form the
neighbor had helped. The story was as follows:

"That Boston girl who was boardin' up to Skitson's had a thousand
dollars in the bank-made it all in a month--so Abbie Todd, who knew her,
said. It was a dead secret how she made it, but Abbie said if she had
a few hundred dollars she could get rich, too. Beats all how smart some
girls is gettin' to be nowadays."

The next morning Mr. Taylor called for his mail. He generally sent a boy
down from the mill, but this time he came himself.

"If you see anything lying around loose, Miss Abbie, where you can pick
up a few dollars--and you must now and then--so many people going in and
out from Boston and other places--and want a couple of hundred to help
out, let me know. I'll stake you, and glad to."

In answer, Abbie passed his mail through the square window. "Thank you,
Mr. Taylor," was all she said. "I won't forget."

Hiram fingered his mail and hung around for a minute. Then with the
remark: "Guess that expressman was lying--I'll find out, anyway," he got
into his buggy and drove away.

"He'll _stake_ me, will he?" said Abbie thoughtfully. "That's what
the feed man did for Maria's friend." With the stake she could get the
stock, and with the stock the clouds would lift! Perhaps her turn was
coming, after all.

Then she resumed her work pigeon-holing the morning's mail. One was from
Keep & Co., judging from the address in the corner, and was directed to
Maria Furgusson, care Miss Skitson--a thick, heavy letter. This she laid
aside.

"Yes, a big one," she called from the window as she passed it out to
that young woman five minutes later. "About the stock, isn't it!"

The girl tore open the envelope and gave a little scream.

"Oh! Gone up to ten dollars a share! Oh, cracky!--how much does that
make? Here, Ab--do you figure--twenty shares at--Ten! Why, that's two
hundred dollars! What?--it can't be! Yes, it is. Oh, that's splendid!
I'm going right back to answer his letter"--and she was gone.

When the supper things were washed up that night, and the towels hung
before the stove to dry, and the faded old mother was resting in her
chair by the fire, Abbie told her the facts as they existed. She had
seen the certificate with her own eyes--had had it in her hand and she
had read the letter from the broker, Mr. Keep. It was all true--every
word of it. Maria had borrowed forty dollars and now she could pay it
back and have one hundred and sixty dollars left--m