He gathered some hay and piled it on the dress, firing the heap.

Then he turned to his antagonist. "Poor old boy! Hard luck, eh?

But I had to do it," he said, and gave him decent interment at the end of the garden; washed his hands carefully and went into the house on pleasanter duties.

"I'll ask her now, by the great horn spoon!" said he, valiantly.

Miss Mattie was in a curious state of mind. There was an after effect from the fright, which made her tremble, and a remembrance of Cousin Will's actions which made her tremble more yet. When she heard him coming she started to fly, although now clothed beyond reproach, but her knees deserted her, and she was forced to sink back in her chair. Red came in whistling blithely--vainglorious man!

He had _his_ suspicions, generated by the peculiar fervour Miss Mattie had shown in regard to his hands.

"Mattie," quoth he, "I'm tired of living out there in the barn--I want a respectable house of my own."

"Yes, Will," replied Miss Mattie, astonished that he should choose such a subject at such a time.

"Yes," he continued, "and I want a wife, too. You often said you'd like to do something for me, Mattie; suppose you take the job?"

How much of glancing at a thing in one's mind as a beautiful improbability will ever make such a cold fact less astonishing?

Miss Mattie eyed him with eyes that saw not; speech was stricken from her.

Red caught fright. He sprang forward and took her hand. "Couldn't you do it, Mattie?" said he. There was a world of pleading in the tone. Miss Mattie looked up, her own honest self; all the little feminine shrinkings left her immediately.

"Ah, but I _could_, Will!" she said. Lettis came up on the stoop unheard. He stopped, then gingerly turned and made his way back on tip-toe, holding his arms like wings.

"Well, by George!" he murmured, "I'll come back in a little while, when I'll be more welcome."

He spoke to Red in strong reproach that night, in the barn. "You never told me a word, you old sinner!" said he.

"Tell you the honest truth, Let," replied Red earnestly, looking up from drawing off a boot, "I didn't know it myself till you told me about it."

They talked it all over a long time before blowing out the light, but then the little window shut its bright eye, and the only life the mid-night stars saw in Fairfield was Miss Mattie, her elbow on the cas.e.m.e.nt, looking far, far out into the tranquil night, and thinking mistily.

THE END

By Stewart Edward White

THE BLAZED TRAIL

Mr. White has intermingled the romance of the forests with the romance of a man's heart, making a story that is big and elemental, while not lacking in sweetness and tenderness. It is an epic of the life of the lumbermen in the great forests of the Northwest, permeated in every line by out-of-door freshness and the glory of the labor of the struggle with nature. It will appeal to everyone who cares for trees, the forests or the open air.

"Mr. White has the power to make you feel the woods as the masters of salt-water fiction make you feel the sea."--_The Boston Herald_.

"Of the majesty of the falling forests the book is eloquent, and its place in the history of our literature is secure."--_The Chicago Nevis_.

"He has realized to the full the t.i.tanic character of the struggle between man and nature in the forest, and has reproduced it in his pages with an enthusiasm and strength of insight worthy of his theme."--_The St. James Gazette_.

McClure, Phillips & Co.

By George Douglas

THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS

A story remarkable for its power, remarkable for its originality, and remarkable for its success. The unique masterpiece of an unfortunate young author, who died without knowing the unstinted praise his work was to receive. The book portrays with striking realism a phase of Scottish life and character new to most novel-readers. John Gourlay, the chief personage in the drama, inhabitant of the "House With the Green Shutters" and master of the village destinies, looms up as the personification of the brute force that dominates. He stands apart from all characters in fiction. In the broad treatment and the relentless sweep of its tragedy, the book suggests the work of Dumas.

"If a more powerful story than this has been written in recent years we have not seen it. It must take first honors among the novels of the day."--_Philadelphia Item_.

"One of the most powerful books we have seen for a long time, and it marks the advent of a valuable writer."--_New York Press_.

McClure, Phillips & Co.

By Seumas McMa.n.u.s

Author of "Through the Turf Smoke"

"A LAD OF THE O'FRIEL'S"

This is a story of Donegal ways and customs; full of the spirit of Irish life. The main character is a dreaming and poetic boy who takes joy in all the stories and superst.i.tions of his people, and his experience and life are thus made to reflect all the essential qualities of the life of his country. Many characters in the book will make warm places for themselves in the heart of the reader.

McClure, Phillips & Co.

By Shan F. Bullock

Author of "The Barrys," "Irish Pastorals"

THE SQUIREEN

Mr. Bullock takes us into the North of Ireland among North-of-Ireland people. His story is dominated by one remarkable character, whose progress towards the subjugation of his own temperament we cannot help but watch with interest. He is swept from one thing to another, first by his dare-devil, roistering spirit, then by his mood of deep repentance, through love and marriage, through quarrels and separation from his wife, to a reconciliation at the point of death, to a return to health, and through the domination of the devil in him, finally to death. It is a strong, convincing novel suggesting, somewhat, "The House with the Green Shutters." What that book did for the Scotland of Ian Maclaren and Barrie, "The Squireen" will do for Ireland.

McClure, Phillips & Co.

By Arthur Morrison

THE HOLE IN THE WALL