“Mamma and I went upstairs and packed our trunks, and telephoned to town for a man to take them down to the station. When they were gone we walked out to the arbor, waiting for luncheon, and to bid good-bye to my uncle, when--oh, Leola, with a shock!--suddenly there was the sound of a terrific explosion from the tower, and we fell back almost stunned in our seats. It almost seemed as if the world were coming to an end, for one loud report followed another, and the tower was blown away, with all of the chimneys. Then suddenly all grew still, and fire shot out of the windows and doors, caused by an explosion of gasoline Uncle Hermann had been using in his experiments.” “Oh, how terrible!” cried Leola, finding voice at last. “Yes, was it not?” cried Jessie, growing excited at the memory, and adding: “For not only was the house burned to the ground, but Joslyn, uncle’s servant, was killed; while as for himself, he fought his way bravely from the burning building, saving his life at the expense of all that made it worth living--his eyesight destroyed, his arms burned off to the elbows.” “Oh, how horrible! how horrible!” groaned Leola, and her lovely face went deathly white with the shock of the story. “I knew you would be shocked,” exclaimed Jessie. “Oh, wasn’t it fortunate for us that we had gotten out of the house just before! And saved our trunks, too! The cook was out in the garden getting peas for dinner, luckily for her! Joslyn was burned in the house; and as for Uncle Hermann, we thought he must die, too. Indeed, he thought so himself, for he was in horrible agony, so he sent for a priest--he was a Catholic, you know--and confessed his sins.” “And he lived, after all? What became of him? Who took care of the poor man?” cried Leola, with tears in her eyes, forgetting her own wrongs in exquisite sympathy. “Why, the Bennetts took him to their house and cared for him till he recovered; and he lives there yet, having a man attend to him all the time. I must say Mrs. Bennett acted beautifully to Uncle Hermann, and has befriended him all this time in spite of the fact that he hadn’t been as good as he might to her when she was a lone old maid.” “It was just like dear Miss Tuttle to return good for evil! She had a noble heart!” cried Leola. “Dear soul, she was too good for Giles Bennett!” “Mamma says she has made a better man of him, and he has become really fond of the kind soul. You see, mamma made a trip there this spring as Mrs. Bennett’s guest, while I came over to Europe with a friend,” added Jessie, who would have bitten her tongue off before she would have owned to Leola that, having exhausted all their means and failed to catch a rich husband, she had been forced to become the paid companion of a rich woman, while her mother eked out an existence “visiting around.”