8 The Acorn Saturday morning, Rose awakened early. Mrs. Ryder never knew her little girl to be so helpful as she was this day. In her mind she wondered what had come over the child; for Rose washed the dishes, swept the floor, and never scolded Jack once. By nine o'clock the work was all done, and then Rose asked her mother's permission to go over to Mary's home. Mrs. Ryder gave her consent, and Rose tied on her pink sun-bonnet and started for Mrs. Stanley's. On the way, she met Edgar St. Clair, who stopped directly in front of her exclaiming, "Well Rose where do you think you are going? Have you decided to go Eastering with us yet?" "I am going to see Mary," began Rose pulling vigorously at her bonnet strings, "And I have decided not to go to-morrow 'cause mama and papa told me not to." "Getting very obedient all of a sudden aren't you?", said the boy teasingly, "Well that's a law I will have to learn yet. My ma said to me that if nothing else would do, I could just go, and so I am going." "Why can't we go to-day, this very afternoon?" asked Rose hesitatingly, "Then we should not have to miss Sunday School. Please Ed, tell the crowd to go to-day, or to put it off until one day next week. I know we should all have a better time if we obey our parents, now don't you?" "Well I don't know," began Edgar slowly digging his toe into the sand, "Pears to me if we did everything our parents wanted us to we would be old and crabby like they are, right now. One day ma said to me if I didn't quit laughing when old Jenkins came after the milk that she'd-." "Well never mind telling that now," interrupted Rose, "Say you won't go to-morrow." "Now I wouldn't like to say," said Edgar hesitatingly, "But if the rest will wait I will too. I really don't like to miss Sunday School. You know a fellow has a queer feeling that it isn't right." "Of course it isn't," said Rose quickly, "Let's go and tell the rest to wait." Edgar turned and walked back with Rose to Stanley's home, where they found a number of boys playing marbles in front of the gate, and Mary perched upon the gate-post watching them. Briefly, Edgar and Rose stated the object of their visit, and some said they would stay home and go Eastering on the following week, but Ned Stanley exclaimed angrily, "Well when did you get so good, Ed, that you can't enjoy yourself with our crowd? I always knew you liked Rose, but I wouldn't be bossed by her, even if she is the superintendent's daughter. He's no better than anyone else. My pa saw him out buggy riding Sunday evening, after he had just lectured us all Sunday morning about working the horses on Sunday and about missing meetings. Now call that The Acorn 9 practicing what you preach if you can!" "It isn't so," began Rose hotly, her temper getting the best of her for a minute, "My papa would not have missed meeting if he hadn't been called out to see a very sick little girl. I am going tomorrow and see her too, so there, Ned Stanley." More hot words followed, and Ned drew a line across the sand and dared Edgar to cross it. Edgar rolled up his sleeves, and was almost ready to cross, when Rose, whose temper had all vanished, laid her hand pleadingly on his arm and said, "Don't." Ed stood undecided for a moment then he told Ned he didn't want to fight, which made Ned retort, "You're a coward!" This was almost as much as Ed could stand, but he comforted himself by thinking that some day when he found Ned alone, with no Rose to interfere, he would fix him. Mary ran to the house saying, "I am going right to the house to tell mama on Ned. Mama will tell papa, and then Ned will catch it!" The children were soon playing good naturedly together as though nothing had happened, although Ned still insisted that he wanted to go Eastering on Sunday, and as a result of his persuasion, about ten children were absent from the next Sunday School. After meeting, Rose and Mary walked over to see Belle Durant. The moment the two girls entered the room, Belle raised herself on the lounge, where she was reclining, exclaiming eagerly, "See Rose, the lily you brought me last night is almost in full bloom. I have been watching it patiently all day and it seems to give me new hope and new life. I believe I should get well if I could always have such a bright cheerful companion. You know I have such strange fancies sometimes that I'm going to die, but if one's life could be perfect as the lily, one need never be afraid. Sometimes I think that if I had a good mother, I should never have been as careless as I have been, but since she died, I have had to live with Aunt Jane, who was always scolding me until I took sick, but since then she has done everything for me. I have thought so often that perhaps Aunt Jane is really kind at heart, and that I am selfish and mean, and need more punishment than I have received. I can do nothing but think while I have to lie here, and when I get well I mean to do better." "You are not mean, Belle," said Rose earnestly, "I heard papa say you had more patience than any girl he ever saw." "Did he really?" asked Belle her pale face lighting for a moment, "I am glad he said so, and I am going to come to his Sunday School every