"Yes," returned their mother, tears of mingled joy and thankfulness shining in her eyes. "Oh, how thankful I am that he has never been wounded or taken prisoner--to starve and freeze to death, as so many of our poor, dear soldiers did. Oh, children, let us thank G.o.d every day of our lives for that!"

"Yes, yes, indeed!" exclaimed Mrs. Ray. "You will all want to go and see the train come in with the soldiers," she added, "but I'll stay at home and get the best dinner for John that he ever had in his life."

"Thank you for that kind offer, mother, dear," said Mrs. Baker. "I'll be very glad to go and take the children." Then turning to Ethel, "And what are you going to do, young woman?" she asked in a sprightly tone.

"To go to the station to meet my cousins and the Keiths, if I can be spared," returned Ethel, with a smile that told of a light and happy heart.

"Yes, indeed, you are at liberty to go," was the kindly rejoinder; "I was sure you would wish to, and so have engaged your friend Carry Brown to take your place in the store here for to-day."

Ethel expressed her warm thanks, adding, "I will see that everything about the store is in perfect order before I go, and will show Carry the places of things likely to be called for."

"That will be well," returned Mrs. Baker, as they left the table together.

Ethel was flitting about the store, dusting and putting things in place, humming a tune in the gladness of her heart at the thought that the war was over and the poor, weary, homesick soldiers about to be restored to their dear ones--particularly that her cousins George and Albert, were expected among the arrivals that day--when, glancing through the window, she saw the postman coming.

She ran to the door to meet him. He handed her a letter bearing her own name in the well-known handwriting of her kind friend, Mrs. Donald Keith. Ethel hastened to break the seal and read the enclosed note.

It was a brief one, telling her that they--Mr. and Mrs. Keith--would be in Philadelphia that morning in time to meet the train from Washington on which their brother, Colonel Rupert Keith, and his wife and two nephews, Stuart Ormsby and Percy Landreth, were expected to arrive. They would probably be at the depot for an hour or more before the Washington train would come in, and would be pleased to have Ethel spend that hour there with them, if she could be spared from the store.

This was good news to Ethel, who had not for months seen Mrs. Keith, one of the best and kindest friends she and her orphan brother and sisters had ever known.

She made haste with what must be done before leaving the store to Miss Brown's care, then hurried to the depot, reaching it some minutes ere the train from New Jersey was due; so that she and Mrs. Keith had time for a good long chat before the arrival of that from Washington, bringing their homeward bound soldier friends and relatives.

It came at last, there was a joyous meeting between the Keith brothers and other relatives, then the young men shook hands with Ethel, remembering having met her before on their way to the seat of war.

As they told each other in after years, Ethel and Percy Landreth each noted a change in the other; both had grown in stature, she nearing beautiful womanhood, he thought, while the impression she gained of him, in the few minutes of their brief interview, was that he was becoming a n.o.ble-looking man, one of whom his parents, sisters, and other relatives might well feel proud; and she rejoiced for him and them, that he had escaped wounds and imprisonment in any one of those earthly h.e.l.ls--Andersonville, Libby, Belleisle, Danville, Charleston, Salisbury--and other notorious rebel prison-pens.

They were all eager for home and could not be persuaded to miss the first train that would carry them on their westward way; therefore the interview was brief.

Mr. and Mrs. Keith returned to their home by a train that left only a few minutes later, and Ethel, after a short but very joyful interview with her returned soldier cousins, went back to her work at the store.

She found the Baker family rejoicing over their returned soldier with joy too deep, on the part of the older ones, for anything but tears.

Mr. Baker proved a pleasant-tempered, kindly-mannered man, and in no way interfered with Ethel's comfort as a member of the family. He was a mechanic, and in a few days was working busily at his trade again, while his wife, with Ethel's a.s.sistance, still carried on her business.

Thus a year pa.s.sed away during which Ethel gained in stature, in self-reliance, and knowledge of the work by which she hoped one day to support herself, and her brother and sisters. Her day-dreams were constantly of the little home she longed and hoped to provide for them and herself.

Her friend Carry Brown had similar aspirations, and finally they decided to go into business together. Their means were not large, but their plan was to buy goods in small quant.i.ties and on short credit, paying for them partly by sales, partly by doing a good deal of machine-sewing; Ethel also to continue her fine needlework as time and opportunity were afforded.

They found a suitable place only a few squares distant from Mrs.

Baker's, a small house with one room back of the store, which they decided should be their parlor, three bedrooms in the second story with an attic over them, a bas.e.m.e.nt kitchen, a cellar, and a small dining room.

The house was in pretty good repair. They rented it, freshened the appearance of the rooms with some cheap but delicately tinted paper on the walls, putting it on themselves to save expense, bought a scant supply of cheap, second-hand furniture, oilcloths and carpets for the floors, and the necessary utensils for the kitchen and dining room. The house and its furnishings were indeed small and mean in comparison with those of Ethel's uncles, yet she, her friend, brother, and sisters took very joyful possession of it one summer afternoon, feeling that at last they had a home of their own, and the next morning the store was open for customers.

