cco pouch, and she brought me in
response a jug of shaving water, for which I have had no use for some
time!" He laughed, stroking his iron-grey beard. "Can you explain the
mystery, Norah?"

"It's easy," said his daughter. "Sarah's hair has a natural friz, so
she's the only girl in the house without curling pins concealed--more or
less--in her front hair. Brownie gave permission for the pins to-day; I
guess she thinks it would give Sarah an unfair start if she didn't!"

"But the shaving water?"

"Ah, well, I expect Fred Anderson wanted that. She's engaged to him,
you know," said Norah, simply.

"Well, I hardly see why she should give me his shaving water, either
from Anderson's point of view or mine; but I suppose it's all right,"
said Mr. Linton. "The whole place is upset. I really wanted some work
done, but the men who should have been sinking a well were tacking up
ferns, and those whose mission in life is--or ought to be--hoeing out
ragwort were putting French chalk on the floor of my loft! Judging from
my brief inspection, it seemed to me that the latter occupation was far
more strenuous than the ragwort job; but they seemed much happier than
usual, and were working overtime without a struggle!"

"To hear you talk so patiently," quoth Norah, "no one would imagine
that you'd bought the French chalk yourself!" She perched on the arm of
his chair, and looked at him severely, while the boys laughed.

"The men are like a lot of kids to-day," Jim said. "Did you hear about
old Lee Wing, Dad? He was standing under the block and pulley after
they'd hoisted up the piano, and I expect the sight of the hook on the
end of the dangling rope was too much for the men, for they slipped it
through Wing's leather belt and hauled him up too! You should have seen
him, with his pigtail dangling, kicking at the end of the rope like the
spider in 'Little Miss Muffet!' They landed him in the loft, and Fred
Anderson insisted on waltzing with him, while one of the musicians
hammered out The Merry Widow on the piano. Poor old Wing was very wild
at first, but they got him laughing finally."

"Why that long-suffering Chinaman stays here is always a mystery to
me," said his father, laughing. "He's the butt of the whole place; but
he fattens on it."

"There's the dinner gong!" said Norah, jumping up. "Come on, gentlemen,
we've to hurry to-night, so that the girls can get free early."

The loft over the stables, which had been built with