, and if Kate Comstock raises a row I'll tell her so, and see that
the girl gets it. You go to see Kate in the morning, and I'll go with
you. Tell her you want Elnora's pattern, that you are going to make her
a dress, for helping us. And sort of hint at a few more things. If Kate
balks, I'll take a hand and settle her. I'll go to law for Elnora's
share of that land and sell enough to educate her."

"Why, Wesley Sinton, you're perfectly wild."

"I'm not! Did you ever stop to think that such cases are so frequent
there have been laws made to provide for them? I can bring it up in
court and force Kate to educate Elnora, and board and clothe her till
she's of age, and then she can take her share."

"Wesley, Kate would go crazy!"

"She's crazy now. The idea of any mother living with as sweet a girl as
Elnora and letting her suffer till I find her crying like a funeral.
It makes me fighting mad. All uncalled for. Not a grain of sense in it.
I've offered and offered to oversee clearing her land and working her
fields. Let her sell a good tree, or a few acres. Something is going to
be done, right now. Elnora's been fairly happy up to this, but to spoil
the school life she's planned, is to ruin all her life. I won't have it!
If Elnora won't take these things, so help me, I'll tell her what she is
worth, and loan her the money and she can pay me back when she comes of
age. I am going to have it out with Kate Comstock in the morning. Here
we are! You open up what you got while I put away the horses, and then
I'll show you."

When Wesley came from the barn Margaret had four pieces of crisp
gingham, a pale blue, a pink, a gray with green stripes and a rich brown
and blue plaid. On each of them lay a yard and a half of wide ribbon to
match. There were handkerchiefs and a brown leather belt. In her hands
she held a wide-brimmed tan straw hat, having a high crown banded with
velvet strips each of which fastened with a tiny gold buckle.

"It looks kind of bare now," she explained. "It had three quills on it
here."

"Did you have them taken off?" asked Wesley.

"Yes, I did. The price was two and a half for the hat, and those things
were a dollar and a half apiece. I couldn't pay that."

"It does seem considerable," admitted Wesley, "but will it look right
without them?"

"No, it won't!" said Margaret. "It's going to have quills on it. Do you
remember those beautiful peacock wing feathers that Phoebe Simms gave
me? Three of th