ght
make it valuable. If I were you I would go to Hartley, quietly,
to-morrow, and examine the records, and if there are back taxes I'd pay
them."

"I'll look it up, anyway," he agreed. "You surely have made another
place of it. It will be wonderful by spring."

"I can think of many uses for it," said Kate. "Here comes your mother
to see how we are getting along."

Instead, she came to hand Kate a letter she had brought from the post
office while doing her marketing. Kate took the letter, saw at a
glance that it was from Nancy Ellen, and excusing herself, she went to
one of the seats they had made, and turning her face so that it could
not be seen, she read:

DEAR KATE: You can prepare yourself for the surprise of your life.
Two Bates men have done something for one of their women. I hope you
will survive the shock; it almost finished me and Mother is still
speechless. I won't try to prepare you. I could not. Here it is.
Father raged for three days and we got out of his way like scared
rabbits. I saw I had to teach, so I said I would, but I had not told
Robert, because I couldn't bear to. Then up came Hiram and offered to
take the school for me. Father said no, I couldn't get out of it that
way. Hiram said I had not seen him or sent him any word, and I could
prove by mother I hadn't been away from the house, so Father believed
him. He said he wanted the money to add two acres to his land from the
Simms place; that would let his stock down to water on the far side of
his land where it would be a great convenience and give him a better
arrangement of fields so he could make more money. You know Father.
He shut up like a clam and only said: "Do what you please. If a Bates
teaches the school it makes my word good." So Hiram is going to teach
for me. He is brushing up a little nights and I am helping him on
"theory," and I am wild with joy, and so is Robert. I shall have
plenty of time to do all my sewing and we shall be married at, or
after, Christmas. Robert says to tell you to come to see him if you
ever come to Hartley. He is there in his office now and it is
lonesome, but I am busy and the time will soon pass. I might as well
tell you that Father said right after you left that you should never
enter his house again, and Mother and I should not speak your name
before him. I do hope he gets over it before the wedding. Write me
how you like your school, and where you board. Maybe Robert and I