A chorus of exclamations broke forth as Alison ceased reading. "What a strange old lady! Father, was she really angry with you for not doing as she wanted? And what was it?"
"She wanted me to go into politics, backed by her money; but I had no fancy for a politician's career, and I refused. Poor Aunt Justina! She was a very ambitious woman, and would have liked to see me President. Well, I am glad she felt more kindly at the last. I never wanted her money; but I am glad she has remembered you, daughter," said Mr. Fair, examining Alison's legacy with interest.
"Keep it bright! Why, you can see your face in it now," cried Floss, peering into its shining sides. "Sister, I don't see how you can wait to 'fill and light it.' I would like to see it lighted right away."
"But she says, 'Keep it as it is until you are in some strait,'" said Alison thoughtfully. "I would rather do just as she wished."
"So it will be just an ornament to stand on your table," said Billy disgustedly. "What a cranky old lady! What good will it do you?"
But Alison was not listening to him. A thought had flashed into her mind, and glancing at her mother she read the same thought in her eyes. Quietly she lifted her "wonderful lamp" and placed it in the center of the table for all to admire.
Then she went away to her own room to think it over. Was she ever likely to be in a much greater strait than she was now? And would not Aunt Justina want her to go to college? If the lamp was to shed light on her perplexities, surely now was the time it was needed.
A tap at the door heralded her mother. "What is my daughter thinking of?" she asked, smiling.
"Of the same thing you are, mother. I see it in your face. Would it be against Aunt Justina's wishes, to light the lamp now? She must have meant something. And—if there is nothing more, after all—if it does not 'shed light on my perplexities,' at any rate, it is valuable in itself. But—I could hardly need its help more than I do now."
"I thought of that, too, Alison, and I think it could not be wrong to investigate. Shall we fill it now, and wait until dark to light it?"