and Alice Ashton took charge of the older pupils, and in teaching it
appeared that Alice at last had found her metier.

Vera and Peggy also worked at the farming out of doors.

More important than any other of Miss Patricia Lord's gifts to the
community farm and the surrounding country was a motor tractor, which
one day had rolled unconcernedly into the farm house yard, an ugly
giant, proving of as much future value to the poor farmers in the
neighborhood as any good giant of the ancient fairy tales.

Fortunately Mary Gilchrist was able to explain its use to the French
peasants who had never seen the like before, and to show them how
speedily their devastated land might again be turned into plowed fields.

Vera and Peggy made frequent trips to the nearby villages, gaining the
friendship of the country people, inviting the younger ones to their
farm and helping in whatever ways they could. Now and then Sally Ashton
went with them and sometimes Sally played with the smallest of the
children, but nearly always her interests were domestic.

In contrast, Mary Gilchrist never remained in the house an hour if it
were possible to be away. Besides engineering the tractor and being a
general express delivery for the entire neighborhood, she had formed the
habit of motoring into Soissons, which was one of the large towns
nearby, and offering her services and the use of her car to the
hospitals. Occasionally she spent days at a time driving invalided
soldiers either from one hospital to another, or else in taking them out
on drives for the fresh air and entertainment.

It would therefore appear as if each member of the Sunrise Camp Fire
unit had arranged her life with the idea of being useful in the highest
degree, except the Camp Fire guardian.

As a matter of fact, Mrs. Burton often used to say that she found no
especial reason for her presence at the farm now that Aunt Patricia had
become the really important and authoritative guardian. Nevertheless,
with that rare quality of personality which as a girl Polly O'Neill had
infused into every interest of her life, there was nothing which took
place at the farm or in the neighboring country which she did not in a
measure inspire.

Once their household had been adjusted, it was true Mrs. Burton did not
do a great deal of the actual work. Instead, and oftentimes alone, she
wandered from one end of the French countryside to the other,
occasionally returning so late to the far