en made to find the misplaced articles
afterwards. In fact, before we rose from the table he had more than half
convinced us that Addison's view of the matter--if it were his view--was
the right one.

Miss Emmons said very little and did not afterwards speak of the matter,
although Addison, to keep up the illusion, sometimes asked her jocosely
whether she had rested well, adding:

"I thought I heard you up walking again last night."

The incident was thus charitably passed over. I should not wish to say
positively that it was not a case of sleepwalking, but I think every one
of us feared that this devoted sister had made herself believe that,
since Jim would squander his money in drink, it was right for her to use
it for educating her brothers. She probably supposed that she could draw
the money herself.

And what became of the hapless bank book? It was sent to Jim as he had
demanded; and we may suppose that he drew the money and spent it. At any
rate, when he next made his appearance at the old Squire's, two years
later, he had neither book nor money.

CHAPTER XIX

GRANDMOTHER RUTH'S LAST LOAD OF HAY

Haying time at the old farm generally began on the Monday after the
Fourth of July and lasted from four to six weeks, according to the
weather, which is often fitful in Maine. We usually harvested from
seventy to seventy-five tons, and in the days of scythes and hand rakes
that meant that we had to do a good deal of hard, hot, sweaty work.

Besides Addison, Halstead and me, the old Squire had the two hired men,
Jim and Asa Doane, to help him; and sometimes Elder Witham, who was
quite as good with a scythe as with a sermon, worked for us a few days.

First we would cut the grass in the upland fields nearest the farm
buildings, then the grass in the "Aunt Hannah lot" out beyond the
sugar-maple orchard and last the grass in the south field, which, since
it was on low, wet ground where there were several long swales, was the
slowest to ripen. Often there were jolly times when we cut the south
field. Our enjoyment was owing partly to the fact that we were getting
toward the end of the hard work, and partly to the bumblebees' nests we
found in the swales. Moreover, when we reached that field grandmother
Ruth was wont to come out to lay the last load of hay and ride to the
barn on it.

In former days when she and the old Squire were young she had helped him
a great deal with the haying. Nearly every day she f