Flossy thought herself a very heroic girl. There was a great lump in her throat, and she could not utter another word. It was a born princess turning her back on the palace.
Hal and Joe eyed each other inquisitively. It was the noblest thing she could do, but would it be the wisest?
[CHAPTER XI.]
OUT OF THE OLD HOME-NEST.
But then it all looked so different by daylight! The old rickety house, the noisy children, the general shabbiness, and the life of hard work and dissatisfaction, stretching out interminably. For, to the eyes of fifteen, it seems a long way to fifty; and roses are so much more tempting than thorns!
Hal found her out in the garden crying.
"Dear Flossy," he began tenderly, "I think you had better go, after all. When the parting is over, Granny will be reconciled, and understand that it is for the best."
"But I ought to stay at home and help," she sobbed. "If I could do both"—