s at the roots of a calla lily,
having discovered, as he repeatedly informed us, that such treatment
increased the number and size of the blossoms, raised his fine old head,
and stood up after wiping his trowel on the trimly mown grass in the
border.

"_AEquam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem_," he replied, rolling
the Latin words luxuriously on his tongue, as if he relished the
flavour. "That verse of the poet has sustained me in many and varied
afflictions. Not to know it is to dispense with an unfailing source of
consolation in trouble. When using it at a patient's bedside, I have
found that it invariably acted as a sedative to an excited mind. I
sometimes think," he added gently, "that if Tina had not been ignorant
of Latin, she would have had a--a less practical temper."

Picking up the trowel, which he had laid on the grass, he returned with
a calm soul to his difficulties, while Sally, looking up at me with
anxious eyes, said:--

"Something has happened, Ben. What is it?"

I broke into a laugh. "Only that that little dead-beat road in West
Virginia may restore my fortune, after all," I replied.

The next day I went to Wyanoke and reorganised the affairs of the little
road. Shortly afterwards orders for freight cars came in faster than we
were able to supply them, and we called at once on the cars of the Great
South Midland and Atlantic.

"If you weren't a friend, this would be a mighty good chance to squeeze
you," remarked the General; "we could keep your cars back until we'd
clean squelched your traffic, and then buy the little road up for a
song. It's business, but it isn't fair, and I'll be blamed if I'm going
to squelch a friend."

He did not squelch us, being as good as his word; the undeveloped coal
fields developed amazingly and the result was that before the year was
over, I had sold the little road at my own price to the big one. Then I
stood up and drew breath, like a man released from the weight of irons.

"We can go into our own home," I said joyfully to Sally. "In a year or
two, if all goes well, and I work hard, we'll be back again where we
were."

"Where we were?" she repeated, and there was, I thought, a listless note
in her voice.

"Doesn't it make you happy?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm glad, glad the debt is gone, and now you'll look young and
splendid again, won't you?"

"I'll try hard if you want me to."

"I do want you to," she answered, looking up at me with a smile.

The wi