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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rose O'Paradise
+
+Author: Grace Miller White
+
+Release Date: March 31, 2009 [EBook #28462]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROSE O'PARADISE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: VIRGINA LEFT THE FARMHOUSE, CARRYING HER FIDDLE AND THE
+PAIL OF CATS, AND THE BLIZZARD SWALLOWED HER UP.]
+
+
+
+
+ROSE O' PARADISE
+
+BY
+
+GRACE MILLER WHITE
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY, ETC.
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+
+W. J. SHETTSLINE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NEW YORK
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
+
+THE H. K. FLY COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+I lovingly dedicate this book
+
+to
+
+Rose and Will Scott
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+       I. Father and Daughter                                        9
+      II. A White Presence                                          28
+     III. Jinnie's Farewell to Molly the Merry                      35
+      IV. Jinnie Travels                                            42
+       V. Like Unto Like Attracted                                  49
+      VI. Peg's Bark                                                57
+     VII. Just a Jew                                                62
+    VIII. "Every Hand Shall Do Its Share," Quoth Peg.               70
+      IX. By the Sweat of Her Brow                                  79
+       X. On the Broad Bosom of the "Happy in Spite"                83
+      XI. What Happened to Jinnie                                   89
+     XII. Watching                                                  95
+    XIII. What Jinnie Found on the Hill                             98
+     XIV. "He's Come to Live With Us, Peggy"                       105
+      XV. "Who Says the Kid Can't Stay?"                           110
+     XVI. Jinnie's Ear Gets a Tweak                                116
+    XVII. Jinnie Discovers Her King's Throne                       122
+   XVIII. Red Roses and Yellow                                     129
+     XIX. The Little Fiddler                                       136
+      XX. The Cobbler's Secret                                     145
+     XXI. The Coming of the Angels                                 152
+    XXII. Molly's Discovery                                        163
+   XXIII. Nobody's Cat                                             171
+    XXIV. "He Might Even Marry Her"                                179
+     XXV. When Theodore Forgot                                     185
+    XXVI. Molly Asks to Be Forgiven                                192
+   XXVII. "Haven't You Any Soul?"                                  196
+  XXVIII. Jinnie Decides Against Theodore                          201
+    XXIX. Peg's Visit                                              207
+     XXX. What the Fiddle Told Theodore                            214
+    XXXI. What Theodore Told His Friend                            221
+   XXXII. Jordan Morse's Plan                                      227
+  XXXIII. The Murder                                               233
+   XXXIV. The Cobbler's Arrest                                     240
+    XXXV. Alone in the Shop                                        248
+   XXXVI. Jinnie Explains the Death Chair to Bobbie                253
+  XXXVII. What the Thunder Storm Brought                           262
+ XXXVIII. The Story of a Bird                                      268
+   XXXIX. Jinnie's Visit to Theodore                               274
+      XL. An Appeal to Jinnie's Heart                              281
+     XLI. Jinnie's Plea                                            285
+    XLII. Bobbie Takes a Trip                                      294
+   XLIII. Theodore Sends for Molly                                 299
+    XLIV. Molly Gives an Order to Jinnie                           304
+     XLV. Writing a Letter to Theodore                             309
+    XLVI. "Bust 'Em Out"                                           316
+   XLVII. Bobbie's Stars Renew Their Shining                       327
+  XLVIII. For Bobbie's Sake                                        334
+    XLIX. Back Home                                                341
+       L. "God Made You Mine"                                      346
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+ Virgina left the farmhouse, carrying her fiddle and
+ the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.   _Frontispiece_
+
+ "I guess they won't eat much, because Milly Ann
+ catches all kind of live things. I don't like her to
+ do that, but I heard she was born that way and can't
+ help it."                                                          56
+
+ "You needn't feel so glad nor look as if you was
+ goin' to tumble over. It ain't no credit to anyone
+ them curtains was on the shelf waitin' to be cut up
+ in a dress for you to fiddle in."                                 136
+
+ "Play for me," Theodore said. "Stand by that big tree
+ so I can look at you."                                            216
+
+
+
+
+ROSE O' PARADISE
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+FATHER AND DAUGHTER
+
+
+On a hill, reared back from a northern lake, stood a weather-beaten
+farmhouse, creaking in a heavy winter blizzard. It was an
+old-fashioned, many-pillared structure. The earmarks of hard winters
+and the fierce suns of summer were upon it. From the main road it was
+scarcely discernible, settled, as it was, behind a row of pine trees,
+which in the night wind beat and tossed mournfully.
+
+In the front room, which faced the porch, sat a man,--a tall, thin
+man, with straight, long jaws, and heavy overhanging brows. With moody
+eyes he was staring into the grate fire, a fearful expression upon his
+face.
+
+He straightened his shoulders, got up, and paced the floor back and
+forth, stopping now and then to listen expectantly. Then again he
+seated himself to wait. Several times, passionately insistent, he
+shook his head, and it was as if the refusal were being made to an
+invisible presence. Suddenly he lifted his face as the sound of a
+weird, wild wail was borne to him, mingling with the elf-like moaning
+of the wind. He leaned forward slightly, listening intently. From
+somewhere above him pleading notes from a violin were making the night
+even more mournful. A change came over the thin face.
+
+"My God!" he exclaimed aloud. "Who's playing like that?"
+
+He crossed the room and jerked the bell-rope roughly. In a few moments
+the head of a middle-aged colored woman appeared at the door.
+
+"Did you tell my daughter I wanted to see her?" questioned the man.
+
+"No, sah, I didn't. When you got here she wasn't in. Then she slid to
+the garret afore I saw 'er. Now she's got to finish her fiddlin' afore
+I tell 'er you're here. I never bother Miss Jinnie when she's
+fiddlin', sah." The old woman bowed obsequiously, as if pleading
+pardon.
+
+The man made a threatening gesture.
+
+"Go immediately and send her to me," said he.
+
+For perhaps twenty minutes he sat there, his ears straining to catch,
+through the whistling wind, the sounds of that wild, unearthly
+tune,--a tune different from any he had ever heard. Then at length it
+stopped, and he sank back into his chair.
+
+He turned expectantly toward the door. Footsteps, bounding with life,
+with strength, were bearing down upon him. Suddenly a girl's face,--a
+rosy, lovely face,--with rapturous eyes, was turned up to his. At the
+sight of her stern father, the girl stopped, bringing her feet
+together at the heels, and bowed. Then they two,--Thomas Singleton the
+second and Virginia, his daughter,--looked at each other squarely.
+
+"Ah, come in!" said the man. "I want to talk with you. I believe
+you're called Virginia."
+
+"Yes, sir; Jinnie, for short, sir," answered the girl, with a slight
+inclination of her head.
+
+Awkwardly, and with almost an embarrassed manner, she walked in front
+of the grate to the chair pointed out to her. The man glanced sharply
+at the strongly-knit young figure, vibrant with that vital thing
+called "life." He sighed and dropped back limply. There followed a
+lengthy silence, until at last Thomas Singleton shifted his feet and
+spoke slowly, with a grim setting of his teeth.
+
+"I have much to say to you. Sit back farther in your chair and don't
+stare at me so."
+
+His tones were fretful, like those of a man sick of living, yet trying
+to live. He dropped his chin into the palm of his hand and lapsed into
+a meditative gloom.
+
+Virginia leaned back, but only in this did she obey, for her eyes were
+still centered on the man in silent attention. She had little awe of
+him within her buoyant young soul, but much curiosity lay under the
+level, penetrating glance she bent upon her father. Here was a man
+who, according to all the human laws of which Virginia had ever heard,
+belonged to her, and to her alone. There were no other children and no
+mother. Yet so little did she know of him that she wouldn't have
+recognized him had she met him in the road. Singleton's uneasy glance,
+seeking the yellow, licking flames in the grate, crossed hers.
+
+"I told you not to stare at me so, child!" he repeated.
+
+This time the violet eyes wavered just for an instant, then fastened
+their gaze once more upon the speaker.
+
+"I don't remember how you look," she stammered, "and I'd like to know.
+I can't tell if I don't look, can I?"
+
+Her grave words, and possibly the steady, piercing gaze, brought a
+twitch to the father's lips. Surely his child had spoken the truth. He
+himself had almost forgotten he had a girl; that she was the only
+living creature who had a call upon the slender thread of his life.
+Had he lived differently, the girl in front of him would have been
+watching him for some other reason than curiosity.
+
+"That's why I'm looking at you, sir," she explained. "If any one on
+the hills'd say, 'How's your father looking, Jinnie?' if I hadn't
+looked at you sharp, sir, how'd I know?"
+
+She sighed as her eyes roved the length of the man once more. The
+ashes in the grate were no grayer than his face.
+
+"You're awful thin and white," she observed.
+
+"I'm sick," replied Singleton in excuse.
+
+"Oh, I'm sorry!" answered Virginia.
+
+"You're quite grown up now," remarked the man presently, with a
+meditative air.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir!" she agreed. "I'm a woman now. I'm fifteen years old."
+
+"I see! Well, well, you _are_ quite grown up! I heard you playing just
+now. Where did you ever learn such music?"
+
+Jinnie placed her hand on her heart. "I got it out of here, sir," she
+replied simply.
+
+Involuntarily Singleton straightened his rounded shoulders, and a
+smile touched the corners of his mouth. Even his own desperate
+condition for the moment was erased from his mind in the pride he felt
+in his daughter. Then over him swept a great regret. He had missed
+more than he had gained in his travels abroad, in not living with and
+for the little creature before him.
+
+Her eyes were filled with contemplation; then the lovely face, in its
+exquisite purity, saddened for a moment.
+
+"Matty isn't going to take me across her knee never any more," she
+vouchsafed, a smile breaking like a ray of sunshine.
+
+The blouse slipped away from her slender throat, and she made a
+picture, vivid and beautiful. The fatherhood within Thomas Singleton
+bounded in appreciation as he contemplated his daughter for a short
+space, measuring accurately the worth within her. He caught the
+wonderful appeal in the violet eyes, and wished to live. God, how he
+wanted to live! He would! He would! It meant gathering his supremest
+strength, to be put forth in efforts of mere existing. Something out
+of an unknown somewhere, brought to him through the stormy, wonderful
+music he had heard, made the longing to live so vehement that it hurt.
+Then the horror of Virginia's words drifted through his tortured
+brain.
+
+"What?" he ejaculated.
+
+"Now I'm fifteen," explained the girl, "I get a woman's beating with a
+strap, you see. A while ago I got one that near killed me, but I never
+cried a tear. Matty was almost scared to death; she thought I was
+dead. Matty can lick hard, Matty can."
+
+Virginia sighed in recollection.
+
+"You don't mean to say the nigger whipped you?"
+
+The girl shook her curly head.
+
+"Whipped me! No! Matty don't whip; she just licks with all her
+muscle.... Matty's muscle's as strong as a tree limb."
+
+Mr. Singleton bowed his head. It had never occurred to him in all
+those absent years that the child was being abused. How simply she had
+told her tale of suffering!
+
+"But I'm fifteen now," she repeated gladly, "so I stand up, spread my
+feet like this"--she rose and suited the action to the words--"and
+Matty lays her on damn hard, too."
+
+He covered his mouth with one thin hand, choked down a cough, and
+endeavored to change the subject.
+
+"And school? Have you been to school?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" assured the girl, sitting down again. "I went to school
+back in the hills. There were only five boys and me. There wasn't any
+girls. I wish there had been."
+
+"You like girls, I imagine, then," said her father.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir! Yes, indeed, sir! I often walk five miles to play a
+while with one. None of the mothers around Mottville Corners'll let
+their girls be with me. You see, this house has a bad name."
+
+A deep crimson dyed the man's ashen skin. He made as if to speak, but
+Jinnie went on.
+
+"Over in the Willow Creek settlement the kids are awful bad, but I get
+along with 'em fine, because I love 'em right out of being hellish."
+
+She was gazing straight into her father's face in all sincerity, with
+no trace of embarrassment.
+
+"You know Mrs. Barker, the housekeeper you left me with?" she demanded
+a little later. "Well, she died when I was ten. Matty stayed, thinking
+every day you'd come home. I suppose mebbe I did grow up sort of
+cussed, and I suppose everybody thinks I'm bad because I've only a
+nigger to live with, and no mother, not--not even _you_."
+
+Singleton partly smothered an oath which lengthened itself into a
+groan, looked long at the slim young figure, then at the piquant
+face.
+
+"Just lately I've been wanting some one of my own to love," she
+pursued. "I only had Milly and her cats. Then the letter come saying
+you'd be here--and I'm very glad."
+
+The smile lighting her face and playing with the dimples in her cheeks
+made Thomas Singleton feel as if Heaven's breath had touched him.
+
+"Do you care at all for me?" he asked gloomily.
+
+There had come over him a desire that this winsome girl,--winsome in
+spite of her crudity,--would say she did. Wonder, love, sympathy, were
+alive in her eyes. Jinnie nodded her head.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir!" she murmured. "Of course I love you! I couldn't tell
+you how much.... I love--why, I even love Mose. Mose's Matty's man.
+He stole and et up all our chickens--but I love him just the same. I
+felt sorry about his killing the hens, because I loved them too."
+
+"I see," sighed the father.
+
+"Now there's Molly--I call her Molly the Merry----"
+
+"Who's Molly the Merry?" interrupted Singleton.
+
+"Old Merriweather's daughter. She's prettier than the summer roses,
+and they're pretty, believe me. Her smiles're warmer'n the sun."
+
+"Ah, yes! I remember the Merriweathers. Is the old man still alive?"
+
+"Well, yes, but he's as good as dead, though. Ain't walked in three
+years. And Matty's man, Mose, told Matty, and Matty told me, he's
+meaner'n forty damn devils."
+
+"So you swear, too?" asked the father, breathing deeply.
+
+Virginia opened wide and wider two sparkling blue eyes.
+
+"Swear, sir?" she protested. "I didn't swear."
+
+"Pardon me," replied Singleton, laconically. "I thought I heard you
+say 'damn' several times."
+
+Virginia's smile showed two rows of white teeth.
+
+"Oh, so you did!" she laughed, rising. "But 'damn' isn't swearing. You
+ought to hear me really swear sometimes. Shall I show you how I--I can
+swear?"
+
+Singleton shook his head.
+
+"I'd rather you wouldn't!... Sit down again, please."
+
+The man at intervals turned a pair of burning bright eyes upon her.
+They weren't unlike her own eyes, only their expression puzzled
+Virginia.
+
+She could not understand the rapid changes in her father. He wasn't
+the man she had mentally known all these years. But then, all she had
+had by which to visualize him was an old torn picture, turned face to
+the wall in the garret. He didn't look at all like the painting--he
+was thinner, older, and instead of the tender expression on the
+handsome, boyish face, time had placed one of bitterness, anxiety, and
+dread. He sat, crouched forward, stirring the grate fire, seemingly
+lost in thought. Virginia remained quiet until he was ready to speak.
+
+"I'm going to die soon,--very soon."
+
+It was only natural that Virginia should show how his statement
+shocked her. She grew deathly white, and an expression of misery knit
+the lovely young face.
+
+"How soon?" she shivered, drawing back.
+
+"Perhaps to-night--perhaps not for weeks, but I must tell you
+something before then."
+
+"All right," agreed Virginia, "all right.... I'm here."
+
+"I haven't been a good father to you," the man began after a pause,
+"and I'm not sure I could do better if I should stay on here with you.
+So I might as well go now as any time! Your mother would've done
+differently if she'd lived. You look some like her."
+
+"I'm sorry I don't remember her," remarked Virginia apologetically.
+
+"She went away when you were too little even to know her. Then I left
+you, too, though I don't suppose any one but her could have made you
+happy."
+
+"Oh, I've been happy!" Jinnie asserted. "Old Aunt Matty and the
+cats're all I need around, and I always have my fiddle. I found it in
+the garret."
+
+It was easy to believe that she was telling the truth, for to all
+appearances she looked happy and healthy. However, Mr. Singleton's
+eyes darkened and saddened under the words. Nothing, perhaps, had ever
+touched him so deeply.
+
+"It's no life for a girl of fifteen years to live with cats and
+niggers," he muttered.
+
+One less firmly faithful to conscience would have acquiesced in this
+truthful statement; not so Virginia.
+
+"Matty's a good nigger!" she insisted, passionately. "She'd do
+anything she could for me!"
+
+Seemingly the man was not impressed by this, for his strong jaws were
+set and unyielding upon the unlighted cigar clenched between his
+teeth.
+
+"I might as well tell you to-night as to-morrow," he concluded,
+dropping the cigar on the table. "Your mother left you her money and
+property when she died."
+
+"I know it, sir, and it's a lot, too! Matty told me about it one night
+along with 'er ghost stories, sir.... Ever heard Matty's ghost
+stories, sir?"
+
+"No, but I didn't bring you here to talk about Matty. And tell me,
+what makes you say 'sir' to me all the time?"
+
+His impatient tone, his sharp, rasping voice, didn't change Virginia's
+respectful attitude. She only bent her head a trifle and replied:
+
+"Anybody must always say 'sir' to another body when she's kind of half
+afraid of him, sir."
+
+She was composed for a moment, then went on:
+
+"It isn't every day your father comes home, sir, and I've waited a
+long, long time. I'd be a hell of a kid if I couldn't muster up a
+'sir' for you."
+
+Singleton glanced sidewise at his young daughter, bending his brows
+together in a frown.
+
+"You're a queer sort of a girl, but I suppose it's to be expected when
+you've only lived with niggers.... Now will you remember something if
+I tell it to you?"
+
+"Yes, sir," breathed Virginia, drawing back a little from his strong
+emotion.
+
+"Well, this! Don't ever say 'sir' to any human being living! Don't
+ever! Do you understand me? What I mean is, when you say 'sir,' it's
+as if you were--as if you were a servant or afraid--you make yourself
+menial. Can you remember, child?"
+
+"Yes, sir,--yes, I'll remember.... I _think_ I'll remember."
+
+"If you're going to accomplish anything in the world, don't be afraid
+of any one."
+
+A dozen explanations, like so many birds, fluttered through Virginia's
+mind. Before her rose her world of yesterday, and a sudden apology
+leapt to her lips. She turned on her father a wondering, sober
+glance.
+
+"I've never said 'sir' or 'ma'am' before in all my life--never!" she
+remarked.
+
+"So you're afraid of me?"
+
+"A little," she sighed.
+
+"Ah, don't be, child! I'm your father. Will you keep that in mind?"
+
+"I'll try to; I will, sure."
+
+Mr. Singleton shifted uneasily, as if in pain.
+
+"This money is coming to you when you're eighteen years old,"
+explained Mr. Singleton. "My dying will throw you into an ocean of
+difficulties. I guess the only service I've ever done you has been to
+keep your Uncle Jordan from you."
+
+"Matty told me about him, too," she offered. "He's a damn bad duffer,
+isn't he, mister?"
+
+"Yes, and I'm going to ask you not to call me 'mister,' either. Look
+here!... I'm your father! Can't anything get that into your head?"
+
+"I keep forgetting it," answered the girl sadly. "And you're so big
+and thin and different from any man I know. You look as weak as a--as
+a cat."
+
+She stretched forth her two strong legs, but sank back.
+
+"Yes, your Uncle Jordan is bad," proceeded Singleton, presently, "bad
+enough to want to get us both out of the way, and he wouldn't find
+much of an obstacle in you."
+
+A clammy chill clutched at Virginia's heart like tightening fingers.
+The import of his words burned deep within her. She got to her
+feet--but reseated herself at once at a wave of her father's hand. The
+thought of death always had a sobering effect upon her--it filled her
+with longing, yet dread. The beautiful young mother, whose picture
+hung in the best room, and whose eyes followed her in every direction,
+was dead. Matty had told her many times just how her mother had gone,
+and how often the gentle spirit had returned to hover over the beloved
+young daughter. Now the memory of it was enhanced by the roar of the
+wind and the dismal moaning of the tall pines. Virginia firmly
+believed that her mother, among other unearthly visitants, walked in
+the night when the blizzard kept up its incessant beating. She also
+believed that the sound through the pines--that roaring,
+ever-changing, unhuman sound--was not of the wind's making. It was
+voices,--spirit voices,--voices of the dead, of those who had gone
+down into the small cemetery beyond the road.
+
+Only the day before Matty had told her how, one night, a tall,
+wandering white thing had walked in silence across the fields to
+Jonathan Woggles' house. In the story, Jonathan's grandpa was about to
+pass away. The glittering spirit stalked around and around the house,
+waiting for the old man's soul. She was about to relate the tale when
+her father repeated:
+
+"Your uncle is bad enough to want us out of the way."
+
+The shuddering chill again possessed her. She was torn between horror
+and eagerness--horror of what might be and eagerness to escape it.
+
+"But he can't get us out, can he?" she questioned.
+
+"Yes, I'm afraid he can and will! Your Uncle Jordan is your mother's
+stepbrother, no direct relation to you, but the only one left to look
+after you in the world but me. If you've any desire to live, you must
+leave here after I've gone, and that's all there is to it!"
+
+Virginia then understood, for the first time, something of the danger
+menacing her. Her heart beat and pounded like an engine ploughing up
+hill. From sheer human desire of self-preservation, she partly rose
+from the chair, with the idea of immediate departure.
+
+"I could go with Matty, couldn't I?" she suggested.
+
+Mr. Singleton made a negative gesture with his head, flinging himself
+down again.
+
+"Matty? Matty, the nigger? No, of course not. Matty is nothing to any
+one who hasn't money, and you'll have none to pay her, or any one
+else, after I'm gone. You must eat and live for three long years. Do
+you understand that?... Sit back in your chair and don't fidget," he
+concluded.
+
+The girl obeyed, and a silence fell between them. The thought of the
+wonderful white presence of which Matty had told her faded from her
+mind. Her heart lay stone-like below her tightening throat, for her
+former world and all the dear familiar things it held were to be
+dashed from her, as a rose jar is broken on a marble floor, by a
+single decision of the thin, tall father whom yesterday she had not
+known. She understood that if her uncle succeeded in his wicked plans,
+she, too, would join that small number of people, dead and buried,
+under the pines. Her father's words brought the cemetery, with its
+broken cross and headstones, its low toolhouse, and the restless night
+spirits, closer than Matty, with her vivid, ghastly tales, had ever
+done. In the past, Matty had stood between her and her fears; in the
+future, there would be only a stranger, her uncle, the man her father
+had just warned her against. At length Mr. Singleton coughed
+painfully, and spoke with evident effort.
+
+"The doctor told me not long ago I might die at any moment. That's
+what made me escape--I mean, what drove me home."
+
+He rose and walked nervously up and down the room.
+
+"The doctor made me think of you. I can't live long."
+
+"It's awful bad," answered the girl, sighing. "I wouldn't know where
+to go if there wasn't any Matty--or--you."
+
+Her voice lowered on the last word, and she continued: "I wish I had
+my mother. Matty says mothers kiss their girls and make over 'em like
+Milly Ann does with her kittens--do they? Some of 'em?"
+
+The father glanced curiously into the small, earnest, uplifted face.
+
+"I couldn't help being your girl," pursued Virginia. "I'd have had
+another father if I could, one who'd 've loved me. Matty says even
+fathers like their kids sometimes--a little." She paused a minute, a
+wan, sweet smile passing over her lips. "But I've got Milly Ann and
+her kittens, and they're soft and warm and wriggley."
+
+What a strange child was this daughter of his! She spoke of cats as if
+they were babies; of loving as if it were universal. Each moment, in
+her presence, he realized more and more what he had missed in thus
+neglecting her. But he had hurried to Mottville from foreign lands to
+perform one duty, at least,--to save her, if possible. So he returned
+to his vital subject.
+
+"Your Uncle Jordan's coming, perhaps this week. He's found out I'm
+here! That's why you must go away."
+
+"Shall I--just go?" queried Virginia. "I don't know of any special
+place--do you?" and she shivered again as the wind, in a fierce gust,
+blew out from the slumbering fire a wreath of smoke that encircled the
+room and hung grey-blue about the ceiling.
+
+"I only know one man," reflected Mr. Singleton, presently, "and you'll
+have to find him yourself--after I've gone, of course; but if Jordan
+Morse should come, you'd have to go quickly."
+
+"I'd go faster'n anything," decided the girl, throwing up her head.
+
+"Your mother's father used to have a family in his tenement house on
+this place, and they were all very fond of her when she was a girl.
+One of the sons moved to Bellaire. He's the only one left, and would
+help you, I know."
+
+"Mebbe if you'd talk to my uncle----" Virginia cut in.
+
+An emphatic negative gesture frightened her.
+
+"You don't know him," said Singleton, biting his lips. "He's nearer
+being a devil than any other human being." It was a feeling of
+bitterness, of the deadly wrong done him, that forced him to sarcasm.
+"The great--the good Jordan Morse--bah!" he sneered. "If he's 'good,'
+so are fiends from perdition."
+
+He sent the last words out between his teeth as if he loathed the idea
+expressed in them. If they brought a sombre red to the girl's cheeks,
+it was not because she did not have sympathy with him.
+
+Sudden leaping flames of passion yellowed the man's eyes, and he
+staggered up.
+
+"May God damn the best in him! May all he loves wither and blight! May
+black Heaven break his heart----"
+
+Jinnie sprang forward and clutched him fiercely by the arm. "Don't!
+Don't!" she implored. "That's awful, awful!"
+
+Singleton sank back, brushing his foaming lips with the back of his
+hand.
+
+"Well," he muttered, "he followed me abroad and did for me over
+there!"
+
+"Did for you?" Virginia repeated after him, parrot-like, gazing at him
+in a puzzled way as she sat down again.
+
+"Yes, me! If I'd had any sense, I might have known his game. In the
+state of his finances he'd no business to come over at all. But I
+didn't know until he got there how evil he was. Oh, God! I wish I
+had--but I didn't, and now my only work left is to send you
+somewhere----Oh, why didn't I know?"
+
+The deep sadness, the longing in his voice brought Virginia to her
+feet once more. She wanted to do something for the thin, sick man
+because she loved him--just that! Years of neglect had failed to kill
+in the young heart the cherished affection for her absent parent, and
+in some subtle way he now appealed to the mother within her, as all
+sick men do to all heart-women.
+
+"I'd like to help you if I could, father," she said.
+
+The man, with a quick, spasmodic action, drew her to him. Never had he
+seen such a pair of eyes! They reminded him of Italian skies under
+which he had dreamed brave dreams--dreamed dreams which would ever be
+dreams. The end of them now was the grave.
+
+"Little girl! My little girl!" he murmured, caressing her shoulders.
+Then he caught himself sharply, crushing the sentiment from his
+voice.
+
+"Hide yourself; change your name; do anything to keep from your uncle.
+When you're old enough to handle your own affairs, you can come out of
+your hiding-place--do you understand me?"
+
+"I think I do," she said, tears gathering under her lids.
+
+"I don't know of any one I could trust in this county. Jordan Morse
+would get 'em all under his spell. That would be the last of you. For
+your mother's sake----" His lips quivered, but he went on with a
+masterful effort to choke down a sob,--"I may honestly say, for your
+own sake, I want you to live and do well."
+
+There was some strain in his passionate voice that stirred terrific
+emotion in the girl, awakening new, tumultuous impulses. It gave her a
+mad desire to do something, something for her father, something for
+herself. At that moment she loved him very much indeed and was ready
+to go to any length to help him. He had told her she must leave.
+Perhaps----
+
+Virginia glanced through the window into the darkness. Through the
+falling snow she could see a giant pine throw out appealing arms. They
+were like beckoning, sentient beings to the girl, who loved nature
+with all the passionate strength of her young being. Yet to-night they
+filled her with new wonder,--an awe she had never felt before. Despite
+her onrushing thoughts, she tried to calm her mind, to say with eager
+emphasis:
+
+"Shall I run to-night--now?"
+
+"No, not to-night; don't leave me yet. Sit down in the chair again;
+stay until I tell you."
+
+"All right," murmured Virginia, walking away.
+
+The father watched the fire a few minutes.
+
+"I'll give you a letter to Grandoken, Lafe Grandoken," he said
+presently, looking up. "For your mother's sake he'll take you, and
+some day you can repay him. You see it's this way: Your mother trusted
+your uncle more than she did me, or she'd never have given you into
+his care in case of my death. Well, he's got me, and he'll get you."
+
+With no thought of disobedience, Virginia slipped from the chair to
+her feet.
+
+"He won't get me if I run now, will he?" she questioned breathlessly;
+"not if I go to--what'd you say his name was?"
+
+She was all excitement, ready to do whatever she was bidden. Slowly,
+as she stood there, the tremendous suspense left her.
+
+"Why couldn't we both go, you and me?" she entreated eagerly. "Let's
+both go to-night. I'll take care of you. I'll see you don't get wet."
+
+Her glance met and held his for a few seconds. The vibrant voice
+thrilled and stirred the father as if he had been dead and suddenly
+slipped back to life again. A brave smile, tenderly sweet, broke over
+Virginia's lips.
+
+"Come," she said, holding out her hands. "Come, I'll get my fiddle and
+we'll go."
+
+He was struck by the vehemence of her appeal. He allowed himself to
+listen for a moment--to overbalance all his preconceived plans, but
+just then his past life, Jordan Morse, his own near approaching end,
+sank into his mind, and the fire in his eyes went out. There was
+finality in the shake of his shoulders.
+
+"No, no," he murmured, sinking back. "It's too late for me. I couldn't
+earn money enough to feed a pup. I'm all to pieces--no more good to
+any one. No, you'll have to go alone."
+
+"I'm sorry." The girl caught her breath in disappointment. She was
+crying softly and made no effort to wipe away her tears.
+
+The silent restraint was broken only by the ticking of the shadowy
+clock on the mantel and Virginia's broken sobs. She stifled them back
+as her father spoke comfortingly.
+
+"Well, well, there, don't cry! If your mother'd lived, we'd all 've
+been better."
+
+"I wish she had," gasped the girl, making a dash at her eyes. "I wish
+she'd stayed so I'd 've had her to love. Perhaps I'd 've had you, too,
+then."
+
+"There's no telling," answered Singleton, drawing up to his desk and
+beginning to write.
+
+Virginia watched the pen move over the white page for a space, her
+mind filled with mixed emotions. Then she turned her eyes from her
+father to the grate as a whirl of ashes and smoke came out.
+
+Matty's story came back to her mind, and she glanced toward the
+window, but back to the fire quickly. The blizzard seemed to rage in
+sympathy with her own riotous thoughts. As another gust of wind
+rattled the casements and shook down showers of soot from the chimney,
+Virginia turned back to the writer.
+
+"It's the ghosts of my mother's folks that make that noise," she
+confided gently.
+
+"Keep quiet!" ordered Singleton, frowning.
+
+After the letters were finished and sealed, Mr. Singleton spoke.
+"There! I've done the best I can for you under the circumstances. Now
+on this,"--he held up a piece of paper--"I've written just how you're
+to reach Grandoken's in Bellaire. These letters you're to give to him.
+This one let him open and read." Mr. Singleton tapped a letter he held
+up. "In this one, I've written what your uncle did to me. Give it to
+Grandoken, telling him I said to let it remain sealed unless Jordan
+Morse claims you. If you reach eighteen safely, burn the letter."
+
+He paused and took out a pocketbook.
+
+"Money is scarce these days, but take this and it'll get you to
+Grandoken's. It's all I have, anyway. Now go along to bed."
+
+He handed the envelopes to her, and his hand came in contact with
+hers. The very touch of it, the warmth and life surging through her,
+gave a keener edge to his misery.
+
+Virginia took the letters and money. She walked slowly to the door. At
+the threshold she halted, turning to her father.
+
+"May I take the cats with me?" she called back to him.
+
+She started to explain, but he cut her words off with a fierce
+ejaculation.
+
+"Hell, yes!" he snapped. "Damn the cats! Get out!"
+
+Once in the hall, Virginia stood and looked back upon the closed
+door.
+
+"I guess he don't need me to teach him swear words," she told herself
+in a whisper.
+
+Then she went down to the kitchen, where Matty sat dreaming over a
+wood fire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A WHITE PRESENCE
+
+
+"Does yer pa want me?" grunted Matty, lifting a tousled black head.
+
+Virginia made a gesture of negation.
+
+"No, he told me to get the hell out," she answered. "So I got! He's
+awful sick! I guess mebbe he'll die!"
+
+Matty nodded meaningly.
+
+"Some folks might better 'a' stayed to hum for the past ten years than
+be runnin' wild over the country like mad," she observed.
+
+Virginia reached behind the stove and drew Milly Ann from her bed.
+
+"Father"--Jinnie enjoyed using the word and spoke it lingeringly--"says he
+wishes he'd stayed here now. You know, my Uncle Jordan, Matty----" She
+hesitated to confide in the negro woman what her father had told her. So
+she contented herself with:
+
+"He's coming here soon."
+
+Matty rolled her eyes toward the girl.
+
+"I'se sorry for that, honey bunch." Then, without explaining her
+words, asked: "Want me to finish about Jonathan Woggles' grandpa
+dyin'?"
+
+But Virginia's mind was traveling in another channel.
+
+"Where's Bellaire, Matty?" she demanded.
+
+"Off south," replied the woman, "right bearin' south."
+
+"By train?"
+
+"Yes, the same's walkin' or flying'," confirmed Matty. "Jest the
+same."
+
+"Then you can finish the story now, Matty," said Virginia presently.
+
+Matty settled back in her chair, closed her eyes, and began to hum.
+
+"How far'd I tell last night?" she queried, blinking.
+
+"Just to where the white thing was waiting for Grandpa Woggles'
+spirit," explained Virginia.
+
+"Oh, yas. Well, round and round that house the white shadder swep',
+keepin' time to the howlin' of other spirits in the pine trees----"
+
+"But there aren't any pine trees at Woggles'," objected Virginia.
+
+"Well, they'd be pines if they wasn't oaks," assured Matty. "Oaks or
+pines, the spirits live in 'em jest the same."
+
+"I 'spose so," agreed Virginia. "Go on!"
+
+"An' round and round he went, meltin' the snow with his hot feet,"
+mused Matty, sniffing the air. "And in the house Betty Woggles set
+beside the old man, holdin' his hand, askin' him to promise he
+wouldn't die.... Hum! As if a human bein' could keep from the stalkin'
+whiteness beckonin' from the graveyard. 'Tain't in human power."
+
+"Can't anybody keep death away, Matty?" inquired Virginia, an
+expression of awe clouding her eyes.
+
+She was thinking of the man upstairs whom she but twice had called
+"father."
+
+"Nope, not after the warnin' comes to him. Now Grandad Woggles had
+that warnin' as much as three days afore the angel clim' the fence and
+flopped about his house. But don't keep breakin' in on me, little
+missy, 'cause I cain't finish if ye do, and I'se jest reachin' the
+thrillin' part."
+
+"Oh, then hurry," urged Jinnie.
+
+"Well, as I was sayin', Betty set by the ole man, starin' into his
+yeller face; 'twas as yeller as Milly Ann's back, his face was."
+
+"Some yeller," murmured Virginia, fondling Milly Ann.
+
+"Sure! Everybody dyin' gets yeller," informed Matty.
+
+Virginia thought again of the sick man upstairs. His face was white,
+not yellow, and her heart bounded with great hope. He might live yet a
+little while. Yes, he surely would! Matty was an authority when she
+told of the dead and dying, of the spirits which filled the pine
+trees, and it seldom occurred to Virginia to doubt the black woman's
+knowledge. She wanted her father to live! Life seemed so dizzily upset
+with no Matty, with no Milly Ann, and no--father, somewhere in the
+world. Matty's next words, spoken in a sepulchral whisper, bore down
+on her with emphasis.
+
+"Then what do ye think, honey bunch?"
+
+"I don't know!" Virginia leaned forward expectantly.
+
+"Jest as Betty was hangin' fast onto her grandpa's spirit, another
+ghost, some spots of black on him, come right longside the white one,
+wavin' his hands's if he was goin' to fly."
+
+Virginia sat up very straight. Two spirits on the scene of Grandpa
+Woggles' passing made the story more interesting, more thrilling. Her
+sparkling eyes gave a new impetus to the colored woman's wagging
+tongue.
+
+"The white spirit, he sez, 'What _you_ hangin' round here fer?'"
+
+Matty rolled her eyes upward. "This he sez to the black one, mind
+you!"
+
+Virginia nodded comprehendingly, keeping her eyes glued on the shining
+dark face in front of her. She always dreaded, during the exciting
+parts of Matty's nightly stories, to see, by chance, the garden, with
+its trees and the white, silent graveyard beyond. And, although she
+had no fear of tangible things, she seldom looked out of doors when
+Matty crooned over her ghost stories.
+
+Just then a bell pealed through the house.
+
+Matty rose heavily.
+
+"It's yer pa," she grumbled. "I'll finish when I git back."
+
+Through the door the woman hobbled, while Virginia bent over Milly
+Ann, stroking her softly with a new expression of gravity on the young
+face. Many a day, in fancy, she had dreamed of her father's
+homecoming. He was very different than her dreams. Still she hoped the
+doctor might have made a mistake about his dying. A smile came to the
+corners of her mouth, touched the dimples in her cheek, but did not
+wipe the tragedy from her eyes. She was planning how tenderly she
+would care for him, how cheerful he'd be when she played her fiddle
+for him.
+
+She heard Matty groping up the stairs--heard her pass down the hall
+and open the door. Then suddenly she caught the sound of hurried steps
+and the woman coming down again. Matty had crawled up, but was almost
+falling down in her frantic haste to reach the kitchen. Something
+unusual had happened. Virginia shoved Milly Ann to the floor and stood
+up. Matty's appearance, with chattering teeth and bulging eyes,
+brought Jinnie forward a few steps.
+
+"He's daid! Yer pa's daid!" shivered Matty. "And the house is full of
+spirits. They're standin' grinnin' in the corners. I'm goin' hum now,
+little missy. I'm goin' to my ole man. You'd better come along fer
+to-night."
+
+Jinnie heard the moaning call of the pine trees as the winter's voice
+swept through them,--the familiar sound she loved, yet at which she
+trembled. Confused thoughts rolled through her mind; her father's fear
+for her; his desire that she should seek another home. She could not
+stay in Mottville Corners; she could not go with Matty. No, of course
+not! Yet her throat filled with longing sobs, for the old colored
+woman had been with her many years.
+
+By this time Matty had tied on her scarf, opened the door, and as
+Virginia saw her disappear, she sank limply to the floor. Milly Ann
+rubbed her yellow back against her young mistress's dress. Virginia
+caught her in her arms and drew her close.
+
+"Kitty, kitty," she sobbed, "I've got to go! He said I could take you
+and your babies, and I will, I will! I won't leave you here with the
+spirits."
+
+She rose unsteadily to her feet and went to the cupboard, where she
+found a large pail. Into this she folded a roller towel. She then
+lifted the kittens from the box behind the stove and placed them in
+the pail, first pressing her lips lovingly to each warm, wriggley
+little body. Milly Ann cuddled contentedly with her offspring as the
+girl covered them up.
+
+Jinnie had suddenly grown older, for a responsibility rested upon her
+which no one else could assume.
+
+To go forth into the blizzard meant she must wrap up warmly. This she
+did. Then she wrapped a small brown fiddle in her jacket, took the
+pail and went to the door. There she stood, considering a moment, with
+her hand on the knob. With no further hesitancy she placed the kittens
+and fiddle gently on the floor, and went to the stairs. The thought of
+the spirits made her shiver. She saw long shadows making lines here
+and there, and had no doubt but that these were the ghosts Matty had
+seen. She closed her eyes tightly and began to ascend the stairs,
+feeling her way along the wall. At the top she opened reluctant lids.
+The library door stood ajar as Matty had left it, and the room
+appeared quite the same as it had a few moments before, save for the
+long figure of a man lying full length before the grate. That eternal
+period, that awful stop which puts a check on human lives, had settled
+once and for all the earthly concerns of her father. The space between
+her and the body seemed peopled with spectral beings, which moved to
+and fro in the dimly lit room. Her father lay on his back, the flames
+from the fire making weird red and yellow twisting streaks on his
+white, upturned face.
+
+The taut muscles grew limp in the girl's body as she staggered forward
+and stood contemplating the wide-open, staring eyes. Then with a long
+sigh breathed between quivering lips, she dropped beside the lifeless
+man. The deadly forces eddying around her were not of her own making.
+With the going of this person, who was her father by nature,
+everything else had gone too. All her life's hopes had been dissolved
+in the crucible of death. She lay, with her hands to her mouth,
+pressing back the great sobs that came from the depths of her heart.
+She reached out and tentatively touched her father's cheek; without
+fear she moved his head a little to what she hoped would be a more
+comfortable position.
+
+"You told me to go," she whispered brokenly, "and I'm going now. You
+never liked me much, but I guess one of my kisses won't hurt you."
+
+Saying this, Jinnie pressed her lips twice to those of her dead
+father, and got to her feet quickly. She dared not leave the lamp
+burning, so within a short distance of the table she drew a long
+breath and blew toward the smoking light. The flame flared thrice like
+a torch, then spat out, leaving the shivering girl to feel her way
+around the room. To the sensitive young soul the dark was almost
+maddening. She only wanted to get back to Milly Ann, and she closed
+the door with no thought for what might become of the man inside. He
+was dead! A greater danger menaced her. He had warned her and she
+would heed. As she stumbled down the stairs, her memories came too
+swiftly to be precise and in order, and the weird moans of the night
+wind drifted intermittently through the wild maze of her thoughts. She
+would say good-bye to Molly the Merry, for Molly was the only person
+in all the country round who had ever spoken a kindly word to her.
+Their acquaintance had been slight, because Molly lived quite a
+distance away and the woman had never been to see her, but then of
+course no one in the neighborhood approved of the house of Singleton.
+
+Later by five minutes, Virginia left the dark farmhouse, carrying her
+fiddle and the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+JINNIE'S FAREWELL TO MOLLY THE MERRY
+
+
+Virginia turned into the Merriweather gate, went up the small path to
+the kitchen, and rapped on the door. There was no response, so she
+turned the handle and stepped into the room. It was warm and
+comfortable. A teakettle, singing on the back of the stove, threw out
+little jets of steam. Jinnie placed the pail on the floor and seated
+herself in a low chair with her fiddle on her lap. Molly would be back
+in a minute, she was sure. Just as she was wondering where the woman
+could be, she heard the sound of voices from the inner room. A swift
+sensation of coming evil swept over her, and without taking thought of
+consequences, she slipped under the kitchen table, drawing the pail
+after her. The long fringe from the red cloth hung down about her in
+small, even tassels. The dining room door opened and she tried to
+stifle her swiftly coming breaths. Virginia could see a pair of legs,
+man's legs, and they weren't country legs either. Following them were
+the light frillings of a woman's skirts.
+
+"It's warmer here," said Miss Merriweather's voice.
+
+Molly and the man took chairs. From her position Virginia could not
+see his face.
+
+"Your father's ill," he said in a voice rich and deep.
+
+"Yes," replied Molly. "He's been near death for a long time. We've had
+to give him the greatest care. That's why I haven't told him
+anything."
+
+The man bent over until Jinnie could see the point of his chin.
+
+"I see," said he.... "Well, Molly, are you glad to have me back?"
+
+Molly's face came plainly within Jinnie's view. At his question the
+woman went paler. Then the man leaned over and tried to take one of
+her hands. But she drew it away again and locked her fingers together
+in her lap.
+
+"Aren't you glad to see me back again?" he repeated.
+
+Molly's startled eyes came upward to his face.
+
+"I don't know--I can't tell--I'm so surprised and----"
+
+"And glad," laughed the stranger in a deep, mesmeric voice. "Glad to
+have your husband back once more, eh?"
+
+Virginia's start was followed quickly by an imploration from Molly.
+
+"Hush, hush, please don't speak of it!"
+
+"I certainly shall speak of it; I certainly shall. I came here for no
+other reason than that. And who would speak of it if I didn't?"
+
+Molly shivered. There was something about the man's low, modulated
+tones that repelled Virginia. She tried in vain to see his face. She
+was sure that nowhere in the hills was there such a man.
+
+"You've been gone so long I thought you'd forgotten or--or were dead,"
+breathed Molly, covering her face with her hands.
+
+"Not forgotten, but I wasn't able to get back."
+
+"You could have written me."
+
+The man shrugged himself impatiently.
+
+"But I didn't. Don't rake up old things; please don't. Molly, look at
+me."
+
+Molly uncovered a pair of unwilling eyes and centered them upon his
+face.
+
+"What makes you act so? Are you afraid?"
+
+"I did not expect you back, that's all."
+
+"That's not it! Tell me what's on your mind.... Tell me."
+
+Molly's white lids fell, her fingers clenched and unclenched.
+
+"I didn't--I couldn't write," she whispered, "about the baby."
+
+"Baby!" The word burst out like a bomb. The man stood up. "Baby!" he
+repeated. "You mean my--our baby?"
+
+Molly swallowed and nodded.
+
+"A little boy," she said, in a low voice.
+
+"Where is he?" demanded the man.
+
+"Please, please don't ask me, I beg of you. I want to forget----"
+
+"But you can't forget you're married, that you've been the mother of a
+child and--and--that I'm its father."
+
+Molly's tears began to flow. Virginia had never seen a woman cry
+before in all her young life. It was a most distressing sight.
+Something within her leaped up and thundered at her brain. It ordered
+her to venture out and aid the pretty woman if she could. Jinnie was
+not an eavesdropper! She did not wish to hear any more. But fear kept
+her crouched in her awkward position.
+
+"I just want to forget if I can," Molly sobbed. "I don't know where
+the baby is. That's why I want to forget. I can't find him."
+
+"Can't find him? What do you mean by 'can't find him'?"
+
+Molly faced about squarely, suddenly.
+
+"I've asked you not to talk about it. I've been terribly unhappy and
+so miserable.... It's only lately I've begun to be at all
+reconciled."
+
+"Nevertheless, I _will_ hear," snapped the man angrily. "I _will_
+hear! Begin back from the letter you wrote me."
+
+"Asking you to help me?" questioned the girl.
+
+"Yes, asking me to help you, if you want to be blunt. Molly, it won't
+make you any happier to hatch up old scores. I tell you I've come to
+make amends--to take you--if you will----"
+
+"And I repeat, I can't go with you!"
+
+"We'll leave that discussion until later. Begin back where I told you
+to."
+
+Molly's face was very white, and her lids drooped wearily. Virginia
+wanted so much to help her! She made a little uneasy movement under
+the table, but Molly's tragic voice was speaking again.
+
+"My father'd kill me if he knew about it, so I never told him or any
+one."
+
+"Including me," cut in the man sarcastically.
+
+"You didn't care," said Molly with asperity.
+
+"How do you know I didn't care? Did you tell me? Did you? Did I
+know?"
+
+Molly shook her head.
+
+"Then I insist upon knowing now, this moment!"
+
+"My father would have killed me----"
+
+"Well!" His voice rushed in upon her hesitancy.
+
+"When I couldn't stay home any longer, I went away to visit a cousin
+of my mother's. At least, my father thought I'd gone there. I only
+stayed with Bertha a little while and father never knew the truth of
+it."
+
+"And then after that?"
+
+"I didn't know what to do with my baby. I was afraid people'd say I
+wasn't married, and then father----"
+
+"Go on from the time you left your cousin's."
+
+Molly thought a minute and proceeded.
+
+"I looked in all the papers to find some one who wanted a baby----"
+
+"So you gave him away? Well, that's easy to overcome. You couldn't
+give my baby away, you know."
+
+"No, no, indeed! I didn't give him away.... I boarded him out and
+saved money to pay for him. I even took summer boarders. The woman who
+had him----"
+
+Molly's long wait prompted the man once more.
+
+"Well?" he said again. "The woman what?"
+
+"The woman began to love the baby very much, and she wasn't very poor,
+and didn't need the money. Lots of times I went with it to her, and
+she wouldn't take it."
+
+A thought connected with her story made Molly bury her face in her
+hands. The man touched her.
+
+"Go on," he said slowly. "Go on. And then?"
+
+"Then once when I went to her she said she was going to take the baby
+on a little visit to some relatives and would write me as soon as she
+got back."
+
+"Yes," encouraged the low voice.
+
+"She never wrote or came back. I couldn't find where she'd gone, and
+father was terribly ill, and I've hoped and hoped----"
+
+"How long since you last saw him?"
+
+Molly considered a moment.
+
+"A long time," she sighed.
+
+"How many years?"
+
+"One!"
+
+"Then he was almost seven years with the woman?"
+
+"Yes," breathed Molly, and they lapsed into silence.
+
+The man meditated a space and Jinnie heard a low, nervous cough come
+from his lips.
+
+"Molly," he said presently, "I'm going to have a lot of money soon. It
+won't be long, and then we'll find him and begin life all over."
+
+"Oh, I'd love to find him," moaned Molly, "but I couldn't begin over
+with you. It's all hateful and horrible now."
+
+The man leaned over and touched her, not too tenderly. When Molly's
+face was turned to him, he tilted her chin up.
+
+"You care for some one else?" he said abruptly.
+
+The droop of the girl's head was his answer. He stood up suddenly.
+
+"That's it! That's it! What's his name?"
+
+A shake of her head was all the answer Molly gave him.
+
+"I asked you his name. Get up! Stand up!"
+
+As if to force her to do his will, he took hold of her shoulders
+sharply and drew her upward.
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+"It doesn't matter."
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+Virginia did not catch Molly's whisper.
+
+A disbelieving grunt fell from the stranger's lips.
+
+"I remember him as a boy. Weren't they one summer at the Mottville
+Hotel? He's years younger than you."
+
+Molly gathered courage.
+
+"He doesn't know how old I am," she responded, "and his mother loves
+me, too. They were with me three summers." Then, remembering the man's
+statement, she added, "Ages don't count nowadays. And I _will_ be
+happy."
+
+"You'll get happiness with _me_, not with _him_," said an angry voice.
+"Has he ever told you he loved you?"
+
+"No, no, indeed not. But he was here to-day! His mother's ill and
+wanted me to come as her companion, but I couldn't leave father right
+now."
+
+"Does he know you love him?"
+
+An emphatic negative ejaculation from Molly brought a sigh of relief
+from the man.
+
+"Forget him!" said he. "Now I'm going. I shall come back to-night, and
+_remember_ this. I'll leave no stone unturned to find that boy. I've
+always longed for one, and I'll move Heaven and earth to find him."
+
+Virginia saw him whirl about, open the door, and stride out.
+
+Molly Merriweather stood for a few minutes in silence, trembling.
+
+"I didn't dare to tell him the baby was blind," she whispered, too low
+for Jinnie to hear.
+
+Then she slowly glided away, leaving the girl under the table, with
+her pail full of cats, and the fiddle. Presently Virginia crawled out
+cautiously, the pail on her arm, and hugging her fiddle, she opened
+the door swiftly, and disappeared down the road, running under the
+tall trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+JINNIE TRAVELS
+
+
+Virginia took the direction leading to the station. Many a time she
+had watched the trains rush by on their way to New York, but never in
+those multitudinous yesterdays had it entered her mind that some day
+she would go over that same way, to be gone possibly forever. The wind
+was blowing at such a terrific rate that Jinnie could scarcely walk.
+There was no fear in her heart, only deep solemnity and a sense of awe
+at the magnificence of a storm. She had left the farmhouse so suddenly
+that the loneliness of parting had not then been forced upon her as it
+was now; the realization was settling slowly upon the clouded young
+mind.
+
+She was a mere puppet in the hands of an inexorable fate, which had
+shown her little mercy or benevolence.
+
+Out of sight of the Merriweather homestead, she kept to the path along
+the highway, now and then shifting the pail from one hand to the
+other, and clasping the beloved fiddle to her breast. Once she looked
+down to find Milly Ann peeping above the rim of the pail. Jinnie could
+see the glint of her greenish eyes. She stopped and, with a tenderly
+spoken admonition, covered her more closely with the roller towel.
+When the lighted station-house glimmered through the falling snow,
+Jinnie sighed with relief.
+
+"I couldn't 've carried you and the fiddle much farther, Milly Ann,"
+she murmured.
+
+At that moment a tall figure, herculean in size, loomed out of the
+night and advanced hastily. The man's head was bent forward against
+the storm. Virginia caught a glimpse of his face as he passed in the
+streak of light thrown out from the station.
+
+He sprang to the platform and disappeared in the doorway. Jinnie saw
+him plainly when she, too, entered, and her eyes followed him as he
+went out.
+
+She had never seen him before. Like the man in the Merriweather
+kitchen, he bore the stamp of the city upon him.
+
+Virginia bought her ticket as her father had directed, and while the
+pail was still on the floor, she bent to examine Milly Ann and the
+kittens. The latter were asleep, but the mother-cat lazily opened her
+eyes to greet, with a purr, the soft touch of Jinnie's fingers. The
+girl waited inside the room until the shriek of the engine's whistle
+told her of its approach; then, with the fiddle and the pail, she
+walked to the platform.
+
+The long, snakelike train was edging the hill, its headlight bearing
+down the track in one straight, glittering line.
+
+For the first time in her life, Jinnie felt really afraid. In other
+days, with beating heart, she had hugged close to the roadside as the
+monster slipped either into the station and stopped, or rushed around
+the curve. Tonight she was going aboard, over into a strange land
+among strange people.
+
+She tilted the pail lovingly and hugged a little more tightly the
+fiddle in her arm. Whatever happened, she had Milly, her little
+family, and the comforting music. Jinnie could never be quite alone
+with these. As the train slowed up, the conductor jumped down.
+
+It seemed to Virginia like a dream as she walked toward the steps at
+the end of the car. As she was about to lift her foot to climb up, she
+heard a voice say:
+
+"Let me help you, child. Here, I'll take the pail."
+
+Virginia looked upward into the face of a man,--the same face she had
+seen in the station a few moments before,--and around the handsome
+mouth was a smile of reassuring kindliness.
+
+She surrendered the pail with a burning blush, and felt, with a
+strange new thrill, a firm hand upon her arm. The next thing she knew
+she was in a seat, with the pail on the floor and the fiddle lying
+beside her.
+
+She gazed around wonderingly. There was no one in sight but the tall
+man who, across the aisle, was arranging his overcoat on the back of
+the seat. Jinnie looked at him with interest--he had been so kind to
+her--and noted his thick, blond hair, which had been cropped close to
+a massive head. She admired him, too. Suddenly he looked up, and the
+girl felt a clutch at her heart. Just why that happened she could not
+tell. Again came the charming smile, the parted lips showing a set of
+dazzling white teeth.
+
+Jinnie smiled back, responsively. The man came over.
+
+"May I sit beside you?" he asked.
+
+Jinnie moved the fiddle invitingly and huddled herself into the
+corner. When the man started to move the pail, Jinnie stayed him.
+
+"Oh, don't, please," she protested. "It's only Milly and----"
+
+"Milly and what?" quizzically came the question.
+
+"Her kitties--see?"
+
+She drew aside the towel and exposed the sleeping family.
+
+A broad smile lit up the man's face.
+
+"Oh, cats! I see! Where're you taking them?"
+
+"To Bellaire."
+
+"Ah, Bellaire; that's where I'm going. We'll have a nice ride
+together, almost two hours."
+
+"I'm glad." Jinnie leaned back, sighing contentedly.
+
+In those few minutes she had grown to have great faith in this
+stranger, the third of the puzzling trio that had come into her life
+that night. First her father, then the man with Molly the Merry, and
+now this brilliant new friend, who quite took away her breath as she
+peeped up at him. His smile seemed to be ever ready. It warmed her and
+made her glow with friendliness. She liked, too, the deep tones in his
+voice and the sight of his strong hands as they gestured during his
+speeches.
+
+"Where are you going in Bellaire?" he questioned.
+
+Virginia cogitated for a moment. She couldn't tell the story her
+father had told her, yet she must answer his kindly question.
+
+At length, "The cats and I are going to live with my uncle," said
+she.
+
+"He lives in Bellaire?"
+
+"Yes, but I've never seen him. I'll find him, though, when I get
+there."
+
+It didn't occur to the man to ask the name of her relatives, and
+Jinnie was glad he did not.
+
+"Perhaps I shall see you some time in the city," he responded to her
+statement. Jinnie hoped so; oh, how she hoped she might see him
+again!
+
+"Mebbe," was all she said.
+
+"You see I live there with my mother," continued the man. "Our home is
+called Kinglaire. My name is King."
+
+Virginia lifted her head with a queer little start.
+
+"I've read about your people," she said. "I've got a book in our
+garret that tells all about Kings."
+
+"That's very nice," answered Mr. King. "I won't have to explain
+anything about us, then."
+
+"No, I know," said Jinnie in satisfaction.
+
+At least she thought she knew. Hadn't she read over and over, when
+seated in the garret, the story of the old and new kings, how they sat
+on their thrones, and ruled their people sometimes with a rod of iron?
+Jinnie brought to mind some of the vivid pictures, and shyly lifted a
+pair of violet eyes to scan the face above her. Surely this King was
+handsomer than any in the book. She tried to imagine him on his
+throne, and wondered if he were always smiling as now.
+
+"You're quite different from your relations," she observed presently.
+
+Theodore King laughed aloud. The sound startled the girl into a
+straighter posture. It rang out so merrily that she laughed too after
+making up her mind that he was not ridiculing her.
+
+"Really you are!" she exclaimed. "I mean it. You know the picture of
+the King with a red suit on,--he doesn't look like you. His nose went
+sort of down over his mouth--I mean, well, yours don't."
+
+She stumbled through the last few words, intuitively realizing that
+she had been too personal.
+
+"You like to read, I gather," stated Mr. King.
+
+"Yes, but I like to fiddle better," said Jinnie.
+
+"Oh, you play, do you?"
+
+Jinnie's eyes fell upon the instrument standing in the corner of the
+opposite seat, wrapped in an old jacket. She nodded.
+
+"I play some. I love my fiddle almost as much as I do Milly Ann and
+her kitties."
+
+"Won't you play for me?" asked Mr. King, gravely putting forth his
+hand.
+
+Jinnie paused a moment. Then without further hesitancy she took up the
+violin and unfastened it.
+
+"I'll be glad to fiddle for a king," she said naïvely.
+
+She did not speak as she turned and twisted the small white keys.
+
+Outside the storm was still roaring over the hills, sweeping the lake
+into monstrous waves. The shriek of the wind mingled with the snap of
+the taut strings under the agile fingers of the hill girl. Then Jinnie
+began to play. Never in all his life had Theodore King seen a picture
+such as the girl before him made. The wondrous beauty of her, the
+marvelous fingers traveling over the strings, together with the
+moaning of the night wind, made an impression upon him he would never
+forget. Sometimes as her fingers sped on, her eyes were penetrating;
+sometimes they darkened almost to melancholy. When the last wailing
+note had finally died away, Jinnie dropped the instrument to her
+side.
+
+"It's lonely on nights like this when the ghosts howl about," she
+observed. "They love the fiddle, ghosts do."
+
+Theodore King came back to himself at the girl's words. He drew a long
+breath.
+
+"Child," he ejaculated, "whoever taught you to play like that?"
+
+"Why, I taught myself," answered Jinnie.
+
+"Please play again," entreated Mr. King, and once more he sat
+enthralled with the wonder of the girl's melodies. The last few
+soulful notes Mr. King likened to a sudden prayer, sent out with a
+sobbing breath.
+
+"It's wonderful," he murmured slowly. "What is the piece you've just
+played?"
+
+"It hasn't any name yet," replied the girl. "You see I only know
+pieces that're in my head."
+
+Then all the misery of the past few hours swept over her, and Jinnie
+began to cry. A burden of doubt had clouded the usually clear young
+mind. What if the man to whom she was going would not let her and the
+cats live with him? He might turn them away.
+
+Mr. King spoke softly to her.
+
+"Don't cry," said he. "You won't be lonely when you get to your
+uncle's."
+
+But she met his smiling glance with a feeling of constraint. He did
+not know the cause of her tears; she could not tell him. If she only
+knew,--if she only had one little inkling of the reception she would
+receive at the painter's home. However, she did cheer up a little when
+Mr. King, in evident desire to be of some service, began to tell her
+of the city to which she was going.
+
+In a short time he saw the dark head nodding, and he drew Jinnie down
+against his arm, whispering:
+
+"Sleep a while, child; I'll wake you up at Bellaire."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+LIKE UNTO LIKE ATTRACTED
+
+
+Jinnie Singleton watched Theodore King leave the train at the little
+private station situated on his own estate. As she drew nearer the
+city depot, her heart beat with uncertainty, for that day would decide
+her fate, her future; she would know by night whether or not she
+possessed a friend in the world.
+
+For some hours she sat in the station on one of the hard benches,
+waiting for daylight, at which time she and Milly Ann would steal
+forth into the city to find Lafe Grandoken, her mother's friend.
+
+A reluctant, stormy dawn was pushing its way from the horizon as she
+picked up the pail and fiddle and stepped out into the falling snow.
+
+Stopping a moment, she asked the station master about the Grandokens,
+but as he had only that week arrived in Bellaire, he politely, with
+admiration in his eyes, told her he could not give her any
+information. But on the railroad tracks Virginia saw a man standing
+with his hands thrust deep into his pockets.
+
+"What'd you want of Lafe Grandoken?" asked the fellow in reply to her
+question.
+
+"I've come to see him," answered Jinnie evasively.
+
+"He's a cobbler and lives down with the shortwood gatherers there on
+Paradise Road. Littlest shack of the bunch! He ain't far from my
+folks. My name's Maudlin Bates."
+
+He went very near her.
+
+"Now I've told you, you c'n gimme a kiss," said he.
+
+"I'll give you a bat," flung back Jinnie, walking away.
+
+Some distance off she stood looking down the tracks, her blue eyes
+noting the row of huts strung along the road and extending toward the
+hills. At the back of them was a marshland, dense with trees and
+underbrush.
+
+"My father told me Mr. Grandoken was a painter of houses!" Jinnie
+ruminated: "But that damn duffer back there says he's changed his work
+to cobbling. I'll go and see! I hope it won't be long before I'm as
+warm as can be. Wonder if he'll be glad to see me!"
+
+"It's the smallest house among 'em," she cogitated further, walking
+very fast. "Well! There ain't any of 'em very big."
+
+She traveled on through heavy snow, glancing at every hut until,
+coming to a standstill, she read aloud:
+
+"Lafe Grandoken, Cobbler of Folks' and Children's Shoes and Boots."
+
+Jinnie turned and, going down a short flight of steps, hesitated a
+moment before she knocked timidly on the front door. During the moment
+of waiting she glanced over what she hoped was to be her future home.
+It was so small in comparison with the huge, lonely farmhouse she had
+left the night before that her heart grew warm in anticipation. Then
+in answer to a man's voice, calling "Come in!" she lifted the latch
+and opened the door.
+
+The room was small and cheerless, although a fire was struggling for
+life in a miniature stove. In one corner was a table strewn with
+papers. Back from the window which faced the tracks was a man, a kit
+of cobbler's tools, in the disarray of daily use, on the bench beside
+him. He halted, with his hammer in the air, at the sight of the
+newcomer.
+
+"Come in and shut the door," said he, and the girl did as she was
+bidden. "Cold, ain't it?"
+
+"Yes," replied Jinnie, placing the pail and fiddle on the floor.
+
+The girl looked the man over with her steady blue eyes. Then her heart
+gave one great bound. The grey face had lighted with a sweet, sad
+smile; the faded eyes, under the bushy brows, twinkled welcome. A
+sense of wonderful security and friendship rushed over her.
+
+"Well, what's your business? Got some shoes to mend?" asked the man.
+"Better sit down."
+
+Jinnie took a chair in silence, a passionate wish suffusing her being
+that this small home might be hers. She was so lonely, so homesick.
+The little room seemed radiant with the smile of the cobbler. She only
+felt the wonderful content that flowed from the man on the bench to
+herself; she wanted to stay with him; never before had she been face
+to face with a desire so great.
+
+"I've come to live with you," she gulped, at length.
+
+The cobbler gave a quick whack at the little shoe he held in the
+vise.
+
+"I'm Jinnie Singleton, kid of Thomas Singleton, the second," the girl
+explained, almost mechanically, "and I haven't any home, so I've come
+to you."
+
+During this statement the cobbler's hammer rattled to the floor, and
+he sat eyeing the speaker speechlessly. Then he slowly lifted his arms
+and held them forth.
+
+"Come here! Lass, come here!" he said huskily. "I'd come to you, but I
+can't."
+
+In her mental state it took Jinnie a few seconds to gather the import
+of the cobbler's words. Then she sprang up and went forward with
+parted, smiling lips, tears trembling thick on her dark lashes. When
+Jinnie felt a pair of warm, welcoming arms about her strong young
+shoulders, she shivered in sudden joy. The sensation was delightful,
+and while a thin hand patted her back, she choked down a hard sob.
+However, she pressed backward and looked down into Lafe Grandoken's
+eyes.
+
+"I thought I'd never cry again as long as I lived," she whispered,
+"but--but I guess it's your loving me that's done it."
+
+It came like a small confession--as a relief to the overburdened
+little soul.
+
+"I guess I've rode a hundred miles to get here," she went on, half
+sobbing, "and you're awful glad to see me, ain't you?"
+
+It didn't need Lafe's, "You bet your boots," to satisfy Jinnie. The
+warmth of his arms, the shining, misty eyes, set her to shivering
+convulsively and shaking with happiness.
+
+"Set here on the bench," invited the cobbler, softly, "an' tell me
+about your pa an' ma."
+
+"They're both dead," said Jinnie, sitting down, but she still kept her
+hand on the cobbler's arm as if she were afraid he would vanish from
+her sight.
+
+The man made a dash at his eyes with his free hand.
+
+"Both dead!" he repeated with effort, "an' you're their girl!"
+
+"Yes, and I've come to live with you, if you'll let me."
+
+She drew forth the letters written the night before.
+
+"Here's two letters," she ended, handing them over, and sinking down
+again into the chair.
+
+She sat very quietly as the cobbler stumbled through the finely
+written sheets.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             "Mottville Corners, N. Y.
+
+"Dear Mr. Grandoken," whispered Lafe.
+
+"My girl will bring you this, and, in excuse for sending her, I will
+briefly state: I'm very near the grave, and she's in great danger. I
+want to tell you that her Uncle Jordan Morse has conquered me and will
+her, if she's not looked after. For her mother's sake, I ask you to
+take her if you can. She will repay you when she's of age, but until
+then, after I'm gone, she can't get any money unless through her
+uncle, and that would be too dangerous. When I say that my child's
+life isn't worth this paper if she is given over to Morse, you'll see
+the necessity of helping her. I don't know another soul I could trust
+as I am trusting you. The other letter Virginia will explain. Keep it
+to use against Morse if you need to.
+
+"I can't tell you whether my girl is good or not, but I hope so. I've
+woefully neglected her, but now I wish I had a chance to live the past
+few years over. She'll tell you all she knows, which isn't much. What
+you do for her will be greatly appreciated by me, and would be by her
+mother, too, if she could understand her daughter's danger.
+"Gratefully yours,
+
+                                                "THOMAS G. SINGLETON."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The cobbler put down the paper, and the rattling of it made Jinnie
+raise her head.
+
+"Come over here again," said the shoemaker, kindly. "Now tell me all
+about it."
+
+"Didn't the letter tell you?"
+
+"Some of it, yes. But tell me about yourself."
+
+Lafe Grandoken listened as the girl recounted her past life with
+Matty, and when at the finish she remarked,
+
+"I had to bring Milly Ann----"
+
+Grandoken by a look interrupted her explanation.
+
+"Milly Ann?" he repeated.
+
+Then came the story of the mother-cat and her babies. Jinnie lifted
+the towel, and the almost smothered kittens scrambled over the top of
+the pail. Milly Ann stretched her cramped legs, then proceeded
+vigorously to wash the faces of her numerous children.
+
+"She wouldn't 've had a place to live if I hadn't brought her,"
+explained Jinnie, looking at the kittens. "I guess they won't eat
+much, because Milly Ann catches all kinds of live things. I don't like
+'er to do that, but I heard she was born that way and can't help it."
+
+"I guess she'll find enough to eat around here," he said softly.
+
+"I brought my fiddle, too," Jinnie went on lovingly. "I couldn't live
+without it any more'n I could without Milly Ann."
+
+The cobbler nodded.
+
+"You play?" he questioned.
+
+"A little," replied the girl.
+
+Mr. Grandoken eyed the instrument on the floor beside the pail.
+
+"You oughter have a box to put it in," he suggested. "It might get
+wet."
+
+Virginia acquiesced by bowing her head.
+
+"I know it," she assented, "but I carried it in that old wrap.... Did
+Father tell you about my uncle?"
+
+"Yes," replied the cobbler.
+
+"And that he was made to die for something my uncle did?"
+
+"Yes, an' that he might harm you.... I knew your mother well, lass,
+when she was young like you."
+
+An expression of sadness pursed Jinnie's pretty mouth.
+
+"I don't remember her, you see," she murmured sadly. "I wish I had her
+now."
+
+And she heard the cobbler murmur, "What must your uncle be to want to
+hurt a little, sweet girl like you?"
+
+They did not speak again for a few moments.
+
+"Go call Peg," the cobbler then said.
+
+At a loss, Virginia glanced about.
+
+"Peg's my woman--my wife," explained Lafe. "Go through that door
+there. Just call Peg an' she'll come."
+
+In answer to the summons a woman appeared, with hands on hips and arms
+akimbo. Her almost colorless hair, streaked a little with grey, was
+drawn back from a sallow, thin face out of which gleamed a pair of
+light blue eyes. Jinnie in one quick glance noted how tall and angular
+she was. The cobbler looked from his wife to her.
+
+"You've heard me speak about Singleton, who married Miss Virginia
+Burton in Mottville, Peggy, ain't you?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," answered the woman.
+
+"His kid's come to live with us. She calls herself Jinnie." He threw
+his eyes with a kindly smile to the girl, standing hesitant, longing
+for recognition from the tall, gaunt woman. "I guess she'd better go
+to the other room and warm her hands, eh?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, dark-faced, with drooping lips, ordered the girl into
+the kitchen.
+
+Alone with his wife, Lafe read Singleton's letter aloud.
+
+"I've heard as much of her yarn as I can get," he said, glancing up.
+"I just wanted to tell you she was here."
+
+"We ain't got a cent to bless ourselves with," grumbled Mrs.
+Grandoken, "an' times is so hard I can't get more work than what I'm
+doin'."
+
+A patient, resigned look crossed the cobbler's pain-worn face.
+
+"That's so, Peg, that's so," he agreed heartily. "But there's always
+to-morrow, an' after that another to-morrow. With every new day
+there's always a chance. We've got a chance, an' so's the girl."
+
+The woman dropped into a chair, noticing the cobbler's smile, which
+was born to give her hope.
+
+"There ain't much chance for a bit of a brat like her," she snarled
+crossly, and the man answered this statement with eagerness, because
+the rising inflection in his wife's voice made it a question.
+
+"Yes, there is, Peg," he insisted; "yes, there is! Didn't you say
+there was hope for me when my legs went bad--that I had a chance for a
+livin'? Now didn't you, Peggy? An' ain't I got the nattiest little
+shop this side of way up town?"
+
+Peg paused a moment. Then, "That you have, Lafe; you sure have," came
+slowly.
+
+"An' didn't I make full sixty cents yesterday?"
+
+"You did, Lafe; you sure did."
+
+"An' sixty cents is better'n nothin', ain't it, Peg?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken arose hastily.
+
+"Course 'tis, Lafe! But don't brag 'cause you made sixty cents. You
+might a lost your hands same's your feet. 'Tain't no credit to you you
+didn't. Here, let me wrap you up better! You'll freeze all that's left
+of your legs, if you don't."
+
+"Them legs ain't much good," sighed the cobbler. "They might as well
+be off; mightn't they, Peg?"
+
+Peggy wrapped a worn blanket tightly about her husband.
+
+"You oughter be ashamed," she growled darkly. "Ain't you every day
+sayin' there's always to-morrow?"
+
+This time her voice was toned with finality, and she turned and went
+out.
+
+[Illustration: "I GUESS THEY WON'T EAT MUCH, BECAUSE MILLY ANN CATCHES
+ALL KIND OF LIVE THINGS. I DON'T LIKE HER TO DO THAT, BUT
+I HEARD SHE WAS BORN THAT WAY AND CAN'T HELP IT."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+PEG'S BARK
+
+
+Virginia and Lafe Grandoken sat for some time with nothing but the
+tick-tack of the hammer to break the silence.
+
+"It bein' the first time you've visited us, kid," broke in the man,
+pausing, "you can't be knowin' just what's made us live this way."
+
+Virginia made a negative gesture and smiled, settling herself
+hopefully for a story, but Lafe brought a frightened expression
+quickly to her face by his low, even voice, and the ominous meaning of
+his words.
+
+"Me an' Peg's awful poor," said he.
+
+"Then mebbe I'd better not stay, Mr. Lafe," faltered Jinnie.
+
+The cobbler threaded his fingers through his hair.
+
+"The shanty's awful small," he interjected, thoughtfully.
+
+"I think it's awful nice, though," offered the girl. Some thought
+closed her blue eyes, but they flashed open instantly.
+
+"Cobbler," she faltered, "is Mrs. Peggy mad when she grits her teeth
+and wags her head?"
+
+As if by its own volition the cobbler's hammer stayed itself in the
+air.
+
+"No," he smiled, "just when she acts the worst is when she's likely to
+do her best ... I've knowed Peggy this many a year."
+
+"She was a wee little bit cross to me," commented the girl.
+
+"Was she? I didn't hear anything she said."
+
+"I'll tell you, then, Mr. Lafe," said Virginia. "When I was standing
+by the fire warming my hands, she come bustling out and looked awful
+mad. She said something about folks keeping their girls to home."
+
+"Well, what after that?" asked the cobbler, as Jinnie hesitated.
+
+"She said she could see me eating my head off, and as long as I had to
+hide from my uncle, I wouldn't be able to earn my salt."
+
+"Well, that's right," affirmed the cobbler, wagging his head. "You got
+to keep low for a while. Your Uncle Morse knows a lot of folks in this
+town."
+
+"But they don't know me," said Virginia.
+
+"That's good," remarked Lafe.
+
+As he said this, Peg opened the door roughly and ordered them in to
+breakfast.
+
+Virginia sat beside the cobbler at the meager meal. On the table were
+three bowls of hot mush. As the fragrant odor rose to her nostrils,
+waves of joy crept slowly through the young body.
+
+"Peggy 'lowed you'd be hungry, kid," said the cobbler, pushing a bowl
+in front of her.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken interrupted her husband with a growl.
+
+"If I've any mem'ry, you 'lowed it yourself, Lafe Grandoken," she
+muttered.
+
+A smile deepened on the cobbler's face and a slight flush rose to his
+forehead.
+
+"I 'lowed it, too, Peggy dear," he said.
+
+"Eat your mush," snapped the woman, "an', Lafe, don't 'Peggy dear' me.
+I hate it; see?"
+
+Virginia refused to believe the startling words. She would have
+adored being called "dear." In Lafe's voice, great love rang out; in
+the woman's, she scarcely knew what. She glanced from one to the other
+as the cobbler lifted his head. He was always thanking some one in
+some unknown place for the priceless gift of his woman.
+
+"I'll 'Peggy dear' you whenever I feel like it, wife," he said
+gravely, "for God knows you're awful dear to me, Peg."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken ignored his speech, but when she returned from the
+stove, her voice was a little more gentle.
+
+"You can both stuff your innards with hot mush. You can't starve on
+that.... Here, kid, sit a little nearer!"
+
+So Virginia Singleton, the lame cobbler, and Peggy began their first
+meal, facing a new day, which to Lafe was yesterday's to-morrow.
+
+A little later Virginia followed the wheel chair into the cobbler's
+shop. Peggy grumblingly left them to return to her duties in the
+kitchen.
+
+"Terrible cold day this," Lafe observed, picking up a shoe. "The
+wind's blowin' forty miles the hour."
+
+Virginia's next remark was quite irrelevant to the wind.
+
+"I'm hoping Mrs. Peggy'll get the money she was talking about."
+
+"Did she tell you she needed some?"
+
+Virginia nodded, and when she spoke again, her tongue was parched and
+dry.
+
+"She said she had to have money to-night. I hope she gets it; if she
+doesn't I can't stay and live with you."
+
+"I hope she gets it, too," sighed the cobbler.
+
+Of a sudden a thought seemed to strike him. The girl noticed it and
+looked a question.
+
+"Peggy's bark's worser'n her bite," Lafe explained in answer. "She's
+like a lot of them little pups that do a lot of barkin' but wouldn't
+set their teeth in a biscuit."
+
+"Does that mean," Jinnie asked eagerly, "if she don't get the two
+dollars to-night, Mrs. Peggy might let me stay?"
+
+"That's just what it means," replied Lafe, making loud whacks on the
+sole of a shoe. "You'll stay, all right."
+
+The depth of Virginia's gratitude just then could only be estimated by
+one who had passed through the same fires of deep uncertainty, and in
+the ardor of it she flung her arms around the cobbler's neck and
+kissed him.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Lafe, with useless legs, had been brought home to his wife, she
+had stoically taken up the burden that had been his. At her husband's
+suggestion that he should cobble, Mrs. Grandoken had fitted up the
+little shop, telling him grimly that every hand in the world should do
+its share. And that was how Lafe Grandoken, laborer and optimist,
+began his life's great work--of cobbling a ray of comfort to every
+soul entering the shack. Sometimes he would insist that the sun shone
+brighter than the day before; then again that the clouds had a cooling
+effect. But if in the world outside Lafe found no comfort, he always
+spoke of to-morrow with a ring of hope in his voice.
+
+Hope for another day was all Lafe had save Peggy, and to him these
+two--hope and the woman--were Heaven's choicest gifts. Now Peggy
+didn't realize all these things, because the world, with its trials
+and vicissitudes, gave her a different aspect of life, and she was not
+in even her ordinary good humor this day as she prepared the midday
+meal. Her mind was busy with thoughts of the new burden which the
+morning had brought.
+
+Generally Lafe consulted her about any problem that presented itself
+before him, but, that day, he had taken a young stranger into their
+home, and Mrs. Grandoken had used all kinds of arguments to persuade
+him to send the girl away. Peggy didn't want another mouth to feed.
+She didn't care for any one in the world but Lafe anyway.
+
+When the dinner was on the table, she grimly brought her husband's
+wheel chair to the kitchen. Virginia, by the cobbler's invitation,
+followed.
+
+"Any money paid in to-day?" asked Peggy gruffly, drawing the cobbler
+to his place at the table.
+
+"No," he said, smiling up at her, "but there'll be a lot to-morrow....
+Is there some bread for----for Jinnie, too?"
+
+Peggy replied by sticking her fork into a biscuit and pushing it off
+on Virginia's plate with her finger.
+
+Virginia acknowledged it with a shy upward glance. Peg's stolid face
+and quick, insistent movements filled her with vague discomfort. If
+the woman had tempered her harsh, "Take it, kid," with a smile, the
+little girl's heart might have ached less.
+
+Lafe nodded to her when his wife left the room for a moment.
+
+"That biscuit's Peg's bite," said he, "so she'll bark a lot the rest
+of the day, but don't you mind."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+JUST A JEW
+
+
+When the cobbler was at work again, Virginia, after picking up a few
+nails and tacks scattered on the floor, sat down.
+
+"Would you like to hear something about me and Peggy, lassie?" he
+inquired, "an' will you take my word for things?"
+
+Jinnie nodded trustfully. She had already grown to love the cobbler,
+and her affection grew stronger as she stated:
+
+"There isn't anything you'd tell me, cobbler, I wouldn't believe!"
+
+With slow importance Lafe put down his hammer.
+
+"I'm a Israelite," he announced.
+
+"What's that?" asked the girl, immediately interested.
+
+The cobbler looked over his spectacles and smiled.
+
+"A Jew, just a plain Jew."
+
+"I don't know what a Jew is either," confessed Jinnie.
+
+Lafe groped for words to explain his meaning.
+
+"A Jew," he ventured presently, "is one of God's----chosen----folks. I
+mean one of them chose by Him to believe."
+
+"Believe what?"
+
+"All that God said would be," explained Lafe, reverently.
+
+"And you believe it, cobbler?"
+
+"Sure, kid; sure."
+
+The shoemaker saw a question mirrored in the depths of the violet
+eyes.
+
+"And thinking that way makes you happy, eh, Mr. Lafe? Does it make you
+smile the way you do at girls without homes?"
+
+As she put this question sincerely to him, Jinnie reminded the cobbler
+of a beautiful flower lifting its proud head to the sun. In his
+experience with young people, he had never seen a girl like this one.
+
+"It makes me happier'n anything!" he replied, cheerfully. "The
+wonderful part is I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't lost my legs.
+I'll tell you about it, lass."
+
+Jinnie settled back contentedly.
+
+"A long time ago," began Mr. Grandoken, "God led a bunch of Jews out
+of a town where a king was torturin' 'em----"
+
+The listener's eyes darkened in sympathy.
+
+"They was made to do a lot of things that hurt 'em; their babies and
+women, too."
+
+Jinnie leaned forward and covered the horny hand with her slender
+fingers.
+
+"Have you ever had any babies, Lafe?" she ventured.
+
+A perceptible shadow crossed the man's face.
+
+"Yes," said he hesitatingly. "Me and Peggy had a boy--a little fellow
+with curly hair--a Jew baby. Peggy always let me call him a Jew baby,
+though he was part Irish."
+
+"Oh!" gasped Jinnie, radiantly.
+
+"I was a big fellow then, kid, with fine, strong legs, an' nights,
+when I'd come home, I'd carry the little chap about."
+
+The cobbler's eyes glistened with the memory, but shadowed almost
+instantly.
+
+"But one day----" he hesitated.
+
+The pause brought an exclamation from the girl.
+
+"And one day--what?" she demanded.
+
+"He died; that's all," and Lafe gazed unseeingly at the snow-covered
+tracks.
+
+"And you buried him?" asked Virginia, softly.
+
+"Yes, an' the fault was mostly mine, Jinnie. I ain't had no way to
+make it up to Peggy, but there's lots of to-morrows."
+
+"You'll make her happy then?" ejaculated the girl.
+
+"Yes," said Lafe, "an' I might a done it then, but I wouldn't listen
+to the voices."
+
+A look of bewildered surprise crossed the girl's face. Were they
+spirit voices, the voices in the pines, of which Lafe was speaking?
+She'd ask him.
+
+"God's voices out of Heaven," said he, in answer to her query. "They
+come every night, but I wouldn't listen, till one day my boy was took.
+Then I heard another voice, demandin' me to tell folks what was what
+about God. But I was afraid an' a--coward."
+
+The cobbler lapsed into serious thought, while Virginia moved a small
+nail back and forth on the floor with the toe of her shoe. She
+wouldn't cry again, but something in the low, sad voice made her
+throat ache. After the man had been quiet for a long time, she pressed
+him with:
+
+"After that, Lafe, what then?"
+
+"After that," repeated the cobbler, straightening his shoulders,
+"after that my legs went bad an' then--an' then----"
+
+Virginia, very pale, went to the cobbler, and laid her head against
+his shoulder.
+
+"An' then, child," he breathed huskily, "I believed, an' I know, as
+well as I'm livin', God sent his Christ for everybody; that in the
+lovin' father"--Lafe raised his eyes--"there's no line drawed 'tween
+Jews an' Gentiles. They're all alike to Him. Only some're goin' one
+road an' some another to get to Him, that's all."
+
+These were quite new ideas to Virginia. In all her young life no one
+had ever conversed with her of such things. True, from her hill home
+on clear Sunday mornings she could hear the church bells ding-dong
+their hoarse welcome to the farmers, but she had never been inside the
+church doors. Now she regretted the lost opportunity. She wished to
+grasp the cobbler's meaning. Noting her tense expression, Grandoken
+continued:
+
+"It was only a misunderstandin' 'tween a few Jews when they nailed the
+Christ to the cross. Why, a lot of Israelites back there believed in
+'im. I'm one of them believin' Jews, Jinnie."
+
+"I wish I was a Jew, cobbler," sighed Jinnie. "I'd think the same as
+you then, wouldn't I?"
+
+"Oh, you don't have to be a Jew to believe," returned Lafe. "It's as
+easy to do as 'tis to roll off'n a log."
+
+This lame man filled her young heart with a deep longing to help him
+and to have him help her.
+
+"You're going to teach me all about it, ain't you, Lafe?" she
+entreated presently.
+
+"Sure! Sure! You see, it's this way: Common, everyday folks--them with
+narrer minds--ain't much use for my kind of Jews. I'm livin' here in a
+mess of 'em. Most of 'em's shortwood gatherers. When I found out about
+the man on the cross, I told it right out loud to 'em all. ... You're
+one of 'em. You're a Gentile, Jinnie."
+
+"I'm sorry," said the girl sadly.
+
+"Oh, you needn't be. Peg's one, too, but she's got God's mark on her
+soul as big as any of them women belongin' to Abraham, Isaac and
+Jacob----I ain't sure but it's a mite bigger."
+
+The speaker worked a while, bringing the nails from his lips in rapid,
+even succession. Peg was the one bright spot that shone out of his
+wonderful yesterdays. She was the one link that fastened him securely
+to a useful to-morrow.
+
+Virginia counted the nails mechanically as they were driven into the
+leather, and as the last one disappeared, she said:
+
+"Are you always happy, Lafe, when you're smiling? Why, you
+smile--when--even when--" she stammered, caught her breath, and
+finished, "even when Mrs. Peggy barks."
+
+An amused laugh came from the cobbler's lips.
+
+"That's 'cause I know her, lass," said he. "Why, when I first found
+out about the good God takin' charge of Jews an' Gentiles alike, I
+told it to Peg, an', my, how she did hop up an' down, right in the
+middle of the floor. She said I was meddlin' into things that had took
+men of brains a million years to fix up.
+
+"But I knew it as well as anything," he continued. "God's love is
+right in your heart, right there----" He bent over and gently touched
+the girl.
+
+She looked up surprised.
+
+"I heard He was setting on a great high throne up in Heaven," she
+whispered, glancing up, "and he scowled dead mad when folks were
+wicked."
+
+Lafe smiled, shook his head, and picked up his hammer.
+
+"No," said he. "No, no! He's right around me, an' He's right around
+you, an' everything a feller does or has comes from Him."
+
+Virginia's thoughts went back to an episode of the country.
+
+"Does He help a kid knock hell out of another kid when that kid is
+beating a littler kid?"
+
+Her eyes were so earnest, so deep in question, that the cobbler
+lowered his head. Not for the world would he have smiled at Virginia's
+original question. He scarcely knew how to answer, but presently
+said:
+
+"Well, I guess it's all right to help them who ain't as big as
+yourself, but it ain't the best thing in the world to gad any one."
+
+"Oh, I never licked any of 'em," Jinnie assured him. "I just wanted to
+find out, that's all."
+
+"What'd you do when other kids beat the littler ones?" demanded the
+cobbler.
+
+"Just shoved 'em down on the ground and set on 'em, damn 'em!"
+answered Jinnie.
+
+Lafe raised his eyes slowly.
+
+"I was wonderin' if I dared give you a lesson, lass," he began in a
+low voice.
+
+"I wish you would," replied Virginia, eagerly. "I'd love anything
+you'd tell me."
+
+"Well, I was wonderin' if you knew it was wicked to swear?"
+
+Like a shot came a pang through her breast. She had offended her
+friend.
+
+"Wicked? Wicked?" she gasped. "You say it's wicked to swear,
+cobbler?"
+
+Lafe nodded. "Sure, awful wicked," he affirmed.
+
+Virginia took a long breath.
+
+"I didn't know it," she murmured. "Father said it wasn't polite, but
+that's nothing. How is it wicked, cobbler?"
+
+Lafe put two nails into position in the leather sole and drove them
+deep; then he laid down the hammer again.
+
+"You remember my tellin' you this morning of the man with angels,
+white angels, hoverin' about the earth helpin' folks?"
+
+"Yes," answered Virginia.
+
+"Well, He said it was wicked."
+
+An awe-stricken glance fell upon the speaker.
+
+"Did He tell you so, Lafe?"
+
+"Yes," said Lafe. "It ain't a question of politeness at all, but just
+bein' downright wicked. See, kid?"
+
+"Yes, cobbler, I do now," Jinnie answered, hanging her head. "Nobody
+but Matty ever told me nothing before. I guess she didn't know much
+about angels, though."
+
+"Well," continued Lafe, going back to his story, "God give his little
+boy Jesus to a mighty good man an' a fine woman--as fine as Peg--to
+bring up. An' Joseph trundled the little feller about just as I did my
+little Lafe, an' bye-an'-bye when the boy grew, He worked as his
+Father in Heaven wanted him to. The good God helped Joseph an' Mary to
+bring the Christ down face to face with us--Jews an' Gentiles alike."
+
+"With you and me?" breathed Virginia, solemnly.
+
+"With you an' me, child," repeated the cobbler in subdued tones.
+
+Virginia walked to the window and drummed on the pane. Through mere
+force of habit the cobbler bent his head and caught the tacks between
+his teeth. He did it mechanically; he was thinking of the future. In
+the plan of events which Lafe had worked out for himself and Peg,
+there was but one helper, and each day some new demonstration came to
+make his faith the brighter. In the midst of his meditation, Jinnie
+returned to her seat.
+
+"Cobbler, will you do something I ask you?"
+
+"Sure," assented Lafe.
+
+"Get busy trusting Peg'll get the two dollars to-night."
+
+"I have long ago, child, an' she's goin' to get it, too. That's one
+blessin' about believin'. No one nor nobody can keep you from gettin'
+what's your own."
+
+"Mrs. Peggy doesn't think that way," remarked Virginia, with keen
+memories of Mrs. Grandoken's snapping teeth.
+
+"No, not yet, but I'm trustin' she will. You see how 'tis in this
+shop. Folks is poor around here. I trust 'em all, Jews and Gentiles
+alike, but Peg thinks I ought to have the money the minute the work's
+done. But I know no man can keep my money from me, so I soothe her
+down till she don't whine any more. That's how I know her bark's
+worser'n her bite. Didn't I tell you about the biscuit?"
+
+"Yes," replied Virginia, "and I hope it'll only be bark about the
+money; what if she didn't get it?"
+
+"She'll get it," assured Lafe, positively.
+
+Just before bed time Lafe whispered in Jinnie's ear, "Peggy got the
+two! I told you she would. God's good, child, and we've all got Him in
+us alike."
+
+And that night, as the air waxed colder and colder, Virginia
+Singleton, daughter of the rich, slept her tired sleep amid the
+fighters of the world.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+"EVERY HAND SHALL DO ITS SHARE," QUOTH PEG.
+
+
+The fifth day of Jinnie's stay in the cobbler's home crept out of the
+cold night accompanied by the worst blizzard ever known along the
+lake. Many times, if it had not been for the protecting overhanging
+hills, the wood gatherers' huts would have been swept quite away. As
+it was, Jinnie felt the shack tremble and sway, and doubted its
+ability to withstand the onslaught.
+
+After breakfast found Lafe and Jinnie conversing interestedly in the
+shop. The cobbler allowed several bright nails to fall into his palm
+before he answered the question which was worrying the girl.
+
+"There ain't no use troublin' about it, child," commented he. "We
+can't starve."
+
+"If I could only work," said Jinnie gloomily, "I bet Peg'd soon like
+me, because she wouldn't have to go out in the cold at all. But you
+think it'd be bad for me, eh, Lafe?"
+
+"Well, you couldn't go around to the factories or stores very well,"
+replied Lafe. "You see your uncle's tryin' to trace you. I showed you
+that this mornin' in the paper, didn't I, where he mourned over you as
+lost after findin' your father dead?"
