neither venturing to speak till out of hearing. As they retired
they came upon a heap of coarse garments, and Tabitha, catching
the arm of her friend, exclaimed:--

"Oh, Jan, look!"

What had caught her eye was the end of a light gold chain
that appeared among the clothes, and both girls halted and
gazed at it as if it possessed some quality of fascination. Then
Tabitha tip-toed forward, with but too obvious a purpose.

"Tibbie!" rebuked Janice, "you shouldn't!"

"Oh, but Jan!" protested Eve, junior. "'T is such a
chance!"

"Not for me," asserted Miss Meredith, proudly virtuous, as
she walked on.

If Miss Drinker had searched for a twelve-month she could
scarce have found a more provoking remark than her spontaneous
exclamation, "Oh! how beautiful she is!"

Janice halted, though she had the moral stamina not to
turn.

"What? The chain?" she asked.

"No! The miniature," responded her interlocutor, in a
tone expressing the most unbounded admiration and delight.