She seemed unusually quiet at breakfast, and Uncle John wondered if
she were tired from the excitement of the night before, or if she were
a bit homesick.

Gently he questioned her, and she laughed so gaily that at once his
fears were allayed.

"I'm not tired, and not a bit homesick," she said, "but I've been
thinking that I mustn't waste one single minute before Christmas. I
mean to win that prize, and to do that I'll have to work very hard."

"Why, Sprite!" cried Rose, "you've been working hard ever since school
opened."

"I have," she said quietly, "but I'll have to work harder still, and
I'm willing to, if I have to work day and evening."

"Oh, Uncle John!" cried Rose, "she won't have to do that. Her lessons
are _almost_ perfect now. A little more study, and she will easily be
at the head of the class."

It was announced that day at school that Captain John Atherton had
offered a prize for the best average, and Sprite gasped when the teacher
said;

"The prize is well worth working for. It is a large prize for any boy
or girl to win. It is fifty dollars in gold! Now work for it! You will
all gain by trying, for while but one can win the prize, every scholar
who works for it, has higher scholarship, and has acquired more
knowledge than if he had not entered the competition."