ure, and done up loosely and carelessly in two heavy braids,
arranged about her head in such a manner as to permit stray wisps of
hair to escape about her face and neck. She was dressed in a loose pink
wrapper, all too plainly of home manufacture, gathered in at the
waist, and successfully obliterating any lines that might indicate
the existence of any grace of form, and sadly spotted and stained with
grease and dirt. Her red stout arms ended in thick and redder hands,
decked with an array of black-rimmed nails. At his first glance,
sweeping her "tout ensemble," Cameron was conscious of a feeling of
repulsion, but in a moment this feeling passed and he was surprised to
find himself looking into two eyes of surprising loveliness, dark blue,
well shaped, and of such liquid depths as to suggest pools of water
under forest trees.

"They use the saw mostly," said the girl.

"The saw?" echoed Cameron.

"Yes," she said. "They saw 'em through and then split 'em with the axe."

Cameron picked up the buck-saw which lay against a rickety saw horse.
Never in his life had he used such an instrument. He gazed helplessly at
his companion.

"How do you use this thing?" he enquired.

"Say! are you funny," replied the girl, flashing a keen glance upon him,
"or don't ye know?"

"Never saw it done in my life," said Cameron solemnly.

"Here!" she cried, "let me show you."

She seized the end of a maple log, dragged it forward to the rickety saw
horse, set it in position, took the saw from his hands, and went at her
work with such vigour that in less than a minute as it seemed to Cameron
she had made the cut.

"Give me that axe!" she said impatiently to Cameron, who was preparing
to split the block.

With a few strong and skillful blows she split the straight-grained
block of wood into firewood, gathered up the sticks in her arms, and,
with a giggle, turned toward the house.

"I won't charge you anything for that lesson," she said, "but you'll
have to hustle if you git that wood split 'fore breakfast."

"Thank you," said Cameron, grateful that none of the men had witnessed
the instruction, "I shall do my best," and for the next half hour, with
little skill, but by main strength, he cut off a number of blocks from
the maple log and proceeded to split them. But in this he made slow
progress. From the kitchen came cheerful sounds and scents of cooking,
and ever and anon from the door waddled, with quite surprising celerity,
the