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censors who were about to discover for themselves what had long been an object of curiosity. They looked about alertly. Elsie was glad she had put a semblance of order into the rooms before she summoned assistance, and resolved not to let them go upstairs until she had first made some changes on the second floor.
    “Now, we shall have to wash the dishes first and put this kitchen in order,” she said, speaking firmly, as if disordered kitchens like that were quite common affairs.
    “Gracious! Mis’ Elsie, they have left a mess, haven’t they? I guess Rebecca wouldn’t know the place. It’s about a year since she went to work on the hill, isn’t it?”
    So Rebecca had gone to work on the hill. Elsie did not answer the question. She kept steadily on, giving directions. There was a mountain of work to be done, and she meant to have it done in the swiftest way.
    “Just light all those gas jets, and put on kettles of water to heat, and light the hot water back. It will take a good deal of hot water. While we are waiting for it, suppose you sort out the dishes and get them stacked neatly so there will be room for the dish-pans. Your daughter can empty out the water from the sink and get it ready to clean. Do you know how to fix that sink so it will work? I bought some lye.”
    “Yes, sure, honey, lye’ll cut that grease. Lizzie, you get that ladle, and dip out the water into that pail.”
    In a moment they were both interested in their work, and Elsie went upstairs to her room, slipped off her pretty dress, and donned an old gingham wrapper of her mother’s, which she found in a bureau drawer. Then she deliberately bundled up all the bedclothing from her father’s and brother’s beds, tied them together for future reference and carried them to the storeroom. By the time she had picked up the soiled clothes and hung up a few of the garments that were lying about, the grocery boy had come, and she went down to superintend the work below stairs. Dish-towels and dishcloths were a problem; but she solved it by having a few old napkins washed out and hung over the gas-range to dry, and putting the dishes to drain out of very hot rinsing-water while they waited.
    It is marvelous what three smart people can accomplish in a short space of time when one of them is a good leader. Elsie was not an old housekeeper; but she was a girl of great executive ability, and she had a definite idea of what she must do. She took the shortest cut she saw as a means to that end. The two hired ladies obeyed her commands with silence, respect, and growing interest. Before three o’clock every dish was washed and draining, and Lizzie had started to dry them while her mother wiped off the pantry and china-closet shelves, washed the tables, and scrubbed the kitchen floor.
    Elsie meanwhile had been clearing out the debris from the sideboard drawers and consigning it all to two pasteboard boxes in the storeroom. Then, when the drawers were wiped out, they were ready for the knives and forks; and it seemed as if there was a clean spot from which to start.
    As soon as the dishes were in their places, Elsie set Lizzie and her mother to sweeping the worn rugs and oiling around the edges of the floor, the stairs and handrail. Then with a look of almost guiltiness she stole into the kitchen and began her pies. There were difficulties to overcome in the form of no molding-board and a misused rolling-pin with dents and creases all over it; but she managed to roll out three pretty creditable bottom crusts, and it took no time at all to mix the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and molasses.
    When she set the last pie triumphantly into the oven, she realized that she was tired enough to cry. Her hands were fairly trembling in their haste, and her heart was beating wildly with the amount she had yet to accomplish before six o’clock. She had set that hour because she knew that shortly after that, her father and brothers would arrive. She must have everything