and Marie.'

[Illustration: "HE LOOKED LIKE A MAN WITH A WOODEN LEG"]

"Deacon Joe was dumb with astonishment. The young minister came down
out of his tree and walked slowly toward the group, with rags flapping
over one extremity of his union-suit. He looked like a man with a
wooden leg.

"'How did ye get here?' Deacon Joe demanded of Harry.

"'Jumped from the top of Delance's Hill and landed right here,' said
the latter.

"'In that awful-lookin' thing?' the Deacon asked, pointing with his
cane and squinting at the big biplane.

"'In that thing,' Harry answered.

"'How long did it take ye?'

"'About five minutes.'

"'It's impossible,' said the Deacon, as he approached the biplane and
began to look at it.

"'But you'll see me jump back again in a little while,' Harry assured
him.

"'Geehanniker!' the Deacon exclaimed. 'Jumped from the top of
Delance's Hill an' licked my caretaker an' chased a hired man an'
sp'ilt two dogs an' treed the minister and kissed the lady o' the
house--all in about ten minutes. I guess you're a good deal of a
feller.'

"It was the kind of thing that warmed the warrior soul of the Deacon.

"'Hello--here's a dead dog,' said Harry. 'If you'll have one of the
men bring me a shovel I'll bury him there in the garden. Meanwhile you
may tell me how much I owe you for the two dogs.'

"'I guess about twenty-five dollars,' said the Deacon.

"'How much off for cash?' Harry asked.

"'Wal, sir, if you ain't goin' to ask me to charge it, ten dollars
would do,' the Deacon allowed.

"'There's a wonderful power in cash,' said Harry, as he produced the
money.

"'You're gettin' some sense in your head,' said the Deacon.

"The shovel was brought; and Harry, who had expected to shoot a dog
or two and had been practising for this very act, put his victim under
three feet of soil in as many minutes. That also pleased the Deacon.

"'Purty cordy, too,' the latter said, as he turned to Marie. 'Now,
girl, take your choice. I want to know which is which, an' stop bein'
bothered about it.'

"She made her choice then and there, and as to which of the two it may
have been you will have no doubt when I tell you that Marie had
planned every detail in this bit of strategy and Harry had been man
enough to put it through.

"'You know Zeb's commandment has been a help to me,' he said, when I
offered congratulations. '"Be brave with your life, for it is very
long."'

"The Deacon has changed. His heart