"Humph!" said John disdainfully. "Yes, I can drive a nail as straight as any of 'em; and I haven't been to college either."
"Neither have I," said Louise, accepting his sentence in the spirit of banter; "and I can drive nails, too. If I were only a little taller I'd show you. But how are we going to reach away up to the ceiling? Is there a step-ladder anywhere?"
"Yes; make one out of the kitchen table and the wood-box."
And he went for them. Then the work went on steadily. John could not only drive nails, but could measure distances with his eye almost as accurately as with a rule, and could tell to the fraction of an inch whether the picture hung "plum" or not. Louise, watching, noted these things, and freely commented upon them, until, despite himself, John's habitual gruffness toned down.
"Who is this?" he asked, and he, perched on his table and wood-box, stopped to look at the life-size photograph of a beautiful girl.
"That," said Louise, pride and pleasure in her voice, "is my sister Estelle; isn't she pretty? With the first breath of spring I want her to come out here; and I want you to get ready to be real good to her, and show her all the interesting things in field and wood."
"I!"
"Yes, you. I look forward to your being excellent friends. There are a hundred delightful things about nature and animal life of which she knows nothing, and she is eager to see and hear and learn. I look to you for help."
At this astounding appeal for "help" John turned and hung the picture without a word. What was there to say to one who actually expected help from him for that radiant creature!
Louise, apparently busy in untangling cord and arranging tassels, watched him furtively. He studied the picture after it was in place; he had difficulty in getting it to just the right height, and tied and untied the crimson cord more than once in his precision. The bright, beautiful, girlish figure, full of a nameless witchery and grace that shone out at you from every curve! She hardly knew how much she wished for the influence of the one over the other. If Estelle could help, would help him in a hundred ways, as she could; and if he would help her! Yes, Louise was honest; she saw ways in which this solemn-faced boy could help her gay young sister, if he only would.