"Not much, perhaps," said Mildred, tired of reaching up in the hot sun, and inclined to be pessimistic, "but since we have moved into the middle of this dingy old block, we had better stop talking about living in the country. You haven’t told me yet why you took this last caprice. We can’t afford to go away and have a change in summer, I understand that; but surely there is a difference between stark and staring mad. There are more sensible forms of recreation than to do a family washing on an August day." "I haven’t done the biggest, hardest pieces, you see," said Clover gently. "There, this is the last. Now let us go over under our tree and talk a bit while we cool off." She turned toward the house and sent a reassuring kiss toward the figure seated in the window, and made a dumb show of applauding her own performance, smiling gayly as she clapped her hands. "Sit down, Milly," she said, when they had reached the shade of the one tree their yard boasted; but as soon as they were seated, the elder girl fell silent, and clasping her hands behind her head looked up through the foliage of the ragged oak, slowly dying as all its brothers and sisters do in this region, pining for the old prairie isolation. Mildred fanned herself with her hat, and regarded her sister half crossly, half curiously. "I hate to talk over bothers with you, Milly," said the latter at last; "but I do have a lot of bothers lately." Mildred wondered if it were imagination that she saw tears, gather in the other’s eyes. If they were tears, they were well trained to obedience. Clover sank still farther back and lay upon the grass, and any moisture that had crept forth retreated to its source. "Is mother any worse?" Mildred asked in a hushed voice. "No; although she is no better, and any suffering she may endure is the hardest trial we can have to bear. Other perplexities are trying in proportion as they have relation to her, and all our perplexities must, in the end, bear upon her. How to conceal them is the study." "What have you to conceal? What?" asked Mildred quickly, her large, childlike eyes full of wonder. "Mother knows, she has to, that we barely make both ends meet, and she thinks you are a perfect wonder, the way you manage. What is it, Clover? Is it Frank’s education you are worrying about again? Goodness! Don’t tell me you did the washing to save up money for that?" The speaker’s eyes widened with surprise and disapproval. Clover shook her head and smiled faintly. "I’ve noticed lately that you aren’t half so jolly as you used to be." Clover sat up with such suddenness as to make Mildred start. "Has mother noticed it?" she demanded.