"Come and see the beautiful flowers!" she said gleefully; "you never saw
such lovely ones!"




CHAPTER IV.

MRS. KANE IN TROUBLE.


"Now, tell me all about it, for as I am going to be her mother in future
I must know everything that concerns my child."

Mrs. Rushton was talking to Mrs. Kane, having come to the cottage to
announce her intention of adopting Hetty. Mrs. Kane was crying bitterly.

"You'll excuse me, ma'am. I would not stand in the way of my darling's
good fortune, not for ever so, I'm sure. And yet it's hard to give her
up."

"I should not have thought it could make much difference to you. I
believe she was generally running about the roads when not at school."

"Well, you see, ma'am, that is true; but at night and in the mornings
she would kneel on my lap to say her prayers, and put her little soft
arms round my neck. And those are the times I'll mostly miss her."

Mrs. Rushton coughed slightly. She herself liked the sight of Hetty's
pretty face, and was amused by her prattle; but she was not a woman to