know him " 
 
 Peggy interrupted his sentence. 
 
 " I have known him a good deal longer than 
 you have, you know." 
 
 " But not as well." 
 
 " Don't be too sure," she said loftily. 
 
 John changed his line of argument. 
 
 " Peggy, have you ever known Rex to do a 
 sneaky thing, or a thing that was caddish ? " 
 
 " What do you mean by caddish ? " 
 
 " Off color. Not like a man. Oh, you know 
 what I mean." 
 
 Peggy rebuked him. 
 
 " No. Please remember that, in Northford, 
 we don't talk student slang." 
 
 " That 's not student slang ; it 's a good 
 English word. But I don't want to fight about
 
 166 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 side issues ; I want to find out what 's the 
 matter with Rex Barrett." 
 
 " But you just said there was n't anything 
 the matter with Rex Barrett." 
 
 " Well, hang it, there is n't ! " 
 
 " Then how can you expect to find it out ? " 
 
 John rose stiffly and started down the steps. 
 Nonchalantly Peggy rocked to and fro, until 
 he was half way across the lawn. Then she 
 called, 
 
 " Oh, Jack, come back ! " 
 
 " Can't," he answered, without turning his 
 head. 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Letters to write." 
 
 With a dozen swift steps, she gained his side, 
 and stood looking up at him with merry, mock- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 " You know that is nothing in the world but 
 a fib, Jack Myers. Two minutes ago, you were 
 settled for the whole afternoon. You 'd much 
 better come back and finish fighting it out. 
 It 's sneaky to run away after the first round." 
 
 He glanced down at her eager brown face 
 above the crisp white gown, and his anger cooled 
 a little. 
 
 " Peggy, you are a trial," he said, as he
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 167 
 
 allowed himself to be escorted back to the 
 veranda. 
 
 " I know that. That 's why I am so good for 
 you all. The best salad needs a little red pep- 
 per," she returned. Then, as she seated herself, 
 her wayward mood suddenly left her. " Jack, 
 I like the way you stand up for Rex. It is very 
 becoming to you," she added. 
 
 " I want you to like Rex." 
 
 " Perhaps I do, better than I am willing to 
 show." 
 
 " What 'a the harm of showing it ? " 
 
 Peggy rested her elbows on her knees and 
 her chin on her hands. Her arms showed round 
 and brown where her thin sleeves fell away 
 from them, and her hair, ruffled by the summer 
 breeze, stood out from her face in loosened 
 rings. For the moment, her shrewd eyes were 
 gentle, and John, as he watched her, told him- 
 self that this momentary mood sat well upon 
 her. 
 
 " I 'm not so sure you would show it in my 
 place," she said slowly. " Rex teases me ; he 
 makes it perfectly evident that it is all Nathalie 
 with him, that he thinks I am nothing but a 
 pert child. He is always so easy and elegant, 
 and so so immaculate that he makes me feel
 
 168 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 shabby and commonplace in comparison. It 's 
 not that I am afraid of him. I 'm no more 
 afraid of him than I am of you, but you never 
 make me feel like a hanger-on. It is n't exactly 
 that he patronizes me, either ; but he just makes 
 me feel at a disadvantage, whenever I am with 
 him." 
 
 " I don't see why." 
 
 " Neither do I ; but it is there, and it makes 
 me fighty. If he were n't always so the best 
 of every single situation, I should get over it," 
 Peggy replied, with a recurrent wave of im- 
 patience. " If just once, one single time, I 
 could see Rex Barrett get the worst of things, 
 I should n't be afraid of him any more." 
 
 John looked at her distrustfully. 
 
 " You don't want anything to happen to him, 
 
 Peggy?" 
 
 " Of course not. I 'm not so bad as that. 
 Away down underneath it all, I like Rex; at 
 least, I should like him, if I dared," she an- 
 swered. " It 's only that I don't dare. We 
 never meet on even ground, and I hate being 
 the under dog in all the fights. If the time 
 ever comes that Rex does lose his luck, I will 
 stand by him as well as anybody." 
 
 And she was true to her word.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 169 
 
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 AT The Savins, amateur theatricals were the 
 order of the day. Home-made wigs and 
 slashed doublets of cotton flannel lay about on 
 veranda chairs, and Kingsley and John wan^ 
 dered about with playbooks sticking out of their 
 side pockets. Peggy's will had been law, during 
 the week following the office episode, and, for 
 some days, Peggy had been willing an out-door 
 play with all her might and main. Accordingly, 
 she had resolved to strike while the iron was 
 hot. 
 
 Hubert McAlister, mindful of certain chap- 
 ters of his own boyhood, had agreed with Peggy 
 that the plan was a good one. He had promised 
 to furnish the audience, if Peggy would furnish 
 the actors. Together, they had enlisted the 
 sympathies of Mrs. Farrington; and, after 
 many hours of anxious council, they had decided 
 upon a play by the latest-elected Academician. 
 To Mrs. Farrington's plea for its suitability and
 
 170 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 its literary merits, Peggy had added the more 
 prosaic one of its needing but six characters and 
 a mob, and the mob, she argued, could be left 
 to the imagination. Then, the council ended, 
 she sallied forth to gather together her company. 
 
 To her surprise, she met with unexpected 
 successes and unexpected obstacles. John, on 
 whom she had counted as a sure ally, scoffed at 
 the whole idea, and denied his ability to act, 
 or even to learn his lines. Kingsley, on the 
 other hand, plunged into the discussion with 
 great zest, offered to take any or all of the parts, 
 from the hero to the mob, and, in the space of 
 five minutes, gave her more practical sugges- 
 tions regarding stagecraft than she had gained 
 from her whole Northford experiences. 
 
 " But, if we can't have Jack, we may as well 
 give up the whole thing," Peggy said mourn- 
 fully, after she emerged, worsted, from an hour- 
 long argument with John. 
 
 " Never say die, Peggy Ann," Kingsley ad- 
 vised her cheerfully. " I '11 play all the parts 
 but yours, if need be ; but we are going to put 
 the thing through." 
 
 " What do you suppose is the reason he won't 
 act ? " she demanded. 
 
 " He says he is bound to have stage fright,"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 171 
 
 Ursula answered, from her seat farther up the 
 slope. 
 
 " Perfect nonsense ! I 'd be ashamed to own 
 it, anyway," Peggy said irately. " It 's mean 
 to break up the whole play, too. Just think how 
 lovely it would be, out here under these trees ! " 
 
 " Can't you wrestle with Petti jack, Ursula ? " 
 Kingsley asked. 
 
 "No use. When he makes up his mind, he 
 can't be budged, any more than Mount Ararat 
 can. He " 
 
 Peggy interrupted. 
 
 " He 's not going to get off so easily as all 
 that. You go for him, Rex. Then, if that 
 does n't work, I '11 attack him again." 
 
 " Can't we get on without him ? " Ursula 
 suggested. 
 
 " I don't care whether we can or can't. We 
 just won't. He has no business to look Lorenzo 
 to perfection, and then refuse to act," Peggy 
 said undauntedly. " What 's more, he is going 
 to act." 
 
 " Don't be too sure. Let 's count up, and see 
 what material we have already. You are going 
 to do Marie, Peggy." 
 
 " Unless Ursula wants it," Peggy answered, 
 with reluctant generosity.
 
 172 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Ursula's color came. She too loved theat- 
 ricals; she too had been casting covetous eyes 
 over the lines of Marie, the heroine. 
 
 " Oh, I think you 'd better do Marie, Peggy." 
 
 " Not if you want it." Peggy's accent was 
 courteously hostile. 
 
 " But you have all the care." 
 
 " All the more reason I should have a small 
 part." Peggy's tone lost its courteous hostility 
 and became viciously polite. 
 
 " But Marie is the best part." 
 
 " So I think." 
 
 " And you want me to take it ? " 
 
 " I think perhaps it would be better on some 
 accounts if you were to take it," Peggy ex- 
 plained elaborately. 
 
 She had reckoned without her host. Ursula's 
 face lighted, as she hastened to close the bargain. 
 
 " Well, if you really think so. But it 's so 
 dear of you, Peggy, to give up Marie, when I 
 know you would make so much more of it than 
 I can." 
 
 " I don't know. If you believe I can do it 
 bet " 
 
 Peggy was already repenting of her rash 
 generosity; but Ursula rushed on in happy 
 unconsciousness,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 173 
 
 " Well, you 're a dear, generous girl, and I 
 will do the very best I can." 
 
 Peggy glared at her in silent wrath; but 
 Ursula was dazzled by the sun in her eyes, and 
 saw nothing. 
 
 " What will you take, then ? " Ursula asked. 
 
 " Toinette." 
 
 " Peggy ! That 's the poorest part of all," 
 Ursula protested. " She is nothing but a 
 servant." 
 
 " What of that ? I 've come to the conclusion 
 that that 's what I 'm best fitted for," Peggy 
 said gruffly, for the sudden disappointment had 
 wrecked all her carefully-built castles in the 
 air. As Marie, she had planned to astonish her 
 brother and Hubert McAlister with the tragic 
 power of her acting. As Toinette, the maid, 
 she could merely walk through her part, in grim 
 revolt at its tameness. 
 
 " But it is so short," Ursula urged again. 
 
 " So much the less to learn," Peggy retorted. 
 
 " Why don't you be the mother ? " 
 
 " Nathalie is built for that." 
 
 " Well ; but I 'm sorry. Now, if you really 
 want me to talk to Jack, I '11 see what I can do 
 with him." And Ursula rose and sauntered 
 away towards the house, still too absorbed in
 
 174 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 her own content to pay any heed to Peggy's 
 darkening face. * 
 
 A pause followed her going. Peggy was too 
 full of woe to dare trust her voice just then. 
 Circumstances had run away with her, and had 
 betrayed her into the involuntary giving up of 
 the one thing she had been most determined to 
 possess. Kingsley, meanwhile, had been watch- 
 ing the scene with interest. Ursula had had no 
 notion of being selfish; nevertheless, for the 
 first time in his life, Kingsley's sympathies had 
 been wholly with Peggy. From the first, it had 
 been tacitly understood that Peggy was to have 
 the part of Marie. Now, caught in a trap of her 
 own making, it had never seemed to occur to her 
 to reassert her lost rights. A word from him 
 would have set the matter straight ; but he was 
 possessed of a sudden curiosity to see how the 
 virtue of renunciation would sit upon Peggy's 
 shoulders. Plainly, it galled her; but it was 
 not unbecoming, and Kingsley resolved to let 
 it rest there. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " Peggy said at length, when 
 Ursula's figure vanished from sight among the 
 trees. 
 
 Kingsley purposely misunderstood her. 
 
 " Too bad Pettijack won't act; isn't it?"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 175 
 
 " It 's not that ; but " 
 
 " Oh, it will go off all right, Peggy Ann. 
 Ask Hal to take the odd part." 
 
 "Hal ? Harry Arterburn ?" she said blankly. 
 
 " Sure." 
 
 " He won't act." 
 
 " Why not won't he ? " 
 
 " He 's too old." 
 
 " Mac is going in for it." 
 
 " That 's different." 
 
 " They 're just of an age." 
 
 " Yes ; but Mac will act because Nathalie 
 does." 
 
 " And Hal will act because Ursula does. 
 Want to bet ? " 
 
 " No ; there is n't chance enough for you, to 
 make it fair. Harry Arterburn would no sooner 
 act than he would pick a pocket." 
 
 " Offer him Alphonse and see," Kingsley pre- 
 dicted cheerfully. 
 
 " Alphonse? It 's Alphonse you 're going to 
 do." 
 
 " No ; I Ve changed my mind. I want 
 Jacques." 
 
 " Jacques ! Rex, that 's a worse part than 
 mine, and you have n't any Ursula to " 
 
 " Steady ! " Kingsley cautioned her. " When
 
 176 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 you Ve done a good piece of work, Peggy Ann, 
 don't add any finishing touches, or you may 
 spoil it. But Jacques has a possibility that 
 appeals to me. There 's the one scene over the 
 fence, where Jacques and Toinette have the 
 stage to themselves, and they can make as much 
 or as little of it as they please." 
 
 Peggy flushed under the steadfast gaze that 
 seemed to be looking her over with a new in- 
 terest. Then she flushed still deeper, as she 
 caught his meaning. She gave a short, sidelong 
 nod of decision. 
 
 " Eex, we '11 do it together ; and, what 's 
 more, we '11 make it the main scene of the whole 
 play." 
 
 Satisfied with his manoeuvre, Kingsley rolled 
 over on his back and lay blinking up at the 
 sun. 
 
 " Modesty is n't your strong point, Peggy 
 Ann," he observed. " Nevertheless, I think 
 you have told the truth. Now I want you to 
 promise me one thing." 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 " Do you promise ? " 
 
 " Never, without knowing what I 'm prom- 
 
 ising." 
 
 Then you 're no woman," Kingsley re-
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 177 
 
 turned calmly. " They generally promise in 
 haste, and break their promises at leisure." 
 
 "Much you know about it," Peggy replied 
 hotly. " Women always keep their promises, 
 women worth counting, that is. And, even if 
 they did n't, I don't think it 's manners to slan- 
 der women to a woman's face." 
 
 Kingsley peered over his shoulder. 
 
 " No ; I mean myself," she explained 
 hotly. 
 
 " You ? You 're nothing but a little girl." 
 
 Peggy sniffed in taciturn hostility. 
 
 " Why, it seems only yesterday," Kingsley 
 went on, with thoughtful deliberation ; " that 
 you upset Nathalie's piecebags, and went to 
 sleep on the ruins." 
 
 Peggy's color came. 
 
 " Rex, I wish you would remember there are 
 some things " 
 
 " It was one day when you were shut up in 
 the closet," Kingsley continued. 
 
 " Kingsley, keep still ! What was it you 
 wanted me to promise ? " 
 
 Kingsley came out from his reminiscent mood 
 with a jerk. 
 
 " Oh, yes. And you '11 promise ? " 
 
 " Not in the dark." 
 
 12
 
 178 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Like the dark closet ? You were put in 
 there because " 
 
 Peggy rose. 
 
 " Where are you going, Peggy Ann ? " 
 
 " Into the house." 
 
 " Don't." 
 
 " I prefer to." 
 
 "Pax vobiscum!" Kingsley- remarked com- 
 posedly. " Being interpreted, that means we '11 
 cry quits and start again. Don't let 's fight, 
 Peggy Ann. It is entirely too warm." 
 -"I did n't begin it." 
 
 " IsTo ; perhaps not. Therefore it 's your 
 place to end it. As I said before, pax vobis- 
 cum! Now, promise* me this: if you do 
 Toinette to my Jacques, promise me you won't 
 rehearse our one scene with the others, or tell 
 them anything about it until the final dress 
 rehearsal." 
 
 " Is that all ? Of course, I '11 promise that. 
 But what a fuss to make over such a small 
 matter ! " 
 
 " Don't be too sure it is a small matter, Peggy 
 Ann." 
 
 " It is only five or six speeches apiece." 
 
 " Mayhap. Let be ; let be ! " Kingsley 
 tapped his brow, waved his hands, palm up,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 179 
 
 and then, rising, departed without another 
 word. 
 
 Late that same evening, he walked into Mrs. 
 Harrington's library, kicked a hassock to her 
 side and then coiled up his long length in- 
 gratiatingly at her feet. 
 
 " Auntie Teddy, am I your pet and darling 
 favorite newy ? " he demanded. 
 
 Resting her hand on his head, she tilted the 
 head backwards and looked down into his eyes. 
 
 " Certainly not. Mac is my favorite," she 
 returned, laughing. 
 
 " Fickle woman ! When I was ill, once on a 
 time, you called me your dearest boy." 
 
 " It was merely a figure of speech, Rex. 
 Still, you '11 pass in a crowd." 
 
 " So glad! But now I want you to do some- 
 thing for me, Aunt Ted. By the way, did any- 
 one ever think to mention to you that you have 
 the beauty of Venus and the mental graces of 
 Minerva ? " 
 
 " Often. But what do you want ? " 
 
 " Has it ever occurred to you that dramatic 
 writing is just in your line ? " 
 
 " Flatterer ! " 
 
 " No ; honor bright, I 'm getting to the 
 point," Kingsley protested. " Are you too
 
 180 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 busy with your everlasting old novel to rewrite 
 one scene in this play we are going to give ? " 
 
 " Which ? " 
 
 " The little one between Toinette and 
 Jacques." 
 
 " But that 's no scene at all, Rex. What do 
 you want to do with it ? " 
 
 " Now you see here." Kingsley rose, as he 
 spoke, and faced his aunt from the hearthrug. 
 " There is n't anything to it now ; but there 's 
 got to be. Peggy and I are going to do it, and 
 we want you to write it over and make it into 
 one of the crack scenes." 
 
 "You and Peggy? But I thought " 
 
 Kingsley interrupted her. 
 
