the small end of the stick. It sounds fine, but it don't pay."  Allister spoke with the assurance of the successful man of business.  "There's a certain amount of looking out for Number One that's necessary in this pleasant world." 

 Christina was silent. Her heart told her he must be wrong, but she could not have argued the matter if she would. It did not seem possible that John's life of self-sacrifice and devotion had been a mistake. Something that Neil was always quoting was running through her head, "There is no gain except by loss."  She could not recall it fully, but she remembered distinctly another quotation, "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it." 

 "Well, we're all getting on in the world all right," cried Allister heartily.  "I tell you, our family's doing fine. And if I make my pile as I hope to, we'll all do better. I'd like to be able to give Neil and Sandy a lift, but Sandy's ready to go next Fall to the University anyway. And it'll be a good while before Jimmie's ready." 

 "Ellen and Bruce will be married some time next Fall, I expect," said Christina, going over the members of the family in her mind. 

 "I hate to think of her as a farmer's wife," said Allister.  "If I had her out West I'd do better than that for her, but I suppose I might as well tell her I wanted to cut her head off." 

 "I should think so!" laughed Christina; "it's a dreadful thing to be in love." 

 "Look as if Mary wouldn't be teaching school long either, eh? Mother'll soon be without a girl if they all keep going off like that. What about the one they call Christina?" 

 "Goody! We've come to Christina at last! Let's settle her case. Christina will stay at home and milk the cows and feed the pigs and bake and scrub and take the eggs and butter to Algonquin on Saturdays. She will be the old maid sister with the horny hands, who always bakes the pies and cakes for Christmas when the family come home!" 

 Allister threw back his head and laughed into the coloured heavens till the echoes came back sharply from the whippoorwill's sanctuary on the hillside. 

 "Never!" he cried heroically, waving the long stick with which he had driven the cows up the lane.  "Never! Let me die before I see the day! No, siree! Christina will go to the University and take all the gold medals, or whatever truck it is they get there, and 

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