ristian, and grossly
imposed on by the Turks. Tufik speaks French and English as well as
Mohammedan. They offered him a high government position if he would
desert the Christian faith; but he refused firmly. He came to this
country for religious freedom; at any moment they may come after him and
take him back."

A glint of hope came to me. I made a mental note to write to the mayor,
or whatever they call him over there, and tell him where he could locate
his wandering boy.

"He loves the God of America," said Tish.

"Money!" Aggie jeered.

"And he is so pathetic, so grateful! I told Hannah at noon to-day--that's
what delayed me--to give him his lunch. He was starving; I thought we'd
never fill him. And when it was over, he stooped in the sweetest way,
while she was gathering up the empty dishes, and kissed her hand. It was
touching!"

"Very!" I said dryly. "What did Hannah do?"

"She's a fool! She broke a cup on his head."

Mr. Wiggins's anniversary was not a success. Part of this was due to
Tish, who talked of Tufik steadily--of his youth; of the wonderful
bargains she secured from him; of his belief that this was the land of
opportunity--Aggie sniffed; of his familiarity with the Bible and
Biblical places; of the search the Turks were making for him. The
atmosphere was not cleared by Aggie's taking the Cluny-lace centerpiece
to the cemetery and placing it, with my sheaf, on Mr. Wiggins's grave.

As we got into Tish's machine to go back, Aggie was undeniably peevish.
She caught cold, too, and was sneezing--as she always does when she is
irritated or excited.

"Where to?" asked Tish from the driving-seat, looking straight ahead and
pulling on her gloves. From where we sat we could still see the dot of
white on the grass that was the centerpiece.

"Back to the house," Aggie snapped, "to have some chicken and waffles
and Tufik for dinner!"

Tish drove home in cold silence. As well as we could tell from her back,
she was not so much indignant as she was determined. Thus we do not
believe that she willfully drove over every rut and thank-you-ma'am on
the road, scattering us generously over the tonneau, and finally, when
Aggie, who was the lighter, was tossed against the top and sprained her
neck, eliciting a protest from us. She replied in an abstracted tone,
which showed where her mind was.

"It would be rougher on a camel," she said absently. "Tufik was telling
me the other day--"

Aggie had got her head