+
+Jinnie nodded.
+
+"Yes, I read it," she said.
+
+"An' he can't get your money for seven years. That makes him madder'n
+a hatter, of course."
+
+"If he'd let me alone, I'd just as soon give him the money," Jinnie
+said mournfully.
+
+Lafe shook his head.
+
+"The law wouldn't let you, till you was of age. No, sir, you'd either
+have to die a natural death or--another kind, an' you're a pretty
+husky young kid to die natural."
+
+"I don't want to die at all," shivered Jinnie.
+
+Lafe encouraged her with a smile.
+
+"If he finds you," pursued Lafe, "I'd have to give you up. I couldn't
+do anything else. We might pray 'bout it."
+
+A wistful expression came over Jinnie's face.
+
+"Is praying anything like wishing, cobbler?"
+
+"Somethin' the same," replied Mr. Grandoken, "with this
+difference--wishin' is askin' somethin' out of somewhere of some one
+you don't know; prayin' is just talkin' to some one you're acquainted
+with! See?"
+
+"Yes, I think I do," responded the girl. "Your way is mostly praying,
+isn't it, Lafe?"
+
+"Prayin's more powerful than wishin', lass," said Lafe. "When I was
+first paralyzed, I done a lot of wishin'. I hadn't any acquaintance
+with anybody but Peggy. After that I took up with God, an' He's been
+awful good to me."
+
+"He's been good to me, too, Lafe, bringing me here."
+
+This seemed to be a discovery to Virginia, and for a few minutes her
+brain was alive with new hopes. Suddenly she drew her chair in front
+of Grandoken.
+
+"Will to-morrow ever be to-day, cobbler?"
+
+Lafe looked at the solemn-faced girl with smiling, kindly eyes.
+
+"Sure, kid, sure," he asserted. "When you get done wishin' an' there
+ain't nothin' left in the world to want, then to-morrow's to-day."
+
+Jinnie smiled dismally. "There'd never be a day, cobbler, that I
+couldn't think of something I'd like for you--and Peg."
+
+Lafe meditated an instant before replying. Then:
+
+"I've found out that we're always happier, kid, when we've got a
+to-morrow to look to," said he, "'cause when you're just satisfied,
+somethin's very apt to go smash. I was that way once."
+
+He paused for some seconds.
+
+"Jinnie," he murmured, "I haven't told you how I lost the use of my
+legs, have I?"
+
+"No, Lafe."
+
+"Well, as I was sayin', there didn't used to be any to-morrow for me.
+I always lived just for that one day. I had Peg an' the boy. I could
+work for 'm, an' that was enough. It's more'n lots of men get in this
+world."
+
+His voice trailed into a whisper and ceased. He was living for the
+moment in the glory of his past usefulness. The rapt, wrinkled face
+shone as if it had been touched by angel fingers. Virginia watched him
+reverently.
+
+"It's more'n two years ago, now," proceeded the cobbler presently,
+"an' I was workin' on one of them tall uptown buildin's. Jimmy
+Malligan worked right alongside of me. We was great chums, Jimmy an'
+me. One day the ropes broke on one of the scaffoldin's--at least,
+that's what folks said. When we was picked up, my legs wasn't worth
+the powder to blow 'em up--an' Jimmy was dead. ... But Peg says I'm
+just as good as ever."
+
+Here Mr. Grandoken took out his pipe and struck a match. "But I ain't.
+'Cause them times Peg didn't have to work. We always had fires enough,
+an' didn't live like this. But, as I was sayin', me an' Peg just
+kinder lived in to-day. Now, when I hope that mebbe I'll walk again,
+I'm always measurin' up to-morrow----Peg's the best woman in the
+world."
+
+Jinnie shivered as a gust of wind rattled the window pane.
+
+"She makes awful good hot mush," she commented.
+
+"Anyhow," went on Lafe, "I was better off'n Jimmy, because he was
+stone dead. There wasn't any to-day or to-morrow for him, an' I've
+still got Peggy."
+
+"And this shop," supplemented the girl, glancing around admiringly.
+
+"Sure, this shop," assented Lafe. "I had clean plumb forgot this
+shop--I mean, for the minute--but I wouldn't a forgot it long."
+
+He knocked the ashes out of his pipe and set to work.
+
+Neither girl nor man spoke for a while, and it wasn't until Lafe heard
+Peg's voice growling at one of Milly's kittens that he ceased his
+tick-tack.
+
+"You wouldn't like to join my club, lass, would you?" he ventured.
+
+Jinnie looked up quickly.
+
+"Of course I would," she said eagerly. "What kind of a club is it?"
+
+The girl's faith in the cobbler was so great that if Lafe had
+commanded her to go into danger, she wouldn't have hesitated.
+
+"Tell me what the club is, Lafe," she repeated.
+
+"Sure," responded Lafe. "Come here an' shake hands! All you have to do
+to be a member of my club is to be 'Happy in Spite' an' believe
+everythin' happenin' is for the best."
+
+A mystified expression filled the girl's earnest blue eyes.
+
+"I'm awful happy," she sighed, "and I'm awful glad to come in your
+club, but I just don't understand what it means."
+
+The cobbler paid no attention for some moments. He was looking out of
+the window, in a far-away mood, dreaming of an active past, when
+Jinnie accidentally knocked a hammer from the bench. Lafe Grandoken
+glanced in the girl's direction.
+
+"I'm happy in spite--" he murmured. Then he stopped abruptly, and his
+hesitation made the girl repeat:
+
+"Happy in spite?" with a rising inflection. "What does that mean,
+Lafe?"
+
+Lafe began to work desperately.
+
+"It means just this, kid. I've got a little club all my own, an' I've
+named it 'Happy in Spite.'" His eyes gathered a mist as he whispered,
+"Happy in spite of everything that ain't just what I want it to be.
+Happy in spite of not walkin'--happy in spite of Peg's workin'."
+
+Virginia raised unsmiling, serious eyes to the speaker.
+
+"I want to come in your club, too, Lafe," she said slowly. "I need to
+be happy in spite of lots of things, just like you, cobbler."
+
+A long train steamed by. Jinnie went to the window, and looked out
+upon it. When the noise of the engine and the roar of the cars had
+ceased, she whirled around.
+
+"Cobbler," she said in a low voice, "I've been thinking a lot since
+yesterday."
+
+"Come on an' tell me about it, lassie," said Lafe.
+
+She sat down, hitching her chair a bit nearer him, leaned her elbow on
+her knee, and buried a dimpled chin in the palm of her hand.
+
+"Do you suppose, Lafe, if a girl believed in the angels, anybody could
+hurt her?"
+
+"I know they couldn't, kid, an' it's as true's Heaven."
+
+"Well, then, why can't I go out and work?"
+
+Lafe paused and looked over his spectacles.
+
+"Peggy says, 'Every hand should do its share'," he quoted.
+
+Jinnie winced miserably. She picked up several nails from the floor.
+It was a pretext for an activity to cover her embarrassment.
+
+The cobbler allowed her to busy herself a while in this way. Then he
+said:
+
+"Sit in the chair an' wrap up in the blankets, Jinnie. I want to talk
+with you."
+
+She did as she was bidden, sitting quietly until the man chose to
+speak.
+
+"I guess you're beginnin' to believe," said he, at length, "an' if you
+do, a world full of uncles couldn't hurt you. Peg says as how you got
+to work if you stay, an' if you have the faith----"
+
+Jinnie rose tremblingly.
+
+"I know I'll be all right," she cried. "I just know you and me
+believing would keep me safe."
+
+Her eagerness caused Lafe to draw the girl to him.
+
+"Can you holler good an' loud?" he asked.
+
+The girl shot him a curious glance.
+
+"Sure I can."
+
+"Can you walk on icy walks----"
+
+"Oh, I'm as strong as anything," Jinnie cut in, glancing downward at
+herself.
+
+"I know a lot of kids who earn money," said Lafe meditatively.
+
+"What do they do?"
+
+"Get wood out of the marsh behind the huts there. Some of 'em keeps
+families on it."
+
+"Sell wood! And there's lots of it, Lafe?"
+
+"Lots," replied Lafe.
+
+Sell wood! The very words, new, wonderful, and full of action, rang
+through Jinnie's soul like sweet sounding bells. Waves of unknown
+sensations beat delightfully upon her girlish heart. If she brought in
+a little money every day, Peggy would be kinder. She could; she was
+sure she could. She was drawn from her whirling thoughts by the
+cobbler's voice.
+
+"Could you do it, kid? People could think your name was Jinnie
+Grandoken."
+
+Jinnie choked out a reply.
+
+"And mebbe I could make ten cents a day."
+
+"I think you could, Jinnie, an' here's Lafe right ready to help you."
+
+Virginia Singleton felt quite faint. She sat down, her heart beating
+under her knit jacket twice as fast as a girl's heart ought to beat.
+Lafe had suddenly opened up a path to usefulness and glory which even
+in her youthful dreams had never appeared to her.
+
+"Call Peggy," said Lafe.
+
+Soon Peg stood before them, with a questioning face.
+
+"The kid's goin' to work," announced Lafe, "We've got a way of keepin'
+her uncle off'n her trail."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked from her husband to Virginia.
+
+"I want to work like other folks," the girl burst forth, looking
+pleadingly at the shoemaker's wife.
+
+Peggy wiped her arms violently upon her apron, and there flashed
+across her face an inscrutable expression that Lafe had learned to
+read, but which frightened the newcomer.
+
+Oh, how Jinnie wanted to do something to help them both! Now, at this
+moment, when there seemed a likelihood of being industriously useful,
+Jinnie loved them the more. She was going to work, and into her active
+little brain came the sound of pennies, and the glint of silver.
+
+"I want to work, Peggy," she beseeched, "and I'll make a lot of money
+for you."
+
+"Every hand ought to do its share," observed Peg, stolidly, glancing
+at the girl's slender fingers. They looked so small, so unused to hard
+work, that she turned away. An annoying, gripping sensation attacked
+her suddenly, but in another minute she faced the girl again.
+
+"If you do it, miss, don't flounce round's if you owned the hull of
+Paradise Road, 'cause it'll be nothin' to your credit, whatever you
+do. You didn't make yourself."
+
+At the door she turned and remarked, "You've got t'have a shoulder
+strap to hold the wood, an' you musn't carry too much to onct. It
+might hurt your back."
+
+"I'll be careful," gulped Jinnie, "and mebbe I could help make the
+strap, eh, Lafe?"
+
+An hour later Jinnie was running a long needle through a tough piece
+of leather. She was making the strap to peddle shortwood, and a
+happier girl never breathed.
+
+Peg watched her without comment as Lafe fitted the strap about her
+shoulders. In fact, there was nothing for the woman to say, when the
+violet eyes were fixed questioningly upon her. Peggy thought of the
+hunger which would be bound to come if any hands were idle, so she
+muttered in excuse, "There's nothin' like gettin' used to a thing."
+
+"It's a fine strap, isn't it, Lafe?" asked the girl, "It's almost as
+good as a cart."
+
+"You can't use a cart in the underbrush," explained Lafe. "That's why
+the twig gatherers use straps."
+
+"I see," murmured Jinnie.
+
+When the cobbler and girl were once more alone together, they had a
+serious confab. They decided that every penny Jinnie brought in should
+go to enriching the house, and the girl's eyes glistened as she heard
+the shoemaker list over the things that would make them comfortable.
+
+Most delightful thoughts came to endow the girl's mental world, which
+now reached from the cobbler's shop to the marsh, over a portion of
+the city, and back again. It was rosy-hued, bright, sparkling with
+the pennies and nickels she intended to earn. All her glory would come
+with the aid of that twig gatherer's leather strap. She looked down
+upon it with a proud toss of her head. Jinnie was recovering the
+independent spirit which had dominated her when she had wandered alone
+on the hills away to the north.
+
+"I wouldn't wonder if I'd make fifteen cents some days," she remarked
+later at the supper table.
+
+"If you make ten, you'll be doin' well, an' you and Lafe'll probably
+bust open with joy if you do," snapped Peg. "Oh, Lord, I'm gettin'
+sick to my stomick hearin' you folks brag. Go to bed now, kid, if
+you're to work to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie fell asleep to dream that her hand was full of pennies, and her
+pockets running over with nickels. She was just stooping to pick up
+some money from the sidewalk when Peg's voice pierced her ear,
+
+"Kid," said she, "it's mornin', an' your first workin' day. Now hurry
+your lazy bones an' get dressed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+BY THE SWEAT OF HER BROW
+
+
+Over the bridge into Paradise Road went the lithe, buoyant figure of a
+girl, a loose strap hanging from one straight shoulder. Jinnie was
+radiantly happy, for her first day had netted the family twenty cents,
+and if Paradise Road had been covered with eggs, she would not have
+broken many in her flight homeward. If she had been more used to Mrs.
+Grandoken, she would have understood the peculiar tightening at the
+corners of the woman's thin lips when she delivered the precious
+pittance. Virginia searched the other's face for the least sign of
+approbation. She wished Peg would kiss her, but, of course, she dared
+not suggest it. To have a little show of affection seemed to Jinnie
+just then the most desirable thing in the world, but the cobbler's
+wife merely muttered as she went away to the kitchen, and Virginia,
+sighing, sat down.
+
+"Now suppose you tell me all about it, Jinnie," Lafe suggested
+smilingly; "just where you went an' how you earned all the money."
+
+Fatigued almost beyond the point of rehearsing her experiences, Jinnie
+took Milly Ann on her lap and curled up in the chair.
+
+"I guess I've walked fifteen miles," she began. "You know most folks
+don't want wood."
+
+Lafe took one sidewise glance at the beautiful face. He remembered a
+picture he had once seen of an angel. Jinnie's face was like that
+picture.
+
+"Well, first, Lafe," she recounted, "I gathered the wood in the marsh,
+then I went straight across the back field through the swamp. It's
+froze over harder'n hell----"
+
+Lafe uttered a little, "Sh!" and Jinnie, with scarlet face,
+supplemented,
+
+"I mean harder'n _anything_."
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe, nodding.
+
+"Mr. Bates and his kids were there, but he c'n carry a pile three
+times bigger'n I can!"
+
+"Well, you're only a child. Sometimes Bates can't sell all he gets,
+though."
+
+"I sold all mine," asserted Jinnie, brightening.
+
+The cobbler recalled the history of Jinnie's lonely little life--of
+how during those first fifteen years no kindly soul had given her
+counsel, and now his heart glowed with thanksgiving as he realized
+that she was growing in faith and womanliness. He wanted Jinnie to
+give credit where credit was due, so he said,
+
+"You sold your wood because you had a helpin' hand."
+
+Jinnie was about to protest.
+
+"I mean----" breathed Lafe.
+
+"Oh, angels! Eh?" interrupted the girl. "Yes, I sold my last two
+cents' worth by saying what you told me--'He gives His angels charge
+over thee'--and, zip! a woman bought the last bundle and gave me a
+cent more'n I charged her."
+
+"Good!" Lafe was highly pleased. "It'll work every time, an' to make a
+long story short, it works on boots an' shoes, too."
+
+"Wood's awful heavy," Jinnie decided, irrelevantly.
+
+"Sure," soothed Lafe again. He hesitated a minute, drew his hand
+across his eyes, and continued, "An', by the way, Jinnie----"
+
+Jinnie's receptive face caused the cobbler to proceed:
+
+"I wouldn't have nothin' to do with Bates' son Maudlin, if I was
+you.... He's a bad lot."
+
+Jinnie's head drooped. She flushed to her hair.
+
+"I saw him to-day," she replied. "He's got wicked eyes. I hate boys
+who wink!"
+
+A look of desperation clouded the fair young face, and the cobbler,
+looking at the slender girlish figure, and thinking the while of
+Maudlin Bates, suddenly put out his hand.
+
+"Come here, lassie," he said.
+
+Another flame of color mounted to Jinnie's tousled hair. With hanging
+head, she pushed Milly Ann from her lap and walked to the cobbler's
+side.
+
+"What did Maudlin say to you?" he demanded.
+
+"He said he'd--he'd crack my twigs for me if--if I'd kiss him, and he
+pinched me when I wouldn't."
+
+Anger and deep resentment displayed themselves on Lafe's pale face.
+
+"Jinnie, lass," he breathed. "I c'n trust you, child. Can't I trust
+you? You wouldn't----"
+
+Jinnie drew away from Lafe's embrace.
+
+"I guess I'd rather be killed'n have Maudlin kiss me," she cried
+passionately.
+
+Just then Peg came to the door.
+
+"Run to the butcher's for a bit of chopped steak, Jinnie," she
+ordered, "an' make your head save your heels by bringin' in some
+bread."
+
+Jinnie jumped up quickly.
+
+"Please use some of my money to buy 'em, Peggy," she begged. "Oh,
+please do."
+
+Peggy eyed her sternly.
+
+"Kid," she warned. "I want to tell you something before you go any
+farther in life. You may be smart, but 'tain't no credit to you,
+'cause you didn't make yourself. I'm tellin' you this for fear makin'
+so much money'll turn your head.... Here's your ten cents.... Now go
+along."
+
+After Jinnie had gone, Mrs. Grandoken sat down opposite her husband.
+
+"The girl looks awful tired," she offered, after a moment's silence.
+
+"She's been earnin' her livin' by the sweat of her brow," replied
+Lafe, with a wan smile.
+
+"Mebbe she'll get used to it," growled Peg. "Of course I don't like
+her, but I don't want her hurt. 'Twon't make her sick, will it?"
+
+"No, she's as strong as a little ox. She's got enough strength in her
+body to work ten times harder, but Peg----" Here Lafe stopped and
+looked out to the hill beyond the tracks, "but, Peggy, perhaps we c'n
+find her somethin' else after a while, when there ain't so much fear
+of her uncle. To make a long story short, Peg, danger of him's the
+only thing that'll keep the kid luggin' wood."
+
+"I was wonderin'," returned Peg, "if we couldn't get some one
+interested in 'er--the Kings, mebbe. They're a good sort, with lots of
+money, an' are more'n smart."
+
+Lafe's eyes brightened visibly, but saddened again. He shook his
+head.
+
+"We can't get the Kings 'cause I read in the paper last night they're
+gone away West, to be gone for a year or more.... It's a good idea,
+though. Some one'll turn up, sure."
+
+"When they do, my man," Peg said quickly, "don't be takin' any credit
+to yourself, 'cause you hadn't ought to take credit for the plannin'
+your sharp brains do."
+
+As he shook his head, smiling, she left him quickly and shut the
+door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE BROAD BOSOM OF THE "HAPPY IN SPITE"
+
+
+Thus for one year Jinnie went forth in the morning to gather her
+shortwood, and to sell it in the afternoon.
+
+Peg always gave her a biscuit to eat during her forenoon's work, and
+Jinnie, going from house to house later, was often presented with a
+"hunk of pie," as she afterwards told Lafe. If a housewife gave her an
+apple, she would take it home to the cobbler and his wife.
+
+Late one afternoon, at the close of a bitter day, Jinnie had finished
+her work and was resting on the door sill of an empty house on an
+uptown corner.
+
+She drew forth her money in girlish pride. Twenty-seven cents was what
+she'd earned,--two cents more than any day since she began working.
+This money meant much to Jinnie. She hadn't yet received a kiss from
+Mrs. Grandoken, but was expecting it daily. Perhaps when two cents
+more were dropped into her hand, Peggy might, just for the moment,
+forget herself and unwittingly express some little affection for her.
+
+With this joyous anticipation the girl recounted her money, retained
+sufficient change for the dinner meat, and slipped the rest into her
+jacket pocket. She rose and had started in the direction of the market
+when a clamor near the bridge made her pause. A crowd of men and boys
+were running directly toward her. Above their wild shouts could be
+heard the orders of a policeman, and now and then the frightened cry
+of a small child.
+
+At first Jinnie noticed only the people. Then her eyes lowered and she
+saw, racing toward her, a small, black, woolly dog. The animal, making
+a wild dash for his life, had in his anguish lost his mental balance,
+for he took no heed as to where he ran nor what he struck. A louder
+cry of derision rose up from many throats as the small beast scuttled
+between the legs of a farmer's horse, which gave him a moment's
+respite from his tormentors.
+
+An instant later they were clamoring again for his unhappy little
+life. Suddenly he ran headlong into a tree, striking his shaggy head
+with terrific force. Then he curled up in a limp little heap, just as
+Jinnie reached him.
+
+Before Maudlin Bates, the leader of the crowd, arrived, the girl had
+picked up the insensible dog and thrust him under her jacket.
+
+"He's dead, I guess," she said, looking up into the boy's face, "I'll
+take him to the cobbler's shop and bury him.... He isn't any good when
+he's dead."
+
+Maudlin Bates grinned from ear to ear, put his hands behind his back,
+and allowed his eyes to rove over the girl's straight young figure.
+
+"Billy Maybee was tryin' to tie a tin can to his tail," he explained,
+stuttering, "and the cur snapped at him. We was goin' to hit his head
+against the wall."
+
+"He's dead now," assured Jinnie once more. "It isn't any use to smash
+dead dogs."
+
+This reasoning being unanswerable, Maudlin turned grumblingly away.
+
+Jinnie's heart beat loudly with living hope. Perhaps the little dog
+wasn't dead. Oh, how she hoped he'd live! She stopped half way home,
+and pushed aside her jacket and peeped down at him. He was still quite
+limp, and the girl hurried on. She did not even wait to buy the meat
+nor the bread Peg had asked her to bring in.
+
+As she hurried across the tracks, she saw Grandoken sitting in the
+window.
+
+He saluted her with one hand, but as she was using both of hers to
+hold the dog, she only smiled in return, with a bright nod of her
+head.
+
+Once in the shop, she looked about cautiously.
+
+"I've got something, Lafe," she whispered, "something you'll like."
+
+When she displayed the hurt dog, Lafe put out his hand.
+
+"Is the little critter dead?" he asked solemnly.
+
+"Oh, I hope not!" replied Jinnie, and excitedly explained the
+episode.
+
+"Lafe took the foundling in his hands, turning the limp body over and
+over.
+
+"Jinnie, go ask Peg to bring some hot water in a pan," he said. "We'll
+give the little feller a chanct to live."
+
+Peg came in with a basin of water, stared at the wide-eyed girl and
+her smiling husband, then down upon the dog.
+
+"Well, for Lord's sake, where'd you get that little beast?" she
+demanded. "'Tain't livin', is it? Might as well throw it in the
+garbage pail."
+
+Nevertheless, she put down the basin as she spoke, and took the puppy
+from her husband. At variance with her statement that the dog might as
+well be thrown out, she laid him in the hot water, rubbing the bruised
+body from the top of its head to the small stubby tail. During this
+process Lafe had unfastened Jinnie's shortwood strap, and the girl,
+free, dropped upon the floor beside Peg.
+
+Suddenly the submerged body of the pup began to move.
+
+"He's alive, Peg!" cried Jinnie. "Look at his legs a kicking!... Oh,
+Lafe, he's trying to get out of the water!"
+
+Peg turned sharply.
+
+"If he ain't dead already," she grunted, "you'll kill him hollerin'
+like that. Anyway, 'tain't no credit to hisself if he lives. He didn't
+have nothin' to do with his bein' born, an' he won't have nothin' to
+do with his goin' on livin'. Shut up, now!... There, massy me, he's
+coming to."
+
+Jinnie squatted upon her feet, while Lafe wheeled his chair a bit
+nearer. For some moments the trio watched the small dog, struggling to
+regain consciousness. Then Peggy took him from the water and wrapped
+him carefully in her apron.
+
+"Lordy, he's openin' his eyes," she grinned, "an' you, girl, you go in
+there by the fire an' just hold him in your arms. Mebbe he'll come
+round all right. You can't put him out in the street till he's
+better."
+
+For the larger part of an hour, Jinnie held the newcomer close to her
+thumping heart, and when a spasm of pain attacked the shaggy head
+resting on her arm, she wept in sympathetic agony. Could Peg be
+persuaded to allow the dog to stay? She would promise to earn an extra
+penny to buy food for this new friend. At this opportune moment Mrs.
+Grandoken arrived from the market.
+
+"How's he comin' on?" she asked, standing over them.
+
+"Fine!" replied Jinnie. "And, Peg, he wants to stay."
+
+"Did he tell y' that?" demanded Peg, grimly.
+
+"Well, he didn't say just those words," said the girl, "but, Peggy, if
+he could talk, he'd tell you how much he loved you----"
+
+"Look a here, kid," broke in Mrs. Grandoken, "that dog ain't goin' to
+stay around this house, an' you might as well understand it from the
+beginnin'. I've enough to do with you an' Lafe an' those cats, without
+fillin' my house with sick pups. So get that notion right out of your
+noddle!... See?"
+
+Jinnie bowed her head over the sick dog and made a respectful reply.
+
+"I'll try to get the notion out," said she, "but, Peggy, oh, Peggy
+dear, I love the poor little thing so _awful_ much that it'll be hard
+for me to throw him away. Will you send him off when he's better, and
+not ask me to do it?"
+
+Jinnie cocked her pretty head inquiringly on one side, closed one eye,
+and looked at Peg from the other.
+
+Peggy sniffed a ruse. She came forward, spread her feet a bit, rolling
+her hands nervously in her apron. She hated an everlasting show of
+feelings, but sometimes it was difficult for her to crush the emotions
+which had so often stirred in her breast since the girl came to live
+with them.
+
+"I might as well tell you one thing right now, Jinnie Grandoken," she
+said. "You brought that pup into this house an' you'll take him out,
+or he won't get took; see?"
+
+There was a certain tone in Peg's voice the girl had heard before.
+
+"Then he won't get kicked out 't all, Peg," she said, with a petulant,
+youthful smile. "I just won't do it! Lafe can't, and if you
+don't----"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken made a deep noise in her throat.
+
+"You're a sassy brat," said she, "that's what you are! An' if Lafe
+don't just about beat the life out of you when I tell him about this,
+I will, with my own hand, right before his eyes. That's what----"
+
+Jinnie interrupted her eagerly. "Lafe won't beat me," she answered,
+"but I'll let you make me black and blue, Peg, if I can keep the
+puppy. Matty used to beat me fine, and she was a good bit stronger'n
+you."
+
+Peggy's eyes drew down at the corners, and her lip quivered.
+
+"Keep him if you want to, imp of Satan, but some day----here, see if
+the beast'll eat this bit of meat."
+
+Jinnie placed the shivering dog on the floor, and Peg put a piece of
+meat under his nose. In her excitement, Jinnie rushed away to Lafe.
+Peg's mumble followed her even through the closed door.
+
+"Cobbler, oh, dear good Lafe," cried the girl, "the dog's living! Peg
+says I can keep 'im, and I'm goin' to fiddle for him to-night. Do you
+think he'll forget all about his hurt if I do that, Lafe?"
+
+At that moment, shamed that she had given in to the importunate
+Jinnie, Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop door, shoving the half wet dog
+inside.
+
+"Here's your pup, kid," she growled, "an' y'd best keep him from under
+my feet if you don't want him stepped on."
+
+The cobbler smiled his slow, sweet smile.
+
+"Peg's heart's bigger'n this house," he murmured. "Bring him here,
+lassie."
+
+The girl, dog in arms, stood at the cobbler's side.
+
+"What're you goin' to name him?" asked Lafe, tenderly.
+
+"I dunno, but he's awful happy, now he's going to stay with us."
+
+"Call 'im 'Happy Pete'," said the cobbler, smiling, "an' we'll take
+'im into our club; shall we, kid?"
+
+So Happy Pete was gathered that day into the bosom of the "Happy in
+Spite."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+WHAT HAPPENED TO JINNIE
+
+
+With a sigh Jinnie allowed Lafe to buckle the shortwood strap to her
+shoulder. Oh, how many days she had gone through a similar operation
+with a similar little sigh!
+
+It was a trying ordeal, that of collecting and selling kindling wood,
+for the men of Paradise Road took the best of the shortwood to be
+found in the nearer swamp and marsh lands, and oftentimes it was
+nearly noon before the girl would begin her sale.
+
+But the one real happiness of her days lay in dropping the pennies she
+earned into Peg's hand.
+
+Now Peggy didn't believe in spoiling men or children, but one morning,
+as she tied a scarf about Jinnie's neck, she arranged the black curls
+with more than usual tenderness.
+
+Pausing at the door and looking back at the woman, Jinnie suddenly
+threw up her head in determination.
+
+"I love you, Peggy," she said, drawing in a long breath. "Give me a
+little kiss, will you?"
+
+There! The cat was out of the bag. In another instant Jinnie would
+know her fate. How she dared to ask such a thing the girl could never
+afterwards tell.
+
+If Peg kissed her, work would be easy. If she denied her----Peggy
+glanced at her, then away again, her eyes shifting uneasily.
+
+But after once taking a stand, Jinnie held her ground. Her mouth was
+pursed up as if she was going to whistle. Would Peg refuse such a
+little request? Evidently Peggy would, for she scoffingly ordered.
+
+"Go along with you, kid--go long, you flip little brat!"
+
+"I'd like a kiss awful much," repeated Jinnie, still standing. Her
+voice was low-toned and pleading, her blue eyes questioningly on Peg's
+face.
+
+Peg shook her head.
+
+"I won't kiss you 'cause I hate you," she sniffed. "I've always hated
+you."
+
+Jinnie's eyes filled with tears.
+
+"I know it," she replied sadly, "I know it, but I'd like a kiss just
+the same because--because I _do_ love _you_, Peg."
+
+A bit of the same sentiment that had worried her for over a year now
+attacked Mrs. Grandoken. Her common sense told her to dash away to the
+kitchen, but a tugging in her breast kept her anchored to the spot.
+Suddenly, without a word, she snatched the girl close to her broad
+breast and pressed her lips on Jinnie's with resounding smacks.
+
+"There! There! And _there_!" she cried, between the kisses. "An' if y'
+ever tell a soul I done it, I'll scrape every inch of skin off'n your
+flesh, an' mebbe I'll do something worse, I hate y' that bad."
+
+In less seconds than it takes to tell it, Peg let Jinnie go, and the
+girl went out of the door with a smiling sigh.
+
+"Kisses 're sweeter'n roses," she murmured, walking to the track. "I
+wish I'd get more of 'em."
+
+She turned back as she heard Peg's voice calling her.
+
+"You might toddle in an' bring home a bit of sausage," said the woman,
+indifferently, "an' five cents' worth of chopped steak."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken watched Jinnie until she turned the corner. She felt a
+strangling sensation in her throat.
+
+A little later she flung the kitchen utensils from place to place, and
+otherwise acted so ugly and out of temper that, had Lafe known the
+whole incident, he would have smiled knowingly at the far-off hill and
+held his peace.
+
+Late in the afternoon Jinnie counted seventeen pennies, one dime and a
+nickel. It was a fortune for any girl to make, and what was better
+yet, buckled to her young shoulders in the shortwood strap was almost
+her next day's supply. As she replaced the money in her pocket and
+walked toward the market, she murmured gravely,
+
+"Mebbe Peg's kisses helped me to get it, but--but I musn't forget
+Lafe's prayers."
+
+Her smile was radiant and self-possessed. She was one of the world's
+workers and loved Lafe and Peg and the world with her whole honest
+young heart.
+
+"Thirty-two cents," she whispered. "That's a pile of money. I wish I
+could buy Lafe a posy. He does love 'em so, and he can't get out like
+Peg and me to see beautiful things."
+
+She stopped before a window where brilliant blossoms were exhibited.
+Ever since she began to work, one of the desires of Jinnie's soul had
+been to purchase a flower. As she scrutinized the scarlet and white
+carnations, the deep red roses, and the twining green vines, she
+murmured.
+
+"Peg loves Lafe even if she does bark at him. She won't mind if I buy
+him one. I'll make more money to-morrow."
+
+She opened the door of the shop and drew her unwieldy burden carefully
+inside. A girl stood back of the counter.
+
+"How much're your roses?" asked Jinnie, nodding toward the window and
+jingling the pennies in her pocket.
+
+"The white ones're five cents a piece," said the clerk, "and the red
+ones're ten.... Do y' want one?"
+
+"I'll take a white one," replied the purchaser.
+
+"Shall I wrap it in paper?" asked the other.
+
+"No, I'll carry it this way. I'd like to look at it going home."
+
+The girl passed the rose to Jinnie.
+
+"It smells nice, too," she commented.
+
+"Yes," assented Jinnie, delightedly, taking a whiff.
+
+Then she went on to the meat market to buy the small amount of meat
+required for the three of them.
+
+One of the men grinned at her from the back of the store, calling,
+"Hello, kid!" and Maudlin Bates, swinging idly on a stool, shouted,
+"What's wanted now, Jinnie?" and still another man came forward with
+the question, "Where'd you get the flower, lass?"
+
+"Bought it," replied Jinnie, leaning against the counter. "I got it
+next door for the cobbler. He's lame and can't get out."
+
+The market man turned to wait upon her.
+
+"Five cents' worth of chopped meat," ordered Jinnie, "and four
+sausages."
+
+"Ain't you afraid you'll overload your stomachs over there at the
+cobbler's shop?" laughed one of the men. "I'll tell you what I'll do,
+Jinnie ... Do you see that ring of sausage hangin' on that hook?"
+
+The girl nodded wonderingly, looking sidewise at Maudlin.
+
+"Well, if you'll give us a dance, a good one, mind you, still keepin'
+the wood on your back, I'll buy you the hull string. It'll last a week
+the way you folks eat meat."
+
+Jinnie's face reddened painfully, but the words appealed to her
+money-earning spirit, and with a curious sensation she glanced around.
+Could she dance, with the wondering, laughing, admiring gaze of the
+men upon her? And Maudlin, too! How she detested his lustful, doltish
+eyes!
+
+She straightened her shoulders, considering. The wood was heavy, and
+the strap, bound tightly about her chest and arms, made her terribly
+tired. But a whole string of sausage was a temptation she could not
+withstand. In her fertile imagination she could see Lafe nod his
+approbation, and Peggy joyously frying her earnings in the pan. She
+might even get three more kisses when no one was looking.
+
+"I don't know what to dance," she said presently, studying the rose in
+her confusion.
+
+"Oh, just anything," encouraged the man on the stool. "I'll whistle a
+tune."
+
+"Hand her the sausage, butcher;" sniggered Maudlin, "then she'll be
+sure of it. The feel of it'll make her dance better."
+
+The speaker grinned as the butcher took the string from the hook.
+Jinnie slipped the stem of the cobbler's rose between her white teeth,
+grasped the sausage in one hand and gripped the shortwood strap with
+the other. Then the man started a rollicking whistle, and Jinnie took
+a step or two.
+
+Every one in the place drew nearer. Here was a sight they never had
+seen--a lovely, shy-eyed, rosy, embarrassed girl, with a load of
+kindling wood on the strong young shoulders, turning and turning in
+the center of the market. In one hand she held a ring of sausage, and
+between her lips a white rose.
+
+"If you'll give us a grand fine dance, lass," encouraged the butcher,
+"you c'n have the chopped meat, too."
+
+The man's offer sifted through Jinnie's tired brain and stimulated her
+to quicker action. She turned again, shifting the weight more squarely
+on her shoulders, her feet keeping perfect time with the shrill,
+whistling tune.
+
+"Faster! Faster!" taunted Maudlin. "Earn your meat, girl! Don't be a
+piker!"
+
+Faster and faster whirled Jinnie, the heft of the shortwood carrying
+her about in great circles. Her cap had fallen from her head, loosing
+the glorious curls, and her breath whistled past the stem of Lafe's
+white flower like night wind past a taut wire.
+
+Jinnie forgot everything but the delight of earning something for her
+loved ones--something that would bring a caress from Lafe. She was
+sure of Lafe, very sure!
+
+As voices called "Faster!" and still "Faster!" Jinnie let go the
+shortwood strap to fling aside her curls. Just at that moment she
+whirled nearer Maudlin Bates, who thrust forth his great foot and
+tripped her. As she staggered, not one of those watching had sense
+enough to catch her as she fell. At that moment the door swung open
+and Peg Grandoken's face appeared. She looked questioningly at the
+market man.
+
+"I thought I saw Jinnie come in," she hesitated----
+
+Then realizing something was wrong, her eyes fell upon the stricken
+girl.
+
+"She was just earnin' a little sausage by dancin'," the butcher
+excused.
+
+Peggy stared and stared, stunned for the moment. The hangdog
+expression on Maudlin's face expressed his crime better than words
+would have done. Jinnie's little form was huddled against the counter,
+the shortwood scattered around her, and from her forehead blood was
+oozing. On the slender arm was the ring of sausage and between her set
+teeth was Lafe's pale rose. With her outraged soul shining in her
+eyes, Peggy gathered the unconscious girl in her two strong arms.
+
+"I bet _you_ done it, you damn Maudlin!" she gritted, and without
+another word, left the market.
+
+Within a few minutes she had laid Jinnie on her bed, and was telling
+Lafe the pathetic story.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+WATCHING
+
+
+There was absolute quiet in the home of the cobbler for over a week.
+The house hung heavy with gloom. Jinnie Grandoken was fighting a
+ghastlier monster than even old Matty had created for her amusement.
+
+Of course Jinnie didn't realize this, but two patient watchers knew,
+and so did a little black dog. To say that Lafe suffered, as Peggy
+repeated over and over to him the story of Jinnie's loving act, would
+be words of small import, and through the night hours, when the
+cobbler relieved his wife at the sick girl's bed, shapes black and
+forbidding rose before him, menacing the child he'd vowed to protect.
+
+Could it be that Maudlin Bates had anything to do with Jinnie's fall?
+Even so, he was powerless to shield her from the young wood gatherer.
+A more perplexing problem had never faced his paternal soul. After his
+little son had gone away, there had been no child to love until--and
+now as he looked at Jinnie, agony surged through him with the memory
+of that other agony--for she might go to little Lafe.
+
+There came again the stabbing pain born with Peg's tale of the dance.
+The white rose lay withered in the cobbler's bosom where it had been
+since his girl had been carried to what the doctor said would in all
+probability be her deathbed. It was on nights like this that dead
+memories, with solemn mien, raced from their graves, haunting the
+lame man. Even Lafe's wonderful portion of faith had diminished during
+the past few days. He found himself praying mighty prayers that Jinnie
+would be spared, yet in mental bitterness visualizing her death. Oh,
+to keep yet a while within the confines of his life the child he
+loved!
+
+"Let 'er stay, Lord dear, let my Rose o' Paradise stay," Lafe cried
+out into the shadowy night, time and time again.
+
+Peggy came, as she often did, to wheel him away and order him to bed,
+but this evening Lafe told Peg he'd rather stay with Jinnie.
+
+"She looks like death," he whispered unnerved.
+
+"She is almost dead," replied the woman grimly.
+
+The doctor entered with silent tread. Stealing to the bed, he put his
+hand on the girl's brow.
+
+"She's better," he whispered, smilingly. "Look! Damp! Nothing could be
+a surer sign!"
+
+"May the good God be praised!" moaned Lafe.
+
+Jinnie stirred, lifted her heavy lids, and surveyed the room vacantly.
+Her glance passed over the medical man as if he were not within the
+range of her vision. She gazed at Lafe only, with but a faint glimmer
+of recognition, then on to Peg wavered the sunken blue eyes.
+
+"Drink of water, Peggy dear," she whispered.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken dropped the fluid into the open, parched mouth from a
+spoon; then she bent low to catch the stammering words:
+
+"Did Lafe like the rose, Peggy, and did you get the ring of sausage?"
+
+Peg glanced at the doctor, a question struggling to her lips, but she
+could not frame the words.
+
+"Tell her 'yes'," said the man under his breath.
+
+"Lafe just doted on the flower, honey," acknowledged Peggy, bending
+over the bed, "and I cooked all the sausage, an' we two et 'em. They
+was finer'n silk.... Now go to sleep; will you?"
+
+"Sure," trembled Jinnie. "Put Happy Pete in my arms, dear."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked once more at the doctor. He nodded his head
+slightly.
+
+So with the dog clasped in her arms, Jinnie straightway fell asleep.
+
+Then Peggy wheeled Lafe away to bed, and as she helped him from the
+chair, she said:
+
+"I lied to her just now with my own mouth, Lafe. I told her we et them
+sausages. We couldn't eat 'em 'cause they was all mashed up an'
+covered with blood."
+
+The cobbler's eyes searched the mottled face of the speaker.
+
+"That kind of lies 're blessed by God in his Heaven, Peg," he breathed
+tenderly. "A lie lendin' a helpin' hand to a sick lass is better'n
+most truths."
+
+Before going to bed Peg peeped in at Jinnie. The girl still lay with
+her arm over the sleeping Pete, her eyes roving round the room. She
+caught sight of the silent woman, and a troubled line formed between
+her brows.
+
+"How're you going to get money to live, Peggy?" she wailed. "I'm just
+beginning to remember about the dance and getting hurt."
+
+Peggy stood a moment at the foot of the bed.
+
+"Lafe's got a whole pocket full o' money," she returned glibly.
+
+"That's nice," sighed the girl in relief.
+
+"Shut up now an' go to sleep! Lafe's got enough cash to last a
+month."
+
+And as the white lids drooped over the violet eyes, Peg Grandoken's
+guardian angel registered another lie to her credit in the life-book
+of her Heavenly Father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+WHAT JINNIE FOUND ON THE HILL
+
+
+The days rolled on and on, and the first warm impulses of spring
+brought Jinnie, pale and thin, back to Lafe's side.
+
+She was growing so strong that days when the weather permitted, Peg
+put a wrap on her, telling her to breathe some color into her cheeks.
+
+For a long time Jinnie was willing to remain quietly on the hut steps
+where she could see the cobbler whacking away on the torn footwear.
+She knew that if she looked long enough, he would glance up and smile
+the smile which always warmed the cockles of her loving heart.
+
+As she grew better, and therefore restless, she walked with Happy Pete
+along the cinder path beside the tracks. Each day she went a little
+further than the day before, the spirit of adventure beginning to live
+again within her. The confines of her narrow world were no longer kept
+taut by the necessity of selling wood, and to-day it seemed to broaden
+to the far-away hill from whence the numberless fingers of shadow and
+sunshine beckoned to the sentimental girl.
+
+She wandered through Paradise Road with the little dog as a companion,
+and finding her way to the board walk, strolled slowly along.
+
+Wandering up above the city, she discovered a lonely spot snuggled in
+the hills, and gathering Happy Pete into her arms, she lay down. Over
+her head countless birds sang in the sunshine, and just below, in the
+hollow, were squirrels, chattering out their happy existence.
+Dreamily, through the leaves of the trees, Jinnie watched the white
+clouds float across the sky like flocks of sheep, and soon the peace
+of the surrounding world lulled her to rest.
+
+When Happy Pete touched her with his slender tongue, Jinnie sat up,
+staring sleepily around. At a sound, she turned her head and caught
+sight of a little boy, whose tangled hair lay in yellow curls on his
+head.
+
+The sight of tears and boyish distress made Jinnie start quickly
+toward him, but he seemed so timid and afraid she did not speak.
+
+Suddenly, two slight, twig-scratched arms fluttered toward her, and
+still without a word Jinnie took the trembling hands into hers. Happy
+Pete crawled cautiously to the girl's side; then, realizing something
+unusual, he threw up his black-tipped nose and whined. At the faint
+howl, the boy's hands quivered violently in Jinnie's. He caught his
+breath painfully.
+
+"Oh, who're you? Are you a boy or a girl?"
+
+His eyes were touched with an indefinable expression. Jinnie flushed
+as she scanned for a moment her calico skirt and overhanging blouse.
+Then with a tragic expression she released her hands, and ran her
+fingers through her hair. With such long curls did she look like a
+boy?
+
+"I'm a girl," she said. "Can't you see I'm a girl?"
+
+"I'm blind," said the boy, "so--so I had to ask you."
+
+Jinnie leaned forward and scrutinized him intently.
+
+"You mean," she demanded brokenly, "that you can't see me, nor Happy
+Pete, nor the trees, nor the birds, nor the squirrels, skipping
+around?"
+
+The boy bowed his head in assent, but brightened almost instantly.
+
+"No, I can't see those things, but I've got lots of stars inside my
+head. They're as bright as anything, only sometimes my tears put 'em
+out."
+
+Then, as if he feared he would lose his new friend, he felt for her
+hand once more.
+
+Jinnie returned the clinging pressure. For the second time in her life
+her heart beat with that strange emotion--the protective instinct she
+had felt for her father. She knew at that moment she loved this little
+lad, with his wide-staring, unseeing eyes.
+
+"I'm lost," said the boy, sighing deeply, "and I cried ever so long,
+but nobody would come, and my stars all went out."
+
+"Tell me about your stars," she said eagerly. "Are they sky stars?"
+
+"I dunno what sky stars are. My stars shine in my head lovely and I
+get warm. I'm cold all over and my heart hurts when they go out."
+
+"Oh!" murmured Jinnie. "I wish they'd always shine."
+
+"So do I." Then lifting an eager, sparkling face, he continued,
+"They're shinin' now, 'cause I found you."
+
+"Where're your folks?" asked Jinnie, swallowing hard.
+
+"I dunno. I lost 'em a long time ago, and went to live with Mag. She
+licked me every day, so--I just runned away--I've been here a awful
+long time."
+
+Jinnie considered a moment before explaining an idea that had slipped
+into her mind as if it belonged there. She would take him home with
+her.
+
+"You're going to Lafe's house," she announced presently. "Happy Pete
+and me and Peg live at Lafe Grandoken's home. Peggy makes bully
+soup."
+
+"And I'm so hungry," sighed the boy. "Where's the dog I heard
+barking?"
+
+He withdrew his hands, moving them outward, searching for something.
+The girl tried to push Pete forward, but the dog only snuggled closer
+to her.
+
+"Petey, dear, I'm ashamed of you!" she chided lovingly. "Can't you see
+the little fellow's trying to feel you?"
+
+Then Happy Pete, as if he also were ashamed, came within reach of the
+wavering hands, and crouched low, to be looked over with ten slender
+finger tips.
+
+"He's awful beautiful!" exclaimed the boy. "His hair's softer'n silk,
+and his body's as warm as warm can be."
+
+Jinnie contemplated Happy Pete's points of beauty. Never before had
+she thought him anything more than a homely, lovable dog, with squat
+little legs, and a pointed nose. In lightninglike comparison she
+brought to her mind the things she always considered beautiful--the
+spring violets, the summer roses, that belt of wonderful color
+skirting the afternoon horizon, and all the wonders of nature of which
+her romantic world consisted. The contrast between these and the
+shaking black dog, with his smudge of tangled hair hanging over his
+eyes, shocked Jinnie's artistic sense.
+
+"If----if you say he's beautiful, then he is," she stammered almost
+inaudibly.
+
+"Of course he is! What's your name?"
+
+"Jinnie. Jinnie Grandoken... What's yours?"
+
+"Blind Bobbie, or sometimes just Bobbie."
+
+"Well, I'll call you Bobbie, if you want me to.... I like you awful
+well. I feel it right in here."
+
+She pressed the boy's fingers to her side.
+
+"Oh, that's your heart!" he exclaimed. "I got one too! Feel it jump!"
+
+Jinnie's fingers pressed the spot indicated by the little boy.
+
+"My goodness," she exclaimed, "it'll jump out of your mouth, won't
+it?"
+
+"Nope! It always beats like that!"
+
+"Where's your mother?" asked Jinnie after a space.
+
+"I suppose she's dead, or Mag wouldn't a had me. I don't know very
+much, but I 'member how my mother's hands feel. They were soft and
+warm. She used to come to see me at the woman's house who died--the
+one who give me to Mag."
+
+"She must have been a lovely mother," commented Jinnie.
+
+"She were! Mag tried to find her 'cause she said she was rich, and
+when she couldn't, she beat me. I thought mebbe I'd find mother out in
+the street. That's why I run away."
+
+Jinnie thought of her own dead father, and the child's halting tale
+brought back that one night of agony when Thomas Singleton died, alone
+and unloved, save for herself. She wanted to cry, but instead she
+murmured, "Happy in Spite," as Lafe had bidden her, and the melting
+mood vanished. The cobbler and his club were always wonderfully
+helpful to Jinnie.
+
+"My mother told me onct," Bobbie went on, "she didn't have nothin' to
+live for. I was blind, you see, and wasn't any good--was I?"
+
+The question, pathetically put, prompted Virginia to fling back a
+ready answer.
+
+"You're good 'nough for me and Happy Pete," she asserted, "and Lafe'll
+let you be his little boy too."
+
+The blind child gasped, and the girl continued assuringly, "Peg'll
+love you, too. She couldn't help it."
+
+"Peg?" queried Bobbie.
+
+"Oh, she's Lafe's wife. Happy Pete and me stay in her house."
+
+The blind eyes flashed with sudden hope.
+
+"Mebbe she'll love me a little! Will she?"
+
+"I hope so. Anyway, Lafe will. He loves everybody, even dogs. He'll
+love you; _sure_ he will!"
+
+The boy shook his head doubtfully.
+
+"Nobody but mothers are nice to blind kids. Well--well--'cept you. I'd
+like to go to Lafe's house, though, but mebbe the woman wouldn't want
+me."
+
+Jinnie had her own ideas about this, but because the child's tears
+fell hot upon her hands, the mother within her grew to greater
+proportions. Three times she repeated softly, "Happy in Spite."
+
+"Happy in Spite," she whispered again. Then she sat up with a
+brilliant smile.
+
+"Of course I'm going to take you to Lafe's. Here at Lafe's my heart's
+awful busy loving everybody. Now I've got you I'm going to take care
+of you, 'cause I love you just like the rest. Stand up and let me wipe
+your nose."
+
+"Let me see how you look, first," faltered the boy. "Where's your
+face?... I want to touch it!"
+
+His little hands reached and found Jinnie's shoulders. Then slowly the
+fingers moved upwards, pressing here and there upon the girl's skin,
+as they traveled in rhythmic motion over her cheeks.
+
+"Your hair's awful curly and long," said he. "What color is it?"
+
+"Color? Well, it's black with purple running through it, I guess.
+People say so anyway!"
+
+"Oh, yes, I know what black is. And your eyes're blue, ain't they?"
+
+"Yes, blue," assented Jinnie. "I see 'em when I slick my hair in the
+kitchen glass ... I don't think they're much like yours."
+
+Bobbie paid no heed to the allusion to himself.
+
+"Your forehead's smooth, too," he mused. "Your eyes are big, and the
+lashes round 'em 're long. You're much prettier'n your dog, but then
+girls 're always pretty."
+
+A flush of pleased vanity reddened Jinnie's skin to the tips of her
+ears, and she scrambled to her feet. Then she paused, a solemn
+expression shadowing her eyes.
+
+"Bobbie," she spoke soberly, "now I found you, you belong to me, don't
+you?"
+
+Bobbie thrust forth his hands.
+
+"Yes, yes," he breathed.
+
+"Then from now on, from this minute, I'm going to work for you."
+
+Jinnie's thoughts were on the shortwood strap, but she didn't mention
+it. Oh, how she would work for money to give Peg with which to buy
+food! How happy she would be in the absolute ownership of the boy she
+had discovered in the hills! Tenderly she drew him to her. He seemed
+so pitifully helpless.
+
+"How old 're you?" she demanded.
+
+"Nine years old."
+
+"You don't look over five," said Jinnie, surprised.
+
+"That's because I'm always sick," explained the boy.
+
+Jinnie threw up her head.
+
+"Well, a girl sixteen ought to be able to help an awful little boy,
+oughtn't she?... Here, I'll put my arm round you, right like this."
+
+But the boy made a backward step, so that Jinnie, thinking he was
+about to fall, caught him sharply by the arm.
+
+"I'll walk if you'll _lead_ me," Bobbie explained proudly.
+
+Thus rebuffed, Jinnie turned the blind face toward the east, and
+together they made their way slowly to the plank walk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+"HE'S COME TO LIVE WITH US, PEGGY"
+
+
+They trailed along in silence, the girl watching the birds as flock
+after flock disappeared in the north woods. Now and then, when Jinnie
+looked at the boy, she felt the pride which comes only with
+possession. She was going to work for him, to intercede with Peg, to
+allow the foundling to join that precious home circle where the
+cobbler and his wife reigned supreme.
+
+As they reached the plank walk, the boy lagged back.
+
+"I'm tired, girl," he panted. "I've walked till I'm just near dead."
+
+He cried quietly as Jinnie led him into the shadow of a tree.
+
+"Sit here with me," she invited. "Lay your head on my arm."
+
+And this time he snuggled to her till the blind eyes and the pursed
+delicate mouth were hidden against her arm.
+
+"I told you, Bobbie," Jinnie resumed presently, "I'd let you be Lafe's
+little boy, didn't I?"
+
+"Yes, girl," replied the boy, sleepily.
+
+"Now wasn't that awful good of me?"
+
+"Awful good," was the dreamy answer. "My stars're glory bright now."
+
+"And most likely Lafe'll help you see with your eyes, just like Happy
+Pete and me!" Jinnie went on eagerly. "All the trees and hundreds of
+birds, some of 'em yellow and some of 'em red, an' some of 'em so
+little and cunning they could jump through the knothole in Peg's
+kitchen.... Don't you wish to see all that?"
+
+The small face brightened and the unseeing eyes flashed upward.
+
+"I'd find my mother, then," breathed Bobbie.
+
+"And you'd see a big high tree, with a robin making his nest in it!...
+Have y' ever seen that?"
+
+Jinnie was becoming almost aggressive, for, womanlike, with a point to
+make, each argument was driven home with more power.
+
+"No," Bobbie admitted, and his voice held a certain tragic little
+note.
+
+"And you've never seen the red running along the edge of the sky, just
+when the sun's going down?"
+
+Again his answer was a simple negative.
+
+"And hasn't anybody tried to show you a cow and her calf in the
+country, nipping the grass all day, in the yellow sunshine?"
+
+Jinnie was waxing eloquent, and her words held high-sounding hope. The
+interest in the child's face invited her to go on.
+
+"Now I've said I'd let my folks be yours, and didn't I find you, and
+have you got any one else? If you don't let me help you to Lafe's, how
+you going to see any of 'em?" She paused before delivering her best
+point, which was addressed quite indifferently to the sky. "And just
+think of that hot soup!"
+
+This was enough. Bobbie struggled up, flushed and agitated.
+
+"Put your arm around me, girl," which invitation Jinnie quickly
+accepted.
+
+Then they two, so unlike, went slowly down the walk toward the tracks
+to Lafe Grandoken's home.
+
+Jinnie's heart vied with a trip-hammer as they turned into Paradise
+Road. She did not fear the cobbler, but the thought of Peggy's harsh
+voice, her ruthless catechizing, worried her not a little.
+Nevertheless, she kept her arm about the boy, steadily drawing him on.
+When they came to the side door of the house, the girl turned the
+handle and walked in, leading her weary companion.
+
+Resolutely she passed on to the kitchen, for she wanted the
+disagreeable part over first. She fumbled in hesitation with the knob
+of the door, and Peg, hearing her, opened it. At first, the woman saw
+only Jinnie, with Happy Pete by her side. Then her gaze fell upon the
+other child, whose blind, entreating eyes were turned upward in
+supplication.
+
+"This is Bobbie," announced Jinnie, "and he's come to live with us,
+Peggy."
+
+Poor Peggy stared, surprised to silence. She could find no words to
+fit the occasion.
+
+"He hasn't any home!" Jinnie gasped for breath in her excitement.
+"Mag, a woman somewhere, beat him and he ran away and I found 'im. So
+he belongs to us now."
+
+She was gaining assurance every moment. She hoped that Peggy was
+silently acquiescing, for the woman hadn't uttered a word; she was
+merely looking from one to the other with her characteristically blank
+expression.
+
+"I'm going to give him half of Lafe, too," confided Jinnie, nodding
+her head toward the waiting child.
+
+Then Peggy burst forth in righteous indignation. She demanded to know
+how another mouth was to be fed, and clothes washed and mended; where
+the brat was to sleep, and what good he was anyway.
+
+"Do you think, kid," she stormed at Jinnie, "you're so good yourself
+we're wantin' to take another one worser off'n you are? Don't believe
+it! He can't stay here!"
+
+Jinnie held her ground bravely.
+
+"Oh, I'll start right out and sell wood all day long, if you'll let
+him stay, Peg."
+
+A tousled lock of yellow hair hung over Bobbie's eyes.
+
+"Oh, Peggy, dear, Mrs. Good Peggy, let me stay!" he moaned, swaying.
+"I'm so tired, s'awful tired. I can't find my mother, nor no place,
+and my stars're all out!"
+
+Sobbing plaintively, he sank to the floor, and there the childish
+heart laid bare its misery. Then Jinnie, too, became quite limp, and
+forgetting all about "Happy in Spite," she knelt alongside of her
+newly acquired friend, and the two despairing young voices rose to the
+woman standing over them. Jinnie thrust her arms around the little
+boy.
+
+"Don't cry, my Bobbie," she sobbed. "I'll go back to the hills with
+you, because you need me. We'll live with the birds and squirrels, and
+I'll sell wood so we c'n eat."
+
+When she raised her reproachful eyes to Peg, and finished with a swipe
+at her offending nose with her sleeve, she had never looked more
+beautiful, and Peggy glanced away, fearing she might weaken.
+
+"Tell Lafe I love him, and I love you, too, Peggy. I'll come every day
+and see you both, and bring you some money."
+
+If she had been ten years older or had spent months framing a speech
+to fit the need of this occasion, Jinnie could not have been more
+effective, for Peg's rage entirely ebbed at these words.
+
+"Get up, you brats," she ordered grimly. "An' you listen to me, Jinnie
+Grandoken. Your Bobbie c'n stay, but if you ever, so long as you live,
+bring another maimed, lame or blind creature to this house, I'll kick
+it out in the street. Now both of you climb up to that table an' eat
+some hot soup."
+
+Jinnie drew a long breath of happiness. She had cried a little, she
+was sorry for that. She had broken her resolve always to smile--to be
+"Happy in Spite."
+
+"I'll _never_ bring any one else in, Peg," she averred gratefully.
+
+Then she remembered how sweeping was her promise and changed it a
+trifle.
+
+"Of course if a kid was awful sick in the street and didn't have a
+home, I'd have to fetch it in, wouldn't I?"
+
+Peggy flounced over to the table, speechless, followed by the two
+children.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+"WHO SAYS THE KID CAN'T STAY?"
+
+
+Twenty minutes later Mrs. Grandoken entered the shop and sat down
+opposite her husband.
+
+"Lafe," she began, clearing her throat.
+
+The cobbler questioned her with a glance.
+
+"That girl'll be the death of this hull shanty," she announced
+huskily. "I hate 'er more'n anything in the world."
+
+Lafe placed a half-mended shoe beside him on the bench.
+
+"What's ailin' 'er now, Peggy?"
+
+"Oh, she ain't sick," interrupted Peg, with curling lip. "She never
+looked better'n she does this minute, settin' in there huddlin' that
+pup, but she's brought home another kid, as bad off as a kid can be."
+
+"A what? What'd you say, Peg? You don't mean a youngster!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken bobbed her head, her face stoically expressionless.
+"An' bad off," she repeated querulously. "The young 'un's blind."
+
+Before Lafe's mental vision rose Jinnie's lovely face, her parted lips
+and self-assured smile.
+
+"But where'd she get it? It must belong to some 'un."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shook her head.
+
+"I dunno. It's a boy. He was with a woman--a bad 'un, I gather. She
+beat 'im until the little feller ran away to find his own folks, he
+says--and--Jinnie brought 'im home here. She says she's goin' to keep
+'im."
+
+The speaker drew her brown skin into a network of wrinkles.
+
+"Where'd she find 'im?" Lafe burst forth, "Of course he can't
+stay----"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken checked the cobbler's words with a rough gesture.
+
+"Hush a minute! She got 'im over near the plank walk on the hill--he
+was cryin' for 'is ma."
+
+Lafe was plainly agitated. He felt a spasmodic clutch at his heart
+when he imagined the sorrow of a homeless, blind child, but thinking
+of Peg's struggle to make a little go a long way, he dashed his
+sympathy resolutely aside.
+
+"Of course he can't stay--he can't!" he murmured. "It ain't possible
+for you to keep 'im here."
+
+In his excitement Lafe bent forward and closed his hands over Peg's
+massive shoulder bones. Peggy coughed hoarsely and looked away.
+
+"Who says the kid can't stay?" she muttered roughly. "Who said he
+can't?"
+
+The words jumped off the woman's tongue in sullen defiance.
+
+"But you got too much to do now, Peg. We've made you a lot of trouble,
+woman dear, an' you sure don't want to take another----"
+
+Like a flash, Peg's features changed. She squinted sidewise as if a
+strong light suddenly hurt her sight.
+
+"Who said I didn't?" she drawled. "Some husbands do make me mad, when
+they're tellin' me what I want, an' what I don't want. I hate the
+blind brat like I do the girl, but he's goin' to stay just the same."
+
+A deep flush dyed Lafe's gray face. The intensity of his emotion was
+almost a pain. Life had ever vouchsafed Lafe Grandoken encouragement
+when the dawn was darkest. Now Peg's personal insult lined his clouds
+of fear with silver, and they sailed away in rapid succession as
+quickly as they had come; he saw them going like shadows under
+advancing sun rays.
+
+"Peggy," he said, touching her gently, "you've the biggest heart in
+all the world, and you're the very best woman; you be, sure! If you
+let the poor little kid stay, I'll make more money, if God gives me
+strength."
+
+Peggy pushed Lafe's hand from her arm.
+
+"I 'spose if you do happen to get five cents more, you'll puff out
+with pride till you most bust.... Anyway, it won't take much more to
+buy grub for a kid with an appetite like a bird.... Come on! I'll
+wheel you to the kitchen so you can have a look at 'im."
+
+Jinnie glanced around as the husband and wife entered the room. She
+pushed Happy Pete from her lap and got up.
+
+"Lafe," she exclaimed, "this is Bobbie--he's come to live with us."
+
+She drew the blind boy from his chair and went forward.
+
+"Bobbie," she explained, "this is the cobbler. I told you about him in
+the park. See 'im with your fingers once, and you'll know he's the
+best man ever."
+
+The small boy lifted two frail arms, his lips quivering in fright and
+homesickness. Some feeling created by God rose insistent within Lafe.
+It was a response from the heart of the Good Shepherd, who had always
+gathered into his fold the bruised ones of the world. Lafe drew the
+child to his lap.
+
+"Poor little thing!" he murmured sadly.
+
+With curling lips, his wife stood watching the pair.
+
+"You're a bigger fool'n I thought you was, Lafe Grandoken," she said,
+turning away sharply. "I wouldn't make such a fuss over no one livin'.
+That's just what I wouldn't."
+
+She threw the last remark over her shoulder as if it were something
+she spurned and wanted to be rid of.
+
+Bobbie slipped from Lafe's arms and described a zigzag course across
+the kitchen floor toward the place where Mrs. Grandoken stood. His
+hands fluttered over Peg's dress, as high as they could reach.
+
+"I like you awful well, Mrs. Peggy," he told her, "and I just love
+your kisses, too, Mrs. Peggy dear. They made my stars shine all over
+my head."
+
+The cobbler's wife started guiltily, casting her eyes upon Lafe. He
+was silent, his patient face expressing melancholy sweetness. As far
+as the woman could determine, he had not heard the boy's words.
+Relieved, she allowed her eyes to rest upon Jinnie. The girl was
+looking directly at her. Then Jinnie slowly dropped one white lid over
+a bright, gleeful blue eye in a wicked little wink. This was more than
+Peggy could endure. She _had_ kissed the little boy several times
+during the process of washing the tear-stained face and combing the
+tangled hair, but that any one should know it! Just then, Peggy
+secretly said to herself, "If uther one of them kids get any more
+kisses from me, it'll be when water runs uphill. I 'spose now I'll
+never hear the last of them smacks."
+
+"Let go my skirt! Get away, kid," she ordered Bobbie.
+
+The boy dropped his hands reluctantly. He had hoped for another kiss.
+
+"Peggy," said Lafe, "can I hold him? He seems so sad."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, consciously grim, placed the boy in her husband's
+lap.
+
+"You see," philosophized Jinnie, when she and the blind child were
+with the cobbler, "if a blind kid hasn't any place to live, the girl
+who finds 'im has to bring him home! Huh, Lafe?"
+
+Then she whispered in his ear, "Couldn't Bobbie join the 'Happy in
+Spite'?"
+
+"Sure he can, lass; sure he can," assented Lafe.
+
+Jinnie whirled back to the little boy.
+
+"Bobbie, would you like to come in a club that'll make you happy as
+long's you live?"
+
+The bright blind eyes of the boy flashed from Jinnie to the man, and
+he got to his feet tremulously. In his little mind, out of which
+daylight was shut, Jinnie's words presaged great joy. The girl took
+his hand and led him to the cobbler.
+
+"You'll have to explain the club to 'im, Lafe," she said.
+
+"Yes, 'splain it to me, Lafe dearie," purred Bobbie.
+
+"It's just a club," began Lafe, "only good to keep a body happy. Now,
+me--well, I'm happy in spite a-havin' no legs; Jinnie there, she's
+happy in spite a-havin' no folks. Her and me's happy in spite a
+everything."
+
+Bobbie stood alongside Lafe's bench, one busy set of fingers picking
+rhythmically at the cobbler's coat, the other having sought and found
+his hand.
+
+"I want to be in the club, cobbler," he whispered.
+
+Mr. Grandoken stooped and kissed the quivering face.
+
+"An' you'll be happy in spite a havin' no eyes?" he questioned.
+
+The little boy, pressing his cheek against the man's arm, cooed in
+delight.
+
+"And happy in spite of not finding your mother right yet?" interjected
+Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, yes, 'cause I _am_ happy. I got my beautiful Peggy, ain't I? And
+don't she make me a hull lot of fine soup, and ain't I got Lafe, Happy
+Pete----"
+
+"You got me, too, Bobbie," Jinnie reminded him gently.
+
+Bobbie acquiesced by a quick bend of his head, and Lafe grasped his
+hand.
+
+"Now you're a member of the 'Happy in Spite', Bob," said he smiling.
+"This club is what I call a growin' affair. Four members----"
+
+"Everybody's in," burst forth Jinnie.
+
+"Except Peggy," sighed Lafe. "Some day something'll bring her in,
+too."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+JINNIE'S EAR GETS A TWEAK
+
+
+Bobbie had been at the Grandoken home scarcely a week before Jinnie
+again got into difficulty. One morning, wide-awake, beside the blind
+boy, she happened to glance toward the door. There stood Peg, her face
+distorted by rage, staring at her with terrible eyes. Jinnie sat up in
+a twinkling.
+
+"What is it, Peggy, dear?" she faltered. "What have I done now?"
+
+Without reply, Peggy marched to the bed and took the girl by the ear.
+In this way she pulled her to the floor, walking her ahead of her to
+the kitchen.
+
+"I don't know what I've done, Peggy," repeated Jinnie, meekly.
+
+"I'll show you. You'll know, all right, miss! Now if you've eyes,
+squint down there!"
+
+She was pointing to the floor, and as the room was rather dark, Jinnie
+at first could discern nothing. Then as her eyes became accustomed to
+the shadows, she saw----
+
+"Oh, what is it, Peggy? Oh, my! Oh, my!"
+
+Peggy gave her a rough little shake.
+
+"I'll tell you what, Jinnie Grandoken, without any more ado. Well,
+they're cats, just plain everyday cats! Another batch of Miss Milly
+Ann's kits, if y' want to know. They can't stay in this house, miss,
+an' when I say a thing, I mean it! My word's law in this shanty!"
+
+She was still holding the girl's ear, and suddenly gave it another
+tweak. Jinnie pulled this tender member from Peggy's fingers with a
+delighted little chuckle.
+
+"Peggy darling, aren't they sweet? Oh, Peggy----"
+
+"Ain't they sweet?" mimicked Peggy. "They're just sweet 'nough to get
+chucked out. Now, you get dressed, an' take 'em somewhere. D' you
+hear?"
+
+Jinnie wheeled about for another tug of war. It was dreadful how she
+had to fight with Peggy to get her own way about things like this.
+First with Happy Pete, then with Bobbie, and now--to-day--with five
+small kittens, not one of them larger than the blind child's hand. She
+looked into Mrs. Grandoken's face, which was still grim, but Jinnie
+decided not quite so grim as when the woman appeared at her bedroom
+door.
+
+"I suppose you'll go in an' honey round Lafe in a minute, thinkin'
+he'll help you keep 'em," said Mrs. Grandoken. "But this time it won't
+do no good."
+
+"Peggy!" blurted Jinnie.
+
+"Shut your mouth! An' don't be Peggyin' me, or I'll swat you," vowed
+Peg.
+
+The woman glared witheringly into a pair of beseeching blue eyes.
+
+"Get into your clothes, kid," she ordered immediately, "then you----"
+
+"Then I'll come back, dear," gurgled Jinnie, "and do just what you
+want me to." Then with subtle modification, she continued, "I mean,
+Peg, I'll do just what you want me to after I've talked about it a
+bit... Oh, please, let me give 'em one little kiss apiece."
+
+Peggy flounced to the stove.
+
+"Be a fool an' kiss 'em if you want to... I hate 'em."
+
+In the coarse nightdress Peggy had made for her, Jinnie sat down
+beside Milly Ann. The yellow mother purred in delight. She'd brought
+them five new babies, and no idea entered her mother heart that she
+would have to part with even one.
+
+Out came the kittens into the girl's lap, and one by one they were
+tenderly lifted to be kissed. Both Peggy and the kisser were silent
+while this loving operation was in process. Then Jinnie, still
+sitting, looked from Milly Ann to Peggy.
+
+"I guess she's awful fond of her children, don't you, Peg?"
+
+Peggy didn't answer.
+
+"You see it's like this, Peg----"
+
+"Didn't I tell you not to Peggy me?"
+
+"Then it's like this, darling," drawled Jinnie, trying to be
+obedient.
+
+"An' you needn't darlin' me nuther," snapped Peggy.
+
+Jinnie thought a minute.
+
+"Then it's like this, honey bunch," she smiled again.
+
+Peg whirled around on her.
+
+"Say, you kid----"
+
+"Wait, dearie!" implored Jinnie. "Don't you know mother cats always
+love their kitties just like live mothers do their babies?"
+
+Peggy rattled the stove lids outrageously. Hearing these words, she
+stopped abruptly. Who knows where her thoughts flew? Jinnie didn't,
+for sure, but she thought, by the sudden change of Mrs. Grandoken's
+expression, she could guess.
+
+The woman looked from Milly Ann to the wriggling kittens in Jinnie's
+lap, then she stooped down and again brought to view Jinnie's little
+ear tucked away under the black curls.
+
+"Get up out o' here an' dress; will you? I've said them cats've got to
+go, and go they will!"
+
+Jinnie returned the kittens to their mother, and when she got back to
+her room, Bobbie was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes.
+
+"I couldn't find you, girl," he whimpered. "I felt the bed over and
+you was gone."
+
+Jinnie bent over him.
+
+"Peg took me out in the kitchen, dear... What do you think, Bobbie?"
+
+Bobbie began to tremble.
+
+"I got to go away from here ... eh?"
+
+"Mercy, no!" laughed Jinnie. "Milly Ann's got a lot of new babies."
+
+Bobbie gave a delighted squeal.
+
+"Now I'll have something else to love, won't I?" he gurgled.
+
+Jinnie hoped so! But she hadn't yet received Peg's consent to keep the
+family, so when the little boy was dressed and she had combed her hair
+and dressed herself, they went into the shop, where the cobbler met
+them with a smile.
+
+"Peg's mad," Jinnie observed with a comprehensive glance at Mr.
+Grandoken.
+
+"Quite so," replied Lafe, grinning over the bowl of his pipe. "She had
+frost on her face a inch thick when she discovered them cats. I
+thought she'd hop right out of the window."
+
+"She says I must throw 'em away," ventured Jinnie.
+
+"Cluck! Cluck!" struck Lafe's tongue against the roof of his mouth,
+and he smiled. Jinnie loved that cluck. It put her in mind of the
+Mottville mother hens scratching for their chickens.
+
+"Hain't she ever said anything like that to you before, lass?" the
+cobbler suggested presently.
+
+"She said it about me," piped in Bobbie.
+
+"An' about Happy Pete, too," added Lafe.
+
+"I bet I keep 'em," giggled Jinnie.
+
+"I'll bet with you, kid," said the cobbler gravely.
+
+"I want to see 'em!" Bobbie clamored with a squeak.
+
+But he'd no more than made the statement before the door burst
+violently open and Peg stood before them. Her apron was gathered
+together in front, held by one gripping hand; something moved against
+her knees as if it were alive. In the other hand was Milly Ann,
+carried by the nape of her neck, hanging straight down at the woman's
+side, her long yellow tail dragging on the floor. The woman looked
+like an avenging angel.
+
+"I've come to tell you folks something," she imparted in a very loud
+voice. "Here's this blasted ragtail, that's went an' had this batch of
+five cats. Now I'm goin' to warn y' all----"
+
+Bobbie interrupted her with a little yelp.
+
+"Let me love one, Peggy, dear," he begged.
+
+"I'm goin' to warn you folks," went on Peg, without heeding the
+child's interjection, "that--if--you don't want their necks wrung,
+you'd better keep 'em out of my way."
+
+Saying this, she dropped the mother cat with a soft thud, and without
+looking up, dumped the kittens on top of her, and stalked out of the
+room.
+
+When Jinnie appeared five minutes later in the kitchen with a small
+kitten in her hand, Peg was stirring the mush for breakfast.
+
+"You hate the kitties, eh, Peg?" asked Jinnie.
+
+The two tense wrinkles at the corners of Mrs. Grandoken's mouth didn't
+relax by so much as a hair's line.
+
+"Hate 'em!" she snapped, "I should say I do! I hate every one of them
+cats, and I hate you, too! An' if y' don't like it, y' can lump it. If
+the lumps is too big, smash 'em."
+
+"I know you hate us, darling," Jinnie admitted, "but, Peg, I want to
+tell you this: it's ever so much easier to love folks than to hate
+'em, and as long as the kitties're going to stay, I thought mebbe if
+you kissed 'em once--" Then she extended the kitten. "I brought you
+one to try on."
+
+"Well, Lord-a-massy, the girl's crazy!" expostulated Peg. "Keep the
+cats if you're bound to, you kid, but get out of this kitchen or I'll
+kiss you both with the broom."
+
+Jinnie disappeared, and Peggy heard a gleeful laugh as the girl
+scurried back to the shop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+JINNIE DISCOVERS HER KING'S THRONE
+
+
+Two years and almost half of another had passed since Jinnie first
+came to live with Lafe and Peggy Grandoken. These two years had meant
+more to her than all the other fifteen in her life. Lafe, in his
+kindly, fatherly way, daily impressed upon her the need of her
+studying and no day passed without planting some knowledge in the
+eager young mind.
+
+Her mornings were spent gathering shortwood, her afternoons in selling
+it, but the hours outside these money-earning duties were passed
+between her fiddle and her books. The cobbler often remarked that her
+mumbling over those difficult lessons at his side taught him more than
+he'd ever learned in school. Sometimes when they were having
+heart-to-heart talks, Jinnie confided to him her ambitions.
+
+"I'd like to fiddle all my life, Lafe," she told him once. "I wonder
+if people ever made money fiddling; do they, Lafe?"
+
+"I'm afraid not, honey," he answered, sadly.
+
+"But you like it, eh, Lafe?"
+
+"Sure!... Better'n anything."
+
+One day in the early summer, when there was a touch of blue mist in
+the clear, warm air, Jinnie wandered into the wealthy section of the
+town, hoping thereby to establish a new customer or two.
+
+Maudlin Bates had warned her not to enter his territory or to trespass
+upon his part of the marshland, and for that reason she had in the
+past but turned longing eyes to the hillside besprinkled with handsome
+homes.
+
+But Lafe replied, when she told him this, "No section belongs to
+Maudlin alone, honey.... Just go where you like."
+
+She now entered a large open gate into which an automobile had just
+disappeared, and walked toward the house.
+
+She paused to admire the exterior of the mansion. On the front, the
+porches were furnished with rocking chairs and hammocks, but no person
+was in sight. She walked around to the back, but as she was about to
+knock, a voice arrested her action.
+
+"Do you want to see somebody?"
+
+She turned hastily. There before her was her King, the man she had met
+on that memorable night more than two years before. He doffed his cap
+smiling, recognizing her immediately, and Jinnie flushed to the roots
+of her hair, while the shortwood strap slipped slowly from her
+shoulders.
+
+"Ah, you have something to sell?" he interrogated.
+
+Jinnie's tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. She had never
+completely forgotten him, and his smile was a delightful memory. Now
+as he watched her quizzically, all her former admiration returned.
+
+"Well, well," laughed the man, "if this isn't my little violin girl.
+It's a long time since I saw you last.... Do you love your music as
+much as ever?"
+
+Her first glance at him brought the flushing consciousness that she
+was but a shortwood gatherer; the strap and its burden placed a great
+barrier between them. But his question about the fiddle, her fiddle,
+placed her again on equal footing with him. She permitted herself to
+smile.
+
+"I play every day. My uncle loves it, but my aunt doesn't," she
+answered naïvely.
+
+"And you're selling wood?"
+
+"Yes, I must help a little."
+
+She made the assertion proudly, offering no excuse for her chosen
+trade.
+
+"And this is all for sale?" indicating the wood.
+
+"Yes," said Jinnie, looking down upon it.
+
+"I'll take it all," Theodore offered, putting his hand into his
+pocket. "How much do you want for it?"
+
+The girl gave him a puzzled glance. "I don't just know, but I
+wish----I wish I could give it to you without any pay."
+
+She moved a little closer and questioned eagerly:
+
+"Won't you please take it?"
+
+An amused expression crossed the man's handsome face.
+
+"Of course not, my child," he exclaimed. "That wouldn't be business. I
+want to buy it.... How about a dollar?"
+
+Jinnie gasped. A dollar, a whole dollar! She made but little more
+during an entire week; she had made less. A dollar would buy----Then a
+thought flashed across her mind.
+
+"I couldn't take a dollar," she refused, "it's too much. It's only
+worth about twenty cents."
+
+"But if I choose to give you a dollar?" pursued the man.
+
+Again the purple black curls shook decidedly.
+
+"I couldn't take more'n it's worth. My uncle wouldn't like me to. He
+says all we can expect in this world's our own and no more. Twenty
+cents is all."
+
+Mr. King studied her face, thoughtfully.
+
+"I've an idea, a good one. Now what do you say to furnishing me wood
+every morning, say at fifty cents a day. We use such a lot! You could
+bring a little more if you like or--or come twice."
+
+Jinnie could scarcely believe she'd heard aright. Unshed tears dimmed
+her eyes.
+
+"I wouldn't have to peddle to any one else, then, would I?" she
+stammered.
+
+"No! That's just what I meant."
+
+Then the tears welled over the drooping lids and a feeling of
+gratitude surged through the girl's whole being. Fifty cents a day! It
+was such a lot of money--as much as Lafe made five days out of six.
+
+Jinnie sent the man a fleeting glance, meeting his smiling eyes with
+pulsing blood.
+
+"I'd love to do it," she whispered gratefully. "Then I'd have a lot of
+time to--to--fiddle."
+
+Mr. King's hand slipped into his pocket.
+
+"I'll pay you fifty cents for to-day's wood," he decided, "and fifty
+for what you're going to bring to-morrow. Is that satisfactory?"
+
+As if in a dream, Jinnie tumbled out the contents of the shortwood
+strap. As she took the money from Mr. King's hand, his fingers touched
+hers; she thrilled to the tips of her curls. Then she ran hastily down
+the long road, only turning to glance back when she reached the gate.
+Mr. King stood just where she had left him, and was looking after her.
+He raised his cap, and Jinnie, with burning face, fled on again.
+
+She wondered what Lafe would say about her unexpected good fortune.
+She would tell _him_ first, before she saw Peggy. She imagined how the
+sweet smile would cross his lips, and how he would put his arm gently
+around her.
+
+Lafe heard her open the side door and called,
+
+"Come in, honey!... Come on in."
+
+She entered after one hasty glance proved the cobbler was alone.
+
+"You sold quick to-day, lass," said he, holding out his hand.
+
+Jinnie had planned on the way home to make great rehearsing of
+Theodore King's kindness, but in another instant she broke forth:
+
+"Lafe, Lafe! I've got something to tell you! Oh, a lovely something! I
+sold all the wood to one man, and I'm going to take him a load every
+day, and get fifty cents for it. Regular customer, Lafe!... Here's a
+dollar for Peg."
+
+Lafe did just what Jinnie expected he would, slipped an arm about her
+waist.
+
+"The good God be praised!" he ejaculated. "Stand here an' tell me all
+about it."
+
+"It was Mr. King----"
+
+"Theodore King?" asked Lafe. "Why, he's the richest man in town. He
+owns the iron works."
+
+Jinnie nodded. "Yes! He's the one I played for in the train when I
+first came here. You remember my telling you, Lafe? And he wants wood
+every day from me. Isn't it fine?"
+
+"'Tis so!" affirmed Lafe. "Jinnie, lass, them angels come in shapes of
+human bein's--mostly so. Now go tell Peggy. It'll take a load off'n
+her heart."
+
+As Jinnie told her story to Mrs. Grandoken and handed her the money,
+the woman's lips twitched at the corners, but she only said,
+warningly:
+
+"Don't get a swelled head over your doin's, lass, for a brat ain't
+responsible for her own smartness."
+
+One morning, about a week afterward, Jinnie rapped at the back door of
+the King mansion.
+
+"Is Mr. King in?" she asked timidly of the servant.
+
+The girl stared hard at the flushed, pretty face.
+
+"He's in, but you can leave the wood if you want to."
+
+"No," refused Jinnie. "I want to see him."
+
+The maid turned away, grumbling, and Jinnie backed from the door with
+bated breath.
+
+Mr. King appeared immediately, seemingly embarrassed. He took both her
+hands.
+
+"Why, my dear child!" he exclaimed. "I'd completely forgotten to leave
+the money for the wood, and you've been bringing it every day."
+
+"Peggy made the dollar go a long ways--that and Lafe's money. We
+didn't need any till to-day.... So--so I asked for you."
+
+"I'm glad you did," responded King, counting and giving her the
+money.
+
+Then his glance fell upon the bulging shortwood strap.
+
+"I'm afraid you carry too much at a time," he admonished, gravely.
+"You mustn't do that."
+
+Jinnie dropped her eyes.
+
+"I was talking to my uncle about it," she explained embarrassedly,
+"and he thought same's I, that you were paying too much for that
+little wood. I'm goin' to bring more after this."
+
+"I'm satisfied, though, and I can't have you hurting yourself by being
+too strenuously honest.... I might--yes, I will! I'll send for you
+every day or every other----"
+
+Jinnie's eyes lighted up with happiness.
+
+"Oh, sir,----" she began entreatingly.
+
+"Wait----" said Mr. King. "It's this way! If you brought it up here in
+one of my cars, it would save a lot of your time, and you wouldn't
+have to come every day."
+
+"I could fiddle more," Jinnie blurted radiantly. She remembered how
+sympathetically he had listened to her through the blizzard. He liked
+the fiddle! She went a little nearer him. "I'm trying to make a tune
+different from any I've ever done, and I can't always play well after
+lugging shortwood all day.... I'd love to deliver it the way you
+said."
+
+King stood gazing at her. How strangely beautiful she was! Something
+in the wind-browned face stirred his heart to its depths.
+
+"Then that's settled," he said kindly. "You tell me where to have my
+man and what time, and to-morrow he'll meet you."
+
+Jinnie thought a moment.
+
+"I wonder if he knows where Paradise Road ends near the edge of the
+marsh."
+
+"He could find it, of course."
+
+"There's a path going into the marsh right at the end of the road.
+I'll meet him there to-morrow at twelve o'clock, and--and I'm so much
+obliged to you."
+
+When Jinnie told Lafe of the new arrangement, she gurgled with joy.
+
+"Lafe, now I'll make that tune."
+
+"Yes, honey," murmured Lafe contentedly. "Now get your fiddle and
+practice; after that you c'n study a while out of that there grammar
+book."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+RED ROSES AND YELLOW
+
+
+The days went on peacefully after the new arrangements for the
+shortwood. Every other day, at twelve o'clock, one of Theodore King's
+cars waited for Jinnie at the head of the path leading into the
+marsh.
+
+When the weather was stormy, Bennett, the chauffeur, took the wood,
+telling Jinnie to run along home.
+
+All this made it possible for Jinnie to study profitably during the
+warm months, and by the last of August she had mastered many difficult
+subjects. Lafe helped her when he could, but often shook his head
+despondently as she sat down beside him on the bench, asking his
+advice.
+
+"The fact is, honey, I ain't got much brains," he said to her one
+afternoon. "If I hung by my neck till I could see through them
+figures, I'd be as dead as Moses."
+
+One Thursday morning, as she climbed into the big car with her load,
+Bennett said,
+
+"I ain't goin' to pay you this mornin'! The boss'll do it. Mr. King
+wants to see you."
+
+Jinnie nodded, her heart pounding.
+
+It was delightful to contemplate seeing him once more. She wondered
+where he had been all these days and if he had thought of her.
+Jinnie's pulses were galloping along like a race horse. She stood
+quietly until the master was called, and he came quickly without
+making her wait.
+
+"I'm going to ask you to do me a favor," he said, coming forward,
+holding out his hand.
+
+Now when Jinnie first heard that he wished to see her, she thought her
+heart could beat no faster, but his words made that small organ tattoo
+against her sides like the flutter of a bird's wing in fright. She
+could do something for him! Oh, what joy! What unutterable joy!
+
+"We're going to have some friends here Sunday evening----"
+
+The sudden upfling of Jinnie's head cut off his words.
+
+What difference would his having friends make to her? Oh, yes, they
+wanted more wood. How gladly she would get it for him; search all day
+for the driest pieces if he needed them!
+
+"I was wondering," proceeded Mr. King, "if you would come here with
+your violin and play for--for--us?"
+
+Jinnie's knees relaxed and she staggered back against the wall.
+
+"You musn't feel embarrassed about it," he hurried on. "I'd be very
+much indebted to you if you thought you could."
+
+Tears were so perilously near Jinnie's lids that some of them rolled
+into her throat. To regain her self-possession enough to speak, she
+swallowed several times in rapid succession. Such a compliment she'd
+never been paid before. She brought her hands together appealingly,
+and Mr. King noticed that his request had heightened her color.
+
+"I'd love to do it," she breathed.
+
+"Of course I'll pay you for it," he said, not able to think of
+anything else,
+
+"I couldn't take any money for fiddling," replied Jinnie. "But I'll
+come. Lafe says money can't be made that way."
+
+She turned to go, but Mr. King detained her.
+
+"Wait a minute," he insisted. "I want to tell you something! You've a
+great gift--a wonderful genius--and out of such genius much money
+_is_ made.... I couldn't think of letting you come here unless you
+allowed me to remunerate you."
+
+Jinnie listened attentively to all he said, but refusal was still in
+her steady gaze. Mr. King, seeing this, continued quickly:
+
+"I want you very much, but on that one point I must have my way. I
+shall give you twenty-five dollars for playing three pieces."
+
+Then Jinnie thought she was going to faint. Twenty-five dollars! It
+was a fortune--a huge fortune! But she couldn't take money for playing
+tunes that came from her heart--tunes that were a part of herself the
+same as her hands or feet. But before she could offer another
+argument, the man finished hurriedly:
+
+"It's settled now. You're to come here Sunday night at eight. I'll
+send for you."
+
+Lafe was sitting at the window as she ran through the shortcut along
+the tracks. Her curls were flying in the wind, her cheeks glowing with
+flaming color. Every day the cobbler loved her more, for in spite of
+the dark soil in which Jinnie thrived, she grew lovelier in spirit and
+face.
+
+He waved his hand to her, and both of her arms answered his salute.
+When the door burst open, Lafe put down his hammer expectantly. Before
+he could speak, she was down upon her knees at his side, her curly
+head buried in his loving arms, and tears were raining down her face.
+
+Lafe allowed her to cry a few moments. Then he said:
+
+"Something's hurt my lassie's heart.... Somebody!... Was it Maudlin?"
+
+Through the tears shone a radiant smile.
+
+"I'm crying for joy, Lafe," she sobbed. "I'm going to play my fiddle
+at Mr. King's house and make twenty-five dollars for three tunes."
+
+Lafe's jaws dropped apart incredulously.
+
+"Twenty-five dollars for playin' your fiddle, child?"
+
+Jinnie told all that had happened since leaving home.
+
+Then Peggy had to be told, and when the amount of money was mentioned
+and Jinnie said:
+
+"It'll all be yours, Peggy, when I get it,"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken grunted:
+
+"You didn't make your insides, lassie. It ain't to your credit you can
+fiddle, so don't get stuck up."
+
+Jinnie laughed gaily and went to the kitchen, where for two hours,
+with Bobbie curled up in the chair holding Happy Pete, she brought
+from the strings of the instrument she loved, mournful tunes mingled
+with laughing songs, such as no one in Bellaire had ever heard.
+
+Over and over, as Lafe listened, he wondered where and how such music
+could be born in the child--for Jinnie, to the lame cobbler, would
+always be a little, little girl.
+
+Later Jinnie went to the store, and when Peggy had watched her cross
+the street, she sat down in front of her husband.
+
+"Lafe," she said, "what's the kid goin' to wear to King's?... She
+can't go in them clothes she's got on."
+
+Lafe looked up, startled.
+
+"Sure 'nough; I never thought of that," he answered. "An' I don't
+believe she has uther."
+
+It was the cobbler who spoke to Jinnie about it.
+
+"I suppose you hain't thought what you're going to wear Sunday
+night?"
+
+Jinnie whirled around upon him.
+
+"Oh, Lafe!" she faltered, sitting down quickly.
+
+"Peggy 'lowed you'd forgotten that part of it."
+
+"I did, Lafe; I did! Oh, I don't know what to do!"
+
+"I wisht I had somethin' for you, Jinnie dear," breathed Bobbie,
+touching her hand.
+
+Jinnie's only response was to put her fingers on the child's head--her
+eyes still on the cobbler.
+
+"What did Peggy say, Lafe?"
+
+"Nothin', only you couldn't go in the clothes you got."
+
+Jinnie changed her position that she might see to better advantage the
+plain little dress she was wearing.
+
+"But I've got to go, Lafe; oh, I've got to!" she insisted. "Mr. King
+wants me.... Please, Lafe, please!"
+
+"Call Peggy, Bobbie," said Lafe, in answer to Jinnie's impetuous
+speech.
+
+Bobbie felt his way to the door, and Peggy came in answer to the
+child's call.
+
+"I only thought of the twenty-five dollars and the fiddling, Peggy,"
+said Jinnie as Mrs. Grandoken rolled her hands in her apron and sat
+down. "Did you say I couldn't go in these clothes?"
+
+"I did; I sure did. You can't go in them clothes, an' what you're
+goin' to wear is more'n I can make out. I'll have to think.... Just
+let me alone for a little while."
+
+It was after Jinnie had gone to bed with Bobbie that Peg spoke about
+it again to Lafe.
+
+"I've only got one thing I could rig her a dress out of," she said. "I
+don't want to do it because I hate her so! If I hated her any worse,
+I'd bust!"
+
+The cobbler raised his hand, making a gesture of denial.
+
+"Peggy, dear, you don't hate the poor little lass."
+
+"Yes, I do," said Peg. "I hate everybody in the world but you....
+Everybody but you, Lafe."
+
+"What'd you think might make a dress for 'er?" asked Grandoken
+presently.
