ter Jane appeared, and threw cold water upon a warm affectional
glow by announcing,--

"I'm fired."

"What do you mean, child?" asked her mother.

"Just what I say. That young Ray Bartram, that's the Prency gal's
feller, has been comin' to the house almost ev'ry day while I've been
workin' there, an' he's been awful polite to me. He never used to be
that way when him an' the other young fellers in town used to come down
to the hotel an' drink in the big room behind the saloon. Miss Prency
got to askin' me questions about him this morning, an' the less I told
her the madder she got, an' at last she said somethin' that made me get
up an' leave."

"What's _he_ ever had to do with _you_?" asked Mrs. Kimper, after a
long, wondering stare.

"Nothin', except to talk impudent. Mother, what's the reason a poor gal
that don't ever look for any company above her always keeps findin' it
when she don't want it?"

Mrs. Kimper got the question so mixed with her culinary preparations
that she was unable to answer, or to remember that she already had
salted the stew which she was preparing for dinner. As she wondered and
worked, her husband came in.

"Wife," said Sam, "everything seems turning upside down. Deacon
Quickset came into the shop a while ago. What do you suppose he wanted?
Wanted me to pray for him! I said I would, and I did; but I was so took
aback by it that I had to talk to somebody, so I came home."

"Why didn't you go talk to the preacher or Ray Bartram?" asked Mrs.
Kimper, after the natural expressions of astonishment had been made.

"Well," said Sam, "I suppose it was because I wanted to talk to
somebody that I was better acquainted with."

Mrs. Kimper looked at her husband in astonishment. Sam returned his
wife's gaze, but with a placid expression of countenance.

"I don't amount to much, Sam," Mrs. Kimper finally sighed, with a
helpless look.

"You're my wife; that's much--to me. Some day I hope it will be the
same to you."

There was a knock at the door, and as soon as Sam shouted "Come in!"
Judge Prency entered.

"Sam," said he, "ever since I saw you were in earnest about living a
new life, I've been trying to arrange matters so that your boy Joe--I
suppose you know why he ran away--could come back without getting into
trouble. It was not easy, for the man from whom he--took something
seemed to feel very ugly. But he has promised not to prosecute."

"Thank God!" exclaimed Sam. "If now I knew whe