Well--Rilla scrambled to her feet--time was up. Jims would soon be awake--his lunch had to be prepared--his little slips had to be ironed --there was a committee meeting of the Junior Reds that night--there was her new knitting bag to finish--it would be the handsomest bag in the Junior Society--handsomer even than Irene Howard's--she must get home and get to work. She was busy these days from morning till night. That little monkey of a Jims took so much time. But he was growing--he was certainly growing. And there were times when Rilla felt sure that it was not merely a pious hope but an absolute fact that he was getting decidedly better looking. Sometimes she felt quite proud of him; and sometimes she yearned to spank him. But she never kissed him or wanted to kiss him.

"The Germans captured Lodz today," said Miss Oliver, one December evening, when she, Mrs. Blythe, and Susan were busy sewing or knitting in the cosy living-room. "This war is at least extending my knowledge of geography. Schoolma'am though I am, three months ago I didn't know there was such a place in the world such as Lodz. Had I heard it mentioned I would have known nothing about it and cared as little. I know all about it now--its size, its standing, its military significance. Yesterday the news that the Germans have captured it in their second rush to Warsaw made my heart sink into my boots. I woke up in the night and worried over it. I don't wonder babies always cry when they wake up in the night. Everything presses on my soul then and no cloud has a silver lining."