+
+Before answering, Peg brought her feet together and looked down at her
+toes. "There's them lace curtains ma give me when she died," she said.
+"Them that's wrapped up in paper on the shelf."
+
+Lafe uttered a surprised ejaculation.
+
+"I couldn't let you do that, Peg," he said, shaking his head. "Them's
+the last left over from your mother's stuff. Everything else's
+gone.... I couldn't let you, Peggy."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken gave a shake of defiance.
+
+"Whose curtains be they, Lafe?" she asked. "Be they mine or yourn?"
+
+"Yourn, Peggy dear, and may God bless you!"
+
+All through the night Jinnie had dreadful dreams. The thought of
+either not going to Mr. King's or that she might not have anything fit
+to wear filled the hours with nightmares and worryings. In the
+morning, after she crawled out of bed and was wearily dressing Bobbie,
+the little blind boy felt intuitively something was wrong with his
+friend.
+
+"Is Jinnie sick?" he whispered, feeling her face. "My stars ain't
+shinin' much."
+
+The girl kissed him.
+
+"No, honey," she said, "Jinnie's only sad, not sick."
+
+Together they went into the shop, where Peggy stood with the most
+gorgeous lacy stuff draped over her arms. Strewn here and there over
+the yards and yards of it were bright yellow and red roses. Nothing
+could have been more beautiful to the girl, as with widening eyes she
+gazed at it. Lafe's face was shining with happiness. Peggy didn't seem
+to notice the two as they entered, but she lifted the lace, displaying
+its length stolidly.
+
+Jinnie bounded forward.
+
+"What is it, Peg? What is it?"
+
+Lafe beamed through his spectacles.
+
+"A dress for you, girl dear. Peggy's givin' you the things she loves
+best. She's the only woman in the world, Jinnie."
+
+Reverently Jinnie went to Mrs. Grandoken's side. She felt abjectly
+humble in the presence of this great sacrifice. She looked up into the
+glum face of the cobbler's wife and waited in breathless hesitation.
+Peg permitted her eyes to fall upon the girl.
+
+"You needn't feel so glad nor look's if you was goin' to tumble over,"
+she said. "It ain't no credit to any one them curtains was on the
+shelf waitin' to be cut up in a dress for you to fiddle in. Go put the
+mush on that there stove!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE LITTLE FIDDLER
+
+
+Jinnie's heart was skipping about like a silly little kitten as she
+sat watching Peg's stiff fingers making large stitches in the lace.
+
+"Oh, Peg, isn't it lovely? Perfectly beautiful! Nobody ever had a
+dress like that!... My, Peggy! How your fingers fly!"
+
+Peg's face was noncommittal to the point of blankness.
+
+"Tain't no credit to me what my hands do, Miss Jinnie," she said
+querulously. "I didn't make 'em."
+
+The girl's happiness was absolutely complete. The dress would be
+finished and Sunday evening----oh, Sunday evening! Then she walked
+restlessly to the window and studied the sky.
+
+"I hope it doesn't rain to-morrow!... Oh, Peggy, don't you hope so
+too?" Mrs. Grandoken glowered at her.
+
+"Kid," she said, "come away from that window. You been doin' nothin'
+but wishin' 'twon't rain all day. You'll wear out the patience of the
+Almighty; then he'll make it rain an' soak you through a-purpose."
+
+"I don't know which I like best, Lafe," the girl remarked presently,
+turning to the cobbler, "the red roses or the yellow."
+
+Bobbie came to Jinnie's side and fingered the lace.
+
+"Tell me how the dress looks, dear," he whispered, tugging at her
+sleeve.
+
+[Illustration: "YOU NEEDN'T FEEL SO GLAD NOR LOOK AS IF YOU WAS GOIN' TO
+TUMBLE OVER. IT AIN'T NO CREDIT TO ANYONE THEM CURTAINS
+WAS ON THE SHELF WAITIN' TO BE CUT UP IN A DRESS FOR YOU
+TO FIDDLE IN."]
+
+"Sure," agreed Jinnie. "Feel right here! Well, that's a beautiful red
+rose and here's a yellow one." She took his small finger and traced it
+over a yard of lace. "Feel that?"
+
+"Yes," murmured Bobbie.
+
+"Well, that's a green vine running up and down, and all around among
+the roses."
+
+"Oh, my!" gasped Bobbie. "Red and yellow. That's how the sun looks
+when it's goin' down, ain't it? And green's like the grass, eh?"
+
+"Just the same," replied Jinnie, laughing.
+
+"It's a beauty," supplemented Lafe, glowing with tenderness. "There
+won't be a dress at that party that'll beat it."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shook out the voluminous folds of lace.
+
+"Anybody'd think to hear you folks talk that you'd made these rag tags
+with your toe nails," she observed dryly. "The smacking of some folks'
+lips over sugar they don't earn makes me tired! Laws me!... Now I'll
+try it on you, Jinnie," she ended.
+
+Jinnie turned around and around with slow precision as Mrs. Grandoken
+ascertained the correct hanging of the skirt. When the last stitches
+had been put in, and the dress lay in all its gorgeous splendor across
+the chair, Peg coughed awkwardly and spoke of shoes.
+
+"You can't wear them cowhides with lace," said she.
+
+"I might make a pair if I had a day and the stuff," suggested Lafe,
+looking around helplessly.
+
+"Ain't time," replied Peg. And of course it was she who gave Jinnie
+some money taken from a small bag around her neck and ordered her to
+the shop for shoes.
+
+"She ought to have a fiddle box," Lafe suggested.
+
+"There ain't 'nough money in the house for that," replied Peg--"but
+I'll give her a piece of the curtains to wrap it up in."
+
+"That'll look better'n a box," smiled Lafe. "I'm a happy cobbler, I
+am."
+
+When Jinnie returned with a pair of low black slippers, no one noticed
+that they weren't quite what should have been worn with a lace frock.
+Contentment reigned supreme in the Grandoken home that day.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sunday evening at seven Jinnie displayed herself to Lafe. The cobbler
+gave a contented nod.
+
+"You and the dress're beautiful," he ruminated. "Wonderful!... Kiss
+me, Jinnie!"
+
+She not only kissed Lafe, but Bobbie, Happy Pete, and Milly Ann, too,
+came in for their share. Peg looked so sour, so forbidding, that
+Jinnie only faltered,
+
+"Much obliged, Peggy darling.... Oh, I'm so happy!" She stood directly
+in front of Mrs. Grandoken. "Aren't you, dear?" she besought.
+
+"We're all glad, lass," put in the cobbler.
+
+Jinnie's blue, blue eyes were seeking approbation from the gaunt,
+frowning woman.
+
+"None of you've got the sense of my bedpost," snapped Peg, sniffing
+the air. "Get along. They're waitin' for you."
+
+Jinnie arrived in great excitement at Theodore King's door. She
+stumbled up the stone steps of the mansion with the fiddle carefully
+wrapped under her arm.
+
+"Is Mr. King here?" she asked of the maid, hesitatingly.
+
+She stood very still, scarcely breathing, until they called the master
+of the house, and as Theodore's eyes fell upon the lace dress, with
+its red and yellow roses and green vines running the length of the
+slim young figure, he smoothed away a smile that forced itself to his
+lips.
+
+Out of gratitude to Peggy, Jinnie felt she ought to speak of the
+frock, so with an admiring glance downward, she confided:
+
+"Peggy made my dress out of her dead mother's curtains, and gave me
+this piece for my fiddle.... Wasn't it lovely of her?"
+
+The pleading, soulful, violet eyes stirred Theodore King with a new
+sensation. He had passed unscathed through the fires of imploring,
+inviting glances and sweet, tempting lips, nor yet realized that some
+day this black-haired girl would call him to a reckoning.
+
+"It's very pretty, very pretty," he affirmed hurriedly. "I'm glad
+you're here.... Just wait for a moment. I'll come back for you."
+
+There was a fixed line between his handsome eyes as he faced his
+guests. Theodore couldn't analyze his feelings toward Jinnie, but he
+was determined none should make sport of her.
+
+"I've prepared a great treat for you," he stated, smiling, "but I want
+to ask you to overlook anything that may seem incongruous, for the
+musician is very sensitive."
+
+Then he went back for Jinnie, and she followed him into the large
+room. The gorgeous red and yellow roses in the limply hanging blouse
+lent a color to her sunburned skin.
+
+"You may play anything you like," Theodore whispered.
+
+"All right," nodded Jinnie.
+
+She unwrapped the fiddle and tuned it with nimble fingers. Not until
+she placed the instrument under her chin did she raise her head. Her
+eyes went searchingly from face to face of the attentive assembly. It
+so happened that they fell upon a crown of golden hair above a pair of
+dark eyes she vividly remembered. The glance took her back to that
+night more than two years before--to the night when her father died.
+
+Molly Merriweather was seated in queenly fashion in one of the large
+chairs, a questioning look stealing over her countenance. Jinnie
+smiled at her and began to play. It might have been the beautiful
+woman opposite that brought forth the wild hill story, told in
+marvelous harmonies. The rapt young face gave no sign of
+embarrassment, for Jinnie was completely lost in her melodious task.
+Above the dimpled chin that hugged the brown fiddle, Theodore King
+could see the brooding genius of the girl, and longed to bring a
+passionate lovelight for himself into the glorious eyes. The intensity
+of the music established in him an unconquerable hope--a hope that
+could not die as long as life was in him, as long as life was in the
+little fiddler.
+
+As Jinnie finished with dramatic brilliancy, great applause and
+showers of congratulations fell upon her ears. Theodore went to her
+quickly.
+
+"Wonderful! Splendid, child!" he declared joyously. "You're a
+genius!"
+
+His words increased her joy--his compelling dark eyes added to her
+desire to do her best.
+
+She meditated one moment. Then thoroughly unconscious of herself,
+turned and spoke to the audience.
+
+"I'll play about fairies ... the ones who live in the woods and hide
+away in the flowers and under the leaves."
+
+Once more she began to play. She believed in fairies with all her
+heart and had no doubt but that every one else did. Under the spell of
+her music and her loveliness, imaginary elves stole from the solitude
+of the summer night, to join their tiny hands and dance to the rhythm
+of her song.
+
+As she lowered her violin and looked around, she saw astonishment on
+the faces of the strangers about her. A deathlike hush prevailed and
+Jinnie could hear the feverish blood as it struck at her temples.
+Into her eyes came an unfathomable expression, and Theodore King,
+attracted by their latent passion, went rapidly to her.
+
+"It's exquisite!" he said vehemently. "Can't you see how much every
+one likes it?"
+
+"Do you?" queried Jinnie, looking up at him.
+
+"I love it, child; I love it.... Will you play again, please?"
+
+A flame of joy suffused her as again she turned to the open-eyed
+crowd.
+
+"Once," she informed them, "a big lion was hurt in the forest by
+lightning.... This--is--how he died."
+
+She slowly raised the instrument, and sounded a vibrant, resonant,
+minor tone, measured, full and magnificent. Each listener sank back
+with a sigh.
+
+Jinnie knew the mysteries of the forest as well as a singer knows his
+song, and she had not presented ten notes to the imagination of
+Theodore's friends before they were carried away from the dainty room
+in which they sat--away into a dense woodland where, for a few
+minutes, she demonstrated the witching wonders of it. Then she slipped
+the bow between her teeth and struck the violin strings with the backs
+of her fingers. The vibrations of impetuous harmony swept softly
+through the lighted room. Louder and louder was heard the awful fury
+of approaching thunder, while twinkling string-touches flashed forth
+the lightning between the sonorous peals.
+
+Jinnie never knew how the fiddle was capable of expressing the
+cautious tread of the terrified king of beasts in his isolated
+kingdom, but her listeners beheld him steal cautiously from the
+underbrush. They saw him crouch in abject terror at the foot of a
+wide-spreading, gigantic tree, lashing his tail in elemental rage.
+Then another scintillating flash of lightning, and the beast caught
+it full in the face. The slender hand of the little player was poised
+above the strings for a single vibrating moment, during which she
+stood in a listening attitude. Then, with the sweep of three slender
+fingers, the lion's scream cut the air like a two-edged sword.
+
+Death came on rapidly in deep, resounding roars, and the misery of the
+cringing, suffering brute was unfolded--told in heart-rending
+intonations, until at last he gave up his breath in one
+terror-stricken cry.
+
+Jinnie dropped her hands suddenly. "He's dead," she said tremulously.
+"Poor, poor lion!"
+
+She turned tear-wet eyes to Theodore King.
+
+"Shall I play any more?" she asked, shyly.
+
+The man shook his head, not permitting himself to speak.
+
+"Miss Grandoken has given us a wonderful entertainment," said he to
+his friends; then turning to her, he held out his hand, "I want to
+thank you, Miss Grandoken."
+
+Many people crowded around her, asking where and how she had learned
+such music.
+
+Molly the Merry, the mystified expression still on her face, drew
+near.
+
+Again Jinnie smiled at her, hoping the lovely lips would acknowledge
+their former acquaintanceship. But as another person, a man, stepped
+between her and the woman, Jinnie glanced up at him. He was very
+handsome, but involuntarily the girl shuddered. There was something in
+the curling of his lips that was cruel, and the whiteness of his teeth
+accentuated the impression. His eyes filled her with dread.
+
+"Where did you learn that wonderful music?" he smiled.... "I mean the
+music itself."
+
+"Out of my heart," she said simply. "I couldn't get it anywhere
+else."
+
+"She's very delightful!" said the stranger, turning to Theodore. "I've
+forgotten her name?"
+
+He was so near her that Jinnie shrank back, and the master of the
+house noted her embarrassment.
+
+"Her name is Grandoken, Miss Grandoken.... Come," he said, holding out
+his hand to Jinnie, and as she placed her fingers in his, he led her
+away.
+
+A large car was waiting at the front door, and he held her hand in his
+for a few seconds. The touch of her fingers thrilled him through and
+through. He noticed her head just reached his shoulder and a conscious
+desire to draw her to him for one blessed moment surged insistent
+within him. He dropped her hand suddenly.
+
+"I wish now," he said, smiling, "I had sent for you to come here
+before. It was such a treat!"
+
+Jinnie shrank away as he offered her a roll of bills. An unutterable
+shyness crept over her.
+
+"I don't want it," she said, gulping hard. "I'd love to fiddle for you
+all day long."
+
+"But you must take it," insisted King. "Now then, I want to know where
+you live. I'm coming to see your uncle very, very soon."
+
+Lafe and his wife were waiting for the girl, and the cobbler noticed
+Peggy's eyes were misty as Jinnie gave her the money. Over and over
+she told them all about it.
+
+"And he's coming to see you, Lafe," she cried with a tremulous laugh.
+"Mr. King says some day I'll be a great player. Will I, Lafe? Will I,
+Peggy?"
+
+"You may," admitted Peggy, "but don't get a swelled head, 'cause you
+couldn't stop fiddlin' any more'n a bird could stop singin'.... Go to
+bed now, this minute."
+
+And as Jinnie slept her happy sleep in Paradise Road, another woman
+was walking to and fro with a tall man under the trees at Theodore
+King's home.
+
+"I thought I'd scream with laughter when she came in," said Molly the
+Merry. "If it hadn't been for Theo's warning, I'm sure most of us
+would.... Did you ever see such a ridiculous dress, Jordan?"
+
+The man was quiet for a meditative moment. "I forgot about the dress
+when she began to play," he mused. "The sight of her face would drive
+all thoughts of incongruity out of a man's mind."
+
+"Yes, she's very pretty," admitted Molly, reluctantly. "And Jordan, do
+you know there's something strangely familiar about her face?... I
+can't tell where I've seen her."
+
+"Never mind. The important thing to me is I must have money. Can't
+keep up appearances on air."
+
+"You know I'll always help you when I can, Jordan."
+
+"Yes, I know it, and I'll not let you forget it either."
+
+The woman gave him a puzzled look and the man caught her meaning.
+
+"You're wondering why I don't open offices here, aren't you? Well, a
+person can't do two things at once, and I've been pretty busy tracing
+Virginia Singleton. And when I find her, you know very well I will
+return every penny I've borrowed."
+
+And later, when Molly went to her room, she walked up and down
+thoughtfully, trying to bring to her mind the familiar violet eyes and
+the mass of purple black curls which were the crowning glory of Jinnie
+Grandoken.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE COBBLER'S SECRET
+
+
+One Sunday morning, Jinnie sat with Lafe in the shop. In hours like
+these they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The quietude of these
+precious Sabbath moments made the week, with its arduous tasks,
+bearable to the sensitive girl.
+
+For several days past Jinnie had noticed Lafe had something on his
+mind, but she always allowed him to tell her everything in his own
+good time. Now she felt the time had come. His gray face, worn with
+suffering, was shining with a heavenly light as he read aloud from a
+little Bible in his hand. To-day he had chosen the story of Abraham
+and Sarah. When he came to the part where Abraham said:
+
+"Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray
+Thee, from Thy servant," he pronounced the last word with sobbing
+breath. One quick glance was enough for Jinnie's comprehension.
+
+She leaned forward breathlessly.
+
+"What is it, Lafe?... Something great?"
+
+"Yes, something great, lassie, and in God's name most wonderful."
+
+Before Jinnie's world of imagery passed all the good she had desired
+for Lafe. His softly spoken, "In God's name most wonderful," thrilled
+her from head to foot.
+
+"And you've been keeping it from me, Lafe," she chided gently.
+"Please, please, tell me."
+
+Lafe sat back in the wheel chair and closed his eyes. "Wait, child,"
+he breathed hesitatingly. "Wait a minute!"
+
+As Jinnie watched him, she tried to stifle the emotion tugging at her
+heart--to keep back the tears that welled into her eyes. Perhaps what
+he had to tell her _would_ make her cry. Jinnie hoped not, for she
+disliked to do that. It was so childlike, so like Blind Bobbie, who
+always had either a beatific smile on his pale lips, or a mist shining
+in his rock-gray eyes.
+
+At length Lafe sighed a long, deep-drawn sigh, and smiled.
+
+"Jinnie," he began----
+
+"Yes, Lafe."
+
+"I've been wonderin' if you remember the story of the little feller
+God sent to Peg an' me--the one I told you would a been six years
+old."
+
+"Yes, I remember, Lafe."
+
+"An' how good Peggy was----"
+
+"Oh, how good Peggy always is!" interjected Jinnie.
+
+"Yes," breathed Lafe, dreamily. "May God bless my woman in all her
+trials!"
+
+Jinnie hitched her chair nearer his and slipped her arm about his neck
+soothingly.
+
+"She doesn't have trials you don't share, Lafe," she declared.
+
+Lafe straightened up.
+
+"Yes, Peg has many, lassie, I can't help 'er with, an' she'll have a
+many more. To get to tell you something, Jinnie, I asked Peg to take
+Bobbie out with 'er. We can't turn the little feller from the club
+room when he ain't out with Peg; can we, Jinnie?"
+
+"Of course not," agreed Jinnie, nodding.
+
+"So when Peg said she was goin' out," proceeded Lafe, gravely, "I
+says, thinkin' of the things I wanted to say to you, I said to Peggy,
+'Take the little blind chap along with you, Peggy dear,' an' without a
+word she put the youngster into his clothes an' away they went."
+
+Jinnie's curiosity was growing by the minute.
+
+"And you're going to tell me now, Lafe?"
+
+"An' now I'm goin' to tell you, Jinnie."
+
+But he didn't tell her just then. Instead he sat looking at her with
+luminous eyes, and the expression in them--that heavenly
+expression--compelled Jinnie to kneel beside him, and for a little
+while they sat in silence.
+
+"Dear child," Lafe murmured, dropping a tender hand on her shining
+head, "dear, dear girl!"
+
+"It must be a joyful thing, Lafe, for your face shines as bright as
+Bobbie's stars."
+
+"I'm blessed happy to-day!" he sighed, with twitching lips.
+
+Jinnie took his hand in hers and smoothed it fondly.
+
+"What is it, Lafe, dear?" she asked.
+
+"Do you want to kneel while I tell you?" queried the cobbler.
+
+"Yes, right here."
+
+"Then look right at me, Jinnie lass!"
+
+Jinnie _was_ looking at him with her whole soul in her eyes.
+
+"I'm looking at you, Lafe," she said.
+
+"An' don't take your eyes from me; will you?"
+
+"Sure not!"
+
+It must be a great surprise for Lafe to act like this, thought the
+girl.
+
+"Lassie," commenced Lafe, "I want you to be awful good to Peggy....
+It's about her I'm goin' to speak."
+
+Jinnie sank back on the tips of her toes.
+
+"What about Peg? There isn't----"
+
+"Dear Peggy," interrupted Lafe softly, his voice quick with tears,
+"dear, precious Peggy!" Then as he bent over Jinnie and Jinnie bent
+nearer him, Lafe placed his lips to her ear and whispered something.
+
+She struggled to her feet, strange and unknown emotions rising in her
+eyes.
+
+"Lafe!" she cried. "Lafe dear!"
+
+"Yes," nodded the cobbler. "Yes, if you want to know the truth, the
+good God's goin' to send me an' Peg another little Jew baby."
+
+Jinnie sat down in her chair quite dazed. Lafe's secret was much
+greater than she had expected! Much!
+
+"Tell me about it," she pleaded.
+
+Keen anxiety erased the cobbler's smiling expression.
+
+"Poor Peggy!" he groaned again. "She can't see where the bread's
+comin' from to feed another mouth, but as I says, 'Peggy, you said the
+same thing when Jinnie came, an' the blind child, an' this little
+one's straight from God's own tender breast.'"
+
+"That's so, Lafe," accorded Jinnie, "and, Oh, dearie, I'll work so
+hard, so awful hard to get in more wood, and tell me, tell me when,
+Lafe; when is he coming to us, the Jew baby?"
+
+Lafe smiled at her eagerness.
+
+"You feel the same way as I do, honey," he observed. "The very same
+way!... Why, girlie, when Peg first told me I thought I'd get up and
+fly!"
+
+"I should think so, but--but--I want to know how soon, Lafe, dear."
+
+"Oh, it's a long time, a whole lot of weeks!"
+
+"I wish it was to-morrow," lamented Jinnie, disappointedly. "I wonder
+if Peg'll let me hug and kiss him."
+
+"Sure," promised Lafe, and they lapsed into silence.
+
+At length, Jinnie stole to the kitchen. She returned with her violin
+box and Milly Ann in her arms.
+
+"Hold the kitty, darling," she said softly, placing the cat on his
+lap. "She'll be happy, too. Milly Ann loves us all, Milly Ann does."
+
+Then she took out the fiddle and thrummed the strings.
+
+"I'm going to play for you," she resumed, "while you think about Peggy
+and the--and--the baby."
+
+The cobbler nodded his head, and wheeled himself a bit nearer the
+window, from where he could see the hill rise upward to the blue,
+making a skyline of exquisite beauty.
+
+Jinnie began to play. What tones she drew from that small brown
+fiddle! The rapture depicted in her face was but a reflection of the
+cobbler's. And as he meditated and listened, Lafe felt that each tone
+of Jinnie's fiddle had a soul of its own--that the instrument was
+peopled with angel voices--voices that soothed him when he suffered
+beyond description--voices that now expressed in rhythmical harmony
+the peace within him. Jinnie was able to put an estimate on his moods,
+and knew just what comfort he needed most. Until that moment the
+cobbler's wife had seemed outside the charm of the beloved home
+circle. But to-day, ah, to-day!--Jinnie's bow raced over the strings
+like a mad thing. To-day Peggy Grandoken became in the girl's eyes a
+glorified woman, a woman set apart by God Himself to bring to the home
+a new baby.
+
+Jinnie played and played and played, and Theodore in spirit-fancy
+stood beside her. Lafe thought and thought and thought, while Peggy
+walked through his day dreams like some radiant being.
+
+"A baby----my baby, in the house," sang the cobbler's heart.
+
+"A baby, our baby, in the house," poured from Jinnie's soul, and
+"Baby, little baby," sprang from the fiddle over and over, as golden
+flashes of the sun warms the earth. Truly was Lafe being revivified;
+truly was Jinnie! Theodore King! How infinitely close he seemed to
+her! How the memory of his smile cheered and strengthened her!
+
+From the tip of the fiddle tucked under a rounded chin to the line of
+purple-black hair, the blood rushed in riotous confusion over the
+fiddler's lovely face. What was it in Lafe's story that had brought
+Theodore King so near?
+
+Jinnie couldn't have told, but she was sure the fiddle knew. It was
+intoning to Lafe--to her--the language of the birds and the mystery of
+the flower blossoms, the invisible riddles of Heaven and earth, of all
+the concealed secrets beyond the blue of the sky; all the panorama of
+Nature strung out in a wild, sweet forest song. Jinnie had backed
+against the wall as she played, and when out of her soul came the
+twitter of the morning birds, the babbling of the brook on its way to
+the sea, the scream of the owl in a high woodland tree, Lafe turned to
+watch her, and from that moment until she dropped exhausted into a
+chair, he did not take his eyes from her.
+
+"Jinnie!" he gasped, as he thrust forth his hand and took hers.
+"You've made me happier to-day'n I've been in many a week. Peg'll be
+all right.... Everybody'll be all right.... God bless us!"
+
+Jinnie sat up with bright, inquiring eyes.
+
+"Did you tell Peg I was to know about----"
+
+"About our baby?" intervened Lafe tenderly.
+
+He dwelt lovingly on those precious words.
+
+"Yes, about your baby," repeated Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, I told 'er, dear. I said you'd want to be happy too."
+
+"I'm so glad," sighed Jinnie, reverently. "Look!... Peg's coming
+now!"
+
+They both watched Mrs. Grandoken as she stolidly crossed the tracks,
+leading Bobbie by the hand.
+
+And later Jinnie hovered over Peggy in the kitchen. The woman had
+taken on such a new dignity. She must be treated with the greatest and
+most extra care. If Jinnie had done what she craved, she'd have
+bounded to Peg and kissed her heartily. Of course that wouldn't do,
+but talk to her she must,
+
+"Peggy," she said softly, tears lurking in her eyes.
+
+Peg looked at her without moving an eyelash. Jinnie wished she would
+say something; her task would be so much easier.
+
+"Peggy," she begged again.
+
+"Huh?"
+
+"Lafe told me, dear," and then she did something she hadn't done with
+Lafe; she began to cry, just why, Jinnie didn't know; Peg looked so
+sad, so distant, and so ill.
+
+It was probably Jinnie's tears that softened Peg, for she put her hand
+on the girl's shoulders and stood silent. After the first flood of
+tears Jinnie ventured:
+
+"I'm awful happy, Peggy dear, and I want you to know I'm going to work
+harder'n I even did for Blind Bobbie.... I will, Peg, I promise I
+will.... Kiss me, Oh, kiss me, dear!"
+
+Peggy bent over and kissed the upturned, tearful face solemnly. Then
+she turned her back, beginning to work vigorously, and Jinnie returned
+to the shop with the kiss warm on her cheek.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE COMING OF THE ANGELS
+
+
+"You'd better make it a special prayer, Lafe," said Jinnie, a little
+pucker between her eyes. "Every day I'm more'n more afraid of
+Maudlin."
+
+"I will, honey, an' just pop into Bates' cottage an' tell Maudlin's pa
+to run in the shop.... Go long, lass, nobody'll hurt you."
+
+After leaving Lafe's message at the Bates' cottage, Jinnie stepped
+from the tracks to the marshes with a joyful heart. Of course nothing
+could harm her! Lafe's faith, mingled with her own, would save her
+from every evil in the world.
+
+When Bates opened the shop door, the cobbler looked up gravely. He
+nodded his head to Jasper's, "Howdy do, Grandoken?"
+
+"Sit down," said Lafe.
+
+"Jinnie says you wanted me."
+
+"Yes, a few minutes' chat; that's all!"
+
+"Spit it out," said Bates.
+
+Lafe put down his hammer with slow importance.
+
+"It's this way, Jasper. Maudlin's----"
+
+"What's Maudie done now?" demanded Bates, lighting his pipe.
+
+"He's been botherin' my girl, that's what," responded Lafe.
+
+"Jinnie?"
+
+"Sure. She's all the girl I got.... Maudlin's got to stop it, Bates."
+
+A cruel expression flitted over Jasper's face.
+
+"I ain't nothin' to do with Maudlin's love affairs," said he. "Jinnie
+could do worse'n get him, I'm a guessin'! Maudie adds up pretty good,
+Maudie does!"
+
+Lafe shook his head with a grim serenity that became the strained
+white face.
+
+"His addin' up ain't nothin' to his credit, Jasper," he protested.
+"He's as crooked as a ram's horn an' you know it. If you don't, take
+my word for it! There ain't nothin' doin' for him far's Jinnie's
+concerned!... I sent for you to bargain with you." Jasper pricked up
+his ears. The word "bargain" always attracted him.
+
+"Well?" he questioned.
+
+"You keep your boy from my girl and I'll do all your family cobblin'
+for nothin' till Jinnie's a woman."
+
+Bates leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
+
+"It's a bargain, all right. Them kids of mine do wear out the soles of
+their shoes some. But, Lafe, I can't tag Maudlin around all day."
+
+Lafe took up his hammer.
+
+"Lick him if he won't mind you, Bates. He's got to let my girl be, and
+that's all there is to it."
+
+Saying this, he started to work, giving the shortwood gatherer his
+dismissal. Bates left his chair thoughtfully.
+
+"I'll talk to Maudie," said he, "but he's an onery kid; has been ever
+since his mother died. He don't git along with his stepma very well,
+and she's got such a lot of little kids of 'er own she ain't time to
+train no hulk of a boy like Maudlin."
+
+Pausing a moment, he went on, "Maudlin's been madder'n hell because
+that duffer King's been haulin' Jinnie's wood. He says----"
+
+"It ain't any of Maudlin's business who helps Jinnie," interrupted
+Lafe. "If you got any shoes needin' fixin', tote 'em over, Jasper."
+
+Bates left the shop and Lafe fell to work vigorously.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maudlin Bates stood at the path leading to the marshes. He was waiting
+for Jinnie to appear with her load of shortwood. To the young wood
+gatherer, a woman was created for man's special benefit, and a long
+time ago he had made up his mind that Jinnie should be his woman.
+
+He was leaning against a tree when the girl came in sight, with her
+wood-strap on her shoulders. She paid no attention to him, and was
+about to turn into Paradise Road when the man stepped in front of
+her.
+
+"Wait a minute, Jinnie," he wheedled.
+
+Jinnie threw him a disdainful glance.
+
+"I can't wait. I'm in a hurry," she replied, and she hoped the fellow
+would go on before the car arrived.
+
+Young Bates' face was crossed by an obstinate expression.
+
+"I'm goin' to find out," he said, gruffly, "why you're ridin' in rich
+folks' motor cars."
+
+"Isn't anything to you," snapped Jinnie.
+
+The wood gatherer came so close that he forced her back a step on the
+marsh path. Her disdainful eyes had drawn him to her, for, like all
+men, he could be drawn by the woman who scorned him, and mesmerized by
+the sheer repulse. By great effort, Jinnie had escaped from Maudlin's
+insults for many months, but he had never been quite so aggressive as
+this! Now she could see the dark blood in his passionate face mount
+even to the whites of his eyes, those eyes which coveted the youngness
+of her body, the vitality of her girl life, and all the good within
+her.
+
+"Get out of my way!" she said sharply. "You let me alone. I've got a
+right to get my wood hauled if I can."
+
+"Well, you don't do it any more," said Maudlin. "If you're too lazy to
+carry your own wood, I'll help you myself.... You can't go no more to
+King's in _his_ car."
+
+Jinnie turned a pair of glinting blue eyes upon him.
+
+"Who said I couldn't?" she demanded. "Uncle Lafe lets me."
+
+"Your Uncle Lafe said you could marry me," said Maudlin in slow,
+drawling tones.
+
+Jinnie's blood boiled up behind her ears. She was eyeing him in
+bewilderment. Maudlin's words made her more angry than she'd ever been
+in her life.
+
+"You lie, you damn fool!" she cried, and then caught her breath in
+consternation. It was the first oath that had escaped her lips in many
+a long day, and she felt truly sorry for it. She would tell Lafe of
+the provocation that caused it and beg to be forgiven. She moved back
+a step as Maudlin pinched her.
+
+"I don't lie," he growled. "You think because you can scrape on a
+fiddle you're better'n other folks. Pa an' me'll show you you ain't."
+
+"You and your pa don't know everything," answered Jinnie, wrathfully.
+
+"We know 'nough to see what King's doin' all right."
+
+He made a dive at the girl and laid a rough hand on the shortwood
+strap.
+
+"Here! Gimme that wood if you're too lazy to carry it."
+
+Jinnie turned her eyes up the road. It was time Bennett came. The
+sound of his motor would be like sweet music in her ears. She jerked
+the strap away from the man and turned furiously upon him.
+
+"Don't touch me again, Maudlin Bates.... I don't interfere with you.
+I'll--I'll----"
+
+But Maudlin paid no heed to her insistence. He was dragging the strap
+from her shoulders.
+
+Jinnie's face grew waxen white, but she held her own for a few
+minutes. Maudlin was big in proportion to her slenderness, and in
+another instant her shortwood lay on the ground, and she was standing
+panting before him.
+
+"Now, then, just to show what kind of a feller I be," said he, "I'm
+goin' to kiss you."
+
+Jinnie felt cold chills running up and down her back.
+
+"It's time you was kissed," went on Maudlin, "and after to-day I'm
+goin' to be your man.... You can bet on that."
+
+He was slowly forcing her backward along the narrow path that led into
+the marshes. Jinnie knew intuitively he wanted her to turn and run
+into the underbrush that he might have her alone in the great waste
+place.
+
+Like a mad creature, she fought every step of the way, Maudlin's anger
+rising at each cry the girl emitted.
+
+"I'll tell my uncle," she screamed, with sobbing breath.
+
+"You won't want to tell 'im when I get done with you," muttered the
+man. "Why don't you run? You c'n run, can't you?"
+
+Oh, if Bennett would only come! She was still near enough to Paradise
+Road for him to hear her calling.
+
+Maudlin reached out his hand and caught the long curls between his
+dirty fingers.
+
+"If you won't run," he said, "then, that for you!" and he gave a cruel
+twist to the shining hair, pulling Jinnie almost off her feet.
+
+Then the ruffian turned, slowly dragging her foot by foot into the
+marshland. She opened her lips, and gave one long scream; then another
+and another before Maudlin pulled her to him and closed her mouth with
+a large hand, and Jinnie grew faint with fright and terror.
+
+They were out of sight now of Paradise Road, still Jinnie struggled
+and struggled, gripping with both hands at Bates' fingers jerking at
+her curls.
+
+Suddenly Lafe's solemn words surged through her mind. "He has given
+His angels charge over thee." Oh God! Dear God! What glorious, blessed
+words! Lafe's angels, her angels--Jinnie's heart throbbed with faith.
+Once Lafe had told her no one, no, not even Maudlin Bates, could keep
+her own from her! Her honor and her very life were in the tender hands
+of the cobbler's angels. Suddenly in fancy Jinnie saw the whole world
+about teeming with bright ecstatic beings, and multitudes of them were
+hurrying through the warm summer air to the Bellaire marshes. They
+were coming--coming to help her, to save her from a fate worse than
+death! Her mind reeled under the terrible pain Maudlin was inflicting
+upon her, and she closed her eyes in agony. With one mighty effort,
+she dragged her face from the brown, hard hand and screamed at the top
+of her lungs.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Theodore King swung his car around into Paradise Road with busy
+thoughts. He had decided to go himself that morning to bring the
+little fiddler back to his home with the shortwood. He had a plan for
+Jinnie.
+
+Past the cobbler's shop sped the big motor, and as it drew up to the
+marshes, he heard a blood-curdling cry from the depths of the
+underbrush. In another instant he was out on the ground, dashing along
+the path. He saw Jinnie and Maudlin before either one of them knew he
+was near. He saw the fellow pulling the black curls, and saw a hand
+almost covering the fair young face.
+
+Then Jinnie saw him, and sent him one swift, terrified, appealing
+glance.
+
+In the smallest fraction of a second Maudlin was sprawling on the
+ground, and Theodore was soundly kicking him. Jinnie sank down on the
+damp moss and began to cry weakly. Her face was scratched from the
+man's fingers, her head aching from the strenuous pulling of her hair.
+Then she covered her eyes with her hands. God _had_ sent an angel--she
+was saved! When Mr. King touched her gently, she sat up, wiping away
+little streams of blood running down her face and neck.
+
+"Oh, you came," she sobbed, raising her head, "and oh, I needed you
+so!"
+
+Theodore lifted her to her feet.
+
+"I should say you did, you poor child! I should certainly think you
+did."
+
+Then he turned to Maudlin Bates.
+
+"What, in God's name, were you trying to do?"
+
+Maudlin, raging with anger, scrambled from the ground.
+
+"Get out o' here," he hissed, "an' mind your own business."
+
+"When I keep a bully away from a nice little girl, I'm minding my
+business all right.... What was he trying to do, Jinnie?"
+
+Maudlin walked backward until he was almost in the brush.
+
+"I'm goin' to marry her," he said, surlily.
+
+"He isn't," cried Jinnie. "Oh, don't believe him, Mr. King! He says
+Uncle Lafe said he can marry me, but he can't."
+
+Once more Theodore turned on Maudlin, threateningly, his anger riding
+down his gentleness to Jinnie.
+
+"Now get out of here," he exclaimed, "and don't ever let me hear of
+your even speaking to this child again."
+
+The shortwood gatherer stood his ground until Theodore, with raised
+fist, was almost upon him.
+
+"I said to get out!" thundered Mr. King.
+
+With a baffled cry, Bates turned, rushed back into the marsh, and for
+several seconds they heard him beating down the brushwood as he ran.
+
+Theodore tenderly drew the girl into Paradise Road.
+
+"I wanted to see your uncle to-day," he explained, without waiting for
+the question which he read in Jinnie's eyes, "so I came over myself
+instead of sending Bennett.... There, child! Don't tremble so! Never
+mind the wood."
+
+Jinnie hung back.
+
+"I've got to sell it to you this afternoon," she murmured brokenly.
+"Peg's got to have the money."
+
+"We've enough at home until to-morrow.... Wait until to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie looked longingly at the wood.
+
+"Somebody'll take it," she objected, "and it's awful hard to gather."
+
+A grip of pain stabbed Theodore's heart. This slender, beautiful girl,
+rosy with health and genius, should gather wood no more for any one in
+the world.... To soothe her, he said:
+
+"I'll come by and pick it up on my way back.... Come along."
+
+He lifted her into the car, and they moved slowly through Paradise
+Road, and drew up before the cobbler's shop.
+
+Lafe put down his hammer as they entered, and bade King take a chair.
+Jinnie sat weakly on the bench beside Mr. Grandoken. He took her hand,
+and the loving pressure brought forth a storm of outraged tears.
+
+"'Twas Maudlin, Lafe," she wept.
+
+Then her arms stole around the cobbler. "The angels sent Mr. King!...
+Lafe, Lafe, save me from Maudlin! He--he----"
+
+Theodore King rose to his feet, his face paling. Lafe, smoothing
+Jinnie's head now buried in his breast, lifted misty eyes to the young
+man.
+
+"My poor baby! My poor little girl!" he stammered. "She has much to
+stand, sir."
+
+The other man took several nervous turns around the shop. Presently he
+paused near the cobbler and coughed in embarrassment.
+
+"I'm interested in doing something for your niece, Mr. Grandoken,"
+said he lamely.
+
+On hearing this, Jinnie lifted her head, and Lafe bowed.
+
+"Thank you, sir," said he.
+
+"I don't approve of her going into the marshes alone to gather wood,"
+continued Mr. King. "She's too young, too----"
+
+"I don't uther, sir," interrupted Lafe sadly, "but we've got to
+live."
+
+Not heeding the cobbler's explanation, Theodore proceeded
+deliberately.
+
+"She plays too well on the violin not to have all the training that
+can be given her. Now let me be of some service until she is
+self-supporting."
+
+Again Lafe repeated, "Thank you, sir, but I don't think Jinnie could
+accept money from any one."
+
+"I don't see why not! It's quite customary when a young person is
+ambitious to receive----"
+
+"Is it, sir?" ejaculated Lafe.
+
+"Indeed yes, and I've been making inquiries, and I find there's a very
+good teacher on the hill who'll give her the rudiments.... After that,
+we'll see."
+
+Jinnie was breathing very fast.
+
+"Lessons cost lots of money," objected Lafe feebly, drawing the girl
+closer.
+
+"I know that," interposed Mr. King, "but I want to pay for them. She
+ought to take one every day, the teacher says, commencing to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie stood up. "I couldn't let you pay for 'em," she said quickly.
+"I----"
+
+She sat down again at a motion from Theodore.
+
+"Please don't object until I have finished," he smiled at her. "It's
+like this: If you study, you'll be able to earn a lot of money. Then
+you can return every dollar to me."
+
+Suddenly it came to her mind to tell him she would have all the money
+she needed when she should be eighteen.
+
+"I'll have----" she began, but Lafe, feeling what she was going to
+say, stopped her. It wasn't time to confide in any one about the
+danger hanging over her. He took the matter in his own hands with his
+usual melancholy dignity.
+
+"Jinnie'll be glad to let you help her, sir, providin' you keep track
+of the money you spend," he agreed.
+
+The girl could scarcely believe her ears. Suddenly her indignant sense
+of Maudlin's abuse faded away, leaving her encouraged and warm with
+ambition.
+
+Theodore took one more stride around the little room.
+
+"Now that's sensible, Mr. Grandoken," he said contentedly. "And before
+I go, I want you to promise me your niece won't go into the marshes
+even once more. I must have your word before I can be satisfied. As it
+is now, she earns three dollars a week bringing me wood. That I must
+add to the lesson money----"
+
+Lafe's dissenting gesture broke off Mr. King's statement, but he
+resumed immediately.
+
+"If you're sensitive on that point, I'll add it in with the other
+money. I think it wise to keep our arrangements to ourselves, though."
+He stopped, his face changing. "And I--I would like to make you more
+comfortable here."
+
+Lafe shook his head.
+
+"I couldn't take anything for me and Peggy," he announced decidedly,
+"but Jinnie'll give back all you let her have some day."
+
+Then Theodore King went away reluctantly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+MOLLY'S DISCOVERY
+
+
+Peggy had given Jinnie a violin box, and as the girlwalked rapidly
+homeward, she gazed at it with pride, and began to plan how the
+woman's burdens could be lightened a little--how she could bring a
+smile now and then to the sullen face. This had been discussed between
+Lafe and herself many times, and they had rejoiced that in a few
+months, when Jinnie was eighteen, Mrs. Grandoken's worries would be
+lessened.
+
+She reached the bottom of the hill just as a car dashed around the
+lower corner, a woman at the wheel. One glance at the occupant, and
+Jinnie recognized Molly Merriweather. The woman smiled sweetly and
+drove to the edge of the pavement.
+
+"Good afternoon," she greeted Jinnie. "Won't you take a little ride
+with me? I'll drive you home afterwards."
+
+Jinnie's heart bounded. As yet Molly had not discovered her identity,
+and the girl, in spite of Lafe's caution, wanted to know all that had
+passed in Mottville after she left. She wanted to hear about her dead
+father, of Matty, and the old home. She gave ready assent to Molly's
+invitation by climbing into the door opened for her.
+
+"You don't have to go home right away, do you?" asked Miss
+Merriweather pleasantly.
+
+"No, I suppose not," acceded Jinnie shyly.
+
+She connected Molly the Merry with all that was good. She remembered
+the woman's kindly smiles so long ago in Mottville, and--that she was
+a friend of Theodore King. She was startled, however, after they had
+ridden in silence a while, when the woman pronounced his name.
+
+"Have you seen Mr. King lately?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I guess it's three days," she answered, low-voiced.
+
+Three days! Molly racked her brain during the few seconds before she
+spoke again to bring to mind when Theodore had been absent from home
+out of business hours.
+
+"He's a very nice man," she remarked disinterestedly.
+
+Jinnie's gratitude burst forth in youthful impetuosity.
+
+"He's more'n nice,--he's the best man in the world."
+
+"Yes, he is," murmured Molly.
+
+"Theo--I mean Mr. King," stammered Jinnie.
+
+Molly turned so quickly to look at the girl's reddening face that the
+car almost described a circle.
+
+"You call him by his first name, then?" she asked, with a sharp
+backward turn of the wheel.
+
+"No," denied Jinnie, extremely confused. "Oh, no! Only--only----"
+
+"Only what?"
+
+"When I think of him, then I do. Theodore's such a pretty name, isn't
+it?"
+
+Molly bit her lip. Here was the niece of a cobbler who dared to think
+familiarly of a man in high social position. She had tried to make
+herself believe Theo was simply philanthropic, but now the more
+closely she examined the beautiful face of the girl, the more she
+argued with herself, the greater grew her fear.
+
+"What does he call you?" Molly spoke amiably, as if discussing these
+unimportant little matters for mere politeness' sake.
+
+"Mostly Jinnie," was the prompt reply. "I'm just Jinnie to every one
+who loves me."
+
+She said this without thought of its import. Angrily Molly sent the
+motor spinning along at a higher rate. She was growing to hate the
+little person at her side.
+
+"Where are your own people?" she demanded, when they were on the road
+leading to the country.
+
+Jinnie glanced up. "Dead!" she answered.
+
+"And the cobbler, Mr. Grandoken, is he your father's or mother's
+brother?"
+
+Jinnie pondered a moment, undecided how to answer.
+
+"Why, you see it's like this----"
+
+Molly lessened the speed. Turning squarely around, she looked keenly
+at the scarlet, lovely face.
+
+"Why are you blushing?" she queried.
+
+Then like a flash she remembered. What a silly fool she had been!
+Jordan Morse would give his eyes almost to locate this girl.
+
+"I remember now who you are," she said, taking a long breath. "You're
+Virginia Singleton."
+
+Jinnie touched her arm appealingly.
+
+"You won't tell anybody, will you, please? Please don't.... There's a
+reason why."
+
+"Tell me the reason."
+
+"I couldn't now, not now. But I have to live with Lafe Grandoken quite
+a long time yet."
+
+"You ran away from your home?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Your father died the same night you came away."
+
+"Yes, and--please, what happened after I left?"
+
+"Oh, he was buried, and the house is empty."
+
+Molly forebore to mention Jordan Morse, and Jinnie's tongue refused to
+utter the terrifying name.
+
+Presently the girl, with tears in her eyes, said softly:
+
+"And Matty, old Matty?"
+
+"Who's Matty?" interjected Molly.
+
+"The black woman who took care of me. She lived with me for ever so
+long."
+
+Molly didn't reply for some time. Then:
+
+"I think she died; at least I heard she did."
+
+A cold shudder ran over Jinnie's body. Matty then had gone to join
+those who, when they were called, had no choice but to answer. She
+leaned against the soft cushions moodily. She was harking back to
+other days, and Molly permitted her to remain silent for some time.
+
+"You must have people of your own you could live with," she resumed
+presently. "It's wrong for a girl with your money----"
+
+Jinnie's lovely mouth set at the corners.
+
+"I wouldn't leave Lafe and Peggy for anybody in the world, not if I
+had relations, but I haven't."
+
+"I thought--I thought," began Molly, pretending to bring to mind
+something she'd forgotten. "You have an uncle," she burst forth.
+
+Jinnie grew cold from head to foot. Her father's words, "He won't find
+in you much of an obstacle," came to her distinctly.
+
+"Does your uncle know where you are?"
+
+This question brought the girl to the present.
+
+"No. I don't want him to know, either. Not till--not till I'm
+eighteen."
+
+"Why?"
+
+Molly's tone was so cold and unsympathetic Jinnie regretted she had
+accepted her invitation to ride. But she need not be afraid; Lafe
+would keep her safe from all harm. Had she not tried out his faith and
+the angels' care with Maudlin Bates? However, she felt she owed some
+explanation to the woman at her side.
+
+"My uncle doesn't like me," she stammered, calming her fear. "And Lafe
+loves me, Lafe does."
+
+"How do you know your uncle doesn't love you?"
+
+Thinking of Lafe's often repeated caution not to divulge her father's
+disclosure of Morse's perfidy, Jinnie remained quiet.
+
+The birds above their heads kept up a shrill chatter. On ordinary
+occasions Jinnie would have listened to mark down in her memory a few
+notes to draw from her fiddle, but at this moment she was too busy
+looking for a proper explanation. Glancing sidelong at the woman's
+face and noting the expression upon it, she grew cold and drew into
+the corner. She would not dare----
+
+"I almost think it's my duty to write your uncle," said Molly
+deliberately.
+
+Jinnie gasped. She straightened and put forth an impetuous hand.
+
+"Please don't! I beg you not to. Some day, mebbe, some day----"
+
+"In the meantime you're living with people who can't take care of
+you."
+
+"Oh, but they do, and Mr. King's helping me," faltered Jinnie. "Why,
+he'd do anything for me he could. He loves my fiddle----"
+
+"Does he love you?" asked Molly, her heart beating swiftly.
+
+"I don't know, but he's very good to me."
+
+Molly with one hand carefully brushed a dead leaf from her skirt.
+
+"Do you love him?" she asked, forcing casuality into her tone.
+
+Did she love Theodore King? The question was flung at Jinnie so
+suddenly that the truth burst from her lips.
+
+"Oh, yes, I love him very, very much----"
+
+The machine started forward with a tremendous jerk. Jinnie gave a
+frightened little cry, but the woman did not heed her. The motor sped
+along at a terrific rate, and there just ahead Jinnie spied a lean
+barn-cat, crossing the road. She screamed again in terror. Still Molly
+sped on, driving the car straight over the thin, gaunt animal.
+Jinnie's heart leapt into her mouth. All her great love for living
+things rose in stout appeal against this ruthless deed. She lifted her
+slight body and sprang up and out, striking the hard ground with a
+sickening thud. She sat up, shaking from head to foot. A short
+distance ahead Molly Merriweather was turning her machine. Jinnie
+crawled to the middle of the road, still dizzy from her fall. There,
+struggling before her, was the object for which she had jumped. The
+cat was writhing in distracted misery, and Jinnie picked him up in her
+arms. She was sitting on the ground when Molly, very pale, rolled
+back.
+
+"You little fool! You silly little fool!" she exclaimed, leaping out.
+"You might have been killed doing such a thing."
+
+"You ran over the kitty," wept Jinnie, bowing her head.
+
+"And what if I did? It's only a cat. Throw it down and come with me
+immediately."
+
+Jinnie wasn't used to such sentiments. She got to her feet, a queer,
+rebellious feeling buzzing through her brain.
+
+"I'm going to walk home," she said brokenly, "and take the kitty with
+me."
+
+Saying this, she took off her jacket and wrapped it about the cat.
+Molly glared at her furiously.
+
+"You're the strangest little dunce I ever saw," she cried. "If you're
+determined to take the little beast, get in."
+
+Molly was sorry afterward she had not let Jinnie have her way, for
+they had driven homeward but a little distance when she saw
+Theodore's car coming toward them. He himself was at the wheel, and
+waved good-naturedly. Molly reluctantly stopped her machine. The man
+looked in astonishment from the girl to the woman. He noticed Jinnie's
+white face and the long blue mark running from her forehead to her
+chin. Molly, too, wore an expression which changed her materially. He
+stepped to the ground and leaned over the edge of their car.
+
+"Something happened?" he questioned, eyeing first one, then the
+other.
+
+Molly looked down upon the girl, who was staring at Mr. King.
+
+"I--I----" began Jinnie.
+
+Molly made a short explanation.
+
+"She jumped out of the car," she said. "I was just telling her she
+might have been killed."
+
+"Jumped out of the car?" repeated Theodore, aghast.
+
+"And we were going at a terrible rate," Molly went on.
+
+Her voice was toned with accusation, and Jinnie saw a reprimanding
+expression spread over the man's face. She didn't want him to think
+ill of her, yet she was not sorry she had jumped. He was kind and
+good; he would pity the hurt thing throbbing against her breast.
+
+"We--we--ran over a cat----" she said wretchedly.
+
+"A barn-cat," cut in Molly.
+
+"And he was awfully hurt," interpolated Jinnie. "I couldn't leave him
+in the road. I had to get him, didn't I?"
+
+Theodore King made a movement of surprise.
+
+"Did you notice it in the road?" he asked Miss Merriweather.
+
+The woman was thoroughly angry, so angry she could not guard her
+tongue.
+
+"Of course I saw him," she replied haughtily, "but I wouldn't stop for
+an old cat; I can tell you that much."
+
+"Miss Grandoken looks ill," Theodore answered slowly, "and as I am
+going her way, I think she'd better come with me."
+
+Molly was about to protest when two strong arms were thrust forth, and
+Jinnie with the cat was lifted out. Before the girl fully realized
+what had happened, she was sitting beside her friend, driving
+homeward. She could hear through her aching brain the chug-chug of
+Molly's motor following. It was not until they turned into Paradise
+Road that Mr. King spoke to her. Then he said gently:
+
+"It was a dreadful risk you took, child."
+
+"I didn't think about that," murmured Jinnie, closing her eyes.
+
+"No, I suppose not. Your heart's too tender to let anything be
+abused.... Is the cat dead?"
+
+Jinnie pulled aside her jacket.
+
+"No, but he's breathing awful hard. It hurts him to try to live. I
+want to get home quick so Peggy can do something for him."
+
+"I'll hurry, then," replied Mr. King, and when he saw Lafe's face in
+the window, he again addressed her:
+
+"You'd better try to smile a little, Miss Jinnie, or your uncle'll be
+frightened."
+
+Jinnie roused herself, but she was so weak when she tried to walk that
+Theodore picked her up in his arms and carried her into the shop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+NOBODY'S CAT
+
+
+Lafe uttered a quick little prayer as the door opened. His glance
+through the window had shown him Jinnie's pale face and her dark head
+drooping against Mr. King's shoulder. Theodore smiled as he entered,
+which instantly eased the fear in the cobbler's heart and he waited
+for the other man to speak.
+
+"Jinnie had a fall," explained Mr. King, "so I drove her home."
+
+He placed the girl in a chair. She was still holding the mangled cat
+in her arms.
+
+"Is she much hurt?" questioned Lafe anxiously.
+
+"No, Lafe, I'm not hurt a bit. Miss Merriweather took me for a little
+ride. I jumped out to get this kitty because she ran over 'im."
+
+She displayed the quivering grey tiger cat.
+
+"Jumped out of a fast-goin' car, honey!" chided Lafe. "That was some
+dangerous."
+
+Jinnie's eyes were veiled with wonder.
+
+"But I couldn't let him stay and get run over again, could I, Lafe?"
+
+"No, darlin', of course you couldn't.... Are you pretty well broke
+up?"
+
+Mr. King explained the accident as best he could, and after he
+departed Mrs. Grandoken came in with Bobbie clinging to her skirts.
+Then the story was repeated.
+
+"Can't we do something for him, Peg?" pleaded Jinnie.
+
+Peg knelt down and examined the animal as it lay on the floor. She
+would not have admitted for anything that she was disturbed because of
+Jinnie's fall. She only said:
+
+"'Twasn't your fault, miss, that you ain't almost dead yourself....
+I'll get a dish with some water.... You need it as much as the cat."
+
+It was Bobbie who brought from Peggy a fierce ejaculation. He was
+standing in the middle of the floor with fluttering hands, a woebegone
+expression on his upturned face.
+
+"My stars're goin' out," he whimpered. "I want to touch my Jinnie."
+
+"She ain't hurt much, kid," said Peg, hoarsely. "Don't be shakin' like
+a leaf, Bobbie! You'd think the girl was dead."
+
+Jinnie called the boy to her.
+
+"I'm here, honey," she soothed him, "and I'm all right. I got a little
+whack on the ground, that's all.... There, don't cry, dearie."
+
+Peg looked down on them frowningly.
+
+"You're both of you little fools," she muttered. "Get out of my way
+till I go to the kitchen, or I'll kick you out."
+
+When Mrs. Grandoken brought the water, they worked over the cat for a
+long time, and at length Peg carried the poor little mangled body to
+the kitchen, Bobbie following her.
+
+Jinnie sat down beside the cobbler on the bench.
+
+"There's something I don't know, Jinnie," he said.
+
+Fully and freely she told him all--all that had happened that day. She
+explained Molly's recognition of her and the terrors of the
+afternoon's ride.
+
+"She hates barn-cats," went on the girl, "and, Lafe, when the wheels
+gritted over him, I flew right out on the ground."
+
+Lafe's arms tightened about her.
+
+"You just couldn't help it," he murmured. "God bless my little girl!"
+
+"Then Mr. King took me with him," concluded Jinnie.
+
+Lafe had his own view of Molly the Merry, but he didn't tell the
+faint, white girl at his side that he thought the woman was jealous of
+her.
+
+As Jinnie again recounted nervously the conversation about her Uncle
+Jordan, the cobbler said softly:
+
+"It's all in the hands of the angels, pet! No harm'll come to you
+ever."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jordan Morse answered Miss Merriweather's telephone call.
+
+"I want to talk with you," said she peremptorily.
+
+"I'll come right up," replied Morse.
+
+She stood on the porch with her hands tightly locked together when
+Jordan dashed up the roadway. She walked slowly down the steps.
+
+"What's up?" demanded Morse.
+
+Molly glanced backward at the quiet home. Theodore's mother was taking
+her afternoon siesta, and no one else was about. She slipped her hand
+into Morse's arm and led him under the trees.
+
+"Let's go to the summer house," she urged.
+
+Once seated, Morse looked at her curiously.
+
+"You're ill," he said, noting her distorted face.
+
+"No, only furious.... I've made a discovery."
+
+"Anything of value?"
+
+"Yes, to you--and to me."
+
+Morse bent a keen glance upon her.
+
+"Well?" was all he said.
+
+"I know where your niece, Virginia Singleton, is."
+
+She said this deliberately, realizing the while the worth of her
+words.
+
+Morse got to his feet unsteadily.
+
+"I don't believe it," he returned.
+
+"I knew you wouldn't, but I do just the same."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In this town."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Morse dropped back on the seat once more.
+
+"For God's sake, don't play with me. Why don't you----"
+
+"I'm going to! Keep still, can't you?"
+
+"You're torturing me," muttered the man, mopping his brow.
+
+"She's--she's Jinnie Grandoken--the girl who played at Theo's party."
+
+"Good God!" and then through the silence came another muttered, "Great
+merciful God!"
+
+Molly allowed him to regain his self-control.
+
+"I told you that night, Jordan, I thought I remembered her," she then
+said. "To-day I found out it was she."
+
+"Tell me all you know," ordered Morse, with darkening brow.
+
+Molly openly admitted her jealousy of Jinnie. She had no shame
+because, long before, she had told her husband of her absorbing
+passion for Theodore King.
+
+"I discovered it purely by accident," she went on, relating the
+story.
+
+Morse chewed the end of his cigar.
+
+"Now what're you going to do?" demanded Molly presently.
+
+Jordan threw away his cigar and thrust his hands deep into his
+pockets, stretching out a pair of long legs. There he sat considering
+the tips of his boots in silence.
+
+"I've got to think, and think quick," he broke out suddenly. "My God!
+I might have known she didn't belong in that cobbler's shop.... I'll
+go now.... Don't mention this to Theo."
+
+As he was leaving, he said with curling lip:
+
+"I guess now you know my prospects you won't be so stingy. I'll have
+to have money to carry this through."
+
+"All right," said Molly.
+
+When she was alone, Molly's anger decreased. She had an ally now worth
+having. She smiled delicately as she passed up the stairs to her room,
+and the smile was brought to her lips because she remembered having
+begged Jordan to help her in this matter several times before. Then he
+had had no incentive, but to-day----Ah, now he would give her a
+divorce quietly! The social world in which she hoped to move would
+know nothing of her youthful indiscretion.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night Jinnie and Peg were bending anxiously over a basket near
+the kitchen stove. All that human hands and hearts could do had been
+done for the suffering barn-cat. He had given no sign of
+consciousness, his breath coming and going in long, deep gasps.
+
+"He'll die, won't he, Peg?" asked Jinnie, sorrowfully.
+
+"Yes, sure. An' it'll be better for the beast, too." Peg said this
+tempestuously.
+
+"I'd like to have him live," replied Jinnie. "Milly Ann mightn't love
+him, but she got used to Happy Pete, didn't she?"
+
+"This feller," assured Peggy, wagging her head, "won't get used to
+anything more on this earth."
+
+"Poor kitty," mourned Jinnie.
+
+She was thinking of the beautiful world, the trees and the flowers,
+and the wonderful songs of nature amidst which the dying animal had
+existed.
+
+"I hope he'll go to some nice place," she observed sadly, walking away
+from Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+Later, after cogitating deeply, Jinnie expressed herself to the
+cobbler.
+
+"Lafe, Lafe dear," she said, "it's all true you told me, ain't it?...
+All about the angels and God?... The poor kitty's suffering awful.
+He's got the Christ too, hasn't he, Lafe?"
+
+The man looked into the agonized young face.
+
+"Yes, child," he replied reverently, "he's got the Christ too, same's
+you an' me. God's in everything. He loves 'em all."
+
+That night the girl sat unusually long with paper and pencil. Just
+before going to bed she placed a paper on the cobbler's knee.
+
+"I wrote that hurt kitty some poetry," she said shyly.
+
+Lafe settled his spectacles on his nose, picked up the sheet, and
+read:
+
+        "I'm nobody's cat and I've been here so long,
+          In this world of sorrow and pain,
+        I've no father nor mother nor home in this place,
+          And must always stay out in the rain.
+
+        "Hot dish water, stones at me have been thrown,
+          And one of my hind legs is lame;
+        No wonder I run when I know the boys
+          Come to see if I'm tame.
+
+        "I've a friend in the country, and he's nobody's dog,
+          And his burdens're heavy as mine,
+        He told me one day the boys had once tied
+          A tin can to his tail with a line.
+
+        "Now they talk in the churches of God and his Son,
+          Of Paradise, Heaven and Hell;
+        Of a Savior who came on earth for mankind,
+          And for His children all should be well.
+
+        "Now I'd like to know if God didn't make me,
+          And cause me to live and all that?
+        I believe there's a place for nobody's child,
+          And also for nobody's cat."
+
+Mr. Grandoken lifted misty eyes.
+
+"It's fine," he said, "an' every word true!... Every single word."
+
+The next morning Jinnie went to the basket behind the stove. The cat
+was dead,--dead, in the same position in which she had left him the
+night before, and close to his nose was the meat Peggy had tried to
+entice him to eat. She lifted the basket and carried it into the
+shop.
+
+"Poor little feller," said Lafe. "I 'spose you'll have to bury him,
+lass."
+
+Bobbie edged forward, and felt for Jinnie's fingers.
+
+"Bury him on the hill, dearie, where you found me," he whispered.
+"It's lovely there, and he can see my stars."
+
+"All right," replied Jinnie, dropping her hand on the boy's golden
+head.
+
+That afternoon, just before the funeral, Jinnie stood quietly in front
+of the cobbler.
+
+"Lafe," she said, looking at him appealingly, "the kitty's happy even
+if he is dead, isn't he?"
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe. "His angels've got charge of him, all right."
+
+"I was wondering something," ventured the girl, thoughtfully.
+"Couldn't we take him in the 'Happy in Spite'?... Eh, Lafe?"
+
+Lake looked at her in surprise.
+
+"I never thought of takin' anything dead in the club," said he
+dubiously.
+
+"But he's happy, you said, Lafe?"
+
+"He's happy enough, yes, sure!"
+
+"Then let's take him in," repeated Jinnie eagerly.
+
+"Let's take 'im in, cobbler," breathed Bobbie, pressing forward. "He
+wants to come in."
+
+They lifted the cover of the basket, and there in quietude the
+barn-cat was sleeping his long last sleep.
+
+Jinnie lifted one of the stiff little paws, and placed it in Lafe's
+fingers. The cobbler shook it tenderly.
+
+"You're in the club, sir," said he in a thick, choked voice. Then
+Jinnie and Bobbie, carrying their precious dead comrade, started for
+the hill.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+"HE MIGHT EVEN MARRY HER"
+
+
+"I don't see why you must have her out of the way entirely," hesitated
+Molly Merriweather, looking up into Jordan Morse's face. "Couldn't you
+send her to some girls' place?"
+
+"Now you don't know anything about it, Molly," answered the man
+impatiently. "If she doesn't disappear absolutely, the cobbler and
+Theodore'll find her."
+
+"That's so," said Molly, meditatively, "but it seems horrible----"
+
+Morse interrupted her with a sarcastic laugh.
+
+"That's what Theodore would think, and more, too, if he thought any
+one was going to harm a hair of the child's head."
+
+Molly flamed red.
+
+"To save her, he might even marry her," Morse went on relentlessly.
+
+Molly gestured negatively.
+
+"He wouldn't. He couldn't!" she cried stormily. She had never
+permitted herself to face such a catastrophe save when she was angry.
+
+Jordan Morse contemplated his wife a short space of time.
+
+"I can't understand your falling in love with a man who hasn't
+breathed a word of affection for you," he said tentatively.
+
+Molly showed him an angry face.
+
+"You're not a woman, so you can't judge," she replied.
+
+"Thank God for that!" retorted Morse.
+
+"We wouldn't have had any of this trouble," he continued, at length,
+"if you'd let me know about the boy. There's no excuse for you,
+absolutely none. You know very well I would have come back."
+
+All the softness in the woman turned to hardness.
+
+"How many times," she flamed, "must I tell you I was too angry to
+write or beg you to come, Jordan?... I've told you over and over."
+
+"And with all you say, I can't understand it. Are you going to impart
+your precious past to Theodore?"
+
+"No," replied Molly, setting her lips.
+
+Presently Morse laughed provokingly.
+
+"How you women do count your chickens before they're hatched! Where
+did you get the idea Theodore was going to ask you to marry him?"
+
+"I'll make him," breathed Molly, with confidence.
+
+"Well, go ahead," bantered Morse. "All I ask for releasing you is that
+you'll help me rid myself of my beautiful niece, Virginia, at the same
+time ridding yourself, my lady, and give me my boy when we find him."
+
+His tones in the first part of the speech were mocking, but Molly
+noted when he said "boy" his voice softened. She looked at him
+wonderingly. What a strange mixture of good and evil he was! When he
+got up to leave, she was not sorry. She watched him stride away with a
+deep sigh of relief.
+
+She was still sitting in the summer house when Theodore King swung his
+motor through the gate and drew up before the porch. He jumped out,
+wiped his face, saw Molly, and smiled.
+
+"Well, it's cool here," he said, walking toward her.
+
+"Yes," said Molly. "Come and sit down a minute."
+
+Theodore looked doubtfully at the house.
+
+"I really ought to do some writing, but I'll sit a while if you like.
+I passed Jordan on the way home."
+
+Molly nodded, and Theodore quizzed her with laughing eyes.
+
+"Isn't he coming pretty often?" he asked. "Jordan's got prospects,
+Molly! If his niece isn't found, you know, he'll have a fortune....
+Better set your cap for him."
+
+Molly blushed under his words, trying not to show her resentment. Was
+Theodore a perfect fool? Couldn't he see she desired no one but
+himself, and him alone?
+
+"Jordan doesn't care for me that way," she observed with dignity, "and
+I don't care for him."
+
+Theodore flicked an ash from his cigar.
+
+"I think you're mistaken, Molly--I mean as far as he is concerned."
+
+"I'm not! Of course, I'm not! Oh, Theodore, I've been wanting to ask
+you something for a long time. I do want to go back home for a day....
+Would you take me?"
+
+Theodore eyed her through wreaths of blue smoke.
+
+"Well, I might," he hesitated, "but hadn't you better ask Jordan? I'm
+afraid he wouldn't like me----"
+
+Molly got up so quickly that Theodore, surprised, got up too.
+
+"I don't want Jordan, and I do want you," she said emphatically. "Of
+course if you don't care to go----"
+
+"On the contrary," interrupted Theodore, good-naturedly, "I would
+really like it.... Yes, I'll go all right.... I have a reason for
+going."
+
+Molly's whole demeanor changed. She gave a musical laugh. He could
+have but one reason, and she felt she knew that reason! What a
+handsome dear he was, and how she loved the whole bigness of him!
+
+As she turned to walk away, Theodore fell in at her side, suiting his
+steps to hers.
+
+"Mind you, Molly, any day you say but Saturday."
+
+"Why not Saturday?" asked Molly, pouting. "I might want you then!"
+
+Unsuspecting, Mr. King explained.
+
+"The fact is, Saturday I've planned to go on the hill. You remember
+Grandoken's niece? I want to find out how she's progressing in her
+music."
+
+If Theodore had been watching Molly's face, he would have noted how
+its expression changed darkly. But, humming a tune, he went into the
+house unconcernedly, and Molly recognized the rhythm as one Jinnie had
+played that night long ago with Peg Grandoken's lace curtains draped
+about her.
+
+Jinnie's youth, her bright blue eyes, her wonderful talent, Molly
+hated, and hated cordially. Then she decided Theodore should go with
+her Saturday.
+
+That evening when Jordan Morse came in, Molly told him she would help
+him in any scheme to get Jinnie away from Bellaire.
+
+"You're beginning to understand he likes her pretty much, eh?" asked
+the man rudely.
+
+Molly wouldn't admit this, but she replied simply:
+
+"I don't want her around. That's all! As long as she's in Bellaire,
+the Kings'll always have her here with her fiddle."
+
+"Some fiddle," monotoned Jordan.
+
+"It's the violin that attracts Theodore," hesitated Molly.
+
+"And her blue eyes," interrupted Jordan, smiling widely.
+
+"Her talent, you mean," corrected Molly.
+
+"And her curls," laughed Morse. "I swear if she wasn't a relation of
+mine I'd marry the kid myself. She's a beauty!... She's got you
+skinned to death."
+
+"You needn't be insulting, Jordan," admonished Molly, flushing.
+
+"It's the truth, though. That's where the rub comes. You can't wool
+me, Molly. If she were hideous, you wouldn't worry at all.... Why, I
+know seven or eight girls right here in Bellaire who'd give their eye
+teeth and wear store ones to get Theodore to look at 'em crosseyed....
+Lord, what fools women are!"
+
+Molly left him angrily, and Morse, shrugging his shoulders, strolled
+on through the trees. Not far from the house he met Theodore, and they
+wandered on together, smoking in silence. Morse suddenly developed an
+idea. Why shouldn't he sound King about Jinnie? Accordingly, he began
+with:
+
+"That's a wonderful girl, Grandoken's niece."
+
+This topic was one Theodore loved to speak of, to dream so, so he said
+impetuously:
+
+"She is indeed. I only wish I could get her away from Paradise Road."
+
+Morse turned curious eyes on his friend.
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Well, I don't think it's any place for an impressionable young girl
+like her."
+
+"She's living with Jews, too, isn't she?"
+
+"Yes, but good people," Theodore replied. "I want her to go away to
+school. I'd be willing to pay her expenses----"
+
+Morse flung around upon him.
+
+"Send her away to school? You?"
+
+"Yes. Why not? Wouldn't it be a good piece of charity work? She's the
+most talented girl I ever saw."
+
+"And the prettiest," Jordan cut in.
+
+"By far the prettiest," answered King without hesitation.
+
+His voice was full of feeling, and Jordan Morse needed no more to tell
+him plainly that Theodore loved Jinnie Grandoken. A sudden chill
+clutched at his heart. If King ever took Jinnie under his protection,
+his own plans would count for nothing. He went home that night
+disgusted with himself for having stayed away from his home country so
+long, angry that Molly had not told him about the baby, and more than
+angry with Theodore King.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+WHEN THEODORE FORGOT
+
+
+For the next few days Jordan Morse turned over in his mind numerous
+plans to remove Jinnie from Grandoken's home, but none seemed
+feasible. As long as Lafe knew his past and stood like a rock beside
+the girl, as long as Theodore King was interested in her, he himself
+was powerless to do anything. How to get both the cobbler and his
+niece out of the way was a problem which continually worried him.
+
+He mentioned his anxiety to Molly, asking her if by any means she
+could help him.
+
+"I did tell her I'd write to you," said Molly.
+
+Morse's face fell.
+
+"She's a stubborn little piece," he declared presently. "Theo's in
+love with her all right."
+
+"You don't really mean that!" stammered Molly, her heart thumping.
+
+"Perhaps not very seriously, but such deep interest as his must come
+from something more than just the girl's talent. He spoke about
+sending her away to school."
+
+"He shan't," cried Molly, infuriated.
+
+Morse's rehearsal of Theodore's suggestion was like goads in her
+soul.
+
+"If she'd go," went on the man, "nothing you or I could do would stop
+him. The only way----"
+
+Molly whirled upon him abruptly.
+
+"I'll help you, Jordan, I will.... Anything, any way to keep him from
+her."
+
+They were both startled and confused when Theodore came upon them
+suddenly with his swinging stride, but before Morse went home, he
+whispered to Molly:
+
+"I've thought of something--tell you to-morrow."
+
+That night Molly scarcely slept. The vision of a black-haired girl in
+the arms of Theodore King haunted her through her restless dreams, and
+the agony was so intense that before the dawn broke over the hill she
+made up her mind to help her husband, even to the point of putting
+Jinnie out of existence.
+
+That morning Morse approached her with this command:
+
+"You try to get Jinnie to go with you to Mottville. You wouldn't have
+to stay but a day or so. There your responsibilities would end....
+I'll be there at the same time.... Will you do it, Molly?"
+
+"Yes," said Molly, and her heart began to sing and her eyes to shine.
+Her manner to Jordan as he left was more cordial than since his return
+from Europe.
+
+At noon time, when Theodore King saw her walking, sweetly cool, under
+the trees, he joined her. Molly had donned the dress he had
+complimented most, and as he approached her, she lifted a shy gaze to
+his.
+
+"You couldn't take me to-morrow, you're sure?" she begged, her voice
+low, deep and appealingly resonant.
+
+Theodore hesitated. Being naturally chivalrous and kindly, he disliked
+to refuse, but he had already sent a note to Jinnie to meet him at the
+master's Saturday, and it went against his inclination to break that
+appointment.
+
+"I don't see how I can," he replied thoughtfully, "but choose any day
+next week, and we'll make a real picnic of it."
+
+"I'm so disappointed," Molly murmured sadly. "I wanted to go Saturday.
+But of course----"
+
+"I'll see if I can arrange it," he assured her. "Possibly I might go
+up to hear her play to-day.... I'll see.... Later I'll 'phone you."
+
+Leaving the house, he headed his car toward the lower end of the town.
+He was glad of an excuse to go to Paradise Road. Lafe smiled through
+the window at him, and he entered the shop at the cobbler's cordial,
+"Come in!"
+
+"I suppose you want Jinnie, eh?" asked Lafe.
+
+"Yes. I'll detain her only a moment."
+
+Bobbie got up from the floor where he was playing soldiers with tacks
+and nails.
+
+"Boy'll call Jinnie," said he, moving forward.
+
+The two men watched the slender blind child feel his way to the door.
+
+"Bobbie loves to take a part in things," explained Lafe. "Poor little
+fellow!"
+
+"Is he hopelessly blind?" asked Theodore.
+
+"Yes, yes," and Lafe sighed. "I sent him once by Peg to ask a big eye
+specialist. He's a good little shaver, but his heart's awful weak. You
+wouldn't think he's almost eleven, would you?"
+
+Theodore shook his head, shocked.
+
+"It isn't possible!" he exclaimed.
+
+"He ain't growed much since he come here over two years ago. Jinnie
+can carry him in one arm."
+
+"Poor child!" said Theodore sympathetically.
+
+Just then Jinnie came into the room shyly. Bobbie had excitedly
+whispered to her that "the beautiful big man with the nice hands"
+wanted her. She hesitated at the sight of Mr. King, but advanced as
+Lafe held out his hand to her.
+
+Before Theodore could explain, she had told him:
+
+"The master isn't giving me a lesson to-day, but he will to-morrow
+because you're coming."
+
+With pride in her voice, she said it radiantly, the color mantling
+high in her cheeks. Molly's importunate insistence escaped Theodore's
+mind. When with Jinnie, ordinary matters generally did fade away.
+
+"I'm very glad," he replied. "I hope you've progressed a lot."
+
+"She has, sir, she sure has," Lafe put in. "You'll be surprised! How
+long since you've heard her play?"
+
+"A long time," answered Theodore, and still forgetting Molly, he went
+on, "I wonder if you'd like to come to the house to-morrow to dinner
+and play for us. My mother was speaking about how much she'd enjoy it
+only a short time ago."
+
+Jinnie's eyes sparkled.
+
+"I should love to come," she answered gladly.
+
+He rose to go, taking her hand.
+
+"Then I'll send the car for you," he promised her.
+
+He was sitting at his office desk when Molly the Merry once more came
+into his mind. An ejaculation escaped his lips, and he made a wry
+face. Then, in comparison, Jinnie, with all her sparkling youth, rose
+triumphant before him. He loved the child, for a child she still
+seemed to him. To tell her now of his affection might harm her work.
+He would wait! She was so young, so very young.
+
+For a long time he sat thinking and dreaming of the future, and into
+the quiet of his office he brought, in brilliant vision, a radiant,
+raven-haired woman--his ideal--his Jinnie. Suddenly again he
+remembered his promise to Molly and slowly took down the telephone.
+Then deliberately he replaced it. It would be easier to explain the
+circumstances face to face with her, and no doubt entered his mind but
+that the woman would be satisfied and very glad that Jinnie was
+coming with her violin to play for them. Molly wouldn't mind
+postponing her trip for a few days.
+
+Molly was reclining as usual in the hammock with a book in her hand
+when he ran up the steps.
+
+"Molly," he began, going to her quickly, "I want to confess."
+
+"Confess?" she repeated, sitting up.
+
+"Yes, it's this way: When I went out this morning I felt sure I could
+arrange about to-morrow.... But what do you think?"
+
+Miss Merriweather put down the book, stood up, her hand over her
+heart.
+
+"I can't guess," she breathed.
+
+"Well, I went to Grandoken's----"
+
+"You could have sent a note," Molly cut in.
+
+Theodore looked at her curiously.
+
+"I could, but I didn't. I wanted Jinnie to understand----"
+
+His voice vibrated deeply when he spoke that name, and the listener's
+love-laden ears caught the change immediately.
+
+"Well?" she murmured in question.
+
+"When I got there and saw her, I forgot about Saturday. Before I had a
+chance, she told me she wasn't going to the master's to-day. Then
+without another thought----"
+
+"Well?" interviewed Molly with widening eyes.
+
+"Pardon me, Molly," Theodore said tactlessly, "for forgetting you--you
+will, won't you? I asked her to play here to-morrow night."
+
+Molly felt the structure of her whole world tumbling down about her
+ears. He had forgotten her for that girl, that jade in Paradise Road,
+the girl who stood between her and all her hopes. She took one step
+forward and forgot, her dignity, forgot everything but his stinging
+insult.
+
+"How dared you?" she uttered hoarsely. Her voice grew thin as it
+raised to the point of a question.
+
+"Dare!" echoed Theodore, his expression changing.
+
+Molly went nearer him with angry, sparkling eyes.
+
+"Yes, how dared you ask that girl to come here when I dislike her? You
+know how I hate her----"
+
+Mr. King tossed his cigar into the grass, gravity settling on his
+countenance.
+
+"I hadn't the slightest idea you disliked her," he said.
+
+Molly eagerly advanced into the space between them.
+
+"She is trying to gain some sort of influence over you, Theo, just the
+same as she got over that Jewish cobbler."
+
+Theodore King gazed in amazement at the reddening, beautiful face.
+Surely he had not heard aright. Had she really made vile charges
+against the girl? To implicate Jinnie with a thought of conspiracy
+brought hot blood about his temples. He wouldn't stand that even from
+an old-time friend. Of course he liked Molly very much, yes, very much
+indeed, but this new antagonistic spirit in her----
+
+"What's the matter with you, Molly?" he demanded abruptly. "You
+haven't any reason to speak of the child that way."
+
+"The child!" sneered Molly. "Why, she's a little river rat--a bold,
+nasty----"
+
+Theodore King raised his great shoulders, throwing back his closely
+cropped head. Then he sprang to refute the terrible aspersion against
+the girl he loved.
+
+"Stop!" he commanded in a harsh voice, leaning over the panting woman.
+"And now I'll ask you how _you_ dare?" he finished.
+
+Molly answered him bravely, catching her breath in a sob.
+
+"I dare because I'm a woman.... I dare because I know what she's
+doing. If she hadn't played her cards well, you'd never've paid any
+attention to her at all.... No one can make me believe you would have
+been interested in a--in a----"
+
+The man literally whirled from the porch, bounded into the motor,
+turned the wheel, and shot rapidly away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+MOLLY ASKS TO BE FORGIVEN
+
+
+All the evening Molly waited in despair. She dared not appear at
+dinner and arose the next morning after a sleepless night. For two or
+three hours she hovered about the telephone, hoping for word from
+Theodore. He would certainly 'phone her. He would tell her he was
+sorry for the way he had left her, for the way he had spoken to her.
+Even his mother noticed her pale face and extreme nervousness.
+
+"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. King, solicitously.
+
+"Nothing, nothing--much," answered Molly evasively.
+
+Mrs. King hesitated before she ventured, "I thought I heard you and
+Theo talking excitedly last night. Molly, you musn't quarrel with
+him.... You know the wish of my heart.... I need you, child, and so
+does he."
+
+Miss Merriweather knelt beside the gentle woman.
+
+"He doesn't care for me, dear!" she whispered.
+
+For an instant she was impelled to speak of Jinnie, but realizing what
+a tremendous influence Theodore had over his mother, she dared not.
+Like her handsome son, Mrs. King worshipped genius, and Molly
+reluctantly admitted to herself that the girl possessed it.
+
+"He's young yet," sighed the mother, "and he's always so sweet to you,
+Molly. Some day he'll wake up.... There, there, dearie, don't cry!"
+
+"I'm so unhappy," sobbed Molly.
+
+Mrs. King smoothed the golden head tenderly.
+
+"Why, child, he can't help but love you," she insisted. "He knows how
+much I depend on you.... I'd have had you with me long before if your
+father hadn't needed you.... Shall I speak to Theodore?"
+
+"No, no----" gasped Molly, and she ran from the room.
+
+Under the tall trees she paced for many minutes. How could she wait
+until dinner--until he came home? She felt her pride ebbing away as
+she watched the sun cross the sky. The minutes seemed hours long.
+Molly went swiftly into the house. First assuring herself no one was
+within hearing distance, she paused before the telephone, longing, yet
+scarcely daring to use it. Then she took off the receiver and called
+Theodore's number. His voice, deep, low and thrilling, answered her.
+
+"It's I, Theo," she said faintly.... "Molly."
+
+"Yes," he answered, but that was all.
+
+He gave her no encouragement, no opening, but in desperation she
+uttered,
+
+"Theodore, I'm sorry!... Oh, I'm so sorry!... Won't you forgive me?"
+
+There was silence on the wire for an appreciable length of time.
+
+"Theodore?" murmured Molly once more.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want you to forgive me.... I couldn't wait until you came home."
+
+She heard a slight cough, then came the reply.
+
+"I can't control your thoughts, Molly, but I dislike to have my
+friends illy spoken of."
+
+"I know! I know it, Theodore! But please forgive me, won't you?"
+
+"Very well," answered Theodore, and he clicked off the 'phone.
+
+Molly dropped her face into her hands.
+
+"He hung the receiver up in my ear," she muttered. "How cruel, how
+terrible of him!"
+
+It was a wan, beautiful face that turned up to Theodore King when he
+came home to dinner. Too kindly by nature to hurt any one, he smiled
+at Molly. Then he stopped and held out his hand. The woman took it,
+saying earnestly:
+
+"I'm sorry, Theo.... I'm very sorry. I think I'm a little cat, don't
+you?" and she laughed, the tension lifted from her by his cordiality.
+
+There was a wholesomeness in her manner that made Theodore's heart
+glad.
+
+"Of course not, Molly!... You couldn't be that!... And next week we
+will have a lovely day in the country."
+
+Molly turned away sadly. She had hoped he would do as she wanted him
+to in spite of his appointment with Jinnie Grandoken.
+
+That evening Jinnie wore a beautiful new dress when she started for
+the Kings. Of course she didn't know that Theodore had arranged with
+Peggy to purchase it, and when Mrs. Grandoken had told her to come
+along and buy the gown, Jinnie's eyes sparkled, but she shook her
+head.
+
+"I'd rather you'd spend the money on Lafe and Bobbie," she said.
+
+But Peggy replied, "No," and that's how it came that Jinnie stepped
+quite proudly from the motor car at the stone steps.
+
+Molly Merriweather met her with a forced smile, and Jinnie felt
+strained until Theodore King's genial greeting dissipated the affront.
+After the dinner, through which she sat very much embarrassed, she
+played until, to the man watching her, it seemed as if the very roof
+would lift from the house and sail off into the Heavens.
+
+When Jinnie was ready to go home, standing blushing under the bright
+light, she had never looked more lovely. Molly hoped Theo would send
+the girl alone in the car with Bennett, but as she saw him put on his
+hat, she said, with hesitancy:
+
+"Mayn't I go along?"
+
+She asked the question of Theodore, and realized instantly that he did
+not want her.
+
+Jinnie came forward impetuously.
+
+"Oh, do come, Miss Merriweather! It'll be so nice."
+
+And Molly hated the girl more cordially than ever.
+
+On arriving home Jinnie beamed out her happiness to the cobbler and
+his wife.
+
+"And the fiddle, Peggy, they loved the fiddle," she told the woman.
+
+"Did you make it, Jinnie?" asked Peggy gruffly.
+
+"What, the fiddle?" demanded Jinnie.
+
+Peggy nodded.
+
+"No," faltered Jinnie in surprise.
+
+"Then don't brag about it," warned Peggy. "If you'd a glued them
+boards together, it'd a been something, but as long as you didn't, it
+ain't no credit to you."
+
+Lafe laughed, and Jinnie, too, uttered a low, rueful sound. How funny
+Peg was! And when Mrs. Grandoken had gone to prepare for the night,
+Lafe insisted that Jinnie tell him over and over all the happenings of
+the evening. For a long time afterwards she sat dreaming, reminiscing
+in sweet fancy every word and smile Theodore had given her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+"HAVEN'T YOU ANY SOUL?"
+
+
+Whenever Molly Merriweather was mentioned to Theodore King, that young
+man felt a twinge in his conscience. His mother had taken him gently
+to task. Out of respect for Molly's wishes she refrained from speaking
+of the girl's affection for him, but cautioned him to be careful not
+to offend her companion.
+
+"She's very sensitive, you know, Theodore dear, and very good to me. I
+really don't know what I'd do without her."
+
+"I was thoughtless!... I'll do better, mother mine," he smiled. "I'll
+go to her now and tell her so."
+
+Theodore found Molly writing a letter in the library. He sank into an
+easy chair and yawned good-naturedly. The woman was still furious with
+him, so merely lifted her eyes at his entrance, and went on writing.
+Theodore was quiet for a few moments, then with a laugh went to the
+desk and took the pen forcibly from Molly's hand.
+
+"Come and make up," he said.
+
+"Have we anything to make up?" she asked languidly, keeping her eyes
+on the paper.
+
+"Of course we have. You know very well, Molly, you're angry with
+me.... Now mother says----"
+
+She caught his bantering tone, and resenting it, drew her fingers away
+haughtily.
+
+"You learn good manners from your mother, it seems."
+
+Her tone was insolent and angered him. Theodore returned quickly to
+his chair.
+
+"No, I don't," he denied. "You know I don't! But before you asked me
+to go with you Saturday, I told you I had an appointment----"
+
+"Yes, and you told me who it was with, too," Molly thrust back in his
+teeth.
+
+"Exactly, because there's no reason why I shouldn't. I've taken an
+extreme interest in the little girl.... You offended me by talking
+against her."
+
+Molly's temper was rising by the minute. She had armored herself with
+a statement, the truth of which she would force upon him.
+
+"I'm not sure I said anything that wasn't true," she returned
+discourteously.
+
+Theodore leaned back in his chair.
+
+"Then you didn't mean it when you said you were sorry?" he demanded
+shortly.
+
+"I wanted you to go with me, that's all."
+
+"And you took that way to make me. Was that it?"
+
+Molly picked up her pen and made a few marks with it.
+
+"I'm not interested in Miss Grandoken," she replied.
+
+"So I notice," retorted Theodore, provokingly.
+
+She turned around upon him with angry, sparkling eyes.
+
+"I think you've a lot of nerve to bring her into your home."
+
+She hazarded this without thought of consequences.
+
+"What do you mean?" he asked presently, searching her face with an
+analytical gaze.
+
+Molly was wrought up to the point of invention, perhaps because she
+was madly jealous.
+
+"Men generally keep that sort of a woman to themselves," she
+explained. "A home is usually sacred to the ordinary man."
+
+Theodore was stung to silence. It was a bitter fling, and his thoughts
+worked rapidly. It took a long moment for his tall figure to get up
+from the chair.
+
+"Just what _do_ you mean?" he demanded, thrusting his hands into his
+pockets.
+
+"I don't believe I need tell you any more," she answered.
+
+Theodore stood in the middle of the room as if turned to stone.
+
+"I'm dense, I guess," he admitted huskily.
+
+Angered beyond reason or self-control, Molly pushed the letter away
+impatiently and stood up.
+
+"Well, if you're so terribly dense, then listen. No man is ever
+interested in a girl like that unless she is something more to him
+than a mere----" She broke off, because a dark red flush was spreading
+in hot waves over the man's face. But bravely she proceeded, "Of
+course you wouldn't insult your family and your friends by marrying
+her. Then what conclusion do you want them to draw?"
+
+Theodore looked at her as if she'd suddenly lost her senses. She had
+cast an aspersion upon the best little soul in God's created world.
+
+"Well, of all the villainous insinuations I ever heard!" he thundered
+harshly. "My God, woman! Haven't you any soul ... any decency about
+you?"
+
+The question leaped out of a throat tense with uncontrollable rage. It
+was couched in language never used to her before, and caused the woman
+to stagger back. She was about to demand an apology, when Theodore
+flung out of the room and banged the door behind him.
+
+Molly sat down quickly. Humiliating, angry tears flowed down her
+cheeks and she made no effort to restrain them. What cared she that
+Theodore had repudiated her accusation? She felt she had discovered
+the truth, and nothing more need be said about it.
+
+After growing a little calmer, she saw that she'd made another mistake
+by enraging Theodore. He had not taken her insults against the girl as
+she had expected.
+
+Half an hour later she called his office and was informed he was out.
+
+Theodore left Molly more angry than he'd ever been in his life.
+Instead of making him think less of Jinnie, Molly's aspersions drew
+him more tenderly toward the girl. As he strode through the road under
+the trees, his heart burned to see her. He looked at his watch--it was
+four o'clock. Jinnie had had her lesson in the morning, so he could
+not call for her at the master's. Just then he saw her walking quickly
+along the street, and she lifted shy, glad eyes as he spoke her name.
+By this time his temper had cooled, yet there lingered in his heart
+the stabbing hurt brought there by Molly's slurs. He felt as if in
+some way he owed an apology to Jinnie; as if he must make up for harm
+done her by a vile, gossiping tongue.
+
+He fell into step beside her and gently took the violin box from her
+hand.
+
+"And how is my little friend to-day?" he asked.
+
+His voice, unusually musical, made Jinnie spontaneously draw a little
+nearer him.
+
+"I'm very well," she returned, demurely, "and I've learned some very
+lovely things. I went up twice to-day--sometimes the master makes me
+come back in the afternoon."
+
+It eased his offended dignity to see her so happy, so vividly lovely.
