that delighted his heart and kept the spirit of
Colonial times in the mansion.

If Bet had been given her way she might have chosen for her own suite
of rooms, something more modern, but even she had never dared to
mention such a thing to the Colonel.

But if Colonel Baxter leaned toward the old fashions in his furnishing
of a home, his methods in training a daughter were modern to an
extreme. Auntie Gibbs declared it was without "rhyme or reason."
"Letting a girl do as she pleases isn't bringing up at all. That child
should have a strong hand to guide her. Every child should. And me,
who could do it, ain't allowed no say-so."

"Well, Bet's all right, isn't she?" replied Uncle Nat to his wife's
complaints. "She's a wise little thing and never goes far wrong."
Uncle Nat had been gardener on the estate before Bet was born. He and
his wife had known and loved the young wife of Colonel Baxter, and
after her death had taken charge of the household, caring for and
loving the motherless little girl as if she were their own.

"You're always taking her part," exclaimed Auntie Gibbs. "It isn't his
training that makes Bet do the right thing. It's just because she's so
much like her father. As I've told him lots of times, with any other
girl it would be all wrong."

"So as it doesn't change Bet, I have nothing to say." The old man
rubbed his hands together over the kitchen stove. Although autumn had
hardly begun, there was a hint of chill in the air.

"Now, what are you doing, Nat Gibbs? Making a fire at this time of
year! You aren't cold, are you? Lots of time to shiver and shake over
a fire when the first snow comes."

"I'm just burning a few papers and trash to get them out of the way,"
said Uncle Nat quietly, with an elaborate wink at the ceiling.

Auntie Gibbs was a manager by nature, and to rule over a house and yet
not have the final word in everything was very trying to her soul. She
began to scold again:

"And now she's brought a new girl home with her today. And heaven only
knows who or what she is!"

"She looks all right," said Nat.

"Looks are very deceiving, as you ought to know at your time of life.
Bet says she comes from Arizona, one of them half-civilized places like
they have in the movies. She doesn't like houses and yards and towns.
Who ever heard of such a thing? Bet found her crying because she
didn't have room enough to breathe. Mark my words, she's not very
bright. Somethin