elf as she had
so long dreamed of doing. But now, in the light of these underscored
lines, the worn hands no longer looked pathetic. They seemed rather to
have been folded with a glad sense of triumph that they had made such "a
noble task time" out of the dreary blank.

"And I shall do the same," whispered Mary resolutely, pressing her lips
together in a tight line, as she slipped the paper back into its
yellowed envelope and laid it aside to show it to Jack on his return.

So many household duties filled her time, that it was over a week before
she resumed her daily trips to the post-office. The first time she went
the old Captain's first question was:

"Of course you'll stay right on here in Lone-Rock."

"Oh, yes," was the quick answer. "As long as the boys need me." Then
with a wan little smile, "I've begun to think it was never intended that
I should reach my Promised Land, Captain Doane."

"Does look like it," assented the Captain gravely. "About everything
there is has stepped in to stop you. Well, your staying here is surely
Lone-Rock's gain."

"I shall certainly try to make it so," was Mary's answer. "Next week I'm
going to start a cooking class for the little Mexican girls. Mamma and I
had been talking it over for several weeks, and she was so interested in
the plan that I couldn't bear not to carry it out now, for it was her
idea. We found ten that will be glad to learn. I'm to have the class in
our kitchen, and Mr. Moredock has promised to donate the materials for
the first half-term and Mr. Downs for the second. I'm going down to the
store now to order the first lot."

"Make Pink donate something, too," suggested the Captain.

"Oh, he has, already. He's given a keg of nails and some tools to Norman
and Billy, so that they can teach practical carpentry to some of the
Mexican boys by showing them how to patch up their leaky shanties.
Norman is a first-class carpenter for his age. It was Pink's suggestion
that they should do that. I'm so grateful to him for getting Norman
interested in something of the sort. It seemed as if he could never get
over the dreadful shock--and--everything."

"I know," nodded the Captain, understandingly. "And there's nothing like
using your hands for other people to lift the load off your own heart."

The lessons in cooking and carpentry were only a few of the things that
went to the making of "a noble task time" out of the little mother's
absence. They kept her always in