+He had gone to Molly with the intention of asking her to go with him
+some day soon to Mottville. He thought of this now with a grim setting
+of his teeth; but looking at Jinnie, an idea more to his liking came
+in its place. He would take _her_ somewhere for a day. She needed just
+such a day to make her color a little brighter, although as he
+glanced at her again, he had to admit she was rosy enough.
+Nevertheless a great desire came over him to ask her; so when they had
+almost reached the cobbler's shop, he said:
+
+"How would a nice holiday suit you?"
+
+Jinnie looked up into his face, startled.
+
+"What do you mean by a holiday? Not to take lessons?"
+
+Theodore caught her thought, and laughed.
+
+"Oh, no, not that! But I was thinking if you would go with me into the
+country----"
+
+"For a whole day?" gasped Jinnie, stopping point blank.
+
+"Yes, for a whole day," replied Theodore, smiling.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't go. I couldn't."
+
+"Why?... Don't you want to?"
+
+Of course she wanted to go. Jinnie felt that if she knew she was going
+with him, she'd fly to the sky and back again.
+
+"Yes," she murmured. "I'd like to go, but I couldn't--for lots of
+reasons!... Lafe wouldn't let me for one, and then Bobbie needs me
+awfully."
+
+They started on, and Jinnie could see Lafe's window, but not the
+cobbler himself.
+
+"But I'd bring you back at dusk," Theodore assured her, "and you'd be
+happy----"
+
+"Happy! Happy!" she breathed, with melting eyes. "I'd be more'n happy,
+but I can't go."
+
+Theodore raised his hat quickly and left her without another word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+JINNIE DECIDES AGAINST THEODORE
+
+
+Now for a few days Theodore King had had in mind a plan which, as he
+contemplated it, gave him great delight. He had decided to send Jinnie
+Grandoken away to school, to a school where she would learn the many
+things he considered necessary.
+
+So one morning at Jinnie's lesson hour he appeared at the cobbler's
+shop and was received by Lafe with his usual grave smile.
+
+"Jinnie's at the master's," said Mr. Grandoken, excusing the girl's
+absence.
+
+"Yes, I know. The fact is, I wanted to talk with you and Mrs.
+Grandoken."
+
+Lafe looked at him critically.
+
+"Bobsie," said he to the blind boy, "call Peggy, will you?"
+
+When the woman and child came in hand in hand, Peggy bowed awkwardly
+to Mr. King. Somehow, when this young man appeared with his
+aristocratic manner and his genial, friendly advances, she was always
+embarrassed.
+
+Theodore cleared his throat.
+
+"For some time," he began, "I've had in mind a little plan for Miss
+Jinnie, and I do hope you'll concur with me in it."
+
+He glanced from the cobbler to his wife, and Lafe replied,
+
+"You've been too kind already, Mr. King----"
+
+"It isn't a question of kindness, my dear Mr. Grandoken. As I've told
+you before, I'm very much interested in your niece."
+
+Bobbie slipped from Mrs. Grandoken and went close to the speaker.
+
+"She's my Jinnie," breathed the boy with a saintly smile.
+
+Theodore laughed.
+
+"Yes, I know that, my lad, but you want her to be happy, don't you?"
+
+"She is happy," interjected Lafe, trembling.
+
+"You might tell us your plan," broke in Peg sourly, who always desired
+to get the worst over quickly.
+
+"Well, it is to send her away to school for a few years."
+
+Bobbie gave a little cry and staggered to Peg, holding out his hands.
+She picked him up, with bitterness depicted in her face. But when she
+looked at her husband she was shocked, for he was leaning against the
+wall, breathing deeply.
+
+"I knew the thought of letting her go would affect you, Mr.
+Grandoken," soothed Theodore. "That's why I came alone. Jinnie's so
+tender-hearted I feared the sight of your first grief might cause her
+to refuse."
+
+"Does she know you was goin' to ask us this?" demanded Peg
+suspiciously.
+
+Mr. King shook his head.
+
+"Of course not! If she had, she and I would have asked it together."
+
+"God bless 'er!" murmured Lafe. "You see it's like this, sir: Peg and
+me don't want to stand in her light."
+
+"I won't let my Jinnie go," sighed Bobbie. "I haven't any stars when
+she's gone."
+
+"The poor child's devoted to her," excused Lafe. "That's what makes
+him act so about it."
+
+Theodore's sympathy forced him to his feet.
+
+"So I see," said he. "Come here, young man! I want to talk to you a
+minute."
+
+Reluctantly Bobbie left Mrs. Grandoken, and Theodore, sitting again,
+took him on his knee.
+
+"Now, Bobbie, look at me."
+
+Bobbie turned up a wry, tearful face.
+
+"I've got my eyes on you, sir," he wriggled.
+
+"That's right! Don't you want your Jinnie to learn a lot of things and
+be a fine young lady?"
+
+"She is a fine young lady now," mumbled Bobbie stubbornly, "and she's
+awful pretty."
+
+"True," acquiesced Theodore, much amused, "but she must study a lot
+more."
+
+"Lafe could learn her things," argued Bobbie, sitting up very
+straight. "Lafe knows everything."
+
+Mr. King smiled and glanced at the cobbler, but Lafe's face was so
+drawn and white that Theodore looked away again. He couldn't make it
+seem right that he should bring about such sorrow as this, yet the
+thought of Jinnie and what he wanted her to be proved a greater
+argument with him than the grief of her family.
+
+"I've told you, sir," Lafe repeated, "and I say again, my wife and me
+don't want to stand in our girl's light. She'll decide when she comes
+home."
+
+Theodore got up, placing Bobbie on his feet beside him.
+
+"I hope she'll think favorably of my idea, then," said he, "and
+to-morrow I'll see her and make some final arrangements."
+
+After he had gone, Peggy and Lafe sat for a long time without a word.
+
+"Go to the kitchen, Bobbie," said Mrs. Grandoken presently, "and give
+Happy Pete a bit of meat."
+
+The boy paused in his stumbling way to the kitchen.
+
+"I don't want my Jinnie to go away," he mumbled.
+
+When the door closed on the blind child, Peggy shook her shoulders
+disdainfully.
+
+"She'll go, of course," she sneered.
+
+"An' we can't blame 'er if she does, Peg," answered Lafe sadly. "She's
+young yet, an' such a chance ain't comin' every day."
+
+The woman got heavily to her feet.
+
+"I hate 'er, but the house's dead when she ain't in it," and she went
+rapidly into the other room.
+
+Jinnie came into the shop wearily, but one look at the cobbler brought
+her to a standstill. She didn't wait to take off her hat before going
+directly to him.
+
+"Lafe--Lafe dear, you're sick. Why, honey dear----"
+
+"I ain't very well, Jinnie darlin'. Would you mind askin' Peggy to
+come in a minute?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked up as the girl came in.
+
+"Lafe wants you, Peg. He's sick, isn't he? What happened to him,
+Peggy?"
+
+Bobbie uttered a whining cry.
+
+"Jinnie," he called, "Jinnie, come here!"
+
+Peg pushed the girl back into the little hall.
+
+"You shut up, Bobbie," she ordered, "and sit there! Jinnie'll come
+back in a minute."
+
+Then the speaker shoved the girl ahead of her into the shop and stood
+with her arms folded, austerely silent.
+
+"I want to know what's the matter," insisted Jinnie.
+
+"You tell 'er, Peg. I just couldn't," whispered Lafe.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken drew a deep breath and ground her teeth.
+
+"You've got to go away, kid," she began tersely, dropping into a
+chair.
+
+Jinnie blanched in fright.
+
+"My uncle!" she exclaimed, growing weak-kneed.
+
+"No such thing," snapped Peg. "You're goin' to a fine school an' learn
+how to be a elegant young lady."
+
+"Who said so?" flashed Jinnie.
+
+"Mr. King," cut in Lafe.
+
+Then Jinnie understood, and she laughed hysterically. For one blessed
+single moment her woman's heart told her that Theodore would not be so
+eager for her welfare if he didn't love her.
+
+"Was that what made your tears, Lafe?"
+
+Her eyes glistened as she uttered the question.
+
+Lafe nodded.
+
+"And what made Bobbie cry so loud?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Was Mr. King here?"
+
+"Sure," said Peg.
+
+"And he said I was to go away to school, eh?"
+
+"Yes," repeated Peg, "an' of course you'll go."
+
+Jinnie went forward and placed a slender hand on Lafe's shoulder. Then
+she faced Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Didn't you both know me well enough to tell him I wouldn't go for
+anything in the world?"
+
+If a bomb had been placed under Mrs. Grandoken's chair, she wouldn't
+have jumped up any more quickly, and she flung out of the door before
+Jinnie could stop her. Then the girl wound her arms about the
+cobbler's neck.
+
+"I wouldn't leave you, dear, not for any school on earth," she
+whispered. "Now I'm going to tell Mr. King so."
+
+Jinnie sped along Paradise Road and into the nearest drug store. It
+took her a few minutes to find Theodore's number, and when she took
+off the receiver, she had not the remotest idea how to word her
+refusal. She only remembered Lafe's sad face and Bobbie's sharp,
+agonizing calling of her name.
+
+"I want to speak to Mr. King," she said in answer to a strange voice
+at the other end of the wire.
+
+Her voice was so low that a sharp reply came back.
+
+"Who'd you want?"
+
+"Theodore King."
+
+She waited a minute and then another voice, a voice she knew and
+loved, said,
+
+"This is Mr. King!"
+
+"I'm Jinnie Grandoken," Theodore heard. "I wanted to tell you I
+wouldn't go away from home ever; no, never! I wouldn't; I couldn't!"
+
+"Don't you want to study?" Mr. King asked eagerly.
+
+Jinnie shook her head as if she were face to face with him.
+
+"I'm studying all the time," she said brokenly, "and I can't go away
+now. If they couldn't spare me one day, they couldn't all the time."
+
+"Then I suppose that settles it," was the reluctant reply. "I hoped
+you'd be pleased, but never mind! I'll see you very soon."
+
+"I told him!" said Jinnie, facing the cobbler. "Now, Lafe, don't ever
+think I'm going away, because I'm not. I've got some plans of my own
+for us all when I'm eighteen. Till then I stay right here."
+
+At dinner Peg cut off a very large piece of meat and flung it on
+Jinnie's plate.
+
+"I suppose you're plumin' yourself because you didn't go to school;
+but you needn't, 'cause nothin' could drag you from this shop, an'
+there's my word for it." Then she glanced at Lafe, and ended, "If 'er
+leg was nailed to your bench, she wouldn't be any tighter here. Now
+eat, all of you, an' keep your mouths shut."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+PEG'S VISIT
+
+
+One morning Bobbie sat down gravely some distance from Lafe, took up
+one of Milly Ann's kittens, and fell into troubled thought. After
+permitting him to be silent a few moments, the cobbler remarked,
+
+"Anything on your mind, comrade?"
+
+"Yes," said Bobbie, sighing.
+
+"Can't you tell a feller what it is?"
+
+Bobbie pushed the kitten from his lap. He crept to the cobbler's side
+slowly. Then, as he leaned his golden head against his friend, Lafe's
+arm fell about him.
+
+"Tell me, laddie," insisted Mr. Grandoken.
+
+"My stars're all gone out," faltered the boy sadly.
+
+"What made 'em go out, Bob?... Can you tell?"
+
+"Yes," blubbered Bobbie. "I guess Jinnie's sick, that's what's the
+matter."
+
+"Sick?" asked Lafe, in a startled voice. "Who said so?... Did she?"
+
+Bobbie shook his head.
+
+"No, but I know!... She cried last night, and other nights too."
+
+Lafe considered a moment.
+
+"I'm glad you told me, Bob," he said, knocking the ashes from his
+pipe.
+
+Jinnie left the master's home with lagging footsteps. The idea of
+going away to school had not appealed to her, but never in all her
+life had she been so tempted to do anything as to go with Theodore for
+one blessed day in the country--but a whole day from home could not be
+thought of.
+
+The cobbler saw her crossing the tracks, and after the daily salute,
+she came on with bent head. He watched her closely during the evening
+meal and gave Bobbie credit for discovering the truth. After Peg had
+wheeled him back to the shop and he was alone with Jinnie, Lafe called
+her to him.
+
+"Bring the stool," said he, "an' sit here."
+
+Languidly she sank down, resting against him. She was very tired
+besides being very unhappy. Lafe placed two fingers under her chin,
+lifting her face to his. Her eyes were full of tears, and she no
+longer tried to conceal her suffering. The cobbler remained quiet
+while she cried softly. At last:
+
+"It's Maudlin Bates, ain't it, darlin'?" he asked.
+
+"No, Lafe."
+
+"Can't you tell your friend what 'tis?"
+
+"I guess I'm crying because I'm foolish, dear," she replied.
+
+"No, that's not true, Jinnie. I feel as bad seeing you cry's if 'twas
+Peggy."
+
+This was a compliment, and Jinnie tried to sit up bravely, but a
+friendly hand held her close.
+
+"Just begin, an' the rest'll come easy," Lafe insisted.
+
+Jinnie's tongue refused to talk, and of a sudden she grew ashamed and
+dropped her scarlet face.
+
+"I don't believe I can tell it, Lafe dear," she got out.
+
+"Something about a man?"
+
+Jinnie nodded.
+
+"Then I got to know! Tell me!" he directed.
+
+His insistence drew forth a tearful confession.
+
+"Before Mr. King spoke about the school, he asked me to go a day in
+the country with my fiddle, and I couldn't."
+
+After the telling, she caught her breath and hid her face.
+
+"Why?" Lafe demanded. "Why couldn't you?"
+
+Jinnie raised startled eyes to the cobbler's for the better part of a
+minute. What did he mean? Was it possible----
+
+"I thought you wouldn't let me----"
+
+"You didn't ask me, did you, Jinnie?"
+
+"No, because--because----"
+
+"Because why?" Lafe intended to get at the root of the matter.
+
+"Too long from the shop! Bobbie needs me," replied Jinnie.
+
+"I don't think so, child.... The kid'd be all right with me and Peg."
+
+"Lafe?" cried Jinnie, standing up and throwing her arms around him.
+
+"You ought to a told me when he spoke of it, Jinnie. I could a fixed
+it."
+
+The cobbler smiled, and then laughed.
+
+Once more on the stool in front of him, Jinnie said:
+
+"I'm afraid Mr. King was a little offended."
+
+"It would a done you a lot of good to get out in the fields----"
+chided Lafe.
+
+"And the woods, Lafe. I'd taken my fiddle. He asked me to."
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe.... "Call Peggy."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, looking from one to the other, noticed Lafe's gravity
+and signs of Jinnie's tears.
+
+"What's the matter?" she inquired.
+
+Lafe told her quietly, and finished with his hand on Jinnie's head.
+
+"Our little helper ought to have some fun, Peggy."
+
+Jinnie glanced up. What would Peggy think? But for a few minutes Peg
+didn't tell them. Then she said:
+
+"She ought a went, I think, Lafe."
+
+Jinnie got up so quickly that Happy Pete and Milly Ann stirred in
+their sleep.
+
+"Oh, Peg, I do want to--but how can I, now I've said I wouldn't?...
+How can I?"
+
+"You can't," decided Peg gruffly, and Jinnie dropped down once more at
+Lafe's feet.
+
+"I guess you'll have to forget about it, child, an' be 'Happy in
+Spite'," said Lafe, with a sigh.
+
+The next day Peggy took Lafe into her confidence.
+
+"I think it could be did," she ended, looking at her husband.
+
+"Mebbe," said Mr. Grandoken thoughtfully.
+
+"I'll do it," snapped Peg, "but I hate 'er, an' you can bang me if
+that ain't a fact, but--but I'll go, I said."
+
+About ten o'clock Peggy dressed and went out.
+
+Theodore King was in his office, trying to keep his mind on a line of
+figures. Of late work palled on him. He sighed and leaned back
+thoughtfully, striking and touching a match to his cigar. Memories of
+blue-eyed Jinnie enveloped him in a mental maze. She stood radiant and
+beckoning, her exquisite face smiling into his at every turn.
+
+He realized now how much he desired Jinnie Grandoken--and were she
+with him at that moment, life could offer him nothing half so sweet.
+
+"I want her always," he said grimly, aloud to himself.
+
+A boy's head appeared at the door.
+
+"Woman to see you, sir," said he.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Mrs. Grandoken."
+
+"Show her in," and Theodore stood up.
+
+Peggy came in embarrassedly. She had a mission to perform which she
+very much disliked.
+
+"Good morning, Mrs. Grandoken," said Theodore, holding out his hand.
+
+"Good morning, sir," said Peg, flushing darkly.
+
+Her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. How could she state her
+errand to this dignified, handsome young man? He was looking at her
+questioningly; but that wasn't all--he was smiling encouragingly
+also.
+
+"Won't you sit down?" said he.
+
+Peggy coughed, smoothed her mouth with her hand, pulled the thin shawl
+more closely about her shoulders, and took the indicated seat. Taking
+no time to reflect on the best way to present her case, she blurted
+out,
+
+"Lafe didn't know till last night about your askin' Jinnie to go for a
+holiday?"
+
+"Oh!"
+
+The man was at a loss to say more than that one word in question.
+
+"No," replied Peggy, "and she's been cryin'----"
+
+"Crying?" ejaculated Theodore. "Crying, you say?"
+
+"Yes," nodded Peggy.
+
+"What'd she cry for?" asked Theodore. "She positively refused to go
+with me."
+
+"I know it, but she thought me an' Lafe wouldn't let 'er."
+
+Theodore moved uneasily about the office.
+
+"And would you?" he asked presently.
+
+"Sure," responded Peggy, nodding vigorously. "Sure! Jinnie's been
+workin' awful hard for years, an' Lafe'd like you to take 'er. But you
+musn't tell 'er I come here."
+
+Saying this, Peggy rose to her feet. She had finished what she had
+come to say and was ready to go. Theodore King laughingly thanked her
+and shook her heartily by the hand. Then he escorted her to the door,
+and she returned to Lafe a little less grim.
+
+It was nearly noon when Jinnie left the master's music room, carrying
+her fiddle box. Her teacher noticed she played with less spirit than
+usual, but had refrained from mentioning it.
+
+She was coming down the steps when King's car dashed up to the door.
+Her meetings with him were always unexpected and found her quite
+unprepared for the shock to her emotions.
+
+"I've come to take you home, Jinnie," said Theodore, jumping out.
+
+Jinnie's throat filled, and silently she allowed him to help her to
+the seat. They were in the flat of the town before he turned to her.
+
+"I haven't given up my plan to take you away for a day," he said
+gently.
+
+Jinnie gulped with joy. He was going to ask her again! Lafe and Peg
+had said she could go. She waited for him to proceed, which he did
+more gravely.
+
+"When I make up my mind to do a thing, I generally do it. Now which
+day shall it be, Jinnie?"
+
+"I guess I'll have to let you tell," whispered Jinnie, which whisper
+Theo caught despite the noise of the chugging motor.
+
+"Then, to-morrow," he decided, driving up to the cobbler's shop. "I'll
+come for you at nine o'clock.... Look at me, Jinnie."
+
+Slowly she dragged a pair of unfathomable blue eyes to his.
+
+"We're going to be happy for one whole beautiful day, Jinnie," said he
+hoarsely.
+
+He helped her out, and neither one spoke again. The motor started
+away, and the girl rushed into the shop.
+
+Lafe had just said to Peggy, "There they be! He's been after 'er!"
+
+"Lafe, Lafe dear," Jinnie gurgled. "I'm going with 'im to-morrow. All
+day with the birds and flowers! Oh, Peggy dear, I'm so happy!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken glared at her.
+
+"Ugh! 'S if it matters to me whether you're happy or not!"
+
+Jinnie stooped and smothered Bobbie with caresses. With his arms
+tightly about her neck, he purred contentedly,
+
+"My stars're all shinin' bright, Jinnie."
+
+"Kiss me, both of you kids!" was all Lafe said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+WHAT THE FIDDLE TOLD THEODORE
+
+
+Jinnie looked very sweet when she bade farewell to Peg and Lafe the
+next morning. Mr. King's car was at the door, and the cobbler watched
+him as he stepped from it with a monosyllabic greeting to the girl and
+helped her to the seat next to his. Peggy, too, was craning her neck
+for a better view.
+
+"They're thick as thieves," she said, with a dubious shake of her
+head.
+
+"I guess he likes 'er," chuckled Lafe. "To make a long story short,
+wife, a sight like that does my eyes good!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shrugged her shoulders, growled deep in her throat, and
+opined they were all fools.
+
+"An' quit doin' yourself proud, Lafe!" she grumbled. "You're grinnin'
+like a Cheshire cat. 'Tain't nothin' to your credit she's goin' to
+have the time of her life."
+
+"No, 'tain't to my credit, Peggy," retorted the cobbler, "but 'tis to
+yours, wife."
+
+By the time Lafe finished this statement, Mr. King and Jinnie
+Grandoken were bowling along a white road toward a hill bounding the
+west side of the lake.
+
+"See that basket down here?" said the man after a long silence.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's our picnic dinner! I brought everything I thought a little
+girl with a sweet tooth might like."
+
+Jinnie had forgotten about food. Her mind had dwelt only upon the fact
+she was going to be with him all day, one of those long, beautiful
+days taken from Heaven's cycle for dear friends. The country, too,
+stretched in majestic splendor miles ahead of them, trees rimming the
+road on each side and making a thick woodland as far as one could
+see.
+
+"I'm glad I brought my fiddle," Jinnie remarked presently.
+
+"I am, too," said Theodore.
+
+The place he chose for their outing was far back from the highway, and
+leaving the car at one side of the road, they threaded their way
+together to it. The sky above was very blue, the lake quietly
+reflecting its sapphire shades. Off in the distance the high hills
+gazed down upon the smaller ones, guarding them in quietude.
+
+Theodore spread one of the auto robes on the ground, and shyly Jinnie
+accepted his invitation to be seated.
+
+"Oh, it's lovely," she said in soft monotone, glancing at the lake.
+
+"Yes," replied Theodore dreamily.
+
+His eyes were upon the placid water, his thoughts upon the girl at his
+side. Jinnie was thinking of him, too, and there they both sat, with
+passionate longing in their young hearts, watching nature's great life
+go silently by.
+
+"Play for me," Theodore said at length, without taking his eyes from
+the water. "Stand by that big tree so I can look at you."
+
+Flushed, palpitating, and beautiful, Jinnie took the position he
+directed. She had come to play for him, to mimic the natural world for
+his pleasure.
+
+"Shall I play about the fairies?" she asked bashfully.
+
+"Yes," assented King.
+
+As on that night in his home when first she came into his life in
+full sway, the man now imagined he saw creeping from under the flower
+petals and from behind the tall trees, the tiny inhabitants of
+Jinnie's fairyland. Then he turned his eyes toward her, and as he
+watched the lithe young figure, the pensive face lost and rapt in the
+lullaby, Theodore came to the greatest decision of his life. He
+couldn't live without Jinnie Grandoken! No matter if she was the niece
+of a cobbler, no matter who her antecedents were--she was born into
+the world for him, and all that was delicate and womanly in her called
+out to the manhood in him; and all that was strong, masterful, and
+aggressive in him clamored to protect and shield her, and in that
+fleeting moment the brilliant young bachelor suddenly lost his hold on
+bachelordom, as a boy loses his hold on a kite. There are times in
+every human life when such a decision as Theodore then made seemed the
+beginning of everything. It was as if the past had wrapped him around
+like the grey shell of a cocoon.
+
+A loose lock of hair fell coquettishly from the girl's dark head low
+upon the fiddle, and Theodore loved and wanted to kiss it, and when
+the instrument dropped from under the dimpled chin, he held out his
+hand.
+
+"Come here, Jinnie," he said softly. "Come sit beside me."
+
+She came directly, as she always did when he asked anything of her. He
+drew her down close to his side, and for a long time they remained
+quiet. Jinnie was facing the acme of joy. The day had only begun, and
+she was with the object of her dreams. Just as when she had lived in
+the hills the fiddle had held the center of her soul, so now Theodore
+King occupied that sacred place. The morning light rose in her eyes,
+the blue fire transforming her face.
+
+[Illustration: "PLAY FOR ME," THEODORE SAID. "STAND BY THAT BIG TREE SO I
+CAN LOOK AT YOU."]
+
+Theodore turned, saw, and realized at that moment. He discovered in
+her what he had long desired. She loved him! All the old longing, all
+the strength and passion within him broke loose at the nearness of
+her. Suddenly he stretched out his arms and drew her still nearer.
+Jinnie felt every muscle of his strongly fibered body grow tense at
+her touch. She tried to draw away from his encircling arms, but the
+rise and fall of her bosom, girlishly curved--the small-girl shyness
+that caused her to endeavor to unloose his strong hands, only goaded
+him to press her closer.
+
+"Don't leave me, my dearest, my sweet," he breathed, kissing her lids
+and hair. "I love you! I love you!"
+
+She gasped once, twice, and her head fell upon his breast, and for a
+moment she lay wrapped in her youthful modesty as in a mantle.
+
+"Kiss me, Jinnie," Theodore murmured entreatingly.
+
+She buried her head closer against him.
+
+"Kiss me," he insisted, drawing her face upward. His lips fell upon
+hers, and Jinnie's eyes closed under the magic of her first kiss.
+
+The master-passion of the man brought to sudden life corresponding
+emotions in the girl--emotions that hurt and frightened her. She put
+her hand to his face, and touched it. He drew back, looking into her
+eyes.
+
+"Don't," she breathed. "Don't kiss me any more like--like that."
+
+"But you love me, my girlie, sweet?" he murmured, his lips roving over
+her face in dear freedom. "You do!... You do!"
+
+Jinnie's arms went about him, but her tongue refused to speak.
+
+"Kiss me again!" Theodore insisted.
+
+Oh, how she wanted to kiss him once more! How she gloried in the
+strong arms, and the handsome face strung tense with his love for her!
+Then their lips met in the wonders of a second kiss. Jinnie had
+thought the first one could never be equaled, but as she lay limply in
+his arms, his lips upon hers, she lost count of everything.
+
+It might have been the weird effect of the shadows, or the deep,
+sudden silence about them that drew the girl slowly from his arms.
+
+"I want my fiddle," she whispered. "Let me go!"
+
+Faint were the inflections of the words; insistent the drawing back of
+the dear warm body.
+
+Theodore permitted her to get up, and with staggering step she took
+her position at the tree trunk.
+
+Then he sank down, hot blood coursing through his veins. Long ago he
+had realized in Jinnie and the fiddle essentials--essentials to his
+future and his happiness, and to-day her kisses and divine, womanly
+yielding had only strengthened that realization. Nothing now was of
+any importance to him save this vibrant, temperamental girl. There was
+something so delightfully young--so pricelessly dear in the way she
+had surrendered herself to him. The outside world faded from his
+memory as Jinnie closed her eyes, and with a very white face began to
+play. For that day she had finished with the song of the fairies, the
+babbling of the brook, and the nodding rhythm of the flowers in the
+summer's breeze. All that she considered now was Theodore and his
+kisses. The bow came down over a string with one long, vibrating,
+passionate call. It expressed the awakening of the girl's
+soul--awakened by the touch of a man's turbulent lips--Jinnie's
+God-given man. Her fiddle knew it--felt it--expressed it!
+
+With that first seductive kiss the soul-stirring melody was full born
+within her, as a world is called into the firmament by one spoken word
+of God. And as she played, Theodore moved silently toward her, for the
+fiddle was flashing out the fervor of the kisses she had given him.
+
+He was close at her feet before he spoke, and simultaneously the white
+lids opened in one blue, blue glance.
+
+"Jinnie!" breathed Theodore, getting up and holding out his arms.
+"Come to me! Come to me, my love! I can't live another moment without
+you."
+
+The bow and fiddle remained unnoticed for the next half hour, while
+the two, the new woman and the new man, were but conscious of one
+another, nothing else.
+
+At length Theodore spoke.
+
+"Jinnie, look up and say, 'Theodore, I love you'."
+
+It was hard at first, because her mind had never reached the point of
+speaking aloud her passionate love for him, but Theodore heard the
+halting words, and droned them over to himself, as a music lover
+delights in his favorite strains.
+
+"And you love me well enough to marry me some day?" he murmured.
+
+Marry him! This, too, was a new thought. Jinnie's heart fluttered like
+a bird in her breast. To be with him always? To have him for her own?
+Of course, he was hers, and she was his! Then into her mind came the
+thought of Lafe, Peggy, and Bobbie, and the arms around him relaxed.
+
+"I love you better'n anybody in the world," she told him,
+pathetically, "but I can't ever leave the cobbler.... They need me
+there."
+
+"They can't keep you," he cried passionately. "I want you myself."
+
+His vehemence subdued her utterly. She glanced into his face. In his
+flashing eyes, Jinnie read a power inimitable and unsurpassed.
+
+"I couldn't ever leave 'em," she repeated, quivering, "but couldn't
+they live----"
+
+"We'd take the little blind boy," promised Theodore.
+
+Jinnie remained pensive. To bring the shine in her eyes once more, he
+said:
+
+"Wouldn't you like Bobbie to live with us?"
+
+"Yes, of course; but I couldn't leave Lafe and Peg in Paradise Road."
+
+Theodore surrounded the entreating, uplifted face with two strong
+hands.
+
+"I know that. We'll take care of them all----"
+
+Still Jinnie held back her full surrender.
+
+"Can I take Happy Pete, too? And the cats? There's an awful lot of
+'em.... Milly Ann does have so many kitties," she ended naïvely.
+
+Theodore laughed delightedly.
+
+"Dearest little heart! Of course we'll take them all, every one you
+love!"
+
+"Will you tell Lafe about--about us?" Jinnie asked shyly, "I--I----"
+but she had no more time to finish.
+
+"I'll tell him to-morrow, Jinnie!" exclaimed Theodore. "Are you happy,
+dearest?"
+
+"So happy," she sighed, with loving assurance.
+
+The rest of the day they were like two frolicking children, eating
+their luncheon under the tall trees. When the shadows fell, they left
+their trysting place, and with their arms about each other, went
+slowly back to the automobile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+WHAT THEODORE TOLD HIS FRIEND
+
+
+"He's been gone all day," mourned Molly miserably to Jordan Morse.
+They had finished dinner; Molly had put Mrs. King to bed, and the two
+were seated in chairs on the lawn. Every minute that passed and found
+Theodore still away was like an eternity to the woman. She had always
+hated the office hours which took him from the house, hated the
+business friends who dropped in now and then and changed the
+conversation from the delicate personal things she always managed to
+dwell upon.
+
+During the years she had been companion to Mrs. King, Theo's dinner
+and luncheon hours were ones of joy to her. Now this day had passed
+without him.
+
+"He'll show up before long," Morse said presently. "What a lot of
+worry you have over that man!... Now if you had a problem on your
+hands like mine----"
+
+The soft chug of a motor cut off his ejaculation.
+
+"He's coming, now," he said, getting up.
+
+Molly responded coldly to Theodore's friendly salute from the car.
+
+As Mr. King walked quickly toward them, Morse called laughingly,
+
+"We had just decided you'd been kidnapped."
+
+"Nothing like that," answered Theodore, "I've been in the country....
+Sit down, Jordan; no use standing up!" And Theodore seated himself on
+the grass.
+
+"It's been a fine day," he went on boyishly, scarcely knowing what to
+say.
+
+"Lovely," agreed Molly, and Jordan supplemented this by asking:
+
+"Have a--pleasant ride?"
+
+"Yes, delightful! One doesn't realize how murky the city is until he
+goes in the country for a day."
+
+After a time, during which he looked up through the enfolding green of
+the trees, he proceeded calmly,
+
+"I took Miss Grandoken on a picnic."
+
+Morse's sudden glance at Molly warned her to control herself.
+
+"She's an odd child," continued Theodore, "but, then, all geniuses
+are. I don't know when I've so thoroughly enjoyed myself."
+
+Morse's "That's good," was closely followed by Molly's curt question,
+"Where'd you go?"
+
+"Just up the lake a ways. We took some picnic stuff----"
+
+"And her fiddle, I suppose?" cut in Molly sarcastically.
+
+"Of course. Jinnie's not Jinnie without her fiddle."
+
+"She does play well," admitted Jordan.
+
+"More than well," interpolated Theodore. "She plays divinely."
+
+Then again they fell into an oppressive silence.
+
+Molly was so curious to know the events of the day she could scarcely
+control her impatience.
+
+Suddenly Mr. King announced:
+
+"I'm going to marry Jinnie Grandoken."
+
+Molly and Morse slowly got to their feet. They stood looking down upon
+the young millionaire with jaws apart and startled eyes.
+
+"Well, you needn't look as if I were about to commit some crime," he
+said, quizzing them with laughing eyes. "I suppose a chap can get
+married if he wants to; can't he?"
+
+"It's ridiculous," blurted Miss Merriweather.
+
+A drawn, helpless expression had crept into her eyes, making her
+appear like an old woman.
+
+Theodore got to his feet.
+
+"What's ridiculous?" he demanded, immediately on the defensive. "My
+wanting to be happy?"
+
+"Not that quite," replied the woman, "but surely you can't----"
+
+"I can and I will!" exclaimed Theodore decidedly. "I couldn't be happy
+without her, and mother----"
+
+"It'll kill 'er," warned Molly significantly.
+
+"Not at all," denied Theodore. "My mother's a woman of sense! When she
+knows her big boy's madly in love with the sweetest girl in the world,
+she'll take it as a matter of course."
+
+Miss Merriweather turned toward the house.
+
+"I think I'll go," she said in strained tones.
+
+She had almost reached the veranda when Theodore called her.
+
+"Molly!" he shouted.
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Don't tell mother. I want to surprise her."
+
+"Very well," and the woman went on again, trembling from the blow
+which had struck her in the face.
+
+The two men, lolling under the trees, said but little more, and with
+burning heart and unsettled mind, Jordan Morse went back to his
+apartment.
+
+He had scarcely settled himself before his telephone tinkled. Taking
+down the receiver, he said,
+
+"Well?"
+
+A faint voice answered him.
+
+"It's Molly, Jordan!... Listen! I'm down at the foot of the hill. Do
+come here! I'm nearly frantic.... Yes, I'll wait."
+
+Very soon Molly saw Jordan crossing the street, and she went to meet
+him.
+
+"Let's walk," she said fretfully. "I can't breathe."
+
+"If you feel like I do," replied Morse moodily, "I pity you."
+
+He led her to a small park where they sat down upon one of the wooden
+benches.
+
+"I'm shocked beyond expression," said Molly wearily.
+
+"So am I," replied Morse. Then picking up the thread of thought which
+had troubled him all the evening, he went on, "I need my boy! Every
+night I'm haunted by dreams. I'd give up my plans about Jinnie if I
+had him...."
+
+"Well, I never!" ejaculated Molly.
+
+"The trouble with you is you haven't any heart," went on Jordan. "How
+you put your mind on anything but finding that child I don't know. But
+I notice you manage to keep close on Theo's heels every minute."
+
+"I love him," admitted Molly.
+
+"Don't you love your son, your poor little lost son?"
+
+"Of course, Jordan! Don't be stupid!... Of course I do, but I don't
+know where he is."
+
+"And you're making very little effort to find him, that's evident.
+You've seen him, and I haven't, yet I'd give half my life to get my
+hands on him." He paused, drew a long breath, and proceeded, "I'll
+warn you of this much, Molly. When I do find him--and find him I
+will--you won't get a chance to even see him."
+
+"Oh, Jordan!" gasped Molly.
+
+"That's right," he insisted, with an ugly shrug. "I tell you, Molly,
+I've always been impressed with the idea mothers cared more for their
+children than fathers, but I'm over that now since knowing you."
+
+"Oh, Jordan!" repeated Molly faintly once more.
+
+Not heeding her appealing voice, he rushed on, "I'd be willing to
+strangle half the world for money to hire detectives to search for
+him. But as I've said before, I'd let Jinnie alone if I had him--and
+work for him with my two hands--if I had to dig graves."
+
+Molly turned her startled eyes upon the excited man. She had never
+known the depths of his nature.
+
+"You make me tired," he proceeded with sarcasm. "What in hell do you
+think Theodore could see in you when a girl like Jinnie cares for
+him?"
+
+"Why, Jordan Morse!" stammered the woman. "How dare you talk to me
+like that?"
+
+"Because it's true," replied Jordan hotly. "You're like a lot of
+women--if a man looks sidewise at you, you think he's bowled over with
+your charms. Good Heavens! It's sickening!"
+
+"I didn't ask you here to talk like this," said Molly.
+
+"What if you didn't?" snapped Jordan. "_You_ can talk now if you want
+to! I'm going home in five minutes, and I want some money before I go,
+too."
+
+"I'll give you some to-morrow. Now what're you going to do about
+Theodore?"
+
+"Well, he won't marry Jinnie," replied Morse slowly.
+
+"How can you help it?"
+
+"That's what I'm going to figure out. If I can get her away from
+Grandoken's, she won't get back, I can tell you that. But that damn
+cobbler and Theo'll make such a devilish row----"
+
+"You needn't be profane," chided Molly.
+
+"A woman like you's enough to make any man swear.... Now listen to me.
+The very fact that Jinnie ran away from home shows me that Tom
+Singleton told her I put 'im in a mad house! Jinnie, of course, told
+Grandoken. I've got to get that cobbler--and--you've got to help me
+get Jinnie----"
+
+"Haven't I done all I could?" gasped Molly. "I can't go down there and
+take her by the nape of the neck, can I?"
+
+"No, but I will! Now let's go! I want to do some pretty tall thinking
+before morning. Once let those two people be married and I'm lost."
+
+"So am I," muttered Molly, swaying at his vehement words.
+
+They threaded their way back to the hill, and Morse left Molly at her
+gate. As she walked slowly up the road, she could see the light in
+Theodore's window, and his shadow thrown on the curtain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+JORDAN MORSE'S PLAN
+
+
+The next morning Jordan Morse rose after a sleepless night, his face
+drawn in long, deep-set lines. The hours had been spent in futile
+planning. To save himself from the dire consequences of his misdeeds,
+to procure the money which would come to Jinnie when she was eighteen
+years old, was the one idea that dinned constantly at his brain. She
+and the cobbler would have to be put out of the way, and this must be
+done before Theodore announced publicly his intention of marrying the
+girl. Jordan had no wish to break his friendship with Theodore, so he
+could do nothing openly. If it were a mere case of filching what
+little he could from Jinnie's estate before she became of age, it
+would be an easy matter, but the girl must disappear. How? Where?
+There was finality in one of his decisions that moment. He must get
+possession of her that very day. Theodore would let no grass grow
+under his feet. He would marry her offhand, and educate her
+afterwards.
+
+Jordan wondered vaguely if the Jewish cobbler had an enemy among the
+shortwood gatherers. If so, and the man could be found, it would bring
+his own salvation.
+
+With this desire uppermost in his mind, Jordan wended his way to the
+lower part of the town, passed into Paradise Road, and paused a second
+in front of Lafe Grandoken's shop to read the sign:
+
+"Lafe Grandoken: Cobbler of Folks' and Children's Shoes and Boots."
+
+His lips curled at the crude printing, and he went on past the
+remaining shanties to the entrance to the marsh. At the path where
+Jinnie had so many times brought forth her load of wood, he paused
+again and glanced about. As far north as he could see, the marsh
+stretched out in misty greenness. The place seemed to be without a
+human being, until Jordan suddenly heard the crackling of branches,
+and there appeared before him a young man with deep-set, evil eyes,
+and large, pouting mouth. Upon his shoulders was a shortwood strap.
+
+At the sight of Mr. Morse, the wood gatherer hesitated, made a sort of
+obeisance, and proceeded to move on. Jordan stopped him with a motion
+of his hand.
+
+"In a hurry?" he asked good-naturedly.
+
+"Got to sell my wood," growled the man.
+
+Morse appraised him with an analytical glance.
+
+"What's your name?" he demanded.
+
+"Maudlin Bates. What's yours?"
+
+"Jordan Morse.... Just wait a minute. I want to talk to you."
+
+Down came the shortwood strap on the ground. Maudlin scented something
+interesting.
+
+"I got to sell my wood," he repeated, surly-toned. However, he nodded
+his head when Jordan explained that it might be to his advantage to
+tarry a while.
+
+"I'll pay you for your time," agreed Morse eagerly.
+
+Side by side they seated themselves on a fallen tree. The young wood
+gatherer looked wicked enough to do anything that might be requested
+of him.
+
+"Are you married?" asked Morse.
+
+Maudlin's face darkened.
+
+"No," he grunted moodily.
+
+"Ha! In love? I see!" laughed the other.
+
+Maudlin turned sheepish eyes on his interrogator; then looked down,
+flushed, and finished:
+
+"I'd a been married all right if it hadn't been for a damn bloke along
+Paradise Road," he explained.
+
+"Yes? Tell me about it."
+
+"Oh, what's the use! Everybody's stickin' their noses in my business,
+and it ain't nothin' to do with 'em uther."
+
+"I might help you," suggested Jordan, seemingly interested.
+
+"Ain't anybody c'n help me," sulked Maudlin. "Got the richest man in
+town 'gainst me, and money's what makes the mare go."
+
+The words "richest man" startled Morse, but he only said, "That's so!
+But tell me just the same."
+
+"Aw, it's only a wench I wanted! A mutt by the name of King butted in
+on me."
+
+Jordan Morse mentally congratulated himself that he had struck the
+right nail on the head the very first whack.
+
+To gain possession of Jinnie's money meant finding his boy, and that
+was the dearest wish of his heart.
+
+"You might tell me about it," he reiterated slowly. "I ought to be
+able to help you."
+
+"Naw, you can't!" scoffed Maudlin. "My pa and me's tried for a long
+time, but there ain't nothin' doin' with Jinnie. She's a sure devil,
+Jinnie is."
+
+Jordan's blood tingled in anticipation.
+
+"Is that the girl's name?" he queried.
+
+"Yes, she's a niece of a cobbler up the track yonder, and as pretty a
+little minx as walks Paradise Road. If I had 'er I'd fix her. I'd beat
+her till she minded me, I c'n tell y' that!"
+
+"I believe beating's the way to subdue most women," said Morse,
+lighting a cigarette. But as he said this, a slight smile passed over
+his face. He thought of Molly Merriweather in connection with the
+man's logic.
+
+"It's the way pa done to my stepmother," observed Maudlin presently.
+"She was a onery woman as ever you see, but pa one day just licked
+her, and then licked 'er every day till now she don't dast but mind
+'im.... I'd do that with Jinnie if I had 'er."
+
+Morse watched rings of smoke curl upward in the summer air, breaking
+among the branches of the trees.
+
+"Why don't you steal 'er?" he demanded at length.
+
+Bates' lower jaw fell down, showing discolored teeth. He stared at his
+inquisitor in consternation. Then he dropped back into his former
+slovenly attitude.
+
+"I never thought o' that," said he.
+
+"I'll help you," offered Morse, carelessly, brushing ashes from his
+coat lapel.
+
+Maudlin turned his eyes slowly from their straight ahead position
+until they came directly upon the handsome face of the other man. Then
+the two looked long and steadily at each other.
+
+"What're you drivin' at?" blurted Bates.
+
+"Only that I'm also interested in getting Jinnie away from Grandoken.
+The fact is I hate King, and I think it's a good way to get even with
+him."
+
+He refrained, however, from mentioning he was Jinnie's relative.
+
+"D'you have me in mind when you come here?" questioned Bates.
+
+"No! But I felt sure there'd be some young buck round here who'd
+fallen in love with the girl before this. And I found you without
+asking----"
+
+"I'd make her beg me to marry her after I'd had 'er a week or two,"
+interrupted Maudlin, with dilating pupils. "How could we steal 'er?"
+
+"Just steal 'er, I said," replied Morse.
+
+"And I said, 'How?'"
+
+Morse waited a minute until Bates repeated once more, "How, mister?"
+then he asked:
+
+"Can you run a motor car?"
+
+"No, but my pa can."
+
+"My God! You musn't mention this to any one, not even your father.
+I'll run the car myself. You go to the cobbler and by some excuse get
+the girl in the car--after that I'll see to her."
+
+Bates narrowed his eyes.
+
+"No, you won't see to nothin'," he growled surlily. "I don't take a
+step till I know I get 'er. I'll marry 'er all right, but she's got to
+want to marry me first."
+
+"I don't care what you do with 'er," replied Morse morosely. "Marry
+'er or not, just get her, that's all!"
+
+"The cobbler's got a vixen of a wife," complained Maudlin at length.
+
+"Persuade her to go somewhere, can't you?" snapped Morse.
+
+"Yes, that's easy," drawled Maudlin, wobbling his head.
+
+For a long time they sat talking and planning, until at length Morse
+put his hand in his pocket and handed the other man some money.
+Maudlin tucked it away with a grin.
+
+"Easy cash, eh? What'd you say the dame's name was?"
+
+"Merriweather--Molly Merriweather. She's companion to Mr. King's
+mother."
+
+"Jinnie fiddles all the afternoon.... Mebbe she won't go."
+
+"Yes, she will. Tell her Miss Merriweather wants her to arrange a
+surprise for Theodore King. Tell 'er Miss Merriweather wants her to
+play."
+
+Bates laughed evilly.
+
+"That'll fix the huzzy. Anything about that damn fiddle'll fetch 'er
+every time! When I get 'er I'll bust it up for kindlin' wood."
+
+"Then it's settled," said Morse, rising. "You go this afternoon at
+three o'clock to Grandoken's, tell Jinnie what I told you to, get the
+cobbler into an argument, and I'll do the rest."
+
+"You'll be sure to be there?"
+
+"Of course! What'd you think I am? Keep your mouth shut! Be sure of
+that."
+
+"Three o'clock, then," said Maudlin, getting up. "So long!" and
+lifting his wood, he went on his way rejoicing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THE MURDER
+
+
+At half past one that afternoon a messenger appeared at Grandoken's
+with a letter for Jinnie.
+
+Peggy called the girl to the shop.
+
+"Boy's got something for you," she declared. "It's a letter, I
+guess."
+
+Jinnie held out her hand with thumping pulses, took the extended
+pencil, and signed her name to a blank page. Then the boy held out the
+missive. Of course it was from Theodore, thought Jinnie. She had
+scarcely slept the night before, fitfully dreaming of him. Throwing a
+shy smile at Peg, she went into her bedroom and shut the door. With a
+long, ecstatic breath, she set herself to the delightful task of
+slowly perusing the beloved epistle.
+
+"My darling," Jinnie read, and she kissed those two words, each one
+separately. Then she whispered them again, "My darling," and read on:
+
+"I'm coming this afternoon at three to see your uncle, and I thought
+you might like me to talk with him alone. It will be a simple matter
+for you to take the little blind boy and go away for an hour or so,
+but be sure and return at four. By that time I'll have our
+arrangements all made, but I won't go until I see you.
+
+"I send all my love to you, my sweetheart.
+
+"Your own,
+
+"THEODORE."
+
+Jinnie kissed the words "my sweetheart" too, and then joyfully slipped
+the letter inside her dress. She daren't speak of his coming, for how
+could she conceal her happiness from Lafe?
+
+At two o'clock, she said to Peggy:
+
+"May I take Bobbie for a little walk, dear?"
+
+The blind child heard the request and scrambled up.
+
+"Can I go, Peggy?" he pleaded.
+
+Peg glared at the girl.
+
+"I thought you always fiddled in the afternoon," she queried.
+
+"I do generally," acquiesced Jinnie, "but--to-day----"
+
+"Well, go 'long," said Peg, not very graciously. "I'm goin' over to
+Miss Bates' a while. Maudlin come by just now, an' said would I come
+over.... Get back early!"
+
+Jinnie dressed Bobbie with trembling fingers. The boy noticed she
+could scarcely button his jacket.
+
+"What's the matter, Jinnie dear?" he whispered.
+
+Jinnie was just slipping on his cap as he spoke. She bent and kissed
+him passionately.
+
+"Nothing, honey, only Jinnie's happy, very happy."
+
+"I'm so glad," sighed Bobbie, with a smiling wag. "I'm happy too.
+Let's go on the hill, and take Petey."
+
+"It'd be lovely, dear," replied the girl.
+
+A few minutes later, with the little dog at their heels, they were
+wending their way up the board walk to the hill.
+
+Mr. Grandoken, alone in his shop, worked with contented vigor. The
+days, those beautiful summer days, were bringing untold joy to him.
+Peggy seemed in brighter spirits, and Jinnie's radiant face made Lafe
+rejoice. Little Bobbie's stars were always shining nowadays, so what
+more could the dear man want? As he sat tip-tapping, he took himself
+in fancy to that day ahead when Heaven would unfold another blessing
+for Peg--for him. He put down his hammer and glanced out of the
+window, and suddenly Maudlin Bates loomed up, with all his hulking
+swagger obliterating the shoemaker's mental bliss.
+
+Lafe nodded as Maudlin stepped into the shop. There was an unusually
+aggressive expression upon the young wood gatherer's face, and Mr.
+Grandoken refrained from asking him to sit down. Instead he
+questioned:
+
+"Brought some cobblin'?"
+
+"No," said Bates. "Wanted to talk to you; that's all."
+
+"Hurry up, then, 'cause I'm busy."
+
+"Where's Jinnie?" queried Maudlin.
+
+Swift anger changed the cobbler's face.
+
+"What's that to you?" he demanded. "And you needn't be drippin'
+tobacco juice around my shop."
+
+"Won't hurt it, I guess," answered Maudlin insolently, sitting down
+heavily.
+
+With every passing minute, Lafe was growing more and more enraged.
+
+"Yap me your business and get out," he ordered, picking up his
+hammer.
+
+He settled his eyes on the sodden face before him, and for a minute or
+two each plumbed the strength of the other.
+
+"I'm goin' to marry Jinnie," announced Maudlin, drawing his large feet
+together and clasping his fingers over his knees.
+
+The cobbler deliberately placed the hammer beside him once more and
+leaned back against the wall.
+
+"Who said so?" he asked.
+
+"I do," defied Maudlin, swaggering.
+
+"Is that what you come to say to me?"
+
+"Yep."
+
+"Well, now you're done with your braggin', get out, an' get out
+quick."
+
+But Maudlin didn't move.
+
+"I said to scoot," said Lafe presently, in suppressed tones. He was
+magnificent in his ferocity.
+
+"I heard you!" observed Maudlin, still sitting, though a little cowed
+in his former egotistical spirit.
+
+Lafe picked up the hammer and pounded frantically on the sole of a
+shoe.
+
+"I'm goin' to have money," muttered Maudlin when the cobbler paused
+for a few nails.
+
+As Lafe proceeded with his work silently, Maudlin said:
+
+"I'll marry Jinnie and take the empty shack next to pa's. I got money,
+I said."
+
+Lafe's lips were moving rapidly, but the other could not hear what he
+was saying. The fact was, the cobbler was asking for strength and
+self-control.
+
+"Where's Jinnie?" demanded Maudlin again.
+
+"She ain't here," said Lafe, "an' I want you to get out before she
+comes."
+
+He said this more gently, because his muttered prayers had somewhat
+assuaged his rage.
+
+Just then a motor car dashed into the little lane at the side of the
+house, and Maudlin knew that Morse had arrived.
+
+"I'll go when I see Jinnie," he insisted, sinking deeper into his
+chair, "I want to tell 'er somethin' about a party."
+
+"Ain't no show o' your seein' 'er to-day," replied Lafe. "I bargained
+with your pa about you lettin' my girl alone, and that's all there is
+to it."
+
+"Pa's cobblin' ain't nothin' to do with me," observed Maudlin darkly.
+"I'll wait for 'er!"
+
+At that minute Theodore King's car drew up in front of the shop, and
+he stepped out. Maudlin caught a glimpse of him and set his teeth
+sharply. He'd have it out with this man, too. They might as well all
+understand what his intentions were. He wondered if Morse, from his
+point of vantage, had seen Mr. King arrive.
+
+When Theodore swung into the shop, he paused at the sight of Bates and
+frowned. He brought to mind the chastening he had given the fellow,
+and how Jinnie had suffered through his brutality.
+
+Lafe smiled cordially at the young man and asked him to be seated.
+
+"Jinnie's out," stated the cobbler.
+
+"I know it!" responded Theodore, taking a chair. "I've come to have a
+talk with you." Then looking from Mr. Grandoken to Maudlin, he
+queried, "Will you soon be disengaged?"
+
+Lafe nodded.
+
+"I hope so," he said disinterestedly.
+
+Lafe always disciplined himself after a siege with his temper.
+
+"He won't be alone till I get through with 'im," grunted Maudlin, with
+an ugly expression. "I been tellin' 'im I'm goin' to marry Jinnie."
+
+Lafe straightened with a throat sound that boded no good for the
+speaker, and Theodore got swiftly to his feet.
+
+"Don't repeat what you've just said," the latter gritted between his
+teeth, whirling on Maudlin.
+
+Bates shot out of his chair at this command.
+
+"My tongue's my own," he roared, "and Jinnie'll be glad to marry me
+before----"
+
+Theodore's big fist swept out, striking the man full in the face, and
+Maudlin dropped like an ox hit with an axe, but he was on his feet in
+another minute. His rapidly swelling face was blanched with rage.
+
+"Damn you, twicet and three times damn you----"
+
+Lafe made an ejaculation, and neither one of the three men noticed
+that the door to the little hall at the back had opened a trifle.
+
+Jordan Morse was peering in upon the enraged trio. He saw the man he'd
+hired to help him take the first knock down and get up swiftly. He saw
+Theodore King make another dive at the wood gatherer. The cobbler was
+in direct range of Jordan's vision, and he slipped his hand into his
+pocket, from which he took a revolver. Two quick, short cracks, and
+the pistol came flying through the room and landed near the cobbler's
+bench. Then the kitchen door slammed suddenly. Theodore staggered
+forward and sank slowly to the floor, while Maudlin fell headlong
+without a cry.
+
+As in a maze Lafe heard a motor leap away like a mad thing. Through
+the window he could see Theodore's car where the young man had left
+it. He made a desperate effort to rise, but sank back with a
+shuddering groan. He forced his eyes to Bates, who was close to the
+shop door, then dragged them backward to Mr. King, whose head was
+almost under his bench. Each had received a bullet, and both lay
+breathing unconsciously. The cobbler stooped over and placed his hand
+under Theodore's head to straighten it a little. For a full minute
+nothing was heard but the loud rattling in Maudlin's throat and the
+steady, laborious breath of the man at his feet.
+
+Sudden tears diffused the cobbler's eyes, and he leaned over and
+tenderly touched the damp forehead of Jinnie's friend.
+
+"He's given His angels charge over thee, boy," he murmured, just as
+Jinnie, leading Bobbie by the hand, walked in.
+
+The girl took one impetuous step forward and noted Lafe's white,
+agonized face. Then she caught a glimpse of the stricken men on the
+floor. Her tongue refused its office, and dropping the blind child's
+fingers, she came quickly forward.
+
+"Call help! Hurry! Get a doctor!" gasped Lafe, and Jinnie, without
+saying a word, rushed out.
+
+Afterward she could not measure with accuracy the events of that
+afternoon. Peggy came home and put the terrified Bobbie in bed,
+telling him curtly to stay there until she allowed him to get up.
+Several doctors rushed in and examined both Theodore and Maudlin. Not
+one word had escaped Jinnie's pale lips until the wounded men were
+removed from the shop. Then she sank at the cobbler's feet.
+
+"Will he die?" she whispered, in awe-stricken tones.
+
+"Maudlin's dyin'," replied the cobbler, with bowed head, "an' Mr.
+King's awful bad off, the doctor says."
+
+Jinnie went to Lafe's side and put her arm about his neck, and as if
+it had never been, their joy was blotted out by the hand of a bloody
+tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE COBBLER'S ARREST
+
+
+Tearing away from Paradise Road, Jordan Morse drove madly up the hill.
+No one had seen him come; no one had seen him go. He must get in touch
+with Molly immediately. In his nervous state he had to confide in some
+one.
+
+Molly had settled Mrs. King in an easy chair and was on the lawn,
+pacing restlessly to and fro, when Jordan swiftly drove his machine
+through the gate and up to the veranda. Catching one hasty glimpse of
+his haggard face, the woman knew something extraordinary had
+happened.
+
+"I've put my foot in it, all right," he ejaculated, jumping to the
+soft grass. "My God! I don't know what I have done!"
+
+Molly's face blanched.
+
+"Tell me quickly," she implored.
+
+Jordan repeated his conversation with Maudlin Bates, stating how his
+plans had suddenly matured on hearing the wood gatherer denounce King
+and Grandoken.
+
+Then he proceeded a little more calmly.
+
+"It seems I hadn't been at the side door of Grandoken's shack a minute
+before Theodore drove up."
+
+Molly's hands came together.
+
+"Theodore?" she repeated breathlessly.
+
+"Yes, and the Bates man was with Grandoken. I heard loud talking,
+stole into the little hall, and found the back part of the house
+empty. Jinnie wasn't there; at least I didn't see her. Bates had
+already inveigled Mrs. Grandoken away. I opened the door into the
+cobbler's shop just as Theo was striking Bates in the face. I waited a
+minute, and as Theo struck out again, I fired----"
+
+"Fired!" gasped Molly.
+
+"Yes, at Grandoken. I wanted to kill him----"
+
+"But Theo--you might have hit Theodore, Jordan."
+
+"But I didn't, I tell you! I'm sure I didn't. If I hit any one, 'twas
+Bates or the cobbler.... Get back near the veranda for fear Theodore
+'phones."
+
+No sooner had the words left his lips than a bell sounded from the
+house. Molly ran up the steps. As she took down the receiver, she
+dropped it, but picked it up again.
+
+"Halloa," she called faintly.
+
+"Is this Theodore King's home?" shouted a voice.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Mr. King's had an accident. He's in the hospital. Break the news
+carefully to his mother, please."
+
+Dazedly, Molly slipped the receiver back to its hook. She stumbled to
+the porch and down the steps, her face ashen with anguish.
+
+"You shot Theo, Jordan," she cried hysterically.
+
+"Shut your head," growled Morse, glancing furtively about. "Don't talk
+so loud.... Now then, listen! There'll be hell to pay for this. But
+Bates won't peach, and I'm sure I clipped the cobbler's wings. Keep
+quiet till you hear from me."
+
+He sprang again into the machine and was gone before the woman could
+gather her wits together.
+
+She turned and went slowly up the steps. It was her duty to break the
+news to Theodore's mother--she who knew so much, but dared to tell so
+little! How to open the conversation with the gentle sufferer she knew
+not.
+
+Mrs. King smiled a greeting as she entered, but at the sight of
+Molly's face, her book dropped to the floor.
+
+"What is it?" she stammered.
+
+Molly knelt down beside her.
+
+"Probably very little," she said hastily. "Don't get
+excited--please--but--but----"
+
+"It's Theodore!" gasped the mother, intuitively.
+
+"He's hurt a little, just a little, and they've taken him to the
+hospital."
+
+Mrs. King tried to rise, but dropped back weakly.
+
+"He's badly hurt or he'd come home."
+
+"I'll find out," offered Molly eagerly. Then as an afterthought, "I'll
+go if you'll promise me to stay very quiet until I get back."
+
+"I promise," said Mrs. King, sobbing, "but go quickly! I simply can't
+be still when I'm uncertain."
+
+In another house of lesser proportions, a girl was huddled in a chair,
+gazing at Lafe Grandoken.
+
+"An' they told you over the telephone he was dyin'?" he demanded,
+looking at Jinnie.
+
+"Yes," gulped Jinnie, "and Maudlin's dead. The hospital people say Mr.
+King can't live." The last words were stammered and scarcely audible.
+"Lafe, who shot him?"
+
+"I dunno," said Lafe.
+
+"Didn't you see who had the gun?" persisted the girl, wiping her
+eyes.
+
+"Mr. King didn't have it; nuther did Maudlin. It came from over there,
+an' I heard a car drive away right after."
+
+Jinnie shook her head hopelessly. It was all so mysterious that her
+heart was gripped with fright. A short time before, an officer had
+been there cross-questioning Lafe suspiciously. Then he had gone away
+with the pistol in his pocket. She stared out of the window,
+fear-shadowed. In a twinkling her whole love world had tumbled about
+her ears, and she listened as the cobbler told her once more the story
+of the hour she'd been away with Bobbie.
+
+"There're two men coming here right now," she said suddenly, getting
+up. "Lafe, there's Burns, the cop on this beat."
+
+"They're wantin' to find out more, I presume," replied Lafe wearily.
+
+As the men entered the shop, Jinnie backed away and stood with rigid
+muscles. She was dizzily frightened at the sight of the gruff
+officers, who had not even saluted Lafe.
+
+The foremost man was a stranger to them both.
+
+"Are you Lafe Grandoken?" he demanded, looking at the cobbler.
+
+"Yes," affirmed Lafe.
+
+The man flourished a paper with staid importance.
+
+"I'm the sheriff of this county, an' I've a warrant for your arrest
+for murderin' Maudlin Bates," he sing-songed.
+
+Jinnie sprang forward.
+
+"Lafe didn't shoot 'im," she cried desperately.
+
+The man eyed her critically.
+
+"Did you do it, kid?" he asked, smiling.
+
+"No, I wasn't here!" answered Jinnie, short-breathed.
+
+"Then how'd you know he didn't do it?"
+
+For a moment Jinnie was nonplussed. Then she came valiantly to her
+friend's aid.
+
+"I know he didn't. Of course he didn't, you wicked, wicked men! Don't
+you dare touch 'im, don't you dare!"
+
+"Well, he's got to go with me," affirmed the man in ugly, sneering
+tones. "Whistle for the patrol, Burns, and we'll wheel the Jew in!"
+
+Jinnie heard, as in a hideous dream, the shrill, trilling whistle;
+heard the galloping of horses and saw a long black wagon draw up to
+the steps.
+
+When the two sullen men laid violent hold of the wheelchair, Jinnie's
+terrified fingers reached toward the cobbler, and the sheriff gave her
+hand a sharp blow. Lafe uttered an inarticulate cry, and at that
+moment Jinnie forgot "Happy in Spite," forgot Lafe's angels and the
+glory of them, and sprang like a tiger at the man who had struck her.
+She flung one arm about his neck and fought him with tooth and nails.
+So surprised was Policeman Burns that he stood with staring eyes,
+making no move to rescue his mate from the tigerish girl.
+
+"Damn you! Damn you!" screamed Jinnie. "I'll kill you before you take
+'im."
+
+Lafe cried out again, calling her name gently, imploringly, and
+tenderly. When his senses returned, Burns grasped Jinnie in his arms
+and held her firmly. There she stood panting, trying to break away
+from the policeman's detaining fingers. She looked half crazed in the
+dimming late afternoon light.
+
+"Merciful God, but you're a tartar, miss!" said the sheriff ruefully.
+"Well, if she ain't clawed the blood clean through my skin!"
+
+"She comes of bad stock," exclaimed Burns. "You can't expect any more
+of Jews. Go on; I'll hold 'er till you and Mike get the chair out."
+
+Hearing this, Jinnie began to sob hysterically and make more desperate
+efforts to free herself. The viselike fingers pressed deeper into her
+tender flesh.
+
+"Here, huzzy, you needn't be tryin' none of your muck on me," said
+Burns. "Keep still or I'll break your arm."
+
+Jinnie sickened with pain, and her eyes sought Lafe's. If he'd been in
+his coffin, he couldn't have been whiter.
+
+"Jinnie," he chided brokenly, "you've forgot what I told you, ain't
+you, lass?"
+
+Through the suffering, tender mind flashed the words he'd taught her.
+
+"There aren't any angels, Lafe," she sobbed. "There aren't any."
+
+Then, as another man entered the shop, she cried: "Don't take 'im, oh,
+please don't take 'im, not now, not just yet, not till Peggy gets
+back."
+
+Turning around in his chair, Lafe looked up at the men.
+
+"Could--I--say--good-bye--to my--wife?" he asked brokenly.
+
+"Where is she?" demanded the officer.
+
+"Gone to the store," answered Lafe. "She'll be here in a minute."
+
+"Let 'er come to the jail," snapped the angry sheriff. "She'll have
+plenty of time to say good-bye there."
+
+At that they tugged the chair through the narrow door. Then two boards
+were found upon which to roll it into the patrol.
+
+Inside the shop Jinnie was quiet now, save for the convulsions that
+rent her body. She looked up at the man holding her.
+
+"Let me go," she implored. "I'll be good, awful good."
+
+Perhaps it was the pleading blue eyes that made the officer release
+her arms. Jinnie sprang to the door, and as Lafe saw her, he smiled,
+oh such a smile! The girl ran madly to him.
+
+"Lafe! Lafe!" she screamed. "Lafe dear!"
+
+Lafe bent, touched the shining black curls, and a glorified expression
+spread over his face.
+
+"He's given His angels charge over you, lass," he murmured, "an' it's
+a fact you're not to forget."
+
+Then they rolled him up the planks and into the wagon. With clouded
+eyes Jinnie watched the black patrol bowl along toward the bridge, and
+as it halted a moment on Paradise Road to allow an engine to pass, the
+cobbler leaned far out of his wheel chair and waved a thin white hand
+at her. Then like a deer she ran ahead until she came within speaking
+distance of him. The engine passed with a shrieking whistle, and the
+horses received a sharp crack and galloped off. Jinnie flung out her
+arms.
+
+"Lafe!" she screamed. "I'll stay with Peg till you come."
+
+He heard the words, waved once more, and the wagon disappeared over
+the bridge.
+
+For full ten minutes after Lafe was taken away, Jinnie sat in the shop
+like one turned to stone. The thing that roused her was the side door
+opening and shutting. She got up quickly and went into the little
+hall, closing the shop door behind her. Mrs. Grandoken, with bundles
+in her hands, was entering the kitchen. Jinnie staggered after her.
+
+"Peggy," murmured Jinnie, throwing her arms about the stooped
+shoulders. "You'll be good----"
+
+It was as if she had said it to Bobbie, tenderly, low-pitched, and
+imploring. Peg seemed so miserable and thin.
+
+"What's the matter with you, kid?" growled Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"The town folks," groaned Jinnie, "the town folks've made a mistake,
+an awful mistake."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken turned sunken eyes upon the speaker.
+
+"What mistake've they made?"
+
+Jinnie's throat hurt so she couldn't say any more.
+
+"What mistake?" asked Peg again.
+
+"They think Lafe shot----"
+
+Peggy wheeled on the hesitating speaker. Shoving her to one side, she
+stalked through the door. Jinnie flew after her.
+
+"Peggy, Peg, he'll come back!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop door and the empty room with overturned
+chairs and scattered tools told its silent, eloquent tale.
+
+"Honey," whispered Jinnie. "Honey dear----"
+
+"God's Jesus," muttered Peg, with roving eyes, "God's Jesus, save my
+man!"
+
+Then she slid to the floor, and when she once more opened her eyes,
+Jinnie was throwing water in her face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+ALONE IN THE SHOP
+
+
+Later in the day Jordan Morse and Molly Merriweather met at the
+hospital. They looked into each other's eyes, not daring to mention
+the terrible consternation that possessed them.
+
+"Have you heard anything?" murmured Molly, glancing about before
+speaking.
+
+Jordan nodded his head.
+
+"It's awful," he said. "Bates is dead--if you say a word, I'm lost."
+
+"Depend on me," Molly assured him. "Oh, how dreadful it all is!
+Theodore must get well," she continued in agitation.
+
+"Well, he won't!" snarled Morse. Then he went on passionately. "Molly,
+I swear I didn't intend to shoot _him_. I was mad clear through and
+aimed at the cobbler."
+
+"Hush!" warned Molly. "Some one's coming."
+
+A young doctor approached them with gravity.
+
+"Mr. King?" murmured Molly.
+
+"Is slowly failing. The bullet found a vital spot----"
+
+"And the other man--Bates? Is it true he's dead?" interjected Morse
+eagerly.
+
+"Yes, he died shortly after the tragedy. It's all a mystery, but I
+think they've arrested the guilty man."
+
+Both listeners stared at the speaker as if he'd told them the world
+had come to an end. It was Morse who managed to mutter:
+
+"What man?"
+
+"Haven't you heard? They've arrested Lafe Grandoken. The shooting
+occurred in his cobbling shop, and the gun was found as proof of his
+crime. Of course, like all Jews, he's trying to invent a story in his
+own favor.... He's undoubtedly the criminal."
+
+Not until they were in the street did Jordan express himself to
+Molly.
+
+"What heavenly luck! So they've arrested Grandoken. If Theodore
+lives----"
+
+Molly clutched his arm.
+
+"Oh, he must! He must! Jordan! I shall die myself if he doesn't."
+
+Jordan Morse turned sharply upon her.
+
+"Don't throw a fit right here. You're not the only one suffering. My
+atmosphere is cleared a little with Grandoken's arrest, though."
+
+"But you've still to reckon with Jinnie," ventured Molly.
+
+"Easy now," returned the man. "I'll get her before Theodore is well."
+
+"Take me home," pleaded Molly wearily. "Such a day as this is enough
+to ruin all the good looks a woman ever had."
+
+Disgustedly, Jordan flung open the motor door.
+
+"Well, my God, you've got about as much brains and heart as a
+chipmunk. Climb in!"
+
+Later, as the two separated, Morse said, with low-pitched voice:
+
+"Now, then, I'm going to plan to get Jinnie. Might's well be hung for
+a sheep's a lamb----I'm just as well satisfied that Bates is dead.
+After I secure Jinnie--then for my boy. God! I can scarcely wait until
+I have him."
+
+Miss Merriweather went into the house in utter exhaustion, nor did
+she pause to take off her hat before telling Theodore's mother the
+little she could to encourage her.
+
+If Molly was suffering over the crime which had sent the man she loved
+to the hospital, Jinnie was going through thrice that agony for the
+same man. He had almost met his death in coming to tell Lafe of their
+love, and had been struck down in his mission by an unknown hand.
+Jinnie knew it was an unknown hand, because just as sure as she lived,
+so sure was she that Lafe had not committed the crime. The cobbler had
+explained it all to her, and she believed him. Peggy was dreadfully
+ill! After her fainting spell, the girl put Mrs. Grandoken to bed, and
+then went to comfort Bobbie. She found him huddled on his pillow,
+clasping Happy Pete in his arms. The small face was streaked with
+tears and half buried from sight.
+
+"Bobbie," called Jinnie softly.
+
+The yellow head came up with a jerk, the flashing grey eyes begging in
+mute helplessness an explanation for these unusual happenings.
+
+"I'm here, Jinnie. What's the matter with everybody?"
+
+Jinnie lay down beside him.
+
+"Peggy's sick," she said, not daring to say more.
+
+"Where's Lafe?"
+
+An impulsive arm went across the child's body.
+
+"He's gone away for a little while, dear, just for a few days!"
+
+Something in her tones made Bobbie writhe. With the acuteness of one
+with his affliction, his ears had caught the commotion in the shop.
+
+"But he can't walk, Jinnie. Did he walk?" he demanded.
+
+"No."
+
+"How'd he go, in a motor car?"
+
+"No," repeated the girl.
+
+"Some one took him, then?" demanded Bobbie.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"In a wagon?"
+
+By this time she could feel the tip-tap of his anguished heart against
+hers.
+
+"Yes," she admitted, but that was all. She felt that to tell the truth
+then would be fatal to the throbbing young life in her arms.
+
+"Bobbie," she whispered, cuddling him. "Lafe's coming home soon. Be a
+good boy and lie still and rest. Jinnie'll come back in a few
+minutes."
+
+She crawled off the bed, and went to the shop door. By main force she
+had to drag her unwilling feet over the threshold. She stood for two
+tense minutes scanning the room with pathetic keenness. Then she
+walked forward and stood beside the bench. It seemed to be sentiently
+alive with the magnetism of the man who had lately occupied it. Jinnie
+sat on it, a cry bursting from her white lips. She wanted to be with
+him, but she had promised to take care of Peggy, and she would rather
+die than betray that trust. Her eyes fell upon two dark spots upon the
+floor, one near the door and one almost under her feet. She shuddered
+as she realized it was blood. Then she went to the kitchen for water
+and washed it away. This done, she gathered up Lafe's tools,
+reverently kissing each one as she laid it in the box under the bench.
+How lonely the shop looked in the gathering gloom! To dissipate the
+lengthening shadows in the corners, she lighted the lamp. The
+flickering flame brought back keenly the hours she had spent with
+Lafe--hours in which she had learned so much. The whole horror that
+had fallen on the household rushed over her being like a tidal wave
+over a city. Misery of the most exquisite kind was tearing her heart
+in pieces, stabbing her throat with long, forklike pains. Tense throat
+muscles caught and clung together, choking back her breath until she
+lay down, full length, upon the cobbler's bench.
+
+In poignant grief she thought of the expression of Lafe's face when he
+had been wheeled from the room. His voice came back through the faint
+light.
+
+"He has given His angels charge over thee, lassie."
+
+But how could she believe in the angels, with Lafe in prison and
+Theodore dying? She got up, spent and worn with weeping, and went in
+to Peggy, sitting for a few minutes beside the agonized woman, but she
+could not say one word to make that agony less. In losing the two
+strong friends, she had lost her faith too. Peg's face was turned to
+the wall, and as she didn't answer when the girl laid her hand on her
+shoulder, Jinnie tiptoed out. In her own room she lay for seemingly
+century-long hours with Bobbie pressed tightly to her breast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+JINNIE EXPLAINS THE DEATH CHAIR TO BOBBIE
+
+
+Seven days had dragged their seemingly slow length from seconds to
+minutes, from minutes to hours, from hours to days. In the cobbler's
+shop Jinnie and Bobbie waited in breathless anxiety for Peg's return.
+She had gone to the district attorney for permission to visit her
+husband in his cell. Nearly three hours had passed since her
+departure, and few other thoughts were in the mind of the girl save
+the passionate wish for news of her two beloved friends. She was
+standing by the window looking out upon the tracks, and as a heavy
+train steamed past she counted the cars with melancholy rhythm. There
+came to her mind the day she had found Bobbie on the hill, and all the
+sweet moments since when the cobbler had been with them. She choked
+back a sob that made a little noise in her tightened throat.
+
+Bobbie stumbled his unseeing way to her and shoved a small, cold hand
+into hers.
+
+"Jinnie's sad," he murmured. "Bobbie's stars're blinkin' out."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken and Jinnie had come to an understanding that Bobbie
+should not know of the cobbler's trouble, so the strong fingers closed
+over the little ones, but the girl did not speak. At length she caught
+a glimpse of Peg, who, with bent head, was stumbling across the
+tracks. Peggy had failed in her mission! Jinnie knew it because the
+woman did not look up as she came within sight of the house.
+
+As Mrs. Grandoken entered slowly, Jinnie turned to her.
+
+"You didn't see him?" she said in a tone half exclamation, half
+question.
+
+"No," responded Peg, wearily, sitting down. "I waited 'most two hours
+for the lawyer, an' when he come, I begged harder'n anything, but it
+didn't do no good. He says I can't see my man for a long time. I guess
+they're tryin' to make him confess he killed Maudlin."
+
+Jinnie's hand clutched frantically at the other's arm. Both women had
+forgotten the presence of the blind child.
+
+"He wouldn't do that," cried Jinnie, panic-stricken. "A man can't own
+up to doing a thing he didn't do."
+
+"Course not," whispered Bobbie, in an awed whisper, and the girl sat
+down, drawing him to her lap. She could no longer guard her tongue nor
+hide her feelings. She took the afternoon paper from Mrs. Grandoken's
+hand.
+
+"Read about it aloud," implored the woman.
+
+"It says," began Jinnie, "Mr. King's dying."
+
+The paper fluttered from her hand, and she sat like a small graven
+image. To see those words so cruelly set in black and white, staring
+at her with frightful truth, harrowed the very soul of her. A sobbing
+outburst from Bobbie mingled with the soft chug, chug of the engine
+outside on the track. Happy Pete, too, felt the tragedy in the air. He
+wriggled nearer his young mistress and rested his pointed nose on one
+of her knees, while his twinkling yellow eyes demanded, in their
+eloquent way, to know the cause of his loved ones' sorrow.
+
+Peggy broke a painful pause.
+
+"Everybody in town says Lafe done it," she groaned, "an'----" she
+caught her breath. "Oh, God! it seems I can't stand it much longer!"
+
+Jinnie got up, putting the limp boy in her chair. She was making a
+masterful effort to be brave, to restrain the rush of emotion
+demanding utterance. Some beating thing in her side ached as if it
+were about to burst. But she stood still until Peg spoke again.
+
+"It's all bad business, Jinnie! an' I can't see no help comin' from
+anywhere."
+
+If Peg's head hadn't fallen suddenly into her hands, perhaps Jinnie
+wouldn't have collapsed just then. As it was, her knees gave way, and
+she fell forward beside the cobbler's wife. Bobbie, in his helpless
+way, knelt too.
+
+Since Lafe's arrest the girl had not prayed, nor could she recall the
+promises Lafe had taught her were made for the troubled in spirit.
+Could she now say anything to make Peg's suffering less, even if she
+did not believe it all herself?
+
+"Peg," she pleaded, "don't shiver so!... Hold up your head.... I want
+to tell you something."
+
+Peggy made a negative gesture.
+
+"It ain't to be bore, Jinnie," she moaned hoarsely.
+
+"Lafe ain't no chance. They'll put him in the chair."
+
+Such awful words! The import was pressed deeper into two young hearts
+by Peg's wild weeping.
+
+Jinnie staggered to her feet. Blind Bobbie broke into a prolonged
+wail.
+
+"Lafe ain't never done nothin' bad in all his life," went on the
+woman, from the shelter of her hands. "He's the best man in the world.
+He's worked an' worked for everybody, an' most times never got no pay.
+An' now----"
+
+"Don't say it again, Peggy!" Jinnie's voice rang out. "Don't think
+such things. They couldn't put Lafe in a wicked death chair--they
+_couldn't_."
+
+Bobbie's upraised eyes were trying to pierce through their veil of
+darkness to seek the speaker's meaning.
+
+"What chair, Jinnie?" he quivered. "What kind of a chair're they goin'
+to put my beautiful Lafe in?"
+
+Jinnie's mind went back to the teachings of the cobbler, and the slow,
+sweet, painful smile intermingled with her agony. Again and again the
+memory of the words, "He hath given his angels charge over thee,"
+swelled her heart to the breaking point. She wanted to believe, to
+feel again that ecstatic faith which had suffused her as Maudlin Bates
+pulled her curls in the marsh, when she had called unto the Infinite
+and Theodore had answered.
+
+Peg needed Lafe's angels at that moment. They all needed the comfort
+of the cobbler's faith.
+
+"Peg," she began, "your man'd tell you something sweet if he could see
+you now."
+
+Peg ceased writhing, but didn't lift her face. Jinnie knew she was
+listening, and continued:
+
+"Haven't you heard him many a time, when there wasn't any wood in the
+house or any bread to eat, tell you about--about----"
+
+Down dropped the woman's hands, and she lifted a woebegone face to her
+young questioner.
+
+"Yes, I've heard him, Jinnie," she quavered, "but I ain't never
+believed it!"
+
+"But you can, Peggy! You can, sure! Lots of times Lafe'd say, 'Now,
+Jinnie, watch God and me!' And I watched, and sure right on the minute
+came the money." She paused a moment, ruminating. "That money we got
+the day he went away came because he prayed for it."
+
+The girl was reverently earnest.
+
+"Lafe's got a chance, all right," she pursued, keeping Peg's eye.
+"More'n a chance, if--if--if----Oh, Peggy, we've got to pray!"
+
+"I don't know how," said Peg, in stifled tones.
+
+Jinnie's face lighted with a mental argument Lafe had thrown at her
+in her moments of distrust. She was deep in despondency, but something
+had to be done.
+
+"Peg, you don't need to know anything about it. I didn't when I came
+here. Lafe says----"
+
+"What'd Lafe say?" cut in Peggy.
+
+"That you must just tell God about it----" Jinnie lifted a white,
+lovely face. "He's everywhere--not away off," she proceeded. "Talk to
+Him just like you would to Lafe or me."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken sunk lower in her chair.
+
+"I wisht I'd learnt when Lafe was here. Now I dunno how."
+
+"But will you try?" Jinnie pleaded after a little.
+
+"You know 'em better'n I do, Jinnie," Peg muttered, dejectedly. "You
+ask if it'll do any good."
+
+Jinnie cleared her throat, coughed, and murmured:
+
+"Close your eyes, Bobbie."
+
+Bobbie shut his lids with a gulping sob, and so did Peg.
+
+Then Jinnie began in a low, constrained voice:
+
+"God and your angels hovering about Lafe, please send him back to the
+shop. Get him out of jail, and don't let anybody hurt him. Amen."
+
+"Don't let any chair hurt my beautiful cobbler," wailed Bobbie, in a
+new paroxysm of grief. "Gimme Lafe an' my stars."
+
+In another instant Peggy staggered out of the room, leaving the blind
+boy and Jinnie alone.
+
+As the door closed, Bobbie's voice rose in louder appeal. Happy Pete
+touched him tenderly with a cold, wet nose, crawling into his arms
+with a little whine.
+
+Jinnie looked at her two charges hopelessly. She knew not how to
+comfort them, nor could she frame words that would still the agony of
+the child. Yet she lifted Bobbie and Happy Pete and sat down with them
+on her lap.
+
+"Don't cry, honey," she stammered. "There! There! Jinnie'll rock
+you."
+
+Her face was ashen with anxiety, and perspiration stood in large drops
+upon her brow. Mechanically she drew her sleeve across her face.
+
+"I'm going to ask you to be awful good, Bobbie," she pleaded
+presently. "Lafe's being arrested is hard on Peg--and she's sick."
+
+Bobbie burst in on her words.
+
+"But they'll sit my cobbler in a wicked chair, and kill him, Jinnie.
+Peggy said they would."
+
+"You remember, Bobbie," soothed the girl, "what Lafe said about God's
+angels, don't you?"
+
+The yellow head bent forward in assent.
+
+"And how they're stronger'n a whole bunch of men?"
+
+"Yes," breathed Bobbie; "but the chair--the men've got that, an' mebbe
+the angels'll be busy when they're puttin' the cobbler in it."
+
+This idea made him shriek out louder than before: "They'll kill Lafe!
+Oh, Jinnie, they will!"
+
+"They can't!" denied Jinnie, rigidly. "They can't! Listen, Bobbie."
+
+The wan, unsmiling blind face brought the girl's lips hard upon it.
+
+"I want to know all about the death chair," he whimpered stubbornly.
+
+"Bobbie," she breathed, "will you believe me if I tell you about it?"
+
+"Yes," promised Bobbie, snuggling nearer.
+
+"Hang on to Pete, and I will tell you," said Jinnie.
+
+"I'm hangin' to 'im," sighed Bobbie, touching Pete's shaggy forelock.
+"Tell me about the chair."
+
+Jinnie was searching her brain for an argument to satisfy him. She
+wouldn't have lied for her own welfare--but for Bobbie--she could
+feel the weak, small heart palpitating against her arm.
+
+"Well, in the first place," she began deliberately, "Peg doesn't know
+everything about murders. Why, Bobbie, they don't do anything at all
+to men like Lafe. Why, a cobbler, dear, a cobbler could kill everybody
+in the whole world if he liked."
+
+Bobbie's breath was sent out in one long exclamation of wonder.
+
+"A cobbler," went on Jinnie impressively, "could steal loaves of bread
+right under a great judge's nose and he couldn't do anything to him."
+
+Jinnie had made a daring speech, such a splendid one; she wanted to
+believe it herself.
+
+"Tell me more," chirped Bobbie. "What about the death chair, Jinnie?"
+
+She had nursed the hope that the boy would be satisfied with what she
+had already told him, but she proceeded in triumphant tones:
+
+"Oh, you mean the chair Peg was speaking about, huh? Sure I know all
+about that.... There isn't anything I don't know about it.... I know
+more'n all the judges and preachers put together."
+
+A small, trustful smile appeared at the corners of Bobbie's mouth.
+
+"I know you do, Jinnie," he agreed. "Tell it to me."
+
+Jinnie pressed her lips on his hair.
+
+"And if I tell you, kiddie, you'll not cry any more or worry Peggy?"
+
+"I'll be awful good, and not cry once," promised the boy, settling
+himself expectantly.
+
+"Now, then, listen hard!"
+
+Accordingly, after a dramatic pause, to give stress to her next
+statement, she continued:
+
+"There isn't a death chair in the whole world can kill a cobbler."
+
+Bobbie braced himself against her and sat up. His blind eyes were
+roving over her with an expression of disbelief. Jinnie knew he was
+doubting her veracity, so she hurried on.
+
+"Of course they got an electric chair that'll kill other kinds of
+men," she explained volubly, "but if you'll believe me, Bobbie, no
+cobbler could ever sit in it."
+
+Bobbie dropped back again. There was a ring of truth in Jinnie's
+words, and he began to believe her.
+
+"And another thing, Bobbie, there's something in the Bible better'n
+what I've told you. You believe the Bible, don't you?"
+
+"Lafe's Bible?" asked Bobbie, scarcely audible.
+
+"Sure! There isn't but one."
+
+"Yes, Jinnie, I believe that," said the boy.
+
+"Well," and Jinnie glanced up at the ceiling, "there's just about a
+hundred pages in that book tells how once some men tried to put a
+cobbler in one of those chairs, and the lightning jumped out and set
+'em all on fire----"
+
+Bobbie straightened up so quickly that Happy Pete fell to the floor.
+
+"Yes, yes, Jinnie dear," he breathed. "Go on!"
+
+Jinnie hesitated. She didn't want to fabricate further.
+
+"It's just so awful I hate to tell you," she objected.
+
+"I'd be happier if you would," whispered Bobbie.
+
+"Then I will! The fire, jumping out, didn't hurt the cobbler one wee
+bit, but it burned the wicked men----" Jinnie paused, gathered a deep
+breath, and brought to mind Lafe's droning voice when he had used the
+same words, "Burned 'em root and branch," declared she.
+
+Bobbie's face shone with happiness.
+
+"Is that all?" he begged.
+
+"Isn't it enough?" asked Jinnie, with tender chiding.
+
+"Aren't there nothin' in it about Lafe?"
+
+"Oh, sure!" Again she was at loss for ideas, but somehow words of
+their own volition seemed to spring from her lips. "Sure there is!
+There's another hundred pages in that blessed book that says good men
+like Lafe won't ever go into one of those chairs, never, never.... The
+Lord God Almighty ordered all those death chairs to be chopped up for
+kindling wood," she ended triumphantly.
+
+"Shortwood?" broke out Bobbie.
+
+Unheeding the interruption, Jinnie pursued: "They just left a chair
+for wicked men, that's all."
+
+Bobbie slipped to the floor and raised his hands.
+
+"Jinnie, pretty Jinnie. I'm goin' to believe every word you've said,
+every word, and my stars're all shinin' so bright they're just like
+them in the sky."
+
+Jinnie kissed the eager little face and left the child sitting on the
+floor, crooning contentedly to Happy Pete.
+
+"Lafe told me once," Jinnie whispered to herself on the way to the
+kitchen, "when a lie does a lot of good, it's better than the truth if
+telling facts hurts some one."
+
+She joined Peggy, sighing, "I'm an awful liar, all right, but Bobbie's
+happy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+WHAT THE THUNDER STORM BROUGHT
+
+
+In the past few weeks Jinnie Grandoken had been driven blindly into
+unknown places, forced to face conditions which but a short time
+before would have seemed unbearable. However, there was much with
+which Jinnie could occupy her time. Blind Bobbie was not well. He was
+mourning for the cobbler with all his boyish young soul, and every day
+Peggy grew more taciturn and ill. The funds left by Theodore were
+nearly gone, and Jinnie had given up her lessons. She was using the
+remaining money for their meagre necessities.
+
+So slowly did the days drag by that the girl had grown to believe that
+the authorities would never bring Lafe to trial, exonerate him, and
+send him home. Then, too, Theodore was still in the hospital, and she
+thought of him ever with a sense of terrific loss. But the daily
+papers brought her news of him, and now printed that his splendid
+constitution might pull him through. It never occurred to her that her
+loved one would believe Lafe had shot him and Maudlin Bates. Theodore
+was too wise, too kindly, for such suspicions.
+
+For a while after receiving permission from the county attorney, she
+visited Lafe every day. Peggy had seen him only once, being too
+miserable to stand the strain of going to the jail. But Mrs. Grandoken
+never neglected sending by the girl some little remembrance to her
+husband. Perhaps it was only a written message, but mostly a favorite
+dish of food or an article of his wearing apparel.
+
+One afternoon Bobbie sat by the window with his small, pale face
+pressed close to the pane. Outside a great storm was raging, and from
+one end of Paradise Road to the other, rivulets of water rushed down
+to the lake. Several times that day, when the boy had addressed Mrs.
+Grandoken, she had answered him even more gruffly than of yore. He
+knew by her voice she was ill, and his palpitating heart was wrung so
+agonizingly that he was constantly in tears. Now he was waiting for
+Jinnie, and the sound of the buffeting rain and the booming roar of
+heavy thunder thrilled him dismally. To hear Jinnie's footsteps at
+that moment would be the panacea for all his grief.
+
+Peg came into the shop, and Bobbie turned slightly.
+
+"Jinnie's stayin' awful long at the jail to-day," said the woman
+fretfully. "Do you hear her comin', Bobbie?"
+
+"No," said Bobbie, "I've been stretchin' my ears almost to the hill to
+hear her. If she doesn't come soon, I'll die--my stars've been gone a
+long time."
+
+"I wish she'd come," sighed Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Bend over here, Peg," entreated Bobbie, "I want to touch your eyes!"
+
+Without comment the woman leaned over, and the boy's fingers wavered
+over her wrinkled countenance.
+
+"You're awful sick, dearie," he grieved, pressing against her. "Can
+Blind Bobbie do anything?"
+
+Peg dropped her arm around him.
+
+"I'm afraid," she whispered. "I wish Lafe and Jinnie was here."
+
+One long shiver shook Bobbie's slender body. That Peg could ever be
+afraid was a new idea to him. It terrified him even to contemplate it.
+He began to sob wistfully, but in another instant raised his head.
+
+"She's comin'," he cried sharply. "I hear 'er. I got two stars, mebbe
+three."
+
+When Jinnie opened the door, the water was dripping from her clothes,
+and her hair hung in long, wet curls to her waist. One look into Peg's
+twisted, pain-ridden face, and she understood.
+
+"I'm glad you're here," said the woman, with a gesture of
+helplessness. And Bobbie echoed, with fluttering hands, "I'm glad,
+too, Jinnie. Me and Peg was so 'fraid."
+
+The girl spoke softly to Bobbie, and drew Peggy into the bedroom.
+There, with her arm thrown across Mrs. Grandoken's shoulder, she gave
+all the assurance and comfort of which she was capable.
+
+Long after midnight, the rain still came down in thrashing torrents,
+and through the pieces of broken tin on the roof the wind shrilled
+dismally.
+
+There was a solemn hush in the back bedroom where Peggy lay staring at
+the ceiling. In front of the shadowy lamp was a bit of cardboard to
+protect the sick woman's eyes from the light. At Peggy's side sat
+Jinnie, and in her arms lay a small bundle. Jinnie had gained much
+knowledge in the last few hours. She had discovered the mystery of all
+existence. She had seen Peg go down into that wonderful valley of life
+and bring back Lafe's little boy baby, and the girl's eyes held an
+expression of impenetrable things. She moved her position slightly so
+as to study Mrs. Grandoken's face.
+
+Suddenly Peg's eyes lowered.
+
+"Jinnie, gimme a drink, will you?"
+
+Placing the child on the bed, the girl got up instantly. She went to
+the kitchen and returned with a glass of milk. It had scarcely touched
+the woman's lips before she raised her hand and pushed it away.
