ddle, Mr. Merrill
stood still with his hand on the carriage door and marvelled that he had
not seen it all sooner. He was a man to take to heart the troubles of
his friends. A subtle change had indeed come over Jethro, and he was not
the same man Mr. Merrill had known for many years. Would others, the men
with whom Jethro contended and the men he commanded, mark this change?
And what effect would it have on the conflict for the mastery of a state
which was to be waged from now on?

"Father," said his daughter Susan, "if you don't get in and close the
door, we'll drive off and leave you standing on the sidewalk."

Thus Cynthia went to her new friends in their own carriage. Mrs. Merrill
was goodness itself, and loved the girl for what she was. How, indeed,
was she to help loving her? Cynthia was scrupulous in her efforts to
give no trouble, and yet she never had the air of a dependent or a
beneficiary; but held her head high, and when called upon gave an
opinion as though she had a right to it. The very first morning Susan,
who was prone to be late to breakfast, came down in a great state of
excitement and laughter.

"What do you think Cynthia's done, Mother?" she cried. "I went into her
room a while ago, and it was all swept and aired, and she was making up
the bed."

"That's an excellent plan," said Mrs. Merrill, "tomorrow morning you
three girls will have a race to see who makes up her room first."

It is needless to say that the race at bed-making never came off, Susan
and Jane having pushed Cynthia into a corner as soon as breakfast was
over, and made certain forcible representations which she felt bound to
respect, and a treaty was drawn up and faithfully carried out,
between the three, that she was to do her own room if necessary to her
happiness. The chief gainer by the arrangement was the chambermaid.

Odd as it may seem, the Misses Merrill lived amicably enough
with Cynthia. It is a difficult matter to force an account of the
relationship of five people living in one house into a few pages, but
the fact that the Merrills had large hearts makes this simpler. There
are few families who can accept with ease the introduction of a stranger
into their midst, even for a time, and there are fewer strangers who can
with impunity be introduced. The sisters quarrelled among themselves
as all sisters will, and sometimes quarrelled with Cynthia. But oftener
they made her the arbiter of their disputes, and asked her adv