Grandfather's Arrival. 161

ready to turn out with sleighs and ploughs to force a way
through to rescue him.

Grandfather could neither sleep nor eat for thinking of what
evil might have befallen Job in his absence. Perhaps he had
left the shelter of his home to seek help at some distant house,
and had perished in the storm! The old man’s fears grew with
the drifts, as it were. Many hands make light work; the farm-
ers toiled with a will, and cheered up Grandfather. They found
an unexpected ally where the task seemed most difficult. The
still cold which nipped Job’s toes as the fire went down per-
formed for him a better service—it froze the crust of the snow
so that a sleigh could pass over it. This was the party whose
call Job heard.

There never was a boy quite so glad to see faces again as
Job was, and to have Grandfather among them too. All the
farmers laughed as if it were a great joke, and shook Job by
the shoulders; that was their way of expressing satisfaction.
Grandfather felt of the boy carefully to judge if he were frost-
bitten or hurt; then he sank down into his chair, and ex-
claimed :

“ Wal, this never happened to us afore !”

You may be sure that the cow and the chickens were
reached in a trice, with all those strong arms to clear the way ;
and by the time that was done the tea-kettle sang merrily,
the table was spread, and Grandfather was engaged in making
some of his famous pancakes. The neighbors stayed for a
while, and the Angora cat felt herself quite in the shade with
so many visitors.

Job stood at the window when the sky had assumed the

L,