'Rosie's babies.'
Then let them gaze and gossip as they will. I, Dorcas, will not heed.
There will be peace at Heartsease now Rosie has come home--in the dear
forms of her children."

Thus thought the tender Friend, sitting and sewing diligently upon
such little garments as her fingers had not touched for so long a
time; but the "peace" upon which she counted seemed at that moment a
doubtful thing.

The day had worn itself out, and the miller had tired of indoors and
his own thoughts. From the distant living-room he had been conscious
of a strange sound--the prattle of childish voices and the gentle
responses of his wife. His heart had been softened, all unknown to
himself even, by a sorrow so recent it absorbed all his thought and
kept him wakeful with anxiety; yet it was rather pleasant to reflect,
in that gloomy afternoon, that he had given poor Dorcas her wish.
Those twins would be a great trouble and little satisfaction. They
were as much Bowen as Sands; still Dorcas had been good and patient,
and he was glad he had let her have her wish.

Ah! hum! The clouds were lifting. He wondered where those children
were. He began to wonder with more interest than he had felt during
all that endless week, what his workmen were doing. Maybe he would
feel better, more like himself, if he went out to the barn and looked
about. By this time the cows should be in the night-pasture, waiting
to be milked, those which were not now in the stalls of the County
Fair.

That Fair! He would have hated it had he not been a Friend and known
the sinfulness of hatred. But there were cattle lowing--it sounded as
if something were wrong. Habit resumed its sway, and with anxiety over
his cherished stock now re-awakened, he passed swiftly out.

"Oliver, thee has forgotten thy goloshes!" called his thoughtful
spouse, but he paid her no heed, though commonly most careful to guard
against his rheumatism.

"Who left that gate open? Who drove that cow--her calf--Child! is thee
possessed?"

Mrs. Betty Calvert was a true prophet--the twins had certainly waked
their grandsire up a bit! The explanation was simple, the disaster
great. They had tired of the quiet living-room and had also stolen out
of doors. Animals never frightened them and they were immediately
captivated by the goodly herd of cattle in the pasture. To open the
gate was easy; easy, too, to let free from its small shed a crying
calf. Between one cow and the calf there seemed a clo