He had just closed the door again when one of the younger boys seized the other by the hair, with the idea of holding him at bay while he got the bread, but this only made matters worse, and the bread disappeared bite by bite as each found an opportunity to snatch it. The aunt was washing potatoes in the kitchen. When her husband came in she said, "What do you mean by bringing the girl home with you? I should like to ask what you intend to do with her." "The child had to go somewhere," he answered. "I am her uncle and the only relative she has. She ought to be of some help to you. I am sure she could do the kind of work you are doing now, and you could take your time for something you like better. You have always said that the boys make work, and you can surely find something for her to do." "Oh, bosh! So far as that is concerned, she will be no better than the boys. You can hear what is going on in there now, and she has scarcely been here fifteen minutes." "Yes," said the uncle; "but I have heard the same thing many times before she came, and I imagine she has little enough to do with it." "Didn't you hear them all lay it upon her when you opened the door?" she asked angrily. "They have to blame some one," the husband calmly answered; "they always do, I notice. I am of the opinion that you will have little trouble from the girl; she acts and obeys better than the boys." "You needn't set her up as a model for the boys already," retorted his wife. "There isn't a place for her to sleep, anyway." "Well," said the husband, "one can't plan everything at once. She has, no doubt, had a bed to sleep on, and it can easily be brought over here. I will talk with the pastor about her to-morrow. She can sleep on the bench behind the stove to-night; it will at least be warm. Later we can partition off a part of our chamber large enough for her little bed." "I never in my life heard of any one bringing a child and a week later her bed!" sneered the aunt. "I should like to know who is going to pay the bills if we have to go to building on her account." "If the church agrees to let us have her, they will also pay something for her keeping," explained the husband. "I will take her for less money than any one else would ask, because I am her uncle, and she will be happier with us than with strangers. I wish you would tell Chappi that I want him at the barn." The aunt called to Chappi, but the boys were still struggling on the floor and he did not hear. She went into the room and gruffly ordered quiet. Wiseli stood crouching against the wall, scarcely daring to move. "I wonder that you stand by and watch such a scene without trying to stop it," scolded the aunt. "Can you knit?" Wiseli trembled as she answered, "Yes, I can knit stockings."