“Well, dear?”
“Nellie, you know that verse the minister said this morning about if two of you agree to pray for anything you know; why couldn’t you and I do that?”
Cornelia pressed the little fingers close. Then it was all very still, and presently the two slept.
The next afternoon, while they were getting dinner and working about in the kitchen, the older sister suddenly asked:
“When is Carey’s birthday? Isn’t it this week? The twenty-fifth, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” said Louise gravely. “It’s Thursday. Are you going to do anything? O Nellie!” in consternation. “You’re not going to invite that girl then?”
“I don’t know,” said Cornelia. “I know it wouldn’t be very pleasant for us, but I thought perhaps it would be a good excuse. There isn’t really any other that I know of.”
The little girl was silent for a moment.
“Wouldn’t it make her think we thought—I mean wouldn’t she get a notion we liked—That is, wouldn’t she be awfully set up—and think we wanted her to go with Carey?”
“I’m sure I don’t know, dear, and I don’t suppose that part of it really matters if we just get this thing sifted down and find out what we’ve got to do. We simply can’t say anything about her to Carey till we’ve somehow come in contact with her in his presence, or he will think we’ve been snooping about watching him; and he will just be angry and go with her all the more.”