ture
lands began and the sand grass made a faint showing between the
sagebrushes, Mr. Kronborg dropped his tune and turned to his wife.
"Mother, I've been thinking about something."

"I guessed you had. What is it?" She shifted Thor to her left knee,
where he would be more out of the way.

"Well, it's about Thea. Mr. Follansbee came to my study at the church
the other day and said they would like to have their two girls take
lessons of Thea. Then I sounded Miss Meyers" (Miss Meyers was the
organist in Mr. Kronborg's church) "and she said there was a good deal
of talk about whether Thea wouldn't take over Wunsch's pupils. She said
if Thea stopped school she wouldn't wonder if she could get pretty much
all Wunsch's class. People think Thea knows about all Wunsch could
teach."

Mrs. Kronborg looked thoughtful. "Do you think we ought to take her out
of school so young?"

"She is young, but next year would be her last year anyway. She's far
along for her age. And she can't learn much under the principal we've
got now, can she?"

"No, I'm afraid she can't," his wife admitted. "She frets a good deal
and says that man always has to look in the back of the book for the
answers. She hates all that diagramming they have to do, and I think
myself it's a waste of time."

Mr. Kronborg settled himself back into the seat and slowed the mare to a
walk. "You see, it occurs to me that we might raise Thea's prices, so it
would be worth her while. Seventy-five cents for hour lessons, fifty
cents for half-hour lessons. If she got, say two thirds of Wunsch's
class, that would bring her in upwards of ten dollars a week. Better pay
than teaching a country school, and there would be more work in vacation
than in winter. Steady work twelve months in the year; that's an
advantage. And she'd be living at home, with no expenses."

"There'd be talk if you raised her prices," said Mrs. Kronborg
dubiously.

"At first there would. But Thea is so much the best musician in town
that they'd all come into line after a while. A good many people in
Moonstone have been making money lately, and have bought new pianos.
There were ten new pianos shipped in here from Denver in the last year.
People ain't going to let them stand idle; too much money invested. I
believe Thea can have as many scholars as she can handle, if we set her
up a little."

"How set her up, do you mean?" Mrs. Kronborg felt a certain reluctance
about accepting this plan, though sh