2OO MEEK HERITAGE

others. She is going far away, to that strange
place,, and with mother already gone everyone
feels that the parting is for ever. And this know-
ledge wraps her round with a curious glow. The
children are grave. They are shut up in the
cabin while father is seeing Hiltu off. There they
go, past the cowhouse. Two little heads press
close to the window, but the staring eyes cannot
follow the traveller and her escort very far; the
last they see is Hiltu's heel, like a separate little
image that quickly becomes distorted in a bubble
in the glass. The children remain for some time
with their noses flattened against the pane. Then
they drop down from the bench into the empty
room, where the pensive spirit of Hiltu still seems
to dwell.

A great, or at any rate a unique event has
occurred. The postman has brought something
for Johan Toivola, Crofter. A letter and some
newspapers have arrived for him. They had
lain a week on the kitchen window-sill at the
farm before Juha, coming to the farm to work,
got them from the hand of the kitchen-maid.

" Toivola has turned Socialist, I see," joked the
master when he saw Juha's copies of The Peoples
News. Juha was amazed at receiving newspapers
addressed to him. The letter was most likely
from Hiltu—though even that seemed queer to
Juha.