at and brass buttons, who
stood by the cars.

"This is a freight train, sonny," replied the man; "takes four hours to
get there. Better wait till 10.45; buy your ticket up in the station."

"10.45!" Tim saw visions of Mrs. Simmons speeding down upon him in hot
pursuit, kindled by Gay's disappearance into an appreciation of her
charms.

The tears stood in his eyes as Gay clambered out of the basket, and
danced with impatience, exclaiming, "Gay wants to yide now! yide now!
yide now!"

"Did you want to go sooner?" asked the man, who seemed to be entirely
too much interested in humanity to succeed in the railroad business.
"Well, as you seem to have consid'rable of a family on your hands, I
guess we'll take you along. Jim, unlock that car and let these children
in, and then lock it up again. It's a car we're taking up to the end of
the road for repairs, bubby, so the comp'ny 'll give you and your folks
a free ride!"

Timothy thanked the man in his politest manner, and Gay pressed a piece
of moist cooky in his hand, and offered him one of her swan's-down
kisses, a favor of which she was usually as chary as if it had possessed
a market value.

"Are you going to take the dog?" asked the man, as Rags darted up the
steps with sniffs and barks of ecstatic delight. "He ain't so handsome
but you can get another easy enough!" (Rags held his breath in suspense,
and wondered if he had been put under a roaring cataract, and then
ploughed in deep furrows with a sharp-toothed instrument of torture,
only to be left behind at last!)

"That's just why I take him," said Timothy; "because he isn't handsome
and has nobody else to love him."

("Not a very polite reason," thought Rags; "but anything to go!")

"Well, jump in, dog and all, and they'll give you the best free ride to
the country you ever had in your life! Tell 'em it's all right, Jim;"
and the train steamed out of the depot, while the kind man waved his
bandana handkerchief until the children were out of sight.

SCENE IV.

_Pleasant River._

JABE SLOCUM ASSUMES THE ROLE OF GUARDIAN ANGEL.

Jabe Slocum had been down to Edgewood, and was just returning to the
White Farm, by way of the cross-roads and Hard Scrabble school-house. He
was in no hurry, though he always had more work on hand than he could
leave undone for a month; and Maria also was taking her own time, as
usual, even stopping now and then to crop an unusually sweet tuft of
grass that grew within s