as bad when father was
around, so it would be better to wait until Monday. The traveller
tagged Leon and told him what a fine fellow he was, how smart he was,
and to prove it, Leon boasted about everything he knew, and showed the
man all over the farm.

I even saw them pass the Station in the orchard, and heard Leon brag
how father had been an agent for the Governor; but of course he didn't
really show him the place, and probably it would have made no
difference if he had, for all the money must have been spent on Sally's
wedding. Of course father might have put some there he had got since,
or that money might never have been his at all, but it seemed as if it
would be, because it was on his land.

Sunday evening all of us attended church, but the traveller was too
tired, so when Leon said he'd stay with him, father thought it was all
right. I could see no one wanted to leave the man alone in the house.
He said they'd go to bed early, and we came in quite late. The lamp
was turned low, the door unlocked, and everything in place. Laddie
went to bed without a candle, and said he'd undress and slip in easy so
as not to waken them.

In the morning when he got up the traveller's bed hadn't been slept in,
and neither had Leon's. The gun was gone, and father stared at mother,
and mother stared at Laddie, and he turned and ran straight toward the
Station, and in a minute he was back, whiter than a plate. He just
said: "All gone!" Father and mother both sat down suddenly and hard.
Then Laddie ran to the barn and came back and said none of the horses
had been taken. Soon they went into the parlour and shut the door, and
when they came out father staggered and mother looked exactly like
Sabethany. Laddie ran to the barn, saddled Flos and rode away. Father
wanted to ring an alarm on the dinner bell, like he had a call arranged
to get all the neighbours there quickly if we had sickness or trouble,
and mother said: "Paul, you shall not! He's so young! We've got to
keep this as long as we can, and maybe the Lord will help us find him,
and we can give him another chance."

Father started to say something, and mother held up her hand and just
said, "Paul!" and he sank back in the chair and kept still. Mother
always had spoken of him as "the Head of the Family," and here he
wasn't at all! He minded her quickly as I would.

When Miss Amelia came downstairs they let her start to school and never
told her a word, but