Lucy cried harder than ever and so did Dora. For a minute Mother did not say anything at all. Then she told Dora to stop crying and told Lucy to go and wash her face.
When Lucy came out of the bathroom, Mother sat down in the rocker and took her in her arms. She told Dora to go into the parlor and work on the cushion for Olive.
Dora sewed until it began to grow dark, which was soon, because they had been so late coming from school. Mother never allowed her or Lucy to light the lamp on the table, so she looked out of the window and wished she could do something for Lucy.
After a time, she heard Lucy going up to their room and then Mother opened the door into the parlor. Dora ran to her at once.
“Please tell me, Mother,” she asked, with her arms about Mother’s waist.
Mrs. Merrill sat down and took Dora on her lap. “Lucy has done something very wrong,” she said. “She didn’t know how to do a problem in number-work, so she kept her book open under her desk and copied from it.”
“But she is very sorry,” said Dora, and the tears came into her eyes.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Merrill. “She is so sorry that we will not say anything more to her about it. But you will never do it, will you, Dora?”
“No, Mother,” said Dora earnestly. “But I don’t need to, you see. I like number-work and the problems are easy for me.”