it ready. Laban remained behind as
caretaker of the Scarford mansion. His term of service in that capacity
was not likely to be a long one, for the real estate dealer was in
active negotiation with his client, and the dealer's latest report
stated that the said client was considering hiring the house, furnished,
for a few months and, in the event of his liking it as well as he
expected, would then, in all probability, buy.

Laban's remaining as caretaker was his own suggestion.

"Me and the old gal--Zuby Jane, I mean--have talked it over," he
explained, "and it seems like the best thing to do. You've got to have
somebody here, Cap'n Dott, you've got to pay somebody, and it might as
well be me. I'm out of a job just now, anyway. As for me and my wife
bein' separated--well, we're different from most married folks that way;
it seems the natural thing for us to BE separated. We're used to it,
as you might say. I don't know as we'd get along so well together if we
wasn't separated. There's nothin' like separation to keep husband and
wife happy along with one another. I've been with Zuby for most three
weeks steady now; that's the longest stretch we've had in a good many
years. We ain't quarreled once, neither."

He seemed to consider the fact remarkable. Captain Dott grinned.

"I suppose that shuttin' her up in the dish closet wasn't what you'd
call a quarrel, hey?" he observed.

Mr. Ginn was momentarily embarrassed.

"Oh, that!" he exclaimed. "Humph! I forgot that, for the minute. But
that wasn't a quarrel, rightly speakin'. 'Twas just a little difference
of opinion on account of my not understandin' her reason for bein' so
sot on havin' her own way. Soon's I understood 'twas all right. And you
see yourself how peaceable she's been ever since."

So, after consultation with Azuba, the arrangement was perfected. Laban
was to receive ten dollars a week, from which sum he was to provide
his own meals. He was to sleep in the house, but the meals were to be
obtained elsewhere. Mrs. Dott would not consider his cooking in her
kitchen.

Serena bore the fatigue of the journey well and the sight of her old
home, with the table set for supper, plants in the dining-room windows,
and all the little familiar touches which Azuba's thoughtfulness had
supplied, served to bring her the contentment and happiness she had been
longing for. Each day she gained in health and strength, and the rest
and freedom from care, together with the