n Salem for five minutes, just to
show him a man with head on his shoulders.

"You call this a Christian country," she said, "and you haven't got a
screwdriver, nor a bradawl, nor a monkey-wrench, nor a rat-tail file,
nor no kind of a useful tool to bless yourselves with; and my Miss
Peabody, that's worth ten dozen of you put together, has got to stay
home from the Castle and eat warmed-up scraps served in courses,
with twenty minutes' wait between 'em. Now you do as I say: take the
dining-table and set it out under the window, and the carving-table on
top o' that, and see how fur up it'll reach. I guess you can't stump a
Salem woman by telling her there ain't no ladder."

The two tables were finally in position; but there still remained nine
feet of distance to that key of the situation, Salemina's window, and
Mrs. Waterford's dressing-table went on top of this pile. "Now, Peter,"
were the next orders, "if you've got sprawl enough, and want to rest
yourself by doin' something useful for once in your life, you just
hold down the dining-table; and you and Oonah, Molly, keep the next two
tables stiddy, while I climb up."

The intrepid Benella could barely reach the sill, even from this
ingeniously dizzy elevation, and Mrs. Waterford and Salemina were called
on to 'stiddy' the tables, while Molly was bidden to help by giving an
heroic 'boost' when the word of command came. The device was completely
successful, and in a trice the conqueror disappeared, to reappear at the
window holding the precious pearl-embroidered bodice wrapped in a towel.
"I wouldn't stop to fool with the door-knob till I dropped you this,"
she said. "Oonah, you go and wash your hands clean, and help Miss
Peabody into it,--and mind you start the lacing right at the top; and
you, Peter, run down to Rooney's and get the donkey and the cart, and
bring 'em back with you,--and don't you let the grass grow under your
feet neither!"

There was literally no other mode of conveyance within miles, and time
was precious. Salemina wrapped herself in Francesca's long black cloak,
and climbed into the cart. Dinnis hauls turf in it, takes a sack of
potatoes or a pig to market in it, and the stubborn little ass, blind of
one eye, has never in his wholly elective course of existence taken up
the subject of speed.

It was eight o'clock when Benella mounted the seat beside Salemina, and
gave the donkey a preliminary touch of the stick.

"Be aisy wid him," cautioned