ord, girl, I could paper your
house with ten-dollar bills--now you try to fly them green kites,
like I tell you."

Miss Mattie broke down, the not fully realised strain of fifteen
years had made itself felt when the cord snapped. "I don't know
how to thank you. I don't know what to say. Oh, William! it seems
too good to be true."

"What you crying about, Mattie?" said he in sore distress. "Now
hold on! Listen to me a minute! There's something I want you to
do for me."

"What is it?" she asked, drying her eyes. "For dinner to-morrow,"
he replied, "let's have a roast of beef about that size,"
indicating a wash-tub.

The diversion was complete.

"Why, Will! What would we ever do with it?" said she.

"Do with it? Why, eat it!"

"But we couldn't eat all that!"

"Then throw what's left to the cats. You ain't going to fall down
on me the first favour I ask?" with mock seriousness.

"You shall have the roast of beef. 'Pears to me that you're fond
of your stomach, Will," said Miss Mattie, with a recovering smile.

"I have a good stomach, that's always done the right thing by me,
when I've done the right thing by _it_," said Red. "And moreover,
just look at the constitution I have to support. But say, old
lady, look at that!" pointing to the clock. "Eleven-thirty; time
decent people were putting up for the night."

The words brought to an acute stage a wandering fear which had
passed through Miss Mattie's mind at intervals during the evening.
Where was she to look for sleeping accommodations for a man? She
revolted against the convention, that, in her own mind, as well as
the rest of Fairfield, forbade the use of her house for the
purpose. Long habit of thought had made these niceties
constitutional. It was almost as difficult for Miss Mattie to say
"I'll fix up your bed right there on the sofa" as it would have
been for Red to pick a man's pocket, yet, when she thought of his
instant and open generosity and what a dismal return therefor it
would be to thrust him out for reasons which she divined would have
no meaning for him, she heroically resolved to throw custom to the
winds, and speak.

But the difficulty was cut in another fashion.

"There's a little barn in the back-yard that caught my eye," said
Red, "and if you'll lend me a blanket I'll roll it out there."

"Sleep in the barn! You'll not do any such thing!" cried Miss
Mattie. "You'll sleep right here on the sofa, or upstairs in my