generally. You will have a school holiday to-morrow, so no lessons
need be learned to-night. We shall have to do the store work while
Father is ill, so you and Miles will have to be satisfied with
night school with the men instead of having lessons in the day."

"Hooray!" chirruped Phil, who had no love of learning, but always
yearned for action. Then he asked anxiously: "Couldn't you stay in
and look after things to-night, while I go and help Miles with the
outside work?"

Katherine laughed and shook her head. "No, no, the outside work
would be too heavy for you to-night; you might even get your nose
frozen. But you must stay up until we come back, because Nellie
may need you to help her."

"I'll stay," replied the boy, but he manifested so much curiosity
about the nature of the outside work that had to be done that
Katherine had finally to command him to stay inside the house.

Neither she nor Miles wished anyone to know what they were going to
do: there were so many reasons for keeping their errand secret.
Mrs. Burton would have wept and wailed at the mere thought of such
a journey at night, while Phil simply could not keep a secret.

The dogs were tired and sleepy, very unwilling to be turned out and
harnessed again, but directly they were fairly out of their shed
the cold seemed to rouse them, and they set off at a great pace.
Katherine and Miles were riding in the empty sledge now, with their
snowshoes tucked in beside them. The snow-storm had spent itself;
the moon shone out of a cloudless sky, while myriads of stars lent