The sunlight touched her bright curls, making her look like a fairy, and
now she skipped backward, and forward, around the circular garden, and
back again, only pausing to rest when another little girl ran across the
lawn to meet her. She was Dorothy Dainty, the lovely little daughter
of the house, and the sprightly, dark-eyed child who now joined her was
Nancy Ferris, her dearest playmate.

"I was just wishing you'd come out, for I've something to tell you,"
Dorothy said. "You know Aunt Charlotte has all her plans ready for
opening her private school next week, and you heard her tell mamma that
the class was _very_ full."

"Oh, I know it's to be a big class," said Nancy, "for besides all the
girls that used to be in it, there's to be one new one, and one _boy_,
Katie Dean's cousin, Reginald, and,--oh, _did_ you know that Arabella is
to join the class?"

"Why, Nancy, are you _sure_?" asked Dorothy; "only yesterday we looked
over toward her house, and there seemed to be no one at home." Nancy's
eyes were merry.

"Come and look _now_!" she said, clasping Dorothy's hand, and running
with her down to the gate.

"There!" said Nancy, "see all those windows open, and somebody out there
behind the house beating a rug; you see they _are_ at home, and that's
her queer little old Aunt Matilda."

Dorothy looked at the resolute little figure, and wondered how the thin