each little stone in its turn, and he considered them very pretty indeed.
The one with the pink stripes was so nearly round that it might have been
mistaken for a marble; the next was oval in shape and was of a pearly
whiteness; the third, although not quite so round as the first, was brown
and was a very handsome little stone.

While he was still admiring his treasures, he heard voices and, looking up,
saw his mother and the children returning from their visit. A sudden fear
that Elmer might want the stones made him thrust them out of sight, but he
was not swift enough to escape the eyes of that young lad. Elmer saw the
act and, thinking that Edwin might have discovered something valuable, said
authoritatively: "Ed, what was that that you put in your pocket just now?
Let me see it."

Edwin hesitated, for he did not want to part with what seemed to him his
only earthly possessions; bui when he saw his mother's threatening look and
heard her say, "Out with whatever you've got, Ed, or I'll see why! You
needn't try to show any of your authority around here!" he said, "I haven't
anything except these little stones that I found in the yard over there."
Then taking the stones from his pocket, he handed them to his mother for
inspection.

Finding that the stones were of no value, Mrs. Fischer returned them to her
son, and with the two younger children she passed on into the house. Elmer,
however, did not go with the rest, but sat down on the grass near Edwin,
and watched him closely as he returned the little stones to his pocket.
Edwin, although so young and seemingly ignorant along some lines, knew what
it was to be robbed of similar treasures; and, noticing the same evil light
in his cousin's eye that he had noted many times before at the poorhouse
among the children there, young as he was, he felt sure that, if given an