+
+"I mustn't drink that," she whispered feebly.
+
+"I got it specially for you, Peggy dear," insisted Jinnie.... "Drink
+it," she wheedled, "please."
+
+Then Jinnie sat down again, listening as the elements kept up their
+continuous rioting, and after a while they lulled her to rest.
+Suddenly her head dropped softly on the bundle in her arms, and the
+three--Peggy, Jinnie and the tiny Jewish baby--slept.
+
+Jinnie's name, spoken in low tones, roused her quickly. She raised her
+head, a sharp pain twisting her neck. Peggy was looking at her, with
+misery in her face.
+
+"I feel awful sick, Jinnie," she moaned. "Can't you say somethin'
+t'me, somethin' to make me feel better?"
+
+Something to make her feel better! The words touched the listener
+deeply. Oh, how she wanted to help! To alleviate Peg's suffering was
+her one desire. If it had been Bobbie, or even Lafe, Jinnie would have
+known exactly what to say; but Peggy, proud, stoical Peggy!
+
+"Let me put the baby with you where it's warm, Peg," she said, gently.
+"I'm going to talk to you a minute.... There, now, you're all safe,
+little mister, near your mammy's heart."
+
+Then she knelt down by the bed and took the woman's hot fingers in
+hers.
+
+"Peggy," she began softly, "things look awful bad just now, but Lafe
+told me once, when they looked that way, it was time for some one to
+come along and help. I'll tell you about it, Peg! Eh?"
+
+"Who c'n come?" demanded Mrs. Grandoken, irritably. "Mr. King can't,
+an' we hain't no other friends who'll come to a cobbler's shop."
+
+The question in her voice gave Jinnie the chance she was looking for.
+
+"Yes, there is," she insisted. "Now listen, while I say something;
+will you?"
+
+"Sure," said Peg, squeezing Jinnie's fingers.
+
+Then Jinnie started to repeat a few verses Lafe had taught her. She
+couldn't tell exactly where they were in the Bible, but the promise in
+them had always made her own burdens lighter, and since seeing Lafe
+daily, she had partially come back to her former trust.
+
+"'The Lord is my Shepherd,'" she droned sleepily. Then on and on until
+she came to, "'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
+death,'" and Peg broke into a sob.
+
+"'I will fear no evil,'" soothed Jinnie, amid the roaring of the wind
+and the crackling of the thunder over the hill.
+
+"'For thou art with me,'" she finished brokenly. "He's the one I was
+talking about, Peggy. He'll help us all if we can believe and be----"
+
+Then she quickly ended, "Happy in Spite."
+
+Peg continued to sob. One arm was across her baby boy protectingly,
+and the other hand Jinnie held in hers.
+
+"Somehow things seem easier, Peggy, when you hold your head up high,
+and believe everything'll come all right.... Lafe said so; that's why
+he started the club."
+
+"I wisht I could think that way. I'm near dead," groaned the woman.
+
+Jinnie smoothed the soft, grey-streaked hair.
+
+"Wouldn't you like to come into the club, dear?" she faltered,
+scarcely daring to put the question. "Then you'll be happy with us
+all--with Lafe and Bobbie and--and----"
+
+Jinnie wanted to say another name, but doubted its wisdom--and then
+abruptly it came; "and Jinnie," she finished.
+
+Peggy almost sat up in bed.
+
+"Darlin'," she quivered. "Darlin' girl, I've been cussed mean to Lafe
+an' you. I've told you many a time with my own mouth I hated you, but
+God knows, an' Lafe knows, I loved you the minute I set eyes on you."
+She dropped back on the pillow and continued, "If you'll take me in
+your club, an' learn me how to believe, I'll try; I swear I will."
+
+For a long time Jinnie sat crooning over and over the verses she'd
+learned from Lafe, and bye-and-bye she heard Peg breathing regularly
+and knew she slept. Then she settled herself in the chair, and sweet,
+mysterious dreams came to her through the storm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+THE STORY OF A BIRD
+
+
+Lafe Grandoken, in his wheel chair, sat under the barred prison
+window, an open Bible on his knees. Slowly the shadows were falling
+about him, and to the man every shade had an entity of its own. First
+there trooped before him all the old memories of the many
+yesterdays--of Peg--his little dead lad--and Jinnie. And lastly,
+ghostlike, came the shattered hopes of to-morrow, and with these he
+groaned and shivered.
+
+Jinnie stole in and looked long upon her friend through the
+iron-latticed door. The smile that played with the dimples in her
+cheeks and the dancing shadows in the violet eyes indicated her
+happiness. Lafe looked older and thinner than ever before, and her
+heart sang when she thought of the news she had to tell him. She
+longed to pronounce his name, to take away the far-away expression
+that seemed to hold him in deep meditation. During her tramp to the
+jail she'd concocted a fairy story to bring a smile to the cobbler's
+lips. So at length:
+
+"Lafe," she whispered.
+
+Mr. Grandoken's head came up quickly, and he turned the chair and
+wheeled toward her. There was the same question in his eyes that had
+been there for so many days, and Jinnie smiled broadly.
+
+"Lafe," she began mysteriously, "a great big bird flew right into the
+house last night. He flopped in to get out of the storm!"
+
+"A bird?" repeated Lafe, startled.
+
+"Yes, and everybody says it's awful good luck."
+
+Lafe's expression grew tragic, and Jinnie hurried on with her tale.
+
+"I'll bet you can't guess what kind of a bird 'twas, Lafe."
+
+Lafe shook his head. "I can't lessen 'twas a robin," said he.
+
+Jinnie giggled.
+
+"My, no! He was a heap bigger'n a robin. Guess again!"
+
+Such chatter from Jinnie was unusual, especially of late, but Lafe
+bore it patiently.
+
+"I can't," he sighed, shaking his head.
+
+Jinnie clapped her hands.
+
+"I knew you couldn't! Well, Lafe, it was a--a----"
+
+"Yes?" queried Lafe wearily, during her hesitation. "Well, Jinnie?"
+
+"It was a great, big, beautiful white stork, Lafe, and he brought you
+a new Jew baby. What'd you think of that?"
+
+"Jinnie, girl, lass, you ain't tellin' me----"
+
+"Yes, dear, he's there, as big as life and twice as natural, Peg
+says.... Of course," she rambled on, "the stork went away, but the Jew
+baby--to make a long story short, he's with----"
+
+"His ma, eh, dear?" interjected Lafe. "How's Peg, honey?"
+
+"Oh, she's fine," replied Jinnie, "and I've a lot to tell you,
+dearest."
+
+"Begin," commanded Lafe, with wide, bright eyes.
+
+Jinnie commenced by telling how lovely the baby was. Of course she
+didn't rehearse Peg's suffering. It wouldn't do any good.
+
+"And the baby looks like you, Lafe," she observed.
+
+"Does he really?" gasped Lafe, trying to smile.
+
+"He's got your Jew look 'round his nose," added Jinnie gravely. "You
+wanted him to look like you, didn't you, Lafe?"
+
+"Sure, Jinnie. And now about Peggy? Tell me about Peggy."
+
+"Peggy's with us, Lafe----" Jinnie stopped and drew a long breath.
+"What'd you think? Oh--guess!"
+
+"I couldn't! Tell me, Jinnie! Don't keep me waitin' for good things."
+
+"Peggy's in the 'Happy in Spite', and I'm learning her all the verses
+you taught me."
+
+Then Lafe's head dropped on his hands and tears trickled through his
+fingers.
+
+"I wish I could see her," he groaned deeply.
+
+"When she gets well, you can," promised Jinnie, "and mebbe the baby."
+
+Lafe's head was raised quickly and his eyes sparkled.
+
+"I'd love to see 'em both," was all he could stammer.
+
+The girl thrust her fingers through the bars to him, and they stood
+thus, regarding each other in all confidence and faith, until Jinnie
+dropped his hand.
+
+"Mr. King's getting well," she said softly.
+
+"I'm glad, very glad. He don't think I done it, does he, Jinnie?"
+
+"No, and when I see him I'll tell him you didn't."
+
+And as if that settled it, she turned to go; then hesitating, she
+smiled upon him.
+
+"Give me four nice kisses, Lafe. I'll take one to Peg, Bobbie, and the
+baby, and keep one for myself." Then after their lips had met through
+the bars in resounding smacks, Jinnie gasped, "We can't forget Milly
+Ann and Happy Pete. Two more, honey!"
+
+"God bless you, Jinnie lass," murmured Lafe, trying to hide his
+emotion, and then he wheeled quickly back into the falling afternoon
+light under the window.
+
+Jinnie's energetic mind was busy with a scheme. She wasn't sure it
+would meet with Peg's approval, but when she arrived home, she sat
+down beside Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Now, Peggy," she began emphatically, "I want you to pay attention to
+what I'm saying to you."
+
+"I will," said Peggy.
+
+"Lafe wants to see the baby!"
+
+"Now?" asked Mrs. Grandoken, surprised.
+
+"Well, he didn't say just now, but his eyes asked it, and, Peg, I was
+wondering if I couldn't take the little kid up to the jail."
+
+Peggy shook her head.
+
+"They wouldn't let you in with 'im," she objected.
+
+Jinnie thought a long time. Presently she laughed a little, chuckling
+laugh.
+
+"I know how to get him in there!"
+
+"How?" asked Peggy, incredulously.
+
+"Why, everybody knows I've been a shortwood girl. I'll roll him up in
+a bundle----"
+
+Peg's hand sought the little body under the covers protectingly.
+
+"Oh, I won't hurt him, Peg," assured Jinnie. "We'll wrap him up the
+first fine day! You can do it yourself, dear."
+
+One week later Jinnie went slowly up the incline that led to the
+prison. On her back was a shortwood strap filled with brush and small
+twigs.
+
+"I want to see Lafe Grandoken," she said.
+
+To surprise Lafe she crept softly along the corridor until she halted
+at his cell door. She could see him plainly, and the troubled lines
+were almost erased from between his brows. She was glad of that, for
+she wanted him to smile, to be "Happy in Spite."
+
+She called his name and he turned, wheeling toward her.
+
+"I hoped you'd be comin'," he said, smiling gravely. Then noting the
+shortwood, he exclaimed, "Have you had to go to work again, lass?"
+
+"Just for to-day," and Jinnie displayed her white teeth in a broad
+smile. "I've brought you something, Lafe, and I wrapped it up in
+shortwood."
+
+The girl carefully slipped the strap from her shoulders and sat down
+beside it on the floor. Watching eagerly, Lafe peered between the
+bars, for surely his Peggy had sent him some token of her love. The
+girl paused and looked up.
+
+"Shut your eyes tight, Lafe," she commanded playfully.
+
+Lafe closed his eyes, wrinkling down his lids. Then Jinnie lifted the
+baby and uncovered the small face. The little chap opened his eyes and
+yawned as the girl held him close to the bars.
+
+"Now, Lafe, quick! Look! Ha! It's a Jew!"
+
+The cobbler's eyes flew open, and he was staring squarely into a
+small, rosy, open-eyed baby face. For a moment he thought he was
+dreaming--dreaming a dream he had dreamed every night since the
+thunder storm. He caught at his chin to stay the chattering of his
+teeth.
+
+"It ain't him, Jinnie, my Jew baby?" he murmured brokenly.
+
+"Yes, 'tis," and she laughed. "It's your own little feller. I brought
+him to get a kiss from his daddy. Kiss him! Kiss him smack on the
+mouth, Lafe."
+
+And Lafe kissed his baby--kissed him once, twice, and three times,
+gulping hard after each caress. He would never have enough of those
+sweet kisses, never, never! And as his lips descended reverently upon
+the smooth, rose-colored skin, Mr. Grandoken laughed, and Jinnie
+laughed, and the baby, too, wrinkled up his nose.
+
+"Lafe," Jinnie said tenderly, drawing the baby away, "I knew you
+wanted to see him; didn't you?"
+
+Lafe nodded. "An' I'll never be able to thank you for this, Jinnie....
+Let me kiss him once more.... Oh, ain't he beautiful?"
+
+Just before the girl wrapped the boy again in the shortwood, she
+suggested,
+
+"Lafe, what's against taking him into the 'Happy in Spite'? He's
+happier'n any kid in the whole world, having you for a daddy and Peg
+for his mother."
+
+Jinnie thrust the baby's plump hand through the bars, and Lafe, with
+tears in his eyes, shook it tenderly, then kissed it.
+
+"Lafe Grandoken, Jr," he whispered, "you're now a member of the 'Happy
+in Spite' Club."
+
+And then Jinnie took the baby back to Peggy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+JINNIE'S VISIT TO THEODORE
+
+
+So suddenly had the two strong, friendly forces been swept from
+Jinnie's daily life that as yet she had not the power to think with
+precision. Lafe she had had every day for almost three years, and
+Theodore King--oh, how she loved him! Rumors were afloat that no power
+could save Lafe--her dear, brave cobbler.
+
+Day by day the girl's faith increased, and of late she had uttered
+silent prayers that she might be allowed to see Theodore.
+
+One morning she was in the kitchen rocking little Lafe when Peggy
+called her.
+
+"There's some one to see you," said she.
+
+Jinnie gave the mother her baby and went to the shop door. A man in a
+white suit smiled down upon her.
+
+"I'm from the hospital," said he. "Mr. King would like to see you this
+morning."
+
+Jinnie's heart seemed to climb into her throat.
+
+"Mr. Theodore King?" she murmured.
+
+"Yes," said the young man. "I've got a car here. Will you come?"
+
+"Of course! Wait till I get my hat."
+
+Once at their destination, they tiptoed into Theodore's room
+noiselessly, and as Jinnie stood over the bed, looking down upon him,
+she suffered keenly, he looked so deathlike; but she resolutely
+controlled her feelings. When Theodore glanced at her, she forced
+herself to smile, and the sight of the lovely girl refreshed the sick
+man, giving him a new impetus to recover.
+
+He smiled back, endeavoring not to show his weakness.
+
+"You see I'm getting well," he whispered.
+
+Jinnie nodded. She wasn't sure whether he was or not. How her heart
+ached to do something for him!
+
+One of his long, thin hands lay over the coverlet, and Jinnie wanted
+to kiss it. Tears were standing thick on her lashes.
+
+The doctor stood beside her, consulting his watch.
+
+"If you wish to speak, Mr. King," he said kindly, "you must do so
+quickly, for the young lady can stay but two minutes more. That's
+all!"
+
+The doctor turned his back upon them, watch in hand.
+
+"Kiss me, dear!" murmured Theodore.
+
+Oblivious of the doctor's presence, Jinnie stooped and kissed him
+twice, taking the thin hand he extended.
+
+"I sent for you because I feared you'd go to work at the wood again."
+
+Jinnie would reassure him on this point even by an untruth, for she
+might be driven, for the sake of Peggy and the children, to go back
+into that hated occupation.
+
+"I promise I won't," she said.
+
+"Are you still taking lessons?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I couldn't when you were sick. I just couldn't."
+
+"But you must; you must go to-morrow. I have something here for you,"
+he said, reaching under the pillow with his free hand.
+
+Jinnie drew back abashed.
+
+"You're too sick to think of us," she murmured.
+
+Theodore raised her hand to his lips.
+
+"No! No, darling, I think of you always--every day and shall even
+when I'm dead. You must take this money. Do you love me, dearest, very
+much?"
+
+He smiled again as she stooped impetuously to kiss him, and with her
+face very close to his, she whispered,
+
+"Lafe didn't do it, darling!"
+
+"I know it," replied Theodore, closing his eyes.
+
+Then the doctor turned and sent her away.
+
+When she sank back in the automobile, Jinnie opened her hand with the
+roll of bills in it, and all the way home, she repeated, "He has given
+His angels charge over thee." She was hoping and praying for Theodore
+King.
+
+Two days later, coming down the hill, she met Miss Merriweather on
+horseback. The young woman stopped her and asked her to accompany her
+home. Jennie hesitated. She still had memories of the cat sent to its
+death in Molly's fit of anger and the woman's chilling reception of
+her at the King dinner. Nevertheless she turned and walked slowly
+beside the horse. When they reached the porch of Mr. King's home, a
+groom came and led the animal away. Jinnie laid down her fiddle,
+taking the chair indicated by Molly. It had been Jordan Morse's idea
+that she should endeavor to again talk with the girl, but the woman
+scarcely knew how to begin. Jinnie looked so very lovely, so
+confiding, so infinitely sweet. Molly leaned over and said:
+
+"Wasn't it queer how suddenly I remembered who you were? That night at
+the party your name refused to come to my mind. I've wanted to tell
+you several times how sorry I was about your accident!"
+
+"I recognized you the minute I saw you," said Jinnie, smiling,
+relieved a little by Molly's apology.
+
+"You've a good memory," answered Molly. "Now I want to tell you
+something, and I hope you'll be guided by my judgment."
+
+Jinnie looked straight at her without a sign of acquiescence.
+
+"What is it?" she asked presently.
+
+"You must leave Grandoken's!"
+
+Jinnie started to speak, but Molly's next words closed her lips.
+
+"Please don't get nervous! Listen to me! You're a very young and very
+pretty girl and there--there is some one interested in you."
+
+Jinnie pricked up her ears. Some one interested in her! Of course she
+knew who it was. Theodore! But she wouldn't leave Peggy even for him,
+and the thought that he would not ask this of her brought her
+exquisite joy.
+
+"Is it Mr. King who's interested in me?" she asked, timidly.
+
+Molly's eyes narrowed into small slits.
+
+"No, it isn't Mr. King who's interested in you!" she replied a trifle
+mockingly. "Mr. King's too sick to be interested in anybody."
+
+Jinnie couldn't refrain from saying, "He looked awful ill when I saw
+him at the hospital."
+
+Molly stared at her blankly. She grew dizzy and very angry. This girl
+always made her rage within herself.
+
+"You've seen him since--since----"
+
+A maddened expression leapt into Molly's eyes.
+
+"I drive there every day, but they won't let _me_ see him," she said,
+reddening.
+
+"Mr. King sent for me," Jinnie replied, resolutely.
+
+And as the girl admitted this, with deepening flushes, Molly looked
+away. When she had first spoken of Jinnie's future to Jordan Morse,
+she had pleaded with him to be kind to her, but now she could surround
+that white throat and strangle the breath from it without
+compunction.
+
+"Will you tell me what he said to you?" she queried, trying to hide
+her anger.
+
+Jinnie looked down, and locked her fingers together.
+
+"I can't tell," she said at length, moving in discomfort.
+
+She wanted to go--to get away from the woman who looked at her so
+analytically, so resentfully. She got up nervously and picked up her
+fiddle.
+
+"Don't go," urged Molly, starting forward.
+
+Then she laughed a little and went on, "I suppose I did feel a bit
+jealous at first because we--Mr. King and I--have been friends so many
+years. But now we won't think any more about it. I do want you to go
+from that terrible Paradise Road. It's no place for a girl in your
+position."
+
+"You've told me that before," retorted Jinnie, with clouded eyes. "My
+position isn't anything. I haven't any other home, and I'm a sort of a
+helper to Peggy."
+
+A helper to Peggy! Doubtless if Lafe had heard that he would have
+smiled. Truly she was a wonderful little helper, but she was more than
+that, much more--helper, friend, and protector all in one.
+
+"Another thing," added Jinnie quickly, "I love 'em all."
+
+"You've your own home in Mottville," the woman suggested. "You ought
+to be there."
+
+Jinnie sank back into the chair.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't ever go there!" she cut in swiftly. "But I can't tell
+you why."
+
+"Don't you want me to help you?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head doubtfully.
+
+"It wouldn't help any, taking me away from Peggy. I'd rather you'd do
+something for Lafe. Help him get out of prison. Will you?"
+
+"I'm not interested in him," said Molly. "But I am in you----"
+
+"Why?" blurted Jinnie.
+
+Molly colored.
+
+"One can't explain an interest like mine. But I'd go back to Mottville
+with you, and help you with your----"
+
+Jinnie shook her head violently.
+
+"I wouldn't go there for anything in the world," she interjected.
+
+"I can't understand why not!"
+
+"Well, first I couldn't, and I won't.... Then Peggy needs me in
+Paradise Road, and there's the baby and Bobbie."
+
+"Who's Bobbie?"
+
+"Our little kid," replied Jinnie, smiling sweetly.
+
+She did not think it necessary to explain that she had found Bobbie in
+the woods. He was as much one of them as Lafe's baby or herself.
+Neither did she speak of the boy's pitiful condition.
+
+In spite of Jinnie's absolute refusal, Molly went on:
+
+"But you don't understand. You've got your own life to think of!"
+
+Jinnie burst in with what she thought was a clinching triumph.
+
+"I take lessons on my fiddle every day. Some time I hope----"
+
+Molly's eyes gleamed again.
+
+"How can you afford to take lessons?"
+
+The questioner read the truth in the burning blush that swept the
+girl's dark hair line, and her little white teeth came together.
+
+"Mr. Grandoken is not your uncle," she snapped.
+
+"He's more'n my uncle; he's a father to me, and when he comes
+home----"
+
+"He's not coming home. Murderers don't get off so easily."
+
+Jinnie got up and again picked her fiddle from the floor.
+
+"He isn't a murderer!" she stammered, with filling eyes. "Lafe
+wouldn't kill anything.... I've been with him almost three years and I
+know. Why, he wouldn't let Peg or me swat flies."
+
+Miss Merriweather saw her mistake. She realized then as never before
+that nothing could take from the girl her belief in the cobbler.
+
+"Sit down," she urged. "Don't go yet."
+
+"I don't want to sit down," said Jinnie, very much offended. "I'm
+going! I'm sorry you think Lafe----"
+
+Molly rose too. Impetuously she held out her hand.
+
+"I really shouldn't have spoken that way, because I don't know a thing
+about it."
+
+Jinnie relented a little, but not enough to sit down. She was too
+deeply hurt to accept Molly's hospitality further.
+
+"And we musn't quarrel, child," decided the woman. "Now won't you
+reconsider my proposition? I should love to do something for you."
+
+Resolutely the dark curls shook in refusal.
+
+"I'm going to stay with Peggy till Lafe gets out, and then when I'm
+eighteen I'm going to school. I've been studying a lot since I left
+Mottville.... Why sometimes----" she resumed eagerly, "when we haven't
+had enough to eat, Lafe's made me buy a book to study out of, and I
+promised him I'd stay with his family till he came back. And----" she
+walked to the edge of the porch, turning suddenly, "and he's coming
+back, all right," she ended, going down the stairs.
+
+Molly watched the slim young figure swing out to the road. The girl
+didn't look around, and the woman waited until she had disappeared
+through the gate.
+
+"He'll not get out, and you, you little upstart," she gritted, "you'll
+not stay in Paradise Road, either."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+AN APPEAL TO JINNIE'S HEART
+
+
+One afternoon she was on her way home from her lesson when she heard a
+voice call, "Miss Grandoken!" She glanced up swiftly, recognizing the
+speaker immediately. He had been present that first night she had
+played for Theodore's guests, and she remembered vividly her intuitive
+dislike of him; but because he was a friend of Theodore's she went
+forward eagerly. The man drove his car to the side of the pavement and
+bowed.
+
+"Would you care to be of service to Mr. King?" he asked, smiling.
+
+Jinnie noticed his dazzling teeth and scarlet lips.
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed! I wish I might."
+
+"Then come with me," replied the man. "Will you?"
+
+Without fear she entered the open car door and sat down, placing her
+violin on the seat beside her. She sank back with a sigh. The time had
+come she had so longed for; she was going to do something for
+Theodore. She was glad now she had consented to take two lessons that
+day, or she would have missed this blessed opportunity to show her
+gratitude to her dear one, in acts, as well as words. The car turned
+and sped up the hill.
+
+If Jinnie wondered where the man was taking her, she did not allude to
+it. They were driving in the same direction she took every day to
+visit the master, and the very familiarity of it turned aside any
+question that arose in her mind. As he helped her from the machine,
+she looked up at the sombre building in front of them. In passing it
+daily she had often wondered what it was and if any one lived within
+its vast stone walls. One hasty glance, as she was being ushered in,
+showed paint pails, brushes, and long ropes fastened from the roof to
+broad planks below.
+
+"Miss Merriweather will be here very soon," the man explained
+good-naturedly. "She wants you to go with her to the hospital."
+
+Jinnie's mind flew to that one time she had visited Theodore's sick
+bed. She would be glad to see Molly the Merry.
+
+She had forgiven all the woman's cruelty.
+
+The long flights of stairs they mounted were dark and uncarpeted.
+Their footsteps made a hollow sound through the wide corridors, and
+there was no other sign of human life about the place. But still
+Jinnie followed the man in front of her, up and up, until she had
+counted five floors. Then he took a key from his pocket and put it in
+the lock, turning it with a click.
+
+Jinnie waited until, stepping inside, he turned and smilingly bade her
+enter. There was so little natural suspicion in the girl's heart that
+she never questioned the propriety, much less the safety, of coming
+into a strange place with an unknown man. Her dear one was ill. She
+was anxious to see him again, to help him if possible. She felt a
+little shy at the thought of seeing Miss Merriweather once more. The
+man led her to an inner room and suavely waved to a chair, asking her
+to be seated. Casting anxious eyes about the place, she obeyed.
+
+"I'm going after Miss Merriweather now, if you'll wait a few moments,"
+explained the stranger. "She wasn't ready and asked me to bring you
+first. I think she's preparing a surprise for Mr. King."
+
+Jinnie's tender little heart warmed toward Molly the Merry. Just then
+she had untold gratitude for the woman who was allowing her to take
+Theodore something with her own hands. Oh, what joy!
+
+She smiled back at the speaker as he moved toward the door. Then he
+left her, asking her politely to make herself at home until he
+returned.
+
+Jinnie waited and waited until she thought she couldn't possibly wait
+any longer. Peg would be worried, terribly worried, and little Bobbie
+wouldn't eat his supper without her. But because of Miss
+Merriweather's kindness and her own great desire to see her
+sweetheart, she must stay until the last moment. She grew tired, stiff
+with sitting, and the little clock on the mantel told her she'd been
+there over two hours. She got up and went to the window. The building
+stood high on a large wooded bluff overlooking a deep gorge. The
+landscape before her interested her exceedingly, and took her in fancy
+to the wilderness of Mottville. The busy birds fluttered to and fro,
+twittering sleepily to each other, and for a short time the watcher
+forgot her anxiety in the majesty of the scene.
+
+Miles of hills and miles and miles of water stretched northward as far
+as her eyes could discern anything. The same water passed and repassed
+the old farmhouse, and for some time Jinnie tried to locate some
+familiar spot, off where the sky dipped to the lake. It wasn't until
+she noticed the hands of the clock pointed to half past six that she
+became terribly nervous.
+
+She wanted to go to the hospital and get back to Peg. Mrs. Grandoken
+couldn't leave the baby with Blind Bobbie, and there was supper to
+buy. Once more she paced the rooms, then back to the window. She
+shivered for some unknown reason, and a sharp consciousness of evil
+suddenly grew out of the lengthening hours. With the gathering dusk
+the hills and gorge had fallen into voiceless silence, and because her
+nerves tingled with vague fear, Jinnie drew the curtains to shut out
+the yawning dark, and lighted a lamp on the table.
+
+The room was arranged simply with a small divan, at the head of which
+was a pillow. Jinnie sat down and leaned back. Her face held a look of
+serious attention. She wondered if anything had happened to Molly the
+Merry. Then abruptly she decided to go downstairs. If they weren't
+coming, she'd _have_ to go home. She went to the door and, turning the
+knob, pulled hard. The door was locked, and the key was gone! Her
+discovery seemed to unmake her life in a twinkling. She was like one
+stricken with death--pale, cold and shivering. She did not know what
+she was going to do, but she must act--she must do something! A round
+of inspection showed her she could not open one of the doors. The
+windows, too, had several nails driven into their tops and along the
+sides, and the doors were securely fastened with keys. She went back
+to the window, raised the curtains, and looked out into the gloom.
+There was not another light to be seen.
+
+The clock on the mantel had struck nine, and Jinnie had grown so
+horrified she dared not sit down. Many a time she went to the door and
+pressed her ear to it, but no sound came through the deep silence.
+
+It was after eleven when she dropped on the divan and drew the
+coverlet over her. The next she knew, daylight was streaming in upon
+her face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+JINNIE'S PLEA
+
+
+Jinnie sprang up, unable at first to remember where she was. Then it
+all came to her. She was locked away from the world in a big house
+overlooking the gorge. However, the morning brought a clear sun,
+dissipating some of her fear--filling her with greater hope.
+
+The dreadful dreams during the night had been but dreams of fear and
+pain--of eternal separation from her loved ones. Such dreams, such
+fears, were foolish! No one could take her away from Peggy. She
+wouldn't go! Ah, the man would return very soon with Molly the Merry.
+
+The clock struck eight. What would Blind Bobbie think--and Peggy? The
+woman might decide she had left her forever; but no, no, Peg couldn't
+think that!
+
+Childlike, she was hungry. If some one had intentionally imprisoned
+her, they must have left her something to eat. Investigation brought
+forth some cold meat, a bottle of milk, and some bread. Jinnie ate all
+she could swallow. Then for an hour and a half she paced up and down,
+wishing something would happen, some one would come. Anything would be
+better than such deadly uncertainty.
+
+Perhaps it was the overwhelming stillness of the building, possibly a
+natural alertness indicative of her fear, that allowed Jinnie to catch
+the echoes of footsteps at the farther end of the corridor. But before
+she got to the door, a key grated in the lock, and the man who had
+brought her there was standing beside her. Their eyes met in a
+clinging, challenging glance--the blue of the one clashing with the
+sinister grey, as steel strikes fire from steel. An insolent smile
+broke over his face and he asked nonchalantly:
+
+"Did you find the food?"
+
+Jinnie did not answer. She stood contemplating his face. How she hated
+his smile, his white teeth, and his easy, suave manner. Their glances
+battled again for a moment across the distance.
+
+"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded abruptly.
+
+He spread his feet outward and hummed, toying the while with a smooth
+white chin.
+
+"Sit down," said he, with assumed politeness.
+
+Jinnie stared at him with contemptuous dread in her eyes.
+
+"I don't want to; I want to know why I'm here."
+
+"Can't you guess?" asked the stranger with an easy shrug.
+
+"No," said Jinnie. "Why?"
+
+"And you can't guess who I am?"
+
+"No," repeated Jinnie once more, passionately, "and I want to know why
+I'm here."
+
+He came toward her, piercing her face with a pair of compelling,
+mesmeric eyes that made her stagger back to the wall. Then he advanced
+a step nearer, covering the space Jinnie had yielded.
+
+"I'm Jordan Morse," he then said, clipping his words off shortly.
+
+If a gun had burst in Jinnie's face, she could have been no more
+alarmed. She was frozen to silence, and every former fear her father
+had given life to almost three years before, beset her once more, only
+with many times the amount of vigor. Nevertheless, she gave back look
+for look, challenge for challenge, while her fingers locked and
+interlocked. Her uncle, who had sent her father to his grave, the man
+who wanted her money, who desired her own death!
+
+Then her eyes slowly took on a tragic expression. She knew then she
+was destined to encounter the tragedy of Morse's terrific vengeance,
+and no longer wondered why her father had succumbed to his force. He
+stood looking at her, his gaze taking in the young form avidiously.
+
+"You're the most beautiful girl in the world," he averred presently.
+
+Jinnie's blue eyes narrowed angrily. However, in spite of her rage,
+she was terribly frightened. An instinct of self-preservation told her
+to put on a bold, aggressive front.
+
+"Give me that key and let me go," she insisted, with an upward toss of
+her head.
+
+She walked to the door and shook it vigorously. Morse followed her and
+brought her brutally back to the center of the room.
+
+"Not so fast," he grated. "Don't ever do that again! I've been hunting
+you for almost three years.... Sit down, I said."
+
+"I won't!" cried Jinnie, recklessly. "I won't! You can't keep me here.
+My friends'll find me."
+
+The man hazarded a laugh.
+
+"What friends?" he queried.
+
+Jinnie thought quickly. What friends? She had no friends just then,
+and because she knew she was dependent upon him for her very life, she
+listened in despair as he threw a truth at her.
+
+"The only friends you have're out of business! Lafe Grandoken will be
+electrocuted for murder----"
+
+The hateful thing he had just said and the insistence in it maddened
+her. She covered her face with her hands and uttered a low cry.
+
+"And Theodore King is in the hospital," went on Morse, mercilessly.
+"It'll do no good for you to remember him."
+
+She was too normally alive not to express the loving heart outraged
+within her.
+
+"I shall love him as long as I live," she shivered between her
+fingers.
+
+"Hell of a lot of good it'll do you," grunted the man coarsely.
+
+Keen anxiety empowered her to raise an anguished face.
+
+"You want my money----" she hesitated. "Well, you can have it.... You
+want it, don't you?"
+
+Her girlish helplessness made Morse feel that he was without heart or
+dignity, but he thought of his little boy and of how this girl was
+keeping from him the means to institute a search for the child, and
+his desire for vengeance kindled to glowing fires of hate. He
+remembered that, steadily of late, he had grown to detest the whole
+child-world because of his own sorrow, and nodded acquiescence,
+supplementing the nod with a harsh:
+
+"And, by God, I'm going to have it, too!"
+
+"Then let me go back to Lafe's shop. I'll give you every cent I
+have.... I won't even ask for a dollar."
+
+It took some time for Morse to digest this idea; then he slowly shook
+his head.
+
+"You wouldn't be allowed to give me what would be mine----"
+
+"If I die," breathed Jinnie, shocked. She had read his thought and
+blurted it forth.
+
+"Yes, if you die. But I haven't any desire to kill you.... I have
+another way."
+
+"What way? Oh, tell me!"
+
+"Not now," drawled Morse. "Later perhaps."
+
+The man contemplated the tips of his boots a minute. Then he looked at
+her, the meditative expression still in his eyes.
+
+"To save your friends," he said at length, "you've got to do what I
+want you to."
+
+"You mean--to save Lafe?" gasped Jinnie, eagerly.
+
+Morse gave a negative gesture.
+
+"No, not him. The cobbler's got to go. _He knows too much about me._"
+
+Jinnie thought of Lafe, who loved and helped everybody within helping
+distance, of his wonderful faith and patience, of the day they had
+arrested him, and his last words.
+
+She could not plan for herself nor think of her danger, only of the
+cobbler, her friend,----the man who had taken her, a little forlorn
+fugitive, when she had possessed no home of her own--he who had taught
+her about the angels and the tenderness of Jesus. From her uncle's
+last statement she had received an impression that he knew who had
+fired those shots. He could have Lafe released if he would. She would
+beg for the cobbler's life, beg as she had never begged before.
+
+"Please, please, listen," she implored, throwing out her hands. "You
+must! You must! Lafe's always been so good. Won't you let him live?...
+I'll tell him about your wanting the money.... You shall have it! I'll
+make any promise for him you want me to, and he'll keep it.... He
+didn't kill Maudlin Bates, and I believe you know who did."
+
+Morse lowered his lids until his eyes looked like grey slits across
+his face.
+
+"Supposing I do," he taunted. "As I've said, Grandoken knows too much
+about me. He won't be the first one I've put out of my way."
+
+He said this emphatically; he would teach her he was not to be
+thwarted; that when he desired anything, Heaven and earth,
+figuratively speaking, would have to move. He frowned darkly at her as
+Jinnie cut in swiftly:
+
+"You killed my father. He told me you did."
+
+Morse flicked an ash from a cigar he had lighted, and his eyes grew
+hard, like rocks in a cold, gray dawn.
+
+"So you know all my little indiscretions, eh?" he gritted. "Then don't
+you see I can't give you--your liberty?"
+
+Liberty! What did he mean by taking her liberty away? She asked him
+with beating heart.
+
+"Just this, my dear child," he advanced mockingly. "There are places
+where people're taken care of and--the world thinks them dead. In
+fact, your father had a taste of what I can do. Only he happened
+to----"
+
+"Did you put him somewhere?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Same kind of a place I'm going to put you----" He hesitated a moment
+and ended, "A mad house!"
+
+"Did you let him come home to me?"
+
+"Not I. Damn the careless keepers! He skipped out one day, and I
+didn't know until he'd a good start of me. I followed as soon as
+possible, but you were gone. Now--now--then, to find _such_ a place
+for you!"
+
+Jinnie's imagination called up the loathsome thing he mentioned and
+terrified her to numbness. At that moment she understood what her
+father had written in that sealed letter to Lafe Grandoken.
+
+But she couldn't allow her mind to dwell upon his threat against
+herself.
+
+"What'd you mean when you said I could save my friends?"
+
+"You're fond of Mrs. Grandoken, aren't you?"
+
+Jinnie nodded, trying to swallow a lump in her throat.
+
+"And--and there's a--a--blind child too--who could be hurt easily."
+
+Jinnie's living world reeled before her eyes. During this speech she
+had lost every vestige of color. She sprang toward him and her fingers
+went blue-white from the force of her grip on his arm.
+
+"Oh, you couldn't, you wouldn't hurt poor little Bobbie?" she cried
+hysterically. "He can't see and he's sick, terribly ill all the time.
+I'll do anything you say--anything to help 'em."
+
+Then she fell to the floor, groveling at his feet.
+
+"Get up! You needn't cry; things'll be easy enough for you if you do
+exactly as I tell you. The first order I give you is to stay here
+quietly until I come again."
+
+As he spoke, he lifted her up, and she stood swaying pitiably.
+
+"Can't I let Peg know where I am?" she entreated when she could speak.
+"Please! Please!"
+
+"I should think not," scoffed Morse. Then, after a moment's
+consideration, he went on, "You might write her a note, if you say
+what I dictate. I'll have it mailed from another town. I don't want
+any one to know you're still in Bellaire."
+
+"Could I send her a little money, too?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," replied Morse.
+
+"Then tell me what to write, and I will."
+
+After he had gone and Jinnie was once more alone, she sat at the
+window, her eyes roving over the landscape. Her gaze wandered in
+melancholy sadness to the shadowy summit of the distant hills, in
+which the wild things of nature lived in freedom, as she herself had
+lived with Lafe Grandoken in Paradise Road, long before her uncle's
+menacing shadow had crossed her life. Then her eyes lowered to the
+rock-rimmed gorge, majestic in its eternal solitude. She was on the
+brink of some terrible disaster. She knew enough of her uncle's
+character to realize that. She spent the entire day without even
+looking at her beloved fiddle, and after the night closed in, she lay
+down, thoroughly exhausted.
+
+Peggy took a letter from the postman's hand mechanically, but when she
+saw the well-known writing, she trembled so she nearly dropped the
+missive from her fingers. She went into the shop, where Bobbie lay
+face downward on the floor. At her entrance, he lifted a white face.
+
+"Has Jinnie come yet?" he asked faintly.
+
+"No," said Peg, studying the postmark of the letter. Then she opened
+it. A five-dollar bill fell into her lap, and she thrust it into her
+bosom with a sigh.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"PEGGY DARLING," she read with misty eyes.
+
+"I've had to go away for a little while. Don't worry. Here's some
+money. Use it and I'll send more. Kiss Bobbie for me and tell him
+Jinnie'll come back soon. And the baby, oh, Peggy, hug him until he
+can't be hugged any more. Don't tell Lafe I'm away.
+
+                                            "With all my love,
+                                                             "JINNIE."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Peggy put down the letter.
+
+"Bobbie!" she said.
+
+The boy looked up. "I ain't got any stars, Peggy," he wailed
+tragically. "I want Jinnie and Lafe."
+
+"I've got a letter from Jinnie here," announced Peggy.
+
+The boy got to his feet instantly.
+
+"When she's comin' back?"
+
+"She don't say, but she sends a lot of kisses and love to you. She had
+to go away for a few days.... Now don't snivel!... Come here an' I'll
+give you the kisses she sent."
+
+He nestled contentedly in Peggy's arms.
+
+"Let me feel the letter," came a faltering whisper presently.
+
+Bobbie ran his fingers over the paper, trying with sensitive finger
+tips to follow the ink traces.
+
+"Can I keep it a little while?" he begged.... "Please, Peggy!"
+
+"Sure," said Peg, putting him down, and when the baby cried, Mrs.
+Grandoken left the blind child hugging Happy Pete, with Jinnie's
+letter flattened across his chest between him and the dog.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+BOBBIE TAKES A TRIP
+
+
+Jinnie had been gone two weeks. Nearly every day the postman brought a
+letter from the girl to Peggy, and after reading it several times to
+herself, she gave it to Blind Bobbie. Mrs. Grandoken had discovered
+this was the way to keep him quiet.
+
+One afternoon the boy sat on the front steps of the cobbler's shop,
+sunning himself.
+
+"You can hear Jinnie better when she comes," said Peg, as an excuse to
+coax him out of doors. "Now sit there till I get back from the
+market."
+
+Bobbie had Happy Pete in his arms when he heard strange footsteps
+walking down the short flight of steps. He lifted his head as he heard
+a voice speak his name.
+
+"Bobbie," it said softly. "Are you Bobbie?"
+
+"Yes," replied the boy tremblingly.
+
+The soft voice spoke again. "Do you want to see Jinnie?"
+
+Bobbie clutched Happy Pete with one arm and struggled up, holding out
+a set of slender fingers that shook like small reeds in a storm.
+
+"Yes, I want to see 'er," he breathed. "Do you know where she is?"
+
+"If you'll come along with me, I'll take you to her. Bring the dog if
+you like."
+
+"I want to see her to-day," stated Bobbie.
+
+Jordan Morse took Bobbie's hand in his.
+
+"Come on then, and don't make a noise," cautioned the man. "Put down
+the dog; he'll follow you."
+
+Once in Paradise Road, he stooped and lifted the slight boyish figure
+and walked quickly away. Beyond the turn in the road stood his car. He
+placed Bobbie and the dog on the seat beside him, and in another
+moment they were speeding toward the hill.
+
+At that moment Jinnie was brooding over her violin. Her fiddle was her
+only comfort in the lonely hours. The plaintive tones she drew from it
+were the only sounds she heard, save the rushing water in the gorge
+and the thrashing of the trees when the wind blew. The minutes hung
+long on her hands, and the hours seemed to mock her as they dragged
+along in interminable sequence. With her face toward the window, she
+passed several hours composing a piece which had been in embryo in her
+heart for a long time. The solitude, the grandeur of the scenery, the
+wonderful lake with its curves and turns, sometimes made her forget
+the tragic future that lay before her.
+
+She was just finishing with lingering, tender notes when Jordan Morse
+came quickly through the corridor.
+
+Bobbie stiffened in his arms suddenly.
+
+"I hear Jinnie's fiddle," he gasped. "I'm goin' to my Jinnie."
+
+When the key turned in the lock, the girl came to the door. At first
+she didn't notice the blind child, but her name, unsteadily called,
+brought her eyes to the little figure. Happy Pete recognized her with
+a wild yelp, wriggled himself past the other two, and whiningly
+crouched at her feet. Jinnie had them both in her arms before Morse
+turned the key again in the lock.
+
+"Bobbie and Happy Pete!" she cried. Then she got up and flashed
+tearful eyes upon Morse.
+
+"What did you bring them for? Did you tell Peg?"
+
+"No, I didn't tell Peg and--and I brought him----" he paused and
+beckoned her with an upward toss of his chin.
+
+Jinnie followed him agitatedly.
+
+"I brought him," went on Morse, "because I don't just like your
+manner. I brought him as a lever to move you with, miss."
+
+Then he left hurriedly, something unknown within him stirring with
+life. He decided afterward it was the sight of the blind child's
+golden head pressed against Jinnie's breast that had so upset him.
+
+As he drove away, he crushed a desire to return again, to take them
+both, boy and girl, back to the cobbler's shop. But he must not allow
+his better emotions to attack him in this matter. He had known for a
+long time Jinnie could be wielded through her affection for the lad.
+He thought of his own child somewhere in the world and what it meant
+to him to possess Jinnie's money, and set his teeth. He would bring
+the girl to his terms through her love for the slender blind boy.
+
+That day Jinnie wrote a letter to Peg, telling her that Bobbie was
+with her, and Happy Pete, too.
+
+The stolid woman had quite given way under the mysterious
+disappearance of the boy. When she returned home, she searched every
+lane leading to the marshes until dusk. In fact, she stumbled far into
+the great waste place, calling his name over and over. He was the last
+link that held her to the days when Lafe had been in the shop, and Peg
+would have given much if her conscience would cease lashing her so
+relentlessly. It eased her anxiety a little when a new resolution was
+born in her stubborn heart. If they all came back to the shop, she'd
+make up to them in some way for her ugly conduct. With this resolve,
+she went home to her own baby, sorrowful, dejected and lonely.
+
+All the evening while Peg was mourning for them, Jinnie sat cuddling
+Bobbie, until the night put its dark hood on the ravine and closed it
+in a heavy gloom. Happy Pete, with wagging tail, leaned against the
+knees of the girl, and there the three of them remained in silence
+until Bobbie, lifting his face, said quiveringly:
+
+"Peggy almost died when you went away, Jinnie."
+
+Jinnie felt her throat throb.
+
+"Tell me about it," she said hoarsely.
+
+"There ain't much to tell," replied the child, sighing, "only Peggy
+was lonely. She only had me and the baby, and I didn't have any stars
+and the baby's got no teeth."
+
+"And the baby? Is he well, dear?" questioned Jinnie.
+
+"Oh, fine!" the boy assured her. "He's growed such a lot. I felt his
+face this morning, and oh, my, Jinnie, his cheeks puff out like
+this!"
+
+Bobbie gathered in a long breath, and puffed out his own thin, drawn
+cheeks.
+
+"Just like that!" he gasped, letting out the air.
+
+"And Lafe?" ventured Jinnie.
+
+"Lafe's awful bad off, I guess. Bates' little boy told me he was going
+to die----"
+
+"No, Bobbie, no, he isn't!" Jinnie's voice was sharp in protestation.
+
+"Yes, he is!" insisted Bobbie. "Bates' boy told me so! He said Lafe
+wouldn't ever come back to the shop, 'cause everybody says he killed
+Maudlin."
+
+As the words left his lips, he began to sob. "I want my cobbler," he
+screamed loudly, "and I want my beautiful stars!"
+
+"Bobbie, Bobbie, you'll be sick if you scream that way. There, there,
+honey!" Jinnie hushed him gently.
+
+"I want to be 'Happy in Spite'," the boy went on. But his words
+brought before the pale girl that old, old memory of the cobbler who
+had invented the club for just such purposes as this. How could she be
+'Happy in Spite' when Bobbie suffered; when Peg and baby Lafe needed
+her; happy when Lafe faced an ignominious death for a crime he had not
+committed; happy when her beloved was perhaps still very ill in the
+hospital? She got up and began to walk to and fro. Suddenly she paused
+in her even march across the room. Unless she steadied her fluttering,
+stinging nerves, she'd never be able to still the wretched boy.
+There's an old saying that when one tries to help others, winged aid
+will come to the helper. And so it was with Jinnie. She had only again
+taken Bobbie close when there came to her Lafe's old, old words: "He
+hath given his angels charge over thee."
+
+"Bobbie," she said softly, "I'm going to play for you."
+
+As Jinnie straightened his limp little body out on the divan, she
+noticed how very thin he had become, how his heart throbbed
+continually, how the agonized lines drew and pursed the sensitive,
+delicate mouth.
+
+Then she played and played and played, and ever in her heart to the
+rhythm of her music were the words, "His angels shall have charge over
+thee." Suddenly there came to her a great belief that out of her faith
+and Lafe's faith would come Bobbie's good, and Peg's good, and
+especially the good of the man shut up in the little cell. When the
+boy grew sleepy, Jinnie made him ready for bed.
+
+"I'll lie down with you, Bobbie," she whispered, "and Happy Pete can
+sleep on the foot of the bed."
+
+And as the pair of sad little souls slept, Lafe's angels kept guard
+over them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+THEODORE SENDS FOR MOLLY
+
+
+Theodore King was rallying rapidly in the hospital. All danger of
+blood poison had passed, and though he was still very weak, his
+surgeon had ceased to worry, and the public at large sat back with a
+sigh, satisfied that the wealthiest and most promising young citizen
+in the county had escaped death at the hand of an assassin.
+
+One morning a telephone message summoned Molly Merriweather to the
+hospital. In extreme agitation she dressed quickly, telling Mrs. King
+she would return very soon. Never had she been so hilariously happy.
+Jinnie Grandoken had disappeared, as if she had been sunk in the sea.
+Molly now held the whip hand over her husband; she could force him to
+divorce her quietly. It was true of them both now their principal
+enemies were out of the way. Theo was getting well, and would come
+home in a few days.
+
+While she had thought him dying, nothing save Jordan's tales of the
+girl's experiences in the gorge house had been able to rouse her to
+more than momentary interest.
+
+With glowing cheeks she followed the hospital attendant through a long
+corridor to Theodore's room. She entered softly and for a moment stood
+gazing at him admiringly. How very handsome he was, even with the
+hospital pallor! When the sick man became cognizant of Molly's
+presence, he turned and smiled a greeting. He indicated a chair, and
+she sank into it.
+
+"You sent for me, Theodore?" she reminded him softly, bending
+forward.
+
+"Yes."
+
+He was silent so long, evidently making up his mind to something, that
+Molly got up and smoothed out his pillow. Theodore turned to her after
+she had reseated herself.
+
+"Molly," he began, "do you know where Jinnie Grandoken is?"
+
+Molly's eyelids narrowed. So he was still thinking of the girl!
+
+"No," she said deliberately.
+
+"It seems strange," went on King somberly. "I've tried every way I
+know how to discover her whereabouts, and can't. I sent to the
+Grandoken's for her, but she was gone."
+
+"You still care for her then?" queried Molly dully.
+
+"Yes. I know you dislike the poor child, but I thought if you knew
+that I--well, I really love her, you might help me, Molly."
+
+It was a bitter harvest to reap after all these weeks of waiting--his
+telling her he loved another woman--and as his voice rang with
+devotion for Jinnie Grandoken, Molly restrained herself with
+difficulty. She dared not lose her temper, as she had several times
+before under like conditions. With her hands folded gracefully in her
+lap, she replied:
+
+"If I could help you, Theo, I would; but if Mrs. Grandoken doesn't
+know where her own niece is, how should I know?"
+
+"You're so clever," sighed Theodore, "I imagined you might be able to
+discover something where a woman like Mrs. Grandoken would fail. She's
+got a young child, I hear."
+
+"What do you suggest?" inquired Molly presently.
+
+"I want to find out quickly where she's gone," the sick man said
+bluntly.
+
+"You want to see her?" demanded Molly.
+
+Theodore nodded.
+
+"Yes, I'd get well sooner if I could," and he sighed again. Then his
+ivory skin grew scarlet even to his temples, but the blood rushed
+away, leaving him deathly white. Molly went to him quickly and leaned
+over the bed. She wanted--oh, how she wanted to feel his arms about
+her! But he only touched her cold hand lightly.
+
+"Help me, Molly," he breathed.
+
+Molly choked back an explanation. She would glory in doing anything
+for him--anything within her power; but nothing, nothing for Jinnie
+Grandoken. Suddenly an idea took possession of her. She would make him
+doubt Jinnie's love for him, even if she lied to him.
+
+"Of course I knew you cared for her," she said slowly.
+
+"Yes, I made that clear, I think," said Theo, "and she cares for me. I
+told you I asked her to marry me."
+
+He laid stress on the latter half of his statement because of a
+certain emphasis in Molly's.
+
+"I don't like to hurt you--while you're ill," she ventured.
+
+Theodore thrust forth his hand eagerly.
+
+"Come closer," he pleaded. "You know something; you can tell me.
+Please do, Molly."
+
+"I don't know much, mind you, Theo----"
+
+"Take hold of my hand, Molly!... Please don't keep me in such
+suspense."
+
+She drew her chair closer to the bed, her heart throbbing first with
+desire, then with anger, and laid her white fingers in his.
+
+"Tell me," insisted Mr. King.
+
+"There was a boy----"
+
+"You mean the little blind boy?"
+
+"No, no," denied Molly, paling. The very mention of such an affliction
+hurt her sadly. "No," she said again, "I mean a friend of the boy who
+was shot; you remember him?"
+
+"Oh, I remember Maudlin Bates; certainly I do; but I don't think I
+heard of any other."
+
+Molly hadn't either; she had shot at random and the shot told.
+
+Theodore sat up in bed with whitening face.
+
+"Molly," he stammered, "Molly, has any one hurt her? Has----"
+
+Molly shook her head disgustedly.
+
+"Don't be foolish, Theo," she chided. "No one would want to hurt a
+grown girl like her."
+
+"Then what about the man?"
+
+"I think she went away with him."
+
+"Where to?"
+
+"I'm not sure----"
+
+Theodore sank back. Molly's fingers slipped from his, and for a moment
+he covered his face with his hands, soundless sobs shaking his weak
+body. The woman knew by his appearance that he believed her
+absolutely.
+
+"It'll kill me!" he got out at last.
+
+Molly slipped an arm under his head. She had never seen him in such a
+state.
+
+"Theo, don't! Don't!" she implored. "Please don't shake so, and I'll
+tell you all I know."
+
+"Very well!... I'm listening."
+
+The words were scarcely audible, but Molly knew and hugged the thought
+that his belief in Jinnie Grandoken had been shaken.
+
+"Did you hear that Jinnie was in Binghamton?"
+
+"Yes," murmured Theodore.
+
+The woman released her hold on Theodore, and said:
+
+"The man was over there with her."
+
+Theodore turned his face quickly away and groaned.
+
+"That's enough," he said. "Don't tell me any more."
+
+They were quiet for a long time--very quiet.
+
+Then Molly, with still enlarging plans, burst out:
+
+"What if I should bring her back to you, Theo?"
+
+He flashed dark-circled eyes toward her.
+
+"Could you?" he asked drearily.
+
+"I think so, perhaps. Suppose you write her a little note, and
+then----"
+
+"Ring the bell for writing material quickly."
+
+He had all his old-time eagerness. He was partly sitting up, and Molly
+placed another pillow under his head.
+
+Theodore wrote steadily for some moments. Then he addressed an
+envelope to "Jinnie Grandoken," placed the letter in it, and fastened
+down the flap.
+
+"You won't mind?" he asked wearily, handing it to Molly and sinking
+back.
+
+Molly took the letter, and with a few more words, went out. Once at
+home in her bedroom, she sat down, breathing deeply. With a hearty
+good will she could have torn the letter into shreds, but instead she
+ripped open the envelope and read it.
+
+After she had finished, she let the paper flutter from her hand and
+sat thinking for a long time. Then, sighing, she got up and tucked the
+letter inside her dress.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+MOLLY GIVES AN ORDER TO JINNIE
+
+
+A motor car dashed to the side of the street, and Jordan Morse helped
+Molly to the pavement. She stood for a moment looking at the gorge
+building contemplatively.
+
+"And she's been here all the while?" she remarked.
+
+"Yes, and a devil of a time I've had to keep her, too. If there'd been
+any one in the whole place, I believe she'd have made them hear;
+though since the boy came she's behaved better." Morse's face became
+positively brutal under recollections. "I've made her mind through
+him," he terminated.
+
+Jinnie had put Bobbie into bed and kissed him, and soon the child was
+breathing evenly. She knew Jordan Morse would come that night, so she
+closed the door between the two rooms and walked nervously up and
+down. Bobbie was always ill for hours after Morse had made his daily
+calls. She hoped the man would allow the child to remain in bed. When
+the key grated in the lock, she was standing in the middle of the
+room, her eyes fastened on the door. Every time he came, she had hopes
+that he might relent, if but a little.
+
+Morse entered, followed by Molly the Merry. Jinnie took a step forward
+when she saw the woman. Molly paused and inspected sharply the slim
+young figure, her mind comprehending all its loveliness. Then woman to
+woman they measured each other, as only women can. Jinnie advanced
+impulsively.
+
+"You've come to take me home!" she breathed.
+
+Molly shook her head.
+
+"I've come to talk to you," she retorted hoarsely.
+
+Never had she seen so beautiful a girl! The martyrdom Jinnie had
+endured had only enhanced her attractiveness.
+
+"Sit down," said Molly peevishly.
+
+Jinnie made a negative gesture.
+
+"I'm tired of sitting.... Oh, you will do something for me, something
+for poor little Bobbie?"
+
+Morse moved to the door between the two rooms, but Jinnie rushed in
+front of him.
+
+"He's asleep," she said beseechingly. "Don't wake him up! He's had a
+dreadful spell with his heart to-day."
+
+Morse turned inquiring eyes upon Molly.
+
+"You wanted to see him, didn't you?" he asked.
+
+Molly flung out a hand pettishly.
+
+"Let him sleep," she replied. "I don't want to be bored with fits and
+tears."
+
+Jinnie sank into a chair.
+
+"He ought to have a doctor," she sighed, as if she were speaking to
+herself. Then turning to Molly, she bent an entreating look upon her.
+
+"Please do something for him. Get a doctor, oh, do! He's so little and
+so sick."
+
+"I'm not a bit interested in him," replied Molly with a shrug.
+
+Jinnie's nerves had borne all they could. She trembled unceasingly.
+The girlish spirit had been broken by Morse's continual persecution.
+
+"He's so little," she petitioned again, "and he can't live long."
+
+As Molly had said, she was not interested in the sleeping child. The
+only time she cared to hear him mentioned was when Jordan told her of
+Jinnie's anguish over his treatment of the child. She had delighted
+in his vividly described scene of how he had forced the girl to do his
+will through her love for the little fellow. Now she, too, would wreak
+her vengeance on Jinnie through the same source.
+
+"I've come to tell you something about Theodore King," she remarked
+slowly, watching the girl avidly the while.
+
+Jinnie sat up quickly. If her dear one had sent her a message, then he
+must know where she was.
+
+"Then tell it," was all she said.
+
+Molly put her hand into a leather hand bag and drew forth a letter.
+
+"It isn't for you," she stated, with glinting eyes. "I've known for a
+long time you thought he cared for you----"
+
+"He does," interjected Jinnie emphatically.
+
+"I think not. Here's a letter he wrote to me. It will dispel any idea
+you may have about his affection for you."
+
+"I don't wish to read your letter," said Jinnie proudly.
+
+"Read it!" ordered Morse frowning, and because she feared him, Jinnie
+took the letter nervously. The woman's words had shattered her last
+hope. For a moment the well-known handwriting whirled; then the words
+came clearly before her vision:
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"MY DARLING," she read.
+
+"Won't you come to me when you get this? My heart aches to have you
+once more in my arms. I shall expect you very soon. With all my love,
+
+                                                           "THEODORE."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was not strange that she crushed the paper between her fingers.
+
+"You needn't destroy my letter," Molly said mockingly, thrusting forth
+her hand. "Give it to me."
+
+She took it from Jinnie's shaking hand and, smoothing it out, replaced
+it in her pocket book.
+
+"I wouldn't have come but for your own good," she said, looking up.
+"Mr. Morse told me you had an idea that Mr. King loved you, and I want
+you to write him a letter----"
+
+"Write who a letter?" asked Jinnie dully.
+
+"Theodore."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I tell you to," snapped Molly.
+
+Then taking another letter from her bag, she held it out.
+
+"You're to copy this and give it to Mr. Morse to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie took the letter and read it slowly. She struggled to her feet.
+
+"I'll not write it," she said hoarsely.
+
+"I think you will," said Morse, rising.
+
+Jinnie stared at him until he reached the closed door behind which
+Bobbie slept.
+
+"Don't! Don't!" she shuddered. "I'll write, I'll do anything if you
+won't hurt Bobbie." Raising her eyes to Morse, she said in subdued
+tones, "I'll try to give it to you to-morrow."
+
+Never had her heart ached as it did then. The perils she was passing
+through and had passed through were naught to the present misery. She
+realized then her hope had been in Theodore's rescuing her.
+
+A certain new dignity, however, grew upon her at that moment. She
+stood up, looking very tall, very slight, to the man and woman
+watching her.
+
+"I wish you'd both go," she said wearily. "I'd rather be alone with
+Bobbie."
+
+Molly smiled and went out with Jordan Morse.
+
+"She gave in all right," remarked Molly, when they were riding down
+the hill. "I knew she would."
+
+Morse shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Of course. She worships Grandoken's youngster.... I was wondering
+there once how you felt when you knew she was reading her own
+letter."
+
+Molly's face grew dark with passionate rebellion.
+
+"He'll write me one of my own before the year is out," said she.
+
+"I'm not so sure!" responded Morse thoughtfully.
+
+For a long time after the closing of the door, Jinnie sat huddled in
+the chair. Nothing else in all the world could have hurt her as she
+had been hurt that night, and it wasn't until very late that she crept
+in beside the blind boy, and after four or five hours, dropped
+asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV
+
+WRITING A LETTER TO THEODORE
+
+
+The first thing Jinnie saw the next morning was the rough draft of the
+letter Molly had ordered her to copy. To send it to Theodore was
+asking more of her than she could bear. She turned and looked at
+Bobbie. He was still sleeping his troubled, short-breathed sleep. She
+had shielded him with her life, with her liberty. Now he demanded, in
+that helpless, babyish, blind way of his, that she repudiate her
+love.
+
+In the loneliness of the gorge house she had become used to the idea
+of never again seeing Theodore, but to allow him to think the false
+thing in that letter was dreadful. She picked it up and glanced it
+over once more, then dropped it as if the paper had scorched her
+fingers. She'd die rather than send it, and she would tell her uncle
+so when he came that morning.
+
+She was very quiet, more than usually so, when she gave the blind boy
+his breakfast.
+
+"Bobbie," she said, "you know I'd do anything for you in this whole
+world, don't you? I mean--I mean anything I could?"
+
+Mystified, the boy bobbed his curly head.
+
+"Sure I do, Jinnie, and I'd do anything for you too, honey."
+
+She kissed him passionately, as her eyes sought the letter once more.
+It lay on the floor, the words gleaming up at her in sinister
+mockery. She tore her eyes from it, shaking in dread. Would she have
+the courage to stand against Jordan Morse in this one thing? She had
+given in to him at every point, but this time she intended to stand
+firmly upon the rock of her love. Once more she picked up the letter
+and put it away.
+
+Two hours later, with loathing and disgust depicted in her white face,
+she saw Mr. Morse enter, and her blazing blue eyes stabbed the man's
+anger to the point of desiring to do her harm. For a moment he
+contemplated her in silence. He was going to have trouble with her
+that day. What a fool Molly was! It was she who insisted upon that
+bally letter. What did he care about Theodore King? Still his wife had
+him completely within her power, and he was really afraid of her now
+and then when she flew into rages about his niece and Theodore. He
+mopped his brow nervously.
+
+A few days more and it would be ended. Inside of one week he would be
+free from every element which threatened him, free to commence the
+search for his child. He strode across the room to Jinnie.
+
+"Come on with me," he ordered under his breath.
+
+Jinnie obediently followed him into the inner room. Morse slammed the
+door with his foot.
+
+"Where's the letter?" he growled between his teeth.
+
+Jinnie went to the table, got the original draft and handed it over.
+
+"Here it is," she said slowly.
+
+He glanced over the paper.
+
+"Why, this is the one we left here yesterday, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes!"
+
+"Where is the one you wrote? I don't want this."
+
+A glint of understanding flashed upon him.
+
+"Where is the other?" he demanded once more.
+
+"I haven't written it and I don't intend to."
+
+For one single instant Morse's mind swept over the sacrifices she had
+made. She had done every single thing he had told her, not for her
+sake but for others. He shuddered when he thought of the trouble he
+would have had with her had not the blind boy been within his power
+also.
+
+"Get the paper and write it now," he said ominously.
+
+"I will not!"
+
+She meant the words, a righteous indignation flaming her face, making
+her eyes shine no longer blue, but opal color. Morse wondered dully if
+she could and would stand out against what he would be forced to do.
+
+"I see," he began shiftily. "I have to teach you a lesson every time I
+come here, eh?"
+
+"This time you won't," she flashed at him.
+
+"This time I will," he taunted.
+
+"I'd rather be dead," she faltered. "I'd rather be dead than write
+it."
+
+"Perhaps! But would you rather have----" he made a backward jerk of
+his thumb toward the other room--"him dead?"
+
+Jinnie's eyes misted in agony, but Theodore was still near her in
+spirit, and she remembered the dear hours they had spent together and
+how much she loved him. A sudden swift passion shook her as his kisses
+lived warm again upon her face. That letter she would not write. But
+as she made this decision for the hundredth time that day, Morse's
+words recurred to her. Would she rather have Bobbie dead? Yes, if she
+were dead too. But life was so hard to part with! She was so strong.
+How many times she had prayed of late to die! But every morning found
+her woefully and more miserably alive than the one before.
+
+"I understand you'd rather, then," drawled Morse.
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I don't know what I'd rather have, only I can't write the letter."
+She made one rapid step toward him--"I know," she went on feverishly,
+"I won't ever see Theodore again----"
+
+Morse's emphatic nod broke off her words, but she went on
+courageously. "I don't expect to, but I love him. Can't you see
+that?"
+
+"Quite evident," replied the man.
+
+"Why hurt me more than necessary then?" she demanded.
+
+"This is part of Miss Merri----"
+
+"She loves him too?" cried Jinnie, staggering back.
+
+"Yes, and he--well, you saw his letter yesterday."
+
+"Yes, I saw it," breathed Jinnie with swift coming breath.
+
+"Miss Merriweather thinks Theodore might still feel his obligations to
+you unless you----"
+
+"Does she know he asked me to marry him?" In spite of her agony, she
+thrilled in memory.
+
+"Yes, and he told me, too. But Miss Merriweather intends to marry him
+herself, and all she wants is to wipe thoughts of you from his mind."
+
+A powerful argument swept from her lips.
+
+"It wouldn't make any difference to him about me if he loved her."
+
+"You're an analytical young miss," said Morse with one of his
+disagreeable smiles.
+
+"You've taught me to be," she retorted, blazing. "Now listen! You
+asked me if I'd rather have Bobbie die than write the letter, didn't
+you?"
+
+He nodded.
+
+"Then I say 'yes'." She caught her breath. "We'll both die."
+
+"Well, by God, you're a cool one! Theodore's more lucky than I
+thought. So that's the way you love him?"
+
+She grew more inexplicable with each passing day.
+
+"Poor Theodore!" murmured Morse, to break the tense silence.
+
+"I thought it all out this morning," explained Jinnie. "Bobbie's
+awfully ill, terribly. He can't live long anyway, and I----" A
+terrific sob shook her as a raging gale rends a slender flower.
+
+Jinnie controlled her weeping that the blind child in the other room
+might not hear. Never had Jordan been so sorely tempted to do a good
+deed. Good deeds were not habitual to him, but at that moment a desire
+possessed him to take her in his arms, to soothe her, to restore her
+to Peggy and give her back to Theodore. But the murder scene in the
+cobbler's shop came back with strong renewed vigor. He had gone too
+far, and he must have money. Molly held him in her power, and as he
+thought of her tightly set lips, the danger signal she had tossed at
+him more times than once, he crushed dead his better feeling.
+
+"Your plan won't work," he said slowly. "Write the letter--I am in a
+hurry."
+
+"I will not," she refused him once more.
+
+Morse walked to the door, and she allowed him to open it. Then with
+clenched hands she tottered after him. He was going to kill Bobbie and
+herself. Somehow within her tortured being she was glad. Morse waited
+and looked back, asking her a question silently.
+
+She made no response, however, but cast her eyes upon the blind boy
+sitting dejectedly upon the floor, one arm around Happy Pete.
+
+"Jinnie," said Bobbie, rolling his eyes, "I was afraid you were goin'
+to stay in there all day."
+
+"Come here, boy," ordered Morse. "Get up and come here."
+
+Bobbie turned his delicate, serious face in the direction of the
+voice.
+
+"I don't want to," he gulped, shaking his head. "I don't like you,
+Mister Black Man. I can't get up anyway, my heart hurts too much!"
+
+Still the girl stood with the vision of Theodore King before her.
+
+"I won't write it, I won't," she droned to herself insistently.
+
+Morse sprang forward and grasped the child.
+
+"Get up," he hissed.
+
+Bobbie scrambled up because he was made to. He uttered a frightened,
+terrified cry.
+
+Then, "Jinnie!" he gasped.
+
+Jinnie saw Morse shake the slender little body and drop into a chair,
+dragging the child forward. Bobbie could no longer speak. The dazed
+girl knew the little heart was beating in its very worst terror. She
+couldn't bear the sight and closed her eyes for an instant. When she
+opened them, Morse's hand was raised above the boy's golden head, but
+she caught it in hers before it descended.
+
+"I'll do it," she managed to whisper. "Look! Look! You've killed
+him."
+
+In another moment she had Bobbie in her arms, his face pressed against
+her breast.
+
+"Get out of here!" she said, deathly white, to Morse. "I'll do it,
+come back to-morrow."
+
+And Morse was glad to escape.
+
+After Jinnie brought Bobbie to his senses and he lay like a crumpled
+leaf on the divan, she took up the hated letter. She sat down to read
+it once more.
+
+It was short, concise, and to the point.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"MR. KING:
+
+"I made a mistake in ever thinking I cared for you. I have some one
+else now I love better, and expect to be very happy with him.
+
+                                                   "JINNIE GRANDOKEN."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning when Morse came jauntily in, she handed him the copy
+of it without a word. He only said to her:
+
+"You'd have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you'd done this in the
+first place. You won't bother me long now. Mr. King is home and almost
+well." Then he smiled, showing his white, even teeth. "He'll be glad
+to receive this letter."
+
+"Get out," Jinnie gritted. "Get out before I--I kill you!"
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days later Molly Merriweather was in the seventh heaven of bliss.
+As Morse had said, Theodore was home, looking more like himself. With
+her heart in her mouth, the woman entered his sitting room with
+Jinnie's letter. Jordan had had it mailed to King from Binghamton.
+
+"I've brought you a letter, Theodore," smiled Molly nervously.
+
+He extended his hand, and upon recognizing the handwriting, turned
+deadly white.
+
+"I'd like to be alone," said he without looking up.
+
+When he sent for her a little while later, and she sat opposite him,
+he said:
+
+"I'd rather not speak of--of--Miss Grandoken again. Will you give me a
+drink, Molly?" And the woman noted the hurt look in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI
+
+"BUST 'EM OUT"
+
+
+"Jinnie, ain't we ever goin' back to Peggy?" Bobbie asked one day, his
+eyes rolling upward. His small face was seamed with questioning
+anxiety.
+
+The girl drew him to her lap.
+
+How many times Jinnie had asked that question of herself! How she
+longed for Paradise Road, with its row of shacks, Peggy and the baby!
+Bobby knew how she felt by the way she squeezed his hand.
+
+"Ain't we?" he asked again.
+
+"Some time," answered Jinnie limply.
+
+"Did the black man say we could go, Jinnie?" the boy demanded.
+
+Jinnie patted his head comfortingly.
+
+"I hope he'll take us home soon," she remarked, trying to put full
+assurance into her tones.
+
+Bobbie zigzagged back to the divan, drew himself upon it, and Jinnie
+knew by his abstracted manner that he was turning the matter over in
+his busy little brain.
+
+Two hours later, when Jordan Morse came in, the child was still
+sitting in the same position, and the man beckoned the girl into the
+other room.
+
+"Grandoken's trial is to start this afternoon within an hour," he
+informed her. "You'll be here to-day and to-morrow. You see the court
+won't be long in proving the cobbler's guilt."
+
+If he had expected her to cry, he was mistaken. She was past crying,
+seemingly having shed all of her tears.
+
+"He didn't do it," she averred stubbornly. "I know he didn't."
+
+In justice to Lafe, she always reiterated this.
+
+Morse gave a sinister laugh.
+
+"What you know or don't know won't matter," he responded, and looking
+at the angry, beautiful face, he ejaculated, "Thank God for that!"
+
+Jinnie turned her back, but he requested her sharply to look at him.
+
+"Have you told the boy where I'm going to take you?" he demanded, when
+she was eyeing him disdainfully.
+
+"No."
+
+"I never knew a woman before who could hold her tongue," he commented
+in sarcasm.
+
+Jinnie didn't heed the compliment.
+
+"When he asks you questions, what do you tell him?"
+
+"That you will come for us soon."
+
+"I will, all right."
+
+Jinnie went nearer him.
+
+"Where are you going to take him?"
+
+Morse shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You'll know in time," said he.
+
+How ominous his words were, and how his eyes narrowed as he looked at
+her! She was thoroughly afraid of that tone in his voice. Her own fate
+she was sure of, but Bobbie--desperation filled her soul. She would
+beg Morse to let him go back to Peggy.
+
+Lifting clasped hands, she walked very close to him.
+
+"You're going to have all my money," she said with emphasis. "I've
+done everything I can, and I'll make Bobbie promise not to say a word
+to any one if you'll take him to Mrs. Grandoken."
+
+Morse shook his head.
+
+"Too dangerous," he replied, and he went out without a glance at the
+blind boy on the divan.
+
+Once more alone with Bobbie, Jinnie sat down to think. How could she
+rescue him from this awful position? How get him back to Peggy?
+Somehow she felt that if she could be sure the little boy was safe,
+she could go away to the place Morse had described with at least a
+little relief. That day Lafe's accusers were to try him before a
+jury----. She had almost lost hope for the cobbler--he was lame, had
+no friends, and was a Jew, one of the hated race. She knew how the
+people of Bellaire despised the Jews. For Peggy she didn't worry so
+much. Jordan Morse had given his solemn promise that, if Lafe died in
+the electric chair--and she died to the world--he would be of
+financial assistance to Peggy.
+
+She sat studying Bobbie attentively. The child's face was pathetically
+white and she could see the quick palpitation of his heart under his
+jacket.
+
+"I heard what the black man said, Jinnie," Bobbie blurted presently,
+sinking in a little heap. "I mean when he had you in the other room a
+little while ago. You was beggin' him to help me; wasn't you,
+Jinnie?"
+
+Jinnie went to him quickly and gathered him into her arms.
+
+"Bobbie," she implored, "you must never let him know, never, never,
+that you heard him talking. He might hurt you worse than he has."
+
+Bobbie flashed his eyes questioningly in evident terror.
+
+"What'd he hurt me more for? I ain't done nothin' to him."
+
+"I guess because he's bad, dear," said Jinnie sadly.
+
+"Then if he's bad, why do you stay here?" He clung to her tremulously.
+"Take me away, Jinnie!"
+
+"I can't!" lamented Jinnie. "I've told you, Bobbie, the door's
+locked."
+
+She could lovingly deceive him no longer.
+
+How the little body trembled! How the fluttering hands sought her aid
+in vain!
+
+"My stars're all gone, Jinnie," sobbed Bobbie. "My beautiful stars! I
+can't see any of 'em if I try. I'm awful 'fraid, honey dear. It's so
+dark."
+
+Jinnie tightened her arms about him, racking her brain for soothing
+words.
+
+"But Lafe's God is above the dark, Bobbie," she whispered reverently.
+"We've got to believe it, dearie! God is back up there ... just up
+there."
+
+She took his slender forefinger and pointed upward.
+
+"How does God look, Jinnie? Just how does he look?"
+
+"I've never seen him," admitted the girl, "but I think, Bobbie, I
+think he looks like Lafe. I know he smiles like him anyway."
+
+"I'm glad," sighed the boy. "Then He'll help us, won't He? Lafe would
+if he could. If you say He will, He will, Jinnie!"
+
+Five tense minutes passed in silence. Then: "Sure we couldn't get out
+of the window, dearie?" asked Bobbie.
+
+"They're locked, too," answered the girl, low-toned.
+
+"I'd bust 'em out," volunteered the boy, with sudden enthusiasm.
+
+"But there's a deep gorge in front of every one, honey," replied
+Jinnie sadly.
+
+Yet Bobbie's words--"bust 'em out"--took hold of her grippingly, and
+the thought of leaving that unbearable place was like a tonic to the
+frantic girl. She crossed the room rapidly and examined the window
+panes. But even if she could break them, as Bobbie suggested, the
+water below would receive their bodies, and death would follow. If it
+were a street, she might manage. Yet the sight of the flowing water,
+the dark depths between the ragged rocks, did not send Bobbie's words,
+"bust 'em out," from her mind. If they fell together, the boy would
+never be tortured any more. To-morrow Jordan Morse would be in the
+courtroom all day. To-morrow----God, dear God! She seemed to hear
+Lafe's monotone, "There's always to-morrow, Jinnie."
+
+She was called upon to think, to act alone in a tragic way. Of course
+she would be killed if she jumped into the deep gorge with the child
+and Happy Pete. She tried to think, to plan, but after the manner of
+all believing sufferers, could only pray.
+
+Bobbie need fear no evil! "Angels have been given charge over him, and
+Bobbie shall not want," Jinnie whispered, her mind spinning around
+like a child's top. A sudden faith boomed at the portals of her soul.
+What was the use of asking help for Bobbie if she didn't have faith in
+an answer?
+
+To-day would bring forth a plan for to-morrow. To-morrow Bobbie would
+be saved from Jordan Morse. To-morrow would end his terror in the
+gorge house. To-morrow--she would be eighteen years old!
+
+"Bobbie," she entreated, going to the child swiftly, "Bobbie, do you
+remember any prayers Lafe taught you?"
+
+The child bobbed his head.
+
+"Sure," he concurred. "'Now I lay me' and 'Our Father which art in
+Heaven.'... I know them, Jinnie."
+
+"Then sit upon the divan again and say them over and over, and pray
+for Lafe, and that you'll get out of here and be happy. You mustn't
+tell Mr. Morse if he comes, but I'm going to try to get you out of the
+window."
+
+As she stood in the gathering gloom and peered into the water below,
+Jinnie could hear the child lisping his small petitions.
+
+At that moment a new faith came for herself. Lafe's angels would save
+her, too, from Jordan Morse's revenge.
+
+At ten-thirty the next morning Morse came. With trepidation Jinnie
+heard him open the door. He was extremely nervous and stayed only a
+few moments.
+
+"I've got to be in court at eleven," he explained, "and I'll come for
+you both about ten this evening. Be ready, you and the boy, and
+remember what I told you!"
+
+When they were alone once more, she sat down beside the blind child
+and placed her arm around him.
+
+"Bobbie, will you do exactly what I tell you?"
+
+"Sure," responded Bobbie, cheerfully. "Are we goin' home?"
+
+Without answering him, Jinnie said:
+
+"Then take Happy Pete and don't move until I get back. Just pray and
+pray and pray! That's all."
+
+Happy Pete snuggled his head under Bobbie's arm and they both sat very
+still. The boy scarcely dared to breathe, he was so anxious to please
+his Jinnie.
+
+The farthest window in the inner room door seemed to be the best one
+to attack. If Morse surprised her, it would be easier to cover up her
+work. With a frantic prayer on her lips, she took off her shoe and
+gave the pane of glass one large, resounding blow. It cracked in two,
+splinters not only flying into the room, but tumbling into the gorge
+below. Then she hastily hammered away every particle of glass from the
+frame, and, shoving her shoulders through, looked out and down. The
+very air seemed filled with angels. They could and would save her and
+Bobbie even in the water--even if they were within the suction of the
+falls there, some distance below and beyond. Then her eyes swept over
+the side of the building, and she discovered a stone ledge wide enough
+for a human being to crawl along. Would she dare try it with her loved
+ones? She distinctly remembered seeing a painter's paraphernalia in
+the front, and they might be there still! The more she thought, the
+greater grew her hope, and with this growing hope came a larger faith.
+At least she'd find what was at the end of the building away off there
+to the east.
+
+To-day, yes, now!... She couldn't wait, for her uncle was coming
+to-night. It must be now, this minute. She went back to Bobbie.
+
+"I'm going to try it, darling," she told him, kissing his cheek. "Sit
+right here until I get back. Hang to Petey. He might follow me."
+
+Then cautiously she dragged her body through the hole in the window,
+and began to crawl along the stone ledge. The roar of the water on the
+rocks below made her dizzy. But over and over did she cry into God's
+ever listening ear:
+
+"He has given--he has given his angels--angels charge over thee."
+
+Jinnie reached the corner of the building, and looked out over the
+city. The ledge extended around the other side of the building, and
+she turned the corner and went slowly onward. At the south end she
+stopped still, glancing about.
+
+Only one thing of any value was in the range of her vision. The two
+long ropes she had seen long before were still hanging from the roof
+and fastened securely to a large plank almost on the ground. It
+brought to Jinnie's mind what Lafe had told her,--of Jimmie Malligan
+who had been killed, and of how he himself had lost his legs.
+
+Could she, by means of the rope, save the three precious things back
+in that awful room--Bobbie, Happy Pete, and her fiddle?
+
+To be once more under God's sun with the blue above gave her new
+strength. Then she turned and crawled slowly back.
+
+At the corner she grew faint-hearted. It must have been the gorge
+below that made her breath come in catching sobs. But on and on she
+went until through the window she could see Bobbie with Happy Pete
+asleep in his arms. The child was still muttering over his little
+prayers, his blind eyes rolling in bewildered anxiety.
+
+Jinnie was very white when she sat down beside him. Putting her face
+close to his, she brushed his cheek lovingly.
+
+"Bobbie," she said, touching his hair with her lips, "how much do you
+love Jinnie?"
+
+"More'n all the world," replied Bobbie without hesitation.
+
+"Then if you love me _that_ much, you'll do just what I tell you."
+
+"Yes," Bobbie assured her under his breath.
+
+Jinnie took a towel--she couldn't find a rope--and strapped the violin
+to Bobbie's back.
+
+"I've got to take my fiddle with me, dearie," she explained, "and I
+can't carry it because I've got you. You can't carry it because you've
+got to hold Happy Pete.... Now, then, come on!"
+
+Jinnie drew the reluctant, trembling child to his feet and permitted
+him to feel around the window-sash; she also held him tightly while he
+measured the stone ledge with his fingers.
+
+"I'm awful 'fraid," he moaned, drooping.
+
+Jinnie feared he was going to have another fainting spell. To ward it
+off, she said firmly:
+
+"Bobbie, you want to see Lafe, don't you?"
+
+"S'awful much," groaned Bobbie.
+
+"Then don't hold your breath." She saw him stagger, and grasping him,
+cried out "Breathe, Bobbie, breathe! We're going to Peggy."
+
+Bobbie began to breathe naturally, and a beatific smile touched the
+corners of his lips.
+
+"I got so many stars to-day, Jinnie," he quavered, "one slipped right
+down my throat."
+
+"But you mustn't be scared again, Bobbie! If we stay, the black man'll
+come back and shake you again and take us to some place that'll make
+us both sick. You just keep on praying, and I will, too.... Now, then,
+I'm going out, and when I say, 'Ready,' you crawl after me."
+
+"What's that noise?" shivered Bobbie, clutching Happy Pete.
+
+"It's water," answered Jinnie, "water in the gorge."
+
+Bobbie's teeth chattered. "Do we have to jump in it?"
+
+"No, I'm going to take you down a rope."
+
+With that she crawled through the hole, and when once on the stone
+ledge, she put her hand in on the boy's head.
+
+"Lift up your leg and hang tight to Petey," she shuddered, and the
+blind boy did as he was bidden, and Jinnie pulled him, with the dog
+and fiddle, through the opening. She put him on his knees in front of
+her with her arms tightly about him.
+
+"Jinnie, Jinnie!" moaned Bobbie. "My heart's jumpin' out of my
+mouth!"
+
+Jinnie pressed her teeth together with all her might and main,
+shivering so in terror that she almost lost the strength of her arms.
+
+"Don't think about your heart," she implored, "and don't shake so!
+Just think that you're going to Lafe and Peg."
+
+Then they began their long, perilous journey to the corner of the
+building. It must have taken twenty minutes. Jinnie had no means by
+which to mark the time. She only knew how difficult it was to keep the
+blind child moving, with the water below bellowing its stormy way down
+the rock-hill to the lake. Happy Pete gave a weird little cry now and
+then. But on and on they went, and at the corner Jinnie spoke:
+
+"Bobbie, we've got to turn here. Let your body go just as I shove
+it."
+
+Limp was no word for Bobbie's body. He was dreadfully tired. His heart
+thumped under Jinnie's arms like a battering-ram.
+
+"Bobbie, don't breathe that way, don't!" she entreated.
+
+"I can't help it, honey! my side hurts," he whispered. "But I'll go
+where you take me, Jinnie dear."
+
+The girl turned him carefully around the sharp ledge corner, and they
+went on again. Her arms seemed almost paralyzed, but they clung to the
+child ahead, and the child ahead clung to the little dog, who hung
+very straight and inert in front of his body.
+
+When they reached the south corner, Jinnie explained their next move
+to Bobbie in this way:
+
+"Now listen," she told him. "You get on my back with your legs under
+my arms, hang to me like dear life, and keep Happy Pete between us.
+Don't hurt him if you can help it."
+
+They were within touch of one of the dangling ropes and far below
+Jinnie saw the swaying plank to which it was fastened. Once on that
+board, she could get to the ground.
+
+Then she continued: "Now while I lean over, you get on my back."
+
+As she guided his slender hands, she felt them cold within her own,
+but in obedience to her command, Bobbie put his legs about her, one
+arm around her neck, and with the other held Happy Pete.
+
+"We won't fall, will we, Jinnie?" quavered the boy.
+
+"No," said Jinnie, helping to settle him on her back.
+
+Then she crawled closer to the rope, took up her skirt and placed it
+about the rough hemp. She was afraid to use her bare hands. The rope
+might cut and burn them so dreadfully that she'd have to let go. With
+a wild inward prayer, she swung off into the air, with the boy, the
+dog and the fiddle on her back, and began her downward slide. She
+counted the windows as they passed, one, two, three, and then four.
+Only a little distance more before she would be upon firm ground. As
+her feet touched the plank, she glanced into the street and in that
+awful moment saw Jordan Morse crossing the corner diagonally, within
+but a few yards of where she stood, terrified.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+BOBBIE'S STARS RENEW THEIR SHINING
+
+
+Jinnie stood rooted to the spot, the burden on her back bearing
+heavily upon her. She scarcely dared breathe, but kept her startled
+eyes upon the advancing man. Her uncle was walking with his head down.
+As he approached the building, a terrible shiver passed over the blind
+boy.
+
+"The black man's comin'!" he shuddered. "I hear----"
+
+"Hush!" whispered Jinnie, and Bobbie dropped his head and remained
+quiet.
+
+The girl's heart was thumping almost as fast as his.
+
+In the oppressive silence she heard Bobbie's faint whisper: "Our--our
+Father who art in Heaven," and her own lips murmured: "He has given
+his angels charge over thee."
+
+Without raising his eyes, Jordan Morse sprang to the steps and entered
+the door.
+
+Jinnie turned her head and almost mechanically watched him disappear.
+Then she took one long, sobbing breath.
+
+"Bobbie, Bobbie," she panted, "get down quick!"
+
+The boy slid to the plank, dropping Happy Pete.
+
+Jinnie grasped the child's cold hand in hers, and they ran rapidly to
+a thick clump of trees. Once out of sight of the building, she picked
+up the little dog and sank down, clutching Bobbie close to her
+heart.
+
+The beginning of the second day of Lafe's trial brought a large crowd
+to the courthouse. All the evidence thus far given had been against
+him, but he sat in his wheelchair, looking quietly from under his
+shaggy brows, and never once, with all that was said against him, did
+the sweet, benevolent expression change to anger. The cobbler had put
+his life into higher hands than those in the courtroom, and he feared
+not.
+
+After the morning session, Jordan Morse left the room with a satisfied
+smile. He walked rapidly to the streetcar and took a seat, with a
+thoughtful expression on his countenance. Lafe would be convicted, and
+he would get rid of the girl now shut away from the world in the gorge
+building. Then, with the money that would be his, he'd find his
+child,--the little boy who was his own and for whom he so longed. He
+often looked at Molly and wondered how she could smile so radiantly
+when she knew she had lost her child,--her own flesh and blood,--her
+own little son.
+
+Even after he left the car and was approaching the gorge, he worried
+about the two in the house. It was because his mind was bent on
+important plans that he did not see Jinnie swinging in the sunshine
+between heaven and earth. He climbed the stairs, framing a sentence
+for the girl's benefit. As he unlocked the door, the silence of the
+room bore down upon him like an evil thing. He went hurriedly into the
+second room, only to find it also empty. For the moment he did not
+notice the shattered glass on the floor, and his heart sank within
+him, but the breeze that drifted to his face brought his eyes to the
+broken window. With an oath, he jumped to it and looked out. Far
+below, the water tumbled as of yore over the rocks. He strained
+horrified eyes for a glimpse of a human body. The girl and boy must
+have dropped together into the deep abyss, preferring death to
+uncertainty. They were gone--gone over the ragged rocks, where their
+bodies would be lost in some of the fathomless juts a mile beyond. He
+would never be bothered with Jinnie again. Then he turned from the
+window. His most terrifying obstacle was out of his way. The blind
+child did not concern him. He was but a feather in the wind,--the
+little fellow who always shrank from him.
+
+As if leaving a tomb, he went softly from the room and turned the key
+in the lock with a sigh. Jinnie had relieved him of an awful
+responsibility. At least fate had taken from his hands a detestable
+task, at which he had many a time recoiled. So far all of his enemies,
+with the exception of Theodore King, had one by one been taken away,
+and he swung himself out of the building with a great burden lifted
+from his shoulders.
+
+As he passed, Jinnie was still drawing long breaths under the thick
+bushes, Bobbie's face against her breast, and it was not until she was
+sure Morse had gone that she ventured to speak.
+
+"We're going to Lafe and Peg, Bobbie," she said. "Can you walk a long
+way?"
+
+"Yes," gurgled Bobbie, color flaming his face. "My legs'll go faster'n
+anything."
+
+And "faster'n anything" those thin little legs did go. The boy trotted
+along beside his friend, down the hill to the flats. Jinnie chose a
+back street leading to the lower end of the town.
+
+"I'd better carry you a while, dearie," she offered presently, noting
+with what difficulty he breathed. "You take the fiddle!" And without
+remonstrance from the boy she lifted him in her arms.
+
+From the tracks Lafe's small house had the appearance of being
+unoccupied. Jinnie went in, walking from the shop to the kitchen,
+where she called "Peggy!" two or three times. Then the thought of the
+cobbler's trial rushed over her. Peggy and the baby were at court with
+Lafe, of course.
+
+Knowing she must face her uncle in the courtroom, she went to Lafe's
+black box and drew forth the sealed letter her father had sent to
+Grandoken. This she hid in her dress, and taking Bobbie and the
+fiddle, she went out and closed the door.
+
+Another long walk brought them to the courthouse, which stood in
+solemn stone silence, with one side to the dark, iron-barred jail.
+Jinnie shivered when she thought of the weary months Lafe had sat
+within his gloomy cell.
+
+She entered the building, holding Bobbie's hand. Every seat in the
+room was filled, and a man was making a speech, using the names of
+Maudlin Bates and Lafe Grandoken.
+
+Then she looked about once more, craning her neck to catch sight of
+those ahead. Her eyes fell first upon Lafe, God bless him! There he
+sat, her cobbler, in the same old wheelchair, wearing that look of
+benign patience so familiar to her. Only a little distance from him
+sat Peggy, the baby sleeping on her knees. Molly the Merry was seated
+next to Jordan Morse, whose large white hand nervously clutched the
+back of the woman's chair.
+
+Several stern-looking men at a table had numerous papers over which
+they were bending. Then Jinnie's gaze found Jasper Bates. She could
+see, by the look upon his face, that he was suffering. She felt sorry,
+sorry for any one who was in trouble, who had lost a son in such a
+manner as Jasper had. Then she awoke to the import of the lawyer's
+words.
