GRA NDFATHER'S LOVE PIE



Auntee regained her self-possession in
a moment and said hastily, "No, dear
child, no worse. But sit down with
me and I will tell you all about it.
You must promise not to mention it to
grandmother, however, for we will have
to be brave together." Then, sitting
side by side in the pretty little blue
bedroom where only a few months
before so many joyous hours had been
spent in fixing everything up daintily
to meet the gaze of returned travelers,
Aunt Alice related to young Alice the
story of her trip to the doctor's that
very day, and how he had told her that
the chances were against the recovery
of the beloved father and grandfather,
lying so patiently on his bed of pain in
the south bedchamber.
His health had begun to fail in the
spring, but grandfather, with his broad
shoulders, military bearing, and six
feet of noble manhood, had never been
sick within the memory of either of
these two, and it was hard for them-
                  4