ungs, and said
to the other, 'If anything happens to our folks we are the ones to
blame for it; come on and help;' and with that he gave a leap down the
trail as if he would overtake the fire itself. But the other boy, he
wasn't made of that kind of stuff. He just turned and ran the other
way, and folks did say that he never stopped running until he reached
town, twenty miles away. When poor Dick, blackened with grime and
smoke, with his hair singed and his burnt shoes dropping off his feet,
staggered into the open space about the quarry, there were the folks,
and even the horses, all safe. They hadn't started when they saw the
fire coming, and so, knowing that they were safe where they were, they
stayed. The fire swept past them on either side, and all they had to
do was to wait till the trail got cool enough to travel over. There
was no great damage done after all, though a great many trees were
destroyed, but so were acres and acres of underbrush, and that was a
big help to stockmen. Dick was pretty well done up, but he didn't
care for any more cigars, and his father paid the fine that the
township's trustees assessed against him, cheerful on that account,
though he said he was sorry he couldn't save the timber. Now, Leslie,"
she concluded her story, abruptly, "if you'll just move those hats a
little I'll lay the baby on the bed."

After I had complied, and Ralph's head was on a pillow instead of her
arm, she came to Jessie's side and stood regarding her work
thoughtfully.

"You're real spry on the machine, aren't you?" she at length remarked,
admiringly. "Now me, I'm as slow!" She looked around the room and
continued, with seeming irrelevance: "I s'pose the furnishings must
have cost you a good deal?" Her tone was very gentle.

"Yes," Jessie returned, comprehending her meaning with the quick
intuition that grief gives. "Yes; they did."

"Well, he's at rest. You can visit his grave. They're worth all they
cost and more, but I was thinking now if you felt like taking in a
little sewing to help along until--"

"Why, I'd like to do it, dear Mrs. Horton!" Jessie interrupted,
looking up with sparkling eyes. "I've never thought of it before, but
if I could get it to do I would be so glad! Every little toward the
proving up is just so much gained."

"That is what I was thinking. I can let you have quite a little work
myself, and I know there are others who will be glad of a chance to
get sewing done. I declare, I'm