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It was hot, sore work The sun blazed; her bent and untrained back pained, and the soft little hands bled But no complaint passed her lips; her hands never wavered, and her eyes ht, cheerily, and then stole away to the wood, crouching beneath the great oak, and biting back the groans that trembled on her lips Often, she fell supperless to sleep, with two great tears creeping down her tired cheeks

When school-ti was not far advanced Yet Zora would take no money from Bles, and worked earnestly away

Meantime there occurred to the boy the ht of them? He feared not She knew little of clothes and cared less So one day in town he dropped into Caldwell's "Elanced hesitantly at certain ready-reat Easterlywarht the eye of Bles, and he bought the gown for a dollar and a half

He carried it to Zora in the wood, and unrolled it before her eyes that danced with glad tears Of course, it was long and wide; but he fetched needle and thread and scissors, too It was a full ether back in the swaarment At the same time she laid ten dollars of her first hard-earned money in his hands

"You can finish the first year with this hted, "and then next year you must come in to board; because, you see, when you're educated you won't want to live in the swamp"

"I wants to live here always"

"But not at Elspeth's"

"No-o--not there, not there" And a troubled questioning treht in his, for he was busy with his plans

"Then, you see, Zora, if you stay here you'll need a new house, and you'll want to learn how to reat castle here in the swaet h to board in; and I don't want to board in--I wants to be free"

He looked at her, curled down so earnestly at her puzzling task, and a pity for the more than motherless child swept over hierly, and she laid down her sewing and sat silent and passive with dark, burning eyes