CHAPTER IX.
The woman seemed willing to speak, and she told her story as follows:
"It was just about six years ago that inside of a week these poor children lost both of their parents. The father was buried on a Tuesday, and on the following Friday the mother died while bringing these little girls into the world. I was at that time living on a farm with my husband, and our house was not far from their home. The father of the little ones was by trade a woodman, and on that fatal day had gone to the forest to chop down trees. From one tree he could not escape in time, and it fell upon him, injuring him so badly that he expired just as he reached the threshold of his humble home. The poor wife was in despair at the loss of her husband, and on the Friday after his burial the babes first saw the light. The wom-
