front bedroom of the perfect boarding house for seven whole days. He
is quoted as saying that next time he hoped he might break his neck.

"Brother," asked the shocked Rev. Mr. Daniels, who was calling upon the
stranger, "are you prepared to face eternity?"

"What?" was the energetic reply. "After a week in this town, and in this
bedroom? Look here, Mister, if you want to scare me about the future you
just hint that they'll put me on a straw tick in an ice chest. Anything
hot and lively 'll only be tempting after this."

But to us, who live here throughout the year, a week soon passes. And
the end of the week following Emily Thomas's arrival at the Cy Whittaker
place found the little girl still there and apparently no nearer being
shipped to Indiana than when she came. Not so near, if Mr. Tidditt's
opinion counts for anything.

"Gone?" he repeated scoffingly in reply to Bailey Bangs's question.
"Course she ain't gone! And, what's more, she ain't goin' to go. Whit's
got so already that he wouldn't part with her no more'n he'd cut off his
hand."

"But he keeps SAYIN' she's got to go. Only yesterday he was tellin' how
Betsy'd feel when the girl landed on her with his letter in her pocket."

"Sayin' don't count for nothin'. Zoeth Cahoon keeps SAYIN' he's goin' to
stop drinkin', but he only stops long enough to catch his breath. Cy's
tellin' himself fairy yarns and he hopes he believes 'em. Man alive!
can't you SEE? Ain't he gettin' more foolish over the young one every
day? Don't she boss him round like the overseer on a cranberry swamp?
Don't he look more contented than he has sence he got off the cars? I
tell you, Bailey, that child fills a place in Whit's life that's been
runnin' to seed and needed weedin'. Nothin' could fill it better--unless
'twas a nice wife."

"WIFE! Oh, DO be still! I believe you're woman-struck and at an age when
it hadn't ought to be catchin' no more'n whoopin' cough."

Mr. Bangs and the town clerk were the only ones, except Captain Cy, who
knew the whole truth concerning the little girl. Not that the child's
arrival wasn't noted and vigorously discussed by a large portion of the
townspeople. Emily had not been in the Whittaker house two days before
Angeline Phinney called, hot on the trail of gossip and sensation. But,
persistent as Angeline was, she departed knowing not quite as much as
when she came. The interview between Miss Phinney and the captain must
have been interesting, judging