The same mail that brought Mrs. Watson's letter brought Marty's little missionary magazine, which she always wanted to sit right down and read. "Now," said her mother, after they had got through talking over the letter, "I wish you would mind Freddie while I write some letters." Marty took her magazine into the back yard where Freddie was playing with his wheelbarrow under the lilac-bushes. She sat down by the big pear-tree to read, though not forgetting to keep an eye on her little brother's proceedings. Missions seemed as interesting as ever as she read. Presently she saw Evaline coming out of the kitchen with a pail of water and brush to scrub the back steps. "Evaline," she called, "when you get through your work come down here where I'm minding Freddie, wont you? I want to tell you something." "Yes," replied Evaline, "I'll come pretty soon. This is the last thing I've got to do." She soon came and threw herself on the grass beside Marty, who forthwith began showing her the magazine and telling her in a rather incoherent way about mission work in general and their band in particular. She told how many belonged to the band, what they did at the meetings, how much money they had, and what they were going to do with it; how this band was only one of hundreds of bands that were all connected with a big society; and how the object of the whole thing was to teach the heathen in foreign lands about God and try to make Christians of them. "That must be the same thing that Ruth Campbell was talking so much about a while ago," said Evaline when Marty stopped, more to take breath than because she had nothing further to say. "Who's Ruth Campbell? and what was she saying?" "Why, the Campbells live in that house that you can just see the top of from our barn. Ruth's as old as our Almiry, but she knows a heap more, for she went to school in Johnsburgh. She taught our school last winter, and is going to again next. She told us about something they have in Johnsburgh, and it sounds very much like yours, so it must be a mission-band. She said she wished we could have one here, but none of us paid much attention to it." "Oh, I think you would like it ever so much," said Marty; "only maybe there wouldn't be enough children round here to make a band," she added doubtfully. "How many does it take?" asked Evaline. "Oh, bands are of different sizes. I s'pose you _could_ make one of four or five." "There's a sight more children than that on the mountain," said Evaline with some contempt. "But then some of 'em mightn't want to send their money away to the heathen; and anyhow, I don't know where they'd get any money to send. Folks up here, 'specially children, don't have much."