ched the pillow."

Caleb made no answer. He nodded but his eyes were vacant with thoughts
of his own.

"Cal," she went on, "did you give him that old coat of mine?"

Caleb nodded again--an affirmative.

"Well, the last thing he asked before he slept was that I deliver a
message to you. 'Tell him thanks for me,' he said. 'Tell him I clean
forgot it til now!' And as for me, Cal--why--why, 'he'd git me
anuther, anytime I took the notion thet I wanted one!'"

And still Caleb nodded. The room was quiet for a long time.

"Sarah," he murmured at last.

"Yes, Cal," she answered.

"Has that boy's--yarn--set you to thinking a little?"

"It was very interesting and unusual," she admitted. Then she rose and
crossed over to his chair and perched herself, with odd, elfish,
girlish grace upon its arm.

"Do you mean Old Tom's tin box?" she asked gently.

And he nodded.

"Yes, in part--yes," he said. "But not just that alone, either. I
mean everything, Sarah. The way he handles himself; the way he looks
one in the face when he is talking. The--the--now what are you
grinning over?"

She stroked his sparse hair.

"Cal, you old romancer, you. Who'd ever suspect it in a man of your
age and--and avoirdupois!"

"Avoirdupois!" he snorted. "Can't a man continue to have ideas now and
then, even if he does become a--a trifle plump. And that boy--why,
Sarah I tell you----!"

And then his sister put one hand over his lips.

"I know, Cal," she interrupted placidly. "I know! You're going to
tell me, once more, your pet theory that there's many a boy in that
backwoods who might paint a great canvas, or model a deathless
bronze--or--or lead a lost cause, if he could only be found and
provided with the chance. It sounds--it sounds very big and grand and
romantic, Cal, but has it ever occurred to you that anyone big enough
for things like those would find the way himself?"

Immediately, jerkily, Caleb started to straighten up.
Argumentatively--and then she checked him.

"Oh, I know you don't believe it and I--I don't think I do myself, Cal.
A man has to know what opportunity is before he can go out and hunt up
his own big chance. I just said it for the sake of argument, Cal.
I--I'm like Samanthy--ole Samanthy, you know! I'm a woman, and when I
git my teeth sot in a argumint I never do let up. Have your dreams,
you--you boy! And in the meantime, if you have any plans, tell me,
please, what are you going to do