e other boy
came. Then I bought two or three deserted farms outside the
city--fifty acres in all. I bought them on time and at a bargain. I'm
trying another experiment here. I want to see if the pioneer spirit
won't bring even these worn out acres to life. I find that some of my
foreign neighbors have made their old farms pay even though the good
Americans who left them nearly starved to death. I have some cows and
chickens and pigs and am using every square foot of the soil for one
purpose or another. We pretty nearly get our living from the farm now.

We entertain a good deal but we don't entertain our new neighbors.
There isn't a week summer or winter that I don't have one or more
families of Carleton's gang out here for a half holiday. It's the only
way I can reconcile myself to having moved away from among them. Ruth
keeps very closely in touch with them all and has any number of
schemes to help them. Her pet one just now is for us to raise enough
cows so that we can sell fresh milk at cost to those families which
have kiddies.

Dan comes out to see us every now and then. He's making ten dollars to
my one. He says he's going to be mayor of the city some day. I told
him I'd do my best to prevent it. That didn't seem to worry him.

"If ye was an Irishmon, now," he said, "I'd be after sittin' up nights
in fear of ye. But ye ain't."

I'm almost done. This has been a hard job for me. And yet it's been a
pleasant job. It's always pleasant to talk about Ruth. I found that
even by taking away her pad and pencil I didn't accomplish much in the
way of making her less busy. Even with three children to look after
instead of one she does just as much planning about the housework. And
we don't have sirloin steaks even now. We don't want them. Our daily
fare doesn't vary much from what it was in the tenement.

Ruth just came in with Billy, Jr., in her arms and read over these
last few paragraphs. She says she's glad I'm getting through with this
because she doesn't know what I might tell about next. But there's
nothing more to tell about except that to-day as at the beginning
Ruth is the biggest thing in my life. I can't wish any better luck for
those trying to fight their way out than they may find for a partner
half as good a wife as Ruth. I wouldn't be afraid to start all over
again to-day with her by my side.

THE END

* * * * *

+-------------------------------------------------