ssionary money. One thing the boys thought of was to
gather berries and sell them to the people in the valleys, mountain
blackberries being esteemed very delicious. There would be plenty of
work about that--first climbing the heights and then carrying their
burdens for miles.

Ruth was so much taken with Marty's plan of making tenths the basis of
what she gave to missions that she concluded to adopt the same plan.

"That's easy enough for you," said Almira. "You have your salary and
half the butter-money, but I have no income. You know we don't sell much
butter. I'll have to think of some other way to earn a little money."

"Well, do hurry and think what we can do, Almira," said Evaline
fretfully. She depended on her sister always to do the thinking. "I'm
afraid we wont have anything to give."

"I am thinking," said Almira.

The result was she asked her father if he would let her and Evaline have
a strip of the field adjoining the garden next summer, where they might
raise vegetables. When he consented she asked Mrs. Dutton at the hotel
if she would buy these vegetables. To this Mrs. Dutton, who knew the
good quality of everything from the Stokes farm, and what a "capable"
girl Almira was, readily agreed.

"There now, Eva," said Almira, "by weeding and gathering vegetables you
can earn your missionary money."

"But, Almira," said Marty, "how will you ever get the things down to the
hotel?"

"Well, the evenings Hiram has to go to Trout Run to meet the market
train, he can take my baskets for the next day along. Other days, if I
can't do any better, I can harness Nelly and take them down in the
morning myself before she is needed in the fields."

"You'd have to get up awfully early."

"Oh, yes!" said Almira, laughing. "I'll have to get up about three
o'clock, I suppose, to have the things ready in time."

"Three o'clock!" exclaimed Marty in dismay.

"There's going to be plenty of hard work about your missionary money,
Almira," said Mrs. Ashford.

"Oh, I'm willing to do the work," replied Almira. "From all Ruth says,
it is a cause worth working for."

"Yes; but all that wont be till next summer--a year off," objected
Evaline. "How are we going to get any money sooner?"

But Almira had another plan.

"Father," she said, one evening, "instead of hiring an extra hand this
fall to sort and barrel apples, wont you let Evaline and me do it, and
pay us the wages?"

"Do you think you could do as much work as