 " So did we all, till a few minutes ago. 
 Ursula has upset it all, though. It was this 
 way. Peggy had an attack of manners and 
 offered Marie's part to Ursula. Such attacks 
 are so rare that no wonder Ursula took it in 
 earnest. She gobbled it up from under Peggy's 
 very nose. Peggy was ready to wail or to fight, 
 or both; then she got a good grip of herself 
 and stood by her words, and Ursula went off, 
 without any idea that Peggy's heart was 
 cracked. As a rule, I 've no use for Peggy. 
 This time, though, I rather liked her, and I 'm
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 181 
 
 going to help her out of her woes. I have told 
 her I want to do Jacques, and I made her 
 promise to keep our scene a secret till the final 
 day. Now, the question is: will you rewrite 
 that scene, or must I try to do it, myself? 
 Somehow or other, it 's got to he done ; but I 
 shall probably bungle it entirely." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington sat staring at her tall 
 nephew, while she made a swift mental cal- 
 culation. 
 
 " Bring over the book, to-morrow, Rex," she 
 said then. " If you '11 have it here, by the 
 time I 'm through breakfast, I will see what 
 I can do with it. It 's not in my line ; but I 'd 
 like to help you out with Peggy." 
 
 " Aunt Ted, you are n't half bad," he re- 
 sponded gratefully. 
 
 " Neither is Peggy," she replied ; " and I 
 am delighted that at last you are beginning to 
 find it out."
 
 182 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 " A FTER this, I '11 never say that things 
 JLM. don't happen outside of stories," Peggy 
 observed contentedly. 
 
 Regardless of appearances, she was sitting 
 bareheaded on a bench overlooking the Hudson. 
 Behind her, the Tomb rose white against the 
 indigo sky; before her, the Palisades stretched 
 away to the northward ; beside her was Hubert 
 McAlister. The August sun above was sending 
 great splashes of light down through the trees, 
 brightening the girl's hair and scorching her 
 nose to an unlovely scarlet. Peggy was heed- 
 less of sunburn, however ; her contentment was 
 too perfect to be marred by the thought of the 
 blistered nose to come. 
 
 " Then you 're having a good day ? " 
 " Ain't I ! " she said, with the occasional 
 lapse into country vernacular which marked her 
 more earnest moods. " And to think we used 
 to live in sight of all this, and I never cared a 
 row of pins about it ! "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 183 
 
 " You were rather too young." 
 
 " Ten. I ought to have had my eyes open 
 by that time. Still, one needs to live in the 
 country to appreciate the city. Nathalie makes 
 me cross; she takes it all so as a matter of 
 course. Wait till I get here, and see ! " 
 
 " How long must I wait ? " her companion 
 asked idly, with his eyes fixed on the shining 
 pathway of the broad river. 
 
 " Next year. A year from next fall, I 
 mean." 
 
 " Are you coming here then ? " 
 
 " Yes." Peggy spoke with conscious pride. 
 " Hal thinks he needs me to keep house for 
 him." 
 
 " How do you like the prospect ? " 
 
 " I love it." Peggy clasped her hands rap- 
 turously. " Just think of being here, right in 
 the middle of this great city, where I can see 
 it going on all the time, night and day, day in 
 and day out ! " 
 
 " And the housekeeping ? " 
 
 Her face fell. 
 
 " Oh, that will be the ugly part of it. Still, 
 I shall make it as easy as I can. We can eat 
 breakfast foods and baker's bread, and Hal 
 says there will be a person to scrub up."
 
 184 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Man though he was and apart from domestic 
 cares, Mr. McAlister threw back his head and 
 laughed like a boy. 
 
 " Poor Harry ! " he said at length. 
 
 " I don't see why." 
 
 " I was thinking of the starvation that awaits 
 him." 
 
 " Oh, he won't starve," Peggy said confi- 
 dently. " You '11 see how well I am going to 
 do. I shall be in Northfdrd, all this next yoar, 
 and Cousin Eudora will teach me to do things. 
 I can learn in a year, I know. The worst of it 
 is, Cousin Eudora is one of those old-fashioned 
 women who think housekeeping is the only 
 thing that counts." 
 
 "Well, isn't it?" 
 
 " No. I don't believe in fussing over it so 
 much. One can get along easily, and be just 
 as well off. Nathalie makes me wild, with her 
 everlasting messing, and dusting, and turning 
 vases of flowers round and round to see which 
 is the company side. If things are clean and 
 wholesome, that 's all I care. I want a little 
 time for other things." 
 
 " I am afraid Harry will regret his house- 
 keeper," Mr. McAlister said, with the friendly 
 smile that took so much of the sting out of his 
 rebukes.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 185 
 
 " Then he 'd better find it out, before it is 
 too late," Peggy said a little mutinously. 
 
 " Or the housekeeper would better make up 
 her mind to work a little harder." 
 
 " Nobody ever said I was lazy." Peggy's 
 accent was that of injured innocence. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Nor that I shirked." 
 
 " No." 
 
 She looked up at him with some asperity. 
 
 " Do you think I shirk, Mr. McAlister ? " 
 
 The answer rang true, and it satisfied even 
 
 Peggy. 
 
 " I think you are the best worker I have ever 
 had in my office, Margaret." 
 
 " Then what in the world is the matter ? " 
 she demanded. 
 
 " Nothing ; only that I don't want you to 
 spoil your good record, when you go to house- 
 keeping. It 's all in you, Peggy. Just let it 
 come out. Hal needs a sister to look out for 
 him. Make yourself as invaluable to him, next 
 year, as you have been to me, this summer." 
 
 The color rose in her cheeks. 
 
 " Have I really been invaluable, Mr. Mc- 
 Alister?" 
 
 " Almost. You have worked well, and,
 
 186 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 what 's more, you have worked as if your whole 
 heart were in it, as if you enjoyed it." 
 
 " So I have." 
 
 " No more than I. I shall miss you, when 
 you go back to Northford, Peggy." 
 
 She faced him abruptly. 
 
 " Miss me in the office, or miss me humanly ? " 
 she demanded. 
 
 " Both." 
 
 She folded her hands at the back of her 
 brown head, and eyed him, half thoughtfully, 
 half mockingly. Her lips were smiling; but 
 her eyes were gentler than usual and altogether 
 happy. 
 
 " Then I may as well sing my Nunc Dimit- 
 tis" she observed. " It 's the very first time 
 in my life, Mr. McAlister, that anybody has 
 ever missed me, and I 'm pow'ful 'fraid it will 
 be the last." 
 
 Hubert McAlister had not thought it neces- 
 sary to specify the business which had called 
 him to New York, that day. He had simply 
 announced to the family at The Savins that 
 such a trip was to be made and, apparently 
 quite as an afterthought, he had invited Peggy 
 to go with him. For three entire days, the girl 
 had lived in a state of rapturous anticipation,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 187 
 
 alternating, in her leisure moments, between 
 confiding her delight to the velvet ears of Sophia 
 Smith and rearranging the row of collar, belt, 
 gloves and purse that lay on her dressing table 
 in readiness for the early-morning start. And 
 yet the morning was hours old to Peggy when, 
 immaculate in her plain gown, she stood on the 
 platform, waiting for the train which was to 
 bear her cityward. 
 
 During the two-hour journey, Mr. McAlis- 
 ter's business dissolved into the thinnest possible 
 pretence; and, as they left the cars, Peggy 
 realized that she had before her the prospect 
 of an entire day of holiday making. She felt 
 inclined to gasp at the joyous prospect. Then 
 she rose to meet it with an attempted non- 
 chalance which merely increased her compan- 
 ion's understanding of her satisfaction. 
 
 " I must step in at Brander's office, for a 
 minute," he said, as they were passing through 
 the station. " Then we '11 go to the St. Denis 
 for lunch, and have the afternoon to play. 
 What do you want to see ? " 
 
 Peggy's answer was prompt and unexpected. 
 
 " Wall Street and Grant's Tomb." 
 
 " We are going almost to Wall Street now. 
 What else ? The shops ? "
 
 188 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 "What's the use?" Peggy said bluntly. 
 " I 've all the clothes I need, and no money to 
 get any others." 
 
 Her companion looked slightly relieved. His 
 idea of taking a young girl to New York con- 
 sisted chiefly in the dread of dawdling aimlessly 
 among yards of silk and ranks of yellow posts 
 surmounted with be-garlanded hats. Peggy's 
 programme pleased him. Nevertheless, he 
 forced himself to a remonstrance. 
 
 " But would n't you like to see them ? " 
 
 " What for ? You can get plenty of clothes, 
 such as they are, in Northford. You don't find 
 Wall Street there, and I 've always wanted to 
 see how it looks, outside the picture in the 
 geography." 
 
 " Well, is it like the geography picture ? " 
 Mr. McAlister asked, two hours later, as they 
 stood in the south gateway of Trinity church- 
 yard, and looked back into the narrow canon 
 from which they had just emerged. 
 
 " Oh, ever so much better and bigger and 
 busier. I 'm so glad to have been there, and 
 I love it all, the knowing how it used to be the 
 very edge of the city, and the feeling that now 
 it is the very middle of things and that whole 
 fortunes are made there, every day."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 189 
 
 " And lost, too," he reminded her gravely. 
 
 "Yes," she answered, with equal gravity. 
 " There 's Jack, you know. I kept thinking 
 of him, while we were in there, thinking that, 
 somehow or other, if it had n't been for Wall 
 Street, he would have been so rich he would n't 
 care whether his clothes wore out or not." 
 
 " Do you want to be rich, Peggy ? " 
 
 As so often happened, her reply surprised 
 him. 
 
 " No ; not especially. I 'd a good deal rather 
 understand how money is made than make it, 
 myself." 
 
 He looked down at her thoughtfully, as they 
 paced the walks of the quaint old churchyard. 
 
 " Margaret, you ought to be a business 
 woman." 
 
 He was astonished at the hot wave of color 
 that surged up across her face. 
 
 "Oh, I wish I could!" 
 
 " Why can't you ? " 
 
 She shut her teeth for a moment, before reply- 
 ing quietly, 
 
 " But what about Hal ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know. It would be a good thing 
 for you to be together. In a way, he needs you. 
 Still, I 'm not sure you "
 
 190 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Let 's not talk about it," she begged him. 
 " It is so queer how you go into things, Mr. 
 Hubert. For ever so long, I have been uneasy, 
 without knowing just what it was I wanted. 
 Now, all at once, you have told me what it is." 
 
 " Perhaps you would n't find it any better 
 than writing novels," he suggested. 
 
 " Don't. That was just a streak of idiocy," 
 she returned. " I want to forget it." 
 
 " You may want to forget this." 
 
 " No ; this is what I 've been after, all the 
 time. I went for the other, just as babies grab 
 at all sorts of things, before they learn to steer 
 their hands," she said sagely. " I honestly 
 believe this is the real thing; but I don't see 
 how I am to get it." 
 
 "Wait," he advised her. "Things don't 
 come in a day." 
 
 Late afternoon found them on the bench by 
 the river. Hubert had been an excellent guide, 
 and Peggy had explored to her heart's content. 
 Glad to rest and to enjoy the beauty of the pic- 
 ture at her feet, she had allowed the silence to 
 last for long minutes. Mr. McAlister broke it. 
 
 " Margaret, I wonder if you realize how 
 much you know about the Thomas case." 
 
 She dropped her reverie abruptly, and be-
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 191 
 
 came once more the alert, eager Peggy who occu- 
 pied a corner of his office. 
 
 " I know a good deal," she answered. " This 
 morning gave me ever so many new points. 
 I was sorry to be in the way, for I could n't help 
 hearing all you were saying." 
 
 " I knew you heard. What did you think 
 about it ? " 
 
 " That it cleared up most of the weak spots 
 on our side," she replied shrewdly. " Now, if 
 we can only get hold of that missing footman, 
 we 're all straight to the end." 
 
 He smiled at her involuntary use of the first 
 person. 
 
 " Yes, that is the present tangle. But he 
 may come to light before October." 
 
 " Is that when the case comes up ? " 
 
 " Yes, unless they postpone it again." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! I shall be in Northford by that 
 time, and miss all the fun. It has been so inter- 
 esting and so full of queer turns and tricks. 
 Is all law like that ? " 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " No ; most of it is prosy and dull enough to 
 make up. This is an uncommonly exciting 
 case." 
 
 " I should say so, a man that drowned him-
 
 192 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 self in a bathtub, and left a will leaving his 
 ebony brushes to his sons and neglecting to 
 mention his money! " Peggy's tone betrayed 
 her amusement. " But I have just loved it all, 
 Mr. Hubert. It has been the cream of the whole 
 summer." 
 
 " And you think you understand it ? " 
 
 " Why, of course," Peggy answered coolly. 
 
 He watched her for a minute. Then, obeying 
 some sudden whim, he said, 
 
 " Margaret, I 'm going to try you, and see. 
 Suppose you begin at the very beginning and 
 tell me how the case stands." 
 
 " With what I heard, this morning, put in 
 at the right places ? " she questioned eagerly. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "All right. Listen!" 
 
 He did listen, and he confessed himself as- 
 tonished at what he heard. For full ten 
 minutes, Peggy's tongue wagged ceaselessly, 
 while her eyes lighted and the deep color burned 
 in her cheeks. Step by step, she went over the 
 case, sifting her facts and grouping them by 
 their importance, not with the understanding 
 of a child, but with the clear-headed grasp of 
 a grown person. It was no mere feat of mem- 
 ory. The facts she had overheard, that morn-
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 193 
 
 ing, were as neatly labelled and put in their 
 proper places as were those she had so often 
 heard discussed in the office at home. As he 
 listened, Hubert McAlister told himself that 
 the tempestuous, aggressive, cocksure Peggy 
 was on the threshold of her right work. For a 
 moment, he started up, meaning to warn her to 
 keep her secrets well in hand. Then he re- 
 proached himself. Peggy Arterburn was not 
 the girl to babble about facts of primary impor- 
 tance. He was willing to trust himself in her 
 hands. He settled back in his seat, and heard 
 her in silence and to the end. 
 
 His silence lasted so long that she faced him 
 uneasily. 
 
 " Well ? " she demanded. 
 
 Slowly he drew a long breath. 
 
 " You have surprised me, Margaret, 1 ' he 
 said then. " The simple truth is that you know 
 more about this case than any one except myself. 
 It may be something of a responsibility for you ; 
 but I think you will be able to meet it. The 
 time may come when I shall need your help." 
 
 Her eyes met his eyes squarely. 
 
 " When you do, I '11 be on hand," she an- 
 swered, simply as a child. 
 
 13
 
 194 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 " XT ERVOIJS > Pe ggy Ann?" 
 
 i. ^1 " Not a bit," she returned undaunt- 
 edly, though her cheeks had gone white under- 
 neath her paint. 
 
 Kingsley's laugh was restless. 
 
 " I am, then. Who ever supposed that Uncle 
 Hu and Aunt Ted would have imported such 
 a caravan? They must have been waiting to 
 pay off their social debts for the last ten years. 
 Peggy Ann, I confess to a sickly feeling of 
 fear." 
 
 "What's the use? Oh, look at that fat 
 woman with the purple lawn frills ! " 
 
 " Where is your respect ? She is Mrs. Judge 
 of Probate. The dromedary in green is Mrs. 
 Baptist Minister." 
 
 " Come to the theatre ? " 
 
 " Certainly. She is only Mrs. Minister. 
 Peggy, suppose they don't like our scene ? " 
 
 " Then they can lump it," she replied com- 
 posedly, as she settled her cap. " It 's the best 
 scene, and we do it awfully well."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 195 
 
 " There 's one thing about it : you '11 never 
 be hung for your modesty, Peggy Ann. Still, 
 if it does n't go, we can throw the blame on 
 Aunt Ted." 
 
 Peggy rose to Mrs. Farrington's support. 
 
 " Yes ; but it is the best part of the .whole 
 play. I wonder what the others will say, when 
 it comes." 
 
 " Don't care. That 's our show, Peggy Ann." 
 
 " How did you ever get them to cut it out at 
 rehearsal ? " she asked. 
 
 " Told them we fought like fury, every time 
 we went through it, and they 'd much better 
 keep out of the way." 
 
 Peggy laughed till she shook her cap awry. 
 
 " Kex ! What an awful fib ! " 
 
 " Mayhap. Still, they could n't contradict 
 me, knowing our habits." 
 
 His tone was mocking and, underneath her 
 paint, Peggy flushed a little. The laugh died 
 out of her eyes, as she faced her companion 
 gravely. 
 
 " But do you know, Eex, I 've an idea that 
 the worst of our fighting may be in the past." 
 
 He looked down at her quizzically. 
 
 " Feel ill anywhere, Peggy Ann ? " 
 
 "111? No. Why?"
 
 196 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Penitence, and all that. It sounds sort of 
 mortuary. When people like you talk about 
 their sins being in the past, it generally is 
 supposed to mean business." 
 
 She eyed him half merrily, half in despair. 
 
 " Hex, you are incorrigible." 
 
 " Yes. It runs in the family. Mac used 
 to be; then he handed on his supply to me. 
 He was saved by an Arterburn," Kingsley added 
 suggestively. 
 
 "Oh." " 
 
 " Yes. It may be that the same fate is in 
 store for me. Strange if you should prove to 
 be my means of sanctification, Peggy Ann ! It 
 will be one more proof that good can come from 
 untoward sources." 
 
 " And that untoward objects can be moved 
 by good influences," she retorted, with a good- 
 natured indifference which of old she had been 
 powerless to show in the presence of Kingsley's 
 teasing. " But do stop talking nonsense, Rex, 
 and help me compose my mind. Are the others 
 dressed ? " 
 
 " Ursula and Nathalie are ready. Mac was 
 wrestling with his wig, when I left him. It 
 was too tight in the cerebellum, and he could n't 
 make it stick,"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 197 
 
 " You need n't be critical ; your bald spot 
 is fearfully askew. But do tell me who all 
 these people are. Does n't Mrs. Farrington look 
 too sweet, out there under the trees ? " 
 
 " She can't hold a candle to the mater," 
 Kingsley objected, for he was an adoring son. 
 
