Nelly would not give any reason, but put the stone carefully back in her pocket. She was determined not to tell Rob any thing about it, unless she found the stones; and the more she racked her brains the more confused she became as to where it was she had seen them. All the way home she was in a brown study, trying to think where it could have been. She was in such a brown study that she was walking straight past Lucinda's door without seeing her, when Lucinda called her name aloud. "Why, Nelly," she said, "ain't you going to stop long enough to speak?" "She hasn't spoken a word all the way," said Rob, discontentedly. "I can't get any thing out of her. She's real cross." "Oh, Rob! Rob! how can you!" cried Nelly: "I wasn't cross a bit." "Then you're sulky," retorted Rob; "and mamma says that's worse." "Tut, tut," said Lucinda: "Nelly doesn't look either sulky or cross. I guess you're mistaken, Rob." Nelly felt a little conscience-stricken. She knew she had been thinking hard, all the last hour, about the black stones. "Never mind, Rob!" she said: "I'll talk now." And she began to tell Lucinda all about the pictures they had seen at Mr. Kleesman's. "Oh, yes!" said Lucinda: "I know all about those. My little sister's got one of them: Mr. Kleesman gave it to her. He's real fond of little girls. It's a picture he made of the black nurse he had for his little boy. She's got the baby in her arms." "Why, has Mr. Kleesman got any children?" exclaimed Nelly, very much surprised. "Oh, yes!" said Lucinda: "he's got a wife and two children over in Germany. That's what makes him so blue sometimes. His wife hates America, and won't come here." "Then I should think he'd stay there," said Nelly. "So should I," said Lucinda; "but they say it's awful hard to make a living over there; and he's a layin' up money here. He'll go back one of these days." "Oh! I wish he'd take me with him," said Rob. "Rob March! would you go away and leave papa and mamma and me?" said Nelly. Rob hung his head. The longing of a born traveller was in his eyes. "I should come back, Nell," he said. "I shouldn't stay: only just to see the places." "Well," said Nelly, slowly, "I wouldn't go away from all of you, not to see the most beautiful things in all the world; not even to see the city of Constantinople." Rob did not answer. He was afraid that there must be something wrong about him, to be so willing to do what seemed to Nelly such a dreadful thing. To see Constantinople, and hear the muezzins call out the hours for prayers from the mosques, Rob would have set off that very minute and walked all the way.