mourning this morning! Seems to me that I just couldn't bear for you
children to lose this place now--this place that your poor pa had set
his heart on! And to think that such an accident should take place so
near the time of your proving up makes it so much the worse, for, if
the house had gone, I don't believe you could have got your title. No,
not if you had taken down a dozen witnesses to testify to the burning.
The law is strict. I doubt if the agent would have the power to give
you a deed unless there was a house standing on the land at the moment
that the deed was issued, no matter if he wanted to ever so badly."

She was full of sympathy and kindness, poor soul, and, listening to
her exclamations and condolences, I was sorry for her. Jessie was
right: there were no jack oaks in the ravine down which Mr. Horton
must have passed on the way from the north pasture to his home.

CHAPTER VII

SURMISES

Mrs. Horton and Jessie walked around the house to the bed-room window,
and stood surveying the pile of rubbish beneath it, wondering greatly
why a fire should break out in that place.

"The only way I can account for it is that a spark from the chimney
must have fallen into this pile and set it afire," Mrs. Horton
observed, turning bits of the pile in question over with the toe of
her shoe. "I'm not blaming you, Leslie, but it is true that young
folks can't be too careful with fire. I wouldn't be a mite surprised
now, if you just filled the kitchen stove full of dry stuff and set it
off when you built a fire to get your supper."

"Leslie always does use lots of kindling," interposed Jessie, who was,
it must be admitted, more careful about small savings than I.

"You may depend on it, then, that that's just how it happened," Mrs.
Horton went on, while I remained silent. "You see, when you start a
fire like that, lots of live sparks are carried up the chimney, and
it's just a mercy that there are not more houses burned than there are
on account of it. I say it for your good, Leslie, when I say that I
hope this will be a lesson to you; you've had a narrow escape. My! but
it makes me shudder to think of it!"

As she stopped talking to shudder more effectively I ventured to make
an observation that, it was strange, had occurred to neither Jessie
nor herself:

"It took that spark--supposing the fire was started by a spark from
the chimney--a long time to fall, didn't it? It was after twelve when
the fire b