she has told you the truth, Smart. She is one of the youngsters I was
just telling you about. I was afraid she would recognize me, but
evidently she did not. I certainly shall investigate, for I am much
interested. They have my wife and me by the heartstrings already and
some of these days you may hear that a whole family has been adopted by
the erratic Campbells. They are the children of that Pendennis minister
who fought such a splendid fight in the Marble Avenue Church some years
back, until he was forced to retire on account of his health. Well, I
must be going. Good-day!" He stepped outside the office, and looked up
and down the street for a glimpse of the children, but they were nowhere
in sight; so he hailed a passing car, and was whirled rapidly away
through the busy city.

In the meantime, poor, disappointed Peace had jerked Allee back across
the street, helped her into the buggy and had just got nicely settled
when Mrs. Grinnell bustled out of Darnell's Department Store, ready for
the homeward journey. She eyed the sober faces keenly for an instant,
undecided whether the frowns were due to impatience at her long absence,
or because of some childish quarrel, but soon forgot all about the
matter in planning how she should make up her new print dress, so the
return trip was made in absolute silence.

But Peace had by no means given up hope in the matter of the mortgage
and, feeling better after the warm dinner had been eaten, she wandered
away to the barn to hatch some other impossible plan. Finding Hope in
the loft sorting out rubbish to be burned, she threw herself on an old
bench behind the building, where the bright sunlight shone invitingly,
and here she was soon so completely wrapped up in her own thoughts that
she did not hear the sound of approaching steps, and was startled when a
firm hand caught her by the shoulder and a merry voice demanded, "Why so
pensive, little maid? That face would scare the tramps away."

"Oh, Mr. Strong," she cried, catching his hand and pulling him down
beside her, "we are in the worst fix you ever heard. I knocked old
Skinflint's bull's horn off pawing red rags in the raspberry patch so
Faith could have some sour jelly for her jelly rolls, and to pay me for
that he won't give us back our _mordige_. Gail cried and Faith cried and
we all cried. In a month we must break up this house and go to live with
different people unless we can get some money somewhere. I tried this
morn