n. The tired mother should be relieved and the perplexed
and wearied man beguiled into forgetfulness of the sources of anxiety.
Jack would have indulged in a perpetual howl during the journey had
not his attention been diverted by Madge's unexpected expedients,
which often suspended an outcry with comical abruptness, while her
remarks and questions made it impossible for Mr. Muir to toil on
mentally in Wall Street. By reason of the heat the majority of the
passengers dozed or fretted. She heroically kept up the spirits of her
little band, oblivious of the admiring eyes that often turned toward
her flushed, animated face.

There are few stronger tests than unflagging good-humor during a
disagreeable journey with cross children. At last the ordeal came to
an end, and in the late afternoon shadows they alighted at the wide
piazza of the Under-Cliff House, and were shown to airy rooms, which
proved that the guests were not kept in pigeon-holes for the sole
benefit of the proprietor. Our heroine employed the best magic the
world has known--thoughtful helpfulness. Mr. Muir was banished. "You
would be as useful as a whale," she said to him, when he offered to
aid his wife in unpacking and getting settled. "Go down to the piazza
and smoke in peace. I shall be worth a dozen of you as soon as I take
off my travelling-dress."

She verified her words, and before they were aware of it Mrs. Muir,
who was prone to fall into hopeless confusion at such times, and the
nurse were acting under her direction. The elder little boy and girl
were coaxed, restrained, managed, and soon sent down to their father,
redressed and serene. Jack was lulled to sleep in Madge's room. The
trunks instead of disgorging chaos, were compelled to part with their
contents in an orderly way. In little more than an hour the two rooms
allotted to Mr. and Mrs. Muir, and the nurse with the children, took
on a cosey, inhabitable aspect, and by supper-time the ladies, in
evening costume and with unruffled brows, joined Mr. Muir.

"The idea of my ever permitting Madge to go back to Santa Barbara!"
exclaimed Mrs. Muir. "This day alone has proved that I can never get
on without her. Just go and look at your room, sir. One would think we
had been settled here a week. You ought to pay Madge's bills, and give
her a handsome surplus."

"If time is money," said Madge, "Henry will have to pay me well. He
must stay and help me explore these mountains in every direction.
Bu