o prayer meeting with Giz Tobin to-night? I'm all
dressed for it."

Mrs. Cane had gladly given her consent when Cathead threw a bomb into
the happy home circle.

"Sube wasn't at school this afternoon," he announced.

"What's that?" demanded Mr. Cane glaring at Sube. "Do you mean to say
that after all I said to you--?"

Sube had begun to shrivel under his father's relentless gaze when
Cathead interjected:

"But there _wasn't_ any school in _his_ room! So many of the kids went
to Mag Macdougall's funeral that Miss Wheeler had to dismiss the room,
didn't she, Sube?"

Sube huskily admitted that she did, while Cathead bemoaned the
misfortune of his being in another room, and Mr. Cane showed signs of
being relieved, although he was at the same time annoyed at Cathead's
forwardness

CHAPTER VI

REIMBURSEMENT

There was something of a sensation at the breakfast table next morning
when sube appeared with his best clothes on, and without waiting for
interrogation modestly explained that his school suit had been
incapacitated by his futile attempt to do the household a real service.
He had arisen early and quietly taken the rake to the attic for the
purpose of dragging the rainwater tank for the remains of an alleged
dead cat.

He had not succeeded in locating the body, but had unfortunately lost
his balance and fallen into the tank, from which he had escaped with his
life only after a terrific struggle (although the tank was not over
three feet deep), and he called Cathead to witness that he had carefully
examined Exhibit A and found it to be a thoroughly saturated and badly
polluted suit of school clothes.

"I declare!" complained Mr. Cane. "I never saw such a household as this.
No sooner do we get rid of one scourge than another is upon us.
Contaminated water is about the worst thing that can happen to a place.
There's no telling when we'll get this thing cleared up. I suppose the
plumber will be round here for the next month. I might as well make him
a present of the house!"

"Oh, well," soothed Mrs. Cane. "It might be worse. We'll miss the rain
water, of course, but we still have the city water to fall back on."

"Yes, but who wants to use that city water?" demanded Mr. Cane. "It's as
hard as a rock! It makes my hands feel chapped just to think of it."
Then turning to Sube he asked, "Didn't you find anything at all that
might have made this trouble?"

Sube appeared to be searching his memory. In re