"You see, we were very poor—mother and I—and twenty-five dollars seemed a great deal to us.
"'How much good we could do with that sum,' my mother said. 'We could get a little ahead in our rent, and spare enough out of it to get a new dress for you.'
"I clasped my hands. A new dress! Oh, surely it would be madness to hope for such a thing!
"That evening Mrs. May sent for me to come to the grand cottage where she was stopping. Her husband, a very deaf old gentleman, sat at the window as I entered. They both thanked me in the most eager and grateful fashion.
"'We have been thinking the matter over,' said Mrs. May, 'and I have come to the conclusion that I will do something handsome for you—give you a pleasure such as you have never experienced in your young life.'"
[CHAPTER VIII.]
"Mrs. May paused and looked smilingly at me for a moment or two.
"'So great is the treat I have in store for you that you will never forget it. But Mr. May and I disagree slightly as to what it shall be. We now lay the proposition before you. Which would you prefer—have five hundred dollars in cash, or be taken to Newport for a season, have lovely dresses, and stop at a great hotel, under my protection, and have as fine a time as any young girl at the sea-shore?'