l what home he brought the children from or
where he's goin' with 'em. Their mileage was punched to the City--but we
don't know where they belong there, an' the conductor bein' gone too.
The poor fellow that had 'em in charge never knew what hurt him. Hit
from overhead, he was, an' his skull crushed....'

"It was so dark in the church by then we could hardly see, but the
children could keep track o' the white handkerchief. He let it fall
behind the little girl he'd brought me first,--Mitsy,--an' she catches
it up an' sort o' squeaks with the fun an' runs after him. An' while he
doubles an' turns,--

"'They've telegraphed ahead,' he says, 'to two or three places in the
City. But even if we hear right off, we can't get 'em out o' Friendship
to-night. They'll hev to stay here. The Commercial Travellers' Hotel an'
the Depot House has both got all they can do for--some of 'em hurt
pretty bad. They couldn't either hotel take 'em in....'

"Then he lets Mitsy catch him an' he ups with her on his shoulder an'
run with her on his back, his face lookin' out o' her blue, striped
skirts.

"'We'll hev to house 'em right here in the church,' he says.

"'Here?' says I; 'here in the church?'

"'You know Friendship,' he says, hoppin' along. 'Not half a dozen houses
could take in more'n two extry, even if we hed the time to canvass. An'
we _ain't_ the time. They want their s-u-p-p-e-r right now,' he spells
it out, an' lit out nimble when Mitsy dropped the handkerchief back o'
the little blond girl. Then he let the little blond girl catch them, and
he took her on his shoulders too, an' they was both shoutin' so 't he
hed to make little circles out to get where I could hear him.

"'I've seen Zittelhof,' he told me. 'He was down there with his wagon.
He'll bring up enough little canvas cots from the store. An' I thought
mebbe you'd go down to the village an' pick up some stuff they'll
need--bedding an' things. An' get the women here with some supper. Come
on now,' he calls out to 'em; 'everybody in a procession an' _sing_!'

"He led 'em off with

"'King William was King James's son,'

an' he sings back to me, for the secunt line,

"'Go _now_, go _quick_, I bet they're starved!'

"So I got into my coat, tryin' to think where I should go to be sure o'
not wastin' time talkin'. Lots o' folks in this world is willin', but
mighty few can be quick.

"I knew right off, though, where I'd find somebody to help. The
Friendship