racket--I yelled, 'Don't you think you'd better go back to your own
room? I'll come and sit there with you.' And she yelled, 'I'm going to
stay here.' So she stayed."

"I think she was a little old for that sort of thing," Eleanor said,
coldly.

He gave a shout of laughter. "Eleanor! Do you mean to tell me you don't
see how awfully funny it was? The little thing hugged me with all her
might until the storm blew over. Then she said, calmly: 'It's cold. I'll
stay here. You can go and get in my bed if you want to.'"

Eleanor gave a little shrug, then rose and went over to the window. "Oh
yes, it was funny; but I think she must be a rather pert little thing. I
don't want to go to Green Hill."

Maurice looked worried. "I hate to urge anything you don't like, Nelly;
but I really do feel we ought to accept their invitation? And you'll
like them! Of course they're not in your class. Nobody is! I mean
they're old, and sort of commonplace. But we can go and live in the
woods most of the time, and get away from them,--except little Skeezics.
We'll take her along. You'll love having her; she's lots of fun. You
see, I've _got_ to go to Green Hill, because I must get in touch with
Uncle Henry; I've got to find out about our income!" he explained, with
a broad grin.

"I should think Edith would bore you," she said. Her voice was so
sharply irritated that Maurice looked at her, open-mouthed; he was too
bewildered to speak.