blem, or
a French verb. She insisted on setting them at night, and baking them
every morning during her stay, and she was finally pronounced an
adept in the work. This was not all she did. She put new life in the
silent old house, sung all her songs, read the newspapers aloud, made
a cap for mother Thorne, and a marvellous tidy for the best chair,
besides telling them all about Philip, as if she could tell them
anything new. But the pleasant visit must come to an end: it was
almost time for Philip's return.

"Daughter, I am really afraid to have you set out this morning," Mr.
Thorne said on the day that Ruey had fixed upon for her return. "It
has been snowing hard all night, and if it keeps on at this rate the
railroads will be blocked up."

"Oh, father! I must start; Philip will be home to-night, and what
will he think if he does not find me there?" Ruey said eagerly.

"Better," said the wise old father, "better stay and telegraph to
Ralph."

"Oh, no, indeed, that would spoil all the fun; you know I will get
home at four and Philip at seven. I shall have tea all ready and sit
there demurely waiting for him, and he never will imagine that I have
been off on a frolic until I tell him." And so she started, with many
misgivings, however, on the part of the old people.

"She's such a bright little thing," father Thorne said to his wife
when they were toasting their feet at the fire that night before
going to bed.

"It's like seeing the crocuses and daffodils coming up, or getting a
sniff at the hyacinth, to have her light down here like a pretty
bird, to sing and chatter to us. Philip always did know just the
right thing to do; he couldn't have found a better wife if he had
searched the whole land through."

The train that carried Ruey thundered on its way, as though it
disdained the thought that the snowflakes that filled the air could
have aught to do with its progress. When the first tiny white
feather came and softly laid itself down on the iron rails, did it
secretly exult that it was one of a myriad that should rear a
gigantic barrier before which this puffing fiery monster should stand
powerless, and acknowledge the soft bits of down master of the
situation? The storm raged through the day, increasing each hour in
strength and fury. The long train began to plod in a laboured, tired
way, after the manner of mortals, stopping often, while snow-ploughs
in advance cleared the track. Darkness came down and still