"If I could get some fairly good position," Lanse proposed, "I ought to
be able to earn enough to--well, we're rather a large family, and our
appetites----"

"I could do something," began Charlotte, eagerly. "I could--I could do
sewing----"

At that there was a general howl, which quite broke the solemnity of the
occasion. "Charlotte--sewing!" they cried.

"Why not take in washing?" urged Lanse.

"Or solicit orders for fancy cooking?"

"Or tutor stupid little boys in languages? Come! Fiddle--stick to your
specialty."

Charlotte's face was a study as she received these hints. They
represented the things she disliked most and could do least well. Yet
they were hardly farther afield than her own suggestion of sewing.
Charlotte's inability with the needle was proverbial.

"What position do you consider yourself eminently fitted for, Mr.
Lansing Birch?" she inquired, with uplifted chin.

"You have me there," her brother returned, good-humouredly. "There's
only one thing I can think of--to go into the locomotive shops.
Mechanics' wages are better than most, and a little practical experience
wouldn't hurt me."