"For a boy?" laughed Hiram. "If I can't make good in my job there will soon be a chance for somebody else to take my place." "For the land's sake! I do hope you will stop here, Mr. Strong. I shouldn't want to see Mr. Bronson put a fellow like Ad Banks in charge at Sunnyside. He'd be worse than that Jim Brandenburg that made me so much trouble--burning everything all up." "I hope your house that was burned was insured, Miss Pringle," Hiram said. "Yes, 'twas, Mr. Strong. But that piece of pine timber across the road wasn't. The sparks flew from the house and caught that, and you can see quite a patch of it was burned--completely ruined for any purpose, even firewood. Who wants to handle wood that smuts you all up? I had a log or two dragged up to the house and sawed and split; but Abigail can't abide it. Says she won't have it in her kitchen. And I can't blame her." "So you have no use for that burned timber?" asked Hiram thoughtfully. "No more'n a cat has for two tails." "Are you just going to let it stand there and be blown down by the wind?" "I've told some folks that haven't much firewood that they can have it for the cutting and hauling." "I don't know that Mr. Bronson would be willing to have me make just that kind of a bargain," said Hiram smiling. "But I can make use of some of those dead trees." "You can? Remember they are fire-killed, Mr. Strong." "I'll give you ten cents apiece for them, and I will have them cut and hauled, of course." "For the land's sake!" ejaculated Miss Pringle, her bargaining instincts coming immediately to the fore, "I think that is an awful small price." The young fellow laughed. "That is just ten cents apiece more than you had any expectation of getting for the burned trees, Miss Pringle." "That may very well be," she argued. "But this is a bargain now. Money is money. If you think the trees are worth ten cents apiece to you, like enough they are worth a quarter each. I don't like to feel I've done myself in any deal." "I'm afraid you will own the timber a long while at that price." "For the land's sake, you can raise me a little, can't you?" "I don't see how I can," replied Hiram gravely. "I have heard that you Down East Yankees are as sharp at bargaining as can be. It does seem as though I ought to get fifteen cents apiece." "The longer those blackened trees stand on your land, the longer the land will be worth just nothing to you, Miss Pringle." "Land isn't worth much to a lone woman like me, Mr. Strong," she simpered. "Unless a body's got a man--" When Miss Pringle got on this tack Hiram always felt embarrassed. He started to break off negotiations at once. "Oh, well, never mind. It was just an idea I had. Nothing much in it, I guess." He started on, but she got hold of his sleeve and held him tightly. Hiram blushed, and he was sorry he had spoken about the timber. At any rate he was very glad that Lettie Bronson did not see him now!