6. the Diamond Mines

    Not very long after ting t only Sara, but tire sc exciting, and made it t of conversation for er it occurred. In one of ters Captain Creold a most interesting story. A friend o see ract of land upon ly expected,  made one dizzy to tunity to sune by becoming a partner in  least, ters. It is true t any ot, traction for  quot;diamond minesquot; sounded so like ts t no one could be indifferent. Sara t ting, and painted pictures, for Ermengarde and Lottie, of labyrintones studded trange, dark men dug t ed in tory, and Lottie insisted on its being retold to eful about it, and told Jessie t s believe suced.

    quot;My mamma  forty pounds,quot; s;And it is not a big one, eit ;

    quot;Per s; giggled Jessie.

    quot;S being ric; Lavinia sniffed.

    quot;I believe you e ; said Jessie.

    quot;No, I dont,quot; snapped Lavinia. quot;But I dont believe in mines full of diamonds.quot;

    quot;ell, people o get t; said Jessie. quot;Lavinia,quot; ;rude says?quot;

    quot;I dont kno care if its somet t everlasting Sara.quot;

    quot;ell, it is. One of ends is t s all time--even in sc makes ter. Ss Ermengarde to be one, too, but Ermengarde says soo fat.quot;

    quot;Soo fat,quot; said Lavinia. quot;And Sara is too t;

    Naturally, Jessie giggled again.

    quot;S o do  you look like, or  you t you do.quot; quot;I suppose s; said Lavinia. quot;Let us begin to call ;

    Lessons for tting before time t. It ime ea in tting room sacred to t t deal of talking  many secrets cicularly if t squabble or run about noisily,  be confessed terfered ed to keep order, and t if t, Miss Minc an end to festivities. Even as Lavinia spoke tered tie, o trot everyle dog.

    quot;t ; exclaimed Lavinia in a es.quot;

    It  Lottie o play in ted parent to come tle ones o read. It  tion, and s in a ure of tille--men   ten t an outside ed at all, and were like beings in a dream.

    S it  agreeable to be dragged back suddenly by a tie. Never did s as to keep emper ion emptation to be unreasonable and snappis easy to manage.

    quot;It makes me feel as if someone  me,quot; Sara old Ermengarde once in confidence. quot;And as if I  to  back. I o remember to keep from saying sometempered.quot;

    So remember t and jumped down from able corner.

    Lottie  irritated Lavinia and Jessie by making a noise, ing  knee. S of a group of friends and enemies, ely coaxing and scolding her.

    quot;Stop te, you cry-baby! Stop te!quot; Lavinia commanded.

    quot;Im not a cry-baby . . . Im not!quot; tle. quot;Sara, Sa-- ra!quot;

    quot;If s stop, Miss Minc; cried Jessie. quot;Lottie darling, Ill give you a penny!quot;

    quot;I dont  your penny,quot; sobbed Lottie; and s t knee, and, seeing a drop of blood on it, burst forth again.

    Sara fle her arms round her.

    quot;Notie,quot; s;Notie, you promised Sara.quot;

    quot;S;  Lottie.

    Sara patted  spoke in teady voice Lottie knew.

    quot;But if you cry, you tie pet. You promised.quot; Lottle remembered t s so lift up her voice.

    quot;I  any mamma,quot; s;I --a bit--of mamma.quot;

    quot;Yes, you ; said Sara, c;ten? Dont you kno Sara is your mamma? Dont you  Sara for your mamma?quot;

    Lottie cuddled up to h a consoled sniff.

    quot;Come and sit in t ; Sara  on, quot;and Ill o you.quot;

    quot;ill you?quot; ;ill you--tell me--about t;

    quot;t; broke out Lavinia. quot;Nasty, little spoiled to slap ;

    Sara got up quickly on . It must be remembered t s tille, and so recall several t s go and take care of ed c an angel, and s fond of Lavinia.

    quot;ell,quot; s;I so slap you-- but I dont  to slap you!quot; restraining ;At least I bot to slap you--and I so slap you--but I  slap you. e are not little gutter co knoter.quot;

    unity.

    quot;A; s;e are princesses, I believe. At least one of us is. t to be very fas;

    Sara started toending t to girls s fond of. ;pretendquot; about being a princess o , and sive about it. S it to be rat, and  before nearly all t to ingle in  saved  fly into rages. ood quite still a moment.  , steady voice; sened to her.

    quot;Its true,quot; s;Sometimes I do pretend I am a princess. I pretend I am a princess, so t I can try and be;

    Lavinia could not tly t to say. Several times s s tisfactory reply o be vaguely in sympat. S terestedly. trut e about this one, and drew nearer Sara accordingly.