 In all truth, Mrs. Barrett looked an ideal 
 hostess, tall and graceful and gracious in her 
 long white gown. Beside her stood Mrs. Far- 
 rington, helping to receive the many guests, for 
 Hubert McAlister had been true to his promise, 
 and Peggy's play was assuming the dignity of 
 a function. The broad lawn of The Savins was 
 crowded ; dainty gowns swished over the crisp 
 turf, and an occasional black coat threw into 
 relief the soft colors of midsummer finery. 
 Out-door plays were a rarity in that neighbor- 
 hood, and the McAlisters had a host of friends. 
 Xevertheless, only Mrs. Farrington and her 
 twin brother below and the two conspirators 
 peering out from an up-stairs window knew that 
 one scene of the play had been rewritten for the 
 occasion by one of the great American novelists, 
 and that, into this little scene, she had put some 
 of the most effective work which had ever come 
 from her energetic pen. Only the writer herself 
 knew what had been her object in the task.
 
 198 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Even Mrs. Barrett, critical in all things, 
 admitted to herself that she was satisfied, an 
 hour later. The setting itself was enough to 
 inspire the least enthusiastic of actors. Far 
 at the west of the grounds, the hill dropped 
 away to form a natural amphitheatre where the 
 guests sat ranged on rugs and cushions, a bril- 
 liant patch of color beneath the dark green oak 
 trees. Wings of tree trunks, flies of drooping 
 boughs, and a background of orchard and 
 meadow bounded the great stage where the 
 little romance worked itself out to a sunny 
 conclusion. 
 
 It was all very Frenchy and very frothy 
 until, close to the beginning of the final act, 
 master and mistress left the stage to their ser- 
 vants, and the attention focussed itself upon 
 Toinette and Jacques. 
 
 " Why but " Ursula protested softly in 
 the background. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington, also in the background, 
 motioned her to silence. 
 
 " Wait," she said briefly. " Your cue won't 
 come for quite a long time." 
 
 Merry, mocking, tormenting, yet plaintive, 
 the maid was passing from mood to mood, now 
 teasing her would-be lover, now in hot dispute,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 199 
 
 now dropping for a moment her mask of way- 
 wardness to show the face of true maidenhood 
 hidden underneath. Then, of a sudden, she 
 became haughty again, and repelled his ad- 
 vances with a proud disdain. From the im- 
 personal discussion of the foibles of master and 
 mistress, the scene wound on, turning and twist- 
 ing this way and that, in and out among Toi- 
 nette's moods until, with a sudden rush, it ended 
 in the love-making which had been foreordained 
 in the beginning. 
 
 It was the great scene of the play. The secret 
 had been kept so well that none of the other 
 actors had gained an inkling of what had been 
 in store for them. Long hours of careful re- 
 hearsing had done their work and, as the happy 
 lovers sauntered away into the wings, the ap- 
 plause from the audience was caught up and 
 echoed tenfold from behind the scenes. 
 
 " Shall we go back ? " Peggy asked. 
 
 " You bet ! I don't often get an encore, 
 Peggy Ann," Kingsley responded jovially. 
 " I 'm going to have the good of this one, 
 so you may as well come along and see me 
 do it" 
 
 "You needn't take all the credit," she re- 
 minded him saucily.
 
 200 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 He stared down approvingly at the top of 
 her head. All at once, that day, it had struck 
 him that little Peggy was going to blossom out 
 into an uncommonly pretty girl. Of her clever- 
 ness, he had never felt any doubt; now he 
 wondered whether he had ever fully realized 
 certain of her other qualities. 
 
 " I 'm willing to take all the credit," he re- 
 turned calmly. " You Ve done all the work ; 
 you ought to leave something to me." 
 
 Her face brightened, and she held out her 
 hand with a gesture which was half the 
 wayward Peggy, half the coquettish French 
 Toinette. 
 
 " That 's the first good word you ever said 
 of me, Rex," she told him. 
 
 " Very likely. I 'm not so sure it will be 
 the last, though," he answered, as, hand in 
 hand, they bowed low before the audience. 
 
 Back in the rear rank, Mrs. Barrett touched 
 Harry's arm. 
 
 " Confess that you are proud of your sister," 
 she bade him. 
 
 " Of both." 
 
 " No. This is Peggy's turn. Nathalie is 
 almost perfect ; but her success does n't lie in 
 the line of the drama. Peggy was distracting."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 201 
 
 " What about Rex ? " he queried, with a 
 smile. 
 
 " He was just her foil ; she has made her 
 part and his, too. Don't grudge her her little 
 success, Harry. It is wonderfully becoming to 
 her ; she fairly snaps with vitality, and I never 
 saw her look half so well before." 
 
 " So Rex thinks," her husband suggested. 
 
 Mrs. Farrington had joined them. Now she 
 faced Mr. Barrett with a smile. 
 
 " That was just what I intended he should 
 do," she said. 
 
 He gave her a sudden glance of compre- 
 hension. 
 
 " Ted, I always knew you came near being 
 a genius; but do you mean that you did it on 
 purpose ? " 
 
 " Did what ? " his wife inquired. 
 
 " Wrote up Peggy in italics, put her in just 
 as she was, only more so, and then left Rex to 
 discover her good points." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington laid her finger on her 
 lip. 
 
 " Yes ; but don't let the others hear. I 
 thought it was the best way to show him what 
 she really was like." 
 
 " Apparently he approves," his father said,
 
 202 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 with a comically expressive glance towards the 
 distant spot among the trees where Peggy and 
 her companion sat absorbed in a conversation 
 so close that presently it led to their missing 
 their cue. 
 
 Mrs. Barrett studied them thoughtfully for 
 a moment. Then she turned to Harry. 
 
 " Of course, they are nothing but babies, and 
 Rex is my cardiac core," she said deliberately. 
 " Nevertheless, after years and years have 
 lapsed, I am not sure I should mind at all, if 
 he did." 
 
 Side by side Toinette and Jacques received 
 the congratulations of the departing guests. 
 Ursula as heroine and Mac as hero each held 
 sway in a small circle; but, for the hour, ser- 
 vants' hall was the fashionable rendezvous, and 
 Peggy's small head was wellnigh turned with 
 the praises that were showered upon it. Kings- 
 ley, meanwhile, was receiving his share of com- 
 mendation with an amused tolerance which was 
 inexpressibly galling to Peggy to whom the 
 affair had been a matter of deadly earnest. 
 
 " I believe you don't care a snap, after all 
 the fuss," she said irately, as the last guest went 
 rustling away. 
 
 Kingsley scratched his bald spot thoughtfully.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 203 
 
 " Snap at me and see," he suggested at 
 length. 
 
 " Thanks. I never snap." Peggy was tired, 
 her girlish nerves were reacting from the ex- 
 citement of the afternoon, and her tone was 
 undeniably touchy. 
 
 " What about now ? " he queried coolly, for 
 it never once occurred to his masculine mind 
 that the girl was weary and irritable. To his 
 vast surprise, he had been finding Peggy a most 
 enjoyable companion who, upon occasion, could 
 meet teasing with teasing and give good inter- 
 est. As the rehearsals had gone on, the occa- 
 sions had become more and more frequent, until 
 he had come to the conclusion that Peggy's new 
 attitude would be a constant one. Three weeks 
 before, he would have expected Peggy's next 
 words. Now, however, they took him quite by 
 surprise. Moreover, they hurt him keenly. 
 
 " It is enough to make anybody snappish, 
 Rex Barrett, to have to work over you for three 
 mortal weeks, and then have you step in and 
 take all the credit. I really had no idea you 
 could be as selfish as all that." 
 
 Peggy's thrust was neither true nor logical, 
 as she was quite aware. Nevertheless, John's 
 vaunting of his friend's generosity had rankled
 
 204 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 in her mind. It had seemed to her that it had 
 been given as a covert rebuke to herself, yet her 
 resentment had been directed, not against John, 
 but against Kingsley. Forgotten for weeks, it 
 now flashed up again. She took no account of 
 the fact that, without Kingsley's intervention, 
 her own part in the play would have dwindled 
 to insignificance; she took no account of the 
 long, merry hours they had spent in rehearsal. 
 She was tired. She was discovering, for the 
 first time in her life, that even success is dis- 
 appointing ; and she vented her bad temper by 
 aiming her thrust with vicious deliberation. 
 
 Kingsley undertook to reason with her. 
 
 " Peggy Ann, what do you mean ? Every- 
 body is shying laurels and compliments at you. 
 Those that hit me are only the ones that miss 
 fire." 
 
 " Oh, what is the use of discussing it ? " she 
 burst out. " At least, we can be thankful it 's 
 over and done with." 
 
 This time, he surveyed her in open astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 " But I thought you enjoyed it, Peggy Ann." 
 
 " Do stop Peggy- Ann-ing me ! " she said 
 angrily. " You know it 's not my name. En- 
 joy it ? How could I ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 205 
 
 " The same way I did," Kingsley replied 
 quietly, for, during the past days, he had de- 
 veloped a sound liking for Peggy, and he was 
 loath to renew their former hostility. 
 
 Peggy, chin in air, turned on her heel. 
 
 " Then you must be a good deal more easily 
 satisfied than I am," she said, as she walked 
 away in the direction of the house.
 
 206 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTEK SIXTEEN 
 
 HER brother followed her to her room. 
 " Come in," she said shortly, in an- 
 swer to his knock. 
 
 As he entered, she saw that his blue eyes 
 were full of trouble. Already a second reaction 
 had come, and she met him anxiously. 
 
 " Hal, what is wrong ? " she asked, before he 
 had time to speak. 
 
 " I am a good deal disappointed." 
 
 " In me ? " 
 
 ."Yes, Peggy." 
 
 " Oh, I 'm sorry. I wanted you to like it so 
 much. Did n't I do any of it well ? " 
 
 " I don't mean the acting, Peggy." 
 
 "You liked that?" 
 
 " Yes. It was capital, and I was proud of 
 my small sister." 
 
 Still in her maid's dress and cap, she faced 
 him eagerly, her eyes shining again in her 
 pleasure at his praise.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 207 
 
 " I am so glad. I was acting right at you, 
 Hal, wondering how you liked it, and yet not 
 daring to look at you for a single minute." 
 
 " You are a good deal of an actress, Peggy." 
 
 She had dropped down on the side of her bed, 
 where she sat looking up at him in smiling 
 pleasure. Then something in the gravity of his 
 tone struck her ear, and she grew grave in her 
 turn. 
 
 " Then what did n't you like, Hal ? " 
 
 " Your talk to Rex, just now." 
 
 She rose. 
 
 " Were you listening ? " she asked sharply. 
 
 " I was coming to congratulate you, and I 
 could n't help hearing." 
 
 She dropped back on the bed again, and 
 wearily pushed her cap aside. 
 
 " Oh dear, I might have known you would be 
 somewhere within range," she lamented. " I 
 never yet tried to make a good impression that 
 I did n't go and spoil it all, the very next 
 minute." 
 
 " Because your impression is only skin 
 deep ? " he asked quietly. 
 
 " Harry Arterburn, how dare you say such 
 things to me ? " she demanded, in swift anger. 
 
 " Because they are true."
 
 208 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 "But they aren't." 
 
 For a minute, he stood hesitating, while he 
 looked down at her heated, wrathful face. 
 Then he seated himself beside her on the edge 
 of the bed, and rested his hand on her shoulder. 
 At first, she attempted to draw away from him. 
 Then she sat still and passive. 
 
 " Peggy dear," he said ; " I hate to be 
 always lecturing you. It must make you think 
 me a fussy sort of fellow; but really it is on 
 your account that I do it. When I know that 
 I have a young sister who can be loyal and 
 kindly and generous, it hurts my feelings to 
 have other people thinking she is cranky and 
 bad-tempered, just because she loses her temper 
 now and then. When you have the other thing 
 in you, Peggy, why can't you show it to more 
 people ? There are only a few of us who know 
 the other side of you. What is the reason ? " 
 
 " Because I 'm nothing in the world but a fire- 
 cracker, Hal, a horrid little fire-cracker always 
 ready to go off," she answered, in a sudden 
 wave of penitence. 
 
 " I know, dear ; but I wish you were n't. 
 You can be such a trump, Peggy, that I want 
 you to stay so. Your thorns are mostly on the 
 outside; but they are very scratchy ones."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 209 
 
 Chin in hand, she sat eyeing the floor. 
 
 " But I don't scratch you, Hal." 
 
 " Not often now, Peggy. But you do scratch 
 the others. Rex was all cut up, to-day." 
 
 Peggy gave a hostile sniff. 
 
 " Not he." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " It takes a good deal more than that to cut 
 up Rex Barrett." 
 
 " Did you see his face, when you went 
 away ? " 
 
 " Of course not," she said shortly. " I don't 
 have eyes in the back of my head." 
 
 "Well, I did. You hurt Rex, Peggy; I 
 really don't see why it hurt him so much. But 
 I we all had been so delighted over the 
 fun you have had out of your rehearsals, and 
 we hoped you were going to be good friends at 
 last." 
 
 " I don't see why it 's everybody's business 
 what we do," Peggy muttered restively. 
 
 " Because we all are so very fond of Rex, and 
 because a few of us know that Peggy Arterburn 
 has more good in her than she likes people to 
 find out. Now see here, Peggy. This summer 
 has taught me a good many things, among others 
 that I am very fond and proud of my small 
 14
 
 210 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 sister. But it has taught me this: that my 
 small sister needs an occasional lecture on her 
 sins, and that her old brother is the best person 
 to give it to her, just because there 's nobody 
 else who cares half so much for her. Now 
 here 's the lecture. Peggy, you must not let 
 your temper run away with you. You must 
 not get angry over trifles, or over nothing at all. 
 You must be more patient and courteous with 
 the others. It 's not becoming to any girl to go 
 about with a chip everlastingly balanced on her 
 shoulder." Suddenly he rose and stood facing 
 her. "That's all, Peggy," he said, with a 
 complete change of tone. " Think it over, dear ; 
 have a little patience and a little pluck, and 
 things will go better with you and with us all." 
 And he left her alone. 
 
 An informal supper was served to actors and 
 hosts, that night, on Mrs. Farrington's broad 
 veranda. Peggy was the last to appear. She 
 was still in costume; but the paint on her 
 cheeks presented a curiously streaked appear- 
 ance, and one side of her lower lip was caught 
 between her teeth. With a nod to the others, 
 she walked straight across to Kingsley and held 
 out her hand. 
 
 " I 'm sorry I was horrid," she said tersely.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 211 
 
 The next afternoon, however, gave them both 
 cause to forget the passing scar upon their new- 
 formed friendship. 
 
 In one corner of The Savins under the trio of 
 huge chestnut trees where, in her childhood, 
 Mrs. Farrington had been accustomed to look 
 for lurking Indians, the young people had con- 
 structed a species of athletic field. There was 
 the tennis court, there was the little green where 
 Kingsley was wont to console himself for the 
 absence of any golf links, and there, affixed to 
 the middle tree, hung Peggy's target. 
 
 Faithful to her resolution to ride on the 
 cow-catcher of the train which should introduce 
 the new sport, Peggy had worked patiently in 
 her own behalf, that summer. No one of the 
 others had even feigned to manifest the least 
 interest in her hobby. Ursula scoffed; Na- 
 thalie predicted gory victims of her bow, and 
 the boys ignored her completely. Accordingly, 
 it was only Sophia Smith who could be induced 
 to accompany Peggy to her practice. Once 
 there and tied to a tree out of the way of harm 
 to herself or to the arrows, the dog was accus- 
 tomed to sit and smirk in idleness while her 
 mistress toiled. It was toil, too. Peggy's 
 thumb blistered and then became callous, her
 
 212 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 back ached and her feet grew weary with the 
 unending steps it took for her to find the arrows 
 that went wide of the mark. Nevertheless, the 
 girl persevered. Archery was a harder task 
 than she had supposed. Accordingly, she shut 
 her teeth and proceeded to master it. Peggy 
 Arterburn had no respect whatsoever for the 
 futilities of life. 
 
 The afternoon after the play found her tired 
 and fractious. Even the office had dragged, that 
 morning; lunch had been a period of stupid 
 talk, and, lunch over, she gathered up her bow 
 and Sophia, and started across the hill. 
 
 It was still early, so early that the noon sun 
 lay hot over the grass. Peggy fastened Sophia 
 to her usual tree. Then she dropped down on 
 the turf and fanned herself with her hat. 
 
 " Archery may be warm work," she said 
 aloud ; " but it is nothing to leading Sophia. 
 That creature has the strength of a Jersey 
 cow." 
 
 She paused to look at her hard brown hands. 
 Then she bent over, patted the dog's nose and 
 stroked back her bristling eyebrows. 
 
 " Sophia, we 're a good deal alike, old girl ; 
 are n't we ? " she added thoughtfully. " We 
 both tug at our leads; but the worst harm
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 213 
 
 we do is n't intentional. Oh dear, why did n't 
 I tell Rex to come over and play some tennis, 
 when it gets shady ? " 
 
 Sophia refused to answer the question, and 
 Peggy, turning her back on the dog, devoted 
 herself to stringing her bow. That done, she 
 picked up her arrows, paced off her distance 
 from the target, and took deliberate aim. 
 