+
+"Before you, Gentlemen of the Jury," he was saying, "is a murderer, a
+Jew, Lafe Grandoken. You know very well the reputation of the people
+on Paradise Road. The good book says 'a life for a life.' This Jew
+shot and killed his neighbor----"
+
+Jinnie lost his next words. She was looking at Lafe, and saw his dear
+face grow white with stabbing anguish. The girl's throat filled with
+sobs, and she suddenly remembered something Theodore had once said to
+her.
+
+"If you want anything, child, just play for it."
+
+And she wanted the life of her cobbler, the man who had taken her,
+with such generosity, into his heart and meagre home. She slipped the
+fiddle from the case and stooped and whispered in Bobbie's ear:
+
+"Grab the back of my dress, dearie, and don't let go!"
+
+She moved into the aisle, making ready to start on her life mission.
+She lifted the bow, and with a long sweep, drew an intense minor note
+from the strings. A sea of faces swung in her direction. Jinnie forgot
+every one but the cobbler--she was playing for his life--improvising
+on the fiddle strings a wild, pleading, imploring melody. On and on
+she went, with Blind Bobbie, in trembling confusion, clinging to her
+skirts, and Happy Pete with sagging head at their heels. At the first
+sound of the fiddle Lafe tried to rise, and did rise. He stood for a
+moment on his shaking legs, and there, to the amazement of the gaping
+crowd of his townsfolk, he swayed to and fro, watching and listening
+as the wonderful music filled and thrilled through the room.
+
+A heavenly light shone on the wrinkled face.
+
+Jordan Morse got to his feet, chalk white. Molly the Merry was looking
+at Jinnie as if she saw a ghost.
+
+The onlookers saw Lafe's unsteady steps as he tottered toward the
+lovely girl and blind child. When he was within touching distance, she
+put the instrument and bow under one arm and took Lafe's hand in hers.
+Her voice rang out like the tone of a bell.
+
+"I've come for you, Lafe. I've come to take you back."
+
+Then Molly's eyes dropped from Jinnie to the boy, and a cry broke from
+her. Before her was the child for whom, in spite of the evidence of
+her smiling lips, she had truly mourned. The wan, blind face was
+turned upward, the golden hair lying in damp curls on the lovely head.
+Spontaneously the woman reached forward and took the little hand in
+hers. All the mother within her leaped up, like a brilliant flash of
+lightning.
+
+"My baby!" was all she said; and Bobbie, white, trembling and
+palpitating, cried in a weird, high voice:
+
+"I've found my mother!"
+
+Then Jordan Morse understood. The hot blood was tearing to his ear
+drums. The blind boy he had persecuted and tortured, the boy he had
+made suffer, was his own son. That wonderful quality in the man, the
+fatherhood within him, rose in surging insistence. Instant remorse
+attacked him, as an oak is attacked by fierce winter storms. He saw
+the boy's angelic face grow the color of death; saw Molly the Merry
+gather him up. Then a stab of jealousy cut his heart like a knife. He
+bent over with set jaws.
+
+"Give him to me," he cried. "He's mine!"
+
+Molly surrendered the child with reluctance, but terror and fright
+were depicted upon Bobbie's face.
+
+"Jinnie! Lafe! Peggy!" he screamed. "He'll hurt me! The black man's
+goin' to kill me! Jinnie, pretty Jinnie----"
+
+The passionate voice grew faint and ceased. Then the loving little
+heart burst in the boyish bosom, and Bobbie's angels bore away his
+young soul to another world where blindness is not,--where his
+uplifted being would understand that the stars he'd loved,--the stars
+he'd gathered in his small, unseeing head,--were but a reflection of
+those in God's firmament. With one final quiver he straightened out in
+his father's arms and was silent. All his loves and sorrows were in
+the eternal yesterdays, and to-day had delivered him into the charge
+of Lafe's angels.
+
+Jinnie was crying hysterically, and her father's dying curse upon her
+uncle leapt into her mind. She was clinging to the cobbler, and both
+had moved to Peg, where the woman sat as if turned to stone.
+
+Not a person in the courtroom stirred. In consternation the jury sat
+in their chairs like graven images, taking in the freshly wrought
+tragedy with tense expressions. The judge, too, leaned forward in his
+chair, watching.
+
+Jordan Morse faced the room, with its silent, observant crowd,
+pressing to his breast the dead body of his child. Then he turned to
+Lafe, white, twitching, and suffering.
+
+"I shot Maudlin Bates," he said, haltingly; then turning to the jury
+he continued: "The cobbler's an innocent man----"
+
+A menacing groan fell from a hundred lips at his words.
+
+He deliberately took from his hip pocket a revolver, lifted the weapon
+and finished:
+
+"I'm--I'm sorry, Jinnie, I'm----"
+
+Then came the sharp, short bark of the gun, and the bullet found a
+path to his brain. He staggered, frantically clutching the slender
+body of Bobbie closer--and toppled over.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+FOR BOBBIE'S SAKE
+
+
+Lafe's homecoming was one of solemn rejoicing. The only shadow hanging
+over the happy family was the absence of Blind Bobbie, who now lay by
+the side of his dead father.
+
+After the first greetings, Lafe took his boy baby and pressed him
+gratefully to his heart.
+
+"He's beautiful, Peggy dear, ain't he?" he implored, drinking in with
+affectionate, fatherly eyes the rosy little face. "Wife darlin', make
+a long story short an' tell me he's beautiful."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken eyed her husband sternly.
+
+"Lafe," she admonished, "you're as full of brag as a egg is of meat,
+and salt won't save you. All your life you've boasted till I thought
+the world'd come to an end, an' I ain't never said a word against it.
+Now you can't teach me none of your bad habits, because I won't learn
+'em, so don't try." She paused, her lips lifting a little at the
+corners, and went on: "But I'm tellin' you with my own lips there
+ain't a beautifuller baby in this county'n this little feller, nor one
+half so beautiful! So there's my mind, sir."
+
+"'Tis so, dear," murmured the cobbler, rejoicing.
+
+About five o'clock in the afternoon, while Peggy was uptown
+replenishing the slender larder and Lafe and Jinnie were alone with
+the baby, there came a timid knock.
+
+Jinnie went to the door and there stood Molly Merriweather. The
+woman's face was white and drawn, her eyes darkly circled underneath.
+
+One glance at her and Jinnie lost her own color.
+
+"I want to speak with you just a moment," the woman said beseechingly.
+"May I come in?"
+
+Without answering, Jinnie backed into the room, which action Molly
+took as a signal to enter.
+
+She inclined her head haughtily to the cobbler.
+
+"Would you mind if I spoke to Miss Grandoken alone?"
+
+Lafe looked to Jinnie for acquiescence.
+
+"If Jinnie'll help me to the kitchen," he replied, "you can talk here.
+I'm a little unsteady on my feet yet, miss!"
+
+It took some time for the tottering legs to bear him away, but the
+strong, confident girl helped him most patiently.
+
+"You might just slip me the baby, Jinnie," said Lafe, after he was
+seated in the kitchen. "I could be lookin' at 'im while you're
+talkin'. You ain't mindin' the woman, honey lass, be you?"
+
+"No, dear," answered Jinnie.
+
+This done, the girl returned to Molly, who stood at the window staring
+out upon the tracks. She turned quickly, and Jinnie noticed her eyes
+were full of tears.
+
+"I suppose you won't refuse to tell me something of my--my little
+boy?" she pleaded.
+
+Tears welled over Jinnie's lids too. Bobbie's presence and adoration
+were still fresh in her mind.
+
+"He's dead," she mourned. "My little Bobbie! Poor little hurt
+Bobbie!"
+
+Molly made a passionate gesture with her gloved hands.
+
+"Don't, please don't say those things! I'm so miserable I can't think
+of him. I only wanted to know how you got him."
+
+"I just found him," stated Jinnie. Then, because Molly looked so
+white, she forgot the anguish the woman had caused her, and rehearsed
+the story of Bobbie's life from the time she had discovered him on the
+hill.
+
+"I guess he was always unhappy till he came to us."
+
+"And I helped to hurt him," cried Molly, shivering.
+
+"But you didn't know he was yours," soothed Jinnie.
+
+The woman shook her head.
+
+"No, of course I didn't know," she replied, and then went on rapidly:
+
+"I was so young when I married your uncle, I didn't know anything.
+When I lost my baby, I knew no way to search for him."
+
+"Won't you sit down?" Jinnie had forgotten that they were both
+standing. "Sit in that little rocker; it's Bobbie's," she finished.
+
+Molly looked at the little chair and turned away.
+
+"Lafe bought it for him," Jinnie explained eagerly. "He was too sick
+with his heart to get around much like other boys."
+
+Miss Merriweather wrung her hands.
+
+"Don't tell me any more," she begged piteously. "He's dead and nothing
+can help him now. I've--something else to say to you." Jinnie wiped
+her eyes.
+
+"Mr. King is quite well now, and----"
+
+"Oh, I'm glad!" cried Jinnie. "Does he--he ever speak of me?"
+
+Molly shook her head mutely.
+
+"I don't want him to see you!" she cried, her eyes growing hard and
+bright.
+
+"Why?" Jinnie said the one word in bewilderment.
+
+"He doesn't know yet what Jordan and I did to you, nor
+about--about--Bobbie. I don't want him to, either, just yet. I fear if
+he does, he won't care for me."
+
+Jinnie's eyes drew down at the corners.
+
+"Of course he wouldn't if he knew," she said, with tightly gripped
+fingers.
+
+Molly paid no heed to this, but went on rapidly:
+
+"Well, first, you don't love him as I do----"
+
+"I love him very much," interjected Jinnie, "and he used to love me."
+
+The woman's lips drew linelike over her teeth.
+
+"But you see he doesn't any longer," she got out, "and if you go
+away----"
+
+"Go away?" gasped Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, from Bellaire. You won't stay here, now that you're rich." She
+threw a contemptuous glance about the shop. Jinnie caught the
+inflection of the cutting voice and noted the expression in the dark
+eyes.
+
+"I'll stay wherever Lafe and Peggy are," she said stubbornly.
+
+"Perhaps, but that doesn't say you're going to live in this street all
+your life.... I want you to go back to Mottville."
+
+Jinnie still looked a cold, silent refusal.
+
+Molly grew even whiter than before, but remembering Jinnie's kindly
+heart, she turned her tactics.
+
+"I'm very miserable," she wept, "and I love Theodore better than any
+one in the world."
+
+"So do I," sighed Jinnie, bowing her head.
+
+"But he doesn't love you, child, and he does love me."
+
+Jinnie's eyes fixed their gaze steadily on the other woman.
+
+"Then why're you afraid for him to see me?" she demanded.
+
+Molly got to her feet. She saw her flimsily constructed love world
+shattered by the girl before her. She knew Theodore still loved her,
+and that if he knew all her own wickedness, his devotion would
+increase a hundredfold. He must not see Jinnie! Jinnie must not see
+him! Rapidly she reviewed the quarrels she and Theodore had had,
+remembered how punctiliously he always carried out his honorable
+intentions, and then--Molly went very near the girl, staring at her
+with terror in her eyes.
+
+"Jinnie," she said softly, "pretty Jinnie!"
+
+Those words were Bobbie's last earthly appeal to her, and Jinnie's
+face blanched in recollection.
+
+"Didn't you love my baby?" Molly hurried on.
+
+A memory of fluttering fingers traveling over her face left Jinnie's
+heart cold. Next to Lafe and Theodore she had loved Bobbie best.
+
+"I loved him, oh, very much indeed!" she whispered.
+
+"And he often told you he loved--his--his--mother?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Molly was slowly drawing the girl's hands into hers.
+
+"He'd want me to be happy, Jinnie dear. Oh, please let me have the
+only little happiness left me!"
+
+Jinnie drew away, almost hypnotized.
+
+"I can't be a--a good woman unless I have Theodore," Molly moaned.
+"You're very young----"
+
+Her eyes sought the girl's, who was struggling to her feet.
+
+"For Bobbie's sake, Jinnie, for--for----"
+
+Jinnie brought to mind the blind boy, his winsome ways, his desire for
+his beautiful mother, her own love for Theodore, and turning away,
+said with a groan:
+
+"I want Theodore to be happy, and I want you to be happy, too,
+for--for Bobbie's sake. I--I promise not to see him, but I'll always
+believe he loves me--that--that----"
+
+"You're a good girl," interrupted Molly with a sigh of relief.
+
+Jinnie went to the door.
+
+"Go now," she said, with proudly lifted head, "and I hope I'll never
+see you again as long as I live."
+
+Then Molly went away, and for a long time the girl stood, with her
+back to the door, weeping out the sorrow of a torn young soul. She had
+promised to give up Theodore completely. She had lost her love, her
+friend, her sweetheart. Once more she had surrendered to Bobbie
+Grandoken the best she had to give.
+
+Later, when the cobbler and his wife were crooning over their little
+son, Jinnie, with breaking heart, decided she would leave Bellaire at
+once, as Molly had asked her. She must never think of Theodore again.
+She'd renounced him, firmly believing he still loved her; she'd
+promised to depart without seeing him, but surely, oh, a little
+farewell note, with the assurances of her gratitude, would not be
+breaking that promise.
+
+So, until Peggy carried the baby away to bed, the girl composed a
+letter to Theodore, pathetic in its terseness. She also wrote to
+Molly, telling her she had decided to go back to Mottville
+immediately.
+
+When she had finished the letters, she took her usual place on the
+stool at the cobbler's feet.
+
+"Lafe," she ventured, wearily, "some time I'm going to tell you
+everything that's happened since I last saw you, but not to-night!"
+
+"Whenever you're ready, honey," acquiesced Lafe.
+
+"And I've been thinking of something else, dear. I want to go to
+Mottville."
+
+Lafe's face paled.
+
+"I don't see how Peg an' me'll live without you, Jinnie."
+
+Jinnie touched the hand smoothing her curls.
+
+"I couldn't live without you either, Lafe, and I won't try----"
+
+The cobbler bent and kissed her.
+
+"I won't try, dear," she repeated. "You must all live with me,
+although I'll go first to arrange things a little. We'll never worry
+about money any more, dearest."
+
+"And Mr. King," Lafe faltered, quite disturbed, "what about him?"
+
+"I shan't ever see him again," Jinnie stated sadly. "I've just written
+him, and he'll understand."
+
+Lafe knew by the finality of her tones that she did not care to
+discuss Theodore that night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+BACK HOME
+
+
+Late the next afternoon Jinnie left the train at Mottville station,
+her fiddle box in one hand, and a suitcase in the other. She stood a
+moment watching the train as it disappeared. It had carried her from
+the man she loved, brought her away from Bellaire, the city of her
+hopes. One bitter fact reared itself above all others. The world of
+which Theodore King had been the integral part was dead to her. What
+was she to do without him, without Bobbie to pet and love? But a
+feeling of thanksgiving pervaded her when she remembered she still had
+Lafe's smile, the baby to croon over, and dear, stoical Peggy. They
+would live with her in the old home. It was preferable to staying in
+Bellaire, where her heart would be tortured daily. Rather the brooding
+hills, the singing pines, and all the wildness of nature, which was
+akin to the struggle within her, and perhaps in the future she might
+gather up the broken threads of her life.
+
+She shook as if attacked with ague as she came within sight of the
+gaunt farmhouse, and the broken windows and hanging doors gave her a
+sense of everlasting decay.
+
+Below her in the valley lay the blue lake, a shining spread of water,
+quiet and silent, here and there upon it the shadow of a floating,
+fluffy cloud. She listened to the nagging chatter of the squirrels,
+mingled with the fluttering of the forest birds high above her head.
+As she stood on the hill, the only human being in all the wilderness
+about, in fancy she seemed to be at the very top of the world.
+
+She heard the old familiar voices of the mourning pines, and
+remembered their soothing magic, and a stinging reproach swept over
+her at the thought of her forgetfulness of them. They had been friends
+when no other friends were near. Along with the flood of memories came
+Matty's ghastly ghost stories and her past belief that her mother's
+spirit hovered near her.
+
+She went through the lane leading to the house and paused under the
+trees. Presently she placed her violin box and suitcase on the grass
+and lay down beside them. In the eaves of the house a dove cooed his
+late afternoon love to his mate, and Jinnie, because she was very
+young and very much in love, brought Theodore before her with that
+lingering retrospection that takes possession in such sensuous
+moments. She could feel again the hot tremor of his hands as they
+clung to hers, and she bent her head in shame at the acute,
+electrifying sensations. He belonged to another woman; he no longer
+belonged to her. She must conquer her love for him, and at that moment
+every desire to study, every thought of work seemed insipid and
+useless. The whole majestic beauty of the scene, her sudden coming
+into a great deal of money, did not add to her happiness. She would
+gladly give it all up to be again with her loves of yesterday. But
+that could not be! The future lay in a hard, straight line before her.
+She was striving against a ceaseless, resisting force,--the force of
+her whole passionate nature.
+
+With their usual reluctance, the things of night at length crept
+forth. Jinnie felt some of them as they touched her hands, her face,
+and moved on. One of the countless birds fluttered low, as if
+frightened at the advancing dark, brushed her cheek, then winged on
+and up and was lost in the tree above her. Somewhere deep in the gloom
+shrouding the little graveyard came the ghostly flutter of an owl.
+
+Jinnie was flat on her back, and how long she lay thus she could never
+afterward remember, but it was until the stars appeared and the moon
+formed queer fantastic pictures, like frost upon a window pane. In
+solemn review passed the days,--from that awful night when she had
+left her father dead upon the floor in the house nearby to the present
+moment. She glanced at the windows. They looked back at her like
+square, darkening eyes.
+
+She wondered dully how that wee star away off there could blink so
+peacefully in its nightly course when just below it beat a heart that
+hurt like hers. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again,
+long black fingers were drawing dark pictures across the sky. A drop
+of rain fell upon her face, but still she did not move. Then, like
+rows of soldiers, the low clouds drew slowly together, and the stars
+softly wept themselves out.
+
+Suddenly, from the other side of the lake, the thunder rolled up, and
+with the distant boom came the thought of Lafe's infinite faith, and
+the memory fell upon Jinnie like a benediction from God's dark sky.
+
+She arose from the grass, took the fiddle box and bag, and walked to
+the porch. She went in through the broken door. It was dark, too dark
+to see much, and from the leather case she took a box of matches and a
+candle. Memories crowded down upon her thick and fast. In the kitchen,
+which was bare, she could mark the place where Matty used to sit and
+where her own chair had been.
+
+The long stairs that led from the basement to the upper floor yawned
+black in the gloom. Candle and fiddle in hand, Jinnie mounted them and
+halted before the unopened door. Somehow it seemed as if she would
+find before the grate the long, thin body of her dead father, and she
+distinctly remembered the spindle fire-flames falling in golden yellow
+licks upon his face. In her imagination she could again see the
+flake-like ashes, thrown out from the smoldering fire, rise grey to
+the ceiling, then descend silently over him like a pale shroud.
+
+After this hesitation, she slowly turned the handle of the door and
+walked in. The only things remaining in the room were a broken table
+and chair. She placed the violin on the floor and the candle on the
+table. Then with a shudder Jinnie drew from her blouse an unopened
+letter, studying it long in the flickering light. It had been written
+in this very room three years before, and within its sealed pages lay
+the whole secret which now none but the dead knew.
+
+It took no effort on her part to bring back to her memory Jordan
+Morse's handsome face and his rock-grey eyes, eyes like Bobbie's. He
+and Bobbie had gone away together. She touched the corner of the
+envelope to the candle, watching it roll over in a brown curl as it
+burned.
+
+"He's happy now," she murmured. "He's got his baby and Lafe's
+angels."
+
+Then she gathered up the handful of ashes, opened the window, and
+threw them out. The hands of the night wind snatched them as they fell
+and carried them swiftly away through the rain.
+
+On her way to the attic stairs, she stood a minute before the window,
+awe-stricken. From the north the great storm was advancing, and from
+among the hills rolled the distant roar of thunder. It brought to her
+mind the night when Peggy had gone into the life-valley and brought
+back Lafe's baby; and she remembered, too, with a sob, Blind Bobbie,
+and how she missed him. Ah, it was a lonely, haunted little spirit
+that crept up the dark narrow stairs to the garret!
+
+Only that the room seemed lower and more stuffy, it, too, was much the
+same as she had left it. She brushed aside some silvery cobwebs,
+raised the window, and sat down on a dilapidated trunk. On the floor
+at her feet, almost covered with dust, was the old fairy book about
+the famous kings. She picked it up mechanically. On the first page was
+the man in the red suit, with the overhanging nose and fat body,--he
+whom she at one time believed to be related to Theodore.
+
+Again she was overwhelmed with her misery. Theodore belonged to
+another woman, and Jinnie, alone with her past and an uncertain
+future, sat staring dry-eyed into the stormy night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+"GOD MADE YOU MINE"
+
+
+"I haven't seen any papers for three days, Molly. What's become of
+them all?"
+
+Theodore and Molly were sitting in the waning sunshine, the
+many-colored autumn leaves drifting silently past them to form a
+varied carpet over the grass.
+
+All fear had now left the woman. She had Jinnie's promise not to see
+Theodore, and he had apparently forgotten there ever was such a girl
+in the world.
+
+"I'd really like to see the papers," repeated Theodore. "Dear me, how
+glad I am to be so well!"
+
+"We're all glad," whispered Molly, with bright eyes.
+
+She had kept the papers from him purposely, playfully pretending she
+would rather give him an account of the court proceedings. When she
+described how another man had confessed to the shooting, Theodore felt
+a glad thrill that the cobbler was exonerated. Later Molly decided she
+would tell him about Morse, but never that she had married him. It was
+she who suggested, after a time of silence:
+
+"Theodore, don't you think a little trip would do us all good? Your
+mother's been so worried over you----"
+
+"Where would we go?" he asked, without interest.
+
+"Anywhere to get away from Bellaire for a season."
+
+"We might consider it," he replied reluctantly. Then he fell to
+thinking of a blue-eyed girl, of the letter,--that puzzling letter
+she had sent him. When he could bear his thoughts no longer, he got up
+and walked away under the trees, and Molly allowed him to go. She
+watched him strolling slowly, and was happy. He had been so sweet, so
+kindly, almost thrilling to her of late. She would make him love her.
+It would be but a matter of a few weeks if she could get him away from
+Bellaire. Just at that moment Mrs. King's bell rang, and she went into
+the house. When she came back, Theodore was sitting on the veranda
+reading a letter, with another one unopened on his knee. The sight of
+his white face brought an exclamation from her lips.
+
+"Theodore!" she cried.
+
+He reminded her she was standing by saying:
+
+"Sit down!"
+
+This she was glad to do, for her knees trembled. Her eyes caught the
+handwriting on the unopened letter, resting like a white menace on
+Theodore's lap. She saw her own name upon it, but dared not, nor had
+she the strength, to ask for it.
+
+At length, with a long breath, Theodore looked at her steadily.
+
+"This letter is for you," he said, picking up her own. "Open it and
+then--give it to me."
+
+Never had she heard such tones in his voice, nor had she ever been so
+thoroughly frightened. Mechanically she took the letter, tore open the
+flap, and read the contents:
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"DEAR MISS MERRIWEATHER:
+
+"After you left the shop, I decided to do as you wanted me to. I shall
+go back to Mottville, and afterwards Peggy and Lafe will come to me.
+I'll keep my promise and won't see Theodore. I hope you will make him
+happy.
+
+                                                    JINNIE GRANDOKEN."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Molly crushed the paper between her fingers.
+
+"Don't do that," commanded Theodore sharply. "Give it to me."
+
+"It's mine," murmured Molly, lacking breath to speak aloud.
+
+"Give it to me!" thundered Theodore.
+
+And because she dared not disobey, she slowly extended the letter.
+
+With deliberation the man spread out the crumpled page and read it
+through slowly. Then once more he took up his own letter and perused
+it.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"DEAR MR. KING:
+
+"I'm going back to my home in the hills to-morrow. I'm so glad you're
+better. I thank you for all you've done for Lafe and Peggy, and hope
+you'll always be happy. For what you did for me I can't thank you
+enough, but as soon as I get my money, I'll send back all you've
+advanced for my lessons and other things. I'm praying all the time for
+you.
+
+                                         "JINNIE GRANDOKEN SINGLETON."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sudden tears almost blotted the signature from Theodore's vision.
+
+On the spur of the moment he picked up both letters and thrust them
+into his pocket.
+
+"Come upstairs with me," he ordered the woman staring at him with
+frozen features.
+
+Molly followed him as in a dream, preceding him when he stepped aside
+to allow her to enter the little sitting-room, where of late she had
+passed so many pleasant hours. Then as he closed the door, he whirled
+upon her.
+
+"Now I want the meaning of those letters. Have you seen Miss
+Grandoken?"
+
+"Yes!" She could say no more.
+
+"When?"
+
+"Yesterday."
+
+"There's something I don't know. Ah! That's why you kept the papers
+from me." Quickly he turned to the bell.
+
+"Theodore!" gasped Molly. "Wait! Wait! Don't--don't ring! I'll tell
+you; I will!"
+
+He pressed the bell button savagely.
+
+"I wouldn't believe you under oath," he muttered.
+
+"I want all this week's papers, and I want 'em quick!" he snapped at
+the servant. "Every one! Last night's too!"
+
+He walked to the window, but turned again as a knock came upon the
+door.
+
+"I can't find the papers, sir," excused the maid.
+
+"Wait!" Theodore closed the door, exclaiming in white heat, "Molly,
+where are those papers?"
+
+"In my room," replied Molly sulkily.
+
+Mr. King gave the order, and again they were behind closed doors.
+Molly made a sorry picture of shame when Theodore looked at her.
+
+"I'll get to the bottom of this if it kills me," he said wearily.
+
+"Theo, Theo, don't read the papers!" she gasped. Then she fell forward
+at his feet. "I love you, dear; I love you."
+
+"You've lost your mind, Molly," he said harshly. "You're mad,
+completely mad."
+
+"No, I'm not. Listen, Theodore, I'm here at your feet, miserable,
+unhappy; I want to be forgiven----"
+
+"Then tell me what you did to Jinnie Grandoken."
+
+"I can't! I can't!"
+
+When another knock sounded on the door, Theodore opened it and took
+the papers through the smallest imaginable crack. Molly crawled to a
+chair and leaned her head upon the seat. Without a word, Theodore sat
+down and began to turn the pages of the papers nervously. As he read
+both accounts of Lafe's trial, bitter ejaculations fell from his lips.
+The story of Bobbie's dramatic death and Morse's suicide brought forth
+a groan. When he placed the papers slowly beside him on the floor,
+Molly raised her face, white and torn with grief.
+
+"Now you know it all, forgive me!"
+
+"Never, while I live!" he cried. "What ungodly wretchedness you've
+made that child suffer! And you were married all the time to Morse,
+and the mother of that poor little boy!"
+
+"Yes," sobbed Molly.
+
+Then a sudden thought took possession of him.
+
+"You and Morse made Jinnie write me that first letter."
+
+Molly nodded.
+
+"May God forgive you both!" he stammered, and whirled out of the
+room.
+
+An hour later, with new strength and purpose, Theodore threw a few
+clothes into a suitcase, ordered the fastest motor in the garage, and
+was standing on the porch when Molly came swiftly to him.
+
+"Theodore," she said, with twitching face, "if you go away now, you
+won't find me here when you get back."
+
+He glanced her over with curling lip.
+
+"As you please," he returned indifferently. "You've done enough damage
+as it is. If you've any heart, stay here with the only person in the
+world who has any faith in you."
+
+Vacantly the woman watched the motor glide away over the smooth white
+road, and then limply slid to the floor in a dead faint.
+
+All the distance from Bellaire to Mottville Theodore was tortured with
+doubt. He brought to mind Jinnie's girlish embarrassment when they had
+been together; the fluttering white lids as his kisses brought a blue
+flash from the speaking love-lit eyes. She had loved him then; did she
+now? Of course she must love him! She had brought to him the freshness
+of spring--the love of the mating birds among the blossoms--the
+passionate desire of a heaven-wrought soul for its own, to whom could
+be entrusted all that was his dearest and best. He would follow her
+and win her,--yea, _win_ the woman God had made for him and him alone,
+and into his eyes leapt the expression of the conquering male, the
+force God had created within him to reach for the woman sublime and
+cherish her.
+
+When the car entered Mottville, rain was falling and the wind was
+mourning ceaselessly.
+
+By inquiry, Theodore found the road to the Singleton farm, and again,
+as he impatiently sank back in the motor, he mentally vowed, with the
+vow of a strong man, that the girl should listen to him. He never
+realized, until they were climbing the rain-soaked hill, how starved
+was the very soul of him.
+
+The road was running with water, but they ploughed on, until through
+the trees the farmhouse loomed up darkly. Bennett stopped the car at
+the gate and Theodore jumped out. A light twinkling in the upper part
+of the house told him she was there. Harmonious echoes were sounding
+and resounding in his ears. They were notes from Jinnie's fiddle, and
+for a moment, as they sobbed out through the attic window, he leaned
+back against the wet fence, feeling almost faint. The wild, sweet,
+unearthly melody surged over him with memories of the past.
+
+Then he passed under the thrashing pines, mounted the broken steps,
+and entered the house.
+
+It took but a minute to find the stairs by which to reach her, and
+there he stood in the gloom of the attic door, watching the swaying
+young figure and noting the whole pitiful dejection of her. In the
+single little light her eyes were as blue as the wing of a royal bird,
+and oh, what suffering she must have gone through! Then Jinnie ceased
+playing, and, as if drawn by a presence she knew not of, she turned
+her eyes slowly toward the door, and when she saw him, she fell,
+huddled with her violin on the garret floor, staring upward with
+frightened eyes.
+
+"If you're there," she panted, "if--if--speak to me!"
+
+He bounded forward and gathered her up, and the light of an adoring
+love shone full upon him.
+
+"My sweet, my sweet, my beautiful, my little wonder-woman!" he
+breathed. "Did you think I could live without you?"
+
+She was leaning, half fainting, against his breast, like a wind-blown
+flower.
+
+"I've come for you," he said hoarsely. "Dearest, sweetest Jinnie!"
+
+She pressed backward, loyalty for another woman rising within her.
+
+"But Molly, Molly the Merry----" she breathed.
+
+Theodore shook his head.
+
+"I only know I love you, sweetheart, that I've come for you," and as
+his lips met hers, Jinnie clung to him, a very sweet young thing, and
+between those warm, passionate kisses she heard him murmur:
+
+"God made you mine, littlest love!"
+
+And so they went forth from the lonely farmhouse, with none but the
+cobbler's angels watching over them.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+<title>
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rose O' Paradise, by Grace Miller White.
+</title>
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    p                 {margin-top: 0.5em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 0.5em;}
+    body              {margin-left: 11%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    a                 {text-decoration: none;}
+    @media screen     {
+      hr.pb           {margin:30px 0; width:100%; border:none;border-top:thin dashed silver;}
+      .pagenum        {display: inline; font-size: x-small; text-align: right; position: absolute; right: 2%; padding: 1px 3px; font-style: normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; text-decoration: none; background-color: inherit; border:1px solid #eee;}
+      .pncolor        {color: silver;}
+    }
+    @media print      {
+      hr.pb           {border:none;page-break-after: always;}
+      .pagenum        { display:none; }
+    }
+    h3                {text-align:center; font-weight:normal; font-size:1.2em;}
+    .figcenter        {margin: 2em auto 2em auto; text-align: center;}
+    p.tp              {font-size:1em; margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em; text-align:center;}
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+    hr.tb             {border:none; margin-top: 2em;}
+    table             {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;}
+    h1                {text-align:center; font-weight:normal; font-size:1.6em;}
+    hr.major          {width: 65%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; clear:both;}
+    h2                {text-align:center; font-weight:normal; font-size:1.4em;}
+</style>
+
+</head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rose O'Paradise
+
+Author: Grace Miller White
+
+Release Date: March 31, 2009 [EBook #28462]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROSE O'PARADISE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr class='pb' />
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_1' id='linki_1'></a>
+<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 362px; height: 494px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 362px;'>
+VIRGINA LEFT THE FARMHOUSE, CARRYING HER FIDDLE AND THE PAIL OF CATS, AND THE BLIZZARD SWALLOWED HER UP.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<table style='margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border: black 2px solid;' summary="">
+  <tr><td>
+  <table style='width:22em; margin: 3px 3px; border: black 1px solid;' summary="">
+
+<tr><td>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:2em;margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:1.4em;'>Rose O&#8217;Paradise</p>
+<p class='tp' style=''>BY</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;margin-bottom:1em;'>GRACE MILLER WHITE</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:0.8em;'>AUTHOR OF</p>
+<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:4em;'>TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY, ETC.</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:0.8em;'>ILLUSTRATIONS BY</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:2em;'>W. J. SHETLINE</p>
+</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align='center'>
+<img alt='' src='images/illus-emb.png' />
+</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td>
+<p class='tp' style='margin-top:4em;'>NEW YORK</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;letter-spacing:0.2em;'>GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP</p>
+<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:1em;'>PUBLISHERS</p>
+</td></tr>
+
+  </table>
+  </td></tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:smaller;'>COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY<br />
+THE H. K. FLY COMPANY</p>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<p style='text-align:center;'>I lovingly dedicate this book<br />
+to<br />
+Rose and Will Scott</p>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+<table border='0' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'>
+<tr>
+  <td align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-size:small;'>CHAPTER</span></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td align='right'><span style='font-size:small;'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>I.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Father and Daughter&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_FATHER_AND_DAUGHTER'>9</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>II.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>A White Presence&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_A_WHITE_PRESENCE'>28</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>III.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie&#8217;s Farewell to Molly the Merry&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_JINNIES_FAREWELL_TO_MOLLY_THE_MERRY'>35</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie Travels&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_JINNIE_TRAVELS'>42</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>V.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Like Unto Like Attracted&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_LIKE_UNTO_LIKE_ATTRACTED'>49</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Peg&#8217;s Bark&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_PEGS_BARK'>57</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Just a Jew&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_JUST_A_JEW'>62</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;Every Hand Shall Do Its Share,&#8221; Quoth Peg.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_EVERY_HAND_SHALL_DO_ITS_SHARE_QUOTH_PEG'>70</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>By the Sweat of Her Brow&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_BY_THE_SWEAT_OF_HER_BROW'>79</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>X.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>On the Broad Bosom of the &#8220;Happy in Spite&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_ON_THE_BROAD_BOSOM_OF_THE_HAPPY_IN_SPITE'>83</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>What Happened to Jinnie&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_WHAT_HAPPENED_TO_JINNIE'>89</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Watching&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_WATCHING'>95</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>What Jinnie Found on the Hill&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_WHAT_JINNIE_FOUND_ON_THE_HILL'>98</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;He&#8217;s Come to Live With Us, Peggy&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_HES_COME_TO_LIVE_WITH_US_PEGGY'>105</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;Who Says the Kid Can&#8217;t Stay?&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_WHO_SAYS_THE_KID_CANT_STAY'>110</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie&#8217;s Ear Gets a Tweak&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI_JINNIES_EAR_GETS_A_TWEAK'>116</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie Discovers Her King&#8217;s Throne&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII_JINNIE_DISCOVERS_HER_KINGS_THRONE'>122</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Red Roses and Yellow&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII_RED_ROSES_AND_YELLOW'>129</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Little Fiddler&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX_THE_LITTLE_FIDDLER'>136</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Cobbler&#8217;s Secret&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XX_THE_COBBLERS_SECRET'>145</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Coming of the Angels&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI_THE_COMING_OF_THE_ANGELS'>152</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Molly&#8217;s Discovery&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII_MOLLYS_DISCOVERY'>163</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Nobody&#8217;s Cat&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII_NOBODYS_CAT'>171</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;He Might Even Marry Her&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV_HE_MIGHT_EVEN_MARRY_HER'>179</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>When Theodore Forgot&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV_WHEN_THEODORE_FORGOT'>185</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Molly Asks to Be Forgiven&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI_MOLLY_ASKS_TO_BE_FORGIVEN'>192</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;Haven&#8217;t You Any Soul?&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII_HAVENT_YOU_ANY_SOUL'>196</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie Decides Against Theodore&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII_JINNIE_DECIDES_AGAINST_THEODORE'>201</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Peg&#8217;s Visit&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX_PEGS_VISIT'>207</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>What the Fiddle Told Theodore&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX_WHAT_THE_FIDDLE_TOLD_THEODORE'>214</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>What Theodore Told His Friend&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI_WHAT_THEODORE_TOLD_HIS_FRIEND'>221</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jordan Morse&#8217;s Plan&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII_JORDAN_MORSES_PLAN'>227</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Murder&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII_THE_MURDER'>233</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Cobbler&#8217;s Arrest&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COBBLERS_ARREST'>240</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Alone in the Shop&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXV_ALONE_IN_THE_SHOP'>248</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie Explains the Death Chair to Bobbie&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVI_JINNIE_EXPLAINS_THE_DEATH_CHAIR_TO_BOBBIE'>253</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>What the Thunder Storm Brought&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVII_WHAT_THE_THUNDER_STORM_BROUGHT'>262</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>The Story of a Bird&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVIII_THE_STORY_OF_A_BIRD'>268</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXXIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie&#8217;s Visit to Theodore&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIX_JINNIES_VISIT_TO_THEODORE'>274</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XL.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>An Appeal to Jinnie&#8217;s Heart&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XL_AN_APPEAL_TO_JINNIES_HEART'>281</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Jinnie&#8217;s Plea&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLI_JINNIES_PLEA'>285</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Bobbie Takes a Trip&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLII_BOBBIE_TAKES_A_TRIP'>294</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Theodore Sends for Molly&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIII_THEODORE_SENDS_FOR_MOLLY'>299</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Molly Gives an Order to Jinnie&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIV_MOLLY_GIVES_AN_ORDER_TO_JINNIE'>304</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Writing a Letter to Theodore&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLV_WRITING_A_LETTER_TO_THEODORE'>309</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;Bust &#8217;Em Out&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVI_BUST_EM_OUT'>316</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Bobbie&#8217;s Stars Renew Their Shining&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVII_BOBBIES_STARS_RENEW_THEIR_SHINING'>327</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>For Bobbie&#8217;s Sake&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVIII_FOR_BOBBIES_SAKE'>334</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XLIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>Back Home&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIX_BACK_HOME'>341</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>L.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'>&#8220;God Made You Mine&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_L_GOD_MADE_YOU_MINE'>346</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<table border='0' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Illustrations' style='margin:1em 4em;'>
+<col style='width:80%;' />
+<col style='width:20%;' />
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>Virgina left the farmhouse, carrying her fiddle and the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_1'><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>&#8220;I guess they won&#8217;t eat much, because Milly Ann catches all kind of live things. I don&#8217;t like her to do that, but I heard she was born that way and can&#8217;t help it.&#8221;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_2'>56</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t feel so glad nor look as if you was goin&#8217; to tumble over. It ain&#8217;t no credit to anyone them curtains was on the shelf waitin&#8217; to be cut up in a dress for you to fiddle in.&#8221;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_3'>136</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>&#8220;Play for me,&#8221; Theodore said. &#8220;Stand by that big tree so I can look at you.&#8221;</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_4'>216</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_9' name='page_9'></a>9</span></div>
+<h1>ROSE O&#8217; PARADISE</h1>
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='CHAPTER_I_FATHER_AND_DAUGHTER' id='CHAPTER_I_FATHER_AND_DAUGHTER'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+<h3>FATHER AND DAUGHTER</h3>
+</div>
+<p>On a hill, reared back from a northern lake, stood a
+weather-beaten farmhouse, creaking in a heavy winter
+blizzard. It was an old-fashioned, many-pillared structure.
+The earmarks of hard winters and the fierce suns
+of summer were upon it. From the main road it was
+scarcely discernible, settled, as it was, behind a row of
+pine trees, which in the night wind beat and tossed
+mournfully.</p>
+<p>In the front room, which faced the porch, sat a man,&mdash;a
+tall, thin man, with straight, long jaws, and heavy overhanging
+brows. With moody eyes he was staring into the
+grate fire, a fearful expression upon his face.</p>
+<p>He straightened his shoulders, got up, and paced the
+floor back and forth, stopping now and then to listen
+expectantly. Then again he seated himself to wait. Several
+times, passionately insistent, he shook his head, and it
+was as if the refusal were being made to an invisible presence.
+Suddenly he lifted his face as the sound of a weird,
+wild wail was borne to him, mingling with the elf-like moaning
+of the wind. He leaned forward slightly, listening intently.
+From somewhere above him pleading notes from
+a violin were making the night even more mournful. A
+change came over the thin face.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10' name='page_10'></a>10</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;My God!&#8221; he exclaimed aloud. &#8220;Who&#8217;s playing like
+that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He crossed the room and jerked the bell-rope roughly.
+In a few moments the head of a middle-aged colored woman
+appeared at the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you tell my daughter I wanted to see her?&#8221; questioned
+the man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, sah, I didn&#8217;t. When you got here she wasn&#8217;t in.
+Then she slid to the garret afore I saw &#8217;er. Now she&#8217;s got
+to finish her fiddlin&#8217; afore I tell &#8217;er you&#8217;re here. I never
+bother Miss Jinnie when she&#8217;s fiddlin&#8217;, sah.&#8221; The old
+woman bowed obsequiously, as if pleading pardon.</p>
+<p>The man made a threatening gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go immediately and send her to me,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>For perhaps twenty minutes he sat there, his ears straining
+to catch, through the whistling wind, the sounds of
+that wild, unearthly tune,&mdash;a tune different from any he
+had ever heard. Then at length it stopped, and he sank
+back into his chair.</p>
+<p>He turned expectantly toward the door. Footsteps,
+bounding with life, with strength, were bearing down upon
+him. Suddenly a girl&#8217;s face,&mdash;a rosy, lovely face,&mdash;with
+rapturous eyes, was turned up to his. At the sight of
+her stern father, the girl stopped, bringing her feet together
+at the heels, and bowed. Then they two,&mdash;Thomas
+Singleton the second and Virginia, his daughter,&mdash;looked
+at each other squarely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah, come in!&#8221; said the man. &#8220;I want to talk with you.
+I believe you&#8217;re called Virginia.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sir; Jinnie, for short, sir,&#8221; answered the girl, with
+a slight inclination of her head.</p>
+<p>Awkwardly, and with almost an embarrassed manner, she
+walked in front of the grate to the chair pointed out to
+her. The man glanced sharply at the strongly-knit young
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span>
+figure, vibrant with that vital thing called &#8220;life.&#8221; He
+sighed and dropped back limply. There followed a lengthy
+silence, until at last Thomas Singleton shifted his feet and
+spoke slowly, with a grim setting of his teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I have much to say to you. Sit back farther in your
+chair and don&#8217;t stare at me so.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His tones were fretful, like those of a man sick of living,
+yet trying to live. He dropped his chin into the palm of
+his hand and lapsed into a meditative gloom.</p>
+<p>Virginia leaned back, but only in this did she obey, for
+her eyes were still centered on the man in silent attention.
+She had little awe of him within her buoyant young soul,
+but much curiosity lay under the level, penetrating glance
+she bent upon her father. Here was a man who, according
+to all the human laws of which Virginia had ever heard,
+belonged to her, and to her alone. There were no other
+children and no mother. Yet so little did she know of
+him that she wouldn&#8217;t have recognized him had she met
+him in the road. Singleton&#8217;s uneasy glance, seeking the
+yellow, licking flames in the grate, crossed hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told you not to stare at me so, child!&#8221; he repeated.</p>
+<p>This time the violet eyes wavered just for an instant,
+then fastened their gaze once more upon the speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t remember how you look,&#8221; she stammered, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;d like to know. I can&#8217;t tell if I don&#8217;t look, can I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her grave words, and possibly the steady, piercing gaze,
+brought a twitch to the father&#8217;s lips. Surely his child had
+spoken the truth. He himself had almost forgotten he had
+a girl; that she was the only living creature who had a
+call upon the slender thread of his life. Had he lived
+differently, the girl in front of him would have been
+watching him for some other reason than curiosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m looking at you, sir,&#8221; she explained.
+&#8220;If any one on the hills&#8217;d say, &#8216;How&#8217;s your father looking,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span>
+Jinnie?&#8217; if I hadn&#8217;t looked at you sharp, sir, how&#8217;d I
+know?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She sighed as her eyes roved the length of the man once
+more. The ashes in the grate were no grayer than his
+face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re awful thin and white,&#8221; she observed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sick,&#8221; replied Singleton in excuse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;m sorry!&#8221; answered Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re quite grown up now,&#8221; remarked the man presently,
+with a meditative air.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, sir!&#8221; she agreed. &#8220;I&#8217;m a woman now. I&#8217;m
+fifteen years old.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see! Well, well, you <i>are</i> quite grown up! I heard
+you playing just now. Where did you ever learn such
+music?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie placed her hand on her heart. &#8220;I got it out
+of here, sir,&#8221; she replied simply.</p>
+<p>Involuntarily Singleton straightened his rounded shoulders,
+and a smile touched the corners of his mouth. Even
+his own desperate condition for the moment was erased
+from his mind in the pride he felt in his daughter. Then
+over him swept a great regret. He had missed more than
+he had gained in his travels abroad, in not living with
+and for the little creature before him.</p>
+<p>Her eyes were filled with contemplation; then the lovely
+face, in its exquisite purity, saddened for a moment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matty isn&#8217;t going to take me across her knee never
+any more,&#8221; she vouchsafed, a smile breaking like a ray of
+sunshine.</p>
+<p>The blouse slipped away from her slender throat, and
+she made a picture, vivid and beautiful. The fatherhood
+within Thomas Singleton bounded in appreciation as he
+contemplated his daughter for a short space, measuring
+accurately the worth within her. He caught the wonderful
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span>
+appeal in the violet eyes, and wished to live. God,
+how he wanted to live! He would! He would! It meant
+gathering his supremest strength, to be put forth in
+efforts of mere existing. Something out of an unknown
+somewhere, brought to him through the stormy, wonderful
+music he had heard, made the longing to live so
+vehement that it hurt. Then the horror of Virginia&#8217;s
+words drifted through his tortured brain.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; he ejaculated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I&#8217;m fifteen,&#8221; explained the girl, &#8220;I get a woman&#8217;s
+beating with a strap, you see. A while ago I got one
+that near killed me, but I never cried a tear. Matty was
+almost scared to death; she thought I was dead. Matty
+can lick hard, Matty can.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia sighed in recollection.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t mean to say the nigger whipped you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl shook her curly head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whipped me! No! Matty don&#8217;t whip; she just licks
+with all her muscle.... Matty&#8217;s muscle&#8217;s as strong as
+a tree limb.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Singleton bowed his head. It had never occurred
+to him in all those absent years that the child was being
+abused. How simply she had told her tale of suffering!</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;m fifteen now,&#8221; she repeated gladly, &#8220;so I stand
+up, spread my feet like this&#8221;&mdash;she rose and suited the
+action to the words&mdash;&#8220;and Matty lays her on damn hard,
+too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He covered his mouth with one thin hand, choked down
+a cough, and endeavored to change the subject.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And school? Have you been to school?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes!&#8221; assured the girl, sitting down again. &#8220;I
+went to school back in the hills. There were only five
+boys and me. There wasn&#8217;t any girls. I wish there had
+been.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You like girls, I imagine, then,&#8221; said her father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, sir! Yes, indeed, sir! I often walk five
+miles to play a while with one. None of the mothers
+around Mottville Corners&#8217;ll let their girls be with me.
+You see, this house has a bad name.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A deep crimson dyed the man&#8217;s ashen skin. He made
+as if to speak, but Jinnie went on.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Over in the Willow Creek settlement the kids are awful
+bad, but I get along with &#8217;em fine, because I love &#8217;em
+right out of being hellish.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was gazing straight into her father&#8217;s face in all
+sincerity, with no trace of embarrassment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know Mrs. Barker, the housekeeper you left me
+with?&#8221; she demanded a little later. &#8220;Well, she died when
+I was ten. Matty stayed, thinking every day you&#8217;d come
+home. I suppose mebbe I did grow up sort of cussed, and
+I suppose everybody thinks I&#8217;m bad because I&#8217;ve only a
+nigger to live with, and no mother, not&mdash;not even <i>you</i>.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Singleton partly smothered an oath which lengthened
+itself into a groan, looked long at the slim young figure,
+then at the piquant face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just lately I&#8217;ve been wanting some one of my own to
+love,&#8221; she pursued. &#8220;I only had Milly and her cats. Then
+the letter come saying you&#8217;d be here&mdash;and I&#8217;m very glad.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The smile lighting her face and playing with the dimples
+in her cheeks made Thomas Singleton feel as if Heaven&#8217;s
+breath had touched him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you care at all for me?&#8221; he asked gloomily.</p>
+<p>There had come over him a desire that this winsome
+girl,&mdash;winsome in spite of her crudity,&mdash;would say she
+did. Wonder, love, sympathy, were alive in her eyes.
+Jinnie nodded her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, sir!&#8221; she murmured. &#8220;Of course I love you!
+I couldn&#8217;t tell you how much.... I love&mdash;why, I even
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span>
+love Mose. Mose&#8217;s Matty&#8217;s man. He stole and et up all
+our chickens&mdash;but I love him just the same. I felt sorry
+about his killing the hens, because I loved them too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see,&#8221; sighed the father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now there&#8217;s Molly&mdash;I call her Molly the Merry&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s Molly the Merry?&#8221; interrupted Singleton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Old Merriweather&#8217;s daughter. She&#8217;s prettier than the
+summer roses, and they&#8217;re pretty, believe me. Her smiles&#8217;re
+warmer&#8217;n the sun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah, yes! I remember the Merriweathers. Is the old
+man still alive?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, yes, but he&#8217;s as good as dead, though. Ain&#8217;t
+walked in three years. And Matty&#8217;s man, Mose, told
+Matty, and Matty told me, he&#8217;s meaner&#8217;n forty damn
+devils.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you swear, too?&#8221; asked the father, breathing
+deeply.</p>
+<p>Virginia opened wide and wider two sparkling blue eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Swear, sir?&#8221; she protested. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t swear.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pardon me,&#8221; replied Singleton, laconically. &#8220;I thought
+I heard you say &#8216;damn&#8217; several times.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia&#8217;s smile showed two rows of white teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, so you did!&#8221; she laughed, rising. &#8220;But &#8216;damn&#8217;
+isn&#8217;t swearing. You ought to hear me really swear sometimes.
+Shall I show you how I&mdash;I can swear?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Singleton shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather you wouldn&#8217;t!... Sit down again,
+please.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man at intervals turned a pair of burning bright
+eyes upon her. They weren&#8217;t unlike her own eyes, only
+their expression puzzled Virginia.</p>
+<p>She could not understand the rapid changes in her
+father. He wasn&#8217;t the man she had mentally known all
+these years. But then, all she had had by which to visualize
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span>
+him was an old torn picture, turned face to the wall in
+the garret. He didn&#8217;t look at all like the painting&mdash;he
+was thinner, older, and instead of the tender expression
+on the handsome, boyish face, time had placed one of
+bitterness, anxiety, and dread. He sat, crouched forward,
+stirring the grate fire, seemingly lost in thought.
+Virginia remained quiet until he was ready to speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to die soon,&mdash;very soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was only natural that Virginia should show how his
+statement shocked her. She grew deathly white, and an
+expression of misery knit the lovely young face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How soon?&#8221; she shivered, drawing back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps to-night&mdash;perhaps not for weeks, but I must
+tell you something before then.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; agreed Virginia, &#8220;all right.... I&#8217;m
+here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t been a good father to you,&#8221; the man began
+after a pause, &#8220;and I&#8217;m not sure I could do better if I
+should stay on here with you. So I might as well go
+now as any time! Your mother would&#8217;ve done differently
+if she&#8217;d lived. You look some like her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry I don&#8217;t remember her,&#8221; remarked Virginia
+apologetically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She went away when you were too little even to know
+her. Then I left you, too, though I don&#8217;t suppose any
+one but her could have made you happy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;ve been happy!&#8221; Jinnie asserted. &#8220;Old Aunt
+Matty and the cats&#8217;re all I need around, and I always
+have my fiddle. I found it in the garret.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was easy to believe that she was telling the truth,
+for to all appearances she looked happy and healthy.
+However, Mr. Singleton&#8217;s eyes darkened and saddened
+under the words. Nothing, perhaps, had ever touched
+him so deeply.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no life for a girl of fifteen years to live with cats
+and niggers,&#8221; he muttered.</p>
+<p>One less firmly faithful to conscience would have acquiesced
+in this truthful statement; not so Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matty&#8217;s a good nigger!&#8221; she insisted, passionately.
+&#8220;She&#8217;d do anything she could for me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Seemingly the man was not impressed by this, for his
+strong jaws were set and unyielding upon the unlighted
+cigar clenched between his teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might as well tell you to-night as to-morrow,&#8221; he
+concluded, dropping the cigar on the table. &#8220;Your mother
+left you her money and property when she died.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it, sir, and it&#8217;s a lot, too! Matty told me
+about it one night along with &#8217;er ghost stories, sir....
+Ever heard Matty&#8217;s ghost stories, sir?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, but I didn&#8217;t bring you here to talk about Matty.
+And tell me, what makes you say &#8216;sir&#8217; to me all the time?&#8221;</p>
+<p>His impatient tone, his sharp, rasping voice, didn&#8217;t
+change Virginia&#8217;s respectful attitude. She only bent her
+head a trifle and replied:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anybody must always say &#8216;sir&#8217; to another body when
+she&#8217;s kind of half afraid of him, sir.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was composed for a moment, then went on:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t every day your father comes home, sir, and
+I&#8217;ve waited a long, long time. I&#8217;d be a hell of a kid if I
+couldn&#8217;t muster up a &#8216;sir&#8217; for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Singleton glanced sidewise at his young daughter, bending
+his brows together in a frown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a queer sort of a girl, but I suppose it&#8217;s to be
+expected when you&#8217;ve only lived with niggers.... Now
+will you remember something if I tell it to you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sir,&#8221; breathed Virginia, drawing back a little
+from his strong emotion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, this! Don&#8217;t ever say &#8216;sir&#8217; to any human being
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span>
+living! Don&#8217;t ever! Do you understand me? What I
+mean is, when you say &#8216;sir,&#8217; it&#8217;s as if you were&mdash;as if you
+were a servant or afraid&mdash;you make yourself menial. Can
+you remember, child?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sir,&mdash;yes, I&#8217;ll remember.... I <i>think</i> I&#8217;ll remember.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re going to accomplish anything in the world,
+don&#8217;t be afraid of any one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A dozen explanations, like so many birds, fluttered
+through Virginia&#8217;s mind. Before her rose her world of
+yesterday, and a sudden apology leapt to her lips. She
+turned on her father a wondering, sober glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never said &#8216;sir&#8217; or &#8216;ma&#8217;am&#8217; before in all my life&mdash;never!&#8221;
+she remarked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you&#8217;re afraid of me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A little,&#8221; she sighed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah, don&#8217;t be, child! I&#8217;m your father. Will you keep
+that in mind?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll try to; I will, sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Singleton shifted uneasily, as if in pain.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This money is coming to you when you&#8217;re eighteen
+years old,&#8221; explained Mr. Singleton. &#8220;My dying will throw
+you into an ocean of difficulties. I guess the only service
+I&#8217;ve ever done you has been to keep your Uncle Jordan
+from you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matty told me about him, too,&#8221; she offered. &#8220;He&#8217;s a
+damn bad duffer, isn&#8217;t he, mister?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and I&#8217;m going to ask you not to call me &#8216;mister,&#8217;
+either. Look here!... I&#8217;m your father! Can&#8217;t anything
+get that into your head?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I keep forgetting it,&#8221; answered the girl sadly. &#8220;And
+you&#8217;re so big and thin and different from any man I know.
+You look as weak as a&mdash;as a cat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She stretched forth her two strong legs, but sank back.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, your Uncle Jordan is bad,&#8221; proceeded Singleton,
+presently, &#8220;bad enough to want to get us both out of the
+way, and he wouldn&#8217;t find much of an obstacle in you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A clammy chill clutched at Virginia&#8217;s heart like tightening
+fingers. The import of his words burned deep
+within her. She got to her feet&mdash;but reseated herself at
+once at a wave of her father&#8217;s hand. The thought of
+death always had a sobering effect upon her&mdash;it filled her
+with longing, yet dread. The beautiful young mother,
+whose picture hung in the best room, and whose eyes followed
+her in every direction, was dead. Matty had told
+her many times just how her mother had gone, and how
+often the gentle spirit had returned to hover over the
+beloved young daughter. Now the memory of it was enhanced
+by the roar of the wind and the dismal moaning
+of the tall pines. Virginia firmly believed that her mother,
+among other unearthly visitants, walked in the night
+when the blizzard kept up its incessant beating. She also
+believed that the sound through the pines&mdash;that roaring,
+ever-changing, unhuman sound&mdash;was not of the wind&#8217;s
+making. It was voices,&mdash;spirit voices,&mdash;voices of the
+dead, of those who had gone down into the small cemetery
+beyond the road.</p>
+<p>Only the day before Matty had told her how, one night,
+a tall, wandering white thing had walked in silence across
+the fields to Jonathan Woggles&#8217; house. In the story,
+Jonathan&#8217;s grandpa was about to pass away. The glittering
+spirit stalked around and around the house, waiting
+for the old man&#8217;s soul. She was about to relate the tale
+when her father repeated:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your uncle is bad enough to want us out of the way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The shuddering chill again possessed her. She was torn
+between horror and eagerness&mdash;horror of what might be
+and eagerness to escape it.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;But he can&#8217;t get us out, can he?&#8221; she questioned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m afraid he can and will! Your Uncle Jordan
+is your mother&#8217;s stepbrother, no direct relation
+to you, but the only one left to look after you
+in the world but me. If you&#8217;ve any desire to live, you
+must leave here after I&#8217;ve gone, and that&#8217;s all there is
+to it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia then understood, for the first time, something
+of the danger menacing her. Her heart beat and pounded
+like an engine ploughing up hill. From sheer human desire
+of self-preservation, she partly rose from the chair,
+with the idea of immediate departure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I could go with Matty, couldn&#8217;t I?&#8221; she suggested.</p>
+<p>Mr. Singleton made a negative gesture with his head,
+flinging himself down again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Matty? Matty, the nigger? No, of course not.
+Matty is nothing to any one who hasn&#8217;t money, and you&#8217;ll
+have none to pay her, or any one else, after I&#8217;m gone.
+You must eat and live for three long years. Do you
+understand that?... Sit back in your chair and don&#8217;t
+fidget,&#8221; he concluded.</p>
+<p>The girl obeyed, and a silence fell between them. The
+thought of the wonderful white presence of which Matty
+had told her faded from her mind. Her heart lay stone-like
+below her tightening throat, for her former world
+and all the dear familiar things it held were to be
+dashed from her, as a rose jar is broken on a marble
+floor, by a single decision of the thin, tall father
+whom yesterday she had not known. She understood that
+if her uncle succeeded in his wicked plans, she, too, would
+join that small number of people, dead and buried, under
+the pines. Her father&#8217;s words brought the cemetery, with
+its broken cross and headstones, its low toolhouse, and the
+restless night spirits, closer than Matty, with her vivid,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span>
+ghastly tales, had ever done. In the past, Matty had
+stood between her and her fears; in the future, there
+would be only a stranger, her uncle, the man her father
+had just warned her against. At length Mr. Singleton
+coughed painfully, and spoke with evident effort.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The doctor told me not long ago I might die at any
+moment. That&#8217;s what made me escape&mdash;I mean, what
+drove me home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He rose and walked nervously up and down the room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The doctor made me think of you. I can&#8217;t live long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s awful bad,&#8221; answered the girl, sighing. &#8220;I
+wouldn&#8217;t know where to go if there wasn&#8217;t any Matty&mdash;or&mdash;you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her voice lowered on the last word, and she continued:
+&#8220;I wish I had my mother. Matty says mothers kiss their
+girls and make over &#8217;em like Milly Ann does with her kittens&mdash;do
+they? Some of &#8217;em?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The father glanced curiously into the small, earnest,
+uplifted face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t help being your girl,&#8221; pursued Virginia.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d have had another father if I could, one who&#8217;d &#8217;ve
+loved me. Matty says even fathers like their kids sometimes&mdash;a
+little.&#8221; She paused a minute, a wan, sweet smile
+passing over her lips. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve got Milly Ann and her
+kittens, and they&#8217;re soft and warm and wriggley.&#8221;</p>
+<p>What a strange child was this daughter of his! She
+spoke of cats as if they were babies; of loving as if it were
+universal. Each moment, in her presence, he realized
+more and more what he had missed in thus neglecting her.
+But he had hurried to Mottville from foreign lands to
+perform one duty, at least,&mdash;to save her, if possible. So
+he returned to his vital subject.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your Uncle Jordan&#8217;s coming, perhaps this week. He&#8217;s
+found out I&#8217;m here! That&#8217;s why you must go away.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Shall I&mdash;just go?&#8221; queried Virginia. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know
+of any special place&mdash;do you?&#8221; and she shivered again as
+the wind, in a fierce gust, blew out from the slumbering
+fire a wreath of smoke that encircled the room and hung
+grey-blue about the ceiling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I only know one man,&#8221; reflected Mr. Singleton, presently,
+&#8220;and you&#8217;ll have to find him yourself&mdash;after I&#8217;ve
+gone, of course; but if Jordan Morse should come, you&#8217;d
+have to go quickly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d go faster&#8217;n anything,&#8221; decided the girl, throwing
+up her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your mother&#8217;s father used to have a family in his
+tenement house on this place, and they were all very fond
+of her when she was a girl. One of the sons moved to
+Bellaire. He&#8217;s the only one left, and would help you, I
+know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe if you&#8217;d talk to my uncle&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; Virginia cut in.</p>
+<p>An emphatic negative gesture frightened her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know him,&#8221; said Singleton, biting his lips.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s nearer being a devil than any other human being.&#8221;
+It was a feeling of bitterness, of the deadly wrong done
+him, that forced him to sarcasm. &#8220;The great&mdash;the good
+Jordan Morse&mdash;bah!&#8221; he sneered. &#8220;If he&#8217;s &#8216;good,&#8217; so are
+fiends from perdition.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He sent the last words out between his teeth as if he
+loathed the idea expressed in them. If they brought a
+sombre red to the girl&#8217;s cheeks, it was not because she
+did not have sympathy with him.</p>
+<p>Sudden leaping flames of passion yellowed the man&#8217;s
+eyes, and he staggered up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;May God damn the best in him! May all he loves
+wither and blight! May black Heaven break his
+heart&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sprang forward and clutched him fiercely by the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span>
+arm. &#8220;Don&#8217;t! Don&#8217;t!&#8221; she implored. &#8220;That&#8217;s awful,
+awful!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Singleton sank back, brushing his foaming lips with the
+back of his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; he muttered, &#8220;he followed me abroad and did
+for me over there!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did for you?&#8221; Virginia repeated after him, parrot-like,
+gazing at him in a puzzled way as she sat down again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, me! If I&#8217;d had any sense, I might have known
+his game. In the state of his finances he&#8217;d no business to
+come over at all. But I didn&#8217;t know until he got there
+how evil he was. Oh, God! I wish I had&mdash;but I didn&#8217;t,
+and now my only work left is to send you somewhere&#8211;&#8211;Oh,
+why didn&#8217;t I know?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The deep sadness, the longing in his voice brought Virginia
+to her feet once more. She wanted to do something
+for the thin, sick man because she loved him&mdash;just that!
+Years of neglect had failed to kill in the young heart the
+cherished affection for her absent parent, and in some
+subtle way he now appealed to the mother within her, as
+all sick men do to all heart-women.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to help you if I could, father,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>The man, with a quick, spasmodic action, drew her to
+him. Never had he seen such a pair of eyes! They reminded
+him of Italian skies under which he had dreamed
+brave dreams&mdash;dreamed dreams which would ever be
+dreams. The end of them now was the grave.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Little girl! My little girl!&#8221; he murmured, caressing
+her shoulders. Then he caught himself sharply, crushing
+the sentiment from his voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hide yourself; change your name; do anything to
+keep from your uncle. When you&#8217;re old enough to handle
+your own affairs, you can come out of your hiding-place&mdash;do
+you understand me?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I think I do,&#8221; she said, tears gathering under her lids.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know of any one I could trust in this county.
+Jordan Morse would get &#8217;em all under his spell. That
+would be the last of you. For your mother&#8217;s sake&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+His lips quivered, but he went on with a masterful effort
+to choke down a sob,&mdash;&#8220;I may honestly say, for your own
+sake, I want you to live and do well.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was some strain in his passionate voice that
+stirred terrific emotion in the girl, awakening new, tumultuous
+impulses. It gave her a mad desire to do something,
+something for her father, something for herself. At that
+moment she loved him very much indeed and was ready to
+go to any length to help him. He had told her she must
+leave. Perhaps&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>Virginia glanced through the window into the darkness.
+Through the falling snow she could see a giant pine throw
+out appealing arms. They were like beckoning, sentient
+beings to the girl, who loved nature with all the passionate
+strength of her young being. Yet to-night they filled
+her with new wonder,&mdash;an awe she had never felt before.
+Despite her onrushing thoughts, she tried to calm her
+mind, to say with eager emphasis:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shall I run to-night&mdash;now?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, not to-night; don&#8217;t leave me yet. Sit down in
+the chair again; stay until I tell you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; murmured Virginia, walking away.</p>
+<p>The father watched the fire a few minutes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you a letter to Grandoken, Lafe Grandoken,&#8221;
+he said presently, looking up. &#8220;For your mother&#8217;s sake
+he&#8217;ll take you, and some day you can repay him. You
+see it&#8217;s this way: Your mother trusted your uncle more
+than she did me, or she&#8217;d never have given you into his
+care in case of my death. Well, he&#8217;s got me, and he&#8217;ll
+get you.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span></p>
+<p>With no thought of disobedience, Virginia slipped from
+the chair to her feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He won&#8217;t get me if I run now, will he?&#8221; she questioned
+breathlessly; &#8220;not if I go to&mdash;what&#8217;d you say his name
+was?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was all excitement, ready to do whatever she was
+bidden. Slowly, as she stood there, the tremendous suspense
+left her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why couldn&#8217;t we both go, you and me?&#8221; she entreated
+eagerly. &#8220;Let&#8217;s both go to-night. I&#8217;ll take care
+of you. I&#8217;ll see you don&#8217;t get wet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her glance met and held his for a few seconds. The
+vibrant voice thrilled and stirred the father as if he had
+been dead and suddenly slipped back to life again. A
+brave smile, tenderly sweet, broke over Virginia&#8217;s lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come,&#8221; she said, holding out her hands. &#8220;Come, I&#8217;ll
+get my fiddle and we&#8217;ll go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He was struck by the vehemence of her appeal. He
+allowed himself to listen for a moment&mdash;to overbalance
+all his preconceived plans, but just then his past life,
+Jordan Morse, his own near approaching end, sank into
+his mind, and the fire in his eyes went out. There was
+finality in the shake of his shoulders.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, no,&#8221; he murmured, sinking back. &#8220;It&#8217;s too late
+for me. I couldn&#8217;t earn money enough to feed a pup.
+I&#8217;m all to pieces&mdash;no more good to any one. No, you&#8217;ll
+have to go alone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221; The girl caught her breath in disappointment.
+She was crying softly and made no effort to
+wipe away her tears.</p>
+<p>The silent restraint was broken only by the ticking of
+the shadowy clock on the mantel and Virginia&#8217;s broken
+sobs. She stifled them back as her father spoke comfortingly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, well, there, don&#8217;t cry! If your mother&#8217;d lived,
+we&#8217;d all &#8217;ve been better.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish she had,&#8221; gasped the girl, making a dash at
+her eyes. &#8220;I wish she&#8217;d stayed so I&#8217;d &#8217;ve had her to love.
+Perhaps I&#8217;d &#8217;ve had you, too, then.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no telling,&#8221; answered Singleton, drawing up
+to his desk and beginning to write.</p>
+<p>Virginia watched the pen move over the white page for
+a space, her mind filled with mixed emotions. Then she
+turned her eyes from her father to the grate as a whirl
+of ashes and smoke came out.</p>
+<p>Matty&#8217;s story came back to her mind, and she glanced
+toward the window, but back to the fire quickly. The
+blizzard seemed to rage in sympathy with her own riotous
+thoughts. As another gust of wind rattled the casements
+and shook down showers of soot from the chimney,
+Virginia turned back to the writer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the ghosts of my mother&#8217;s folks that make that
+noise,&#8221; she confided gently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep quiet!&#8221; ordered Singleton, frowning.</p>
+<p>After the letters were finished and sealed, Mr. Singleton
+spoke. &#8220;There! I&#8217;ve done the best I can for you
+under the circumstances. Now on this,&#8221;&mdash;he held up a
+piece of paper&mdash;&#8220;I&#8217;ve written just how you&#8217;re to reach
+Grandoken&#8217;s in Bellaire. These letters you&#8217;re to give to
+him. This one let him open and read.&#8221; Mr. Singleton
+tapped a letter he held up. &#8220;In this one, I&#8217;ve written
+what your uncle did to me. Give it to Grandoken, telling
+him I said to let it remain sealed unless Jordan Morse
+claims you. If you reach eighteen safely, burn the letter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He paused and took out a pocketbook.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Money is scarce these days, but take this and it&#8217;ll get
+you to Grandoken&#8217;s. It&#8217;s all I have, anyway. Now go
+along to bed.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span></p>
+<p>He handed the envelopes to her, and his hand came in
+contact with hers. The very touch of it, the warmth and
+life surging through her, gave a keener edge to his misery.</p>
+<p>Virginia took the letters and money. She walked
+slowly to the door. At the threshold she halted, turning
+to her father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;May I take the cats with me?&#8221; she called back to him.</p>
+<p>She started to explain, but he cut her words off with a
+fierce ejaculation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hell, yes!&#8221; he snapped. &#8220;Damn the cats! Get out!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Once in the hall, Virginia stood and looked back upon
+the closed door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess he don&#8217;t need me to teach him swear words,&#8221;
+she told herself in a whisper.</p>
+<p>Then she went down to the kitchen, where Matty sat
+dreaming over a wood fire.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_II_A_WHITE_PRESENCE' id='CHAPTER_II_A_WHITE_PRESENCE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+<h3>A WHITE PRESENCE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;Does yer pa want me?&#8221; grunted Matty, lifting a
+tousled black head.</p>
+<p>Virginia made a gesture of negation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, he told me to get the hell out,&#8221; she answered. &#8220;So
+I got! He&#8217;s awful sick! I guess mebbe he&#8217;ll die!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Matty nodded meaningly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some folks might better &#8217;a&#8217; stayed to hum for the past
+ten years than be runnin&#8217; wild over the country like mad,&#8221;
+she observed.</p>
+<p>Virginia reached behind the stove and drew Milly Ann
+from her bed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Father&#8221;&mdash;Jinnie enjoyed using the word and spoke it
+lingeringly&mdash;&#8220;says he wishes he&#8217;d stayed here now. You
+know, my Uncle Jordan, Matty&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; She hesitated to
+confide in the negro woman what her father had told her.
+So she contented herself with:</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s coming here soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Matty rolled her eyes toward the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;se sorry for that, honey bunch.&#8221; Then, without explaining
+her words, asked: &#8220;Want me to finish about
+Jonathan Woggles&#8217; grandpa dyin&#8217;?&#8221;</p>
+<p>But Virginia&#8217;s mind was traveling in another channel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s Bellaire, Matty?&#8221; she demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Off south,&#8221; replied the woman, &#8220;right bearin&#8217; south.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;By train?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, the same&#8217;s walkin&#8217; or flying&#8217;,&#8221; confirmed Matty.
+&#8220;Jest the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you can finish the story now, Matty,&#8221; said Virginia
+presently.</p>
+<p>Matty settled back in her chair, closed her eyes, and
+began to hum.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How far&#8217;d I tell last night?&#8221; she queried, blinking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just to where the white thing was waiting for Grandpa
+Woggles&#8217; spirit,&#8221; explained Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yas. Well, round and round that house the white
+shadder swep&#8217;, keepin&#8217; time to the howlin&#8217; of other spirits
+in the pine trees&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But there aren&#8217;t any pine trees at Woggles&#8217;,&#8221; objected
+Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, they&#8217;d be pines if they wasn&#8217;t oaks,&#8221; assured
+Matty. &#8220;Oaks or pines, the spirits live in &#8217;em jest the
+same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I &#8217;spose so,&#8221; agreed Virginia. &#8220;Go on!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; round and round he went, meltin&#8217; the snow with
+his hot feet,&#8221; mused Matty, sniffing the air. &#8220;And in the
+house Betty Woggles set beside the old man, holdin&#8217; his
+hand, askin&#8217; him to promise he wouldn&#8217;t die.... Hum!
+As if a human bein&#8217; could keep from the stalkin&#8217; whiteness
+beckonin&#8217; from the graveyard. &#8217;Tain&#8217;t in human power.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t anybody keep death away, Matty?&#8221; inquired
+Virginia, an expression of awe clouding her eyes.</p>
+<p>She was thinking of the man upstairs whom she but
+twice had called &#8220;father.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nope, not after the warnin&#8217; comes to him. Now
+Grandad Woggles had that warnin&#8217; as much as three days
+afore the angel clim&#8217; the fence and flopped about his
+house. But don&#8217;t keep breakin&#8217; in on me, little missy,
+&#8217;cause I cain&#8217;t finish if ye do, and I&#8217;se jest reachin&#8217; the
+thrillin&#8217; part.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, then hurry,&#8221; urged Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, as I was sayin&#8217;, Betty set by the ole man, starin&#8217;
+into his yeller face; &#8217;twas as yeller as Milly Ann&#8217;s back,
+his face was.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some yeller,&#8221; murmured Virginia, fondling Milly Ann.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure! Everybody dyin&#8217; gets yeller,&#8221; informed Matty.</p>
+<p>Virginia thought again of the sick man upstairs. His
+face was white, not yellow, and her heart bounded with
+great hope. He might live yet a little while. Yes, he
+surely would! Matty was an authority when she told of
+the dead and dying, of the spirits which filled the pine
+trees, and it seldom occurred to Virginia to doubt the black
+woman&#8217;s knowledge. She wanted her father to live! Life
+seemed so dizzily upset with no Matty, with no Milly Ann,
+and no&mdash;father, somewhere in the world. Matty&#8217;s next
+words, spoken in a sepulchral whisper, bore down on her
+with emphasis.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then what do ye think, honey bunch?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know!&#8221; Virginia leaned forward expectantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jest as Betty was hangin&#8217; fast onto her grandpa&#8217;s
+spirit, another ghost, some spots of black on him, come
+right longside the white one, wavin&#8217; his hands&#8217;s if he
+was goin&#8217; to fly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia sat up very straight. Two spirits on the scene
+of Grandpa Woggles&#8217; passing made the story more interesting,
+more thrilling. Her sparkling eyes gave a new
+impetus to the colored woman&#8217;s wagging tongue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The white spirit, he sez, &#8216;What <i>you</i> hangin&#8217; round here
+fer?&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Matty rolled her eyes upward. &#8220;This he sez to the
+black one, mind you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia nodded comprehendingly, keeping her eyes
+glued on the shining dark face in front of her. She always
+dreaded, during the exciting parts of Matty&#8217;s nightly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span>
+stories, to see, by chance, the garden, with its trees and
+the white, silent graveyard beyond. And, although she
+had no fear of tangible things, she seldom looked out of
+doors when Matty crooned over her ghost stories.</p>
+<p>Just then a bell pealed through the house.</p>
+<p>Matty rose heavily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s yer pa,&#8221; she grumbled. &#8220;I&#8217;ll finish when I git
+back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Through the door the woman hobbled, while Virginia
+bent over Milly Ann, stroking her softly with a new expression
+of gravity on the young face. Many a day, in
+fancy, she had dreamed of her father&#8217;s homecoming. He
+was very different than her dreams. Still she hoped the
+doctor might have made a mistake about his dying. A
+smile came to the corners of her mouth, touched the
+dimples in her cheek, but did not wipe the tragedy from
+her eyes. She was planning how tenderly she would care
+for him, how cheerful he&#8217;d be when she played her fiddle
+for him.</p>
+<p>She heard Matty groping up the stairs&mdash;heard her pass
+down the hall and open the door. Then suddenly she
+caught the sound of hurried steps and the woman coming
+down again. Matty had crawled up, but was almost falling
+down in her frantic haste to reach the kitchen. Something
+unusual had happened. Virginia shoved Milly Ann
+to the floor and stood up. Matty&#8217;s appearance, with
+chattering teeth and bulging eyes, brought Jinnie forward
+a few steps.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s daid! Yer pa&#8217;s daid!&#8221; shivered Matty. &#8220;And
+the house is full of spirits. They&#8217;re standin&#8217; grinnin&#8217; in
+the corners. I&#8217;m goin&#8217; hum now, little missy. I&#8217;m goin&#8217;
+to my ole man. You&#8217;d better come along fer to-night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie heard the moaning call of the pine trees as the
+winter&#8217;s voice swept through them,&mdash;the familiar sound
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span>
+she loved, yet at which she trembled. Confused thoughts
+rolled through her mind; her father&#8217;s fear for her; his
+desire that she should seek another home. She could not
+stay in Mottville Corners; she could not go with Matty.
+No, of course not! Yet her throat filled with longing
+sobs, for the old colored woman had been with her many
+years.</p>
+<p>By this time Matty had tied on her scarf, opened the
+door, and as Virginia saw her disappear, she sank limply
+to the floor. Milly Ann rubbed her yellow back against
+her young mistress&#8217;s dress. Virginia caught her in her
+arms and drew her close.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kitty, kitty,&#8221; she sobbed, &#8220;I&#8217;ve got to go! He said
+I could take you and your babies, and I will, I will! I
+won&#8217;t leave you here with the spirits.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She rose unsteadily to her feet and went to the cupboard,
+where she found a large pail. Into this she folded
+a roller towel. She then lifted the kittens from the box
+behind the stove and placed them in the pail, first pressing
+her lips lovingly to each warm, wriggley little body.
+Milly Ann cuddled contentedly with her offspring as the
+girl covered them up.</p>
+<p>Jinnie had suddenly grown older, for a responsibility
+rested upon her which no one else could assume.</p>
+<p>To go forth into the blizzard meant she must wrap up
+warmly. This she did. Then she wrapped a small brown
+fiddle in her jacket, took the pail and went to the door.
+There she stood, considering a moment, with her hand on
+the knob. With no further hesitancy she placed the kittens
+and fiddle gently on the floor, and went to the stairs.
+The thought of the spirits made her shiver. She saw
+long shadows making lines here and there, and had no
+doubt but that these were the ghosts Matty had seen.
+She closed her eyes tightly and began to ascend the stairs,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span>
+feeling her way along the wall. At the top she opened
+reluctant lids. The library door stood ajar as Matty
+had left it, and the room appeared quite the same as it
+had a few moments before, save for the long figure of a
+man lying full length before the grate. That eternal
+period, that awful stop which puts a check on human
+lives, had settled once and for all the earthly concerns
+of her father. The space between her and the body
+seemed peopled with spectral beings, which moved to and
+fro in the dimly lit room. Her father lay on his back,
+the flames from the fire making weird red and yellow twisting
+streaks on his white, upturned face.</p>
+<p>The taut muscles grew limp in the girl&#8217;s body as she
+staggered forward and stood contemplating the wide-open,
+staring eyes. Then with a long sigh breathed between
+quivering lips, she dropped beside the lifeless man.
+The deadly forces eddying around her were not of her
+own making. With the going of this person, who was
+her father by nature, everything else had gone too. All
+her life&#8217;s hopes had been dissolved in the crucible of death.
+She lay, with her hands to her mouth, pressing back the
+great sobs that came from the depths of her heart. She
+reached out and tentatively touched her father&#8217;s cheek;
+without fear she moved his head a little to what she hoped
+would be a more comfortable position.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You told me to go,&#8221; she whispered brokenly, &#8220;and I&#8217;m
+going now. You never liked me much, but I guess one of
+my kisses won&#8217;t hurt you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Saying this, Jinnie pressed her lips twice to those of
+her dead father, and got to her feet quickly. She dared
+not leave the lamp burning, so within a short distance of
+the table she drew a long breath and blew toward the
+smoking light. The flame flared thrice like a torch, then
+spat out, leaving the shivering girl to feel her way around
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span>
+the room. To the sensitive young soul the dark was almost
+maddening. She only wanted to get back to Milly Ann,
+and she closed the door with no thought for what might
+become of the man inside. He was dead! A greater
+danger menaced her. He had warned her and she would
+heed. As she stumbled down the stairs, her memories came
+too swiftly to be precise and in order, and the weird moans
+of the night wind drifted intermittently through the wild
+maze of her thoughts. She would say good-bye to Molly
+the Merry, for Molly was the only person in all the
+country round who had ever spoken a kindly word to her.
+Their acquaintance had been slight, because Molly lived
+quite a distance away and the woman had never been to
+see her, but then of course no one in the neighborhood
+approved of the house of Singleton.</p>
+<p>Later by five minutes, Virginia left the dark farmhouse,
+carrying her fiddle and the pail of cats, and the blizzard
+swallowed her up.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_III_JINNIES_FAREWELL_TO_MOLLY_THE_MERRY' id='CHAPTER_III_JINNIES_FAREWELL_TO_MOLLY_THE_MERRY'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE&#8217;S FAREWELL TO MOLLY THE MERRY</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Virginia turned into the Merriweather gate, went up
+the small path to the kitchen, and rapped on the door.
+There was no response, so she turned the handle and
+stepped into the room. It was warm and comfortable. A
+teakettle, singing on the back of the stove, threw out little
+jets of steam. Jinnie placed the pail on the floor and
+seated herself in a low chair with her fiddle on her lap.
+Molly would be back in a minute, she was sure. Just as
+she was wondering where the woman could be, she heard
+the sound of voices from the inner room. A swift sensation
+of coming evil swept over her, and without taking
+thought of consequences, she slipped under the kitchen
+table, drawing the pail after her. The long fringe from
+the red cloth hung down about her in small, even tassels.
+The dining room door opened and she tried to stifle her
+swiftly coming breaths. Virginia could see a pair of legs,
+man&#8217;s legs, and they weren&#8217;t country legs either. Following
+them were the light frillings of a woman&#8217;s skirts.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s warmer here,&#8221; said Miss Merriweather&#8217;s voice.</p>
+<p>Molly and the man took chairs. From her position Virginia
+could not see his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your father&#8217;s ill,&#8221; he said in a voice rich and deep.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Molly. &#8220;He&#8217;s been near death for a
+long time. We&#8217;ve had to give him the greatest care.
+That&#8217;s why I haven&#8217;t told him anything.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span></p>
+<p>The man bent over until Jinnie could see the point of
+his chin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see,&#8221; said he.... &#8220;Well, Molly, are you glad to
+have me back?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s face came plainly within Jinnie&#8217;s view. At his
+question the woman went paler. Then the man leaned
+over and tried to take one of her hands. But she drew it
+away again and locked her fingers together in her lap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aren&#8217;t you glad to see me back again?&#8221; he repeated.</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s startled eyes came upward to his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know&mdash;I can&#8217;t tell&mdash;I&#8217;m so surprised and&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And glad,&#8221; laughed the stranger in a deep, mesmeric
+voice. &#8220;Glad to have your husband back once more, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia&#8217;s start was followed quickly by an imploration
+from Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hush, hush, please don&#8217;t speak of it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I certainly shall speak of it; I certainly shall. I came
+here for no other reason than that. And who would speak
+of it if I didn&#8217;t?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly shivered. There was something about the man&#8217;s
+low, modulated tones that repelled Virginia. She tried in
+vain to see his face. She was sure that nowhere in the
+hills was there such a man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve been gone so long I thought you&#8217;d forgotten
+or&mdash;or were dead,&#8221; breathed Molly, covering her face with
+her hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not forgotten, but I wasn&#8217;t able to get back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You could have written me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man shrugged himself impatiently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I didn&#8217;t. Don&#8217;t rake up old things; please don&#8217;t.
+Molly, look at me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly uncovered a pair of unwilling eyes and centered
+them upon his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What makes you act so? Are you afraid?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I did not expect you back, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not it! Tell me what&#8217;s on your mind....
+Tell me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s white lids fell, her fingers clenched and unclenched.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t&mdash;I couldn&#8217;t write,&#8221; she whispered, &#8220;about the
+baby.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Baby!&#8221; The word burst out like a bomb. The man
+stood up. &#8220;Baby!&#8221; he repeated. &#8220;You mean my&mdash;our
+baby?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly swallowed and nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A little boy,&#8221; she said, in a low voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where is he?&#8221; demanded the man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please, please don&#8217;t ask me, I beg of you. I want to
+forget&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you can&#8217;t forget you&#8217;re married, that you&#8217;ve been
+the mother of a child and&mdash;and&mdash;that I&#8217;m its father.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s tears began to flow. Virginia had never seen
+a woman cry before in all her young life. It was a most
+distressing sight. Something within her leaped up and
+thundered at her brain. It ordered her to venture out
+and aid the pretty woman if she could. Jinnie was not
+an eavesdropper! She did not wish to hear any more.
+But fear kept her crouched in her awkward position.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I just want to forget if I can,&#8221; Molly sobbed. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t know where the baby is. That&#8217;s why I want to
+forget. I can&#8217;t find him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t find him? What do you mean by &#8216;can&#8217;t find
+him&#8217;?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly faced about squarely, suddenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve asked you not to talk about it. I&#8217;ve been terribly
+unhappy and so miserable.... It&#8217;s only lately
+I&#8217;ve begun to be at all reconciled.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nevertheless, I <i>will</i> hear,&#8221; snapped the man angrily.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span>
+&#8220;I <i>will</i> hear! Begin back from the letter you wrote me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Asking you to help me?&#8221; questioned the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, asking me to help you, if you want to be blunt.
+Molly, it won&#8217;t make you any happier to hatch up old
+scores. I tell you I&#8217;ve come to make amends&mdash;to take
+you&mdash;if you will&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I repeat, I can&#8217;t go with you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll leave that discussion until later. Begin back
+where I told you to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s face was very white, and her lids drooped wearily.
+Virginia wanted so much to help her! She made a
+little uneasy movement under the table, but Molly&#8217;s tragic
+voice was speaking again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My father&#8217;d kill me if he knew about it, so I never told
+him or any one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Including me,&#8221; cut in the man sarcastically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t care,&#8221; said Molly with asperity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you know I didn&#8217;t care? Did you tell me?
+Did you? Did I know?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I insist upon knowing now, this moment!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My father would have killed me&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well!&#8221; His voice rushed in upon her hesitancy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When I couldn&#8217;t stay home any longer, I went away
+to visit a cousin of my mother&#8217;s. At least, my father
+thought I&#8217;d gone there. I only stayed with Bertha a
+little while and father never knew the truth of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And then after that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know what to do with my baby. I was afraid
+people&#8217;d say I wasn&#8217;t married, and then father&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go on from the time you left your cousin&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly thought a minute and proceeded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I looked in all the papers to find some one who wanted
+a baby&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;So you gave him away? Well, that&#8217;s easy to overcome.
+You couldn&#8217;t give my baby away, you know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, no, indeed! I didn&#8217;t give him away.... I
+boarded him out and saved money to pay for him. I even
+took summer boarders. The woman who had him&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s long wait prompted the man once more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; he said again. &#8220;The woman what?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The woman began to love the baby very much, and
+she wasn&#8217;t very poor, and didn&#8217;t need the money. Lots
+of times I went with it to her, and she wouldn&#8217;t take it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A thought connected with her story made Molly bury
+her face in her hands. The man touched her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go on,&#8221; he said slowly. &#8220;Go on. And then?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then once when I went to her she said she was going
+to take the baby on a little visit to some relatives and
+would write me as soon as she got back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; encouraged the low voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She never wrote or came back. I couldn&#8217;t find where
+she&#8217;d gone, and father was terribly ill, and I&#8217;ve hoped and
+hoped&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How long since you last saw him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly considered a moment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A long time,&#8221; she sighed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How many years?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;One!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then he was almost seven years with the woman?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; breathed Molly, and they lapsed into silence.</p>
+<p>The man meditated a space and Jinnie heard a low,
+nervous cough come from his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Molly,&#8221; he said presently, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to have a lot
+of money soon. It won&#8217;t be long, and then we&#8217;ll find him
+and begin life all over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;d love to find him,&#8221; moaned Molly, &#8220;but I couldn&#8217;t
+begin over with you. It&#8217;s all hateful and horrible now.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span></p>
+<p>The man leaned over and touched her, not too tenderly.
+When Molly&#8217;s face was turned to him, he tilted her chin up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You care for some one else?&#8221; he said abruptly.</p>
+<p>The droop of the girl&#8217;s head was his answer. He stood
+up suddenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s it! That&#8217;s it! What&#8217;s his name?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A shake of her head was all the answer Molly gave him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I asked you his name. Get up! Stand up!&#8221;</p>
+<p>As if to force her to do his will, he took hold of her
+shoulders sharply and drew her upward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s his name?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s his name?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia did not catch Molly&#8217;s whisper.</p>
+<p>A disbelieving grunt fell from the stranger&#8217;s lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I remember him as a boy. Weren&#8217;t they one summer
+at the Mottville Hotel? He&#8217;s years younger than you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly gathered courage.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t know how old I am,&#8221; she responded, &#8220;and
+his mother loves me, too. They were with me three summers.&#8221;
+Then, remembering the man&#8217;s statement, she
+added, &#8220;Ages don&#8217;t count nowadays. And I <i>will</i> be happy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll get happiness with <i>me</i>, not with <i>him</i>,&#8221; said an
+angry voice. &#8220;Has he ever told you he loved you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, no, indeed not. But he was here to-day! His
+mother&#8217;s ill and wanted me to come as her companion, but
+I couldn&#8217;t leave father right now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does he know you love him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>An emphatic negative ejaculation from Molly brought
+a sigh of relief from the man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Forget him!&#8221; said he. &#8220;Now I&#8217;m going. I shall come
+back to-night, and <i>remember</i> this. I&#8217;ll leave no stone
+unturned to find that boy. I&#8217;ve always longed for one,
+and I&#8217;ll move Heaven and earth to find him.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span></p>
+<p>Virginia saw him whirl about, open the door, and stride
+out.</p>
+<p>Molly Merriweather stood for a few minutes in silence,
+trembling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t dare to tell him the baby was blind,&#8221; she
+whispered, too low for Jinnie to hear.</p>
+<p>Then she slowly glided away, leaving the girl under
+the table, with her pail full of cats, and the fiddle. Presently
+Virginia crawled out cautiously, the pail on her
+arm, and hugging her fiddle, she opened the door swiftly,
+and disappeared down the road, running under the tall
+trees.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_IV_JINNIE_TRAVELS' id='CHAPTER_IV_JINNIE_TRAVELS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE TRAVELS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Virginia took the direction leading to the station.
