dividual.

"Jimminy Christmas!" remarked Tom, "that Timmins woman must be a
reincarnation of one of the ancient Egyptians who was overseer in the
brickyard where Moses learned his trade. If they were all like her, no
wonder the Israelites went on a strike and marched out of Egypt."

They were all very careful, however, not to let Miss Susan Timmins hear
their comments. She had the true dictatorial spirit of the old-fashioned
New England school teacher. The guests of Drovers' Tavern were treated by
her much as she might have treated a class in the little red schoolhouse
up the road had she presided there.

She drove the guests to their chambers by the method of turning off the
electric light in the general sitting room at a quarter past ten. Each
room was furnished with a bayberry candle, and she announced that the
electricity all over the house would be switched off at eleven o'clock.

"That is late enough for any decent body to be up," she announced in her
decisive manner. "That's when I go to bed myself. I couldn't do so in
peace if I knew folks was burning them electric lights to all hours.
'Tain't safe in a thunder storm.

"Why, when we first got 'em, Jed Parraday from Wachuset come to town to do
his buyin' and stayed all night with us. He'd never seed a 'lectric bulb
before, and he didn't know how to blow it out. And he couldn't sleep in a
room with a light.

"So, what does the tarnal old fool do but unhook the cord so't the bulb
could be carried as far as the winder. And he hung it outside, shut the
winder down on it, drawed the shade and went to bed in the dark.

"Elnathan Spear, the constable, seen the light a-shining outside the
winder in the middle of the night and he thought 'twas burglars. He
_dreams_ of burglars, Elnathan does. But he ain't never caught none yet.

"On that occasion, howsomever, he was sure he'd got a whole gang of 'em,
and he waked up the whole hotel trying to find out what was going on. I
charged Parraday ha'f a dollar for burning extry 'lectricity, and he got
so mad he ain't stopped at the hotel since.

"He'd give one the nevergitovers, that man would!" she concluded.

CHAPTER VII

MOVIE STUNTS

Jennie Stone slept in Ruth's bed that night because, having been parted
since they were both in France, they had a great deal to say to each
other--thus proving true one of Tom Cameron's statements regarding women.

Jennie was just as sympathetic--and as sleepy--as she could