 It had been only during the past two or three 
 weeks that Peggy's target had suffered, save by 
 the onslaughts of Sophia Smith. The arrows 
 had gone over it and under, to this side and 
 to that, leaving the ringed expanse free from 
 spot or puncture. Peggy's strength was great; 
 her weapons flew far and wide; but, even 
 now that she occasionally grazed the rim, the 
 bull's-eye seemed to her as unattainable as 
 ever. 
 
 " It is a great sight easier to hitch your 
 wagon to a star than 't is to hitch your arrows 
 into the bull's-eye," she muttered vengefully, 
 as her first arrow apparently tried its best to 
 impale the sun in the heavens. 
 
 She fitted a second arrow to her string, took 
 steady aim, and had the mortification of feeling 
 her thumb slip away from the cord. The arrow 
 started straight towards the target, loitered,
 
 214 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 sagged, and fell impotently, not twenty feet 
 from Peggy's toes. 
 
 " That would have gone, if it only had," she 
 commented to herself rather enigmatically. 
 " Let 's see if I can't make it, this time. The 
 third is the lucky number." 
 
 Again she settled her arrow and took careful 
 aim. Then, with all the strength of her sturdy 
 muscles, she snapped the string. The arrow 
 darted off on a swift, strong flight slightly to 
 the left of the target, crashed through a bush 
 and was lost to sight. The next minute, Peggy's 
 heart stopped for a beat, and then began to 
 batter her ribs until she could scarcely breathe. 
 
 " Rex ! " she screamed. " Rex ! Kingsley ! 
 Are you there ? " 
 
 Waiting for no answering call, she went 
 plunging away after the arrow. Over the grass, 
 past the bush she flew. Then she stopped short 
 in terror. On the ground just back of the bush 
 sat Kingsley, his back towards her, and a little 
 red stain marking the back of his head. At 
 her exclamation, he turned slowly around, to 
 show her a whimsical smile on a rather pale 
 face. 
 
 " Two inches lower, and you 'd have made 
 a finish of me, Peggy Ann," he said coolly.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 215 
 
 " As it is, you 're the second Arterburn who 
 has had designs on my head." 
 
 " But, Rex, have I killed you ? " she de- 
 manded tragically. 
 
 " No ; we McAlisters die hard," he answered. 
 Then he dropped backwards towards Peggy 
 who sprang to catch him in her arms. 
 
 Peggy's emergency training consisted solely 
 of common sense. Nevertheless, it was only 
 a moment before Kingsley's gray eyes opened 
 again. In spite of his weakness, he smiled, as 
 a great tear splashed down on his upturned 
 face. 
 
 " Don't drown me, Peggy," he advised her 
 weakly. " And it hurts to wash out cuts with 
 salt water." 
 
 " Oh, please, please don't joke, Rex," she 
 implored him a little hysterically. 
 
 He eyed her half mockingly, as he lay with 
 his head in her lap. 
 
 "It wouldn't be myself, if I didn't," he 
 answered, with a whimsical truthfulness which 
 was destined to come back to her again and 
 again in the after years. 
 
 " But are you terribly hurt ? " 
 
 " About as much as I was when Nathalie 
 slugged me with her driver. I shall live
 
 through it, Peggy Ann. It is plain I am des- 
 tined for the halter. It 's disgustfully milk- 
 soppish to faint, though. Do boost a little, and 
 see if I can't sit up." 
 
 " No ; you 'd better lie still for a while," she 
 urged. 
 
 " Why ? It 's nothing but a scratch." 
 
 Shutting her teeth, she took a steady look at 
 the brown head in her lap. From crown to 
 brow, it was marked with a scarlet line; but 
 even Peggy, unaccustomed to such sights, 
 could make out that the trouble was on the 
 surface. 
 
 " And yet, it 's awful to think I did it, Rex," 
 she added, while a second shower dropped on 
 his upturned face. " Truly, I 'm sorry to cry 
 all over you; but just suppose I had killed 
 you!" 
 
 Far back in his gray eyes, there came a ques- 
 tioning look that slowly took form upon his 
 lips. 
 
 " Should you have cared so very much, 
 Peggy?" 
 
 This time, her head went down into her 
 clasped hands. 
 
 " Oh, Rex, don't talk about it," she wailed. 
 " It makes me sick to think of it, even, and it
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 217 
 
 would have been so terrible, just as we were get- 
 ting not to fight and all. I believe it would have 
 killed me." 
 
 His eyes showed his satisfaction, though his 
 lips were laughing, as he answered, 
 
 " Then we could have been buried in one 
 grave, Peggy Ann, in a thoroughly sentimental 
 fashion. But, as it is, I think we '11 stick it 
 out long enough to have a good many more 
 fights." 
 
 The wound had stopped bleeding, and the 
 color was coming back into his cheeks. Peggy 
 breathed more freely, as she watched him, for 
 she told herself that the worst was over. As 
 yet, neither of them had any suspicion of what 
 was still in store for Kingsley. 
 
 " How did you come to be here, anyway ? " 
 she asked suddenly. 
 
 At the question, the boy's face whitened a 
 little. 
 
 " Oh, I forgot that part," he said, with some 
 reluctance. " I was over here, this morning, 
 and I must have dropped to sleep." 
 
 " And did n't go home to lunch ? " 
 
 " ETo." 
 
 " How queer ! " Then, as she watched him, 
 she saw that something was wrong, and her
 
 213 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 voice once more took on its sharper accent of 
 fear. " What is it, Eex ? " 
 
 " What 's what ? " He tried to meet her eyes 
 unconcernedly. 
 
 " What is wrong ? " 
 
 " What makes you think anything is ? " 
 
 " I don't think ; I know it. You may as well 
 tell me what it is." Her sentences came, clear 
 and detached. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " So that I can help you out." 
 
 " How do you know you can ? " 
 
 " WTiat is the use of wasting words ? " she 
 said impatiently. " You may as well tell me, 
 Rex, and at least let me do the best I can." 
 
 He was silent for a minute, evidently think- 
 ing over her words. Then his gray eyes met 
 her eyes steadily. 
 
 " I 'm not sure there 's any harm in telling 
 you, Peggy. You won't babble and make a 
 fuss. It 's only this, I whacked at a golf ball, 
 and missed it, and I half twisted myself in 
 two. I 'm afraid it has done something that 
 it ought n't, and I don't want the mater to know 
 it, for fear she '11 worry. She has always been 
 fussy about me, since the time I broke myself 
 before, you know."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 219 
 
 " And it hurt ? " she asked sharply. 
 
 " Hurt ! I should say it did. I managed 
 to pull myself over into the shade, and then 
 I think the pain must have let up a little, for I 
 fell asleep. I suppose you waked me, and I sat 
 up just in time to act as pincushion for your 
 arrow." 
 
 " And now ? " she said, with a steadiness that 
 surprised him. 
 
 " Now I 've got to get home, and you may 
 find yourself made useful in a way you won't 
 like, Peggy Ann. That house seems to me a 
 day's journey away. Do you mind being turned 
 into a walking-stick, till we get in sight of 
 somebody ? " 
 
 For her only answer, she turned and held 
 out her two strong, brown hands. 
 
 " Let me pull you up," she said, smiling. 
 " This is where my training with Sophia is 
 bound to count." 
 
 Half way to the house, he halted wearily. 
 
 " Confound it ! What a bore this is ! " he 
 said, as he rested his weight against a tree 
 trunk. " Peggy, I '11 break you in two, I 'm 
 such a big fellow." 
 
 " Not a bit," she protested dauntlessly. 
 " You 're nothing to Sophia. But sha'n't I call 
 somebody ? "
 
 220 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " No. Promise you won't tell, Peggy Ann. 
 It would just set them to fussing for nothing; 
 and it won't last but a day. I '11 pretend head- 
 ache, and lie off till to-morrow ; by that time, I 
 shall have untwisted myself again. Mighty 
 lucky you shot me ; else, I 'd have had to go 
 hunt for an excuse to play ill." 
 
 She bit her lip sharply. It was a new idea 
 to her that Kingsley Barrett could be weak and 
 in pain; and the idea hurt her. 
 
 " But you must n't let it go. Do tell Mac," 
 she begged him. 
 
 " Not yet, Peggy Ann," he answered pluck- 
 ily. " I don't want to make a fuss over 
 nothing. Let 's wait to see what the morrow 
 will bring forth."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 221 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 PEGGY appeared in the doorway of the 
 library at The Savins, the next morning. 
 
 " Mr. Hubert ? " 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " May I be late at the office ? " 
 
 He looked up with a smile for the tall girl 
 before him. 
 
 " Of course, Margaret." 
 
 Her eyes were uncommonly grave. 
 
 " Thank you," she said briefly. " I may be 
 quite late." 
 
 " Is anything wrong ? " he asked. 
 
 Peggy never fibbed easily. Now there was 
 a perceptible hesitation in her manner. 
 
 T no." 
 
 His eyes searched her face in kindly scrutiny. 
 She blushed under his gaze. 
 
 " At least, nothing that I can tell you," she 
 amended honestly. 
 
 " I 'm sorry, Margaret. I should like to help
 
 222 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 you out of your worries. If I can be of any use 
 to you, let me know." 
 
 She took a step nearer and stood looking 
 down at him, her hands loosely locked behind 
 her, her sharp face very gentle. 
 
 " There 's no one else I would trust half so 
 soon," she said quietly ; " but this is n't my own 
 worry. I '11 be at the office, as soon as I can get 
 there." 
 
 Without stopping for a hat, she crossed the 
 sunny lawn and went down the street in the 
 direction of the Barretts' house. There was 
 neither indecision nor yet alertness in her step. 
 She moved quickly; yet her head was bent in 
 swift, anxious thought. Peggy was pondering 
 the contents of a note which John had just 
 brought her from Kingsley. The note, read by 
 John, would have been merely a summons to 
 her to come over to join in some interrupted 
 revel; but Peggy knew better. Under its 
 whimsical fun, she read the message of serious 
 trouble. 
 
 She found Kingsley alone on the veranda. 
 Stretched out at the full of his long length in a 
 steamer chair, novel in hand, he looked the pic- 
 ture of lazy content; and his voice rang out 
 from afar in hearty greeting.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 223 
 
 " Hullo, Peggy Ann ! I thought we could 
 finish up that scheme over here. It 's quieter 
 than at The Savins." 
 
 Peggy's eyes narrowed shrewdly; but her 
 answering hail was keyed to his. 
 
 " Where are Jack and Ursula ? " 
 
 " Driving with Nathalie. Did n't you see 
 them start ? " 
 
 " No ; I must have been in the library," she 
 answered unconcernedly, as she came up the 
 steps. 
 
 Kingsley pushed a chair towards her with 
 his foot. 
 
 " Sit down. I 'm sorry not to rise and hand 
 you to your seat ; but I 'm saving up my energy, 
 to-day." 
 
 " Things bad ? " Peggy queried tersely, as 
 she dropped into the chair. 
 
 " Beastly. Ached like thunder, all night. 
 The nap you interrupted was the last I 've had." 
 
 " How is your head ? " she asked anxiously. 
 
 " That 's the least of my troubles. Of course, 
 I brush my hair with caution; but my head 
 appears to be the toughest part of my anatomy." 
 
 " Where 's the other trouble ? " 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " Better ask where it is n't."
 
 224 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 "Rex," she protested; "don't joke, and please 
 don't scare me to death. What is the matter, 
 really and truly ? " 
 
 " I appear to have twisted myself into a 
 tight knot that refuses to untwist," he replied 
 composedly. 
 
 " Where ? " 
 
 " Over on our one lonesome golf link." 
 
 " No ; where on you ? " she asked impatiently. 
 
 " Oh, me ? Well, somewhere between my 
 head and my heels. To be more accurate, it 
 appears to have taken up all the slack of me 
 between my shoulder-blades and my knees." 
 
 "What does Mac say?" 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " Have n't you told him ? " she demanded. 
 
 " No. Mac is an old granny. He would pull 
 a long face and scare the mater, and I don't 
 want her to know." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 Kingsley clasped his hands at the back of 
 his head. 
 
 " Because I hope to make Keys next spring, 
 Peggy Ann." 
 
 " Of course, we all expect that ; but what 
 has Keys to do with your knot? Or are you 
 going to wait for them to unlock it ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 225 
 
 Kingsley raised his brows. 
 
 " Your mind is n't logical, Peggy ; it takes 
 too long jumps. The trouble I fear is nearer 
 than that." 
 
 " What then ? " 
 
 " That, if the mater gets wind of this, she '11 
 shut down on my going back at all." 
 
 With a bounce, Peggy sat up and faced 
 him. 
 
 " Kex ! Is it as bad as all that ? " 
 
 " Feels so. Anyway, my feelings are hurt. 
 Moreover, I do hate to have a lot of women 
 clucking over me. The mater has some sense; 
 but there are too many others." 
 
 " Me ? " she asked a little sharply. 
 
 " No." He surveyed her quizzically. " You 
 can generally be relied upon not to gush, Peggy 
 Ann." 
 
 Her lips straightened, and she nodded to her- 
 self. Then she said suddenly, 
 
 " But that does n't mean I don't care, 
 Rex." 
 
 " Naturally. I know a thing or two. Else 
 I wouldn't have trusted you with the tale of 
 my woes." 
 
 She frowned thoughtfully. 
 
 " They sound rather woful, Rex." 
 '5
 
 226 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " You bet ! Now the question is what to do 
 next." 
 
 "Who knows it?" 
 
 " You. And I." Kingsley spoke in two 
 detached sentences. 
 
 "Anybody else?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " But they know something is wrong ? " 
 
 " Nobody but the mater. I told her I had 
 headache and wanted to be let alone." 
 
 In spite of her anxiety, Peggy laughed 
 outright. 
 
 " And then straightway you sent for me. 
 Well, I must say, Rex, your own mind is n't 
 always logical." 
 
 " She. did n't know I sent." 
 
 " Then she probably is wondering why I 
 have n't sense enough to go home." 
 
 " No. But you see I can't go on shamming 
 headache, a fellow who has neither nerves nor 
 indigestion. What 's to do next ? " 
 
 " How much does it hurt ? " 
 
 "Like the deuce, when I move. Not a bit, 
 if I keep still." 
 
 " Is it better than it was at first ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " But it ought to be," she said slowly.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 227 
 
 " It is n't, though. Maybe it has n't had 
 time. You might send for Miss Eudora to give 
 it absent treatment." 
 
 " You 'd much better let Mac tackle it at 
 short range," she advised him. 
 
 " I don't want to." 
 
 " Then try your grandfather." 
 
 Kingsley shook his head. 
 
 " He 's worse. He would only talk it over 
 with Mac, and two wagging heads are worse 
 than one." 
 
 Peggy rested her elbows on her knees, her 
 chin in her hands, and stared at her companion 
 in silent meditation. 
 
 " What did you want of me ? " she asked 
 abruptly at length. 
 
 " What I 'm not getting, advice. Also a 
 little sympathy," he added, after a short pause. 
 
 Bending over, she took his hand in her strong 
 brown one. 
 
 " I honestly did n't dare give it to you, Hex. 
 I was afraid you would think I was gushing, 
 or making a fuss. Besides, I 'm too anxious 
 even to know whether I 'm sorry or not. I 'm 
 so afraid you Ve done something awful to 
 yourself." 
 
 Kingsley frowned.
 
 228 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " So am I," he said, with the first falling 
 cadence that had escaped him. 
 
 The next moment, he could have hitten out 
 his tongue with regret for the words and their 
 accent. Peggy's eyes clouded, grew misty, and 
 then her head went down on their two hands. 
 She pulled herself together quickly, however; 
 but not so quickly but that Kingsley had felt 
 the swift rush of tears, hot and large, that 
 dropped upon his fingers. 
 
 " By Jove, Peggy, I never supposed you 'd 
 care," he said in surprise. 
 
 " I 'd like to know why not," she said a little 
 fiercely, as she brushed her hair away from her 
 face. 
 
 " Why, because Oh, I don't know. But 
 I 'm glad you do." 
 
 Forgetting her ruffled hair, she faced him 
 steadily. 
 
 " Rex, we 've fought, all summer long ; and 
 you Ve teased me until I have been about half 
 wild. And yet I suppose it 's the woman 
 of me and yet, after all, I honestly think 
 I like you best of all the tribe." 
 
 "For a fact?" 
 
 " Yes. You don't deserve it, though." 
 
 Her words had the ring of mockery; but it
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 229 
 
 pleased him to take them in earnest, and the 
 earnestness sat well upon him. 
 
 " No, Peggy, I don't," he said humbly. 
 
 There was a short silence. Peggy broke it. 
 
 " Rex, as I say, I 'm awfully worried. You 
 ought to tell Mac. Let me go for him." 
 
 " He '11 tell." 
 
 " Not if we make him promise." 
 
 Kingsley eyed her distrustfully. He knew 
 Mac better than she did. He knew, too, that 
 there might be reason for Mac's telling. Man- 
 like, he shrank from the necessary coddling 
 that too often accompanies illness. He also 
 shrank from hearing a truth which might be 
 unwelcome. 
 
