Shifting his boarding-place each Saturday Archie came to know the settlers intimately, and perceived how little outside their daily toil there was to engage their minds.  He proposed a singing-class for the young fellows and the girls, and set a date for the first meeting.  The evening came and there was so great a crowd that the school could not hold them so a number clustered round the open door.  Archie knew nothing about musical notation, but he had a good voice and a great store of songs.  The difficulty was knowledge of the words, which he overcame by singing whatever any number of them knew and by repeating in concert verse by verse before he raised the tune.  On the novelty wearing off a number ceased to come, but no matter how cold or stormy was the night the schoolhouse was filled by young people who heartily enjoyed those two evenings in the week.  On a preacher arranging to hold a fortnightly service, they applied themselves to learning hymns.  Without knowing it, Archie had become popular.  Taking pleasure in his work the winter passed quickly.  As his term drew towards its close there was a move to show him some substantial token of regard.  There being little money, it took the form of a donation in kind, so, on leaving the third week of March, he was driven to his shanty in a sled laden with parcels of flour, lumps of pork, butter, cookies, doughnuts, and the like.  His small wage had been paid him and out of it he sent $15 to his mother.

His shanty he found buried in snow, the drift against its west end overtopping it.  Everything was as he had left it, and when he had dug away the snow and got at the potatoes he had pitted he was glad to find them untouched by frost.  He again assailed the trees but in a different spirit from the day when he had left.  He was again hopeful of conquering and there was much to encourage him.  The weather was milder and the daylight longer.  More than anything else that cheered him on to his lonely task was the spring sunshine.  It was awakening new life in the forest, and why not in him?  On the size of his clearing depended whether he would be able to have his parents and sister join him when spring returned next year, and so, early and late, he attacked the trees.  The only break in his toil was when he had to go to Magarth’s for something he could not do without and those few hours of social talk were sweet to the solitary man.  Not the least interesting topic he heard was that Norah was engaged to a wealthy produce-dealer in Toronto.

On leaving the settlement where he had taught school, the young fellows told him to send them word when he was ready to burn, and they would come and help him.  The middle of May he walked to attend the preaching there, and before leaving next morning had arranged they should come the following Monday.  The number who flocked into his clearance astonished him, for almost every acquaintance he had saluted him.  They came with ox-sleds and chains and, what surprised