her room before she did so to see that her fire was
all right for the night. Alice was a great lover of music and she had
enjoyed the afternoon almost as much as Quincy had. She could not help
thinking what musical treats might be in store for them, and then the
thought came to her how she would miss him when he went back to Boston.

In the next room, Quincy was pursuing a similar line of thought. He was
thinking of the nice times that Alice and he could have singing
together. To be sure he wished to do nothing to make his father angry,
for Quincy appreciated the power of money. He knew that with his
mother's third deducted, his fathers estate would give him between two
and three hundred thousand dollars. He had some money in his own right
left him by a fond aunt, his father's sister, the income from which gave
him a good living without calling upon his father.

He knew his father wished him to become a lawyer, and keep up the old
firm which was so well known in legal and business circles, but Quincy
in his heart realized that he was not equal to it, and the future had
little attraction for him, if it were to be passed in the law offices of
Sawyer, Crowninshield, & Lawrence. At any rate his health was not fully
restored and he determined to stay at Mason's Corner as long as he could
do so without causing a break in the friendly relations existing between
his father and himself. His present income was enough for his personal
needs, but it was not sufficient to also support a Mrs. Quincy Adams
Sawyer.

What Ezekiel had prophesied came true. No one knew just when the storm
began, but the picture that greeted Mandy Skinner's eyes when she came
down to get breakfast was a great contrast to that of the previous day.

The snow had fallen steadily in large, heavy flakes, the road and the
fields showed an even, unbroken surface of white; the tops of the taller
fences were yet above the snow line, each post wearing a white cap. As
the morning advanced the storm increased, the wind blew, and great
drifts were indications of its power. The thick clouds of white flakes
were thrown in every direction, and only dire necessity, it seemed,
would be a sufficient reason for leaving a comfortable fireside.

Mandy and Mrs. Crowley were busily engaged in preparing the morning
meal, when a loud scratching at a door, which led into a large room that
was used as an addition to the kitchen, attracted their attention. In
bounded Swiss, the bi