told us the truth."

"And if Squire Bean won't take him?" asked Samantha, with as much cold
indifference as she could assume.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but he must come back here and
sleep. I'll go out and tell him so,--I declare I feel as weak as if I'd
had a spell of sickness!"

Timothy bore the news better than Samantha had feared. Squire Bean's
farm did not look so very far away; his heart was at rest about Gay and
he felt that he could find a shelter for himself somewhere.

"Now, how'll the baby act when she wakes up and finds you're gone?"
inquired Miss Vilda anxiously, as Timothy took his hat and bent down to
kiss the sleeping child.

"Well, I don't know exactly," answered Timothy, "because she's always
had me, you see. But I guess she'll be all right, now that she knows you
a little, and if I can see her every day. She never cries except once in
a long while when she gets mad; and if you're careful how you behave,
she'll hardly ever get mad at you."

"Well I vow!" exclaimed Miss Vilda with a grim glance at Samantha, "I
guess she'd better do the behavin'."

So Timothy was shown the way across the fields to Squire Bean's.
Samantha accompanied him to the back gate, where she gave him three
doughnuts and a sneaking kiss, watching him out of sight under the
pretense of taking the towels and napkins off the grass.