As she said this Mary began to turn over the leaves of the book in which she had found the note from Aunt Nan. “The story sounds very nice,” she said.

Just then something fell from between the leaves and fluttered to the floor. Her father stooped to pick it up.

“Aunt Nan’s bookmark,” he said. “It would[33] be nice to keep her marks when you can, Mary. Why!” he exclaimed suddenly, staring at what he held in his fingers. It was long and yellow, and printed on both sides.

[33]

“Mary!” he cried, “did you ever see one of these before? I have never seen many of them myself, more’s the pity!” And he handed the “bookmark” to his daughter.

It was a hundred-dollar bill.

“Papa!” gasped Mary, “whose is it?”

“It is yours, Mary, just as much as the watch and chain were; just as much as the library is,” said her father. “Everything in the room was to be yours; Aunt Nan said so in her will. This is certainly a part of your legacy. I wonder if Aunt Nan forgot it or put it there on purpose, as another of her little jokes?”

“I think she put it there on purpose,” said John. “My! But she was a queer old lady!”

“I think she was a very nice old lady,” said Mary. “Now I must go and tell Katy Summers about it.”

[34]

CHAPTER V INSTRUCTIONS

WITH the hundred dollars which she had found in the book Mary started an account in the Crowfield Savings Bank, under her own name. She was very proud of her little blue bank-book, and she hoped that some time, in some unexpected way, she would save enough money to go to college, as John was to do.

But the outlook was rather hopeless. The Corliss family were far from well off. Even in Crowfield, where expenses were low, they had a hard time to live on the small income from what Dr. Corliss had managed to save while he was Professor of Philosophy in the city college. Dr. Corliss was writing a book which he hoped would some day make his fortune. But the book would not be finished for many a day. Meanwhile, though there was very little money coming in, it was steadily going out; as money has a way of doing.

The best thing the family could do at present was to save as much as possible by 

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