e told you we never feed
beggars?"

"No, miss. I am willing to work. But you better find out what your ma
wants me to do first, so I can begin."

"Mamma's a ninvalid," Peace responded promptly. "But I will ask Gail.
She will know, and, besides, she is cook here."

She leaped nimbly to the ground and disappeared within doors, where some
sort of an argument evidently waged warm and furious for a time, judging
from the sound of voices heard in the garden. Finally Peace put in
appearance again; not the jaunty, self-reliant young lady who had
interviewed the tramp a few moments before, but a very sober-faced,
dejected-looking child, who twisted her dress into knots with nervous
fingers, and at length stammered in embarrassed tones, "Gail says you
can have some breakfast if you will split a little wood for her first,
but she says it is a nimposition to expect you to do all I said you
should. I don't see why. There's a heap of work around here to be done
and no one but Mike to do it. There! Faith told me not to say anything
about not having any men on the place. Mike is only a boy, you know, and
he doesn't b'long here. We haven't got any--"

"Peace Greenfield!" The voice was sharp with exasperation, and Peace
retired hastily indoors once more, calling back over her shoulder,
"You'll find the ax by the woodpile, if Mike hasn't got it in the
meadow, or it isn't in the shed or the barn. I'll come out and tell you
when to quit. Yes, Faith I _am_ hurrying! Be sure you cut a lot,
'cause--" The voice trailed away into indistinctness, and the tramp,
with a smile on his lips, went to hunt up the missing ax; and soon
sharp, ringing blows told the occupants of the house that he was hard at
work.

Rapidly the huge pile of heavy knots diminished in size, and just as
rapidly the heap of split stove-wood grew, while the perspiration rolled
in great beads down the worker's crimson face. At last he paused a
moment to rest his back and wipe the moisture from his hot forehead, and
as he drew his handkerchief down from his eyes he saw Peace standing
before him, holding a platter in her extended arms while she surveyed
the result of his labor with approving eyes.

"You've done splendid!" she breathed, enthusiastically. "The last tramp
who cut wood for us piled it up so it looked like there was an awful
lot, but after he was gone we found he had heaped it around a big hole
in the middle and there wasn't hardly any split. Faith said she bet y