of the woman from Kansas ceased also, and a vast sigh of relief
arose from the confederated helplessness of Heart's Desire.

"Is she going to die?" gasped the woman from Kansas.

"No," said Constance, scornfully. "I've seen much worse burns. The lye
has perhaps lost a little of its strength, too. The burns are all well
in the front of the mouth and tongue, and I don't think she swallowed any
of it. Lard is as good as anything to stop the burn. Why didn't you
think of it?"

"I don't know, ma'am," confessed the woman from Kansas.

A sudden loquacity now seized upon all those recently perturbed and
silent.

"Now," said Curly, "it's this-a-way; the women they must have left that
can of lye settin' around. It's mighty careless of 'em. I _needed_ my
strychnine, but there ain't no _sense_ in leavin' lye settin' around.
Them twins was due to eat it, shore. Why, they was _broke_ to eat
anything that comes in tin cans!"

Constance gathered Arabella in her arms. The tailored gown was ruined
now. One hand remained gloved, but both were grease-laden to the wrists.
She was unconscious of all this. Her gaze, frowning, solicitous,
maternal, bent itself upon the face of her patient. The men of Heart's
Desire looked on, silent, relieved, adoring. A few began to edge toward
the open air.

"You ain't no kind of a drug-store man," said the postmaster, scornfully,
to Tomlinson.

"Why ain't I?" retorted the latter, hotly. "What _chance_ does a
merchant get in this town? What do I get for carrying a full line of
drugs here for years? Now, _lard_ ain't drugs. It ain't in the
pharmacopy."

"I don't know but it's a good thing for that kid," said Curly. "She
ought to be plumb soft-spoken all her life, after all that lard in her
frontispiece. But it won't do 'em no good,--they'll eat my strychnine
next. This here stage-coach--with her along," jerking his thumb towards
the physician in charge, "won't be any more'n out of sight before that
twin corporation will be fryin' dynamite on the kitchen stove. I shore
thought that set of twins was busted this time for keeps. Unless there's
two of 'em, twins ain't no good!"

"Ma'am, your dress is just ruined," said the woman from Kansas; "you are
lard clean from head to foot!"

"I know it," cried Constance, gayly, the color coming to her cheeks; "but
never mind, the baby's all right now."

"Well, you've got to come over to our house and get fixed up. Was you
goin' out on