Suddenly he seemed to find what he wanted, for in haste, almost as if he feared it might escape him, he added a y, making the word giby--then first lifted his head, and looked round, evidently seeking her.

She laid her hand on his head.

He jumped up with one of his most radiant smiles, and holding out the slate to her, pointed with his pencil to the word he had just completed.

She did not know it for a word, but sounded it as it seemed to stand, making the g soft, as I daresay some of my readers, not recognizing in Gibbie the diminutive of Gilbert, may have treated its more accurate form.

He shook his head sharply, and laid the point of his pencil upon the g of the give written above.