confessed the girl. "And things do cost so much here in your country. I was frightened. I walked about to find a cheap lodging and reached that street in Georgetown where Mrs. Staples has her shop."
"I see," commented Uncle Dick.
"So I asked Mrs. Staples. She was English too, and she offered me lodgings and a chance to serve in her shop. I took it. What else could I do?"
"You are a plucky girl, I must say. Don't you think so, Betty?" said Uncle Dick.
"I think she is quite wonderful!" cried his niece. "And think of her making those blouses so beautifully! You know, Ida, Bobby bought the blue one of Mrs. Staples."
"I am glad, if you like them," said the other girl, blushing faintly. "I had hard work to persuade Mrs. Staples to pay for that one on the chance of your coming back for it."
"Well," interposed Uncle Dick, "tell us the rest. You thought you heard of your Aunt Ida up here in the mountains?"
"Yes, Mr. Gordon," said Ida. "I read it in the paper. But the notice must have referred to my dear little mare. I never dreamed she had been sent over here. I never dreamed of it!"
"No?"
"Of course I didn't! And when I got to Cliffdale there was nobody who had ever heard of my
