with her again, she would surely
be much kinder than she had been. And she could not help wondering
just a little why he did not try.

Indeed, had Gavin only known, he was very near gaining his heart's
desire, when an unfortunate event snatched away his chance and tore him
down from the heights to which he had unconsciously risen.

All the previous Winter and Summer the Temperance Society, which was
the Presbyterian Choir, which was the Methodist Choir, had been
practising strenuously for a concert. This weekly choir practice was
really a community singing. Young and old, Presbyterians, Baptists and
Methodists went to it, and Tremendous K. led them. There was an inner
circle that sang on Sundays, in the Presbyterian Church in the morning
and the Methodist Church in the evening. And they sang in the Baptist
Church, too, on each alternate Sunday afternoon. For the Baptist
minister lived in Avondell, and gave Orchard Glen only two services a
month.

So this Union Choir decided to give a grand concert under the auspices
of the Temperance Society to raise money to buy new chairs for the
hall, and perhaps a new table if there was money enough. As the date
of the concert approached the practices were twice a week, and every
Tuesday and Thursday, from eight o'clock till half-past nine,
Tremendous K.'s big voice might be heard booming:

"Watch your time, there! Sing up, can't you? Give her a lift! Don't
pull as if you was haulin' a stun boat up the hill!"

It was just such drilling that had made the Orchard Glen choir famous
over the whole countryside, and caused them to be in demand for tea
meetings all through the Winter.

But the drilling was becoming wearisome, for the choir had been
practising for a very long time indeed. The date of the concert had
been set again and again, and on every occasion some other affair
interfered.

After many vicissitudes the date had been finally settled for the
evening of the first of October, and no sooner was it set, and set for
the twentieth time, too, than the Methodist minister announced a week
of special meetings at his church as there was an Evangelist available
at that date!

This was a serious affair and the Methodists in the choir were for
having another postponement.

"When's the concert to be?" asked Willie Brown one evening, as they
took a rest, and a paper bag of candy was passed round from Marmaduke.

"Haven't you been told straight ahead for a month tha