to call on her. I couldn't fathom it at all.

"Besides, Mother, we might give them the heifer, as a starter, for she
will be ready to milk in the spring. Then, too, we might give them a
few ducks and geese and perhaps a pig."

"Excellent idea, Father; besides, I think I could spare enough cutlery,
dishes, and cooking utensils to help out for a while."

"And I could lend them some blankets from the store," the trader
returned.

But at that moment Athabasca miscalculated the distance to her mouth
and dropped a bit of potato on the floor, and when she stooped to
recover it, I caught a glance from the corner of her eye. It was one
of those indescribable glances that girls give. I remember it made me
perspire all over. Queer, isn't it, the way women sometimes affect
one? I would have blushed more deeply, but by that time there was no
possible chance of my face becoming any redder, notwithstanding the
fact that I was a red-head. Ponder as I would, I couldn't fathom the
mystery . . . who Son-in-law could be . . . though I had already begun
to think him a lucky fellow--quite one to be envied.

Then Mrs. Spear exclaimed, as we rose from the table:

"Good! . . . Then that's settled . . . you'll take him into
partnership, and I'm glad, for I like him, and I think he'll make an
excellent trader."

Our getting away from the table rather relieved me, as I was dripping