airs, "your marm is waitin' for you to git her a pail
of water."

Then he started for the stable to feed the stock, without waiting to see
if his young hopeful was coming down, or not.

"I declare for't!" Aunt 'Mira sighed; "I'm allus bein' put back for
water. I _do_ wish Jason would mend that pump."

Janice took the empty pail quietly and departed for the neighbor's
premises. It was an old-fashioned sweep-and-bucket well at the
Dickerson's, but Janice managed it. The pail of water was heavy,
however, and she had to change hands several times on her way up the
hill. Marty came yawning to the door just as his cousin appeared.

He grinned. "You kin git up an' do that ev'ry morning, if ye want to,
Janice," he said. "I won't be jealous if ye do."

"Ye'd oughter be ashamed, Marty," whined his mother, from the kitchen,
"seein' a gal do yer work for ye."

"Who made it my work any more'n it's Dad's work?" growled Marty. "And
she didn't have ter do it if she didn't want to."

Janice did her best to keep to a cheerful tone. "I didn't mind going,
Aunty," she said. "And we'll get breakfast so much quicker. I'm hungry."

She endeavored to be cheerful and chatty at the breakfast table. But the
very air her relatives breathed seemed to feed their spleen. Mr. Day
insisted upon Marty's finishing the hoeing of the potatoes, and it took
almost a pitched battle to get the boy started.

Mrs. Day was inclined, after all, to "take sides" with her son against
his father, so the smoke of battle was not entirely dissipated when
Marty had flung himself out of the house to attack the weeds.

"Ef you'd do a few things yourself when they'd oughter be done, p'r'aps
the boy'd take example of ye," said Mrs. Day, bitterly.

Her husband reached for his pipe--that never-failing comforter--and made
no reply.

"Ev'rythin' about the house is goin' to rack an' ruin," pursued the
lady, slopping a little water into the dishpan. "No woman never had to
put up with all _I_ hafter put up with--not even Job's wife! There! all
the water's gone ag'in. I do wish you'd mend that pump, Jason."

But Jason had departed, and only a faint smell of tobacco smoke trailed
him across the yard.

Janice tried to help her aunt--and that was not difficult. Almira Day
was no rigid disciplinarian when it came to housekeeping. By her own
confession she frequently satisfied her housewifely conscience by giving
things "a lick and a promise." And anybody who would help her