ased his awe. It seemed wonderful that she could so easily slip her
hands out of her gloves without drawing the long gauntlets from her
arms. Farther and farther receded the Phil of the kitchen apron with
whom he had bargained for the sale of the saddest apples that had ever
been brought to Montgomery by a self-respecting farmer! When her father
came to the stair-rail to ask if she felt a draft from the upper
windows, Fred was shaken with fear; the thought that the airs of heaven
might visit affliction upon this brown-haired and brown-eyed marvel was
at once a grief to him. He felt the world rock at the bare thought of
any harm ever coming to her.

"As if," said Phil, when her father had been reassured, "the likes of me
could take cold. What do you do all day on a farm in winter weather?"

"Let me see; I chopped wood, this morning; and I'd bought some corn of
Perry--that is, of your uncle--and went over with the wagon to get it;
and this afternoon I brought the wood I had chopped to the woodshed; and
then I went out to look at my wheatfield, and almost bought a cow of
another neighbor--but didn't quite make a bargain. And then I began to
get ready to come to your party."

"You must have worked awfully hard to get ready," said Phil, "for you
were late getting here."

"Well, I loafed around outside for an hour or so before I came in," and
he smiled ruefully. "I'm not used to parties."

"You seem to get on pretty well," said Phil reassuringly.

One of the waiters had brought them ice-cream and cake, and after she
had tasted the cake Phil caught Rose Bartlett's eye and expressed
ecstasy and gratitude by a lifting of the head, a closing of the eyes, a
swift folding of the hands.

"How are you going to amuse yourself out there by yourself all winter?"
she remarked to Fred; "I shouldn't think there would be much to do!"

"Oh, there won't be any trouble about that! I've got plenty to do and
then I want to do some studying, too. I'm going up to the University in
January to hear lectures--farming and stock-raising and things like
that. Perry has put me up to it. And then in between times I want to get
acquainted with the neighbors; they're all mighty nice people and kind
and friendly. That sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it?"

"Well, it sounds wholesome if not wildly exciting. I've lost my job.
They took my kitchen away from me just as I was getting started; and I
haven't anything much to do--except being sociable."

"Of