r House, and by this time had grown to be
indispensable.

This was the household, saving Sandyface, the cat, and her four
kittens--Spotty, Almira, Popocatepetl and Bungle. And now there was the
goat, Mr. Billy Bumps.

Ruth was an intellectual looking girl--so people said. She had little
color, and her black hair was "stringy"--which she hated! Now that she
was no longer obliged to consider the expenditure of each dollar so
carefully, the worried look about her big brown eyes, and the
compression of her lips, had relaxed. For two years Ruth had been the
head of the household and it had made her old before her time.

She was only a girl yet, however; her sixteenth birthday was not long
behind her. She liked fun and was glad of the release from much of her
former care. And when she laughed, her eyes were brilliant and her mouth
surprisingly sweet.

The smaller girls--Tess (nobody ever called her Theresa) and
Dorothy--were both pretty and lively. Dot was Ruth in miniature, a
little, fairy-like brunette. Tess, who was ten, had a very kind heart
and was tactful. She had some of Ruth's dignity and more of Agnes' good
looks.

The twelve year old--the fly-away--the irrepressible--what shall we say
about her? That she laughed easily, cried stormily, was always playing
pranks, rather tomboyish, affectionate--utterly thoughtless----

Well, there is Agnes, out of the bedroom window in her bathrobe and
slippers just at dawn, with the birds chirping their first chorus, and
not a soul about (so she supposed) to either see or help her in her
sudden predicament.

She really was in danger; there was no doubt of it. A scream for help
would not bring Ruth in time; and it was doubtful if her older sister
could do anything to help her.

"Oh--_oh_--OH!" gasped Agnes, in crescendo. "I--am--go--ing--to--fall!"

And on the instant--the very sweetest sound Agnes Kenway had ever heard
(she admitted this fact afterward)--a boy's voice ejaculated:

"No you're not! Hang on for one minute!"

The side gate clicked. Feet scurried across the lawn, and under her as
she glanced downward, Agnes saw a slim, white-faced youth appear. He had
white hair, too; he was a regular tow-head. He was dressed in a shiny
black suit that was at least two full sizes too small for him. The
trousers hitched above his shoe-tops and the sleeves of his jacket were
so short that they displayed at least four inches of wrist.

Agnes took in these points on the instan