ou yours?"

"Of course. But why--"

"Why, dear, don't you see? The men are busy shovelling a path into
the stable. It'll be an hour yet before they are in. Let's put on our
wedding dresses, and set the table with our best dishes and best
linen, just for a kind of post-nuptial. Let's!"

"But ham and fried potatoes!"

"And toast. Didn't you promise toast? And tea. And I'll wager there's
some jam among provisions. Oh, let's hurry."

An hour later, when the hungry men returned after making their horses
and cattle comfortable, they stopped in amazement at the sight that
confronted them. Snowy linen, delicate china, and sparkling glass
returned the soft light from one of those great lamps such as are
bought only for presentation; and beside the table, like fairies
spirited from a strange land, stood two beautiful women, robed in the
delicate draperies of their bridal hour. Exclamations of surprise
were drowned in a flood of tender associations, and never in palace
or banquet-hall did sweeter content and happiness reign than among
these four young pioneers as they sat down to their first home-served
meal in the new land.

The days that followed were days of intense activity for both men and
women. There was much to do, inside and out. In the interior of the
little house an extraordinary change was wrought; simple draperies
and pictures relieved the bareness of the walls; shelves were built
for the accommodation of many trinkets dear to the feminine heart; a
rag carpet covered the centre of the floor; plain but appetising
dishes peeked enticingly from behind the paper curtain that now
clothed the bare ribs of the cupboard; and a sense of homeliness
pervaded the atmosphere. The two men, in their own realm, had found
much to occupy them, although for some days the range of their
activities was limited owing to the necessity of giving the horses a
much-needed rest before putting them back into the harness.

A week had passed, and no sign of life, other than that of the little
party itself, had been seen about the Arthurses' homestead, when one
day Harris's eyes already becoming keen to the prairie distances,
espied a dark point on the horizon. It grew slowly from a point to a
spot, from a spot to an object, and at length was defined as a man on
horseback. Presently Aleck McCrae drew up at the door.

"Hello, farmers," he cried, "how goes the battle? An' the good wives?
Building a little Eden in this wilderness, I'll warra