I wonder if they didn't save some of their animals--their cows and
horses," said Bessie. "It seems to me they might have been able to do
that."

"I hope so, Bessie. But we'll find out when we have dinner. I didn't
want to bother them with a lot of questions at first. Look, they seem to
be a little brighter already."

The children of the family were already much brighter. It was natural
enough for them to respond more quickly than their elders to the
stimulus of the presence of these kind and helpful strangers, and they
were running around, talking to the girls who were preparing dinner, and
trying to find some way in which they could help.

And their mother began to forget herself and her troubles, and to watch
them with brightening eyes. When she saw that the girls seemed to be
fond of her children and to be anxious to make them happy, the maternal
instinct in her responded, and was grateful.

"Oh, we're going to be able to bring a lot of cheer and new happiness to
these poor people," said Eleanor, confidently. "And it will be splendid,
wont it, girls? Could anything be better fun than doing good this way?
It's something we'll always be able to remember, and look back at
happily. And the strange part of it is that, no matter how much we do
for them, we'll be doing more for ourselves."

"Isn't it fine that we've got those blankets?" said Dolly. "If we camp
out here to-night they'll be very useful."

"They certainly will. And we shall camp here, though not in tents. Later
on this afternoon, we'll have to fix up some sort of shelter. But that
will be easy. I'll show you how to do it when the time comes. Now we
want to hurry with the dinner--that's the main thing, because I think
everyone is hungry."

CHAPTER IV

GETTING A START

Often people who have been visited by great misfortunes become soured
and suspect the motives of even those who are trying to help them.
Eleanor understood this trait of human nature very well, thanks to the
fact that as a volunteer she had helped out the charity workers in her
own city more than once. And as a consequence she did not at all resent
the dark looks that were cast at her by the poor woman whose every
glance brought home to her more sharply the disaster that the fire had
brought.

"We've got to be patient if we want to be really helpful," she explained
to Dolly Ransom, who was disposed to resent the woman's unfriendly
aspect.

"But I don't see why she has to act