ded
hastily. "But she was such a delicate, soft-hearted sort of a woman:
I couldn't help feelin' th' Lord spared her a deal of bitter sorrow
by taking her away. My! It does bring it all back to me so--the house
and the yard, and all. We'd all got used to seeing it a ruin; and
now-- Whatever put it in your head, dearie, to want things put back
just as they were? Papa was telling me this morning you was all for
restoring the place. He thinks 'twould be more stylish and up-to-date
if you was to put new-style paper on the walls, and let him furnish
it up for you with nice golden oak. Henry's got real good taste.
You'd ought to see our sideboard he gave me Chris'mas, with a mirror
and all."

Having thus discharged her wifely duty, as it appeared to her, Mrs.
Daggett promptly turned her back upon it.

"But you don't want any golden oak sideboards and like that in this
house. Henry was telling me all about it, and how you were set on
getting back the old Bolton furniture."

"Do you think I could?" asked the girl eagerly. "It was all sold
about here, wasn't it? And don't you think if I was willing to pay a
great deal for it people would--"

"'Course they would!" cried Mrs. Daggett, with cheerful assurance.
"They'd be tickled half to death to get money for it. But, you see,
dearie, it's a long time ago, and some folks have moved away, and
there's been two or three fires, and I suppose some are not as
careful as others; still--"

The smile faded on the girl's lips.

"But I can get some of it back; don't you think I can? I--I've quite
set my heart on--restoring the house. I want it just as it used to
be. The old furniture would suit the house so much better; don't you
think it would?"

Mrs. Daggett clapped her plump hands excitedly.

"I've just thought of a way!" she exclaimed. "And I'll bet it'll
work, too. You know Henry he keeps th' post office; an' 'most
everybody for miles around comes after their mail to th' store. I'll
tell him to put up a sign, right where everybody will see; something
like this: 'Miss Lydia Orr wants to buy the old furniture of the
Bolton house.' And you might mention casual you'd pay good prices
for it. 'Twas real good, solid furniture, I remember.... Come to
think of it, Mrs. Bolton collected quite a lot of it right 'round
here. She was a city girl when she married Andrew Bolton, an' she
took a great interest in queer old things. She bought a big tall
clock out of somebody's attic, and four