Doris, nothing loath, got a little stool, stood up beside her mother's couch, folded her small hands demurely, and began to sing without waiting for accompaniment: "Away in a manger, No trib for His head, The litta Lord Jesus Lay down His sveet head. The tars in the haaven Look down vhere 'e lay-- The litta Lord Jesus As'eep in the hay.
"The catta are lowing, The poor baby wates; But the litta Lord Jesus No cwyin' He mates. I love Thee, Lord Jesus; Look down fum the sky, An' stay by my trib, Watching my lul-la-by!"
Shirley kissed Doris, and then they began to sing other things, all standing around the piano. By and by that distant bell from the valley called again.
"There's a vesper service at five o'clock. Why don't you go, Shirley? You and George and Harley," said Carol.
"Me 'ant do too!" declared Doris earnestly, and it was finally decided that the walk would not be too long; so the boys, Shirley and the baby started off across the fields, while Carol stayed with her mother. And this time Mrs. Hollister heard all about Elizabeth and how she wanted Carol to come and see her sometime. Heard, too, about the proposed dance, and its quiet squelching by the brother. Heard, and looked thoughtful, and wondered more.
"Mother is afraid they are not quite our kind of people, dear!" she said gently. "You mustn't get your heart bound up in that girl. She may be very nice, but she's a society girl, and you are not, you know. It stands to reason she will have other interests pretty soon, and then you will be disappointed when she forgets all about you."
"She won't forget, mother, I know she won't!" declared Carol stoutly. "She's not that kind. She loves me; she told me so. She wanted to put one of her rings on my finger to 'bind our friendship,' only I wouldn't let her till I had asked you, because I didn't have any but grandmother's to give her, and I couldn't give her that."
"That was right, dear. You can't begin things like that. You would find a great many of them, and we haven't the money to keep up with a little girl who has been used to everything."
Carol's face went down. Tears began to come in her eyes.
"Can't we have even _friends_?" she said, turning her face away to hide the quiver in her lip, and the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.
"Yes, dear," said the mother sorrowfully, "but don't choose them from among another people. People who can't possibly have much in common with us. It is sure to hurt hard when there are differences in station like that."