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“I’ll keep an eye on the children, and write and tell you how they are.”

He held her hand closely for a moment, and then he was gone.

During the whole of that afternoon Ann sought vainly for a charwoman. Apparently they were non-existent in Wairiri. One, who asked twelve shillings a day, said she might come in a week’s time. But as Ann wanted her floors scrubbed immediately, so that she could get them stained, she bought bucket, soap, and scrubbing brush, and leaving the hotel after dinner, went down to her rooms and scrubbed them out herself. She was not a very speedy scrubber, but she was so thorough that when she got back to the hotel she was thankful to flop into a hot bath, and was so tired that she was almost asleep before she finally tumbled into bed.

But to be doing all this rough work when her time should be spent on making hats was, Ann knew, being a penny wise and a pound foolish. She was fortunate enough to get a handy man—newly arrived from London and so not too superior to do odd jobs—the next day. He cleaned the windows, stained the floors and began the painting of a few old wooden tables and chairs which Ann had purchased cheaply in a neighboring auction-room. He had a wife too, who was willing to do some sewing. Ann blessed the day of this young couple’s arrival in New Zealand; and congratulated herself upon the fact that they were not yet “acclimatized” enough to begin their work late and leave off early. They were intelligent, hard-working, and willing to turn their hands to any-