hat, plainly, and am willing to go when you all come back. I shall have
plenty of time this summer to turn around and make my plans. There's
plenty of work in this world for willing hands to do, and I'm a long way
off from being worn out yet."

"I'm so glad you spoke about this before we left," replied Mrs. Evringham,
smiling on the brave woman. "Father has said nothing to me about it, and I
am certain he would as soon dispense with one of the supports of the house
as with you. We all want to be busy at something, and I have a glimmering
idea of what my work is to be; and I think it is not housekeeping. I should
be glad to have our coming disturb father's habits as little as possible,
and certainly neither you or I should be the first to speak of any change."

Mrs. Forbes bit her lip. "Well," she returned, "you see I knew it would
come hard on him to ask me to go, and I wanted you both to know that I'd
see it reasonably."

"It was good of you," said Julia; "and that is all we ever need to be sure
of--just that we are willing to be led, and then, while we look to God,
everything will come right." The housekeeper drank in the sweet expression
of the speaker's eyes, and smiled, a bit unsteadily. "Of course I'd rather
stay," she replied. "Transplanting folks is as hard and risky as trees. You
can't ever be sure they'll flourish in the new ground; but I want to do
right. I've been reading some in Zeke's book, 'Science and Health,' and
there was one sentence just got hold of me:[1] 'Self-love is more opaque
than a solid body. In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to
dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of
error--self-will, self-justification, and self-love!' Jewel's helped me to
dissolve enough so I could face handing over the keys of this house to her
mother. I'm not saying I could have offered them to everybody."

[Footnote 1: _S. and H._, page 242.]

Mrs. Evringham smiled. "Thank you. I hope it isn't your duty to give them,
nor mine to take them. We'll leave all that to father. My idea is that he
would send us all back to Chicago rather than give you up--his right hand."

Mrs. Forbes's face relaxed, and she breathed more freely than for many
days. As she took her way out to the barn to report this conversation to
Zeke, her state of mind agreed with that of her employer when he declared
his pleasure that Julia had married into the family.

CHAPTER XIV

ROBINSON CRUSOE

A lon