ere near enough to the
drifting boat for Ruth to glance over her shoulder and see into it. At
once she uttered a little cry of pity.

"What now?" gruffly demanded Uncle Jabez.

"Oh, Uncle! It's a girl!" Ruth gasped.

"A gal! _Another gal?_" exclaimed the old miller. "I swanny! The Red
Mill is allus littered up with gals when you're to hum."

This was a favorite complaint of his; but he pulled more vigorously,
nevertheless, and the punt was quickly beside the drifting boat.

A girl in very commonplace garments--although she was not at all a
commonplace looking girl--lay in the bottom of the boat. Her eyes were
closed and she was very pale.

"She's fainted," Ruth whispered.

"Who in 'tarnation let a gal like that go out in a boat alone, and
without airy oar?" demanded Uncle Jabez, crossly. "Here! hold steady.
I'll take that painter and 'tach it to the boat. We'll tow her in. But
lemme tell ye," added Uncle Jabez, decidedly, "somebody's got ter pay me
fur my time, or else they don't git the boat back. She seems to be all
right."

"Why, she isn't conscious!" cried Ruth.

"Huh!" grunted Uncle Jabez, "I mean the boat, not the gal."

Ruth always suspected that Uncle Jabez Potter made a pretense of being
really worse than he was. When a little girl she had been almost afraid
of her cross-grained relative--the only relative she had in the world.

But there were times when the ugly crust of the old man's character was
rubbed off and his niece believed she saw the true gold beneath. She was
frequently afraid that others would hear and not understand him. Now
that she was financially independent of Uncle Jabez Ruth was not so
sensitive for herself.

They towed the boat back to the mill landing. Tom and Ben carried the
strange girl, still unconscious into the Red Mill farmhouse, and
bustling little Aunt Alvirah had her put at once to bed.

"Shall I hustle right over to Cheslow for the doctor?" Tom asked.

"Who's goin' to pay him?" growled Uncle Jabez, who heard this.

"Don't let that worry you, Mr. Potter," said the youth, his black eyes
flashing. "If I hire a doctor I always pay him."

"It's a good thing to have that repertation," Uncle Jabez said drily.
"One should pay the debts he contracts."

But Aunt Alvirah scoffed at the need of a doctor.

"The gal's only fainted. Scare't it's likely, findin' herself adrift in
that boat. You needn't trouble yourself about it, Jabez."

Thus reassured the miller went back