"I'll go, Quincy. I love these odd characters."

"He's married and has a little boy," said Alice.

"Then my love for the father will be invisible--I'll shower my affection upon his offspring."

Quincy, after introducing his sister to Mr. Strout and his wife, expressed his regret that his wife was so unnerved by the runaway that she was unable to accompany him. Mr. Strout, in turn, expressed his regrets, as did Mrs. Strout, then he added: "Miss Sawyer, we'll have to pay you a commission. The store has been full of folks asking about you, and after I told them all about the runaway and how you were rescued, they had to talk it over, and I sold more than forty cigars and ten plugs of tobacco."

"How did you know how I was rescued?" asked Maude.

"Well, I heard part and imagined the rest. I had to tell 'em something or lose the trade."

Mrs. Strout was a very good cook and the dinner was a success.

Strout leaned far back in his chair and Maude a.s.sumed a similar position. Quincy looked at her reprovingly, but she did not change her att.i.tude. To her brother's astonishment, she addressed Mr. Strout.

"I suppose you have travelled a great deal, Mr. Strout."

"Well, yes, I have. Since I got back from the war I've taught music, and as my pupils were too lazy to come to me, I went to them. But speaking of travelling, I was in a runaway once. It had been snowing for about four days without a break and the roads were blocked up. I had to go to Eastborough Centre and I hired a horse I'd never driven before."

"Didn't you have to put snow-shoes on him?" asked Maude.

"Oh, no, because I waited until the roads were broken out."

"That's one on me," acknowledged Maude.

"Well, I nearly tipped over a dozen times, but I got to the Centre where the roads had been cleared. But my sleigh went into a gully and came down on the horse's heels. My, wasn't she off in a jiffy! I held her in the road, the men, and women, and children, and dogs and hens getting out of the way as fast as they could. She was a going lickety-split, and although I wasn't frightened, I decided she'd got to stop.

"I saw a house with an ell, and in the corner the snow was packed up ten feet high. I had an idea. I put all my strength on to one rein, turned her head, and she went into that snow bank out of sight, all but her tail. I got out of the sleigh, sat down on the snow, and laughed till I thought I'd die."

"And the horse?" queried Maude.

"It took half an hour to dig her out. They say horses are intelligent, but I don't think they know any more than hens."

"I thought hens were bright," said Maude. "They say they hide their eggs so we can't poach and boil them."

"Well, you can judge. When we moved into this house all the doors had gla.s.s k.n.o.bs. I took them off, put them in a box and set them out in the barn. I saw a hen setting, but didn't notice her particularly until one day she got off the nest while I was in the barn, and true as I live, that fool hen had been trying to hatch out those k.n.o.bs."

"They said you have a little boy, Mr. Strout," Maude looked at him inquiringly. "I hope he isn't sick."

"No, he's all right. But we never let him come to the table when we have company, because he talks too much."

"What's his name?"

"That's the funny part of it. My wife has lots of relations, and some wanted him named this, and some wanted him named that. So I went to the library and looked at all the names in the dictionary."

Maude's curiosity was excited. "What did you finally decide upon?"

"Well, we haven't named him yet. We call him No. 3, I being No. 1, and my wife No. 2."

After their guests had departed, Mrs. Strout asked, "Why didn't you tell Miss Sawyer that our boy's name was same as yours?"

"Why didn't I?" snapped her husband. "Because she was so blamed anxious for me to tell her. Them Sawyers are 'ristocrats. They look down on us common people."

Mrs. Strout remonstrated. "I thought he was real nice, and she's a lovely girl. Besides, he set you up in business and made you postmaster."

"And what did he do it for? Just to show the power of money. What did he want of a grocery store except to beat me out of it?"

"But you owned up in your speech at the Town Hall that you'd treated him mean, and that you were his friend."

"That was official. Do you suppose he means all he says? No! No more than I do. When I get enough money, there won't be but one partner in that grocery store, and his name will be O. Strout."

CHAPTER VIII

UNCLE IKE AND OTHERS

At the breakfast table next morning, Maude sat with her head bent over her plate. All were awaiting Olive's advent with the fruit.

"At your devotions, Maude?" asked Alice.

"Yes, I am thanking the Lord that my life was saved by a woman. _She_ can't ask me to marry her."

A trio of "good mornings" greeted the Rev. Mr. Gay as he entered and took his accustomed place at the head of the table. He bowed his head and asked a blessing.

"Why do you ask a blessing, Mr. Gay?"

Mr. Gay looked up, but there was no levity in Maude's eyes.

"It is our duty to thank the Almighty for his goodness in providing for our physical ends."

"But," said Maude, "with the exception of the fruit all our food is prepared by man. We couldn't eat it just as it grows."

"G.o.d has given us the necessary intelligence to properly utilize his blessings."

"But some people starve to death," said Maude, forsaking the main argument.

"Unfortunately, yes, owing to man's lack of brotherly feeling, or rather, a hap-hazard method of distributing his blessings. It is not G.o.d's will that any of his creatures should lack food or raiment."

"Do you really believe, Mr. Gay, that G.o.d takes a personal interest in us? That he sent Mrs. Howe yesterday to save my life?"

"I certainly do, Miss Sawyer."

"I can't understand it," said Maude. "I looked upon it simply as a lucky coincidence. But supposing the horse had turned to the left, and stopped of his own accord when he reached that steep hill. What would that prove?"

Quincy and Alice who had listened to the discussion, looked at the clergyman, who hesitated before answering. At last, a smile lighted up his face and he replied: "It would prove that, in that particular case, you did not need the intervention of Heavenly power."