Mrs.Field went outdoors and stood by the front gate, looking down the road.

She saw a girl coming in the distance with a flutter of light skirts, and she exclaimed with gladness, "There she is!" The girl drew nearer, and she saw it was Ida Starr in a dress that looked like Lois'.
The girl stopped when she saw Mrs.Field at the gate.

"Good-morning," said she.
"Good-mornin', Ida." "It's a beautiful day." Mrs.Field did not reply; she gazed past her down the road, her face all one pale frown.
The girl looked curiously at her.

"I hope Lois is pretty well this morning ?" she said, in her amiable voice.
Mrs.Field responded with a harsh outburst that fairly made her start back.
"No," she cried out, "she ain't well; she's sick.

She wa'n't fit to go to school.