Betty and Ma
seemed to be broken down. As soon as she had closed the door she flew
into the other room and flung her arms around Ma's neck, bursting into
soft weeping on her motherly shoulder. Ma had done a rapid turning act
when she heard her coming, for in truth she had been peeping behind the
green window-shade to watch the handsome stranger go down the street,
but she would have dropped the iron on her foot and pretended to be
picking it up rather than let Betty suspect her interest in the visitor.

"Oh, mother," she murmured in Mrs. Carson's willing ear, "I have been so
frightened----"

"I know, dearie!" soothed the mother, quite as if she had been her own.
"I know!"

"But he was very kind," she said lifting her head with an April effect
of tears. "He's going to try to fix things for me so that I don't need
ever to be afraid of any one making trouble for me any more. You see, I
sort of ran away. There was somebody I was afraid of who troubled me a
great deal."

"Yes, dearie, I thought as much," said Ma. "Jane kind of gave me to
understand there was something like that. I'm real glad there's
somebody goin' to look into your affairs an' fix things right for you. I
knew you was restless an' worried. Now it'll get all straightened out.
He's got a nice face. I trusted him first off. He's a church member, an'
that's somethin'. They ain't all spiritual, but they're mostly clean an'
just an' kindly, when they're anythin' at all but just plain hypocrites,
which, thank the Lord, there ain't so many as some would have us
believe. Now wash your face, dearie, an' run back to your place so you
can come home early, for we're goin' to have the old hen with dumplin's
for supper to celebrate."

That was one charming thing about that household: they celebrated every
blessed little trifle that came into their lives, so that living with
them was like a procession of beautiful thanksgivings.

It was while Betty was eating the gala "hen," delicious in its festive
gravy and dumplings, that she looked off across the little dining-room
to the dark window with its twinkling village lights in the distance and
thought of the stranger. A dark fear flashed across her sweet face and
sparkled in the depths of her eyes for just an instant. Was it perhaps
the distant bay of the hounds on her trail, coming nearer every moment?
Then she remembered the heavenly Father and her new-found faith, and
turned back to the cheery little room and the ch