d, between taps of his noisy hammer, "it's
foolish of you to take it so to heart, and look on nothing but the
dark side. Of course, it is dreadful to be burned out of house and
home, but it might have been lots worse. All the down-stairs
furniture was saved, and the insurance company is going to put us up
a nice little cottage as soon as possible. We were not without a roof
over our heads for one single hour. Before the old one fell in, Mrs.
Sears offered these rooms, and already things are beginning to look
homelike. Mrs. Sears was one of our 'islands.'

"There we were, you see. It was black night, and we didn't know which
way to turn, but here were these empty rooms, all nice and clean,
waiting for us. And it will be the same way about your getting a
place if you don't lose faith and courage. You'll float along awhile
farther, and when you're least expecting it, you'll come on your
island that's been waiting for you all the time."

"Oh, you don't know what you're talking about, Flip," answered Alec,
impatiently, pounding away harder than ever. "You make me tired."

"I do know what I'm talking about," she retorted, scrambling to her
feet; "and I'll let you know, sir, my singing doesn't set your teeth
on edge half as bad as your sour looks do mine. I wouldn't be such a
grumble-bug! You act like a baby instead of a boy who prides himself
on being old enough to shave."

With this parting thrust, she flounced out of the room, unmindful of
what he called after her, but she thought, guiltily, as she ran, "Now
I've done it! He'll be furious all day; but I just had to! He needed
somebody to shake him up out of himself, and I don't care!"

Nevertheless, she sang no more that day, and a few tears dropped on
her books, as she made a place for them on the shelves. All Alec's
had been burned. He had lost more than any of them, for his was the
only up-stairs room that was occupied. Philippa loved her brother too
dearly not to suffer with him in all his losses and disappointments.

It was a day of hard work for all of them, but four energetic,
determined people can accomplish much, especially when one is a
ten-year-old boy, whose sturdy legs can make countless trips up and
down stairs without tiring, and another is an athletic young fellow
with the endurance of a man.

Late in the afternoon, Alec made a final round of inspection.
Up-stairs the two bedrooms were in spotless order. They were
furnished even better than those in