Father
Friday's kind face, she added, more graciously: "Wa-all, yer jest in
the nick of time; the hoe-cake's nyearly done, and we war about havin'
supper. Hey, Josh?"

"Sartain sure," said Josh, ushering us into the kitchen, which was the
principal room of the cabin, though a door at the side apparently led
into a smaller one adjoining. He made us sit down at the table, and
Mirandy placed the best her simple larder afforded before us.

As we went out by the fire again, our host said, with some
embarrassment: "Now, strangers, I know ye're fagged out, an' for sure
ye're welcome to the tiptop of everythin' we've got. But I'm blessed
if I can tell whar ye're a-goin' ter sleep ternight. We've company,
yer see, in the leetle room yonder; an' that's the only place we've got
ter offer, ordinar'ly."

Father Friday hastened to reassure him. "I propose to establish myself
outside by the fire. What could be better?" said he.

Father Friday, you remember, had the Blessed Sacrament with him; and I
knew that, weary as he was, he would pass the night in prayer.

"I am actually too tired to sleep now," I began. "But when I am
inclined to do so, what pleasanter resting-place could a soldier desire
than a bit of ground strewn with pine needles?"

"Wa-all, I allow I'm glad yer take it the right way," declared Josh;
then, growing loquacious, he continued: "Fact is, this is mighty
cur'ous company of ourn--"

"Josh, come hyere a minute, can't yer?" called Mirandy from within.

"Sartain," he answered, breaking off abruptly, and leaving us to
conjecture who the mysterious visitor might be.

II.

"Yes, I allow I'm right glad yer don't mind passin' the night out hyere
by the fire," said Josh, taking up the thread of the conversation again
upon his return, shortly after. "Wa-all, I was a-tellin' about this
queer company of ourn. Came unexpected, same as you did; 'peared all
of a sudden out of the woods. It's a leetle girl, sirs; says she's
twelve year old, but small of her age--nothin' but a child, though I
reckon life's used her hard, pore creetur! Yer should a-seen her when
she 'rived. Her shoes war most wore off with walkin', an' her purty
leetle feet all blistered an' sore. Mirandy 'marked to me arterward
that her gown war a good deal tore with comin' through the brambles,
though she'd tried to tidy it up some by pinnin' the rents together
with thorns. But, land sakes, I did not take notice of that: my eyes
were