young fruit trees. Her husband, she said, had planted the
orchard and kept the fence of the paddock in order, and they
refused to compensate him! Then she took us up to the spare
room, empty of furniture, the floor thick with dust. The bed,
table, chairs, washhandstand, toilet service--the things she
had been so long struggling to get together, saving her money
for months and months, and making so many journeys to the town
to buy--all, all he had taken away and sold for almost
nothing!

Then, actually with tears in her eyes, she said that now we
knew why she couldn't take us in--why she had to seem so
unkind.

But we are going to stay, we told her. It was a very good
room; she could surely get a few things to put in it, and in
the meantime we would go and forage for provisions to last us
till Monday.

It is odd to find how easy it is to get what one wants by
simply taking it! At first she was amazed at our decision,
then she was delighted and said she would go out to her
neighbours and try to borrow all that was wanted in the way of
furniture and bedding. Then we returned to Mr. Brownjohn's to
buy bread, bacon, and groceries, and he in turn sent us to Mr.
Marling for vegetables. Mr. Marling heard us, and soberly
taking up a spade and other implements led us out to his
garden and dug us a mess of potatoes while we waited. In the
meantime good Mrs. Flowerdew had not been idle, and we formed
the idea that her neighbours must have been her debtors for