racterized those days when yet her husband's
presence and praises spurred her on to make her best efforts. Every
school day she saw her boys ride off to the school house in the early
morning upon ponies she had purchased for them, as the school was five
miles south from the railroad.

Amid the work of the household and the enjoyment that her three sturdy
sons gave her, as they fairly adored their mother and did everything to
cause her to forget the sorrowful past, gradually the deathly pallor of
Mrs. McDonald's face and the lusterless eyes with their heavy black
rings beneath them, gave way to red cheeks and the same brilliancy that
were hers when she was yet the proud mother of baby Helen. Some days,
especially when the darkness had hidden those ominous crosses from her
vision, she would sing the songs she used to sing in the days of her
happiness, which showed to us rough laborers the fight this weak woman
was waging with herself trying to forget, for the sake of her sons,
those many sad days which had been hers, so that her mourning for things
that had been, would not embitter their future.

Almost unawares the Summer followed the Spring, and soon came the glad
days for the school children--the annual vacation of the schools--and
the three sons of Mrs. McDonald came home to rest from their studies.
Gradually unrest, especially in Joe and Jim, the twins, could be noted,
as they found time hanging heavily upon their hands. They begged the
foreman to permit them to work with the section crew during the months
of their vacation, but as they had not sufficient strength to do the
strenuous work required of a section laborer, the foreman had to refuse
their request. Then they tried to find employment amongst the scattered
ranches which here and there commenced to break the monotony of the
prairie, but as the planting had been finished long ago, and the harvest
would not commence until after school had re-opened, their appeals were
in vain. Then they discovered that we had stacked a lot of useless,
decayed railroad ties in the backyard of the section house, and they
reduced these into stove lengths. After this task had been finished,
despair seemed to have taken hold of the boys as there was nothing for
them to do to occupy their time.

Idleness breeds mischief. One morning when their good mother wondered
why Joe and Jim did not show up at the breakfast table, she sent Donald,
her eldest boy, upstairs to arouse them. He re