that I had been willing to let myself be deformed that way,—when I didn't have to be—It would be worse to have your heart crooked, than your spine, too,—and it would show just as plainly, when it had once worked to the surface.
And I got to thinking pretty soberly about that other girl,—how she didn't have any home, and was coming among strangers and didn't know what they would be like,—and probably she was feeling sort of worried and frightened about it; and I began to see how much bigger a thing it was in her life than in mine, because it would all be new to her,—a new place, and new people, and everything different from what she had been used to; and I began to see that it was up to me to help her all I could;—and I worked more decent thoughts into those little pigeon-holes than I ever got into line in double that time in my life before.
Bess was making a writing set for the desk,—a blotting pad with leather corners, and a blotter and penwiper. She did a lot of the same sort of thinking over her work; and when we came to compare notes, we found that we'd spent our money to mighty good advantage, and given each