 " It 's a good time," Peggy urged practically. 
 " Mac is at home now and alone. Nathalie 
 won't be back till time for lunch. Let me get 
 Mac now." 
 
 Shutting his teeth hard, Kingsley sat upright. 
 
 " No ; I '11 go over there." 
 
 " What 's the use ? " 
 
 " To keep the mater from seeing." 
 
 Peggy watched his whitening face. 
 
 " But you can't. You must n't." 
 
 With the outward semblance of a smile, 
 Kingsley turned to face her.
 
 230 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " A fellow can generally do anything he 
 makes up his mind he will do, Peggy Ann." 
 
 " Don't try it," she begged. 
 
 " ISTo use wasting words ; I 'm going. Now 
 see here, we '11 strike a bargain. I will talk 
 it over with Mac, on condition that, if he says 
 it 's nothing much, you and he will promise 
 not to tell another soul." 
 
 Peggy rose and stood beside him. 
 
 " I promise," she said quietly. " Now, if 
 we come around by the driveway, nobody can 
 see us, and you can lean on my shoulder. It 's 
 too bad I 'm not any taller ; but this is all there 
 is of me." 
 
 Kingsley smiled down at her grimly. 
 
 " Sometimes quantity counts for less than 
 quality," he answered, as he took her arm. 
 
 As Peggy had predicted, they found Mac 
 alone at The Savins. Kingsley made light of 
 the whole situation until he had sworn his 
 cousin to secrecy. Then, in the fewest possible 
 words, he asked Mac's opinion. 
 
 " Sorry you did n't come right over here, old 
 man," Mac said cheerily then. " It probably 
 is n't much ; but I could have given you a more 
 comfortable night. Peggy, if you '11 go out and 
 sit on the stairs for a space, I '11 take a look at 
 the knotty place, as Rex calls it."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 231 
 
 Mac's blue eyes were so impenetrable, his 
 voice so cheery that Peggy left the room, firmly 
 convinced that Kingsley had been frightened 
 for nothing. Accordingly, she went after her 
 hat, ready to start for the office, so soon as Mac 
 should have dismissed their fears. As she came 
 down the stairs again, she could hear low voices 
 in the library; but, happily oblivious of what 
 they were saying, she dropped down on the 
 bottom step and fell to crooning contentedly to 
 herself. 
 
 " A month ? " Kingsley asked drearily at 
 length. 
 
 " Yes, about that, old man." 
 
 " But Yale opens in three weeks ? " he 
 questioned. 
 
 Mac shook his head. 
 
 " Sorry, Rex ; but you '11 be lucky to get off 
 with that. Such a strain is worse than any 
 amount of broken bones." 
 
 Kingsley whistled. Then he drew in his 
 breath. 
 
 " You 're a jovial sort of prophet, Mac. 
 What can I do, whilst ? " 
 
 Very gently Mac's hand dropped from the 
 chair-back to his cousin's shoulder. 
 
 " Possess your soul in patience and your
 
 232 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 body in quietness," he said slowly. Doctor as 
 he was, he had dealt many a blow, but few that 
 had hurt himself more keenly than this one. 
 
 "No golf?" 
 
 " No exercise at all for the present, Rex. 
 For a week or so, you '11 have to keep still." 
 
 Kingsley looked straight into his cousin's 
 eyes. He saw something there that sent the 
 color from his brown cheeks. 
 
 " Is it as bad as that, Mac ? " 
 
 " I hope not. Honestly, Rex, I believe not. 
 If you take care of yourself, I hope six weeks 
 will see you in condition again; but it isn't 
 a case that can be played with. You gave your- 
 self a bad wrench. Then you lay down on the 
 ground and fell asleep, without troubling your- 
 self to cool off. The two things didn't work 
 well together." 
 
 " And now ? " Kingsley asked steadily. 
 
 " Now I am going to keep you rather flat, 
 for a month. I 'm sorry to spoil your vacation ; 
 but " 
 
 "I suppose so," Kingsley replied rather 
 absently. 
 
 The silence between them lengthened. Sud- 
 denly Mac raised his head. 
 
 " Here comes Nathalie. Sha'n't I send her
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 233 
 
 in ? " he asked, with the air of a doctor pre- 
 scribing an infallible cure for the present ill. 
 
 But Kingsley shook his head. 
 
 " Not just now, Mac," he said quietly. " In- 
 stead, don't think I Ve gone daft," he added, 
 with a mirthless little laugh ; " instead, if you 
 don't mind, I wish you 'd go and tell Peggy; 
 about it, and ask her to come in here, for 8 
 few minutes."
 
 234 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 " TT THAT are you doing here in office 
 
 V V hours, I 'd like to know," Kingsley 
 demanded, the next morning. 
 
 " Playing truant." 
 
 " Uncle Hu will be after you." 
 
 Deliberately she fastened Sophia to a tree, 
 mounted the steps and sat down beside the 
 steamer chair. 
 
 " Let him ! " she said concisely. 
 
 " And then he '11 dismiss you." 
 
 She cocked her chin in the air. 
 
 " He can't. I know so much that I 'm 
 invaluable." 
 
 Kingsley let his novel slide to the floor, and 
 clasped his hands back of his head. 
 
 " Conceit, thy name is " 
 
 " -P e ggy>" sne responded. " I know it ; you 
 have told me so before. Still, I have a reason 
 for my conceit. Are n't you all squabbling for 
 me, I 'd like to know."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 235 
 
 " I had n't observed it." 
 
 " Well, I had," she returned composedly. 
 " Hal wants me ; Mr. Hubert can't get along 
 without me, and now I have left them both 
 in the lurch, because I knew you 'd like to have 
 me frolic with you." 
 
 " Not much frolicking for me for the present, 
 Peggy Ann." 
 
 She dropped into her favorite pose, elbows 
 on knees, her chin in her hands. 
 
 " Maybe not. It 's horrid, too, perfectly 
 horrid. Still, there is no especial use in 
 your getting pensive about it," she observed. 
 " Things might be a lot worse." 
 
 " Yes. They also might be a lot better." 
 
 " Never mind that. Be thankful for what 
 you 've got, and forget the rest." 
 
 His gray eyes twinkled at her tone. 
 
 " Did Miss Eudora teach you that, Peggy 
 Ann?" 
 
 " No ; I evolved it. It ? s common sense. 
 Just think, Rex, you might be a lone orphan in 
 a five-story tenement." 
 
 " Yes, and I also might be a blue chim- 
 panzee in a menagerie. But I don't see what 
 bearing the fact has upon the case." 
 
 " Teaches you to count your mercies. You
 
 236 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 have an ancestral home, next door, and kind and 
 tender parents." 
 
 " By Jove, yes ! One kind and tender parent 
 is on the verge of apoplexy, this morning, be- 
 cause he can't decide what key he shall use for 
 his new sonata," Kingsley said, with a laugh. 
 " I advised him to try the whole bunch, one 
 after another ; but even that did n't suit him. 
 It must be awful to have an oversoul, and then 
 mislay the key to it." 
 
 " Where 's Jack ? " Peggy asked abruptly. 
 
 " Gone fishing." 
 
 Her brows went upward, and Kingsley has- 
 tened to explain. 
 
 " Their plans were all made, and I would n't 
 let them stay at home." 
 
 " Hh ! They need n't have asked your 
 permission." 
 
 " They did n't. I dropped in my commands, 
 yesterday noon. I 'm all right, and the mater 
 ordered lunch served out here." 
 
 " Has she gone ? " 
 
 Peggy's tone showed her disapproval rather 
 too plainly for Kingsley's pleasure. 
 
 " Yes. I told her I would n't stay still, un- 
 less she went. She made a great row; but I 
 fairly scared her into going. Good for her,"
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 237 
 
 Kingsley responded, with a serene unconscious- 
 ness of the uneasy hours Mrs. Barrett must 
 pass, away from her prostrate offspring. " I 
 promised her that, if she would go, I would n't 
 budge, all day long; and she arranged to have 
 things brought to me. I say, Peggy Ann, why 
 don't you come back here and eat lunch with 
 me?" 
 
 " What about your father ? " 
 
 " He '11 be here, too." 
 
 "I I don't believe I'd better." 
 
 " What 's the reason ? I '11 send word over to 
 The Savins." 
 
 " I 'm afraid of your father," she confessed 
 desperately. 
 
 Again Kingsley's laugh shook the chair. 
 
 " The poor old pater ! What has he done ? " 
 
 " Not generally ; only when he is writing 
 things," she explained. 
 
 " Oh, I begin to see. You think he gets 
 nerves, and throws things ? That does n't hap- 
 pen often. As a rule, when he is working, he 
 eats for ten, and forgets to talk. That may not 
 sound artistic ; but it 's the fact. Come back 
 and observe him," he advised her. 
 
 She settled back in her chair. 
 
 " All right," she answered a little dubiously.
 
 238 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " But, if you don't mind about my coming back, 
 I think I might as well stay now. I 'm a very 
 desirable companion, too, for I know seven kinds 
 of solitaire, and, if you prefer to read books, 
 I 've brought some stockings to darn. If you 
 had the least particle of chivalry, you 'd offer 
 to read aloud to me, while I do it." 
 
 Kingsley surveyed her in languid approval. 
 
 " By Jove, Peggy, you are a good fellow," 
 he remarked. 
 
 That morning was the first of many which 
 differed from one another, according to Kings- 
 ley's firm belief, merely in the slight details 
 of the weather and of the consequent position 
 of the steamer chair. The strain had been a 
 severe one ; and, though it was yielding to Mac's 
 prompt, efficient treatment, nevertheless it would 
 suffice to keep Kingsley on his back for some 
 time. As long as he was quiet, he suffered little 
 or no pain; but the monotony of his days and 
 the lack of exercise maddened him, and the 
 active fellow chafed under his restraint. For 
 the most part, however, he took it with stoic 
 resignation or jovial optimism; but, being 
 neither saint nor hero, it must be confessed that 
 he had days when his patience and courage gave 
 place to absolute bad temper. It was impossible
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 239 
 
 for him to read, all the time; solitaire he had 
 always regarded as the sport with which the 
 weak-minded spinster amuses herself during 
 the naps of her pet cat, and his mother was 
 obliged to give occasional hours to her husband 
 and her housekeeping. 
 
 From the start, Kingsley had laid down one 
 law with such emphasis that it had, perforce, 
 been obeyed. Because he was temporarily laid 
 low, Ursula and John should make no change 
 in their plans; the summer life and the sum- 
 mer junketings should go on without him. 
 The edict had been followed by rebellious mur- 
 murings ; but Kingsley had had his way in the 
 end. Day after day, he waved farewell to the 
 merry quintette who drove away from the door 
 of The Savins, never dreaming how large a 
 share of their pleasure was lost with the loss of 
 their jovial comrade whose bidding they dared 
 not gainsay. 
 
 Peggy, meanwhile, stuck to him with the per- 
 sistence and the scratchiness of a burr. In vain 
 he ordered her off. She refused to go; or, 
 going, she came back again, half an hour later, 
 on some fresh pretext. Once there, she neither 
 coddled Kingsley nor condoled with him. She 
 merely stayed within range. Sometimes she
 
 240 NATHALIE'S SISTER^ 
 
 gossiped with him; sometimes she teased him; 
 sometimes she graciously permitted him to read 
 to her; and sometimes she fought with him 
 with a healthy and unsentimental vigor. Now 
 and then he turned the tables, and fell to teasing 
 her until her patience was scattered to the 
 winds and, rising, she stalked away and left 
 him alone. By the time she reappeared, they 
 were mutually penitent and on their good be- 
 havior once more. In so far as Peggy was con- 
 cerned, Kingsley's days were never monotonous. 
 In her society, he passed through every mood of 
 content, annoyance, liking and rage in swift 
 succession; but the resultant of all the moods 
 was a hearty and growing affection for his way- 
 ward, but loyal comrade. 
 
 Left to themselves, Nathalie and Ursula 
 laughed a little, now and then, over Kingsley's 
 defection from his old-time allegiances. Time 
 was when Peggy's society was a thing to be 
 avoided; time was when Kingsley would have 
 been clamorous for their society. Now, while 
 he was always glad to see them, merry and cor- 
 dial during their calls beside his chair, and 
 politely regretful over their departure, it was 
 Peggy for whom he was really watching, Peggy 
 to whom he turned for comprehension, Peggy
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 241 
 
 whose company he sought, when his black-lined 
 moods were upon him. 
 
 However, there was compensation in all 
 things, and both girls were finding that the 
 ripening summer was leaving them less and 
 less time and thought for Kingsley Barrett. 
 To Ursula, the days were passing like a dream, 
 golden with happiness and touched with the 
 rose-color of romance. She was still only a 
 child, far too young for any real thought of 
 love. Nevertheless, her girlish ideals were 
 centering wholly in Harry Arterburn, her girl- 
 ish hopes were vaguely concerning themselves 
 with his future. For the present, it was enough 
 for her to know that he never appeared more 
 content than when she was beside him. Satis- 
 fied with that certainty, she made no effort to 
 forecast the future. 
 
 And Nathalie? 
 
 It seemed to her now, as she looked back- 
 ward over her life, that she had never before 
 known what happiness meant. The past years 
 had always been full of good things for her; 
 but they amounted to nothing, in comparison 
 with the absolute joy of the present. For 
 Nathalie, it was as she had said: Mac was 
 the central point of her ?olar system. And 
 16
 
 242 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Mac's every thought began and ended in his 
 wife. 
 
 Early September was lengthening the even- 
 ings, and the moonlight lay over the lawn in 
 broad yellow splashes, one night when Nathalie 
 gave voice to her content. Mac had found her 
 alone on the veranda, when he came back from 
 a flying trip to New York. Bending over her 
 shoulder, he dropped a little leather box into 
 her lap. 
 
 " You extravagant boy ! What is this ? " she 
 asked, as the cover flew back to show a milky 
 gleam from within. 
 
 " Three months, to-day," he reminded her. 
 " I was afraid you might forget." 
 
 Without a word, she pulled him down on 
 the arm of her chair, and, for a moment, the 
 two golden heads touched each other. 
 
 " Mac," she said contentedly at last, while 
 she nestled her head into the crook of his elbow ; 
 " this has been a wonderful summer." 
 
 " Yes, dearest." 
 
 " You Ve come back again, Mac ? " Peggy's 
 voice inquired from the shadowy doorway. " I 
 do wish you would come in and get your dinner. 
 You know we promised to go over and play 
 whist with Bex, to-night."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 243 
 
 " Mmm ? Yes. Where are Ursula and 
 Jack ? " Mac queried absently, with his gaze 
 still on the yellow hair beside him. 
 
 " Mac Alister Holden ! They went home 
 on the noon train, to-day. You '11 be forgetting 
 your name next." 
 
 " No matter, as long as I remember yours, 
 Peggy," he retorted good-humoredly. " Run 
 in, there 's a dear soul, and tell Jane I am 
 here." 
 
 " All right. You come in now, though." 
 And Peggy vanished. 
 
 Nathalie gave a little sigh. 
 
 " The summer is nearly over, Mac." 
 
 " Are you sorry ? " 
 
 " Yes. I dread the breaking-up. It has 
 seemed as if each day was better than the one 
 before it had been." 
 
 " But there are better ones to come, Na- 
 thalie." 
 
 " Perhaps. Don't tempt fate too far, though. 
 Besides, I don't believe anything could be 
 happier than this." 
 
 " You 've enjoyed having Ursula here ? " 
 
 " Yes, and the being with Aunt Teddy and 
 Grandpa McAlister. But, after all, Mac, it has 
 all been mostly you."
 
 244 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Stooping, he took the box from her hand and 
 slid the great pearl on her finger. 
 
 " Nathalie," he said, and his voice was full 
 of tender reverence ; " I know life better than 
 you do, dear, and I know that, if you can say 
 that after three months of marriage, I have 
 nothing left to wish for." 
 
 " Mac, I do wish you would hurry." Peggy's 
 voice sounded plaintive. " The soup is freezing 
 over, and the beans won't be fit to eat." 
 
 Mac straightened up abruptly. 
 
 " Oh, hang the beans, Peggy ! I '11 come, in 
 a minute." 
 
 " Well, you need n't be so cross about it," she 
 retorted. " You know you don't like cold 
 things, and you know Rex is waiting." 
 
 " Let him wait," Nathalie advised. 
 
 " Poor Rex ! " Peggy said rebukingly. " He 
 is out of all the fun, and I should think you 
 would be sorry for him." 
 
 " So we are. Why don't you run over and 
 stay with him till we come ? " Mac suggested 
 tactfully. 
 
 " Because, if I did, you 'd sit there mooning, 
 for an hour, and forget all about us," Peggy 
 answered, with exceeding bluntness. " I 'm 
 going up-stairs now to get ready. I wish
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 245 
 
 you 'd come and change your gown, too, 
 Nathalie." 
 
 "What's the use?" 
 
 " Becomingness. You are n't half so careful 
 to choose becoming colors, nowadays. I should 
 be ashamed to drop back, as soon as I was 
 married." And Peggy's determined step echoed 
 on the stairs. 
 
 Nathalie broke the pause which' followed her 
 going. 
 
