"Hold on till I come; you can't handle them alone. Cale, put the screens before the fires. Come on down, mother." The passageway was stacked high with books along the walls. Cale had brought them in, and these were not the half. I was looking at them when the others came down. "You took them out, Cale, how many do you think there are?" "I cal'lated 'bout three hundred in a box. We 've opened five, and there 's two we ain't opened." Jamie started to gather up an armful, but Cale took them from him. His tenderness and care of him were wonderful to see. "No yer don't! If there 's to be any fetchin' and carryin', I 'm the one ter do it." "And I 'm the one to place and classify. I want to prove that I did n't work five years in the New York Library for nothing." I stayed with Cale while he was gathering up the books. "I cal'late you was paid a good price fer handlin' other folks' brains." Cale spoke tentatively, and I humored him; I like to give news of myself piece-meal. "Of course, I did, Cale; I had nine dollars a week." "Hm--pretty small wages fer a treadmill like thet!" He spoke almost scornfully. "Oh, that was better than I had in the beginning. What would you say to four dollars a week, Cale?" "With room and keep?" "Not a bit of it; board and room and clothes had to come out of that." "Hm--". He looked at me keenly, but made no reply. "You tend ter putting 'em on the shelves, an' I 'll take 'em all in. 'T ain't fit work fer women, all such liftin'; books has heft, if what's in 'em is pretty light weight sometimes." "What would you say about the owner of all these books, Cale? Let's guess what he 's like," I said, laughing, as I lingered to hear what he would say. But he was non-committal. "I could n't guess fer I ain't seen the insides. I 'm glad he 's coming, though; I want ter get down to some real work 'fore long. Wal, we 'll see what he 's like in two days now. Pete an' I have got to drive over ter Richelieu-en-Haut--durn me, if I can see why they don't call it Upper Richelieu!--an' meet the Quebec express." "They won't get here till long after dark, then." "No.--Here, jest put a couple more on each arm, will you?" I accommodated him, and we went into the living-room. Jamie looked rather glum. Sometimes, I know, he feels as if he had no place in all this preparation. "Now, Jamie, let me plan--" I began, but he interrupted me: "Maîtresse femme," he muttered; then he smiled on me, but I paid no heed. "You sit at the library table; Cale will bring in the books and pile them round it; you will sort them according to subject, and I will put them on the shelves." "Go ahead, I 'm ready." To help us, we pressed Angélique and Marie into service. In a little while we had five hundred books piled about the table. These were as many as Mrs. Macleod and I could handle for the evening, so we dismissed the others.