THE APPLE TREE GIRL
on, Charlotte found herself thrown more and more upon the resources of her own company. She said little, but she used that old-fashioned head of hers a great deal; and, having such a criterion of beauty with which to compare herself, it didn't take her long to make up her mind on one important question.
"I guess Aunt Harriet was right," she sighed one night, looking at her reflection in the mirror after she had brushed her hair. "I'll never be pretty, or at least I'll never be pretty like Margaret is. Oh, well," and she drew another deep sigh, "if you're not pretty you've got to be smart. So I guess I've just got to be smart!"
And, whether or not it was nature's compensation, her studies seemed to come natural to her. She studied very hard, for one thing, thinking to herself: "I've got to be smart, or I'm nothing." For another thing, her mind wasn't disturbed and distracted by the young male
28