 " Mac, do you know have you thought 
 that is, has it occurred to you that the sum- 
 mer has meant a good deal to someone besides 
 ourselves ? " 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " To Hal ? " 
 
 " Yes. Do you suppose the dear fellow real- 
 izes how plainly he has shown it ? " 
 
 " No. He and Ursula have been as innocent 
 as a pair of babes in the wood." 
 
 " He has looked like a mute at a funeral, all 
 the afternoon," Nathalie commented irrever- 
 ently. 
 
 " Was the leave-taking such an ordeal ? " 
 
 " Yes. Ursula had a few tears, and Hal 
 hung to her hand a little longer than the law 
 allows. I really could n't see the reason for
 
 246 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 much emotion, as long as he will see her again 
 in two weeks." 
 
 " How should you like it, Nathalie ? " 
 
 " Mac ! Mac Holden, do go in and get your 
 dinner." It was an exasperated voice which 
 came floating down to them from an up-stairs 
 window. 
 
 " Yes, Peggy. Just going. What do you 
 think of it, Nathalie ? " 
 
 " That he is too old for her, and " 
 
 " Am I too old for you, dear ? " 
 
 Again the yellow hair brushed his sleeve. 
 
 "Mac! The idea!" 
 
 " But Hal is my twin." 
 
 " And Ursula is a year younger than I," 
 she added conclusively. " Still, I love Ursula 
 like a sister. But, Mac, if Hal should ever 
 marry Ursula, what would become of Peggy ? " 
 
 Mac smiled thoughtfully to himself. 
 
 " Wait a few years, and then ask Rex," he 
 advised her. 
 
 " Do you really think so ? " 
 
 " I really hope so. They both are splendid 
 stuff. Just now they are very good cronies; 
 but that so often grows into something else." 
 
 Nathalie drew a long breath. 
 
 " Then that is one more deed the summer has
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 247 
 
 done. Just think how they used to squabble, 
 when we first came here ! " 
 
 " It was mainly Peggy's fault. She was very 
 thorny at first; but she is getting bravely over 
 it." 
 
 " Poor Kex ! " Nathalie said suddenly. 
 
 " Yes. Still, he is gaining," Mac answered 
 gravely. " I was frightened at first ; but I 
 think the worst is over, though it is bad enough 
 now. He has cause to remember the summer." 
 
 " How long do you think it will be ? " 
 
 " I 'm not sure ; but I hope Thanksgiving 
 will see him on his feet again. His worst time 
 will come, after he gets back to the city, when 
 he can have neither college nor society. He will 
 miss Peggy, then." 
 
 " Aunt Babe has invited her to go back with 
 them; but Hal thought it would be better for 
 her to be in Northford," Nathalie said thought- 
 fully. " I '11 do what I can for Rex, and " 
 
 " Mac, do go in and eat ! " Peggy ordered, 
 as she appeared in the doorway for a second 
 time. " It is really very cruel and selfish for 
 you two creatures to sit there by yourselves, and 
 keep us waiting. I am going over to Rex now. 
 If you are n't there in ten minutes, I shall send 
 Mrs. Barrett for you. Now do go in! " She
 
 248 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 seized Mac by the sleeve, dragged him to the 
 doorway and pushed him over the threshold. 
 Then, gathering up her fluffy white gown in 
 both hands, she turned rebukingly to her sister. 
 " Nathalie," she said with severity ; " I had 
 always supposed that, when a person had been 
 married for three mortal months, it was time 
 for the levering to be over." 
 
 But Nathalie shook her head. 
 
 " No, Peggy," she answered contentedly ; " it 
 is only just time for the best of it to begin."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 249 
 
 YES, it has been a perfect summer," 
 Nathalie sighed contentedly, two days 
 later. 
 
 " For you. Mine has been in the imperfect 
 tense," Kingsley commented. 
 
 " In the sense of incomplete action ? You are 
 having a horrid time of it, Rex ; and, moreover, 
 you have spoiled half our fun. We simply 
 can't get on without you." 
 
 " But you '11 have to, for one while yet," he 
 predicted gloomily. 
 
 " Not so long as you think. Mac says 
 you will be able to go back to college, by 
 Thanksgiving." 
 
 " Yes, confound it ! That will cut out two 
 good months, and junior year is the best of 
 things. Let 's talk about the moon, Nathalie. 
 It turns my heart to water, when I think of all 
 I am missing." He laughed, as he spoke; but 
 his laugh was a bit dreary. Then he threw
 
 250 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 back his head and took a long breath. " I 'm 
 losing all my grip," he added. " Too much 
 coddling plays the mischief with a man. 
 There 's no telling where I 'd have been by now, 
 if I had n't had Peggy to slug me, now and 
 then." 
 
 " And she goes, to-morrow," Nathalie said. 
 
 " Yes, worse luck ! You were my fbst and 
 best friend, Nathalie; but you forsook me for 
 Mac, and I Ve had to take up with Peggy. 
 Now, just as I am finding Peggy an invaluable 
 companion, behold, she falls to packing her 
 trunk. I foresee that I am doomed to. a lonely 
 old age." 
 
 Nathalie's reply was interrupted by the ap- 
 pearing of Peggy herself. The girl came 
 bouncing into the room, anxious and breathless. 
 
 " Has anyone seen Sophia Smith ? " she 
 panted. 
 
 " No. Has she mislaid herself ? " Kingsley 
 inquired tranquilly. 
 
 " I can't find her anywhere." 
 
 " Sophia lost ?" In her turn, Nathalie started 
 up. 
 
 " Not lost, Nathalie ; only gone before." 
 
 " Stop joking, Rex. Have you seen her ? " 
 
 " No. She is n't given to making formal
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 251 
 
 calls, and Mac said he would rather I didn't 
 take her to walk at present." 
 
 " And you have n't seen her go by ? " 
 
 " No, Peggy Ann ; no white streak has 
 darkened my horizon." 
 
 " But when did you see her last, Peggy ? " 
 Nathalie asked. 
 
 " At dinner time. I took her for a long walk, 
 this afternoon, clear to the shore. It was the 
 longest walk she has had at all, and she had a 
 beautiful time. I put on her best blue bow, 
 and she was too dear," Peggy explained inco- 
 herently. " Then she ate a huge supper, fairly 
 gobbled it, and that is the last I saw of her." 
 
 " Did n't you tie her up, after it ? " Nathalie 
 inquired. 
 
 For her only answer, Peggy held up an empty 
 collar. 
 
 " Slipped it again ? I thought she was broken 
 of that trick," Kingsley remarked. 
 
 " She was, till the other day on the street. 
 I stopped to talk to Mrs. Andersen, and she 
 backed out of her collar and went off home." 
 
 " Most reprehensible behavior on the part 
 of a woman as old as Mrs. Andersen ! " 
 
 " No. Sophia backed." 
 
 " Then Sophia is a genius worthy of her great
 
 252 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 . name," he returned gravely. " I have often 
 wondered how I could get away from Mrs. An- 
 dersen ; but it never would have occurred to me 
 to back out of my collar. Next time, I '11 try 
 the same tactics, Peggy Ann." 
 
 But Peggy had dropped down into a chair, 
 where she sat scowling forlornly at the floor. 
 
 " How can I find her ? " she lamented. 
 
 " Let her find herself. She is too big to be 
 overlooked, and too homely to be stolen." 
 
 "Rex!" 
 
 Then he relented. 
 
 " Honestly, Peggy, I am no end sorry for 
 you. I only wish I could get out and help you 
 hunt. But I would n't worry too much. Sophia 
 is known from Don to Bathsheba, and somebody 
 will be sure to come lugging her home before 
 bedtime." 
 
 She smiled across at him gratefully. 
 
 " You 're a good sort of creature, Rex. Let 's 
 hope you '11 be a true prophet," she said, as she 
 rose. "If I only knew where to look for her ! 
 But she goes at such a rate, when once she gets 
 started, that there 's no telling what county she 
 may be in by now. It 's like looking for a 
 needle in a haystack." 
 
 " A turkey needle, then," Nathalie corrected
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 253 
 
 her. " But don't worry, Peggy. She will prob- 
 ably come strolling home before long." 
 
 Nathalie's accent, sympathetic, yet hopeful, 
 was inexpressibly soothing to her young sister. 
 
 " I 'm so glad you are n't cross at me, Na- 
 thalie," she said slowly. " I was so afraid you 
 would scold me for losing your dog." 
 
 " But you were n't to blame, dear. Besides, 
 Sophia really ought to belong to you, for you 
 have taken all the care of her, this summer." 
 
 " But she does n't. Of course, I love her like 
 one of my own children," Peggy answered pen- 
 sively, from between her clasped fingers. 
 
 Over her bowed head, Nathalie and Kingsley 
 exchanged a glance of amusement. Then Na- 
 thalie turned to her sister once more. 
 
 " Peggy dear, I think Sophia will come home 
 again." 
 
 " But maybe not till after I have gone. I did 
 want to kiss her good-by," Peggy wailed, in a 
 sudden outburst of woe over the dog who, in 
 some canine fashion, had wormed her way into 
 the very core of Peggy's heart. 
 
 " Perhaps not. But, Peggy, I 'm going to 
 tell you something else, even if it does spoil our 
 surprise. Mac and I have talked the matter 
 over, and we both feel that Sophia wants to
 
 254 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 have you for her mistress. We were going to 
 wait till you were in Northford, to-morrow 
 night. Then we planned to send her to you 
 by the next day's express. As soon as she comes 
 home, dear, she will be your own dog, not 
 mine." 
 
 "Nathalie! Rex! Truly? Sophia mine? 
 Oh you dear girl ! " Peggy cast herself on 
 Nathalie's neck in a strangling embrace. Then, 
 without another word, she turned to the door. 
 
 "Whither?" Kingsley called after her. 
 
 " To find my dog, my own dog," she answered 
 over her shoulder. " And then, oh then, won't 
 we go out in a blaze of glory ? " 
 
 And Sophia, meanwhile, was sleeping the 
 sleep of the just, behind the library sofa at The 
 Savins. 
 
 Huge as she was, nevertheless Sophia was a 
 dog of but two dimensions. She possessed much 
 length and height. In thickness she was to- 
 tally lacking. And so it came about that, when 
 one of the maids left a screen door slightly ajar, 
 Sophia squirmed her way into the house and 
 went on a tour of discovery. Her conscience 
 and her memory both assured her that she had 
 no business inside the house, and that assurance 
 led her to avoid the dining-room where the
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 255 
 
 family were at the table, and to conduct her 
 explorations noiselessly and upon the points of 
 her toes. Twice she made the round of the hall 
 and parlor; then she moved on to the library 
 where, overcome by drowsiness, she suddenly 
 decided to put herself to bed in the kennel-like 
 corner behind the leather sofa. 
 
 The fatigue of her long walk, followed by her 
 generous meal, caused Sophia Smith to sleep 
 soundly. Once she stirred a little and opened 
 one eye, when the maid came in to light the 
 lamps. Then she drifted off again into puppy 
 dreamland. 
 
 An hour later, Sophia wakened to find herself 
 still the sole occupant of the room. Crawling 
 out from her improvised kennel, she yawned 
 drowsily, stretched herself to her fullest length, 
 and then sat down on her haunches to meditate 
 upon the situation. Peggy and Nathalie were 
 still at Mrs. Barrett's, and the others were on 
 Mrs. Farrington's veranda. For this reason, 
 Sophia was free to amuse herself according to 
 her own pleasure; and, with her tongue dang- 
 ling limply from one corner of her mouth, she 
 pondered how best to attain that pleasure. 
 
 After mature deliberation, it seemed to her 
 that the sofa pillows presented the best point
 
 256 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 of attack, and she attacked them accordingly. 
 Two Persian rugs were next added to the heap 
 of ruins, and then Sophia pounced for the red 
 velvet cushion in Dr. McAlister's favorite wil- 
 low chair. It proved to be heavier than she had 
 anticipated; and, her teeth still shut on one 
 of its corners, she paused to reflect. That in- 
 stant of reflection saved the cushion, but it 
 wrecked the room. Sophia's thoughtful eye 
 caught sight of a moth hovering about the piano 
 lamp. The next minute, she let go the cushion 
 and made a spring for her diminutive prey. 
 She missed her aim; but the room echoed with 
 the clash of broken glass, just as Peggy, white- 
 faced and full of alarm, appeared upon the 
 threshold. 
 
 To the terrified girl, it seemed but a second 
 before the floor was covered with the blazing 
 oil. It trickled here and there in little flaming 
 streams, now finding a chair-leg in its pathway, 
 now a pile of books. Out in the hall, Sophia 
 stood looking back over her shoulder at the ruin 
 she had wrought. On the opposite side of the 
 room, three long windows with full white cur- 
 tains offered a tempting connection between 
 floor and ceiling. 
 
 Peggy felt an overpowering desire to sit down
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 257 
 
 on the hall floor and cry. Instead, she shut her 
 teeth hard and with one hand fell to tearing 
 off her fluffy muslin skirt, while with the other 
 she pressed the button of the front door bell. 
 It was her only means of calling help. She 
 dared not leave the fire for a moment ; she could 
 only trust that the long, broken clamor would 
 bring the maids to the rescue. The last pin gave 
 way, and her thin skirt dropped to the floor. 
 Using all the strength at her command, she 
 bundled Sophia out of the house and into safety. 
 Then, gathering up her remaining skirts, she 
 bounded across the floor, dragged a table to the 
 side of the room and fell to pulling down the 
 long lace curtains, just as the frightened maids 
 appeared upon the scene. 
 
 " By Jove, Peggy, you 've got grit ! " Kings- 
 ley said admiringly, that night. 
 
 It was long past midnight and, for the mo- 
 ment, the two were left alone. Peggy, defiant 
 of her burns, defiant, too, of the general ten- 
 dency to make a heroine of her, had been pacing 
 the floor nervously, while they all talked at 
 once. 
 
 By some miracle, the fire had been confined 
 entirely to the library. Hubert McAlister had 
 rushed over, in answer to the shriek of the 
 17
 
 258 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 maids; and the fire extinguishers in the hall 
 had done the rest. Four black walls, some hun- 
 dreds of charred books and a dozen ruined 
 chairs marked the extent of the damage. 
 
 " And yet," Dr. McAlister said, with an odd 
 little quaver in his voice ; " if this good child 
 had n't kept her head, The Savins would have 
 been nothing but a pile of ashes." 
 
 As he spoke, he bent over the chair where the 
 girl was sitting. She received his caress as if 
 it had been a benediction. 
 
 But now they had all gone home, and Peggy 
 was escorted to the Barretts' where Mrs. Barrett 
 decreed quiet and a soothing drink for both 
 Peggy and Kingsley who was in a state of col- 
 lapse after the excitement of the evening. She 
 departed to concoct her draught, and Peggy and 
 Kingsley were left alone. 
 
 She laughed a little, in answer to his words. 
 
 " But you have saved the house," Kingsley 
 urged. " Everybody, Grandpa and Uncle Hu 
 and Uncle Billy, all say nothing could have kept 
 the fire down, once it had caught those cur- 
 tains." He hesitated; then he added slowly, 
 " P e ggy A 1111 ? does it ever occur to you that we 
 McAlisters owe you a good deal for this sum- 
 mer ? And my debt is the greatest of all."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 259 
 
 She halted beside him and stood looking down 
 into his clear gray eyes. 
 
 " Our debts would about balance each other, 
 Rex," she answered gently. Then her voice 
 took on the old, mocking ring, as she added, 
 " It is long past midnight, so this is my last 
 day here. Did n't I tell you I 'd go out in a 
 blaze of glory ? " 
 
 The sleeping draught proved to be a potent 
 one, and Peggy who, girl-fashion, had named 
 the corners of the strange room, fell asleep, as 
 her head touched the pillow, only to dream, not 
 of the burning oil, but of a pair of dark gray 
 eyes, merry, tender and altogether winning.
 
 260 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 NORTHFORD was blazing with scarlet 
 and gold. The patches of pine on 
 the mountain sides only served to heighten the 
 flaming tints of maple and hickory, and the 
 sunlight lay dazzling over all. Peggy, with 
 Sophia at her heels, came in from an early- 
 morning walk, and halted on the threshold to 
 look back over the glory she was leaving be- 
 hind her. A strident voice hailed her from 
 within. 
 
 " Land alive, Peggy ! What sent you out so 
 early ? " 
 
 " I wanted a walk." 
 
 " Well, you got it, to judge from the looks 
 of that dog. She 's completely tuckered." 
 
 " She stopped to chase squirrels," Peggy 
 explained briefly, as Sophia turned and trotted 
 away towards the back door, where experience 
 had taught her to look for her very own tin 
 plate.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 261 
 
 The small boy seated at the table suspended 
 his operations on the oatmeal, and twisted him- 
 self about in his chair. 
 
 " Did she get 'em ? " he inquired eagerly. 
 
 " Oh, Fizzums, you here ? " 
 
 " Yes, I 'm here. It 's brexfast time, an' 
 I 'm hungry," he responded thickly, for his 
 mouth was once more filled to its utmost limit. 
 " Why did n't you an' Sophia Smith be to brex- 
 fast, Peggy?" 
 
 " Because we wanted some fresh air," she 
 answered, while she seated herself opposite her 
 little brother. 
 
 " You look as if you 'd had it. Your cheeks 
 are the color of a porter apple." 
 
 Again Fizzums detached himself from his 
 oatmeal. 
 