Blanche, now in her sixteenth year, undertook the housekeeping under her older sister's direction and superintendence. They would decide the night before what they might spend on their three meals and what they wanted that would come within their means, and the next morning would make the purchases. Blanche liked doing the marketing, and she soon learned to economize and to prepare dainty little dishes at small expense, developing quite a talent for cookery.

They could not afford to keep a servant, and most of the house-work as well as the cooking fell to her share; Ethel and Carry devoting themselves to making articles for sale in the store and waiting upon customers.

Harry and Nannette too made themselves very useful out of school hours, doing errands and helping with the work about the house.

But Ethel did more than anyone else, so anxious was she to succeed in paying her way and making a living for them all. She was cheerful and happy, but greatly overworked; always very glad of the Sabbath rest, as they all were indeed, but eager to begin her labors again on Monday morning.

There was no one to watch over and warn her of the danger of overtasking her strength. Her uncles were so displeased that she was so determined to earn her own living and that of her younger brother and sisters, that they would not visit or a.s.sist her in any way, and naturally it was the same with their wives and children.

They saw nothing of each other on the Sabbath, Ethel choosing to attend a nearer church of the same denomination. They were all regular attendants upon the church services and at Bible-cla.s.s and Sunday-school. Ethel and Blanche were in the same cla.s.s and soon became greatly attached to their teacher, Miss Seldon, a lovely Christian woman who was deeply interested in all her scholars, but especially in this little family of orphans, struggling so hard to make their own way in the world. It soon became no unusual thing for her to call at their humble little home, invite their confidence, and, being a woman of means, in the kindest and most delicate manner render them a.s.sistance when she discovered that they were in any financial difficulty. But of that Ethel, in her pride of independence, would accept very little.

Miss Seldon did not know how hard and constantly the young girl worked, therefore did not warn her, as she certainly would had she known.

So things went on for nearly a year--all working industriously, but Ethel bearing the heaviest end of the burden, both physical and mental; for it was she who must plan how to meet all necessary payments. Often on waking in the morning she found it required a great effort to rise, dress, and resume her daily duties, and at last there came a time when the effort to do so was utterly vain; she could scarcely stir, and to rise from her couch was an impossibility.

She called to Blanche, and with her a.s.sistance finally succeeded in getting into her clothes and crawling downstairs to the store. Her breakfast was brought to her there, and having eaten it she took up her needlework, but it required a great exertion of will-power to do even that, while to run the sewing-machine was impossible.

"Oh, what ails me? what shall I do?" she exclaimed at length, dropping the work into her lap and clasping her hands together with a gesture of despair.

"You have been working too hard and constantly," said Carry, "and will just have to take a rest."

"I can't; there's too much to do," groaned Ethel.

"You'll have to have a doctor," said Blanche, her eyes full of tears.

"But you must; you shall," in reply to Ethel's mournful, dissenting shake of the head. "I'll go this minute for that one round the corner--Dr. Jones; I've heard people say he's a good one."

"We can't afford it," sighed Ethel.

"We certainly can't afford to let you die, or break down so that you can't do anything; so I'm going for him now, this minute," returned Blanche, s.n.a.t.c.hing up her hat and putting it on as she went.

She was so fortunate as to find the doctor in and was back again in a very few minutes, bringing him with her. After examining and cross-questioning his patient, he p.r.o.nounced the trouble utter exhaustion from overwork, and ordered entire rest for weeks to come. She must go at once to her bed and stay there, refraining from any exertion of mind or body.

He was very kind and sympathetic, half carried her up to her room himself, and saw her comfortably established there; then repeating his order to her to refrain from every kind of exertion of body or mind, and promising to call again the following day, he left her.

"Is there much the matter, doctor?" asked Carry, as he pa.s.sed through the store on his way out.

"She is utterly worn out," was the reply. "With absolute rest she may, and I hope will, recover completely in time; but it is very important that she should be relieved from all care and anxiety."

"I don't see how we are to manage that," sighed Carry to herself, as he pa.s.sed out, and she said the same thing to Blanche when she came into the room a few moments later.

"I don't know either," returned Blanche, tears filling her eyes, "unless--unless my uncles will help us a little."

"I'd go to see them and tell them all about it, if I were you," said Carry.

"To be sure; that's just what I will do," exclaimed Blanche, brightening. "I've got to do some errands out anyway, and, after attending to them, I'll go right on to my uncles' store and tell--'my tale of woe,'" she concluded with a vain attempt at mirthfulness.

With that she ran up to her room and hastened to attire herself neatly for her errand. She had left Ethel in bed and alone, the physician having enjoined it upon her to go to sleep as speedily and soundly as possible.

Blanche found her uncles in their office. They looked somewhat surprised at sight of her, but greeted her kindly, asking if she and her brother and sisters were all well.

At that Blanche burst into tears and sobbed hysterically for a moment.

"What is it, dear child?" asked her Uncle Albert, taking her hand and drawing her to a seat upon his knee. "I fear you are having a hard time of it, trying to support yourselves. Is some one of you ill?"