ce time for Gay to think about something that ain't--a coffin."

She hurried out on her mission of duty and affection. Gay was her all,
but she had room in her heart for a good deal more than the worthy
butcher-undertaker's great, fat image. She had no children of her own
yet, but, as she often said, in her cheery, optimistic way, "time
enough."

It was her attitude toward all things, and it carried her through life
a heaven-sent blessing to all those who could number her amongst their
friends. To Eve she had certainly been all this and more, for when a
woman, alone in the world, is set the appalling task of facing the
struggle for existence which is called Life, without the necessary
moral and physical equipment for such a battle, the support of a
strong heart generously given surely becomes the very acme of all
charity.

After drinking her coffee, Eve went to the open door and stood looking
out upon the village. It was a warm summer night, and the scent of the
prairie was strong upon the air. As yet Barnriff was neither large
enough, nor shut in enough by its own buildings to hold to itself that
stale, stifling atmosphere which cities obtain. The air was the pure
breath which swept over the vast green rollers of the grass world in
the midst of which it stood.

The velvet heavens, clad in their perfect tinsel of a glorious night,
spread a softness over the world upon which she gazed. An odd light or
two twinkled from a tiny window here and there; and, then, like a
vulgar centerpiece, the lights of the saloon stared out harshly. There
was no moon, but the mellow sheen of the stars hid the roughness from
the mind, and conveyed an added peace.

The girl breathed a deep sigh. It was an expression of relief, of
something almost like content. And it told of what Annie Gay's coming
had meant to her. As though suddenly released from an insufferable
burden her heart cheered, and hope told her that her brother would
recover; and, in her relief, she gazed up at the starlit sky and
thanked the great God who controlled those billions of sparkling
worlds.

With each passing moment her mood lightened, and her thoughts
inevitably turned upon those happier things which had been nearly
obscured. She was thinking of Will, and wondering what he was doing.
Was he in bed? Was he sleeping and dreaming of her? Or was he awake
and thinking of their love, planning for their joint future? Her eyes
drifted in the direction of his old hut,