 " I think they look most like a purple cab- 
 bage," he announced unflatteringly. " Cousin 
 Vedora, Peggy wants some mush." 
 
 " Oh, Fizzums, don't call it that horrid 
 name," Peggy protested. 
 
 " Why not ? It is mush, all mushy. See ! " 
 He proved his statement by means of certain 
 evolutions with his spoon. It was conclusive, 
 rather than appetizing, and Peggy turned her 
 eyes towards the frill of curl papers which sur-
 
 262 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 mounted the parchment-hued brow of her 
 elderly cousin. 
 
 " It was lovely on the hill, this morning, 
 Cousin Eudora." 
 
 " But there was such a heavy dew that I 
 should have thought 't would be sopping wet," 
 Miss Eudora responded prosaically. 
 
 " No ; not so very. We went down the lane 
 to Blowmedowne, and back by the path through 
 the upper pasture." 
 
 " Did you go to the Pool ? " Fizzums asked 
 with interest for, since the summer day when 
 he had been under suspicion of being drowned 
 there, the Pool had beenyforbidden ground to 
 him. 
 
 " No ; we only went as far as the pine grove." 
 
 " What you got on your church dress for ? " 
 Miss Eudora interrupted. 
 
 Peggy glanced down at the blue cloth gown 
 she was wearing. 
 
 " Because I wanted to," she said calmly. 
 
 Miss Eudora clattered the spoon with which 
 she was filling Fizzums' s empty saucer. 
 
 " But it 's your best dress," she reiterated. 
 
 " Well." 
 
 " And it 's altogether too good for every 
 day," she pursued.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 263 
 
 Peggy looked up, half amused, half angry. 
 
 " It is n't every day," she answered ; " it 's 
 my sixteenth birthday." 
 
 Miss Eudora deliberately went on with her 
 breakfast, and there was a perceptible pause. 
 Then she said indifferently, 
 
 "Oh, is it? I'd forgotten." 
 
 For an instant, the girl bit her lip sharply, 
 and the tears glittered in her eyes, as she re- 
 called the merry-making which had celebrated 
 Ursula's birthday, three days after her arrival 
 at The Savins, that very summer. The drops 
 still hung heavy on her lashes, when Fizzums 
 pushed back his chair, trudged around the table 
 and clambered up into his sister's lap. 
 
 " Ven I must give you sixteen kisses," he 
 announced a little grudgingly. " It will take 
 a good while to do such a whole lot, so maybe 
 I 'd better begin now." 
 
 And Peggy's arms shut upon her small 
 brother, with a grateful sense of having at least 
 one person who cared to mark the day. 
 
 Peggy was undeniably homesick, that fall. 
 Heretofore, she had accepted Northford and 
 Cousin Eudora as necessary parts of her life, 
 no more to be questioned than the succession of 
 snow and rain.- Her -one year in Xew York had
 
 264 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 faded from active memory ; and she had lacked 
 any basis for comparison. Now, after her 
 summer at The Savins and in the pleasant 
 family life of the McAlisters, her surroundings 
 at Northford had seemed to her as succulent as 
 the raw salt codfish which formed the founda- 
 tion of many of Miss Eudora's meals. She 
 mourned for Hubert McAlister; she pined for 
 her brother, and most of all she longed for 
 Kingsley, for the grip of his strong hand and 
 the ring of his hearty voice. 
 
 From the breakfast table, she betook herself 
 in search of Sophia, and together they vanished 
 from sight. When they reappeared, Peggy's 
 cheeks were scarlet, her lids swollen. She had 
 told Sophia all her woes, and she was convinced 
 that Sophia had understood. Accordingly, she 
 felt herself somewhat consoled. 
 
 School dragged perceptibly, that Friday 
 morning ; but at length it was over, and Peggy 
 dashed away to the post office, whence she 
 emerged with her hands full of letters and pack- 
 ages. Neither New York nor The Savins had 
 forgotten the day, and Peggy's noon inter- 
 mission was blissful enough to atone for her 
 birthday dinner which showed no sign of being 
 prepared for a festal occasion.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 265 
 
 The afternoon mail left an empty box, and 
 Peggy sauntered homeward, fully convinced 
 that her birthday pleasures were all in the past. 
 Her step lacked its usual alertness, and her head 
 was drooping, as she turned in at the gate. 
 The next instant, she sprang up the steps and 
 cast herself upon the tall man who sat there, 
 with Sophia Smith stretched across his feet. 
 
 "Oh, Hal!" 
 
 Bending over the dog, he had caught no 
 glimpse of her coming; and he fairly quailed 
 at her onslaught, as he received her in his 
 arms. 
 
 " Peggy dear, many happy returns ! Why, 
 what 's the matter, dear ? " For she clung to 
 him, sobbing and laughing in the same breath. 
 
 " Oh, Hal, you dear thing ! " she exclaimed 
 incoherently. " I was so lonesome ! And 
 Cousin Eudora forgot 't was my birthday ! 
 And we had fried salt pork for dinner! And 
 now you 've come ! " 
 
 " Glad to see me, Peggy ? " 
 
 Her face burrowed into his sleeve. 
 " Glad ? It 's heavenly. Where did you come 
 from?" 
 
 " New York." 
 
 " Yes ; but what brought you ? "
 
 266 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Your birthday," he answered quietly. 
 
 Raising her head, she stared straight into 
 his blue eyes. 
 
 " Harry Arterburn, truthfully and honestly 
 did you come all this journey up here, just 
 because I- happened to have a birthday ? " 
 
 " I did." 
 
 Her head went down again, and her voice 
 broke. 
 
 " Oh, Hal ! " she said for the third time ; 
 but her accent was enough. 
 
 " Now tell me everything," she said, a little 
 later, when she and her brother were settled 
 together on the smallest possible surface of the 
 veranda seat. " How long can you stay ? " 
 
 " Till Monday night." 
 
 She drew a deep breath of content. 
 
 " Three whole days ! And how is Rex ? " 
 
 " Better. He is beginning to get out again 
 now; and Mac wants him to go up to The 
 Savins for November." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " He will be quieter there. He has set his 
 heart on going back to college, just after Thanks- 
 giving; and Mac is working hard to get him 
 ready." 
 
 Peggy's keen eyes grew soft.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 267 
 
 " Poor old Rex ! What a hard time he has 
 had ! Did he ever tell you how I shot him ? " 
 
 " No. What was that ? He never told." 
 
 " Just like Rex ! " Peggy commented. " Well, 
 it was this way." She told the tale of the epi- 
 sode, and then added, " I was a bad guest for 
 The Savins, Hal. I shot Rex, and my dog 
 nearly burned up the house." 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " But they say you saved it, Peggy ; and Rex 
 declares that, without you, he 'd have yielded 
 up the ghost, last summer. Nathalie is still 
 laughing about the way she hung around in the 
 background, whenever you were in sight." 
 
 Peggy's brown cheeks dimpled and grew rosy. 
 
 " Dear old Rex ! " she said, with a girlish 
 frankness of affection which delighted her 
 brother's heart. " We used to squabble, the 
 whole time ; but now I can't see how I ever was 
 able to get on without him for a friend. You 
 and he and Mr. Hubert, Hal, have just about 
 made over my whole life." 
 
 His hand patted the shoulder on which it had 
 been resting. 
 
 " Something has made over my young sister," 
 he responded. " Peggy, I wanted to spend this 
 birthday with you, for it 's the beginning of
 
 268 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 things for us, dear. I 've never really known 
 you till now ; and now I find that I 'm a good 
 deal pleased with my little sister." 
 
 " I only hope you '11 be more so, some 
 day, Hal," she answered, with sudden grave 
 humility. 
 
 " Did you know that Mr. Hubert is n't at all 
 well ? " he asked, after a pause. 
 
 She started up in alarm. 
 
 " Harry ! Anything serious ? " 
 
 " No. He is over-tired, and has a bit of 
 malaria. Mrs. Barrett told me. He has been 
 working, hard over this Thomas case. Now, as 
 soon as it is over, he is going to run across to 
 London for a few weeks." 
 
 " How long has he been ill ? " she asked. 
 
 " It is n't enough really to call ill. Mrs. 
 Barrett only chanced to speak of it, last Sunday 
 night, while she was talking of Ilex's going 
 there, next month." 
 
 Peggy drew a long breath. 
 
 " When pesky people are ill, I don't worry," 
 she observed. " Mr. Hubert is so utterly sanc- 
 tified that he is almost too good to be true. 
 When such men as that get ill, I am afraid of 
 what may happen to them." 
 
 " Superstitious, Peggy ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 269 
 
 She laughed a little. 
 
 " Yes, mortally. Come and hunt four-leaf 
 clovers, Hal. It 's lovely in the sunshine, and 
 they will serve for an omen for us all." 
 
 They were still straying about the sunny 
 orchard, picking an occasional clover and 
 munching the bright red apples, when Miss 
 Eudora's head appeared above the wall. 
 
 " Peggy ! " she called. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Here 's a telegram for you. I paid fifteen 
 cents delivery charges on it, too." 
 
 She tossed the yellow envelope over the wall, 
 and Peggy pounced upon it eagerly. 
 
 " More congratulations ? " she exclaimed 
 gleefully. " I know it 's from Rex. He knew 
 you were coming up here, and he timed it so 
 it would find us together." 
 
 She tore it open. Then her face blanched, 
 and she held it out to her brother. 
 
 " Read it, Hal. Read it aloud," she urged. 
 " I can't seem to understand." 
 
 He took the slip from her shaking fingers, 
 and passed his arm around her as he read it. 
 
 " Margaret Arierburn, 
 
 " Hubert has typhoid. Come at once. Office 
 needs you. "John McAlister."
 
 270 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " But people don't always die of typhoid, 
 Peggy," he reasoned at length. 
 But she only persisted, 
 " He will, I know ; he 's so good."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 271 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
 
 "1VJEVERTHELESS, in spite of his good- 
 1. ^1 ness, Hubert McAlister did not die, nor 
 did he come near dying. 
 
 The next night brought Peggy and Harry 
 Arterburn to The Savins, where Mrs. Farring- 
 ton, heavy-eyed but smiling, met them with good 
 tidings from the invalid. Mac had come up, 
 the night before, bringing the best nurse to be 
 found in New York, and already the fever was 
 under control. 
 
 " He has been asking for you, Peggy," she 
 added, as she took the girl's cold hand into her 
 firm clasp. " From the first hour that he gave 
 out and went to bed, he began to speak of your 
 being sent for. Yesterday, my father decided 
 that it was the best thing for us to do. I '11 tell 
 him you have come." 
 
 She returned, in a moment, and beckoned to 
 Peggy to follow her. 
 
 " Just stop a minute, and then slip away 
 again," she warned her. " If he tries to talk,
 
 272 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 tell him you must have your supper now, and 
 that you will discuss business with him in the 
 morning." 
 
 Peggy nodded in comprehension. Then she 
 walked into the invalid's room with a noiseless 
 ease which won the instant liking of the nurse. 
 The liking was increased by the girl's quiet, 
 bright voice, and by the simple way in which 
 she made her escape from Hubert's detaining 
 hand. Out in the hall, however, her quiet van- 
 ished. She sank down on the broad old sofa, 
 and looked up at Mrs. Farrington through her 
 tears. 
 
 " Oh, I never supposed it would be so bad 
 as that," she wailed in a whisper. 
 
 " He is better, dear. Mac says so," Mrs. 
 Farrington said consolingly, as she sat down 
 at Peggy's side and put her arm around the 
 girl's shoulders. 
 
 " But he 's so white and sick, not a bit as he 
 generally is. I never saw anybody like that 
 before, Mrs. Farrington." 
 
 " We hope that he won't be like that long, 
 Peggy." 
 
 The girl clinched her hands with sudden 
 energy. 
 
 " I should die, if he were. Mrs. Farrington,
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 273 
 
 your brother is the best man I ever saw, the best 
 without being a bit of a prig. Not even Hal 
 is quite like him; he sees through things so 
 quickly, and he is always so just and so true." 
 
 Mrs. Farrington's smile was very gentle. 
 
 " P e ggy dear, you are just finding out some- 
 thing that I learned, years ago. Hu and I are 
 twins, you know, and I was always with him, 
 always took him as a matter of course. Then, 
 all at once, I discovered that he was n't at all 
 a matter of course. My girl friends had 
 brothers who were n't at all like him. Peggy, 
 in all my whole lifetime, Hubert has never 
 given me a sorry minute. I was always happy 
 with him, always proud of him." 
 
 With a sudden motion, Peggy slid to the floor 
 and rested her clasped arms in Mrs. Farring- 
 ton's lap. 
 
 " May I, just this only once, call you Aunt 
 Teddy ? " she asked abruptly. 
 
 " Always, dear." 
 
 " No ; it 's only for this once. If you are n't 
 too busy, I want to tell you a little bit about 
 things," the girl said slowly. " I sha'n't say 
 it easily, or very well ; I 'm a dumb thing, and 
 a cross-grained. But this summer has been so 
 different, you all have been so good to me. Aunt 
 18
 
 274 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 Ted, if you 're going to let me call you that 
 it 's the first time I Ve known what it was 
 to have people care about me." 
 
 " Why, Peggy dear " 
 
 "Wait," Peggy interrupted. "That isn't 
 all. Of course, Hal and Nathalie did; they 
 were related to me, and they could n't help it. 
 But I only spent a year with them, and they 
 did n't really know me. And, the rest of the 
 time, I did n't belong anywhere. People were 
 good to me; but I won't cuddle, and I don't 
 see much sense in kissing, so they all thought 
 I did n't care about them. I used to wish, wish, 
 wish that somebody would come along and love 
 me in spite of my crankiness, love me a great, 
 great deal, enough to give me the benefit of the 
 doubt and think maybe I was n't as hateful as 
 I seemed." 
 
 Her voice broke into a little sob. Bending 
 down, Mrs. Farrington drew the brown head 
 over into her lap. 
 
 " Peggy dear, I suspected something of the 
 sort," she said gently. 
 
 " I knew you did ; . you showed it, Aunt Ted. 
 That 's the reason I 'm telling you all about it 
 now. I was so homesick when I first came here, 
 so forlorn. Then, all of a sudden, you and Mr.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 275 
 
 Hubert began treating me as if I were n't so 
 hopeless, after all. Of course, Hal was dear 
 as could be ; but he was related to me, and felt 
 responsible for me." She hesitated; then she 
 lifted her head and faced her companion. " I 
 don't know as you know it, Aunt Ted; but it 
 did make a difference." 
 
 " The difference showed, Peggy." 
 
 " I 'm glad, even if it was n't much. But 
 you three, you and Mr. Hubert and Hal, all 
 treated me as if in time I might amount to 
 something, and it. made me determined that 
 I would n't disappoint you. I don't know yet 
 what it will be, Aunt Teddy; but I am bound 
 it shall be something worth while. And, if the 
 day ever does come that you 're proud of me, 
 remember that you were the ones who gave me 
 my first start." 
 
 " Billy," Mrs. Farrington said to her hus- 
 band, that night ; " there are some things that 
 count for more than writing books." 
 
 " I found that out, a good many years ago," 
 he answered contentedly, as he looked up at the 
 stately woman by his side. Then he added, 
 " Ted, your eyes have just the look they used 
 to have, when I was a mere bundle of achings, 
 and you used to make me forget all about them."
 
 276 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Those were good old days, Billy ; but the 
 present is better." 
 
 " And the future shall be better still," he 
 predicted, with a truthfulness which as yet he 
 could not realize. 
 
 From the breakfast table, the next morning, 
 Peggy was called directly to Mr. McAlister's 
 room. She found him propped up against his 
 pillows and, in the clearer light of day, he 
 looked far more like himself than he had done 
 on the previous evening. He held out his hand 
 to her in eager greeting. 
 
 " At last, my clerk ! I was afraid you 
 would n't come." 
 
 " Of course I should come, if you wanted 
 me." 
 
 " Good girl ! Now, Margaret, sit down here 
 and let me talk to you. Mac has told me I can 
 have fifteen minutes; but that isn't long, so 
 we must be about it." 
 
 " Are you sure it won't tire you ? " she asked, 
 as she seated herself beside the bed. 
 
 " I can't help it, if it does," he answered 
 quickly. " Margaret/ the Thomas case comes 
 up for trial, this week." 
 
 " Yes, I know," she assented quietly. 
 
 " And I can't be there."
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 277 
 
 " No," she assented again. 
 
 " It is very important. You know how I 
 have worked on the case; it is too bad to lose 
 it now." 
 
 " Perhaps Mac can pull you up, in time for 
 you to be there," she suggested consolingly, for 
 as yet she had no idea whither his hopes were 
 tending. 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " No ; that is out of the question." 
 
 A sudden light dawned in Peggy's eyes. 
 
 " Could Might At least, why couldn't 
 I be of some use ? " 
 
 He met question with question. 
 
 " Margaret, do you remember the day in the 
 park when I told you that you knew more of 
 the case than anyone but myself ? " 
 
 She took his hand into her cool, firm one, and 
 spoke slowly. 
 
 " Mr. Hubert, I said then that, if you should 
 ever need me, I would be on hand. Here I am." 
 
 His eyes rested long on her smooth brown 
 head, on her eager, loving young face. 
 
 " Thank you, Margaret." 
 
 There was a little pause. Then he said, 
 
 " Tell me over, as shortly as you can, what 
 you remember of the case."
 
