was not the sweet thing I imagined at all. There's nothing now that can repay me for the four years I've been through. The work has been sweet, but the rest, oh, how bitter ! Without my mother; without anybody. I'm afraid it will last always.'

"Oh, no it won't! You'll soon forget the bad, and retain only the good, when you've had a little rest.”

"I hope so."

possessed her.

Her voice sounded the weariness that

James started forward to say good-night.

Suddenly, without a word, she threw herself upon the lounge, and, burying her head in her arms, sobbed as James had never heard a woman cry before. Her form heaved and trembled with the excess of her emotions. James did not know what to do. Here was a new phase of this strong, self-contained girl's character. He was sounding new depths of knowledge of the strangely mingled strength and weakness that is woman's. He turned aside to a small table, picking over the leaves of an album, pained and embarrassed, not knowing how to comfort her. He did not know that the best thing would have been to leave the room and let her have her cry out. It was the safety-valve of her nervous system.

For several minutes, her head buried in her arms, the sobs continued to shake her frame. Gradually her emotion subsided. Slowly she sat up, her eyes shining dimly through her tears, her hair dishevelled. Quickly she tried to cover up the traces of disorder. James turned. He could not help the thought, even in his compassion, of how alluring she looked with her hair so mussed up.

"Pardon me, I beg of you, Mr. Rawson." She

smiled wanly through her tears. "I've been playing baby. But I felt that I couldn't fight it off a moment longer, and it I had to have a witness, I'd rather you than anybody."

She rose. James grasped her hand in both of his. "You're tired Miss Gray. Things will look better in the morning," he said, comfortingly.

"I'm sure they will," she replied.

James became conscious that he was still holding her hand and in an unusual manner. He dropped it suddenly, blushing. She lowered her eyes.

go."

"Good-night, Mr. Rawson. I'll see you before we

He walked up-stairs into his room and got into bed in a haze. "I'd never have thought it of her. She went all to pieces in a minute. She never before even talked a word about herself. Poor girl, she's had a hard pull of it! Many a fellow wouldn't have gotten through it. It's not right to put all that on a woman.” James had no friend to whom he would have confided the dreams which that night mingled with his sleep.

CHAPTER XVI

O-u-t Spells Out

"What do you intend to do with your vacation, Mr. Rawson?" asked Mrs. Saunders next morning.

"Mr. Hunter and myself are going to try canvassing for the Chautauqua desk."

"Is there much in that?"

"I think there is. But it depends, of course, upon one's gift of gab and the hardness of his cheek. My cheek will do, but the talk part has to be tested. I've been speaking to several fellows, though, who've averaged pretty well at it. We'll get two dollars and thirty cents commission for each sold. Two a day wouldn't be bad.'

"No; it depends, though, on where you sell."

"We've got Marin County for our territory. There are a good many Swiss and Italian farmers and dairymen there. They're all pretty well off, and, I hear, loosen up on occasions. Maybe we can hypnotize them into seeing the advantages of our indispensable article. I won't always expect the luck, though, that I had yesterday. I was in a house back in Oakland. Looking down the hall, I could see through an open door into a neighbor's back yard. There stood a little girl making pictures on the fence with a piece of chalk. I happened to have another fellow's sample, so I made a break for the front door of that house. I managed to work the mother out into the back yard,

where my argument was all figured out for me on the fence. The child clapped her hands, the mother said yes, and in five minutes I had my first order.”

"I'm afraid that I'll have to look around for another man next year." The old lady sighed.

"But I'll hold it open for you. You'll give me first call, won't you?" Another sigh. "I always wanted a son to uphold me in my old age, and, somehow—some way- you seem to have come nearer it than any yet.' She wiped her eyes with the corner of her apron. James took her hand.

"I'll always remember you, Mrs. Saunders, as the first friend I had here. If I work for anybody next year I'll want it to be for you."

"Thank you. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning if we get the samples. They've been holding us back too long now."

"Well, Perce, we can't cling on much longer, though it's hard breaking away. The samples have come," announced James later.

"Hooray! We'll be off in a bunch tomorrow morning." "Where's Cub?"

"Here he is; say, boys, I've got it!" George broke breathlessly in.

"What?"

"No more harvester in mine this trip." He was moving up and down as if working with a pick.

"What is it? What have you got, the jimjams?"

"No, a job in the celebrated Jumper Mine, Jimtown, Tuolumne County."

"Good enough, Cub !"

"Shake!"

"Put it there!

"Hooray for the 'mining push!'" They caught hold of George's arm, pulling him around and slapping him on the back.

"How did you get it?"

You see,
You see, I was wandering

"Let go and I'll tell you. around in the Crocker Building over in town where there are offices of several mining companies. I hardly expected to get a job, but thought that maybe I could get some pointers. Pretty soon I came in front of a door lettered 'Jumper Gold Syndicate of California, Limited.' I braced in. There was a fellow hanging over a desk talking to another I braced him. He sized me up. guy. 'College student? 'Yes, but I'm looking for work, not snaps.' He reaches over to a glass case and tosses me a couple of specimens of minerals, and tells me to name the constituents. I guessed right. Well, the upshot of it is that the guy was the superintendent himself, visiting town, and he told me to report next Monday at the mine. Two and a half per. Maybe you'll make more, but I'll manage to save enough, and just think of the experience!" George's

eyes danced.

"That'll give you some idea of what digging really is, hey, Cub?"

"You bet! It'll beat digging for exes all to pieces."

The full moon, mounting the tops of the hills in back, shone down upon the campus, bathing its familiar scenes in a mellow brightness, and blending strange, unaccustomed