that is the best of all, isn't it?"

There was no resisting Hildegarde's smile; the young Merryweather
wavered, smiled, smiled again, and in five minutes they were all
seated together, and chatting away like old friends.

It appeared that Master Will was pleased with his new
surroundings, but that the absence of a base-ball nine was a
tragic thing, not lightly to be contemplated. The house was "no
end;" the dwelling they had just left was entirely too small for
them.

"You see," he said, "when we went to that house we weren't born at
all, most of us; that is, there was only Bell and the boys. So it
was big enough then, and they had rooms to themselves, and all
kinds of things. But then we began to come along, and at last it
got so small that the boys had to sleep in the barn, and when
there was more than one visitor I had to go on the parlour sofa,
and it's a beast of a sofa to sleep on,--haircloth, you know, and
you slide off all night; so father thought we'd better move, and
we came here."

"Is Bell your eldest sister?" asked Hildegarde, not sure how far
it would be right to question this frank youth.

"Yes, that's Bell. She's no end nice and jolly; and she's in
college, you know, and we have such larks when she comes home."

In college! Hildegarde's hopes fell. She knew she could not get on
with college girls, though she had great respect for them. Dear