Bessie was not the child for Gracie to put confidence in, if she expected advice that was not plain and straightforward.
"What shall I do, Bessie?" she repeated.
"I think you'll have to tell, dear," said the pitying little voice beside her.
Gracie actually shrank in a kind of terror at the thought; and yet she had known that this was what Bessie would say.
"Oh! I can't, I can't; I never can," she moaned.
"But, Gracie, dear," said the little monitress, "I don't think you will ever feel happy and comfortable again till you do; and Jesus is displeased with you all the time till you do it. If you told about it and tried to make it up to Nellie, then He would be pleased with you again. And then you could have comfort in that even if people were rather cross to you about it. And, Gracie, Maggie and I will not be offended with you. I know Maggie will not; and we'll coax the other girls not to tease you or be unkind to you about it."
"Don't you think it was so very wicked in me then?" asked Gracie. "O Bessie! you are such a good child, I don't believe you ever have wicked thoughts. You don't know how hard it is sometimes not to do wrong when you want to do it very much,—when a very, very great temptation comes, like this."
"Yes," said Bessie, "I think I do, Gracie. And you are very much mistaken when you say I never have naughty thoughts. I have them very often, and the only way I can make them go is, to ask Jesus to help me, and to keep asking Him till they do go, and the temptation too. Perhaps, when you had the temptation to do this you did not remember to ask."
"No, I did not," said Gracie. "But, Bessie, it never seemed to me that I could do a thing that was not quite true and honest. And I suppose it has come because I thought too much of myself and wanted too much to have my work the best. It was not that I cared about the money, for you know that was for Jessie and her grandfather; but I wanted every one to say mine was the best; and it made me so mad that any one should say Nellie's was better than mine. If I had not cared so very much, Hattie would not have persuaded me, for I did know it was horribly mean. You never had a temptation like this, Bessie."