JOE PYE-WEED 263 



very old, went from house to house curing the peo- 

 ple. He did it by using this plant in some way, 

 and afterwards the people gave it his name." 



I had been listening to Kate Hood's story every 

 minute and neither of us heard Philip until he gave 

 a great shout close to our ears. By his face and 

 the way he waved his arms and skipped about, we 

 knew that something must have happened. 



" She's a real girl," he shouted, " and her name 

 is Lucy. She lives in the little brown house cov- 

 ered with vines, and she has no brothers or sisters. 

 She isn't the spirit of Secret Valley, nor of the 

 Dogwood, nor of the meadows any more than 

 we are." 



I began to think Philip must be talking about 

 the strange girl with straight hair. 



"Did you really see her and touch her?" I 

 asked. 



" Yes," Philip answered, " she was up in the 

 field beyond this where there's more Boneset and 

 Milfoil than anything else. She was leaning 

 against the stone wall, until I jumped over and 

 scared her almost out of her wits. She started to 

 run then, but I ran, too, and faster, so when I 

 caught up to her she told me her name was Lucy. 

 She doesn't know any children around here, for she 

 only came to live in the brown house this spring, 

 and she has no friends but the flowers and birds." 



I thought I was the only little girl here who had 

 been learning about the country since spring, and 



