Pearl Watson came in every night on her way home from school to see Libby Anne, and many were the stories she told and the games she invented to beguile the long hours for the little girl. One night when she came into the tent Dr. Clay was sitting beside Libby Anne's bed, gently stroking her thin little hand. The child's head was turned away from the door, and she did not hear Pearl coming in. Libby Anne and the doctor were having a serious conversation. "Doctor," she said, "am I going to die?" "Oh, no, Libby," the doctor answered quickly, "you're just staying out here in the tent to get rid of your cold, so you can go to your grandmother's. You would like to go to Ontario to see your Grandmother and Aunt Edith, wouldn't you?" "I want to go to my grandmother's," she said slowly, "but I'd like to see Bud first. I'm Bud's girl, you know," and a smile played over her face. "Bud said I must never forget that I am his girl. Have you a girl, Doctor?" The doctor laughed and looked up at Pearl. "No-body ever promised to be my girl, Libby," was his reply. "I wish you had one, so you could tell me about it," she said, quite disappointed. "I can tell you what it is like, all right--or at least, I can imagine what it would be like." "Would you stay away from your girl and never come back, and forget all about her?" she asked wistfully. Looking up, the doctor noticed that Pearl had picked up a newspaper and appeared to be not listening at all. "If I had a girl, Libby Anne," he said, very slowly, "I might stay away a long time, but I'd come back sometime, oh, sure; and while I was away I'd want my girl to lie still, if she had a cold and was out in a tent trying to get better to go to her grandmother's, and I'd want my girl to be just as happy as she could be, and always be sure that I would come back." "I like you, Doctor," she said, after a pause, "and if I wasn't Bud's girl I would like to be yours. Maybe Pearl Watson would be your girl, Doctor," she said quickly. "I'll ask her when she comes, if you like?" "I wish you would, Libby Anne," he said gravely. When he looked up Pearl had gone. It was a week before the doctor saw Pearl. One night he met her coming home from school. It was the first day of March, and it seemed like the first day of spring as well. From a cloudless sky the afternoon sun poured down its warmth and heat. The doctor turned his horses and asked if he might drive her home. "Pearl," he said, with an' unmistakable twinkle in his eye, "I want to see you about Libby Anne. I hope you will humour her in any way you can." Pearl stared at him in surprise--then suddenly the colour rose in her cheeks as she comprehended his meaning. "Even if she asks you to do very hard things," he went on. "She hasn't asked me yet," said Pearl honestly. "Is it possible that Libby Anne has forgotten me like that? Well, I believe it is better for me to do it myself, anyway. How old are you, Pearl?" "I was fifteen my last birthday."