f wheat, sir," he said, turning to John and
gesturing gracefully towards the field across the road, where the sun
was shimmering on the silvery green of oats.

John made no reply. He scorned to talk about farming matters with a raw
city fellow who did not know oats from wheat, and he was laboriously
counting out a handful of silver.

"Here's your money, young man," he said dryly. "Now skip out, if you
can, before Mary gets back."

The agent gave a quick glance at the coins and thrust them into his
pocket. He seized his hat and valise, darted out of the house, and was
climbing into his buggy when Mary appeared at the door, breathless and
distressed.

"Come back!" she cried. "You've forgotten your money."

John was standing just behind Mary, smiling broadly, and making emphatic
gestures of dismissal with both hands. The agent understood the humor of
the situation and laughed heartily as he lifted his hat and drove away.
Mary started to the gate, blushing scarlet with vexation and perplexity,
but John held her back.

"I have heard of agents forgettin' to leave the goods," said he, "but I
never heard of one forgettin' to collect his money. Go and put your
money back, Mary; I paid the man."

"Then you must let me pay you," cried Mary. "I really mean it, John. You
must let me have my way. I know you're hard run just now, and I never
would have bought the chart, if I had not intended paying for it
myself."

She tried to open John's hand to put the money in it, but John took hold
of her hand and gave her a gentle shove toward the foot of the stairs.

"Go on and put up your money, Mary," he said. "If half that agent fellow
said is true, I'm in about a hundred and fifty dollars. Before long, I
reckon, you'll be makin' my coats and pants and the harness for the
horses by this here chart."

And Mary went, but her gentle protestations could be heard even after
she reached her room and had dropped the money back into the little box
that was her savings bank.

She hurried through her after-supper tasks, her mind full of the cutting
and fitting she wanted to do before bed-time. Hers was a soul that found
its highest happiness in work, and she unfolded the chart with the
delight of a child who has a new toy. The agent's tribute to her
knowledge of mathematics was no idle flattery. Her quick brain had
comprehended at once the system of the chart, and she flushed with
excitement and pleasure as she bent over her scale and fo