 278 NATHALIE'S SISTER. 
 
 The heightening color in his cheeks made her 
 uneasy; but the uneasiness only acted as a 
 stimulus. Again she followed the case from end 
 to end, clearly, tersely, accurately. 
 
 " That is right. Could you tell that again 
 in court ? " 
 
 She bit her lip. 
 
 " If it would help you, I would try my best," 
 she answered, with a quiet she was far from 
 feeling. 
 
 " It may be best. It is probably the only 
 thing that can save the case for me. I am sorry 
 to ask this of you, Peggy ; but Mac will be with 
 you, and perhaps my father. Will it be very 
 hard for you ? " 
 
 Again she laid her hand on his. 
 
 " Mr. Hubert, nothing in this world would 
 be too hard for me to do for somebody that has 
 been as good to me as you have." 
 
 " Why, Peggy child, what have I done ? " he 
 asked in surprise. 
 
 Her smile was enigmatical, as she rose. 
 
 " Given me the benefit of the doubt," she 
 answered, as the nurse and Mac came back into 
 the room. 
 
 "But, truly, I didn't mind it, Hal," she 
 protested.
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 279 
 
 It was the next Saturday evening, a week 
 after their arrival at The Savins in response to 
 Dr. McAlister's telegram. All the Wednesday 
 before, the Thomas case had dragged out from 
 hour to hour, while the chain of evidence had 
 swung this way and that. Early on Thursday 
 morning, Peggy, a little pale and very deter- 
 mined, had been put upon the stand by the 
 lawyer who, during Hubert's illness, had been 
 handling the case in court. She had answered 
 the questions clearly and briefly ; once or twice, 
 she had had obvious difficulty in keeping her 
 temper ; once she had replied with a crisp phrase 
 which had sent a ripple of laughter sweeping 
 over the room and caused the ear-tips of the 
 prosecuting attorney to grow rosy red. Then 
 she had been dismissed, and there had followed 
 the perfunctory examination of a few other wit- 
 nesses. However, when the jury left the room, 
 it was tacitly understood that Peggy Arterburn's 
 testimony had carried the day, that her identi- 
 fication of the man she had trapped in the safe, 
 taken quite by itself, would have had sufficient 
 weight to imperil the cause of the opposing side. 
 
 Two days later, Harry Arterburn came back 
 to The Savins in order to escort his young sister 
 to Northford. To his surprise, no one of the
 
 280 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 McAlister clan would listen to the suggestion 
 of her going. 
 
 " Really, Harry, it is an impossible idea, for 
 we can't spare the child," Mrs. Farrington said 
 to him, the night he arrived. " Hubert needs 
 her help. He says she is worth a dozen ordi- 
 nary clerks, and he wants her to stay here for 
 the present. Besides, Rex is coming, next week, 
 and she will be good company for him. We all 
 hope you can let her stay." 
 
 Harry had protested, then given his consent, 
 and Peggy had gone to bed, too happy to sleep. 
 Life for her was singularly full of happiness 
 just then, so full, indeed, that it left her neither 
 time nor thought to pay much heed to the 
 congratulations that fell upon her ears. More- 
 over, to Peggy's healthy mind, there was noth- 
 ing so very remarkable about remembering a 
 long story and telling it over in public. Self- 
 consciousness was among the least of Peggy 
 Arterburn's vices. 
 
 "No," she reiterated; "I didn't mind it 
 a bit. Those queer, pompous lawyers were 
 great fun, only I did want to talk back to them 
 now and then. But, Hal ? " 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " Is it really true that I helped Mr. Hubert 
 save his case ? "
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 281 
 
 " I suppose it is." 
 
 She drew a long breath of sheer content. 
 
 " Then, after all, it must have been worth 
 while, nay being born." 
 
 Harry laughed. 
 
 " Have you had serious doubts about it, 
 Peggy?" 
 
 " Sometimes." Then, of a sudden, she turned 
 to him impulsively. " Perhaps, Hal, the day 
 may come when I can do something of the sort 
 for you." 
 
 His answering voice was very gentle. 
 
 " It came a good while ago, Peggy ; and it 
 has come again and again. I could n't get on 
 very well now without my dear old Peggy."
 
 282 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 THE SAVINS, lying in the sunshine, was 
 enveloped in a mist of savory odors. 
 It was Thanksgiving morning, and the house 
 was filled as never before. In the parlor, Mrs. 
 McAlister was whisking away a couple of im- 
 provised beds; on the veranda, Kingsley and 
 his two brothers basked in the sun, exchanging 
 stories of Yale and California ranch life ; and, 
 in the library, Dr. McAlister was calling the 
 roll of his four children. 
 
 " Hope, Teddy and Hu, and Babe," he said 
 contentedly. 
 
 " Adsumus" Hubert answered. 
 
 " Yes, here with me, all happy, all successful, 
 all strong. The old man has a great deal to be 
 thankful for." 
 
 " If only Allyn and Cis were here ! " Mrs. 
 Farrington said, with a regretful thought for 
 her younger brother. 
 
 " Paris is too far away. Still, I think they
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 283 
 
 will cable. Allyn never forgets things," Mrs. 
 Holden added. 
 
 " What a record he has made ! " Mrs. Barrett 
 said reflectively. " Who ever supposed that 
 Allyn would be a famous inventor, and add 
 laurels to the family name ? I wish my Lyn 
 would take after him." 
 
 " Don't be in a hurry, Babe," her father 
 advised her, with a smile. "'Paul and Lyn are 
 making a success of their ranching, and wild 
 oats seem to be the one crop that they don't 
 raise." 
 
 Mrs. Holden shook her head. 
 
 " Your grandsons appear to have escaped that 
 danger," she said serenely. " It is four years 
 since I had seen Harold, and an engineer's life 
 is full of dangers. And yet, when he came, last 
 night, I found I could look just as far down 
 into his eyes as I do into Mac's." 
 
 " You can say no better word than that, 
 Hope," Mrs. Farrington added. " All the boys 
 are turning out well ; but my one girl is a match 
 for them all." 
 
 " You need n't put on airs because you are 
 the only grandmother of the lot, Teddy," Mrs. 
 Barrett rebuked her, laughing, for it was an 
 open secret in the family that Mrs. Farrington
 
 284 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 regarded the world as centering in the tawny- 
 haired baby whom the Ainslees had brought 
 with them to the family festival. 
 
 " I don't. Still, it is a comfort not to have 
 to adopt children from outside the family," 
 Mrs. Farrington returned. 
 
 Mrs. Barrett laughed again. 
 
 " Don't be too sure it is a comfort. Ask Hope 
 what she thinks of my choice. And I have an 
 idea that, before ten years are over, Rex may 
 follow the example of Mac, and adopt an Arter- 
 burn on his own account. As for Jack and 
 Ursula, when they were here, all summer long, 
 it did seem too bad not to ask them up here for 
 the day. It makes somebody for Rex and Peggy 
 to play with." 
 
 Her father patted the strong, slim hand that 
 lay on the arm of his chair. 
 
 " You 're all right, Babe. The Savins is 
 large enough to hold us all, and these children 
 have contrived to tangle themselves up into our 
 lives. Where are they now ? " 
 
 From outside on the lawn, a sudden babel of 
 laughing and chatter answered his question. 
 
 " Whence and whither ? " Kingsley called, as 
 the gay group drew near the veranda. 
 
 " We 've walked four miles in search of an
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 285 
 
 appetite, and now we are going lip-stairs to 
 beautify ourselves," Peggy answered, as she 
 detached herself from the others and, with 
 Sophia at her heels, came to sit on the step at 
 Kingsley's side. 
 
 He surveyed her bright face and wind-tossed 
 hair with obvious approval. 
 
 " I doubt if you can improve on nature." 
 
 She smiled blissfully. 
 
 " Wait till you see my new clothes that 
 your mother brought me," she advised him. 
 " They 're all green, and they have a silk lining 
 that swishes, and you never will know me, when 
 I get them on." 
 
 " Peggy," he admonished her ; " are you a 
 thing of vanity, after all ? " 
 
 " Certainly. Don't I look it ? " 
 
 " Not a bit." 
 
 " Thank you," she said, with sudden iciness. 
 
 He looked clown at her in laughing rebuke. 
 
 " Wait," he added ; " I had n't finished. I 
 was only going to say that you always look as if 
 you had on the only thing that it was proper 
 or possible for you to wear." 
 
 She blushed with frank pleasure. 
 
 " Rex, that is the first real compliment I 
 have ever had in my life. I think I like it, too."
 
 286 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 " Make the most of it, then, for you may 
 never have another," he warned her. " Where 
 did you go ? " 
 
 " Over Skeleton Hill, as Mr. Hubert calls it." 
 
 He laughed at the name. 
 
 " Where mother had her adventure ? " 
 
 " Yes, and where Sophia capsized us. That 
 hill marks the beginning of all my good times." 
 
 " Only half," he objected. " I did n't come 
 into that party." 
 
 " Nor into this, to-day. I had a horrid time 
 without you, Rex." 
 
 " Wait till Christmas, and I '11 walk up an 
 appetite with you. But where was Hal ? " 
 
 She made a little grimace of disgust. 
 
 " Ask Ursula. And they did n't keep up, 
 either. Sophia and I spent half our time sitting 
 on rocks and waiting. Mac and Nathalie were 
 about as bad, and Jack hates Sophia, so he stuck 
 to them." She rose to her feet; but she halted 
 and stood smiling down at him. " But who 
 ever would have thought, Rex Barrett, that I 
 could reach the point of mourning over your 
 absence ? " she added saucily. Then she van- 
 ished inside the house. 
 
 All day long, the groups shifted and changed. 
 All day long, Dr. McAlister's snow-white head
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 287 
 
 was in the midst of the festivities. The late 
 afternoon was given up to games which ended 
 in a reel. Dr. McAlister led the reel, hand 
 in hand with Peggy who chanced to be the 
 youngest woman present, while Gifford Barrett, 
 seated at the piano, pounded out a rag-time 
 melody with infinite zest. Mrs. Farrington was 
 the mistress of ceremonies, that day, and she 
 had ordained that all the old-time customs of 
 their childhood should be followed to the letter. 
 
 The reel ended in a general romp, the lilt of 
 the rag-time died away, and there came a breath- 
 less pause. The next moment, there was a yelp 
 of welcome from Sophia Smith, the rolling of 
 wheels on the drive, a clatter on the steps and 
 the whirr of the bell, followed instantly by the 
 slam of the heavy front door. Before anyone 
 could stir, the parlor door flew open, and a tall 
 man and a beaming woman appeared upon the 
 threshold, demanding, 
 
 " Are we in time for dinner ? " 
 
 Mrs. Farrington was at the farther side of 
 the room. She crossed it with a rush, and cast 
 herself into the arms of her brother. 
 
 "Allyn!" 
 
 " Teddy, dear old girl ! Yes, Billy, Cicely is 
 here." And, one arm still about his sister, he
 
 288 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 stretched out his other hand and drew his wife- 
 forward. 
 
 " But we thought you were in Paris," Mrs. 
 Barrett said, while Mrs. Farrington made way 
 for her father. 
 
 " So we were." 
 
 " Then what brought you here ? " 
 
 " Homesickness, and the North-German- 
 Lloyd people. Your letter, Ted, telling that 
 Hope and Archie were coming, was too much 
 for us. I wired for passage, that night, and we 
 left Paris, the next morning. It has been a race 
 to get here. We had headwinds and did n't 
 land till eleven, to-day. I am afraid the cabby 
 who took us across the city will be on a spree for 
 a week. Still, we were bound we 'd make it, 
 and we have." And Allyn filled his lungs with 
 a deep breath of content. " How long is it, 
 papa, since Cis and I have been here on a high 
 day like this ? " 
 
 It was good to hear the stalwart, bronzed man 
 address Dr. McAlister by the old title; it was 
 good to see the famous inventor give place to the 
 boy as, brushing Hubert to one side, he led his 
 mother to the table and appropriated the chair 
 next to her own. 
 
 As a matter of necessity, the dining-room had
 
 NATHALIE'S SISTER 289 
 
 been abandoned, that night. The long table, 
 with its twenty-three guests, stretched through 
 the library and back parlor, while Sophia, stroll- 
 ing at will about the rooms, seriously impeded 
 the course of the serving. 
 
 For three long hours, the talk ran on, merry 
 and earnest, mocking and tender, now fore- 
 casting future work and plans, now going over 
 the record of the years since they had met, and 
 ever and anon turning reminiscent, as Mrs. 
 Farrington and her twin brother led them back- 
 ward to the days when the old house was still 
 young. 
 
 Unnoticed by them all, the tall clock in the 
 library struck and struck again. The candles 
 were burning low, and the busy murmur grew 
 still ; but yet they lingered, loath to end the day. 
 Then, when the silence had quite fallen, slowly 
 Dr. McAlister rose and stood before them, glass 
 in hand. White-haired and full of years, yet 
 still erect and vigorous, his eyes moved up and 
 down over the group. They were all there: 
 wife, children, grandchildren, and the tawny- 
 haired great-granddaughter asleep up-stairs, 
 together with the four young people whose 
 happy summer had been spent with them there. 
 They all were facing him, all looking up to him 
 19
 
 290 NATHALIE'S SISTER 
 
 with the love which his life had compelled. He 
 lifted his glass. The next instant, Kingsley 
 bowed and rose to his feet, and the others fol- 
 lowed his leading. 
 
 There was an almost imperceptible pause; 
 then Dr. McAlister proposed the toast, time- 
 honored and dear to them all in its simplicity, 
 
 "To all we love!" 
 
 The murmur of assent passed about the table 
 and died away into silence. At length, Dr. 
 McAlister smiled back at the waiting faces. 
 
 "My dear children," he' said slowly; " it is 
 time for us to say good night. And may God 
 bless you ! " 
 
 THE END OF THE McALISTER RECORDS
 
 HELEN LEAH REED'S 
 "BRENDA" BOOKS 
 
 The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls of larger growth. 
 Her stories are strong, intelligent, and wholesome. The Oittlook, New York. 
 Miss Reed's girls have all the impulses and likes of real girls as their characters 
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 Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. I2tno. $1.50. 
 
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 254 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
 
 ANNA CHAPIN RAY'S 
 
 "TEDDY" STORIES 
 
 Miss Ray's work draws instant comparison with the best of Miss Alcott's : first, 
 because she has the same genuine sympathy with boy and girl life ; secondly, 
 because she creates real characters, individual and natural, like the young people 
 one knows, actually working out the same kind of problems ; and, finally, because 
 her style of writing is equally unaffected and straightforward. Christian Register, 
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 TEDDY : HER BOOK. A Story of Sweet Sixteen 
 
 Illustrated by Vesper L. George. I2mo. $1.50. 
 
 This bewitching story of "Sweet Sixteen," with its earnestness, impetuosity, 
 merry pranks, and unconscious love for her hero, has the same spring-like charm. 
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 Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
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 Illustrated by J. B. Graff. i2mo. $1.50. 
 
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 NATHALIE'S CHUM 
 
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 254 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
 
 THE 'TEDDY 1 ' STORIES 
 
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 girls and boys, the press is unanimous in the opinion that 
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 Book," and "Phebe: Her Profession," "Teddy: Her 
 Daughter," and her later "Teddy" stories. 
 
 The New York Tribune says : " In ' Phebe: Her Profession,' we are 
 reintroduced to the lively and sometimes eccentric McAlister family. 
 It is a sparkling story, showing in its author a quick sense of humor 
 and much shrewd observation of human nature." 
 
 The Pilgrim Teacher pronounces "Phebe: Her Profession," "one 
 of the very best young people's books of this or any other year," and 
 says, " We have never seen a book in which, without the least tinge 
 of cheap sentimentality, the great influence of a bright, healthy girl over 
 her boy friends was so well set forth." 
 
 The Neiv York Commercial Advertiser says : " In ' Teddy : Her Book,* 
 Anna Chapin Ray has appealed to that eternal youth which dwells 
 somewhere in the heart of each one of us." 
 
 The Boston Herald says : " If there were more girls in real life like the 
 heroine of ' Teddy : Her Book/ the world would be a different place. 
 She is as full of fun as she can be, sympathetic, gentle, and jolly, a 
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 and girls ; " and The Denver Times says, " The story is charmingly 
 told, thoroughly wholesome." 
 
 Kate Sanborn writes that " ' Teddy: Her Book ' is as good as ' Little 
 Women,' and what can be higher praise ? This bewitching story of 
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 unconscious love for her hero, has the same spring-like charm." 
 
 "A charming and life-like story," is the opinion of The St. Paul Pioneer 
 Press. " . . . The youthful types presented are very natural and 
 vigorous, the action energetic, and the sentiment entirely wholesome." 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, &P COMPANY 
 254 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON
 
 New Illustrated Editions of 
 Miss Alcott's Famous Stories 
 
 LITTLE MEN : Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys 
 
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 With 15 full-page illustrations by Alice Barber Stephens. 
 
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 JO'S BOYS, and How They Turned Out 
 
 A Sequel to " Little Men." With 10 full-page plates by Ellen Wetherald 
 
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 " The young folks who have been charmed with Miss Alcott's previous stories," says the 
 
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 EIGHT COUSINS ; or, the Aunt-Hill 
 
 With 8 full-page pictures by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 
 
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