"Why be sure, yes! Abody don't stay home from church when it's so near. That would look like we don't want company. There's church on the hill only every six weeks and the other Sundays it's at other churches. Then we drive to those other churches and people what live near ask us to come to their house for dinner, and we go. Then when it's here on the hill we must ask people that live far off to come to us for dinner. That way everybody has a place to go. It makes it nice to go away and to have company still. We always have a lot when church is here. Aunt Maria cooks so good." She spoke the last words innocently and looked up with an expression of wonder as she heard Miss Lee laugh gaily--now what was funny? Surely Miss Lee laughed when there was nothing at all to laugh about! "What time does your service begin?" asked the teacher. "What time do you leave the house?" "It takes in at nine o'clock----" Miss Lee smothered an ejaculation of surprise. "But we leave the house a little after half-past eight. Then we can go easy up the hill and have time to walk around on the graveyard a little and get in church early and watch the people come in." "I'll stop for you and go with you, Phœbe." Sunday morning at the Metz farm was no time for prolonged slumber. With the first crowing of roosters Aunt Maria rose. After the early breakfast there were numerous tasks to be performed before the departure for the meeting-house. There was the milking to be done and the cans of milk placed in the cool spring-house; the chickens and cattle to be fed; each room of the big house to be dusted; vegetables to be prepared for a hasty boiling after the return from the service; preserves and canned fruits to be brought from the cellar, placed into glass dishes and set in readiness. At eight-fifteen Phœbe was ready. She wore her favorite blue chambray dress and delighted in the fact that Sunday always brought her the privilege of wearing her hat. The little sailor hat with its narrow ribbon and little bow was certainly not the hat she would have chosen if she might have had that pleasure, but it was the only hat she owned, so was not to be despised. She felt grateful that Aunt Maria allowed her to wear a hat. Many little girls, some smaller than she, came to church every Sunday wearing silk bonnets like their elders!--she felt grateful for her hat--any hat! Tugging at the elastic under her chin, then smoothing her handkerchief and placing it in her sleeve--she had seen Miss Lee dispose of a handkerchief in that way--she walked to the little green gate and watched the road leading from Greenwald.