a convulsive wish to make life a
little brighter for them.

"How is your mother, Sadie?" she asked of Sadie Burns, as she was
eating her luncheon on the drab-colored table near the open window.

"Purty well," said Sadie in a hesitating way.

Lily was looking out, and listening to the gophers whistling as they
raced to and fro. She could see Bob Burns lying at length on the grass
in the pasture over the fence, his heels waving in the air, his hands
holding a string which formed a snare. Bob was "death on gophers." It
was like fishing to young Izaak Walton.

It was very still and hot and the cheep and trill of the gophers, and
the chatter of the kingbirds alone broke the silence. A cloud of
butterflies were fluttering about a pool near, a couple of big flies
buzzed and mumbled on the pane.

"What ails your mother?" Lily asked, recovering herself and looking at
Sadie who was distinctly ill at ease.

"Oh, I dunno," Sadie replied, putting one bare foot across the other.

Lily insisted.

"She 'n' pa's had an awful row--"

"Sadie!" said the teacher warningly, "what language!"

"I mean they quarrelled, an' she don't speak to him any more."

"Why, how dreadful!"

"An' pa he's awful cross,--and she won't eat when he does, an' I haf
to wait on table."

"I believe I'll go down and see her this noon," said Lily to herself,
as she divined a little of the state of affairs in the Burns family.

Sim was mending the pasture fence as Lily came down the road toward
him. He had delayed going to dinner to finish his task and was just
about ready to go when Lily spoke to him.

"Good-morning, Mr. Burns. I am just going down to see Mrs. Burns. It
must be time to go to dinner--aren't you ready to go? I want to talk
with you."

Ordinarily he would have been delighted with the idea of walking down
the road with the schoolma'am, but there was something in her look
which seemed to tell him that she knew all about his trouble, and
beside he was not in good humor.

"Yes, in a minnit,--soon's I fix up this hole. Them shoats, I b'leeve,
would go through a keyhole, if they could once git their snoots in."

He expanded on this idea as he nailed away, anxious to gain time. He
foresaw trouble for himself. He couldn't be rude to this sweet and
fragile girl. If a _man_ had dared to attack him on his domestic
shortcomings, he could have fought. The girl stood waiting for him,
her large, steady eyes full of thought, gazing down at him fr