"I know I could help," cried Ted eagerly, his foot on the top step of
the staircase.

"I am sure you can," Mr. Hazen replied. "Already by your timely warning
you have helped more than you will ever know. I tremble to think what
might have happened if you had not awakened Mr. Clarence just when you
did. Had the dam at the mills gone down, the whole town would have been
devastated. Mr. Fernald told me so himself."

"I'm mighty glad if I----"

"So you see you have been far from selfish," continued the tutor, in a
cheery tone. "As for the shack, it can be rebuilt, so I should not
mourn about that."

"I guess Mr. Fernald is glad now that he has his plans ready for his
model village."

"Yes, he is. He said right away that it was providential. The snow will
disappear after this thaw and as soon as the earth dries up enough to
admit of building, the workmen will begin to break ground for the new
settlement. The prospect of other and better houses than the old ones
will encourage many of the mill people who have had their dwellings
ruined to-day and in consequence been forced to move into temporary
quarters where they are crowded and uncomfortable. We can all endure
inconvenience when we know it is not to last indefinitely. Mr. Fernald
told me over the telephone that the promise of new houses by summer or
fall at the latest was buoying up the courage of all those who had
suffered from this terrible disaster. He is going to grant special
privileges to every family that has met with loss. They are to be given
the first houses that are finished."

"I do hope another freshet like this one won't sweep away the new
village," reflected Ted.

"Oh, we shall probably never again be treated to an excitement similar
to this one," smiled Mr. Hazen reassuringly. "Didn't you hear them say
that it was the bursting of the Melton reservoir which was largely
responsible for this catastrophe? Mr. Fernald declared all along that
this was no ordinary freshet. He has seen the river every spring for
nearly forty years and watched it through all its annual thaws; and
although it has often been high, it has never been a danger to the
community. He told me over the telephone about the reservoir bursting.
He had just got the news. It seems the reservoir above Melton was an
old one which the authorities have realized for some time must be
rebuilt. They let it go one year too long. With the weight of water,
snow, and ice, it could not bear the press