Could he possibly mean to refer to the fact that she took out her handkerchief, and carefully rubbed her hand, last Sabbath, after Teddy Reilly had held it! But there was certainly excuse for that; poor little Teddy's hand was so exceedingly dirty that it left its stain on the fair skin, and it was unnecessary, and therefore foolish, to draw on her delicate kid gloves over the brown marks, when a few passes of her handkerchief would efface them! She had waited until little Teddy was fairly out of sight; she would not have wounded his loving heart, nor indeed have missed the caressing from his dirty hand, for a great deal. Dr. Falconer certainly could not mean that. She decided for frankness, as Elsie Burton was very apt to do. "Dr. Falconer, I don't in the least understand you; all people are careful of their hands, not to soil them more than is necessary in getting through this dirty world." The sentence closed with a little laugh, but the great bright eyes, fixed questioningly on his face, showed that Elsie was honestly in pursuit of light. "Do you think so?" he said, and his voice was grave. "On the contrary, I think people are almost more careless of their hands than of any other organ which they possess. And hands soil readily, and are not easy to cleanse. Let me bring you a little book I have been reading; the marked passages in it will show you what I mean, and how I came to suggest my caution to you. I must not detain you longer, or you may miss your train. I have to call at the depot this morning, and I will give you the book there. I hope you will have a happy visit, and be the means of doing an incalculable amount of good." "Oh! I shall not have much opportunity for doing either good or evil, Dr. Falconer; I am not going to be gone long enough. You know I have but a week's vacation." "And you think a week not long enough to accomplish much! I see I shall have to mark another passage in my little book. Be sure to read the marked portion." And then he was gone, and Elsie Burton went hurriedly about the final preparations for her journey. "Clean hands!" she repeated with a curious smile, as, having given the final touches to her brown hair, she applied the sweet-smelling soap lavishly, making a fine white foam in which to lave them. "I wonder what Dr. Falconer is aiming at! If he had told me to guard my tongue, I should have understood him without difficulty; but if there is anything about me that gets taken care of, I'm sure it is my hands." Whereupon she gave them an extra dash of fresh water.