+Many a time she had watched the trains rush by on their
+way to New York, but never in those multitudinous yesterdays
+had it entered her mind that some day she would
+go over that same way, to be gone possibly forever. The
+wind was blowing at such a terrific rate that Jinnie could
+scarcely walk. There was no fear in her heart, only deep
+solemnity and a sense of awe at the magnificence of a
+storm. She had left the farmhouse so suddenly that the
+loneliness of parting had not then been forced upon her as
+it was now; the realization was settling slowly upon the
+clouded young mind.</p>
+<p>She was a mere puppet in the hands of an inexorable
+fate, which had shown her little mercy or benevolence.</p>
+<p>Out of sight of the Merriweather homestead, she kept
+to the path along the highway, now and then shifting the
+pail from one hand to the other, and clasping the beloved
+fiddle to her breast. Once she looked down to find Milly
+Ann peeping above the rim of the pail. Jinnie could see
+the glint of her greenish eyes. She stopped and, with a
+tenderly spoken admonition, covered her more closely with
+the roller towel. When the lighted station-house glimmered
+through the falling snow, Jinnie sighed with relief.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t &#8217;ve carried you and the fiddle much farther,
+Milly Ann,&#8221; she murmured.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span></p>
+<p>At that moment a tall figure, herculean in size, loomed
+out of the night and advanced hastily. The man&#8217;s head
+was bent forward against the storm. Virginia caught a
+glimpse of his face as he passed in the streak of light
+thrown out from the station.</p>
+<p>He sprang to the platform and disappeared in the
+doorway. Jinnie saw him plainly when she, too, entered,
+and her eyes followed him as he went out.</p>
+<p>She had never seen him before. Like the man in the
+Merriweather kitchen, he bore the stamp of the city upon
+him.</p>
+<p>Virginia bought her ticket as her father had directed,
+and while the pail was still on the floor, she bent to examine
+Milly Ann and the kittens. The latter were asleep,
+but the mother-cat lazily opened her eyes to greet, with
+a purr, the soft touch of Jinnie&#8217;s fingers. The girl waited
+inside the room until the shriek of the engine&#8217;s whistle
+told her of its approach; then, with the fiddle and the
+pail, she walked to the platform.</p>
+<p>The long, snakelike train was edging the hill, its headlight
+bearing down the track in one straight, glittering
+line.</p>
+<p>For the first time in her life, Jinnie felt really afraid.
+In other days, with beating heart, she had hugged close
+to the roadside as the monster slipped either into the
+station and stopped, or rushed around the curve. Tonight
+she was going aboard, over into a strange land
+among strange people.</p>
+<p>She tilted the pail lovingly and hugged a little more
+tightly the fiddle in her arm. Whatever happened, she
+had Milly, her little family, and the comforting music.
+Jinnie could never be quite alone with these. As the
+train slowed up, the conductor jumped down.</p>
+<p>It seemed to Virginia like a dream as she walked toward
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span>
+the steps at the end of the car. As she was about to lift
+her foot to climb up, she heard a voice say:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me help you, child. Here, I&#8217;ll take the pail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia looked upward into the face of a man,&mdash;the
+same face she had seen in the station a few moments before,&mdash;and
+around the handsome mouth was a smile of
+reassuring kindliness.</p>
+<p>She surrendered the pail with a burning blush, and felt,
+with a strange new thrill, a firm hand upon her arm. The
+next thing she knew she was in a seat, with the pail on the
+floor and the fiddle lying beside her.</p>
+<p>She gazed around wonderingly. There was no one in
+sight but the tall man who, across the aisle, was arranging
+his overcoat on the back of the seat. Jinnie looked at
+him with interest&mdash;he had been so kind to her&mdash;and
+noted his thick, blond hair, which had been cropped close
+to a massive head. She admired him, too. Suddenly he
+looked up, and the girl felt a clutch at her heart. Just
+why that happened she could not tell. Again came the
+charming smile, the parted lips showing a set of dazzling
+white teeth.</p>
+<p>Jinnie smiled back, responsively. The man came over.</p>
+<p>&#8220;May I sit beside you?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>Jinnie moved the fiddle invitingly and huddled herself
+into the corner. When the man started to move the pail,
+Jinnie stayed him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, don&#8217;t, please,&#8221; she protested. &#8220;It&#8217;s only Milly
+and&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Milly and what?&#8221; quizzically came the question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Her kitties&mdash;see?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She drew aside the towel and exposed the sleeping family.</p>
+<p>A broad smile lit up the man&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, cats! I see! Where&#8217;re you taking them?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;To Bellaire.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah, Bellaire; that&#8217;s where I&#8217;m going. We&#8217;ll have a
+nice ride together, almost two hours.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad.&#8221; Jinnie leaned back, sighing contentedly.</p>
+<p>In those few minutes she had grown to have great faith
+in this stranger, the third of the puzzling trio that had
+come into her life that night. First her father, then the
+man with Molly the Merry, and now this brilliant new
+friend, who quite took away her breath as she peeped up
+at him. His smile seemed to be ever ready. It warmed
+her and made her glow with friendliness. She liked, too,
+the deep tones in his voice and the sight of his strong
+hands as they gestured during his speeches.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are you going in Bellaire?&#8221; he questioned.</p>
+<p>Virginia cogitated for a moment. She couldn&#8217;t tell the
+story her father had told her, yet she must answer his
+kindly question.</p>
+<p>At length, &#8220;The cats and I are going to live with my
+uncle,&#8221; said she.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He lives in Bellaire?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but I&#8217;ve never seen him. I&#8217;ll find him, though,
+when I get there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It didn&#8217;t occur to the man to ask the name of her relatives,
+and Jinnie was glad he did not.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps I shall see you some time in the city,&#8221; he responded
+to her statement. Jinnie hoped so; oh, how she
+hoped she might see him again!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe,&#8221; was all she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You see I live there with my mother,&#8221; continued the
+man. &#8220;Our home is called Kinglaire. My name is King.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia lifted her head with a queer little start.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve read about your people,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got a
+book in our garret that tells all about Kings.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s very nice,&#8221; answered Mr. King. &#8220;I won&#8217;t have
+to explain anything about us, then.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I know,&#8221; said Jinnie in satisfaction.</p>
+<p>At least she thought she knew. Hadn&#8217;t she read over
+and over, when seated in the garret, the story of the old
+and new kings, how they sat on their thrones, and ruled
+their people sometimes with a rod of iron? Jinnie brought
+to mind some of the vivid pictures, and shyly lifted a pair
+of violet eyes to scan the face above her. Surely this
+King was handsomer than any in the book. She tried to
+imagine him on his throne, and wondered if he were always
+smiling as now.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re quite different from your relations,&#8221; she observed
+presently.</p>
+<p>Theodore King laughed aloud. The sound startled the
+girl into a straighter posture. It rang out so merrily
+that she laughed too after making up her mind that he
+was not ridiculing her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Really you are!&#8221; she exclaimed. &#8220;I mean it. You
+know the picture of the King with a red suit on,&mdash;he
+doesn&#8217;t look like you. His nose went sort of down over
+his mouth&mdash;I mean, well, yours don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She stumbled through the last few words, intuitively
+realizing that she had been too personal.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You like to read, I gather,&#8221; stated Mr. King.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but I like to fiddle better,&#8221; said Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you play, do you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes fell upon the instrument standing in the
+corner of the opposite seat, wrapped in an old jacket.
+She nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I play some. I love my fiddle almost as much as I do
+Milly Ann and her kitties.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t you play for me?&#8221; asked Mr. King, gravely
+putting forth his hand.</p>
+<p>Jinnie paused a moment. Then without further hesitancy
+she took up the violin and unfastened it.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be glad to fiddle for a king,&#8221; she said na&iuml;vely.</p>
+<p>She did not speak as she turned and twisted the small
+white keys.</p>
+<p>Outside the storm was still roaring over the hills, sweeping
+the lake into monstrous waves. The shriek of the
+wind mingled with the snap of the taut strings under the
+agile fingers of the hill girl. Then Jinnie began to
+play. Never in all his life had Theodore King seen a
+picture such as the girl before him made. The wondrous
+beauty of her, the marvelous fingers traveling
+over the strings, together with the moaning of the night
+wind, made an impression upon him he would never forget.
+Sometimes as her fingers sped on, her eyes were penetrating;
+sometimes they darkened almost to melancholy. When
+the last wailing note had finally died away, Jinnie dropped
+the instrument to her side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s lonely on nights like this when the ghosts howl
+about,&#8221; she observed. &#8220;They love the fiddle, ghosts do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore King came back to himself at the girl&#8217;s words.
+He drew a long breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Child,&#8221; he ejaculated, &#8220;whoever taught you to play
+like that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, I taught myself,&#8221; answered Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please play again,&#8221; entreated Mr. King, and once
+more he sat enthralled with the wonder of the girl&#8217;s melodies.
+The last few soulful notes Mr. King likened to a
+sudden prayer, sent out with a sobbing breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s wonderful,&#8221; he murmured slowly. &#8220;What is the
+piece you&#8217;ve just played?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It hasn&#8217;t any name yet,&#8221; replied the girl. &#8220;You see
+I only know pieces that&#8217;re in my head.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then all the misery of the past few hours swept over
+her, and Jinnie began to cry. A burden of doubt had
+clouded the usually clear young mind. What if the man
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span>
+to whom she was going would not let her and the cats live
+with him? He might turn them away.</p>
+<p>Mr. King spoke softly to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t cry,&#8221; said he. &#8220;You won&#8217;t be lonely when you
+get to your uncle&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But she met his smiling glance with a feeling of constraint.
+He did not know the cause of her tears; she
+could not tell him. If she only knew,&mdash;if she only had
+one little inkling of the reception she would receive at the
+painter&#8217;s home. However, she did cheer up a little when
+Mr. King, in evident desire to be of some service, began
+to tell her of the city to which she was going.</p>
+<p>In a short time he saw the dark head nodding, and he
+drew Jinnie down against his arm, whispering:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sleep a while, child; I&#8217;ll wake you up at Bellaire.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_V_LIKE_UNTO_LIKE_ATTRACTED' id='CHAPTER_V_LIKE_UNTO_LIKE_ATTRACTED'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+<h3>LIKE UNTO LIKE ATTRACTED</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie Singleton watched Theodore King leave the
+train at the little private station situated on his own
+estate. As she drew nearer the city depot, her heart beat
+with uncertainty, for that day would decide her fate, her
+future; she would know by night whether or not she possessed
+a friend in the world.</p>
+<p>For some hours she sat in the station on one of the hard
+benches, waiting for daylight, at which time she and
+Milly Ann would steal forth into the city to find Lafe
+Grandoken, her mother&#8217;s friend.</p>
+<p>A reluctant, stormy dawn was pushing its way from
+the horizon as she picked up the pail and fiddle and stepped
+out into the falling snow.</p>
+<p>Stopping a moment, she asked the station master about
+the Grandokens, but as he had only that week arrived in
+Bellaire, he politely, with admiration in his eyes, told her
+he could not give her any information. But on the railroad
+tracks Virginia saw a man standing with his hands
+thrust deep into his pockets.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d you want of Lafe Grandoken?&#8221; asked the fellow
+in reply to her question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to see him,&#8221; answered Jinnie evasively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a cobbler and lives down with the shortwood
+gatherers there on Paradise Road. Littlest shack of the
+bunch! He ain&#8217;t far from my folks. My name&#8217;s Maudlin
+Bates.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span></p>
+<p>He went very near her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I&#8217;ve told you, you c&#8217;n gimme a kiss,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you a bat,&#8221; flung back Jinnie, walking away.</p>
+<p>Some distance off she stood looking down the tracks,
+her blue eyes noting the row of huts strung along the road
+and extending toward the hills. At the back of them was
+a marshland, dense with trees and underbrush.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My father told me Mr. Grandoken was a painter of
+houses!&#8221; Jinnie ruminated: &#8220;But that damn duffer back
+there says he&#8217;s changed his work to cobbling. I&#8217;ll go and
+see! I hope it won&#8217;t be long before I&#8217;m as warm as can
+be. Wonder if he&#8217;ll be glad to see me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the smallest house among &#8217;em,&#8221; she cogitated further,
+walking very fast. &#8220;Well! There ain&#8217;t any of &#8217;em
+very big.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She traveled on through heavy snow, glancing at every
+hut until, coming to a standstill, she read aloud:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe Grandoken, Cobbler of Folks&#8217; and Children&#8217;s
+Shoes and Boots.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned and, going down a short flight of steps,
+hesitated a moment before she knocked timidly on the front
+door. During the moment of waiting she glanced over
+what she hoped was to be her future home. It was so
+small in comparison with the huge, lonely farmhouse she
+had left the night before that her heart grew warm in
+anticipation. Then in answer to a man&#8217;s voice, calling
+&#8220;Come in!&#8221; she lifted the latch and opened the door.</p>
+<p>The room was small and cheerless, although a fire was
+struggling for life in a miniature stove. In one corner
+was a table strewn with papers. Back from the window
+which faced the tracks was a man, a kit of cobbler&#8217;s tools,
+in the disarray of daily use, on the bench beside him. He
+halted, with his hammer in the air, at the sight of the
+newcomer.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Come in and shut the door,&#8221; said he, and the girl
+did as she was bidden. &#8220;Cold, ain&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Jinnie, placing the pail and fiddle on
+the floor.</p>
+<p>The girl looked the man over with her steady blue eyes.
+Then her heart gave one great bound. The grey face
+had lighted with a sweet, sad smile; the faded eyes, under
+the bushy brows, twinkled welcome. A sense of wonderful
+security and friendship rushed over her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, what&#8217;s your business? Got some shoes to mend?&#8221;
+asked the man. &#8220;Better sit down.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie took a chair in silence, a passionate wish suffusing
+her being that this small home might be hers. She
+was so lonely, so homesick. The little room seemed radiant
+with the smile of the cobbler. She only felt the
+wonderful content that flowed from the man on the bench
+to herself; she wanted to stay with him; never before had
+she been face to face with a desire so great.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to live with you,&#8221; she gulped, at length.</p>
+<p>The cobbler gave a quick whack at the little shoe he
+held in the vise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m Jinnie Singleton, kid of Thomas Singleton, the
+second,&#8221; the girl explained, almost mechanically, &#8220;and I
+haven&#8217;t any home, so I&#8217;ve come to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>During this statement the cobbler&#8217;s hammer rattled to
+the floor, and he sat eyeing the speaker speechlessly.
+Then he slowly lifted his arms and held them forth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here! Lass, come here!&#8221; he said huskily. &#8220;I&#8217;d
+come to you, but I can&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In her mental state it took Jinnie a few seconds to
+gather the import of the cobbler&#8217;s words. Then she
+sprang up and went forward with parted, smiling lips,
+tears trembling thick on her dark lashes. When Jinnie
+felt a pair of warm, welcoming arms about her strong
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span>
+young shoulders, she shivered in sudden joy. The sensation
+was delightful, and while a thin hand patted her back,
+she choked down a hard sob. However, she pressed backward
+and looked down into Lafe Grandoken&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought I&#8217;d never cry again as long as I lived,&#8221; she
+whispered, &#8220;but&mdash;but I guess it&#8217;s your loving me that&#8217;s
+done it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It came like a small confession&mdash;as a relief to the overburdened
+little soul.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;ve rode a hundred miles to get here,&#8221; she
+went on, half sobbing, &#8220;and you&#8217;re awful glad to see me,
+ain&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>It didn&#8217;t need Lafe&#8217;s, &#8220;You bet your boots,&#8221; to satisfy
+Jinnie. The warmth of his arms, the shining, misty eyes,
+set her to shivering convulsively and shaking with happiness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Set here on the bench,&#8221; invited the cobbler, softly, &#8220;an&#8217;
+tell me about your pa an&#8217; ma.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re both dead,&#8221; said Jinnie, sitting down, but she
+still kept her hand on the cobbler&#8217;s arm as if she were
+afraid he would vanish from her sight.</p>
+<p>The man made a dash at his eyes with his free hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Both dead!&#8221; he repeated with effort, &#8220;an&#8217; you&#8217;re their
+girl!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and I&#8217;ve come to live with you, if you&#8217;ll let me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She drew forth the letters written the night before.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s two letters,&#8221; she ended, handing them over, and
+sinking down again into the chair.</p>
+<p>She sat very quietly as the cobbler stumbled through
+the finely written sheets.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'>&#8220;Mottville Corners, N. Y.<br /></p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear Mr. Grandoken,&#8221; whispered Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My girl will bring you this, and, in excuse for sending
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span>
+her, I will briefly state: I&#8217;m very near the grave, and
+she&#8217;s in great danger. I want to tell you that her Uncle
+Jordan Morse has conquered me and will her, if she&#8217;s not
+looked after. For her mother&#8217;s sake, I ask you to take
+her if you can. She will repay you when she&#8217;s of age, but
+until then, after I&#8217;m gone, she can&#8217;t get any money unless
+through her uncle, and that would be too dangerous.
+When I say that my child&#8217;s life isn&#8217;t worth this paper if
+she is given over to Morse, you&#8217;ll see the necessity of helping
+her. I don&#8217;t know another soul I could trust as I am
+trusting you. The other letter Virginia will explain.
+Keep it to use against Morse if you need to.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you whether my girl is good or not, but I
+hope so. I&#8217;ve woefully neglected her, but now I wish I
+had a chance to live the past few years over. She&#8217;ll tell
+you all she knows, which isn&#8217;t much. What you do for
+her will be greatly appreciated by me, and would be by
+her mother, too, if she could understand her daughter&#8217;s
+danger. &#8221;Gratefully yours,</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>&#8220;Thomas G. Singleton</span>.&#8221;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>The cobbler put down the paper, and the rattling of it
+made Jinnie raise her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come over here again,&#8221; said the shoemaker, kindly.
+&#8220;Now tell me all about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t the letter tell you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some of it, yes. But tell me about yourself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe Grandoken listened as the girl recounted her past
+life with Matty, and when at the finish she remarked,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I had to bring Milly Ann&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Grandoken by a look interrupted her explanation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Milly Ann?&#8221; he repeated.</p>
+<p>Then came the story of the mother-cat and her babies.
+Jinnie lifted the towel, and the almost smothered kittens
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span>
+scrambled over the top of the pail. Milly Ann stretched
+her cramped legs, then proceeded vigorously to wash the
+faces of her numerous children.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She wouldn&#8217;t &#8217;ve had a place to live if I hadn&#8217;t brought
+her,&#8221; explained Jinnie, looking at the kittens. &#8220;I guess
+they won&#8217;t eat much, because Milly Ann catches all kinds
+of live things. I don&#8217;t like &#8217;er to do that, but I heard
+she was born that way and can&#8217;t help it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess she&#8217;ll find enough to eat around here,&#8221; he said
+softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I brought my fiddle, too,&#8221; Jinnie went on lovingly. &#8220;I
+couldn&#8217;t live without it any more&#8217;n I could without Milly
+Ann.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You play?&#8221; he questioned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A little,&#8221; replied the girl.</p>
+<p>Mr. Grandoken eyed the instrument on the floor beside
+the pail.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You oughter have a box to put it in,&#8221; he suggested.
+&#8220;It might get wet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia acquiesced by bowing her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it,&#8221; she assented, &#8220;but I carried it in that old
+wrap.... Did Father tell you about my uncle?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And that he was made to die for something my uncle
+did?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, an&#8217; that he might harm you.... I knew your
+mother well, lass, when she was young like you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>An expression of sadness pursed Jinnie&#8217;s pretty mouth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t remember her, you see,&#8221; she murmured sadly.
+&#8220;I wish I had her now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And she heard the cobbler murmur, &#8220;What must your
+uncle be to want to hurt a little, sweet girl like you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>They did not speak again for a few moments.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Go call Peg,&#8221; the cobbler then said.</p>
+<p>At a loss, Virginia glanced about.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg&#8217;s my woman&mdash;my wife,&#8221; explained Lafe. &#8220;Go
+through that door there. Just call Peg an&#8217; she&#8217;ll come.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In answer to the summons a woman appeared, with
+hands on hips and arms akimbo. Her almost colorless
+hair, streaked a little with grey, was drawn back from a
+sallow, thin face out of which gleamed a pair of light
+blue eyes. Jinnie in one quick glance noted how tall and
+angular she was. The cobbler looked from his wife to
+her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve heard me speak about Singleton, who married
+Miss Virginia Burton in Mottville, Peggy, ain&#8217;t you?&#8221; he
+asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; answered the woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;His kid&#8217;s come to live with us. She calls herself Jinnie.&#8221;
+He threw his eyes with a kindly smile to the girl,
+standing hesitant, longing for recognition from the tall,
+gaunt woman. &#8220;I guess she&#8217;d better go to the other room
+and warm her hands, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken, dark-faced, with drooping lips, ordered
+the girl into the kitchen.</p>
+<p>Alone with his wife, Lafe read Singleton&#8217;s letter aloud.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard as much of her yarn as I can get,&#8221; he said,
+glancing up. &#8220;I just wanted to tell you she was here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We ain&#8217;t got a cent to bless ourselves with,&#8221; grumbled
+Mrs. Grandoken, &#8220;an&#8217; times is so hard I can&#8217;t get more
+work than what I&#8217;m doin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A patient, resigned look crossed the cobbler&#8217;s pain-worn
+face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so, Peg, that&#8217;s so,&#8221; he agreed heartily. &#8220;But
+there&#8217;s always to-morrow, an&#8217; after that another to-morrow.
+With every new day there&#8217;s always a chance. We&#8217;ve
+got a chance, an&#8217; so&#8217;s the girl.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span></p>
+<p>The woman dropped into a chair, noticing the cobbler&#8217;s
+smile, which was born to give her hope.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t much chance for a bit of a brat like her,&#8221;
+she snarled crossly, and the man answered this statement
+with eagerness, because the rising inflection in his wife&#8217;s
+voice made it a question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, there is, Peg,&#8221; he insisted; &#8220;yes, there is! Didn&#8217;t
+you say there was hope for me when my legs went bad&mdash;that
+I had a chance for a livin&#8217;? Now didn&#8217;t you, Peggy?
+An&#8217; ain&#8217;t I got the nattiest little shop this side of way up
+town?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg paused a moment. Then, &#8220;That you have, Lafe;
+you sure have,&#8221; came slowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; didn&#8217;t I make full sixty cents yesterday?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You did, Lafe; you sure did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; sixty cents is better&#8217;n nothin&#8217;, ain&#8217;t it, Peg?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken arose hastily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Course &#8217;tis, Lafe! But don&#8217;t brag &#8217;cause you made
+sixty cents. You might a lost your hands same&#8217;s your
+feet. &#8217;Tain&#8217;t no credit to you you didn&#8217;t. Here, let me
+wrap you up better! You&#8217;ll freeze all that&#8217;s left of your
+legs, if you don&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Them legs ain&#8217;t much good,&#8221; sighed the cobbler. &#8220;They
+might as well be off; mightn&#8217;t they, Peg?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy wrapped a worn blanket tightly about her husband.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You oughter be ashamed,&#8221; she growled darkly. &#8220;Ain&#8217;t
+you every day sayin&#8217; there&#8217;s always to-morrow?&#8221;</p>
+<p>This time her voice was toned with finality, and she
+turned and went out.</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_2' id='linki_2'></a>
+<img src='images/illus-054.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 330px; height: 489px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 330px;'>
+&#8220;I GUESS THEY WON&#8217;T EAT MUCH, BECAUSE MILLY ANN CATCHES ALL KIND OF LIVE THINGS. I DON&#8217;T LIKE HER TO DO THAT, BUT I HEARD SHE WAS BORN THAT WAY AND CAN&#8217;T HELP IT.&#8221;<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VI_PEGS_BARK' id='CHAPTER_VI_PEGS_BARK'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+<h3>PEG&#8217;S BARK</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Virginia and Lafe Grandoken sat for some time with
+nothing but the tick-tack of the hammer to break the
+silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It bein&#8217; the first time you&#8217;ve visited us, kid,&#8221; broke
+in the man, pausing, &#8220;you can&#8217;t be knowin&#8217; just what&#8217;s
+made us live this way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia made a negative gesture and smiled, settling
+herself hopefully for a story, but Lafe brought a frightened
+expression quickly to her face by his low, even voice,
+and the ominous meaning of his words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Me an&#8217; Peg&#8217;s awful poor,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then mebbe I&#8217;d better not stay, Mr. Lafe,&#8221; faltered
+Jinnie.</p>
+<p>The cobbler threaded his fingers through his hair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The shanty&#8217;s awful small,&#8221; he interjected, thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s awful nice, though,&#8221; offered the girl. Some
+thought closed her blue eyes, but they flashed open instantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cobbler,&#8221; she faltered, &#8220;is Mrs. Peggy mad when she
+grits her teeth and wags her head?&#8221;</p>
+<p>As if by its own volition the cobbler&#8217;s hammer stayed
+itself in the air.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he smiled, &#8220;just when she acts the worst is when
+she&#8217;s likely to do her best ... I&#8217;ve knowed Peggy this
+many a year.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;She was a wee little bit cross to me,&#8221; commented the
+girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Was she? I didn&#8217;t hear anything she said.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you, then, Mr. Lafe,&#8221; said Virginia. &#8220;When
+I was standing by the fire warming my hands, she come
+bustling out and looked awful mad. She said something
+about folks keeping their girls to home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, what after that?&#8221; asked the cobbler, as Jinnie
+hesitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She said she could see me eating my head off, and as
+long as I had to hide from my uncle, I wouldn&#8217;t be able
+to earn my salt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s right,&#8221; affirmed the cobbler, wagging his
+head. &#8220;You got to keep low for a while. Your Uncle
+Morse knows a lot of folks in this town.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But they don&#8217;t know me,&#8221; said Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s good,&#8221; remarked Lafe.</p>
+<p>As he said this, Peg opened the door roughly and ordered
+them in to breakfast.</p>
+<p>Virginia sat beside the cobbler at the meager meal. On
+the table were three bowls of hot mush. As the fragrant
+odor rose to her nostrils, waves of joy crept slowly
+through the young body.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy &#8217;lowed you&#8217;d be hungry, kid,&#8221; said the cobbler,
+pushing a bowl in front of her.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken interrupted her husband with a growl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I&#8217;ve any mem&#8217;ry, you &#8217;lowed it yourself, Lafe Grandoken,&#8221;
+she muttered.</p>
+<p>A smile deepened on the cobbler&#8217;s face and a slight
+flush rose to his forehead.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I &#8217;lowed it, too, Peggy dear,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Eat your mush,&#8221; snapped the woman, &#8220;an&#8217;, Lafe, don&#8217;t
+&#8216;Peggy dear&#8217; me. I hate it; see?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia refused to believe the startling words. She
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span>
+would have adored being called &#8220;dear.&#8221; In Lafe&#8217;s voice,
+great love rang out; in the woman&#8217;s, she scarcely knew
+what. She glanced from one to the other as the cobbler
+lifted his head. He was always thanking some one in
+some unknown place for the priceless gift of his woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll &#8216;Peggy dear&#8217; you whenever I feel like it, wife,&#8221; he
+said gravely, &#8220;for God knows you&#8217;re awful dear to me,
+Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken ignored his speech, but when she returned
+from the stove, her voice was a little more gentle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can both stuff your innards with hot mush. You
+can&#8217;t starve on that.... Here, kid, sit a little nearer!&#8221;</p>
+<p>So Virginia Singleton, the lame cobbler, and Peggy began
+their first meal, facing a new day, which to Lafe was
+yesterday&#8217;s to-morrow.</p>
+<p>A little later Virginia followed the wheel chair into the
+cobbler&#8217;s shop. Peggy grumblingly left them to return
+to her duties in the kitchen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Terrible cold day this,&#8221; Lafe observed, picking up a
+shoe. &#8220;The wind&#8217;s blowin&#8217; forty miles the hour.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia&#8217;s next remark was quite irrelevant to the wind.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m hoping Mrs. Peggy&#8217;ll get the money she was talking
+about.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did she tell you she needed some?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia nodded, and when she spoke again, her tongue
+was parched and dry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She said she had to have money to-night. I hope she
+gets it; if she doesn&#8217;t I can&#8217;t stay and live with you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope she gets it, too,&#8221; sighed the cobbler.</p>
+<p>Of a sudden a thought seemed to strike him. The girl
+noticed it and looked a question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy&#8217;s bark&#8217;s worser&#8217;n her bite,&#8221; Lafe explained in
+answer. &#8220;She&#8217;s like a lot of them little pups that do a
+lot of barkin&#8217; but wouldn&#8217;t set their teeth in a biscuit.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Does that mean,&#8221; Jinnie asked eagerly, &#8220;if she don&#8217;t
+get the two dollars to-night, Mrs. Peggy might let me
+stay?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just what it means,&#8221; replied Lafe, making loud
+whacks on the sole of a shoe. &#8220;You&#8217;ll stay, all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The depth of Virginia&#8217;s gratitude just then could only
+be estimated by one who had passed through the same
+fires of deep uncertainty, and in the ardor of it she flung
+her arms around the cobbler&#8217;s neck and kissed him.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>When Lafe, with useless legs, had been brought home to
+his wife, she had stoically taken up the burden that had
+been his. At her husband&#8217;s suggestion that he should
+cobble, Mrs. Grandoken had fitted up the little shop, telling
+him grimly that every hand in the world should do its
+share. And that was how Lafe Grandoken, laborer and
+optimist, began his life&#8217;s great work&mdash;of cobbling a ray
+of comfort to every soul entering the shack. Sometimes
+he would insist that the sun shone brighter than the day
+before; then again that the clouds had a cooling effect.
+But if in the world outside Lafe found no comfort, he always
+spoke of to-morrow with a ring of hope in his voice.</p>
+<p>Hope for another day was all Lafe had save Peggy, and
+to him these two&mdash;hope and the woman&mdash;were Heaven&#8217;s
+choicest gifts. Now Peggy didn&#8217;t realize all these things,
+because the world, with its trials and vicissitudes, gave her
+a different aspect of life, and she was not in even her ordinary
+good humor this day as she prepared the midday
+meal. Her mind was busy with thoughts of the new burden
+which the morning had brought.</p>
+<p>Generally Lafe consulted her about any problem that
+presented itself before him, but, that day, he had taken a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span>
+young stranger into their home, and Mrs. Grandoken had
+used all kinds of arguments to persuade him to send the
+girl away. Peggy didn&#8217;t want another mouth to feed.
+She didn&#8217;t care for any one in the world but Lafe anyway.</p>
+<p>When the dinner was on the table, she grimly brought
+her husband&#8217;s wheel chair to the kitchen. Virginia, by the
+cobbler&#8217;s invitation, followed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Any money paid in to-day?&#8221; asked Peggy gruffly,
+drawing the cobbler to his place at the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, smiling up at her, &#8220;but there&#8217;ll be a lot
+to-morrow.... Is there some bread for&#8211;&#8211;for Jinnie,
+too?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy replied by sticking her fork into a biscuit and
+pushing it off on Virginia&#8217;s plate with her finger.</p>
+<p>Virginia acknowledged it with a shy upward glance.
+Peg&#8217;s stolid face and quick, insistent movements filled her
+with vague discomfort. If the woman had tempered her
+harsh, &#8220;Take it, kid,&#8221; with a smile, the little girl&#8217;s heart
+might have ached less.</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded to her when his wife left the room for a
+moment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That biscuit&#8217;s Peg&#8217;s bite,&#8221; said he, &#8220;so she&#8217;ll bark a
+lot the rest of the day, but don&#8217;t you mind.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VII_JUST_A_JEW' id='CHAPTER_VII_JUST_A_JEW'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+<h3>JUST A JEW</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When the cobbler was at work again, Virginia, after
+picking up a few nails and tacks scattered on the floor,
+sat down.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Would you like to hear something about me and Peggy,
+lassie?&#8221; he inquired, &#8220;an&#8217; will you take my word for
+things?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded trustfully. She had already grown to
+love the cobbler, and her affection grew stronger as she
+stated:</p>
+<p>&#8220;There isn&#8217;t anything you&#8217;d tell me, cobbler, I wouldn&#8217;t
+believe!&#8221;</p>
+<p>With slow importance Lafe put down his hammer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a Israelite,&#8221; he announced.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; asked the girl, immediately interested.</p>
+<p>The cobbler looked over his spectacles and smiled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A Jew, just a plain Jew.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what a Jew is either,&#8221; confessed Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Lafe groped for words to explain his meaning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A Jew,&#8221; he ventured presently, &#8220;is one of God&#8217;s&#8211;&#8211;chosen&#8211;&#8211;folks.
+I mean one of them chose by Him to
+believe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Believe what?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All that God said would be,&#8221; explained Lafe, reverently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you believe it, cobbler?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure, kid; sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The shoemaker saw a question mirrored in the depths
+of the violet eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And thinking that way makes you happy, eh, Mr.
+Lafe? Does it make you smile the way you do at girls
+without homes?&#8221;</p>
+<p>As she put this question sincerely to him, Jinnie reminded
+the cobbler of a beautiful flower lifting its proud
+head to the sun. In his experience with young people, he
+had never seen a girl like this one.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It makes me happier&#8217;n anything!&#8221; he replied, cheerfully.
+&#8220;The wonderful part is I wouldn&#8217;t know about it
+if I hadn&#8217;t lost my legs. I&#8217;ll tell you about it, lass.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie settled back contentedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A long time ago,&#8221; began Mr. Grandoken, &#8220;God led
+a bunch of Jews out of a town where a king was torturin&#8217;
+&#8217;em&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The listener&#8217;s eyes darkened in sympathy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They was made to do a lot of things that hurt &#8217;em;
+their babies and women, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie leaned forward and covered the horny hand with
+her slender fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you ever had any babies, Lafe?&#8221; she ventured.</p>
+<p>A perceptible shadow crossed the man&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said he hesitatingly. &#8220;Me and Peggy had a boy&mdash;a
+little fellow with curly hair&mdash;a Jew baby. Peggy
+always let me call him a Jew baby, though he was part
+Irish.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; gasped Jinnie, radiantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was a big fellow then, kid, with fine, strong legs,
+an&#8217; nights, when I&#8217;d come home, I&#8217;d carry the little chap
+about.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler&#8217;s eyes glistened with the memory, but shadowed
+almost instantly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;But one day&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; he hesitated.</p>
+<p>The pause brought an exclamation from the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And one day&mdash;what?&#8221; she demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He died; that&#8217;s all,&#8221; and Lafe gazed unseeingly at the
+snow-covered tracks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you buried him?&#8221; asked Virginia, softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, an&#8217; the fault was mostly mine, Jinnie. I ain&#8217;t
+had no way to make it up to Peggy, but there&#8217;s lots of
+to-morrows.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll make her happy then?&#8221; ejaculated the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Lafe, &#8220;an&#8217; I might a done it then, but I
+wouldn&#8217;t listen to the voices.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A look of bewildered surprise crossed the girl&#8217;s face.
+Were they spirit voices, the voices in the pines, of which
+Lafe was speaking? She&#8217;d ask him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;God&#8217;s voices out of Heaven,&#8221; said he, in answer to her
+query. &#8220;They come every night, but I wouldn&#8217;t listen, till
+one day my boy was took. Then I heard another voice,
+demandin&#8217; me to tell folks what was what about God. But
+I was afraid an&#8217; a&mdash;coward.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler lapsed into serious thought, while Virginia
+moved a small nail back and forth on the floor with the
+toe of her shoe. She wouldn&#8217;t cry again, but something
+in the low, sad voice made her throat ache. After the
+man had been quiet for a long time, she pressed him with:</p>
+<p>&#8220;After that, Lafe, what then?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;After that,&#8221; repeated the cobbler, straightening his
+shoulders, &#8220;after that my legs went bad an&#8217; then&mdash;an&#8217;
+then&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia, very pale, went to the cobbler, and laid her
+head against his shoulder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; then, child,&#8221; he breathed huskily, &#8220;I believed, an&#8217;
+I know, as well as I&#8217;m livin&#8217;, God sent his Christ for everybody;
+that in the lovin&#8217; father&#8221;&mdash;Lafe raised his
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span>
+eyes&mdash;&#8220;there&#8217;s no line drawed &#8217;tween Jews an&#8217; Gentiles. They&#8217;re
+all alike to Him. Only some&#8217;re goin&#8217; one road an&#8217; some
+another to get to Him, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>These were quite new ideas to Virginia. In all her
+young life no one had ever conversed with her of such
+things. True, from her hill home on clear Sunday mornings
+she could hear the church bells ding-dong their hoarse
+welcome to the farmers, but she had never been inside the
+church doors. Now she regretted the lost opportunity.
+She wished to grasp the cobbler&#8217;s meaning. Noting her
+tense expression, Grandoken continued:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was only a misunderstandin&#8217; &#8217;tween a few Jews
+when they nailed the Christ to the cross. Why, a lot of
+Israelites back there believed in &#8217;im. I&#8217;m one of them
+believin&#8217; Jews, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish I was a Jew, cobbler,&#8221; sighed Jinnie. &#8220;I&#8217;d
+think the same as you then, wouldn&#8217;t I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you don&#8217;t have to be a Jew to believe,&#8221; returned
+Lafe. &#8220;It&#8217;s as easy to do as &#8217;tis to roll off&#8217;n a log.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This lame man filled her young heart with a deep longing
+to help him and to have him help her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re going to teach me all about it, ain&#8217;t you,
+Lafe?&#8221; she entreated presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure! Sure! You see, it&#8217;s this way: Common, everyday
+folks&mdash;them with narrer minds&mdash;ain&#8217;t much use for
+my kind of Jews. I&#8217;m livin&#8217; here in a mess of &#8217;em. Most
+of &#8217;em&#8217;s shortwood gatherers. When I found out about
+the man on the cross, I told it right out loud to &#8217;em all.
+... You&#8217;re one of &#8217;em. You&#8217;re a Gentile, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; said the girl sadly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you needn&#8217;t be. Peg&#8217;s one, too, but she&#8217;s got God&#8217;s
+mark on her soul as big as any of them women belongin&#8217;
+to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob&#8211;&#8211;I ain&#8217;t sure but it&#8217;s a
+mite bigger.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span></p>
+<p>The speaker worked a while, bringing the nails from his
+lips in rapid, even succession. Peg was the one bright
+spot that shone out of his wonderful yesterdays. She was
+the one link that fastened him securely to a useful to-morrow.</p>
+<p>Virginia counted the nails mechanically as they were
+driven into the leather, and as the last one disappeared,
+she said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you always happy, Lafe, when you&#8217;re smiling?
+Why, you smile&mdash;when&mdash;even when&mdash;&#8221; she stammered,
+caught her breath, and finished, &#8220;even when Mrs. Peggy
+barks.&#8221;</p>
+<p>An amused laugh came from the cobbler&#8217;s lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s &#8217;cause I know her, lass,&#8221; said he. &#8220;Why, when
+I first found out about the good God takin&#8217; charge of
+Jews an&#8217; Gentiles alike, I told it to Peg, an&#8217;, my, how
+she did hop up an&#8217; down, right in the middle of the floor.
+She said I was meddlin&#8217; into things that had took men of
+brains a million years to fix up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I knew it as well as anything,&#8221; he continued.
+&#8220;God&#8217;s love is right in your heart, right there&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; He
+bent over and gently touched the girl.</p>
+<p>She looked up surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I heard He was setting on a great high throne up in
+Heaven,&#8221; she whispered, glancing up, &#8220;and he scowled
+dead mad when folks were wicked.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe smiled, shook his head, and picked up his hammer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said he. &#8220;No, no! He&#8217;s right around me, an&#8217;
+He&#8217;s right around you, an&#8217; everything a feller does or has
+comes from Him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia&#8217;s thoughts went back to an episode of the
+country.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does He help a kid knock hell out of another kid when
+that kid is beating a littler kid?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span></p>
+<p>Her eyes were so earnest, so deep in question, that the
+cobbler lowered his head. Not for the world would he
+have smiled at Virginia&#8217;s original question. He scarcely
+knew how to answer, but presently said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I guess it&#8217;s all right to help them who ain&#8217;t as
+big as yourself, but it ain&#8217;t the best thing in the world to
+gad any one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I never licked any of &#8217;em,&#8221; Jinnie assured him.
+&#8220;I just wanted to find out, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d you do when other kids beat the littler ones?&#8221;
+demanded the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just shoved &#8217;em down on the ground and set on &#8217;em,
+damn &#8217;em!&#8221; answered Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Lafe raised his eyes slowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was wonderin&#8217; if I dared give you a lesson, lass,&#8221; he
+began in a low voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish you would,&#8221; replied Virginia, eagerly. &#8220;I&#8217;d
+love anything you&#8217;d tell me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I was wonderin&#8217; if you knew it was wicked to
+swear?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Like a shot came a pang through her breast. She had
+offended her friend.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wicked? Wicked?&#8221; she gasped. &#8220;You say it&#8217;s wicked
+to swear, cobbler?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded. &#8220;Sure, awful wicked,&#8221; he affirmed.</p>
+<p>Virginia took a long breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know it,&#8221; she murmured. &#8220;Father said it
+wasn&#8217;t polite, but that&#8217;s nothing. How is it wicked, cobbler?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe put two nails into position in the leather sole and
+drove them deep; then he laid down the hammer again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You remember my tellin&#8217; you this morning of the man
+with angels, white angels, hoverin&#8217; about the earth helpin&#8217;
+folks?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; answered Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, He said it was wicked.&#8221;</p>
+<p>An awe-stricken glance fell upon the speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did He tell you so, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Lafe. &#8220;It ain&#8217;t a question of politeness
+at all, but just bein&#8217; downright wicked. See, kid?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, cobbler, I do now,&#8221; Jinnie answered, hanging her
+head. &#8220;Nobody but Matty ever told me nothing before.
+I guess she didn&#8217;t know much about angels, though.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; continued Lafe, going back to his story, &#8220;God
+give his little boy Jesus to a mighty good man an&#8217; a fine
+woman&mdash;as fine as Peg&mdash;to bring up. An&#8217; Joseph trundled
+the little feller about just as I did my little Lafe, an&#8217;
+bye-an&#8217;-bye when the boy grew, He worked as his Father
+in Heaven wanted him to. The good God helped Joseph
+an&#8217; Mary to bring the Christ down face to face with us&mdash;Jews
+an&#8217; Gentiles alike.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;With you and me?&#8221; breathed Virginia, solemnly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;With you an&#8217; me, child,&#8221; repeated the cobbler in subdued
+tones.</p>
+<p>Virginia walked to the window and drummed on the
+pane. Through mere force of habit the cobbler bent his
+head and caught the tacks between his teeth. He did it
+mechanically; he was thinking of the future. In the plan
+of events which Lafe had worked out for himself and Peg,
+there was but one helper, and each day some new demonstration
+came to make his faith the brighter. In the
+midst of his meditation, Jinnie returned to her seat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cobbler, will you do something I ask you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; assented Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get busy trusting Peg&#8217;ll get the two dollars to-night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I have long ago, child, an&#8217; she&#8217;s goin&#8217; to get it, too.
+That&#8217;s one blessin&#8217; about believin&#8217;. No one nor nobody
+can keep you from gettin&#8217; what&#8217;s your own.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Mrs. Peggy doesn&#8217;t think that way,&#8221; remarked Virginia,
+with keen memories of Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s snapping
+teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, not yet, but I&#8217;m trustin&#8217; she will. You see how
+&#8217;tis in this shop. Folks is poor around here. I trust &#8217;em
+all, Jews and Gentiles alike, but Peg thinks I ought to
+have the money the minute the work&#8217;s done. But I know
+no man can keep my money from me, so I soothe her down
+till she don&#8217;t whine any more. That&#8217;s how I know her
+bark&#8217;s worser&#8217;n her bite. Didn&#8217;t I tell you about the biscuit?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Virginia, &#8220;and I hope it&#8217;ll only be bark
+about the money; what if she didn&#8217;t get it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll get it,&#8221; assured Lafe, positively.</p>
+<p>Just before bed time Lafe whispered in Jinnie&#8217;s ear,
+&#8220;Peggy got the two! I told you she would. God&#8217;s good,
+child, and we&#8217;ve all got Him in us alike.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And that night, as the air waxed colder and colder, Virginia
+Singleton, daughter of the rich, slept her tired sleep
+amid the fighters of the world.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VIII_EVERY_HAND_SHALL_DO_ITS_SHARE_QUOTH_PEG' id='CHAPTER_VIII_EVERY_HAND_SHALL_DO_ITS_SHARE_QUOTH_PEG'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;EVERY HAND SHALL DO ITS SHARE,&#8221; QUOTH PEG.</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The fifth day of Jinnie&#8217;s stay in the cobbler&#8217;s home
+crept out of the cold night accompanied by the worst
+blizzard ever known along the lake. Many times, if it had
+not been for the protecting overhanging hills, the wood
+gatherers&#8217; huts would have been swept quite away. As it
+was, Jinnie felt the shack tremble and sway, and doubted
+its ability to withstand the onslaught.</p>
+<p>After breakfast found Lafe and Jinnie conversing interestedly
+in the shop. The cobbler allowed several bright
+nails to fall into his palm before he answered the question
+which was worrying the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t no use troublin&#8217; about it, child,&#8221; commented
+he. &#8220;We can&#8217;t starve.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I could only work,&#8221; said Jinnie gloomily, &#8220;I bet
+Peg&#8217;d soon like me, because she wouldn&#8217;t have to go out
+in the cold at all. But you think it&#8217;d be bad for me, eh,
+Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you couldn&#8217;t go around to the factories or stores
+very well,&#8221; replied Lafe. &#8220;You see your uncle&#8217;s tryin&#8217; to
+trace you. I showed you that this mornin&#8217; in the paper,
+didn&#8217;t I, where he mourned over you as lost after findin&#8217;
+your father dead?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I read it,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; he can&#8217;t get your money for seven years. That
+makes him madder&#8217;n a hatter, of course.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;If he&#8217;d let me alone, I&#8217;d just as soon give him the
+money,&#8221; Jinnie said mournfully.</p>
+<p>Lafe shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The law wouldn&#8217;t let you, till you was of age. No,
+sir, you&#8217;d either have to die a natural death or&mdash;another
+kind, an&#8217; you&#8217;re a pretty husky young kid to die natural.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to die at all,&#8221; shivered Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Lafe encouraged her with a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If he finds you,&#8221; pursued Lafe, &#8220;I&#8217;d have to give you
+up. I couldn&#8217;t do anything else. We might pray &#8217;bout
+it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A wistful expression came over Jinnie&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is praying anything like wishing, cobbler?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Somethin&#8217; the same,&#8221; replied Mr. Grandoken, &#8220;with
+this difference&mdash;wishin&#8217; is askin&#8217; somethin&#8217; out of somewhere
+of some one you don&#8217;t know; prayin&#8217; is just talkin&#8217;
+to some one you&#8217;re acquainted with! See?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I think I do,&#8221; responded the girl. &#8220;Your way is
+mostly praying, isn&#8217;t it, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Prayin&#8217;s more powerful than wishin&#8217;, lass,&#8221; said Lafe.
+&#8220;When I was first paralyzed, I done a lot of wishin&#8217;. I
+hadn&#8217;t any acquaintance with anybody but Peggy. After
+that I took up with God, an&#8217; He&#8217;s been awful good to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s been good to me, too, Lafe, bringing me here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This seemed to be a discovery to Virginia, and for a
+few minutes her brain was alive with new hopes. Suddenly
+she drew her chair in front of Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Will to-morrow ever be to-day, cobbler?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe looked at the solemn-faced girl with smiling, kindly
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure, kid, sure,&#8221; he asserted. &#8220;When you get done
+wishin&#8217; an&#8217; there ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; left in the world to want,
+then to-morrow&#8217;s to-day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie smiled dismally. &#8220;There&#8217;d never be a day, cobbler,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span>
+that I couldn&#8217;t think of something I&#8217;d like for you&mdash;and
+Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe meditated an instant before replying. Then:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve found out that we&#8217;re always happier, kid, when
+we&#8217;ve got a to-morrow to look to,&#8221; said he, &#8220;&#8217;cause when
+you&#8217;re just satisfied, somethin&#8217;s very apt to go smash. I
+was that way once.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He paused for some seconds.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; he murmured, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t told you how I lost
+the use of my legs, have I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, as I was sayin&#8217;, there didn&#8217;t used to be any to-morrow
+for me. I always lived just for that one day. I
+had Peg an&#8217; the boy. I could work for &#8217;m, an&#8217; that
+was enough. It&#8217;s more&#8217;n lots of men get in this world.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His voice trailed into a whisper and ceased. He was
+living for the moment in the glory of his past usefulness.
+The rapt, wrinkled face shone as if it had been touched
+by angel fingers. Virginia watched him reverently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s more&#8217;n two years ago, now,&#8221; proceeded the cobbler
+presently, &#8220;an&#8217; I was workin&#8217; on one of them tall uptown
+buildin&#8217;s. Jimmy Malligan worked right alongside
+of me. We was great chums, Jimmy an&#8217; me. One day the
+ropes broke on one of the scaffoldin&#8217;s&mdash;at least, that&#8217;s
+what folks said. When we was picked up, my legs wasn&#8217;t
+worth the powder to blow &#8217;em up&mdash;an&#8217; Jimmy was dead.
+... But Peg says I&#8217;m just as good as ever.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Here Mr. Grandoken took out his pipe and struck a
+match. &#8220;But I ain&#8217;t. &#8217;Cause them times Peg didn&#8217;t have
+to work. We always had fires enough, an&#8217; didn&#8217;t live like
+this. But, as I was sayin&#8217;, me an&#8217; Peg just kinder lived
+in to-day. Now, when I hope that mebbe I&#8217;ll walk again,
+I&#8217;m always measurin&#8217; up to-morrow&#8211;&#8211;Peg&#8217;s the best
+woman in the world.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie shivered as a gust of wind rattled the window
+pane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She makes awful good hot mush,&#8221; she commented.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anyhow,&#8221; went on Lafe, &#8220;I was better off&#8217;n Jimmy, because
+he was stone dead. There wasn&#8217;t any to-day or to-morrow
+for him, an&#8217; I&#8217;ve still got Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And this shop,&#8221; supplemented the girl, glancing around
+admiringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure, this shop,&#8221; assented Lafe. &#8220;I had clean plumb
+forgot this shop&mdash;I mean, for the minute&mdash;but I wouldn&#8217;t
+a forgot it long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He knocked the ashes out of his pipe and set to work.</p>
+<p>Neither girl nor man spoke for a while, and it wasn&#8217;t
+until Lafe heard Peg&#8217;s voice growling at one of Milly&#8217;s
+kittens that he ceased his tick-tack.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t like to join my club, lass, would you?&#8221;
+he ventured.</p>
+<p>Jinnie looked up quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I would,&#8221; she said eagerly. &#8220;What kind of
+a club is it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl&#8217;s faith in the cobbler was so great that if
+Lafe had commanded her to go into danger, she wouldn&#8217;t
+have hesitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me what the club is, Lafe,&#8221; she repeated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; responded Lafe. &#8220;Come here an&#8217; shake hands!
+All you have to do to be a member of my club is to be
+&#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217; an&#8217; believe everythin&#8217; happenin&#8217; is for
+the best.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A mystified expression filled the girl&#8217;s earnest blue eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m awful happy,&#8221; she sighed, &#8220;and I&#8217;m awful glad to
+come in your club, but I just don&#8217;t understand what it
+means.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler paid no attention for some moments. He
+was looking out of the window, in a far-away mood, dreaming
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span>
+of an active past, when Jinnie accidentally knocked
+a hammer from the bench. Lafe Grandoken glanced in
+the girl&#8217;s direction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m happy in spite&mdash;&#8221; he murmured. Then he stopped
+abruptly, and his hesitation made the girl repeat:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Happy in spite?&#8221; with a rising inflection. &#8220;What does
+that mean, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe began to work desperately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It means just this, kid. I&#8217;ve got a little club all my
+own, an&#8217; I&#8217;ve named it &#8216;Happy in Spite.&#8217;&#8221; His eyes gathered
+a mist as he whispered, &#8220;Happy in spite of everything
+that ain&#8217;t just what I want it to be. Happy in
+spite of not walkin&#8217;&mdash;happy in spite of Peg&#8217;s workin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia raised unsmiling, serious eyes to the speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to come in your club, too, Lafe,&#8221; she said
+slowly. &#8220;I need to be happy in spite of lots of things, just
+like you, cobbler.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A long train steamed by. Jinnie went to the window,
+and looked out upon it. When the noise of the engine and
+the roar of the cars had ceased, she whirled around.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cobbler,&#8221; she said in a low voice, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been thinking
+a lot since yesterday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on an&#8217; tell me about it, lassie,&#8221; said Lafe.</p>
+<p>She sat down, hitching her chair a bit nearer him,
+leaned her elbow on her knee, and buried a dimpled chin
+in the palm of her hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you suppose, Lafe, if a girl believed in the angels,
+anybody could hurt her?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know they couldn&#8217;t, kid, an&#8217; it&#8217;s as true&#8217;s Heaven.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, then, why can&#8217;t I go out and work?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe paused and looked over his spectacles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy says, &#8216;Every hand should do its share&#8217;,&#8221; he
+quoted.</p>
+<p>Jinnie winced miserably. She picked up several nails
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span>
+from the floor. It was a pretext for an activity to cover
+her embarrassment.</p>
+<p>The cobbler allowed her to busy herself a while in this
+way. Then he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit in the chair an&#8217; wrap up in the blankets, Jinnie. I
+want to talk with you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She did as she was bidden, sitting quietly until the man
+chose to speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess you&#8217;re beginnin&#8217; to believe,&#8221; said he, at length,
+&#8220;an&#8217; if you do, a world full of uncles couldn&#8217;t hurt you.
+Peg says as how you got to work if you stay, an&#8217; if you
+have the faith&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie rose tremblingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know I&#8217;ll be all right,&#8221; she cried. &#8220;I just know you
+and me believing would keep me safe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her eagerness caused Lafe to draw the girl to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you holler good an&#8217; loud?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>The girl shot him a curious glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure I can.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you walk on icy walks&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;m as strong as anything,&#8221; Jinnie cut in, glancing
+downward at herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know a lot of kids who earn money,&#8221; said Lafe meditatively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do they do?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get wood out of the marsh behind the huts there.
+Some of &#8217;em keeps families on it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sell wood! And there&#8217;s lots of it, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lots,&#8221; replied Lafe.</p>
+<p>Sell wood! The very words, new, wonderful, and full
+of action, rang through Jinnie&#8217;s soul like sweet sounding
+bells. Waves of unknown sensations beat delightfully
+upon her girlish heart. If she brought in a little money
+every day, Peggy would be kinder. She could; she was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span>
+sure she could. She was drawn from her whirling thoughts
+by the cobbler&#8217;s voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Could you do it, kid? People could think your name
+was Jinnie Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie choked out a reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And mebbe I could make ten cents a day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think you could, Jinnie, an&#8217; here&#8217;s Lafe right ready
+to help you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Virginia Singleton felt quite faint. She sat down, her
+heart beating under her knit jacket twice as fast as a girl&#8217;s
+heart ought to beat. Lafe had suddenly opened up a
+path to usefulness and glory which even in her youthful
+dreams had never appeared to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Call Peggy,&#8221; said Lafe.</p>
+<p>Soon Peg stood before them, with a questioning face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The kid&#8217;s goin&#8217; to work,&#8221; announced Lafe, &#8220;We&#8217;ve
+got a way of keepin&#8217; her uncle off&#8217;n her trail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken looked from her husband to Virginia.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to work like other folks,&#8221; the girl burst forth,
+looking pleadingly at the shoemaker&#8217;s wife.</p>
+<p>Peggy wiped her arms violently upon her apron, and
+there flashed across her face an inscrutable expression
+that Lafe had learned to read, but which frightened the
+newcomer.</p>
+<p>Oh, how Jinnie wanted to do something to help them
+both! Now, at this moment, when there seemed a likelihood
+of being industriously useful, Jinnie loved them the
+more. She was going to work, and into her active little
+brain came the sound of pennies, and the glint of silver.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to work, Peggy,&#8221; she beseeched, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll make
+a lot of money for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Every hand ought to do its share,&#8221; observed Peg, stolidly,
+glancing at the girl&#8217;s slender fingers. They looked
+so small, so unused to hard work, that she turned away.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span>
+An annoying, gripping sensation attacked her suddenly,
+but in another minute she faced the girl again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you do it, miss, don&#8217;t flounce round&#8217;s if you owned
+the hull of Paradise Road, &#8217;cause it&#8217;ll be nothin&#8217; to your
+credit, whatever you do. You didn&#8217;t make yourself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>At the door she turned and remarked, &#8220;You&#8217;ve got
+t&#8217;have a shoulder strap to hold the wood, an&#8217; you musn&#8217;t
+carry too much to onct. It might hurt your back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be careful,&#8221; gulped Jinnie, &#8220;and mebbe I could help
+make the strap, eh, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>An hour later Jinnie was running a long needle through
+a tough piece of leather. She was making the strap to
+peddle shortwood, and a happier girl never breathed.</p>
+<p>Peg watched her without comment as Lafe fitted the
+strap about her shoulders. In fact, there was nothing for
+the woman to say, when the violet eyes were fixed questioningly
+upon her. Peggy thought of the hunger which
+would be bound to come if any hands were idle, so she muttered
+in excuse, &#8220;There&#8217;s nothin&#8217; like gettin&#8217; used to a
+thing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a fine strap, isn&#8217;t it, Lafe?&#8221; asked the girl, &#8220;It&#8217;s
+almost as good as a cart.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t use a cart in the underbrush,&#8221; explained
+Lafe. &#8220;That&#8217;s why the twig gatherers use straps.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see,&#8221; murmured Jinnie.</p>
+<p>When the cobbler and girl were once more alone together,
+they had a serious confab. They decided that
+every penny Jinnie brought in should go to enriching the
+house, and the girl&#8217;s eyes glistened as she heard the shoemaker
+list over the things that would make them comfortable.</p>
+<p>Most delightful thoughts came to endow the girl&#8217;s mental
+world, which now reached from the cobbler&#8217;s shop to
+the marsh, over a portion of the city, and back again. It
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span>
+was rosy-hued, bright, sparkling with the pennies and
+nickels she intended to earn. All her glory would come
+with the aid of that twig gatherer&#8217;s leather strap. She
+looked down upon it with a proud toss of her head. Jinnie
+was recovering the independent spirit which had dominated
+her when she had wandered alone on the hills away
+to the north.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t wonder if I&#8217;d make fifteen cents some days,&#8221;
+she remarked later at the supper table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you make ten, you&#8217;ll be doin&#8217; well, an&#8217; you and
+Lafe&#8217;ll probably bust open with joy if you do,&#8221; snapped
+Peg. &#8220;Oh, Lord, I&#8217;m gettin&#8217; sick to my stomick hearin&#8217;
+you folks brag. Go to bed now, kid, if you&#8217;re to work to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie fell asleep to dream that her hand was full of
+pennies, and her pockets running over with nickels. She
+was just stooping to pick up some money from the sidewalk
+when Peg&#8217;s voice pierced her ear,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kid,&#8221; said she, &#8220;it&#8217;s mornin&#8217;, an&#8217; your first workin&#8217;
+day. Now hurry your lazy bones an&#8217; get dressed.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_IX_BY_THE_SWEAT_OF_HER_BROW' id='CHAPTER_IX_BY_THE_SWEAT_OF_HER_BROW'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+<h3>BY THE SWEAT OF HER BROW</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Over the bridge into Paradise Road went the lithe,
+buoyant figure of a girl, a loose strap hanging from one
+straight shoulder. Jinnie was radiantly happy, for her
+first day had netted the family twenty cents, and if Paradise
+Road had been covered with eggs, she would not
+have broken many in her flight homeward. If she had been
+more used to Mrs. Grandoken, she would have understood
+the peculiar tightening at the corners of the woman&#8217;s thin
+lips when she delivered the precious pittance. Virginia
+searched the other&#8217;s face for the least sign of approbation.
+She wished Peg would kiss her, but, of course, she dared
+not suggest it. To have a little show of affection seemed
+to Jinnie just then the most desirable thing in the world,
+but the cobbler&#8217;s wife merely muttered as she went away
+to the kitchen, and Virginia, sighing, sat down.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now suppose you tell me all about it, Jinnie,&#8221; Lafe
+suggested smilingly; &#8220;just where you went an&#8217; how you
+earned all the money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Fatigued almost beyond the point of rehearsing her
+experiences, Jinnie took Milly Ann on her lap and curled
+up in the chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;ve walked fifteen miles,&#8221; she began. &#8220;You
+know most folks don&#8217;t want wood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe took one sidewise glance at the beautiful face. He
+remembered a picture he had once seen of an angel. Jinnie&#8217;s
+face was like that picture.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, first, Lafe,&#8221; she recounted, &#8220;I gathered the wood
+in the marsh, then I went straight across the back field
+through the swamp. It&#8217;s froze over harder&#8217;n hell&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe uttered a little, &#8220;Sh!&#8221; and Jinnie, with scarlet
+face, supplemented,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I mean harder&#8217;n <i>anything</i>.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; replied Lafe, nodding.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Bates and his kids were there, but he c&#8217;n carry a
+pile three times bigger&#8217;n I can!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you&#8217;re only a child. Sometimes Bates can&#8217;t sell
+all he gets, though.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I sold all mine,&#8221; asserted Jinnie, brightening.</p>
+<p>The cobbler recalled the history of Jinnie&#8217;s lonely little
+life&mdash;of how during those first fifteen years no kindly soul
+had given her counsel, and now his heart glowed with
+thanksgiving as he realized that she was growing in faith
+and womanliness. He wanted Jinnie to give credit where
+credit was due, so he said,</p>
+<p>&#8220;You sold your wood because you had a helpin&#8217; hand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie was about to protest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I mean&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; breathed Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, angels! Eh?&#8221; interrupted the girl. &#8220;Yes, I sold
+my last two cents&#8217; worth by saying what you told me&mdash;&#8216;He
+gives His angels charge over thee&#8217;&mdash;and, zip! a woman
+bought the last bundle and gave me a cent more&#8217;n I charged
+her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good!&#8221; Lafe was highly pleased. &#8220;It&#8217;ll work every
+time, an&#8217; to make a long story short, it works on boots
+an&#8217; shoes, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wood&#8217;s awful heavy,&#8221; Jinnie decided, irrelevantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; soothed Lafe again. He hesitated a minute,
+drew his hand across his eyes, and continued, &#8220;An&#8217;, by the
+way, Jinnie&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s receptive face caused the cobbler to proceed:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have nothin&#8217; to do with Bates&#8217; son Maudlin,
+if I was you.... He&#8217;s a bad lot.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s head drooped. She flushed to her hair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I saw him to-day,&#8221; she replied. &#8220;He&#8217;s got wicked eyes.
+I hate boys who wink!&#8221;</p>
+<p>A look of desperation clouded the fair young face, and
+the cobbler, looking at the slender girlish figure, and thinking
+the while of Maudlin Bates, suddenly put out his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here, lassie,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>Another flame of color mounted to Jinnie&#8217;s tousled hair.
+With hanging head, she pushed Milly Ann from her lap
+and walked to the cobbler&#8217;s side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What did Maudlin say to you?&#8221; he demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He said he&#8217;d&mdash;he&#8217;d crack my twigs for me if&mdash;if I&#8217;d
+kiss him, and he pinched me when I wouldn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Anger and deep resentment displayed themselves on
+Lafe&#8217;s pale face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, lass,&#8221; he breathed. &#8220;I c&#8217;n trust you, child.
+Can&#8217;t I trust you? You wouldn&#8217;t&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie drew away from Lafe&#8217;s embrace.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;d rather be killed&#8217;n have Maudlin kiss me,&#8221;
+she cried passionately.</p>
+<p>Just then Peg came to the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Run to the butcher&#8217;s for a bit of chopped steak, Jinnie,&#8221;
+she ordered, &#8220;an&#8217; make your head save your heels by
+bringin&#8217; in some bread.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie jumped up quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please use some of my money to buy &#8217;em, Peggy,&#8221; she
+begged. &#8220;Oh, please do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy eyed her sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kid,&#8221; she warned. &#8220;I want to tell you something before
+you go any farther in life. You may be smart, but
+&#8217;tain&#8217;t no credit to you, &#8217;cause you didn&#8217;t make yourself.
+I&#8217;m tellin&#8217; you this for fear makin&#8217; so much money&#8217;ll turn
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span>
+your head.... Here&#8217;s your ten cents.... Now go
+along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After Jinnie had gone, Mrs. Grandoken sat down opposite
+her husband.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The girl looks awful tired,&#8221; she offered, after a moment&#8217;s
+silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s been earnin&#8217; her livin&#8217; by the sweat of her brow,&#8221;
+replied Lafe, with a wan smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe she&#8217;ll get used to it,&#8221; growled Peg. &#8220;Of course
+I don&#8217;t like her, but I don&#8217;t want her hurt. &#8217;Twon&#8217;t make
+her sick, will it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, she&#8217;s as strong as a little ox. She&#8217;s got enough
+strength in her body to work ten times harder, but Peg&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+Here Lafe stopped and looked out to the hill beyond
+the tracks, &#8220;but, Peggy, perhaps we c&#8217;n find her
+somethin&#8217; else after a while, when there ain&#8217;t so much fear
+of her uncle. To make a long story short, Peg, danger
+of him&#8217;s the only thing that&#8217;ll keep the kid luggin&#8217;
+wood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was wonderin&#8217;,&#8221; returned Peg, &#8220;if we couldn&#8217;t get
+some one interested in &#8217;er&mdash;the Kings, mebbe. They&#8217;re a
+good sort, with lots of money, an&#8217; are more&#8217;n smart.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s eyes brightened visibly, but saddened again. He
+shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t get the Kings &#8217;cause I read in the paper last
+night they&#8217;re gone away West, to be gone for a year or
+more.... It&#8217;s a good idea, though. Some one&#8217;ll turn
+up, sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;When they do, my man,&#8221; Peg said quickly, &#8220;don&#8217;t be
+takin&#8217; any credit to yourself, &#8217;cause you hadn&#8217;t ought to
+take credit for the plannin&#8217; your sharp brains do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As he shook his head, smiling, she left him quickly and
+shut the door.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_X_ON_THE_BROAD_BOSOM_OF_THE_HAPPY_IN_SPITE' id='CHAPTER_X_ON_THE_BROAD_BOSOM_OF_THE_HAPPY_IN_SPITE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+<h3>ON THE BROAD BOSOM OF THE &#8220;HAPPY IN SPITE&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Thus for one year Jinnie went forth in the morning to
+gather her shortwood, and to sell it in the afternoon.</p>
+<p>Peg always gave her a biscuit to eat during her forenoon&#8217;s
+work, and Jinnie, going from house to house later,
+was often presented with a &#8220;hunk of pie,&#8221; as she afterwards
+told Lafe. If a housewife gave her an apple, she
+would take it home to the cobbler and his wife.</p>
+<p>Late one afternoon, at the close of a bitter day, Jinnie
+had finished her work and was resting on the door sill of
+an empty house on an uptown corner.</p>
+<p>She drew forth her money in girlish pride. Twenty-seven
+cents was what she&#8217;d earned,&mdash;two cents more than
+any day since she began working. This money meant
+much to Jinnie. She hadn&#8217;t yet received a kiss from Mrs.
+Grandoken, but was expecting it daily. Perhaps when
+two cents more were dropped into her hand, Peggy might,
+just for the moment, forget herself and unwittingly express
+some little affection for her.</p>
+<p>With this joyous anticipation the girl recounted her
+money, retained sufficient change for the dinner meat, and
+slipped the rest into her jacket pocket. She rose and had
+started in the direction of the market when a clamor near
+the bridge made her pause. A crowd of men and boys
+were running directly toward her. Above their wild shouts
+could be heard the orders of a policeman, and now and
+then the frightened cry of a small child.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span></p>
+<p>At first Jinnie noticed only the people. Then her eyes
+lowered and she saw, racing toward her, a small, black,
+woolly dog. The animal, making a wild dash for his life,
+had in his anguish lost his mental balance, for he took no
+heed as to where he ran nor what he struck. A louder cry
+of derision rose up from many throats as the small beast
+scuttled between the legs of a farmer&#8217;s horse, which gave
+him a moment&#8217;s respite from his tormentors.</p>
+<p>An instant later they were clamoring again for his unhappy
+little life. Suddenly he ran headlong into a tree,
+striking his shaggy head with terrific force. Then he
+curled up in a limp little heap, just as Jinnie reached him.</p>
+<p>Before Maudlin Bates, the leader of the crowd, arrived,
+the girl had picked up the insensible dog and thrust him
+under her jacket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s dead, I guess,&#8221; she said, looking up into the boy&#8217;s
+face, &#8220;I&#8217;ll take him to the cobbler&#8217;s shop and bury him....
+He isn&#8217;t any good when he&#8217;s dead.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Maudlin Bates grinned from ear to ear, put his hands
+behind his back, and allowed his eyes to rove over the girl&#8217;s
+straight young figure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Billy Maybee was tryin&#8217; to tie a tin can to his tail,&#8221;
+he explained, stuttering, &#8220;and the cur snapped at him.
+We was goin&#8217; to hit his head against the wall.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s dead now,&#8221; assured Jinnie once more. &#8220;It isn&#8217;t
+any use to smash dead dogs.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This reasoning being unanswerable, Maudlin turned
+grumblingly away.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s heart beat loudly with living hope. Perhaps
+the little dog wasn&#8217;t dead. Oh, how she hoped he&#8217;d live!
+She stopped half way home, and pushed aside her jacket
+and peeped down at him. He was still quite limp, and the
+girl hurried on. She did not even wait to buy the meat
+nor the bread Peg had asked her to bring in.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span></p>
+<p>As she hurried across the tracks, she saw Grandoken
+sitting in the window.</p>
+<p>He saluted her with one hand, but as she was using both
+of hers to hold the dog, she only smiled in return, with a
+bright nod of her head.</p>
+<p>Once in the shop, she looked about cautiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got something, Lafe,&#8221; she whispered, &#8220;something
+you&#8217;ll like.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When she displayed the hurt dog, Lafe put out his
+hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is the little critter dead?&#8221; he asked solemnly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I hope not!&#8221; replied Jinnie, and excitedly explained
+the episode.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe took the foundling in his hands, turning the limp
+body over and over.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, go ask Peg to bring some hot water in a pan,&#8221;
+he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ll give the little feller a chanct to live.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg came in with a basin of water, stared at the wide-eyed
+girl and her smiling husband, then down upon the
+dog.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, for Lord&#8217;s sake, where&#8217;d you get that little
+beast?&#8221; she demanded. &#8220;&#8217;Tain&#8217;t livin&#8217;, is it? Might as
+well throw it in the garbage pail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Nevertheless, she put down the basin as she spoke, and
+took the puppy from her husband. At variance with her
+statement that the dog might as well be thrown out, she
+laid him in the hot water, rubbing the bruised body from
+the top of its head to the small stubby tail. During this
+process Lafe had unfastened Jinnie&#8217;s shortwood strap,
+and the girl, free, dropped upon the floor beside Peg.</p>
+<p>Suddenly the submerged body of the pup began to move.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s alive, Peg!&#8221; cried Jinnie. &#8220;Look at his legs a
+kicking!... Oh, Lafe, he&#8217;s trying to get out of the
+water!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span></p>
+<p>Peg turned sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If he ain&#8217;t dead already,&#8221; she grunted, &#8220;you&#8217;ll kill him
+hollerin&#8217; like that. Anyway, &#8217;tain&#8217;t no credit to hisself if
+he lives. He didn&#8217;t have nothin&#8217; to do with his bein&#8217; born,
+an&#8217; he won&#8217;t have nothin&#8217; to do with his goin&#8217; on livin&#8217;.
+Shut up, now!... There, massy me, he&#8217;s coming to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie squatted upon her feet, while Lafe wheeled his
+chair a bit nearer. For some moments the trio watched
+the small dog, struggling to regain consciousness. Then
+Peggy took him from the water and wrapped him carefully
+in her apron.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lordy, he&#8217;s openin&#8217; his eyes,&#8221; she grinned, &#8220;an&#8217; you,
+girl, you go in there by the fire an&#8217; just hold him in your
+arms. Mebbe he&#8217;ll come round all right. You can&#8217;t put
+him out in the street till he&#8217;s better.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For the larger part of an hour, Jinnie held the newcomer
+close to her thumping heart, and when a spasm of
+pain attacked the shaggy head resting on her arm, she
+wept in sympathetic agony. Could Peg be persuaded to
+allow the dog to stay? She would promise to earn an extra
+penny to buy food for this new friend. At this opportune
+moment Mrs. Grandoken arrived from the market.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How&#8217;s he comin&#8217; on?&#8221; she asked, standing over them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fine!&#8221; replied Jinnie. &#8220;And, Peg, he wants to stay.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did he tell y&#8217; that?&#8221; demanded Peg, grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he didn&#8217;t say just those words,&#8221; said the girl,
+&#8220;but, Peggy, if he could talk, he&#8217;d tell you how much he
+loved you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look a here, kid,&#8221; broke in Mrs. Grandoken, &#8220;that dog
+ain&#8217;t goin&#8217; to stay around this house, an&#8217; you might as
+well understand it from the beginnin&#8217;. I&#8217;ve enough to do
+with you an&#8217; Lafe an&#8217; those cats, without fillin&#8217; my house
+with sick pups. So get that notion right out of your
+noddle!... See?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie bowed her head over the sick dog and made a
+respectful reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll try to get the notion out,&#8221; said she, &#8220;but, Peggy,
+oh, Peggy dear, I love the poor little thing so <i>awful</i> much
+that it&#8217;ll be hard for me to throw him away. Will you
+send him off when he&#8217;s better, and not ask me to do it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie cocked her pretty head inquiringly on one side,
+closed one eye, and looked at Peg from the other.</p>
+<p>Peggy sniffed a ruse. She came forward, spread her
+feet a bit, rolling her hands nervously in her apron. She
+hated an everlasting show of feelings, but sometimes it was
+difficult for her to crush the emotions which had so often
+stirred in her breast since the girl came to live with them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might as well tell you one thing right now, Jinnie
+Grandoken,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You brought that pup into this
+house an&#8217; you&#8217;ll take him out, or he won&#8217;t get took; see?&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a certain tone in Peg&#8217;s voice the girl had
+heard before.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then he won&#8217;t get kicked out &#8217;t all, Peg,&#8221; she said,
+with a petulant, youthful smile. &#8220;I just won&#8217;t do it!
+Lafe can&#8217;t, and if you don&#8217;t&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken made a deep noise in her throat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a sassy brat,&#8221; said she, &#8220;that&#8217;s what you are!
+An&#8217; if Lafe don&#8217;t just about beat the life out of you when
+I tell him about this, I will, with my own hand, right before
+his eyes. That&#8217;s what&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie interrupted her eagerly. &#8220;Lafe won&#8217;t beat me,&#8221;
+she answered, &#8220;but I&#8217;ll let you make me black and blue,
+Peg, if I can keep the puppy. Matty used to beat me
+fine, and she was a good bit stronger&#8217;n you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy&#8217;s eyes drew down at the corners, and her lip
+quivered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep him if you want to, imp of Satan, but some day&#8211;&#8211;here,
+see if the beast&#8217;ll eat this bit of meat.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie placed the shivering dog on the floor, and Peg
+put a piece of meat under his nose. In her excitement,
+Jinnie rushed away to Lafe. Peg&#8217;s mumble followed her
+even through the closed door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cobbler, oh, dear good Lafe,&#8221; cried the girl, &#8220;the dog&#8217;s
+living! Peg says I can keep &#8217;im, and I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to fiddle
+for him to-night. Do you think he&#8217;ll forget all about his
+hurt if I do that, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>At that moment, shamed that she had given in to the
+importunate Jinnie, Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop
+door, shoving the half wet dog inside.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s your pup, kid,&#8221; she growled, &#8220;an&#8217; y&#8217;d best keep
+him from under my feet if you don&#8217;t want him stepped on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler smiled his slow, sweet smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg&#8217;s heart&#8217;s bigger&#8217;n this house,&#8221; he murmured.
+&#8220;Bring him here, lassie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl, dog in arms, stood at the cobbler&#8217;s side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;re you goin&#8217; to name him?&#8221; asked Lafe, tenderly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno, but he&#8217;s awful happy, now he&#8217;s going to stay
+with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Call &#8217;im &#8216;Happy Pete&#8217;,&#8221; said the cobbler, smiling, &#8220;an&#8217;
+we&#8217;ll take &#8217;im into our club; shall we, kid?&#8221;</p>
+<p>So Happy Pete was gathered that day into the bosom
+of the &#8220;Happy in Spite.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XI_WHAT_HAPPENED_TO_JINNIE' id='CHAPTER_XI_WHAT_HAPPENED_TO_JINNIE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+<h3>WHAT HAPPENED TO JINNIE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>With a sigh Jinnie allowed Lafe to buckle the shortwood
+strap to her shoulder. Oh, how many days she had
+gone through a similar operation with a similar little sigh!</p>
+<p>It was a trying ordeal, that of collecting and selling
+kindling wood, for the men of Paradise Road took the best
+of the shortwood to be found in the nearer swamp and
+marsh lands, and oftentimes it was nearly noon before the
+girl would begin her sale.</p>
+<p>But the one real happiness of her days lay in dropping
+the pennies she earned into Peg&#8217;s hand.</p>
+<p>Now Peggy didn&#8217;t believe in spoiling men or children,
+but one morning, as she tied a scarf about Jinnie&#8217;s neck,
+she arranged the black curls with more than usual tenderness.</p>
+<p>Pausing at the door and looking back at the woman,
+Jinnie suddenly threw up her head in determination.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I love you, Peggy,&#8221; she said, drawing in a long breath.
+&#8220;Give me a little kiss, will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>There! The cat was out of the bag. In another instant
+Jinnie would know her fate. How she dared to ask
+such a thing the girl could never afterwards tell.</p>
+<p>If Peg kissed her, work would be easy. If she denied
+her&#8211;&#8211;Peggy glanced at her, then away again, her eyes
+shifting uneasily.</p>
+<p>But after once taking a stand, Jinnie held her ground.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span>
+Her mouth was pursed up as if she was going to whistle.
+Would Peg refuse such a little request? Evidently Peggy
+would, for she scoffingly ordered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go along with you, kid&mdash;go long, you flip little brat!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like a kiss awful much,&#8221; repeated Jinnie, still standing.
+Her voice was low-toned and pleading, her blue eyes
+questioningly on Peg&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>Peg shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t kiss you &#8217;cause I hate you,&#8221; she sniffed. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+always hated you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes filled with tears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it,&#8221; she replied sadly, &#8220;I know it, but I&#8217;d like
+a kiss just the same because&mdash;because I <i>do</i> love <i>you</i>, Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A bit of the same sentiment that had worried her for
+over a year now attacked Mrs. Grandoken. Her common
+sense told her to dash away to the kitchen, but a tugging
+in her breast kept her anchored to the spot. Suddenly,
+without a word, she snatched the girl close to her broad
+breast and pressed her lips on Jinnie&#8217;s with resounding
+smacks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There! There! And <i>there</i>!&#8221; she cried, between the
+kisses. &#8220;An&#8217; if y&#8217; ever tell a soul I done it, I&#8217;ll scrape
+every inch of skin off&#8217;n your flesh, an&#8217; mebbe I&#8217;ll do something
+worse, I hate y&#8217; that bad.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In less seconds than it takes to tell it, Peg let Jinnie
+go, and the girl went out of the door with a smiling sigh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kisses &#8217;re sweeter&#8217;n roses,&#8221; she murmured, walking to
+the track. &#8220;I wish I&#8217;d get more of &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She turned back as she heard Peg&#8217;s voice calling her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might toddle in an&#8217; bring home a bit of sausage,&#8221;
+said the woman, indifferently, &#8220;an&#8217; five cents&#8217; worth of
+chopped steak.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken watched Jinnie until she turned the
+corner. She felt a strangling sensation in her throat.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span></p>
+<p>A little later she flung the kitchen utensils from place to
+place, and otherwise acted so ugly and out of temper that,
+had Lafe known the whole incident, he would have smiled
+knowingly at the far-off hill and held his peace.</p>
+<p>Late in the afternoon Jinnie counted seventeen pennies,
+one dime and a nickel. It was a fortune for any girl to
+make, and what was better yet, buckled to her young
+shoulders in the shortwood strap was almost her next
+day&#8217;s supply. As she replaced the money in her pocket
+and walked toward the market, she murmured gravely,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe Peg&#8217;s kisses helped me to get it, but&mdash;but I
+musn&#8217;t forget Lafe&#8217;s prayers.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her smile was radiant and self-possessed. She was one
+of the world&#8217;s workers and loved Lafe and Peg and the
+world with her whole honest young heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thirty-two cents,&#8221; she whispered. &#8220;That&#8217;s a pile of
+money. I wish I could buy Lafe a posy. He does love
+&#8217;em so, and he can&#8217;t get out like Peg and me to see beautiful
+things.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She stopped before a window where brilliant blossoms
+were exhibited. Ever since she began to work, one of the
+desires of Jinnie&#8217;s soul had been to purchase a flower. As
+she scrutinized the scarlet and white carnations, the deep
+red roses, and the twining green vines, she murmured.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg loves Lafe even if she does bark at him. She
+won&#8217;t mind if I buy him one. I&#8217;ll make more money to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She opened the door of the shop and drew her unwieldy
+burden carefully inside. A girl stood back of the counter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How much&#8217;re your roses?&#8221; asked Jinnie, nodding toward
+the window and jingling the pennies in her pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The white ones&#8217;re five cents a piece,&#8221; said the clerk,
+&#8220;and the red ones&#8217;re ten.... Do y&#8217; want one?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll take a white one,&#8221; replied the purchaser.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Shall I wrap it in paper?&#8221; asked the other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;ll carry it this way. I&#8217;d like to look at it going
+home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl passed the rose to Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It smells nice, too,&#8221; she commented.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; assented Jinnie, delightedly, taking a whiff.</p>
+<p>Then she went on to the meat market to buy the small
+amount of meat required for the three of them.</p>
+<p>One of the men grinned at her from the back of the
+store, calling, &#8220;Hello, kid!&#8221; and Maudlin Bates, swinging
+idly on a stool, shouted, &#8220;What&#8217;s wanted now, Jinnie?&#8221; and
+still another man came forward with the question,
+&#8220;Where&#8217;d you get the flower, lass?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bought it,&#8221; replied Jinnie, leaning against the counter.
+&#8220;I got it next door for the cobbler. He&#8217;s lame and
+can&#8217;t get out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The market man turned to wait upon her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Five cents&#8217; worth of chopped meat,&#8221; ordered Jinnie,
+&#8220;and four sausages.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t you afraid you&#8217;ll overload your stomachs over
+there at the cobbler&#8217;s shop?&#8221; laughed one of the men. &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+tell you what I&#8217;ll do, Jinnie ... Do you see that ring of
+sausage hangin&#8217; on that hook?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl nodded wonderingly, looking sidewise at
+Maudlin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, if you&#8217;ll give us a dance, a good one, mind you,
+still keepin&#8217; the wood on your back, I&#8217;ll buy you the hull
+string. It&#8217;ll last a week the way you folks eat meat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s face reddened painfully, but the words appealed
+to her money-earning spirit, and with a curious sensation
+she glanced around. Could she dance, with the wondering,
+laughing, admiring gaze of the men upon her? And Maudlin,
+too! How she detested his lustful, doltish eyes!</p>
+<p>She straightened her shoulders, considering. The wood
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span>
+was heavy, and the strap, bound tightly about her chest
+and arms, made her terribly tired. But a whole string of
+sausage was a temptation she could not withstand. In
+her fertile imagination she could see Lafe nod his approbation,
+and Peggy joyously frying her earnings in the pan.
+She might even get three more kisses when no one was
+looking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what to dance,&#8221; she said presently, studying
+the rose in her confusion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, just anything,&#8221; encouraged the man on the stool.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll whistle a tune.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hand her the sausage, butcher;&#8221; sniggered Maudlin,
+&#8220;then she&#8217;ll be sure of it. The feel of it&#8217;ll make her dance
+better.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The speaker grinned as the butcher took the string
+from the hook. Jinnie slipped the stem of the cobbler&#8217;s
+rose between her white teeth, grasped the sausage in one
+hand and gripped the shortwood strap with the other.
+Then the man started a rollicking whistle, and Jinnie took
+a step or two.</p>
+<p>Every one in the place drew nearer. Here was a sight
+they never had seen&mdash;a lovely, shy-eyed, rosy, embarrassed
+girl, with a load of kindling wood on the strong young
+shoulders, turning and turning in the center of the market.
+In one hand she held a ring of sausage, and between
+her lips a white rose.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ll give us a grand fine dance, lass,&#8221; encouraged
+the butcher, &#8220;you c&#8217;n have the chopped meat, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man&#8217;s offer sifted through Jinnie&#8217;s tired brain and
+stimulated her to quicker action. She turned again, shifting
+the weight more squarely on her shoulders, her feet
+keeping perfect time with the shrill, whistling tune.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Faster! Faster!&#8221; taunted Maudlin. &#8220;Earn your
+meat, girl! Don&#8217;t be a piker!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span></p>
+<p>Faster and faster whirled Jinnie, the heft of the shortwood
+carrying her about in great circles. Her cap had
+fallen from her head, loosing the glorious curls, and her
+breath whistled past the stem of Lafe&#8217;s white flower like
+night wind past a taut wire.</p>
+<p>Jinnie forgot everything but the delight of earning
+something for her loved ones&mdash;something that would bring
+a caress from Lafe. She was sure of Lafe, very sure!</p>
+<p>As voices called &#8220;Faster!&#8221; and still &#8220;Faster!&#8221; Jinnie
+let go the shortwood strap to fling aside her curls. Just
+at that moment she whirled nearer Maudlin Bates, who
+thrust forth his great foot and tripped her. As she staggered,
+not one of those watching had sense enough to catch
+her as she fell. At that moment the door swung open and
+Peg Grandoken&#8217;s face appeared. She looked questioningly
+at the market man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought I saw Jinnie come in,&#8221; she hesitated&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>Then realizing something was wrong, her eyes fell upon
+the stricken girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She was just earnin&#8217; a little sausage by dancin&#8217;,&#8221; the
+butcher excused.</p>
+<p>Peggy stared and stared, stunned for the moment. The
+hangdog expression on Maudlin&#8217;s face expressed his crime
+better than words would have done. Jinnie&#8217;s little form
+was huddled against the counter, the shortwood scattered
+around her, and from her forehead blood was oozing. On
+the slender arm was the ring of sausage and between her
+set teeth was Lafe&#8217;s pale rose. With her outraged soul
+shining in her eyes, Peggy gathered the unconscious girl
+in her two strong arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I bet <i>you</i> done it, you damn Maudlin!&#8221; she gritted,
+and without another word, left the market.</p>
+<p>Within a few minutes she had laid Jinnie on her bed,
+and was telling Lafe the pathetic story.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XII_WATCHING' id='CHAPTER_XII_WATCHING'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+<h3>WATCHING</h3>
+</div>
+<p>There was absolute quiet in the home of the cobbler for
+over a week. The house hung heavy with gloom. Jinnie
+Grandoken was fighting a ghastlier monster than even old
+Matty had created for her amusement.</p>
+<p>Of course Jinnie didn&#8217;t realize this, but two patient
+watchers knew, and so did a little black dog. To say
+that Lafe suffered, as Peggy repeated over and over to
+him the story of Jinnie&#8217;s loving act, would be words of
+small import, and through the night hours, when the cobbler
+relieved his wife at the sick girl&#8217;s bed, shapes black
+and forbidding rose before him, menacing the child he&#8217;d
+vowed to protect.</p>
+<p>Could it be that Maudlin Bates had anything to do with
+Jinnie&#8217;s fall? Even so, he was powerless to shield her
+from the young wood gatherer. A more perplexing problem
+had never faced his paternal soul. After his little son
+had gone away, there had been no child to love until&mdash;and
+now as he looked at Jinnie, agony surged through him
+with the memory of that other agony&mdash;for she might go
+to little Lafe.</p>
+<p>There came again the stabbing pain born with Peg&#8217;s tale
+of the dance. The white rose lay withered in the cobbler&#8217;s
+bosom where it had been since his girl had been carried to
+what the doctor said would in all probability be her deathbed.
+It was on nights like this that dead memories, with
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span>
+solemn mien, raced from their graves, haunting the lame
+man. Even Lafe&#8217;s wonderful portion of faith had diminished
+during the past few days. He found himself
+praying mighty prayers that Jinnie would be spared, yet
+in mental bitterness visualizing her death. Oh, to keep
+yet a while within the confines of his life the child he loved!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let &#8217;er stay, Lord dear, let my Rose o&#8217; Paradise stay,&#8221;
+Lafe cried out into the shadowy night, time and time again.</p>
+<p>Peggy came, as she often did, to wheel him away and
+order him to bed, but this evening Lafe told Peg he&#8217;d
+rather stay with Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She looks like death,&#8221; he whispered unnerved.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She is almost dead,&#8221; replied the woman grimly.</p>
+<p>The doctor entered with silent tread. Stealing to the
+bed, he put his hand on the girl&#8217;s brow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s better,&#8221; he whispered, smilingly. &#8220;Look! Damp!
+Nothing could be a surer sign!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;May the good God be praised!&#8221; moaned Lafe.</p>
+<p>Jinnie stirred, lifted her heavy lids, and surveyed the
+room vacantly. Her glance passed over the medical man
+as if he were not within the range of her vision. She
+gazed at Lafe only, with but a faint glimmer of recognition,
+then on to Peg wavered the sunken blue eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Drink of water, Peggy dear,&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken dropped the fluid into the open,
+parched mouth from a spoon; then she bent low to catch
+the stammering words:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did Lafe like the rose, Peggy, and did you get the ring
+of sausage?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg glanced at the doctor, a question struggling to her
+lips, but she could not frame the words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell her &#8216;yes&#8217;,&#8221; said the man under his breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe just doted on the flower, honey,&#8221; acknowledged
+Peggy, bending over the bed, &#8220;and I cooked all the sausage,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span>
+an&#8217; we two et &#8217;em. They was finer&#8217;n silk.... Now
+go to sleep; will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; trembled Jinnie. &#8220;Put Happy Pete in my
+arms, dear.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken looked once more at the doctor. He
+nodded his head slightly.</p>
+<p>So with the dog clasped in her arms, Jinnie straightway
+fell asleep.</p>
+<p>Then Peggy wheeled Lafe away to bed, and as she
+helped him from the chair, she said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I lied to her just now with my own mouth, Lafe. I
+told her we et them sausages. We couldn&#8217;t eat &#8217;em &#8217;cause
+they was all mashed up an&#8217; covered with blood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler&#8217;s eyes searched the mottled face of the
+speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That kind of lies &#8217;re blessed by God in his Heaven,
+Peg,&#8221; he breathed tenderly. &#8220;A lie lendin&#8217; a helpin&#8217; hand
+to a sick lass is better&#8217;n most truths.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Before going to bed Peg peeped in at Jinnie. The girl
+still lay with her arm over the sleeping Pete, her eyes roving
+round the room. She caught sight of the silent woman,
+and a troubled line formed between her brows.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How&#8217;re you going to get money to live, Peggy?&#8221; she
+wailed. &#8220;I&#8217;m just beginning to remember about the dance
+and getting hurt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy stood a moment at the foot of the bed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe&#8217;s got a whole pocket full o&#8217; money,&#8221; she returned
+glibly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s nice,&#8221; sighed the girl in relief.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut up now an&#8217; go to sleep! Lafe&#8217;s got enough cash
+to last a month.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And as the white lids drooped over the violet eyes, Peg
+Grandoken&#8217;s guardian angel registered another lie to her
+credit in the life-book of her Heavenly Father.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIII_WHAT_JINNIE_FOUND_ON_THE_HILL' id='CHAPTER_XIII_WHAT_JINNIE_FOUND_ON_THE_HILL'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+<h3>WHAT JINNIE FOUND ON THE HILL</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The days rolled on and on, and the first warm impulses
+of spring brought Jinnie, pale and thin, back to Lafe&#8217;s
+side.</p>
+<p>She was growing so strong that days when the weather
+permitted, Peg put a wrap on her, telling her to breathe
+some color into her cheeks.</p>
+<p>For a long time Jinnie was willing to remain quietly on
+the hut steps where she could see the cobbler whacking
+away on the torn footwear. She knew that if she looked
+long enough, he would glance up and smile the smile which
+always warmed the cockles of her loving heart.</p>
+<p>As she grew better, and therefore restless, she walked
+with Happy Pete along the cinder path beside the tracks.
