“Listen, Louie.” Cornelia’s voice was very quiet, and she felt a sudden strength come to her from the need to help the little girl. “Dear, it won’t do any good to hate her; it will only do you harm, and mix us up so we can’t think straight. Besides, it’s wicked to hate anybody. Suppose you stop being so excited and let us put some good common sense into this thing. There must be a way to work it out. If it’s wrong for Carey to go with her, there will be a way somehow to make him see it. Until Carey sees it himself there isn’t a bit of use in our trying to stop his going with her. He probably has got to the place where rouge and powder are attractive to him, or else perhaps there is more to the girl than just the outside. At any rate, we’ve got to find out what it is about her that attracts our brother. And, Louie, do you know I’ve a notion that there’s nobody but God can help us in this thing? Mother used to say that, you know, when any big trouble came; and several times lately when I’ve been worried about things I’ve said, ‘O God, help me,’ and things have seemed to straighten out right away. Suppose you and I try that tonight.” Louise looked up through her tears, and smiled. “You’re an awfully dear sister, Nellie. I’m glad you came home”; and she squeezed her sister’s hand tenderly. “Thank you, lovey; I’m glad I came too, and you’re rather dear yourself, you know, Lou. I think we’ll come through somehow. Now shall we go into this picture-show?” “I don’t believe I feel much like it, do you, Nellie?” said the little girl, hesitatingly and studying a picture on the bill-board outside the theatre. “Look! That’s one of those pictures with cabaret stuff in that daddy doesn’t like us to see. I don’t want to go in. Those girls in that picture make me think of her.” “I’ll tell you what; let’s go home and get a good dinner for Carey and the rest, and perhaps we can think of a way to keep him home tonight and have a good time.” So home they went, and got the dinner, and waited half an hour after the usual time; but no Carey appeared that night until long after the midnight hour had struck. When at last he came tiptoeing up the creaking stairs, trying not to arouse anybody in the house, his two sisters lay hand in hand listening and both praying, “O God, show us how to keep Carey away from that girl, and make him a good man.” Carey slept late on Sunday morning, and came down cross, declining utterly to go to church. Cornelia and Louise went off alone sorrowfully. Carey had lounged off in the direction of the drug store, and the father had a nervous headache, and decided to nurse it up lest it keep him away from work on the morrow. Harry volunteered to stay home and get dinner.