Sit down by the bed, and fan me some more instead."
"No!" persisted Elsie, who, now that she had made up her mind to part
with the treasured secret, could not bear to be stopped. "Cousin Helen
gave me a half-dollar, and told me to give it to Debby, and tell her she
was much obliged to her for making her such nice things to eat. And I
did. And Debby was real pleased. And I wrote Cousin Helen a letter, and
told her that Debby liked the half-dollar. That's the secret! Isn't it a
nice one? Only you mustn't tell anybody about it, ever--just as long as
you live."
"No!" said Katy, smiling faintly, "I won't."
All the rest of the afternoon Elsie sat beside the bed with her
palm-leaf fan, keeping off the flies, and "shue"-ing away the other
children when they peeped in at the door. "Do you really like to have me
here?" she asked, more than once, and smiled, oh, _so_ triumphantly!
when Katy said "Yes!" But though Katy said yes, I am afraid it was only
half the truth, for the sight of the dear little forgiving girl, whom
she had treated unkindly, gave her more pain than pleasure.
"I'll be _so_ good to her when I get well," she thought to herself,
tossing uneasily to and fro.
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