hem. Sarah would like to go--she was wailing that everyone went to
places and left her home."

Sarah climbed happily into her place by Richard and they drove off to
Bennington, at a slower pace than usual for Richard wished to "favor"
the shoeless foot.

"Ph, look!" the rather silent Sarah kindled into animation at the sight
of a gay-colored poster tacked to a telegraph pole along the road.
"What's that, Richard?"

"Circus!" he answered smilingly. "Coming next month. See the lions,
Sarah? How would you like one of those to play with, eh?"

He obligingly pulled in the willing Solomon, and Sarah studied the
poster with intent, serious dark eyes. Driving on, Richard found her
curiously self-absorbed. She answered him in monosyllables and was
apparently deep in a brown study.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he offered, wondering what she could be
pondering over.

But Sarah refused to sell and continued to be silent.

Richard would have been surprised indeed, could he have seen what was
going on in that active little brain. The circus poster had shown
Sarah, besides the wonderful lions, a marvelous performing bear,
dancing on his hind legs. A crowd of people laughed at him and
applauded.

"Bony can do that!" Sarah had thought with pride, and then, like a
flash, followed the thought: "I could sell Bony to the circus and give
the money to Louisa!"

The rest of the way to Bennington was occupied, as far as Sarah was
concerned, in selling Bony to the owner of the bear, who promised to
give the pig a kind home and explain to him frequently why his mistress
had consented to let him leave Rainbow Hill.

Sarah had reached the moment when she put her precious pig into the
bear man's hands (she innocently assumed that he must have charge of
all the circus animals) just as Richard drew up before the blacksmith's
shop.

"You don't want to hang around here," said Richard authoritatively,
lifting her down from the seat. "I'll have to give some orders about
shoeing Solomon and you wait for me on the side porch of the hotel. I
won't be long."

He led Sarah unprotestingly--though at any other time she would have
teased to be allowed to stay and watch the fascinating work of the
smithy--across the street and to the steep little flight of steps that
led to the pleasant, vine-covered side porch of the country hotel.

"Good morning, Mrs. King," he said, lifting his hat as a gray-haired
woman peered over the railing at t