st going to the Point and stand by! We must take care of the old
doc's leavings. The iron, that boy of his, and--the rest. Come on,
Ginger."

Polly watched the two pass from sight and then she readjusted her
spectacles to the far-off angle.

And while this was occurring at the inn there was a tap on the door of
the yellow house, and with its welcoming characteristic in full play,
the door swung in, leaving a tall woman on the threshold flushed and
apologetic.

"I never saw such a responsive door!" she said. "I really knocked very
gently. Please tell me how far it is to the inn?"

Mary-Clare, her little group of children about her, looked up and
smiled. The smile and the eyes made the stranger's breath come a bit
quicker.

"Just three miles to the south." Mary-Clare came close. "You are
walking? I will send my little girl with you. Noreen?"

But Jan-an was holding Noreen back.

"She's one of them other children of Eve!" she cautioned. "Don't
forget the other one!"

"Thank you so much," the stranger was speaking. "But may I rest here
for a moment? These children--is it a school."

"A queer one, I'm afraid. We're all teachers, all pupils--even the
dogs."

Mary-Clare looked at her small group.

"One has to do something, you know," she said. "Something to help."

"Yes. And will you send the children away for a moment? I have
something to say to you."

Mary-Clare's face went white. Since Maclin's exposure the girl knew a
spiritual fear that never before had troubled her. Maclin and Larry!
Doubt, uncertainty--they had done their worst for Mary-Clare.

When the children were gone the stranger leaned forward and said
quietly:

"I am Mrs. Dana--I am here on government business. There, my dear Mrs.
Rivers, please do not be alarmed--I come as your friend; the friend of
King's Forest; it is on the map, you know."

The tears stood in Mary-Clare's wide eyes, her lips trembled.

"I conscript you!" Mrs. Dana leaned a little further toward Mary-Clare
and took her hands. "I was directed to you, Mrs. Rivers. You must help
me do away with a wrong impression of the Forest. Together we will
tell a story to the outside world that will change a great many
things. We will tell the truth and set the Forest free from
suspicion."

"Oh! can we? Why, that would be the most splendid thing. We're all
so--so frightened."

"Yes. I know. See, I have my credentials"--Mrs. Dana took a notebook
from her bag. "The mines--well, all t