    Lavinia could only invent one remark, and it fell rat.

    quot;Dear me,quot; s;I  forget us!quot;

    quot;I ,quot; said Sara, and s utter anot stood quite still, and stared at eadily as sake Jessies arm and turn away.

    After to speak of ;Princess Saraquot; icularly disdainful, and term of affection. No one called ;princessquot; instead of quot;Sara,quot; but uresqueness and grandeur of title, and Miss Minc, mentioned it more to visiting parents, feeling t it rated a sort of royal boarding school.

    to Becky it seemed t appropriate tance begun on ternoon  be confessed t Miss Minctle about it. t Sara ;kindquot; to t tain deligs snatcairs rooms being set in order ning rapidity, Saras sitting room  sucimes stories old by installments, tisfying nature en or ily tucked into pockets to be disposed of at nig upstairs to tic to bed.

    quot;But I o eat em careful, miss,quot; s;cos if I leaves crumbs ts come out to get em.quot;

    quot;Rats!quot; exclaimed Sara, in ;Are ts t;

    quot;Lots of em, miss,quot; Becky anse a matter-of-fact manner. quot;tly is rats an mice in attics. You gets used to ttling about. Ive got so I dont mind em s long as t run over my piller.quot;

    quot;Ug; said Sara.

    quot;You gets used to anyter a bit,quot; said Becky. quot;You o, miss, if youre born a scullery maid. Id rats t;

    quot;So ; said Sara; quot;I suppose you mig in time, but I dont believe I so make friends ;

    Sometimes Becky did not dare to spend more tes in t,  Becky carried under , tied round  ape. tisfying to eat erest to Saras existence. , so look into s time it occurred to o bring tle meat pies, s t s upon a discovery. ed te sparkled.

    quot;O; s;ts fillinness ts best. Sponge cakes a evenly t it melts aand, miss. t stay in yer stummick.quot;

    quot;ell,quot; ated Sara, quot;I dont t ayed al I do believe tisfying.quot;

    tisfying--and so  a cook-sime, Becky began to lose ired feeling, and t seem so unbearably heavy.

    emper of ternoon to look foro--t Miss Sara o be in ting room. In fact, t meat pies. If time only for a fe put  into one; and if time for more, tallment of a story to be told, or some oterimes lay atic to t ster ture  t idea o poor Becky, and or sure ; and times  of t-- t and laugimes gay, kind laug help of all.

    Becky  laugtle e kne, ter ;fillinquot; as t pies.

    A feter came to  seem to be ten in sucs as usual.  very ly overhe diamond mines.

    quot;You see, little Sara,quot; e, quot;your daddy is not a businessman at all, and figures and documents bot really understand t feveris be aossing about, one  and spend troublesome dreams. If my little missus tle Missus?quot;

    One of o call ;little missusquot; because she had such an old-fashioned air.

    ions for o be, indeed, a marvel of splendid perfection. o tter asking able present, Sara .

    quot;I am getting very old,quot; se; quot;you see, I so  doll. t it. If I could e poetry, I am sure a poem about `A Last Doll  I cannot e poetry. I ried, and it made me laug did not sound like atts or Coleridge or S all. No one could ever take Emilys place, but I s t Doll very muc. t fifteen ones-- pretend too gro;

    Captain Creing ter in able before ters w  laughed for weeks.

    quot;O; ;ster fun every year s t itself and leave me free to run   I give to tle arms round my neck te!   I give!quot;

    to be celebrated by great festivities. to be decorated, and to be a party. taining ts o be opened  ceremony, and to be a glittering feast spread in Miss Mincement. e kneions to be made. t on t the wall.

    into ting room in table a small, dumpy package, tied up in a piece of bro, and s s came from. S quite tenderly. It e clean red flannel, and black pins uck carefully into it to form t;Menny urns.quot;

    quot;O; cried Sara, . quot; pains saken! I like it so, it--it makes me feel sorro;

    But t moment sified. On t letters t;Miss Amelia Minc;

    Sara turned it over and over.

    quot;Miss Amelia!quot; so ; be!quot;

    And just at t very moment siously pus.

    tionate, ood nervously pulling at her fingers.

    quot;Do yer like it, Miss Sara?quot; s;Do yer?quot;

    quot;Like it?quot; cried Sara. quot;You darling Becky, you made it all yourself.quot;

    Becky gave a eric but joyful sniff, and e moist .

    quot;It aint not flannin, an t ne I ed to give yer somet of nigend it in ried to ; ratfully; quot;t  o pick it up out o t-bin, ? Miss Meliar  a  be a proper presink if I didnt pin a card on-- so I pinned Miss Meliars.quot;

    Sara fle  old .

    quot;O; s, tle laug;I love you, Becky--I do, I do!quot;

    quot;O; breat;t aint good enoug. t ne;