VALLEY

MARY STAYS AT THE MANSE 65guessed God knew what lengthto make a rooster's tail.They did not "speak" for a day over this. Marytreated Una's hairless, one-eyed doll with consideration;but when Una showed her other prized treasurea picture of an angel carrying a baby, presumably toheaven, Mary declared that it looked too mudi like aghost for her. Una crept away to her room and criedover this, but Mary hunted her out, hugged her repentantlyand implored forgiveness. No one could keepup a quarrel long with Mary not even Nan, who wasrather prone to hold grudges and never quite forgavethe insult to her mother. Mary was jolly. She couldand did tell the most thrilling ghost stories. RainbowValley seances were undeniably more exciting afterMary came. She learned to play on the jews-harp andsoon eclipsed Jerry."Never struck anything yet I couldn't do if I putmy mind to it," she declared. Mary seldom lost achance of tooting her own horn. She taught themhow to make "blow-bags" out of the thick leaves ofthe "live-forever" that flourished in the old Baileygarden, she initiated them into the toothsome qualitiesof the "sours" that grew in the niches of the graveyarddyke, and she could make the most wonderfulshadow pictures on the walls with her long, flexiblefingers. And when they all went picking gum in RainbowValley Mary always got "the biggest chew" andbragged about it. There were times when they hatedher and times when they loved her. But at all times