"Oh, thank you--awfully!" Grade kissed her fervently. "I'll run and tell
Jeanie. She will be pleased."

She skipped from the room, and Avery went to prepare for the walk. "Poor
little souls!" she murmured to herself. "How I wish they were mine!"

They mustered only five when they started--the three girls, Pat, and
Avery herself; but ere they had reached the end of the lane the two elder
boys leapt the Vicarage wall with a whoop of triumph and joined them. The
party became at once uproariously gay. Everyone talked at the same time,
even Jeanie becoming animated. Avery rejoiced to see the pretty face
flushed and merry. She had begun to feel twinges of anxiety about Jeanie
lately. But she was able to banish them at least for to-day, for Jeanie
ran and chattered with the rest. In fact, Olive was the only one who
showed any disposition to walk sedately. It had to be remembered that
Olive was the clever one of the family. She more closely resembled her
father than any of the others, and Avery firmly believed her to be the
only member of the family that Mr. Lorimer really loved. She was a
cold-hearted, sarcastic child, extremely self-contained, giving nothing
and receiving nothing in return. It was impossible to become intimate
with her. Avery had given up the attempt almost at the outset, realizing
that it was not in Olive's nature to be intimate with anyone. They were
always exceedingly polite to each other, but beyond that their
acquaintance made no progress. Olive lived in a world of books, and the
practical side of life scarcely touched her, and most certainly never
appealed to her sympathy. "She will be her father over again," Mrs.
Lorimer would declare, with pathetic pride. "So dignified, so handsome,
and so clever!"

And Avery agreed, not without reserve, that she certainly resembled him