第26章

“OnlyifBrookeisgoingtobeathermometer，Imustmindandhavefairweatherforhimtoreport。“

“Pleasedon’tbeoffended。Ididn’tmeanttopreachortelltalesorbesilly。IonlythoughtJowasencouragingyouinafeelingwhichyou’dbesorryforby-and-by。Youaresokindtous，wefeelasifyouwereourbrotherandsayjustwhatwethink。

Forgiveme，Imeantitkindly。“AndMegofferedherhandwithagesturebothaffectionateandtimid。

Ashamedofhismomentarypique，Lauriesqueezedthekindlittlehand，andsaidfrankly，“I’mtheonetobeforgiven。I’mcrossandhavebeenoutofsortsallday。Iliketohaveyoutellmemyfaultsandbesisterly，sodon’tmindifIamgrumpysometimes。Ithankyouallthesame。“

Bentonshowingthathewasnotoffended，hemadehimselfasagreeableaspossible，woundcottonforMeg，recitedpoetrytopleaseJo，shookdownconesforBeth，andhelpedAmywithherferns，provinghimselfafitpersontobelongtothe`BusyBeeSociety’。Inthemidstofananimateddiscussiononthedomestichabitsofturtles(oneofthoseamiablecreatureshavingstrolledupfromtheriver)，thefaintsoundofabellwarnedthemthatHannahhadputthetea`todraw’，andtheywouldjusthavetimetogethometosupper。

“MayIcomeagain？“askedLaurie。

“Yes，ifyouraregood，andloveyourbook，astheboysintheprimeraretoldtodo，“saidMeg，smiling。

“i’lltry。“

“Thenyoumaycome，andI’llteachyoutoknitastheScotchmendo。

There’sademandforsocksjustnow，“addedJo，wavingherslikeabigblueworstedbannerastheypartedatthegate。

Thatnight，whenBethplayedtoMr。Laurenceinthetwilight，Laurie，standingintheshadowofthecurtain，listenedtothelittleDavid，whosesimplemusicalwaysquietedhismoodyspirit，andwatchedtheoldman，whosatwithhisgrayheadonhishand，thinkingtenderthoughtsofthedeadchildhehadlovedsomuch。

Rememberingtheconversationoftheafternoon，theboysaidtohimself，withtheresolvetomakethesacrificecheerfully，“I’llletmycastlego，andstaywiththedearoldgentlemanwhileheneedsme，forIamallhehas。“

Chapter14CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Jowasverybusyinthegarret，fortheOctoberdaysbegantogrowchilly，andtheafternoonswereshort。Fortwoorthreehoursthesunlaywarmlyinthehighwindow，showingJoseatedontheoldsofa，writingbusily，withherpapersspreadoutuponatrunkbeforeher，whileScrabble，thepetrat，promenadedthebeamsoverhead，accompaniedbyhisoldestson，afineyoungfellow，whowasevidentlyveryproudofhiswhiskers。

Quiteabsorbedinherwork，Joscribbledawaytillthelastpagewasfilled，whenshesignedhernamewithaflourishandthrewdownherpen，exclaiming……

“There，I’vedonemybest!Ifthiswon’tsuitIshallhavetowaittillIcandobetter。“

Lyingbackonthesofa，shereadthemanuscriptcarefullythrough，makingdasheshereandthere，andputtinginmanyexclamationpoints，whichlookedlikelittleballoons。Thenshetieditupwithasmartredribbon，andsataminutelookingatitwithasober，wistfulexpression，whichplainlyshowedhowernestherworkhadbeen。Jo’sdeskupherewasanoldtinkitchenwhichhungagainstthewall。Ititshekeptherpapers，andafewbooks，safelyshutawayfromScrabble，who，beinglikewiseofaliteraryturn，wasfondofmakingacirculatinglibraryofsuchbooksaswereleftinhiswaybyeatingtheleaves。FromthistinreceptacleJoproducedanothermanuscript，andputtingbothinherpocket，creptquietlydownstairs，leavingherfriendstonibbleonherpensandtasteherink。

Sheputonherhatandjacketasnoiselesslyaspossible，andgoingtothebackentrywindow，gotoutupontheroofofalowporch，swungherselfdowntothegrassybank，andtookaroundaboutwaytotheroad。Oncethere，shecomposedherself，hailedapassingomnibus，androlledawaytotown，lookingverymerryandmysterious。

Ifanyonehadbeenwatchingher，hewouldhavethoughthermovementsdecidedlypeculiar，foronalighting，shewentoffatagreatpacetillshereachedacertainnumberinacertainbusyst