ewster.

"Doubtless; and I told John to make sure and then ask Ratzger what had
best be done to settle for them. If the men have ample means they can
pay the damages, but if they haven't, I will pay for them myself,"
explained Mr. Brewster.

"I don't see why you should! You had nothing to do with their hiring,
nor with anything connected with this accident," said Mr. Maynard.

"No, but folks here-abouts stick together more or less, and if one has a
loss, the others generally help out. Now I can spare twenty horses from
my corral sooner than have a friend in Oak Creek think I had something
to do with his loss of two good saddle horses."

"If every one thought and acted like that, Mr. Brewster, we would bring
in the millennium without delay," Mr. Maynard remarked.

"Ah feel happy to state that Ah will never defer the coming of that
same millennium by any trifle like a few horses given away to a less
fortunate friend."

All that evening Polly and Eleanor were as cordial and chummy as ever to
observers, but no one knew that the two girls had changed places. Only
Anne knew that Eleanor had been in the kitchen weeping, and even she did
not know the cause of the tears. She fancied there had been a girlish
quarrel between the friends but that would soon be made up again. So she
paid no further attention to the case.

Eleanor felt humbled by the frank truth spoken by Polly, and realizing
that it was absolutely as her friend had stated, she tried to impress
upon Polly that she was repentant and would never again do or say a
thing that might offend. Hitherto Eleanor had taken for granted that she
was more experienced in every way than her simple little friend of the
ranch; and without meaning to take the upper hand, had actually assumed
that position, until she had reached the point where Polly rebelled
against this friendly leadership.

But after the fearless speech from Polly that afternoon, Eleanor
comprehended how far behind she really was in this warfare between
egotism and _egoism_. She began to understand that the first expressed
stubbornness and selfishness which eventually would result in
unhappiness for all concerned; while egoism meant exactly what Polly was
trying to demonstrate for herself--that upright fearless stand for
Truth, and the sacrifice of everything that interfered with the perfect
working out of the highest good.

Hence, without meaning to do so, and in fact, never realizing that it
was so, Poll