+Each day she went a little further than the day before,
+the spirit of adventure beginning to live again within her.
+The confines of her narrow world were no longer kept taut
+by the necessity of selling wood, and to-day it seemed to
+broaden to the far-away hill from whence the numberless
+fingers of shadow and sunshine beckoned to the sentimental
+girl.</p>
+<p>She wandered through Paradise Road with the little dog
+as a companion, and finding her way to the board walk,
+strolled slowly along.</p>
+<p>Wandering up above the city, she discovered a lonely
+spot snuggled in the hills, and gathering Happy Pete
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span>
+into her arms, she lay down. Over her head countless birds
+sang in the sunshine, and just below, in the hollow, were
+squirrels, chattering out their happy existence. Dreamily,
+through the leaves of the trees, Jinnie watched the white
+clouds float across the sky like flocks of sheep, and soon
+the peace of the surrounding world lulled her to rest.</p>
+<p>When Happy Pete touched her with his slender tongue,
+Jinnie sat up, staring sleepily around. At a sound, she
+turned her head and caught sight of a little boy, whose
+tangled hair lay in yellow curls on his head.</p>
+<p>The sight of tears and boyish distress made Jinnie start
+quickly toward him, but he seemed so timid and afraid
+she did not speak.</p>
+<p>Suddenly, two slight, twig-scratched arms fluttered toward
+her, and still without a word Jinnie took the trembling
+hands into hers. Happy Pete crawled cautiously to
+the girl&#8217;s side; then, realizing something unusual, he threw
+up his black-tipped nose and whined. At the faint howl,
+the boy&#8217;s hands quivered violently in Jinnie&#8217;s. He caught
+his breath painfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, who&#8217;re you? Are you a boy or a girl?&#8221;</p>
+<p>His eyes were touched with an indefinable expression.
+Jinnie flushed as she scanned for a moment her calico skirt
+and overhanging blouse. Then with a tragic expression
+she released her hands, and ran her fingers through her
+hair. With such long curls did she look like a boy?</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a girl,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Can&#8217;t you see I&#8217;m a girl?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m blind,&#8221; said the boy, &#8220;so&mdash;so I had to ask you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie leaned forward and scrutinized him intently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean,&#8221; she demanded brokenly, &#8220;that you can&#8217;t
+see me, nor Happy Pete, nor the trees, nor the birds, nor
+the squirrels, skipping around?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy bowed his head in assent, but brightened almost
+instantly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I can&#8217;t see those things, but I&#8217;ve got lots of stars
+inside my head. They&#8217;re as bright as anything, only
+sometimes my tears put &#8217;em out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then, as if he feared he would lose his new friend, he
+felt for her hand once more.</p>
+<p>Jinnie returned the clinging pressure. For the second
+time in her life her heart beat with that strange emotion&mdash;the
+protective instinct she had felt for her father. She
+knew at that moment she loved this little lad, with his
+wide-staring, unseeing eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m lost,&#8221; said the boy, sighing deeply, &#8220;and I cried
+ever so long, but nobody would come, and my stars all
+went out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me about your stars,&#8221; she said eagerly. &#8220;Are they
+sky stars?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno what sky stars are. My stars shine in my
+head lovely and I get warm. I&#8217;m cold all over and my
+heart hurts when they go out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; murmured Jinnie. &#8220;I wish they&#8217;d always shine.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So do I.&#8221; Then lifting an eager, sparkling face, he
+continued, &#8220;They&#8217;re shinin&#8217; now, &#8217;cause I found you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;re your folks?&#8221; asked Jinnie, swallowing hard.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno. I lost &#8217;em a long time ago, and went to live
+with Mag. She licked me every day, so&mdash;I just runned
+away&mdash;I&#8217;ve been here a awful long time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie considered a moment before explaining an idea
+that had slipped into her mind as if it belonged there.
+She would take him home with her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re going to Lafe&#8217;s house,&#8221; she announced presently.
+&#8220;Happy Pete and me and Peg live at Lafe Grandoken&#8217;s
+home. Peggy makes bully soup.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I&#8217;m so hungry,&#8221; sighed the boy. &#8220;Where&#8217;s the
+dog I heard barking?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He withdrew his hands, moving them outward, searching
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span>
+for something. The girl tried to push Pete forward, but
+the dog only snuggled closer to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Petey, dear, I&#8217;m ashamed of you!&#8221; she chided lovingly.
+&#8220;Can&#8217;t you see the little fellow&#8217;s trying to feel you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Happy Pete, as if he also were ashamed, came
+within reach of the wavering hands, and crouched low, to
+be looked over with ten slender finger tips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s awful beautiful!&#8221; exclaimed the boy. &#8220;His hair&#8217;s
+softer&#8217;n silk, and his body&#8217;s as warm as warm can be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie contemplated Happy Pete&#8217;s points of beauty.
+Never before had she thought him anything more than a
+homely, lovable dog, with squat little legs, and a pointed
+nose. In lightninglike comparison she brought to her mind
+the things she always considered beautiful&mdash;the spring violets,
+the summer roses, that belt of wonderful color skirting
+the afternoon horizon, and all the wonders of nature
+of which her romantic world consisted. The contrast between
+these and the shaking black dog, with his smudge of
+tangled hair hanging over his eyes, shocked Jinnie&#8217;s artistic
+sense.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If&#8211;&#8211;if you say he&#8217;s beautiful, then he is,&#8221; she stammered
+almost inaudibly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course he is! What&#8217;s your name?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie. Jinnie Grandoken... What&#8217;s yours?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Blind Bobbie, or sometimes just Bobbie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll call you Bobbie, if you want me to.... I
+like you awful well. I feel it right in here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She pressed the boy&#8217;s fingers to her side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s your heart!&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;I got one
+too! Feel it jump!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s fingers pressed the spot indicated by the little
+boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My goodness,&#8221; she exclaimed, &#8220;it&#8217;ll jump out of your
+mouth, won&#8217;t it?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Nope! It always beats like that!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s your mother?&#8221; asked Jinnie after a space.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose she&#8217;s dead, or Mag wouldn&#8217;t a had me. I
+don&#8217;t know very much, but I &#8217;member how my mother&#8217;s
+hands feel. They were soft and warm. She used to come
+to see me at the woman&#8217;s house who died&mdash;the one who give
+me to Mag.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She must have been a lovely mother,&#8221; commented
+Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She were! Mag tried to find her &#8217;cause she said she
+was rich, and when she couldn&#8217;t, she beat me. I thought
+mebbe I&#8217;d find mother out in the street. That&#8217;s why I
+run away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought of her own dead father, and the child&#8217;s
+halting tale brought back that one night of agony when
+Thomas Singleton died, alone and unloved, save for herself.
+She wanted to cry, but instead she murmured,
+&#8220;Happy in Spite,&#8221; as Lafe had bidden her, and the melting
+mood vanished. The cobbler and his club were always
+wonderfully helpful to Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My mother told me onct,&#8221; Bobbie went on, &#8220;she didn&#8217;t
+have nothin&#8217; to live for. I was blind, you see, and wasn&#8217;t
+any good&mdash;was I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The question, pathetically put, prompted Virginia to
+fling back a ready answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re good &#8217;nough for me and Happy Pete,&#8221; she asserted,
+&#8220;and Lafe&#8217;ll let you be his little boy too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The blind child gasped, and the girl continued assuringly,
+&#8220;Peg&#8217;ll love you, too. She couldn&#8217;t help it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg?&#8221; queried Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, she&#8217;s Lafe&#8217;s wife. Happy Pete and me stay in
+her house.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The blind eyes flashed with sudden hope.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe she&#8217;ll love me a little! Will she?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope so. Anyway, Lafe will. He loves everybody,
+even dogs. He&#8217;ll love you; <i>sure</i> he will!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy shook his head doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nobody but mothers are nice to blind kids. Well&mdash;well&mdash;&#8217;cept
+you. I&#8217;d like to go to Lafe&#8217;s house, though,
+but mebbe the woman wouldn&#8217;t want me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie had her own ideas about this, but because the
+child&#8217;s tears fell hot upon her hands, the mother within
+her grew to greater proportions. Three times she repeated
+softly, &#8220;Happy in Spite.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Happy in Spite,&#8221; she whispered again. Then she sat
+up with a brilliant smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I&#8217;m going to take you to Lafe&#8217;s. Here at
+Lafe&#8217;s my heart&#8217;s awful busy loving everybody. Now I&#8217;ve
+got you I&#8217;m going to take care of you, &#8217;cause I love you
+just like the rest. Stand up and let me wipe your nose.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me see how you look, first,&#8221; faltered the boy.
+&#8220;Where&#8217;s your face?... I want to touch it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>His little hands reached and found Jinnie&#8217;s shoulders.
+Then slowly the fingers moved upwards, pressing here and
+there upon the girl&#8217;s skin, as they traveled in rhythmic
+motion over her cheeks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your hair&#8217;s awful curly and long,&#8221; said he. &#8220;What
+color is it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Color? Well, it&#8217;s black with purple running through
+it, I guess. People say so anyway!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, I know what black is. And your eyes&#8217;re blue,
+ain&#8217;t they?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, blue,&#8221; assented Jinnie. &#8220;I see &#8217;em when I slick
+my hair in the kitchen glass ... I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re
+much like yours.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie paid no heed to the allusion to himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your forehead&#8217;s smooth, too,&#8221; he mused. &#8220;Your eyes
+are big, and the lashes round &#8217;em &#8217;re long. You&#8217;re much
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span>
+prettier&#8217;n your dog, but then girls &#8217;re always pretty.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A flush of pleased vanity reddened Jinnie&#8217;s skin to the
+tips of her ears, and she scrambled to her feet. Then she
+paused, a solemn expression shadowing her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she spoke soberly, &#8220;now I found you, you
+belong to me, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie thrust forth his hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; he breathed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then from now on, from this minute, I&#8217;m going to work
+for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s thoughts were on the shortwood strap, but she
+didn&#8217;t mention it. Oh, how she would work for money to
+give Peg with which to buy food! How happy she would
+be in the absolute ownership of the boy she had discovered
+in the hills! Tenderly she drew him to her. He seemed
+so pitifully helpless.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How old &#8217;re you?&#8221; she demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nine years old.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t look over five,&#8221; said Jinnie, surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s because I&#8217;m always sick,&#8221; explained the boy.</p>
+<p>Jinnie threw up her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, a girl sixteen ought to be able to help an awful
+little boy, oughtn&#8217;t she?... Here, I&#8217;ll put my arm round
+you, right like this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But the boy made a backward step, so that Jinnie,
+thinking he was about to fall, caught him sharply by the
+arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll walk if you&#8217;ll <i>lead</i> me,&#8221; Bobbie explained proudly.</p>
+<p>Thus rebuffed, Jinnie turned the blind face toward the
+east, and together they made their way slowly to the plank
+walk.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIV_HES_COME_TO_LIVE_WITH_US_PEGGY' id='CHAPTER_XIV_HES_COME_TO_LIVE_WITH_US_PEGGY'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;HE&#8217;S COME TO LIVE WITH US, PEGGY&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>They trailed along in silence, the girl watching the
+birds as flock after flock disappeared in the north woods.
+Now and then, when Jinnie looked at the boy, she felt the
+pride which comes only with possession. She was going
+to work for him, to intercede with Peg, to allow the
+foundling to join that precious home circle where the
+cobbler and his wife reigned supreme.</p>
+<p>As they reached the plank walk, the boy lagged back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m tired, girl,&#8221; he panted. &#8220;I&#8217;ve walked till I&#8217;m just
+near dead.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He cried quietly as Jinnie led him into the shadow of
+a tree.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit here with me,&#8221; she invited. &#8220;Lay your head on
+my arm.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And this time he snuggled to her till the blind eyes and
+the pursed delicate mouth were hidden against her arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told you, Bobbie,&#8221; Jinnie resumed presently, &#8220;I&#8217;d
+let you be Lafe&#8217;s little boy, didn&#8217;t I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, girl,&#8221; replied the boy, sleepily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now wasn&#8217;t that awful good of me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Awful good,&#8221; was the dreamy answer. &#8220;My stars&#8217;re
+glory bright now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And most likely Lafe&#8217;ll help you see with your eyes,
+just like Happy Pete and me!&#8221; Jinnie went on eagerly.
+&#8220;All the trees and hundreds of birds, some of &#8217;em yellow
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span>
+and some of &#8217;em red, an&#8217; some of &#8217;em so little and cunning
+they could jump through the knothole in Peg&#8217;s kitchen....
+Don&#8217;t you wish to see all that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The small face brightened and the unseeing eyes
+flashed upward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d find my mother, then,&#8221; breathed Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;d see a big high tree, with a robin making
+his nest in it!... Have y&#8217; ever seen that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie was becoming almost aggressive, for, womanlike,
+with a point to make, each argument was driven
+home with more power.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; Bobbie admitted, and his voice held a certain
+tragic little note.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;ve never seen the red running along the edge
+of the sky, just when the sun&#8217;s going down?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Again his answer was a simple negative.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And hasn&#8217;t anybody tried to show you a cow and her
+calf in the country, nipping the grass all day, in the yellow
+sunshine?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie was waxing eloquent, and her words held high-sounding
+hope. The interest in the child&#8217;s face invited
+her to go on.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I&#8217;ve said I&#8217;d let my folks be yours, and didn&#8217;t
+I find you, and have you got any one else? If you don&#8217;t
+let me help you to Lafe&#8217;s, how you going to see any of
+&#8217;em?&#8221; She paused before delivering her best point, which
+was addressed quite indifferently to the sky. &#8220;And just
+think of that hot soup!&#8221;</p>
+<p>This was enough. Bobbie struggled up, flushed and
+agitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Put your arm around me, girl,&#8221; which invitation
+Jinnie quickly accepted.</p>
+<p>Then they two, so unlike, went slowly down the walk
+toward the tracks to Lafe Grandoken&#8217;s home.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s heart vied with a trip-hammer as they turned
+into Paradise Road. She did not fear the cobbler, but the
+thought of Peggy&#8217;s harsh voice, her ruthless catechizing,
+worried her not a little. Nevertheless, she kept her arm
+about the boy, steadily drawing him on. When they
+came to the side door of the house, the girl turned the
+handle and walked in, leading her weary companion.</p>
+<p>Resolutely she passed on to the kitchen, for she wanted
+the disagreeable part over first. She fumbled in hesitation
+with the knob of the door, and Peg, hearing her, opened
+it. At first, the woman saw only Jinnie, with Happy
+Pete by her side. Then her gaze fell upon the other
+child, whose blind, entreating eyes were turned upward in
+supplication.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is Bobbie,&#8221; announced Jinnie, &#8220;and he&#8217;s come to
+live with us, Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Poor Peggy stared, surprised to silence. She could
+find no words to fit the occasion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He hasn&#8217;t any home!&#8221; Jinnie gasped for breath in
+her excitement. &#8220;Mag, a woman somewhere, beat him and
+he ran away and I found &#8217;im. So he belongs to us now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was gaining assurance every moment. She hoped
+that Peggy was silently acquiescing, for the woman hadn&#8217;t
+uttered a word; she was merely looking from one to the
+other with her characteristically blank expression.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to give him half of Lafe, too,&#8221; confided
+Jinnie, nodding her head toward the waiting child.</p>
+<p>Then Peggy burst forth in righteous indignation. She
+demanded to know how another mouth was to be fed, and
+clothes washed and mended; where the brat was to sleep,
+and what good he was anyway.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you think, kid,&#8221; she stormed at Jinnie, &#8220;you&#8217;re so
+good yourself we&#8217;re wantin&#8217; to take another one worser
+off&#8217;n you are? Don&#8217;t believe it! He can&#8217;t stay here!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie held her ground bravely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;ll start right out and sell wood all day long, if
+you&#8217;ll let him stay, Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A tousled lock of yellow hair hung over Bobbie&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Peggy, dear, Mrs. Good Peggy, let me stay!&#8221; he
+moaned, swaying. &#8220;I&#8217;m so tired, s&#8217;awful tired. I can&#8217;t
+find my mother, nor no place, and my stars&#8217;re all out!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sobbing plaintively, he sank to the floor, and there the
+childish heart laid bare its misery. Then Jinnie, too,
+became quite limp, and forgetting all about &#8220;Happy in
+Spite,&#8221; she knelt alongside of her newly acquired friend,
+and the two despairing young voices rose to the woman
+standing over them. Jinnie thrust her arms around the
+little boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t cry, my Bobbie,&#8221; she sobbed. &#8220;I&#8217;ll go back to
+the hills with you, because you need me. We&#8217;ll live with
+the birds and squirrels, and I&#8217;ll sell wood so we c&#8217;n eat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When she raised her reproachful eyes to Peg, and finished
+with a swipe at her offending nose with her sleeve,
+she had never looked more beautiful, and Peggy glanced
+away, fearing she might weaken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell Lafe I love him, and I love you, too, Peggy. I&#8217;ll
+come every day and see you both, and bring you some
+money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If she had been ten years older or had spent months
+framing a speech to fit the need of this occasion, Jinnie
+could not have been more effective, for Peg&#8217;s rage entirely
+ebbed at these words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get up, you brats,&#8221; she ordered grimly. &#8220;An&#8217; you
+listen to me, Jinnie Grandoken. Your Bobbie c&#8217;n stay,
+but if you ever, so long as you live, bring another maimed,
+lame or blind creature to this house, I&#8217;ll kick it out in
+the street. Now both of you climb up to that table an&#8217;
+eat some hot soup.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie drew a long breath of happiness. She had cried
+a little, she was sorry for that. She had broken her
+resolve always to smile&mdash;to be &#8220;Happy in Spite.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll <i>never</i> bring any one else in, Peg,&#8221; she averred
+gratefully.</p>
+<p>Then she remembered how sweeping was her promise
+and changed it a trifle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course if a kid was awful sick in the street and
+didn&#8217;t have a home, I&#8217;d have to fetch it in, wouldn&#8217;t I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy flounced over to the table, speechless, followed
+by the two children.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XV_WHO_SAYS_THE_KID_CANT_STAY' id='CHAPTER_XV_WHO_SAYS_THE_KID_CANT_STAY'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;WHO SAYS THE KID CAN&#8217;T STAY?&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Twenty minutes later Mrs. Grandoken entered the
+shop and sat down opposite her husband.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she began, clearing her throat.</p>
+<p>The cobbler questioned her with a glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That girl&#8217;ll be the death of this hull shanty,&#8221; she
+announced huskily. &#8220;I hate &#8217;er more&#8217;n anything in the
+world.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe placed a half-mended shoe beside him on the bench.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s ailin&#8217; &#8217;er now, Peggy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, she ain&#8217;t sick,&#8221; interrupted Peg, with curling lip.
+&#8220;She never looked better&#8217;n she does this minute, settin&#8217;
+in there huddlin&#8217; that pup, but she&#8217;s brought home another
+kid, as bad off as a kid can be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A what? What&#8217;d you say, Peg? You don&#8217;t mean a
+youngster!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken bobbed her head, her face stoically
+expressionless. &#8220;An&#8217; bad off,&#8221; she repeated querulously.
+&#8220;The young &#8217;un&#8217;s blind.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Before Lafe&#8217;s mental vision rose Jinnie&#8217;s lovely face,
+her parted lips and self-assured smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But where&#8217;d she get it? It must belong to some &#8217;un.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno. It&#8217;s a boy. He was with a woman&mdash;a bad
+&#8217;un, I gather. She beat &#8217;im until the little feller ran away
+to find his own folks, he says&mdash;and&mdash;Jinnie brought &#8217;im
+home here. She says she&#8217;s goin&#8217; to keep &#8217;im.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span></p>
+<p>The speaker drew her brown skin into a network of
+wrinkles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;d she find &#8217;im?&#8221; Lafe burst forth, &#8220;Of course
+he can&#8217;t stay&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken checked the cobbler&#8217;s words with a
+rough gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hush a minute! She got &#8217;im over near the plank
+walk on the hill&mdash;he was cryin&#8217; for &#8217;is ma.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe was plainly agitated. He felt a spasmodic clutch
+at his heart when he imagined the sorrow of a homeless,
+blind child, but thinking of Peg&#8217;s struggle to make a little
+go a long way, he dashed his sympathy resolutely aside.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course he can&#8217;t stay&mdash;he can&#8217;t!&#8221; he murmured.
+&#8220;It ain&#8217;t possible for you to keep &#8217;im here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In his excitement Lafe bent forward and closed his
+hands over Peg&#8217;s massive shoulder bones. Peggy coughed
+hoarsely and looked away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who says the kid can&#8217;t stay?&#8221; she muttered roughly.
+&#8220;Who said he can&#8217;t?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The words jumped off the woman&#8217;s tongue in sullen defiance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you got too much to do now, Peg. We&#8217;ve made
+you a lot of trouble, woman dear, an&#8217; you sure don&#8217;t want
+to take another&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Like a flash, Peg&#8217;s features changed. She squinted
+sidewise as if a strong light suddenly hurt her sight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who said I didn&#8217;t?&#8221; she drawled. &#8220;Some husbands
+do make me mad, when they&#8217;re tellin&#8217; me what I want, an&#8217;
+what I don&#8217;t want. I hate the blind brat like I do the
+girl, but he&#8217;s goin&#8217; to stay just the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A deep flush dyed Lafe&#8217;s gray face. The intensity of
+his emotion was almost a pain. Life had ever vouchsafed
+Lafe Grandoken encouragement when the dawn was darkest.
+Now Peg&#8217;s personal insult lined his clouds of fear
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span>
+with silver, and they sailed away in rapid succession as
+quickly as they had come; he saw them going like shadows
+under advancing sun rays.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; he said, touching her gently, &#8220;you&#8217;ve the biggest
+heart in all the world, and you&#8217;re the very best
+woman; you be, sure! If you let the poor little kid stay,
+I&#8217;ll make more money, if God gives me strength.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy pushed Lafe&#8217;s hand from her arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I &#8217;spose if you do happen to get five cents more,
+you&#8217;ll puff out with pride till you most bust.... Anyway,
+it won&#8217;t take much more to buy grub for a kid
+with an appetite like a bird.... Come on! I&#8217;ll wheel
+you to the kitchen so you can have a look at &#8217;im.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie glanced around as the husband and wife entered
+the room. She pushed Happy Pete from her lap and
+got up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she exclaimed, &#8220;this is Bobbie&mdash;he&#8217;s come to
+live with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She drew the blind boy from his chair and went forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she explained, &#8220;this is the cobbler. I told
+you about him in the park. See &#8217;im with your fingers once,
+and you&#8217;ll know he&#8217;s the best man ever.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The small boy lifted two frail arms, his lips quivering
+in fright and homesickness. Some feeling created by God
+rose insistent within Lafe. It was a response from the
+heart of the Good Shepherd, who had always gathered
+into his fold the bruised ones of the world. Lafe drew the
+child to his lap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor little thing!&#8221; he murmured sadly.</p>
+<p>With curling lips, his wife stood watching the pair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a bigger fool&#8217;n I thought you was, Lafe Grandoken,&#8221;
+she said, turning away sharply. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t
+make such a fuss over no one livin&#8217;. That&#8217;s just what I
+wouldn&#8217;t.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span></p>
+<p>She threw the last remark over her shoulder as if it
+were something she spurned and wanted to be rid of.</p>
+<p>Bobbie slipped from Lafe&#8217;s arms and described a zigzag
+course across the kitchen floor toward the place where
+Mrs. Grandoken stood. His hands fluttered over Peg&#8217;s
+dress, as high as they could reach.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I like you awful well, Mrs. Peggy,&#8221; he told her, &#8220;and I
+just love your kisses, too, Mrs. Peggy dear. They made
+my stars shine all over my head.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler&#8217;s wife started guiltily, casting her eyes upon
+Lafe. He was silent, his patient face expressing melancholy
+sweetness. As far as the woman could determine,
+he had not heard the boy&#8217;s words. Relieved, she allowed
+her eyes to rest upon Jinnie. The girl was looking directly
+at her. Then Jinnie slowly dropped one white lid
+over a bright, gleeful blue eye in a wicked little wink.
+This was more than Peggy could endure. She <i>had</i> kissed
+the little boy several times during the process of washing
+the tear-stained face and combing the tangled hair, but
+that any one should know it! Just then, Peggy secretly
+said to herself, &#8220;If uther one of them kids get any more
+kisses from me, it&#8217;ll be when water runs uphill. I &#8217;spose
+now I&#8217;ll never hear the last of them smacks.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let go my skirt! Get away, kid,&#8221; she ordered Bobbie.</p>
+<p>The boy dropped his hands reluctantly. He had hoped
+for another kiss.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; said Lafe, &#8220;can I hold him? He seems so
+sad.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken, consciously grim, placed the boy in
+her husband&#8217;s lap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You see,&#8221; philosophized Jinnie, when she and the blind
+child were with the cobbler, &#8220;if a blind kid hasn&#8217;t any
+place to live, the girl who finds &#8217;im has to bring him home!
+Huh, Lafe?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span></p>
+<p>Then she whispered in his ear, &#8220;Couldn&#8217;t Bobbie join
+the &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure he can, lass; sure he can,&#8221; assented Lafe.</p>
+<p>Jinnie whirled back to the little boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, would you like to come in a club that&#8217;ll make
+you happy as long&#8217;s you live?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The bright blind eyes of the boy flashed from Jinnie
+to the man, and he got to his feet tremulously. In his
+little mind, out of which daylight was shut, Jinnie&#8217;s words
+presaged great joy. The girl took his hand and led him
+to the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll have to explain the club to &#8217;im, Lafe,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, &#8217;splain it to me, Lafe dearie,&#8221; purred Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just a club,&#8221; began Lafe, &#8220;only good to keep a
+body happy. Now, me&mdash;well, I&#8217;m happy in spite a-havin&#8217;
+no legs; Jinnie there, she&#8217;s happy in spite a-havin&#8217; no
+folks. Her and me&#8217;s happy in spite a everything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie stood alongside Lafe&#8217;s bench, one busy set of
+fingers picking rhythmically at the cobbler&#8217;s coat, the
+other having sought and found his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to be in the club, cobbler,&#8221; he whispered.</p>
+<p>Mr. Grandoken stooped and kissed the quivering face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; you&#8217;ll be happy in spite a havin&#8217; no eyes?&#8221; he
+questioned.</p>
+<p>The little boy, pressing his cheek against the man&#8217;s
+arm, cooed in delight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And happy in spite of not finding your mother right
+yet?&#8221; interjected Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes, &#8217;cause I <i>am</i> happy. I got my beautiful
+Peggy, ain&#8217;t I? And don&#8217;t she make me a hull lot of fine
+soup, and ain&#8217;t I got Lafe, Happy Pete&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You got me, too, Bobbie,&#8221; Jinnie reminded him gently.</p>
+<p>Bobbie acquiesced by a quick bend of his head, and Lafe
+grasped his hand.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Now you&#8217;re a member of the &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;, Bob,&#8221;
+said he smiling. &#8220;This club is what I call a growin&#8217; affair.
+Four members&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Everybody&#8217;s in,&#8221; burst forth Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Except Peggy,&#8221; sighed Lafe. &#8220;Some day something&#8217;ll
+bring her in, too.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVI_JINNIES_EAR_GETS_A_TWEAK' id='CHAPTER_XVI_JINNIES_EAR_GETS_A_TWEAK'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE&#8217;S EAR GETS A TWEAK</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Bobbie had been at the Grandoken home scarcely a
+week before Jinnie again got into difficulty. One morning,
+wide-awake, beside the blind boy, she happened to
+glance toward the door. There stood Peg, her face distorted
+by rage, staring at her with terrible eyes. Jinnie
+sat up in a twinkling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, Peggy, dear?&#8221; she faltered. &#8220;What have
+I done now?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without reply, Peggy marched to the bed and took the
+girl by the ear. In this way she pulled her to the floor,
+walking her ahead of her to the kitchen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;ve done, Peggy,&#8221; repeated Jinnie,
+meekly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you. You&#8217;ll know, all right, miss! Now if
+you&#8217;ve eyes, squint down there!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was pointing to the floor, and as the room was
+rather dark, Jinnie at first could discern nothing. Then
+as her eyes became accustomed to the shadows, she
+saw&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, what is it, Peggy? Oh, my! Oh, my!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy gave her a rough little shake.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what, Jinnie Grandoken, without any
+more ado. Well, they&#8217;re cats, just plain everyday cats!
+Another batch of Miss Milly Ann&#8217;s kits, if y&#8217; want to
+know. They can&#8217;t stay in this house, miss, an&#8217; when I
+say a thing, I mean it! My word&#8217;s law in this shanty!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span></p>
+<p>She was still holding the girl&#8217;s ear, and suddenly gave
+it another tweak. Jinnie pulled this tender member from
+Peggy&#8217;s fingers with a delighted little chuckle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy darling, aren&#8217;t they sweet? Oh, Peggy&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t they sweet?&#8221; mimicked Peggy. &#8220;They&#8217;re just
+sweet &#8217;nough to get chucked out. Now, you get dressed,
+an&#8217; take &#8217;em somewhere. D&#8217; you hear?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie wheeled about for another tug of war. It was
+dreadful how she had to fight with Peggy to get her own
+way about things like this. First with Happy Pete, then
+with Bobbie, and now&mdash;to-day&mdash;with five small kittens,
+not one of them larger than the blind child&#8217;s hand. She
+looked into Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s face, which was still grim,
+but Jinnie decided not quite so grim as when the woman
+appeared at her bedroom door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;ll go in an&#8217; honey round Lafe in a
+minute, thinkin&#8217; he&#8217;ll help you keep &#8217;em,&#8221; said Mrs. Grandoken.
+&#8220;But this time it won&#8217;t do no good.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy!&#8221; blurted Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut your mouth! An&#8217; don&#8217;t be Peggyin&#8217; me, or I&#8217;ll
+swat you,&#8221; vowed Peg.</p>
+<p>The woman glared witheringly into a pair of beseeching
+blue eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get into your clothes, kid,&#8221; she ordered immediately,
+&#8220;then you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll come back, dear,&#8221; gurgled Jinnie, &#8220;and do
+just what you want me to.&#8221; Then with subtle modification,
+she continued, &#8220;I mean, Peg, I&#8217;ll do just what you
+want me to after I&#8217;ve talked about it a bit... Oh, please,
+let me give &#8217;em one little kiss apiece.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy flounced to the stove.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Be a fool an&#8217; kiss &#8217;em if you want to... I hate &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In the coarse nightdress Peggy had made for her, Jinnie
+sat down beside Milly Ann. The yellow mother purred in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span>
+delight. She&#8217;d brought them five new babies, and no idea
+entered her mother heart that she would have to part
+with even one.</p>
+<p>Out came the kittens into the girl&#8217;s lap, and one by one
+they were tenderly lifted to be kissed. Both Peggy and
+the kisser were silent while this loving operation was in
+process. Then Jinnie, still sitting, looked from Milly Ann
+to Peggy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess she&#8217;s awful fond of her children, don&#8217;t you,
+Peg?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy didn&#8217;t answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You see it&#8217;s like this, Peg&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you not to Peggy me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then it&#8217;s like this, darling,&#8221; drawled Jinnie, trying to
+be obedient.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; you needn&#8217;t darlin&#8217; me nuther,&#8221; snapped Peggy.</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought a minute.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then it&#8217;s like this, honey bunch,&#8221; she smiled again.</p>
+<p>Peg whirled around on her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, you kid&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait, dearie!&#8221; implored Jinnie. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you know
+mother cats always love their kitties just like live mothers
+do their babies?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy rattled the stove lids outrageously. Hearing
+these words, she stopped abruptly. Who knows where her
+thoughts flew? Jinnie didn&#8217;t, for sure, but she thought,
+by the sudden change of Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s expression,
+she could guess.</p>
+<p>The woman looked from Milly Ann to the wriggling
+kittens in Jinnie&#8217;s lap, then she stooped down and again
+brought to view Jinnie&#8217;s little ear tucked away under the
+black curls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get up out o&#8217; here an&#8217; dress; will you? I&#8217;ve said them
+cats&#8217;ve got to go, and go they will!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie returned the kittens to their mother, and when
+she got back to her room, Bobbie was sitting up in bed
+rubbing his eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t find you, girl,&#8221; he whimpered. &#8220;I felt the
+bed over and you was gone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie bent over him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg took me out in the kitchen, dear... What do
+you think, Bobbie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie began to tremble.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I got to go away from here ... eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mercy, no!&#8221; laughed Jinnie. &#8220;Milly Ann&#8217;s got a lot
+of new babies.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie gave a delighted squeal.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I&#8217;ll have something else to love, won&#8217;t I?&#8221; he
+gurgled.</p>
+<p>Jinnie hoped so! But she hadn&#8217;t yet received Peg&#8217;s
+consent to keep the family, so when the little boy was
+dressed and she had combed her hair and dressed herself,
+they went into the shop, where the cobbler met them with
+a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg&#8217;s mad,&#8221; Jinnie observed with a comprehensive
+glance at Mr. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quite so,&#8221; replied Lafe, grinning over the bowl of
+his pipe. &#8220;She had frost on her face a inch thick when
+she discovered them cats. I thought she&#8217;d hop right out
+of the window.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She says I must throw &#8217;em away,&#8221; ventured Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Cluck! Cluck!&#8221; struck Lafe&#8217;s tongue against the roof
+of his mouth, and he smiled. Jinnie loved that cluck. It
+put her in mind of the Mottville mother hens scratching
+for their chickens.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hain&#8217;t she ever said anything like that to you before,
+lass?&#8221; the cobbler suggested presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She said it about me,&#8221; piped in Bobbie.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; about Happy Pete, too,&#8221; added Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I bet I keep &#8217;em,&#8221; giggled Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll bet with you, kid,&#8221; said the cobbler gravely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to see &#8217;em!&#8221; Bobbie clamored with a squeak.</p>
+<p>But he&#8217;d no more than made the statement before the
+door burst violently open and Peg stood before them.
+Her apron was gathered together in front, held by one
+gripping hand; something moved against her knees as if it
+were alive. In the other hand was Milly Ann, carried by
+the nape of her neck, hanging straight down at the woman&#8217;s
+side, her long yellow tail dragging on the floor.
+The woman looked like an avenging angel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to tell you folks something,&#8221; she imparted
+in a very loud voice. &#8220;Here&#8217;s this blasted ragtail, that&#8217;s
+went an&#8217; had this batch of five cats. Now I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to
+warn y&#8217; all&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie interrupted her with a little yelp.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me love one, Peggy, dear,&#8221; he begged.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to warn you folks,&#8221; went on Peg, without
+heeding the child&#8217;s interjection, &#8220;that&mdash;if&mdash;you don&#8217;t want
+their necks wrung, you&#8217;d better keep &#8217;em out of my way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Saying this, she dropped the mother cat with a soft
+thud, and without looking up, dumped the kittens on top
+of her, and stalked out of the room.</p>
+<p>When Jinnie appeared five minutes later in the kitchen
+with a small kitten in her hand, Peg was stirring the mush
+for breakfast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You hate the kitties, eh, Peg?&#8221; asked Jinnie.</p>
+<p>The two tense wrinkles at the corners of Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s
+mouth didn&#8217;t relax by so much as a hair&#8217;s line.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hate &#8217;em!&#8221; she snapped, &#8220;I should say I do! I hate
+every one of them cats, and I hate you, too! An&#8217; if y&#8217;
+don&#8217;t like it, y&#8217; can lump it. If the lumps is too big,
+smash &#8217;em.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I know you hate us, darling,&#8221; Jinnie admitted, &#8220;but,
+Peg, I want to tell you this: it&#8217;s ever so much easier to
+love folks than to hate &#8217;em, and as long as the kitties&#8217;re
+going to stay, I thought mebbe if you kissed &#8217;em once&mdash;&#8221;
+Then she extended the kitten. &#8220;I brought you one to try
+on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, Lord-a-massy, the girl&#8217;s crazy!&#8221; expostulated
+Peg. &#8220;Keep the cats if you&#8217;re bound to, you kid, but get
+out of this kitchen or I&#8217;ll kiss you both with the broom.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie disappeared, and Peggy heard a gleeful laugh
+as the girl scurried back to the shop.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVII_JINNIE_DISCOVERS_HER_KINGS_THRONE' id='CHAPTER_XVII_JINNIE_DISCOVERS_HER_KINGS_THRONE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE DISCOVERS HER KING&#8217;S THRONE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Two years and almost half of another had passed since
+Jinnie first came to live with Lafe and Peggy Grandoken.
+These two years had meant more to her than all the other
+fifteen in her life. Lafe, in his kindly, fatherly way, daily
+impressed upon her the need of her studying and no day
+passed without planting some knowledge in the eager
+young mind.</p>
+<p>Her mornings were spent gathering shortwood, her afternoons
+in selling it, but the hours outside these money-earning
+duties were passed between her fiddle and her
+books. The cobbler often remarked that her mumbling
+over those difficult lessons at his side taught him more
+than he&#8217;d ever learned in school. Sometimes when they
+were having heart-to-heart talks, Jinnie confided to him
+her ambitions.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to fiddle all my life, Lafe,&#8221; she told him once.
+&#8220;I wonder if people ever made money fiddling; do they,
+Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid not, honey,&#8221; he answered, sadly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you like it, eh, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure!... Better&#8217;n anything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One day in the early summer, when there was a touch
+of blue mist in the clear, warm air, Jinnie wandered into
+the wealthy section of the town, hoping thereby to establish
+a new customer or two.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span></p>
+<p>Maudlin Bates had warned her not to enter his territory
+or to trespass upon his part of the marshland, and
+for that reason she had in the past but turned longing eyes
+to the hillside besprinkled with handsome homes.</p>
+<p>But Lafe replied, when she told him this, &#8220;No section
+belongs to Maudlin alone, honey.... Just go where you
+like.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She now entered a large open gate into which an automobile
+had just disappeared, and walked toward the house.</p>
+<p>She paused to admire the exterior of the mansion. On
+the front, the porches were furnished with rocking chairs
+and hammocks, but no person was in sight. She walked
+around to the back, but as she was about to knock, a voice
+arrested her action.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you want to see somebody?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She turned hastily. There before her was her King,
+the man she had met on that memorable night more than
+two years before. He doffed his cap smiling, recognizing
+her immediately, and Jinnie flushed to the roots of her
+hair, while the shortwood strap slipped slowly from her
+shoulders.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah, you have something to sell?&#8221; he interrogated.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. She
+had never completely forgotten him, and his smile was a
+delightful memory. Now as he watched her quizzically,
+all her former admiration returned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, well,&#8221; laughed the man, &#8220;if this isn&#8217;t my little
+violin girl. It&#8217;s a long time since I saw you last.... Do
+you love your music as much as ever?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her first glance at him brought the flushing consciousness
+that she was but a shortwood gatherer; the strap
+and its burden placed a great barrier between them. But
+his question about the fiddle, her fiddle, placed her again
+on equal footing with him. She permitted herself to smile.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I play every day. My uncle loves it, but my aunt
+doesn&#8217;t,&#8221; she answered na&iuml;vely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;re selling wood?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I must help a little.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She made the assertion proudly, offering no excuse for
+her chosen trade.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And this is all for sale?&#8221; indicating the wood.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Jinnie, looking down upon it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll take it all,&#8221; Theodore offered, putting his hand
+into his pocket. &#8220;How much do you want for it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl gave him a puzzled glance. &#8220;I don&#8217;t just
+know, but I wish&#8211;&#8211;I wish I could give it to you without
+any pay.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She moved a little closer and questioned eagerly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t you please take it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>An amused expression crossed the man&#8217;s handsome face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course not, my child,&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;That
+wouldn&#8217;t be business. I want to buy it.... How about
+a dollar?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie gasped. A dollar, a whole dollar! She made
+but little more during an entire week; she had made less.
+A dollar would buy&#8211;&#8211;Then a thought flashed across her
+mind.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t take a dollar,&#8221; she refused, &#8220;it&#8217;s too much.
+It&#8217;s only worth about twenty cents.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But if I choose to give you a dollar?&#8221; pursued the
+man.</p>
+<p>Again the purple black curls shook decidedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t take more&#8217;n it&#8217;s worth. My uncle wouldn&#8217;t
+like me to. He says all we can expect in this world&#8217;s our
+own and no more. Twenty cents is all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. King studied her face, thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve an idea, a good one. Now what do you say to
+furnishing me wood every morning, say at fifty cents a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span>
+day. We use such a lot! You could bring a little more
+if you like or&mdash;or come twice.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie could scarcely believe she&#8217;d heard aright. Unshed
+tears dimmed her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have to peddle to any one else, then, would
+I?&#8221; she stammered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No! That&#8217;s just what I meant.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then the tears welled over the drooping lids and a
+feeling of gratitude surged through the girl&#8217;s whole being.
+Fifty cents a day! It was such a lot of money&mdash;as
+much as Lafe made five days out of six.</p>
+<p>Jinnie sent the man a fleeting glance, meeting his smiling
+eyes with pulsing blood.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d love to do it,&#8221; she whispered gratefully. &#8220;Then
+I&#8217;d have a lot of time to&mdash;to&mdash;fiddle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. King&#8217;s hand slipped into his pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll pay you fifty cents for to-day&#8217;s wood,&#8221; he decided,
+&#8220;and fifty for what you&#8217;re going to bring to-morrow.
+Is that satisfactory?&#8221;</p>
+<p>As if in a dream, Jinnie tumbled out the contents of the
+shortwood strap. As she took the money from Mr. King&#8217;s
+hand, his fingers touched hers; she thrilled to the tips of
+her curls. Then she ran hastily down the long road, only
+turning to glance back when she reached the gate. Mr.
+King stood just where she had left him, and was looking
+after her. He raised his cap, and Jinnie, with burning
+face, fled on again.</p>
+<p>She wondered what Lafe would say about her unexpected
+good fortune. She would tell <i>him</i> first, before she
+saw Peggy. She imagined how the sweet smile would cross
+his lips, and how he would put his arm gently around
+her.</p>
+<p>Lafe heard her open the side door and called,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come in, honey!... Come on in.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span></p>
+<p>She entered after one hasty glance proved the cobbler
+was alone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You sold quick to-day, lass,&#8221; said he, holding out his
+hand.</p>
+<p>Jinnie had planned on the way home to make great
+rehearsing of Theodore King&#8217;s kindness, but in another instant
+she broke forth:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe, Lafe! I&#8217;ve got something to tell you! Oh, a
+lovely something! I sold all the wood to one man, and I&#8217;m
+going to take him a load every day, and get fifty cents
+for it. Regular customer, Lafe!... Here&#8217;s a dollar for
+Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe did just what Jinnie expected he would, slipped an
+arm about her waist.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The good God be praised!&#8221; he ejaculated. &#8220;Stand
+here an&#8217; tell me all about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was Mr. King&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore King?&#8221; asked Lafe. &#8220;Why, he&#8217;s the richest
+man in town. He owns the iron works.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded. &#8220;Yes! He&#8217;s the one I played for in
+the train when I first came here. You remember my telling
+you, Lafe? And he wants wood every day from me.
+Isn&#8217;t it fine?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Tis so!&#8221; affirmed Lafe. &#8220;Jinnie, lass, them angels
+come in shapes of human bein&#8217;s&mdash;mostly so. Now go tell
+Peggy. It&#8217;ll take a load off&#8217;n her heart.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As Jinnie told her story to Mrs. Grandoken and handed
+her the money, the woman&#8217;s lips twitched at the corners,
+but she only said, warningly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t get a swelled head over your doin&#8217;s, lass, for a
+brat ain&#8217;t responsible for her own smartness.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One morning, about a week afterward, Jinnie rapped at
+the back door of the King mansion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is Mr. King in?&#8221; she asked timidly of the servant.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span></p>
+<p>The girl stared hard at the flushed, pretty face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s in, but you can leave the wood if you want to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; refused Jinnie. &#8220;I want to see him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The maid turned away, grumbling, and Jinnie backed
+from the door with bated breath.</p>
+<p>Mr. King appeared immediately, seemingly embarrassed.
+He took both her hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, my dear child!&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;I&#8217;d completely
+forgotten to leave the money for the wood, and you&#8217;ve
+been bringing it every day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy made the dollar go a long ways&mdash;that and
+Lafe&#8217;s money. We didn&#8217;t need any till to-day.... So&mdash;so
+I asked for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad you did,&#8221; responded King, counting and giving
+her the money.</p>
+<p>Then his glance fell upon the bulging shortwood strap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid you carry too much at a time,&#8221; he admonished,
+gravely. &#8220;You mustn&#8217;t do that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie dropped her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was talking to my uncle about it,&#8221; she explained
+embarrassedly, &#8220;and he thought same&#8217;s I, that you were
+paying too much for that little wood. I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to bring
+more after this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m satisfied, though, and I can&#8217;t have you hurting
+yourself by being too strenuously honest.... I might&mdash;yes,
+I will! I&#8217;ll send for you every day or every
+other&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes lighted up with happiness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, sir,&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she began entreatingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; said Mr. King. &#8220;It&#8217;s this way! If you
+brought it up here in one of my cars, it would save a lot
+of your time, and you wouldn&#8217;t have to come every day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I could fiddle more,&#8221; Jinnie blurted radiantly. She
+remembered how sympathetically he had listened to her
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span>
+through the blizzard. He liked the fiddle! She went a
+little nearer him. &#8220;I&#8217;m trying to make a tune different
+from any I&#8217;ve ever done, and I can&#8217;t always play well
+after lugging shortwood all day.... I&#8217;d love to deliver
+it the way you said.&#8221;</p>
+<p>King stood gazing at her. How strangely beautiful
+she was! Something in the wind-browned face stirred his
+heart to its depths.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then that&#8217;s settled,&#8221; he said kindly. &#8220;You tell me
+where to have my man and what time, and to-morrow he&#8217;ll
+meet you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought a moment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder if he knows where Paradise Road ends near
+the edge of the marsh.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He could find it, of course.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a path going into the marsh right at the end
+of the road. I&#8217;ll meet him there to-morrow at twelve
+o&#8217;clock, and&mdash;and I&#8217;m so much obliged to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When Jinnie told Lafe of the new arrangement, she
+gurgled with joy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe, now I&#8217;ll make that tune.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, honey,&#8221; murmured Lafe contentedly. &#8220;Now get
+your fiddle and practice; after that you c&#8217;n study a while
+out of that there grammar book.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII_RED_ROSES_AND_YELLOW' id='CHAPTER_XVIII_RED_ROSES_AND_YELLOW'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+<h3>RED ROSES AND YELLOW</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The days went on peacefully after the new arrangements
+for the shortwood. Every other day, at twelve
+o&#8217;clock, one of Theodore King&#8217;s cars waited for Jinnie at
+the head of the path leading into the marsh.</p>
+<p>When the weather was stormy, Bennett, the chauffeur,
+took the wood, telling Jinnie to run along home.</p>
+<p>All this made it possible for Jinnie to study profitably
+during the warm months, and by the last of August she
+had mastered many difficult subjects. Lafe helped her
+when he could, but often shook his head despondently as
+she sat down beside him on the bench, asking his advice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The fact is, honey, I ain&#8217;t got much brains,&#8221; he said
+to her one afternoon. &#8220;If I hung by my neck till I could
+see through them figures, I&#8217;d be as dead as Moses.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One Thursday morning, as she climbed into the big car
+with her load, Bennett said,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t goin&#8217; to pay you this mornin&#8217;! The boss&#8217;ll
+do it. Mr. King wants to see you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded, her heart pounding.</p>
+<p>It was delightful to contemplate seeing him once more.
+She wondered where he had been all these days and if he
+had thought of her. Jinnie&#8217;s pulses were galloping along
+like a race horse. She stood quietly until the master was
+called, and he came quickly without making her wait.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to ask you to do me a favor,&#8221; he said, coming
+forward, holding out his hand.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span></p>
+<p>Now when Jinnie first heard that he wished to see her,
+she thought her heart could beat no faster, but his words
+made that small organ tattoo against her sides like the
+flutter of a bird&#8217;s wing in fright. She could do something
+for him! Oh, what joy! What unutterable joy!</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to have some friends here Sunday evening&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sudden upfling of Jinnie&#8217;s head cut off his words.</p>
+<p>What difference would his having friends make to her?
+Oh, yes, they wanted more wood. How gladly she would
+get it for him; search all day for the driest pieces if he
+needed them!</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was wondering,&#8221; proceeded Mr. King, &#8220;if you would
+come here with your violin and play for&mdash;for&mdash;us?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s knees relaxed and she staggered back against
+the wall.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You musn&#8217;t feel embarrassed about it,&#8221; he hurried on.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d be very much indebted to you if you thought you
+could.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Tears were so perilously near Jinnie&#8217;s lids that some of
+them rolled into her throat. To regain her self-possession
+enough to speak, she swallowed several times in rapid succession.
+Such a compliment she&#8217;d never been paid before.
+She brought her hands together appealingly, and Mr.
+King noticed that his request had heightened her color.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d love to do it,&#8221; she breathed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I&#8217;ll pay you for it,&#8221; he said, not able to
+think of anything else,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t take any money for fiddling,&#8221; replied Jinnie.
+&#8220;But I&#8217;ll come. Lafe says money can&#8217;t be made that
+way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She turned to go, but Mr. King detained her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait a minute,&#8221; he insisted. &#8220;I want to tell you something!
+You&#8217;ve a great gift&mdash;a wonderful genius&mdash;and out
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span>
+of such genius much money <i>is</i> made.... I couldn&#8217;t think
+of letting you come here unless you allowed me to remunerate
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie listened attentively to all he said, but refusal
+was still in her steady gaze. Mr. King, seeing this, continued
+quickly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you very much, but on that one point I must
+have my way. I shall give you twenty-five dollars for
+playing three pieces.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie thought she was going to faint. Twenty-five
+dollars! It was a fortune&mdash;a huge fortune! But she
+couldn&#8217;t take money for playing tunes that came from
+her heart&mdash;tunes that were a part of herself the same as
+her hands or feet. But before she could offer another argument,
+the man finished hurriedly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s settled now. You&#8217;re to come here Sunday night at
+eight. I&#8217;ll send for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe was sitting at the window as she ran through the
+shortcut along the tracks. Her curls were flying in the
+wind, her cheeks glowing with flaming color. Every day
+the cobbler loved her more, for in spite of the dark soil in
+which Jinnie thrived, she grew lovelier in spirit and face.</p>
+<p>He waved his hand to her, and both of her arms answered
+his salute. When the door burst open, Lafe put
+down his hammer expectantly. Before he could speak, she
+was down upon her knees at his side, her curly head buried
+in his loving arms, and tears were raining down her face.</p>
+<p>Lafe allowed her to cry a few moments. Then he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Something&#8217;s hurt my lassie&#8217;s heart.... Somebody!... Was
+it Maudlin?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Through the tears shone a radiant smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m crying for joy, Lafe,&#8221; she sobbed. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to
+play my fiddle at Mr. King&#8217;s house and make twenty-five
+dollars for three tunes.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span></p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s jaws dropped apart incredulously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Twenty-five dollars for playin&#8217; your fiddle, child?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie told all that had happened since leaving home.</p>
+<p>Then Peggy had to be told, and when the amount of
+money was mentioned and Jinnie said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;ll all be yours, Peggy, when I get it,&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken grunted:</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t make your insides, lassie. It ain&#8217;t to your
+credit you can fiddle, so don&#8217;t get stuck up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie laughed gaily and went to the kitchen, where for
+two hours, with Bobbie curled up in the chair holding
+Happy Pete, she brought from the strings of the instrument
+she loved, mournful tunes mingled with laughing
+songs, such as no one in Bellaire had ever heard.</p>
+<p>Over and over, as Lafe listened, he wondered where and
+how such music could be born in the child&mdash;for Jinnie, to
+the lame cobbler, would always be a little, little girl.</p>
+<p>Later Jinnie went to the store, and when Peggy had
+watched her cross the street, she sat down in front of her
+husband.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she said, &#8220;what&#8217;s the kid goin&#8217; to wear to
+King&#8217;s?... She can&#8217;t go in them clothes she&#8217;s got on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe looked up, startled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure &#8217;nough; I never thought of that,&#8221; he answered.
+&#8220;An&#8217; I don&#8217;t believe she has uther.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was the cobbler who spoke to Jinnie about it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you hain&#8217;t thought what you&#8217;re going to
+wear Sunday night?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie whirled around upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Lafe!&#8221; she faltered, sitting down quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy &#8217;lowed you&#8217;d forgotten that part of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I did, Lafe; I did! Oh, I don&#8217;t know what to do!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wisht I had somethin&#8217; for you, Jinnie dear,&#8221; breathed
+Bobbie, touching her hand.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s only response was to put her fingers on the
+child&#8217;s head&mdash;her eyes still on the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What did Peggy say, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothin&#8217;, only you couldn&#8217;t go in the clothes you got.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie changed her position that she might see to better
+advantage the plain little dress she was wearing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;ve got to go, Lafe; oh, I&#8217;ve got to!&#8221; she insisted.
+&#8220;Mr. King wants me.... Please, Lafe, please!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Call Peggy, Bobbie,&#8221; said Lafe, in answer to Jinnie&#8217;s
+impetuous speech.</p>
+<p>Bobbie felt his way to the door, and Peggy came in answer
+to the child&#8217;s call.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I only thought of the twenty-five dollars and the fiddling,
+Peggy,&#8221; said Jinnie as Mrs. Grandoken rolled her
+hands in her apron and sat down. &#8220;Did you say I couldn&#8217;t
+go in these clothes?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I did; I sure did. You can&#8217;t go in them clothes, an&#8217;
+what you&#8217;re goin&#8217; to wear is more&#8217;n I can make out. I&#8217;ll
+have to think.... Just let me alone for a little while.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was after Jinnie had gone to bed with Bobbie that
+Peg spoke about it again to Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve only got one thing I could rig her a dress out of,&#8221;
+she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to do it because I hate her so!
+If I hated her any worse, I&#8217;d bust!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler raised his hand, making a gesture of denial.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy, dear, you don&#8217;t hate the poor little lass.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I do,&#8221; said Peg. &#8220;I hate everybody in the world
+but you.... Everybody but you, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d you think might make a dress for &#8217;er?&#8221; asked
+Grandoken presently.</p>
+<p>Before answering, Peg brought her feet together and
+looked down at her toes. &#8220;There&#8217;s them lace curtains ma
+give me when she died,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Them that&#8217;s wrapped
+up in paper on the shelf.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span></p>
+<p>Lafe uttered a surprised ejaculation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t let you do that, Peg,&#8221; he said, shaking his
+head. &#8220;Them&#8217;s the last left over from your mother&#8217;s
+stuff. Everything else&#8217;s gone.... I couldn&#8217;t let you,
+Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken gave a shake of defiance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whose curtains be they, Lafe?&#8221; she asked. &#8220;Be they
+mine or yourn?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yourn, Peggy dear, and may God bless you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>All through the night Jinnie had dreadful dreams. The
+thought of either not going to Mr. King&#8217;s or that she
+might not have anything fit to wear filled the hours with
+nightmares and worryings. In the morning, after she
+crawled out of bed and was wearily dressing Bobbie, the
+little blind boy felt intuitively something was wrong with
+his friend.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is Jinnie sick?&#8221; he whispered, feeling her face. &#8220;My
+stars ain&#8217;t shinin&#8217; much.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl kissed him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, honey,&#8221; she said, &#8220;Jinnie&#8217;s only sad, not sick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Together they went into the shop, where Peggy stood
+with the most gorgeous lacy stuff draped over her arms.
+Strewn here and there over the yards and yards of it were
+bright yellow and red roses. Nothing could have been
+more beautiful to the girl, as with widening eyes she gazed
+at it. Lafe&#8217;s face was shining with happiness. Peggy
+didn&#8217;t seem to notice the two as they entered, but she lifted
+the lace, displaying its length stolidly.</p>
+<p>Jinnie bounded forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, Peg? What is it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe beamed through his spectacles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A dress for you, girl dear. Peggy&#8217;s givin&#8217; you the
+things she loves best. She&#8217;s the only woman in the world,
+Jinnie.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span></p>
+<p>Reverently Jinnie went to Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s side. She
+felt abjectly humble in the presence of this great sacrifice.
+She looked up into the glum face of the cobbler&#8217;s
+wife and waited in breathless hesitation. Peg permitted
+her eyes to fall upon the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t feel so glad nor look&#8217;s if you was goin&#8217;
+to tumble over,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It ain&#8217;t no credit to any one
+them curtains was on the shelf waitin&#8217; to be cut up in a
+dress for you to fiddle in. Go put the mush on that there
+stove!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIX_THE_LITTLE_FIDDLER' id='CHAPTER_XIX_THE_LITTLE_FIDDLER'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+<h3>THE LITTLE FIDDLER</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s heart was skipping about like a silly little kitten
+as she sat watching Peg&#8217;s stiff fingers making large
+stitches in the lace.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Peg, isn&#8217;t it lovely? Perfectly beautiful! Nobody
+ever had a dress like that!... My, Peggy! How
+your fingers fly!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg&#8217;s face was noncommittal to the point of blankness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tain&#8217;t no credit to me what my hands do, Miss Jinnie,&#8221;
+she said querulously. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t make &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl&#8217;s happiness was absolutely complete. The
+dress would be finished and Sunday evening&#8211;&#8211;oh, Sunday
+evening! Then she walked restlessly to the window
+and studied the sky.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope it doesn&#8217;t rain to-morrow!... Oh, Peggy,
+don&#8217;t you hope so too?&#8221; Mrs. Grandoken glowered at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kid,&#8221; she said, &#8220;come away from that window. You
+been doin&#8217; nothin&#8217; but wishin&#8217; &#8217;twon&#8217;t rain all day. You&#8217;ll
+wear out the patience of the Almighty; then he&#8217;ll make it
+rain an&#8217; soak you through a-purpose.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know which I like best, Lafe,&#8221; the girl remarked
+presently, turning to the cobbler, &#8220;the red roses or the
+yellow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie came to Jinnie&#8217;s side and fingered the lace.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me how the dress looks, dear,&#8221; he whispered, tugging
+at her sleeve.</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_3' id='linki_3'></a>
+<img src='images/illus-135.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 314px; height: 472px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 314px;'>
+&#8220;YOU NEEDN&#8217;T FEEL SO GLAD NOR LOOK AS IF YOU WAS GOIN&#8217; TO TUMBLE OVER. IT AIN&#8217;T NO CREDIT TO ANYONE THEM CURTAINS WAS ON THE SHELF WAITIN&#8217; TO BE CUT UP IN A DRESS FOR YOU TO FIDDLE IN.&#8221;<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; agreed Jinnie. &#8220;Feel right here! Well, that&#8217;s
+a beautiful red rose and here&#8217;s a yellow one.&#8221; She took his
+small finger and traced it over a yard of lace. &#8220;Feel that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; murmured Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, that&#8217;s a green vine running up and down, and
+all around among the roses.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, my!&#8221; gasped Bobbie. &#8220;Red and yellow. That&#8217;s
+how the sun looks when it&#8217;s goin&#8217; down, ain&#8217;t it? And
+green&#8217;s like the grass, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just the same,&#8221; replied Jinnie, laughing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a beauty,&#8221; supplemented Lafe, glowing with tenderness.
+&#8220;There won&#8217;t be a dress at that party that&#8217;ll
+beat it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken shook out the voluminous folds of lace.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anybody&#8217;d think to hear you folks talk that you&#8217;d
+made these rag tags with your toe nails,&#8221; she observed
+dryly. &#8220;The smacking of some folks&#8217; lips over sugar they
+don&#8217;t earn makes me tired! Laws me!... Now I&#8217;ll try
+it on you, Jinnie,&#8221; she ended.</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned around and around with slow precision
+as Mrs. Grandoken ascertained the correct hanging of
+the skirt. When the last stitches had been put in, and the
+dress lay in all its gorgeous splendor across the chair,
+Peg coughed awkwardly and spoke of shoes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t wear them cowhides with lace,&#8221; said she.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might make a pair if I had a day and the stuff,&#8221;
+suggested Lafe, looking around helplessly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t time,&#8221; replied Peg. And of course it was she
+who gave Jinnie some money taken from a small bag
+around her neck and ordered her to the shop for shoes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She ought to have a fiddle box,&#8221; Lafe suggested.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t &#8217;nough money in the house for that,&#8221; replied
+Peg&mdash;&#8220;but I&#8217;ll give her a piece of the curtains to
+wrap it up in.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;ll look better&#8217;n a box,&#8221; smiled Lafe. &#8220;I&#8217;m a
+happy cobbler, I am.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When Jinnie returned with a pair of low black slippers,
+no one noticed that they weren&#8217;t quite what should have
+been worn with a lace frock. Contentment reigned supreme
+in the Grandoken home that day.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Sunday evening at seven Jinnie displayed herself to
+Lafe. The cobbler gave a contented nod.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You and the dress&#8217;re beautiful,&#8221; he ruminated. &#8220;Wonderful!...
+Kiss me, Jinnie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She not only kissed Lafe, but Bobbie, Happy Pete, and
+Milly Ann, too, came in for their share. Peg looked so
+sour, so forbidding, that Jinnie only faltered,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Much obliged, Peggy darling.... Oh, I&#8217;m so happy!&#8221;
+She stood directly in front of Mrs. Grandoken. &#8220;Aren&#8217;t
+you, dear?&#8221; she besought.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re all glad, lass,&#8221; put in the cobbler.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s blue, blue eyes were seeking approbation from
+the gaunt, frowning woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;None of you&#8217;ve got the sense of my bedpost,&#8221; snapped
+Peg, sniffing the air. &#8220;Get along. They&#8217;re waitin&#8217; for
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie arrived in great excitement at Theodore King&#8217;s
+door. She stumbled up the stone steps of the mansion
+with the fiddle carefully wrapped under her arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is Mr. King here?&#8221; she asked of the maid, hesitatingly.</p>
+<p>She stood very still, scarcely breathing, until they called
+the master of the house, and as Theodore&#8217;s eyes fell upon
+the lace dress, with its red and yellow roses and green
+vines running the length of the slim young figure, he
+smoothed away a smile that forced itself to his lips.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span></p>
+<p>Out of gratitude to Peggy, Jinnie felt she ought to
+speak of the frock, so with an admiring glance downward,
+she confided:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy made my dress out of her dead mother&#8217;s curtains,
+and gave me this piece for my fiddle.... Wasn&#8217;t
+it lovely of her?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The pleading, soulful, violet eyes stirred Theodore King
+with a new sensation. He had passed unscathed through
+the fires of imploring, inviting glances and sweet, tempting
+lips, nor yet realized that some day this black-haired
+girl would call him to a reckoning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very pretty, very pretty,&#8221; he affirmed hurriedly.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m glad you&#8217;re here.... Just wait for a moment. I&#8217;ll
+come back for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a fixed line between his handsome eyes as he
+faced his guests. Theodore couldn&#8217;t analyze his feelings
+toward Jinnie, but he was determined none should make
+sport of her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve prepared a great treat for you,&#8221; he stated, smiling,
+&#8220;but I want to ask you to overlook anything that
+may seem incongruous, for the musician is very sensitive.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then he went back for Jinnie, and she followed him into
+the large room. The gorgeous red and yellow roses in the
+limply hanging blouse lent a color to her sunburned skin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You may play anything you like,&#8221; Theodore whispered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; nodded Jinnie.</p>
+<p>She unwrapped the fiddle and tuned it with nimble fingers.
+Not until she placed the instrument under her chin
+did she raise her head. Her eyes went searchingly from
+face to face of the attentive assembly. It so happened
+that they fell upon a crown of golden hair above a pair of
+dark eyes she vividly remembered. The glance took her
+back to that night more than two years before&mdash;to the
+night when her father died.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span></p>
+<p>Molly Merriweather was seated in queenly fashion in
+one of the large chairs, a questioning look stealing over
+her countenance. Jinnie smiled at her and began to play.
+It might have been the beautiful woman opposite that
+brought forth the wild hill story, told in marvelous harmonies.
+The rapt young face gave no sign of embarrassment,
+for Jinnie was completely lost in her melodious task.
+Above the dimpled chin that hugged the brown fiddle,
+Theodore King could see the brooding genius of the girl,
+and longed to bring a passionate lovelight for himself into
+the glorious eyes. The intensity of the music established
+in him an unconquerable hope&mdash;a hope that could not die
+as long as life was in him, as long as life was in the little
+fiddler.</p>
+<p>As Jinnie finished with dramatic brilliancy, great applause
+and showers of congratulations fell upon her ears.
+Theodore went to her quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wonderful! Splendid, child!&#8221; he declared joyously.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re a genius!&#8221;</p>
+<p>His words increased her joy&mdash;his compelling dark eyes
+added to her desire to do her best.</p>
+<p>She meditated one moment. Then thoroughly unconscious
+of herself, turned and spoke to the audience.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll play about fairies ... the ones who live in the
+woods and hide away in the flowers and under the leaves.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Once more she began to play. She believed in fairies
+with all her heart and had no doubt but that every one
+else did. Under the spell of her music and her loveliness,
+imaginary elves stole from the solitude of the summer
+night, to join their tiny hands and dance to the rhythm
+of her song.</p>
+<p>As she lowered her violin and looked around, she saw
+astonishment on the faces of the strangers about her. A
+deathlike hush prevailed and Jinnie could hear the feverish
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span>
+blood as it struck at her temples. Into her eyes came an
+unfathomable expression, and Theodore King, attracted
+by their latent passion, went rapidly to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exquisite!&#8221; he said vehemently. &#8220;Can&#8217;t you see
+how much every one likes it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you?&#8221; queried Jinnie, looking up at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I love it, child; I love it.... Will you play again,
+please?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A flame of joy suffused her as again she turned to the
+open-eyed crowd.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Once,&#8221; she informed them, &#8220;a big lion was hurt in the
+forest by lightning.... This&mdash;is&mdash;how he died.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She slowly raised the instrument, and sounded a vibrant,
+resonant, minor tone, measured, full and magnificent.
+Each listener sank back with a sigh.</p>
+<p>Jinnie knew the mysteries of the forest as well as a
+singer knows his song, and she had not presented ten notes
+to the imagination of Theodore&#8217;s friends before they were
+carried away from the dainty room in which they sat&mdash;away
+into a dense woodland where, for a few minutes, she
+demonstrated the witching wonders of it. Then she slipped
+the bow between her teeth and struck the violin strings
+with the backs of her fingers. The vibrations of impetuous
+harmony swept softly through the lighted room.
+Louder and louder was heard the awful fury of approaching
+thunder, while twinkling string-touches flashed forth
+the lightning between the sonorous peals.</p>
+<p>Jinnie never knew how the fiddle was capable of expressing
+the cautious tread of the terrified king of beasts
+in his isolated kingdom, but her listeners beheld him steal
+cautiously from the underbrush. They saw him crouch
+in abject terror at the foot of a wide-spreading, gigantic
+tree, lashing his tail in elemental rage. Then another
+scintillating flash of lightning, and the beast caught it
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span>
+full in the face. The slender hand of the little player was
+poised above the strings for a single vibrating moment,
+during which she stood in a listening attitude. Then, with
+the sweep of three slender fingers, the lion&#8217;s scream cut the
+air like a two-edged sword.</p>
+<p>Death came on rapidly in deep, resounding roars, and
+the misery of the cringing, suffering brute was unfolded&mdash;told
+in heart-rending intonations, until at last he gave
+up his breath in one terror-stricken cry.</p>
+<p>Jinnie dropped her hands suddenly. &#8220;He&#8217;s dead,&#8221; she
+said tremulously. &#8220;Poor, poor lion!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She turned tear-wet eyes to Theodore King.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shall I play any more?&#8221; she asked, shyly.</p>
+<p>The man shook his head, not permitting himself to
+speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Miss Grandoken has given us a wonderful entertainment,&#8221;
+said he to his friends; then turning to her, he held
+out his hand, &#8220;I want to thank you, Miss Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Many people crowded around her, asking where and how
+she had learned such music.</p>
+<p>Molly the Merry, the mystified expression still on her
+face, drew near.</p>
+<p>Again Jinnie smiled at her, hoping the lovely lips would
+acknowledge their former acquaintanceship. But as another
+person, a man, stepped between her and the woman,
+Jinnie glanced up at him. He was very handsome, but
+involuntarily the girl shuddered. There was something
+in the curling of his lips that was cruel, and the whiteness
+of his teeth accentuated the impression. His eyes
+filled her with dread.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where did you learn that wonderful music?&#8221; he smiled....
+&#8220;I mean the music itself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Out of my heart,&#8221; she said simply. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t get it
+anywhere else.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s very delightful!&#8221; said the stranger, turning to
+Theodore. &#8220;I&#8217;ve forgotten her name?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He was so near her that Jinnie shrank back, and the
+master of the house noted her embarrassment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Her name is Grandoken, Miss Grandoken.... Come,&#8221;
+he said, holding out his hand to Jinnie, and as she placed
+her fingers in his, he led her away.</p>
+<p>A large car was waiting at the front door, and he held
+her hand in his for a few seconds. The touch of her fingers
+thrilled him through and through. He noticed her
+head just reached his shoulder and a conscious desire to
+draw her to him for one blessed moment surged insistent
+within him. He dropped her hand suddenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish now,&#8221; he said, smiling, &#8220;I had sent for you to
+come here before. It was such a treat!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shrank away as he offered her a roll of bills. An
+unutterable shyness crept over her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want it,&#8221; she said, gulping hard. &#8220;I&#8217;d love to
+fiddle for you all day long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you must take it,&#8221; insisted King. &#8220;Now then, I
+want to know where you live. I&#8217;m coming to see your
+uncle very, very soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe and his wife were waiting for the girl, and the cobbler
+noticed Peggy&#8217;s eyes were misty as Jinnie gave her
+the money. Over and over she told them all about it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he&#8217;s coming to see you, Lafe,&#8221; she cried with a
+tremulous laugh. &#8220;Mr. King says some day I&#8217;ll be a great
+player. Will I, Lafe? Will I, Peggy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You may,&#8221; admitted Peggy, &#8220;but don&#8217;t get a swelled
+head, &#8217;cause you couldn&#8217;t stop fiddlin&#8217; any more&#8217;n a bird
+could stop singin&#8217;.... Go to bed now, this minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And as Jinnie slept her happy sleep in Paradise Road,
+another woman was walking to and fro with a tall man
+under the trees at Theodore King&#8217;s home.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought I&#8217;d scream with laughter when she came in,&#8221;
+said Molly the Merry. &#8220;If it hadn&#8217;t been for Theo&#8217;s
+warning, I&#8217;m sure most of us would.... Did you ever
+see such a ridiculous dress, Jordan?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man was quiet for a meditative moment. &#8220;I forgot
+about the dress when she began to play,&#8221; he mused.
+&#8220;The sight of her face would drive all thoughts of incongruity
+out of a man&#8217;s mind.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, she&#8217;s very pretty,&#8221; admitted Molly, reluctantly.
+&#8220;And Jordan, do you know there&#8217;s something strangely
+familiar about her face?... I can&#8217;t tell where I&#8217;ve seen
+her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never mind. The important thing to me is I must
+have money. Can&#8217;t keep up appearances on air.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know I&#8217;ll always help you when I can, Jordan.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know it, and I&#8217;ll not let you forget it either.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The woman gave him a puzzled look and the man caught
+her meaning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re wondering why I don&#8217;t open offices here, aren&#8217;t
+you? Well, a person can&#8217;t do two things at once, and
+I&#8217;ve been pretty busy tracing Virginia Singleton. And
+when I find her, you know very well I will return every
+penny I&#8217;ve borrowed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And later, when Molly went to her room, she walked up
+and down thoughtfully, trying to bring to her mind the
+familiar violet eyes and the mass of purple black curls
+which were the crowning glory of Jinnie Grandoken.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XX_THE_COBBLERS_SECRET' id='CHAPTER_XX_THE_COBBLERS_SECRET'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+<h3>THE COBBLER&#8217;S SECRET</h3>
+</div>
+<p>One Sunday morning, Jinnie sat with Lafe in the shop.
+In hours like these they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
+The quietude of these precious Sabbath moments made the
+week, with its arduous tasks, bearable to the sensitive girl.</p>
+<p>For several days past Jinnie had noticed Lafe had
+something on his mind, but she always allowed him to tell
+her everything in his own good time. Now she felt the
+time had come. His gray face, worn with suffering, was
+shining with a heavenly light as he read aloud from a little
+Bible in his hand. To-day he had chosen the story of
+Abraham and Sarah. When he came to the part where
+Abraham said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass
+not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant,&#8221; he pronounced
+the last word with sobbing breath. One quick glance was
+enough for Jinnie&#8217;s comprehension.</p>
+<p>She leaned forward breathlessly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, Lafe?... Something great?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, something great, lassie, and in God&#8217;s name most
+wonderful.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Before Jinnie&#8217;s world of imagery passed all the good
+she had desired for Lafe. His softly spoken, &#8220;In God&#8217;s
+name most wonderful,&#8221; thrilled her from head to foot.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;ve been keeping it from me, Lafe,&#8221; she chided
+gently. &#8220;Please, please, tell me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe sat back in the wheel chair and closed his eyes.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span>
+&#8220;Wait, child,&#8221; he breathed hesitatingly. &#8220;Wait a minute!&#8221;</p>
+<p>As Jinnie watched him, she tried to stifle the emotion
+tugging at her heart&mdash;to keep back the tears that welled
+into her eyes. Perhaps what he had to tell her <i>would</i>
+make her cry. Jinnie hoped not, for she disliked to do
+that. It was so childlike, so like Blind Bobbie, who always
+had either a beatific smile on his pale lips, or a mist shining
+in his rock-gray eyes.</p>
+<p>At length Lafe sighed a long, deep-drawn sigh, and
+smiled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; he began&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been wonderin&#8217; if you remember the story of the
+little feller God sent to Peg an&#8217; me&mdash;the one I told you
+would a been six years old.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I remember, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; how good Peggy was&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, how good Peggy always is!&#8221; interjected Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; breathed Lafe, dreamily. &#8220;May God bless my
+woman in all her trials!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie hitched her chair nearer his and slipped her
+arm about his neck soothingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She doesn&#8217;t have trials you don&#8217;t share, Lafe,&#8221; she
+declared.</p>
+<p>Lafe straightened up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Peg has many, lassie, I can&#8217;t help &#8217;er with, an&#8217;
+she&#8217;ll have a many more. To get to tell you something,
+Jinnie, I asked Peg to take Bobbie out with &#8217;er. We
+can&#8217;t turn the little feller from the club room when he
+ain&#8217;t out with Peg; can we, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course not,&#8221; agreed Jinnie, nodding.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So when Peg said she was goin&#8217; out,&#8221; proceeded Lafe,
+gravely, &#8220;I says, thinkin&#8217; of the things I wanted to say
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span>
+to you, I said to Peggy, &#8216;Take the little blind chap along
+with you, Peggy dear,&#8217; an&#8217; without a word she put the
+youngster into his clothes an&#8217; away they went.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s curiosity was growing by the minute.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;re going to tell me now, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; now I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to tell you, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But he didn&#8217;t tell her just then. Instead he sat looking
+at her with luminous eyes, and the expression in them&mdash;that
+heavenly expression&mdash;compelled Jinnie to kneel beside
+him, and for a little while they sat in silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear child,&#8221; Lafe murmured, dropping a tender hand
+on her shining head, &#8220;dear, dear girl!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It must be a joyful thing, Lafe, for your face shines
+as bright as Bobbie&#8217;s stars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m blessed happy to-day!&#8221; he sighed, with twitching
+lips.</p>
+<p>Jinnie took his hand in hers and smoothed it fondly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, Lafe, dear?&#8221; she asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you want to kneel while I tell you?&#8221; queried the
+cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, right here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then look right at me, Jinnie lass!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie <i>was</i> looking at him with her whole soul in her
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking at you, Lafe,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; don&#8217;t take your eyes from me; will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure not!&#8221;</p>
+<p>It must be a great surprise for Lafe to act like this,
+thought the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lassie,&#8221; commenced Lafe, &#8220;I want you to be awful
+good to Peggy.... It&#8217;s about her I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to speak.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sank back on the tips of her toes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What about Peg? There isn&#8217;t&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear Peggy,&#8221; interrupted Lafe softly, his voice quick
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span>
+with tears, &#8220;dear, precious Peggy!&#8221; Then as he bent
+over Jinnie and Jinnie bent nearer him, Lafe placed his
+lips to her ear and whispered something.</p>
+<p>She struggled to her feet, strange and unknown emotions
+rising in her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;Lafe dear!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; nodded the cobbler. &#8220;Yes, if you want to know
+the truth, the good God&#8217;s goin&#8217; to send me an&#8217; Peg another
+little Jew baby.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sat down in her chair quite dazed. Lafe&#8217;s secret
+was much greater than she had expected! Much!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me about it,&#8221; she pleaded.</p>
+<p>Keen anxiety erased the cobbler&#8217;s smiling expression.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor Peggy!&#8221; he groaned again. &#8220;She can&#8217;t see where
+the bread&#8217;s comin&#8217; from to feed another mouth, but as I
+says, &#8216;Peggy, you said the same thing when Jinnie came,
+an&#8217; the blind child, an&#8217; this little one&#8217;s straight from God&#8217;s
+own tender breast.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so, Lafe,&#8221; accorded Jinnie, &#8220;and, Oh, dearie,
+I&#8217;ll work so hard, so awful hard to get in more wood, and
+tell me, tell me when, Lafe; when is he coming to us, the
+Jew baby?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe smiled at her eagerness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You feel the same way as I do, honey,&#8221; he observed.
+&#8220;The very same way!... Why, girlie, when Peg first
+told me I thought I&#8217;d get up and fly!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should think so, but&mdash;but&mdash;I want to know how soon,
+Lafe, dear.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, it&#8217;s a long time, a whole lot of weeks!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish it was to-morrow,&#8221; lamented Jinnie, disappointedly.
+&#8220;I wonder if Peg&#8217;ll let me hug and kiss him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; promised Lafe, and they lapsed into silence.</p>
+<p>At length, Jinnie stole to the kitchen. She returned
+with her violin box and Milly Ann in her arms.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Hold the kitty, darling,&#8221; she said softly, placing the
+cat on his lap. &#8220;She&#8217;ll be happy, too. Milly Ann loves
+us all, Milly Ann does.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she took out the fiddle and thrummed the strings.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to play for you,&#8221; she resumed, &#8220;while you
+think about Peggy and the&mdash;and&mdash;the baby.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler nodded his head, and wheeled himself a bit
+nearer the window, from where he could see the hill rise
+upward to the blue, making a skyline of exquisite beauty.</p>
+<p>Jinnie began to play. What tones she drew from that
+small brown fiddle! The rapture depicted in her face was
+but a reflection of the cobbler&#8217;s. And as he meditated and
+listened, Lafe felt that each tone of Jinnie&#8217;s fiddle had a
+soul of its own&mdash;that the instrument was peopled with
+angel voices&mdash;voices that soothed him when he suffered
+beyond description&mdash;voices that now expressed in rhythmical
+harmony the peace within him. Jinnie was able to
+put an estimate on his moods, and knew just what comfort
+he needed most. Until that moment the cobbler&#8217;s wife
+had seemed outside the charm of the beloved home circle.
+But to-day, ah, to-day!&mdash;Jinnie&#8217;s bow raced over the
+strings like a mad thing. To-day Peggy Grandoken became
+in the girl&#8217;s eyes a glorified woman, a woman set
+apart by God Himself to bring to the home a new baby.</p>
+<p>Jinnie played and played and played, and Theodore in
+spirit-fancy stood beside her. Lafe thought and thought
+and thought, while Peggy walked through his day dreams
+like some radiant being.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A baby&#8211;&#8211;my baby, in the house,&#8221; sang the cobbler&#8217;s
+heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A baby, our baby, in the house,&#8221; poured from Jinnie&#8217;s
+soul, and &#8220;Baby, little baby,&#8221; sprang from the fiddle over
+and over, as golden flashes of the sun warms the earth.
+Truly was Lafe being revivified; truly was Jinnie! Theodore
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span>
+King! How infinitely close he seemed to her! How
+the memory of his smile cheered and strengthened her!</p>
+<p>From the tip of the fiddle tucked under a rounded chin
+to the line of purple-black hair, the blood rushed in riotous
+confusion over the fiddler&#8217;s lovely face. What was it
+in Lafe&#8217;s story that had brought Theodore King so near?</p>
+<p>Jinnie couldn&#8217;t have told, but she was sure the fiddle
+knew. It was intoning to Lafe&mdash;to her&mdash;the language of
+the birds and the mystery of the flower blossoms, the invisible
+riddles of Heaven and earth, of all the concealed
+secrets beyond the blue of the sky; all the panorama of
+Nature strung out in a wild, sweet forest song. Jinnie
+had backed against the wall as she played, and when out
+of her soul came the twitter of the morning birds, the babbling
+of the brook on its way to the sea, the scream of the
+owl in a high woodland tree, Lafe turned to watch her,
+and from that moment until she dropped exhausted into
+a chair, he did not take his eyes from her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie!&#8221; he gasped, as he thrust forth his hand and
+took hers. &#8220;You&#8217;ve made me happier to-day&#8217;n I&#8217;ve been
+in many a week. Peg&#8217;ll be all right.... Everybody&#8217;ll
+be all right.... God bless us!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sat up with bright, inquiring eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you tell Peg I was to know about&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;About our baby?&#8221; intervened Lafe tenderly.</p>
+<p>He dwelt lovingly on those precious words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, about your baby,&#8221; repeated Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I told &#8217;er, dear. I said you&#8217;d want to be happy
+too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so glad,&#8221; sighed Jinnie, reverently. &#8220;Look!...
+Peg&#8217;s coming now!&#8221;</p>
+<p>They both watched Mrs. Grandoken as she stolidly
+crossed the tracks, leading Bobbie by the hand.</p>
+<p>And later Jinnie hovered over Peggy in the kitchen.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span>
+The woman had taken on such a new dignity. She must
+be treated with the greatest and most extra care. If Jinnie
+had done what she craved, she&#8217;d have bounded to Peg
+and kissed her heartily. Of course that wouldn&#8217;t do, but
+talk to her she must,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; she said softly, tears lurking in her eyes.</p>
+<p>Peg looked at her without moving an eyelash. Jinnie
+wished she would say something; her task would be so much
+easier.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; she begged again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Huh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe told me, dear,&#8221; and then she did something she
+hadn&#8217;t done with Lafe; she began to cry, just why,
+Jinnie didn&#8217;t know; Peg looked so sad, so distant, and
+so ill.</p>
+<p>It was probably Jinnie&#8217;s tears that softened Peg, for
+she put her hand on the girl&#8217;s shoulders and stood silent.
+After the first flood of tears Jinnie ventured:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m awful happy, Peggy dear, and I want you to know
+I&#8217;m going to work harder&#8217;n I even did for Blind Bobbie....
+I will, Peg, I promise I will.... Kiss me, Oh, kiss
+me, dear!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy bent over and kissed the upturned, tearful face
+solemnly. Then she turned her back, beginning to work
+vigorously, and Jinnie returned to the shop with the kiss
+warm on her cheek.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXI_THE_COMING_OF_THE_ANGELS' id='CHAPTER_XXI_THE_COMING_OF_THE_ANGELS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+<h3>THE COMING OF THE ANGELS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d better make it a special prayer, Lafe,&#8221; said
+Jinnie, a little pucker between her eyes. &#8220;Every day I&#8217;m
+more&#8217;n more afraid of Maudlin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I will, honey, an&#8217; just pop into Bates&#8217; cottage an&#8217; tell
+Maudlin&#8217;s pa to run in the shop.... Go long, lass, nobody&#8217;ll
+hurt you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After leaving Lafe&#8217;s message at the Bates&#8217; cottage, Jinnie
+stepped from the tracks to the marshes with a joyful
+heart. Of course nothing could harm her! Lafe&#8217;s faith,
+mingled with her own, would save her from every evil in the
+world.</p>
+<p>When Bates opened the shop door, the cobbler looked
+up gravely. He nodded his head to Jasper&#8217;s, &#8220;Howdy do,
+Grandoken?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit down,&#8221; said Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie says you wanted me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, a few minutes&#8217; chat; that&#8217;s all!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Spit it out,&#8221; said Bates.</p>
+<p>Lafe put down his hammer with slow importance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s this way, Jasper. Maudlin&#8217;s&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s Maudie done now?&#8221; demanded Bates, lighting
+his pipe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s been botherin&#8217; my girl, that&#8217;s what,&#8221; responded
+Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure. She&#8217;s all the girl I got.... Maudlin&#8217;s got to
+stop it, Bates.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A cruel expression flitted over Jasper&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; to do with Maudlin&#8217;s love affairs,&#8221; said
+he. &#8220;Jinnie could do worse&#8217;n get him, I&#8217;m a guessin&#8217;!
+Maudie adds up pretty good, Maudie does!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe shook his head with a grim serenity that became
+the strained white face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;His addin&#8217; up ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; to his credit, Jasper,&#8221; he
+protested. &#8220;He&#8217;s as crooked as a ram&#8217;s horn an&#8217; you
+know it. If you don&#8217;t, take my word for it! There ain&#8217;t
+nothin&#8217; doin&#8217; for him far&#8217;s Jinnie&#8217;s concerned!... I
+sent for you to bargain with you.&#8221; Jasper pricked up
+his ears. The word &#8220;bargain&#8221; always attracted him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; he questioned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You keep your boy from my girl and I&#8217;ll do all your
+family cobblin&#8217; for nothin&#8217; till Jinnie&#8217;s a woman.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bates leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a bargain, all right. Them kids of mine do wear
+out the soles of their shoes some. But, Lafe, I can&#8217;t tag
+Maudlin around all day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe took up his hammer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lick him if he won&#8217;t mind you, Bates. He&#8217;s got to
+let my girl be, and that&#8217;s all there is to it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Saying this, he started to work, giving the shortwood
+gatherer his dismissal. Bates left his chair thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll talk to Maudie,&#8221; said he, &#8220;but he&#8217;s an onery kid;
+has been ever since his mother died. He don&#8217;t git along
+with his stepma very well, and she&#8217;s got such a lot of little
+kids of &#8217;er own she ain&#8217;t time to train no hulk of a boy
+like Maudlin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Pausing a moment, he went on, &#8220;Maudlin&#8217;s been madder&#8217;n
+hell because that duffer King&#8217;s been haulin&#8217; Jinnie&#8217;s
+wood. He says&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It ain&#8217;t any of Maudlin&#8217;s business who helps Jinnie,&#8221;
+interrupted Lafe. &#8220;If you got any shoes needin&#8217; fixin&#8217;,
+tote &#8217;em over, Jasper.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bates left the shop and Lafe fell to work vigorously.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Maudlin Bates stood at the path leading to the marshes.
+He was waiting for Jinnie to appear with her load of shortwood.
+To the young wood gatherer, a woman was created
+for man&#8217;s special benefit, and a long time ago he had
+made up his mind that Jinnie should be his woman.</p>
+<p>He was leaning against a tree when the girl came in
+sight, with her wood-strap on her shoulders. She paid no
+attention to him, and was about to turn into Paradise
+Road when the man stepped in front of her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait a minute, Jinnie,&#8221; he wheedled.</p>
+<p>Jinnie threw him a disdainful glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t wait. I&#8217;m in a hurry,&#8221; she replied, and she
+hoped the fellow would go on before the car arrived.</p>
+<p>Young Bates&#8217; face was crossed by an obstinate expression.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to find out,&#8221; he said, gruffly, &#8220;why you&#8217;re
+ridin&#8217; in rich folks&#8217; motor cars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t anything to you,&#8221; snapped Jinnie.</p>
+<p>The wood gatherer came so close that he forced her
+back a step on the marsh path. Her disdainful eyes had
+drawn him to her, for, like all men, he could be drawn by
+the woman who scorned him, and mesmerized by the sheer
+repulse. By great effort, Jinnie had escaped from Maudlin&#8217;s
+insults for many months, but he had never been quite
+so aggressive as this! Now she could see the dark blood
+in his passionate face mount even to the whites of his
+eyes, those eyes which coveted the youngness of her body,
+the vitality of her girl life, and all the good within her.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Get out of my way!&#8221; she said sharply. &#8220;You let me
+alone. I&#8217;ve got a right to get my wood hauled if I can.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you don&#8217;t do it any more,&#8221; said Maudlin. &#8220;If
+you&#8217;re too lazy to carry your own wood, I&#8217;ll help you
+myself.... You can&#8217;t go no more to King&#8217;s in <i>his</i> car.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned a pair of glinting blue eyes upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who said I couldn&#8217;t?&#8221; she demanded. &#8220;Uncle Lafe
+lets me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your Uncle Lafe said you could marry me,&#8221; said
+Maudlin in slow, drawling tones.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s blood boiled up behind her ears. She was eyeing
+him in bewilderment. Maudlin&#8217;s words made her more
+angry than she&#8217;d ever been in her life.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You lie, you damn fool!&#8221; she cried, and then caught
+her breath in consternation. It was the first oath that
+had escaped her lips in many a long day, and she felt truly
+sorry for it. She would tell Lafe of the provocation
+that caused it and beg to be forgiven. She moved back a
+step as Maudlin pinched her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t lie,&#8221; he growled. &#8220;You think because you can
+scrape on a fiddle you&#8217;re better&#8217;n other folks. Pa an&#8217; me&#8217;ll
+show you you ain&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You and your pa don&#8217;t know everything,&#8221; answered
+Jinnie, wrathfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We know &#8217;nough to see what King&#8217;s doin&#8217; all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He made a dive at the girl and laid a rough hand on
+the shortwood strap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here! Gimme that wood if you&#8217;re too lazy to carry it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned her eyes up the road. It was time Bennett
+came. The sound of his motor would be like sweet
+music in her ears. She jerked the strap away from the
+man and turned furiously upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t touch me again, Maudlin Bates.... I don&#8217;t
+interfere with you. I&#8217;ll&mdash;I&#8217;ll&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span></p>
+<p>But Maudlin paid no heed to her insistence. He was
+dragging the strap from her shoulders.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s face grew waxen white, but she held her own
+for a few minutes. Maudlin was big in proportion to her
+slenderness, and in another instant her shortwood lay on
+the ground, and she was standing panting before him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, then, just to show what kind of a feller I be,&#8221;
+said he, &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to kiss you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie felt cold chills running up and down her back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s time you was kissed,&#8221; went on Maudlin, &#8220;and after
+to-day I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to be your man.... You can bet on
+that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He was slowly forcing her backward along the narrow
+path that led into the marshes. Jinnie knew intuitively
+he wanted her to turn and run into the underbrush that
+he might have her alone in the great waste place.</p>
+<p>Like a mad creature, she fought every step of the way,
+Maudlin&#8217;s anger rising at each cry the girl emitted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell my uncle,&#8221; she screamed, with sobbing breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You won&#8217;t want to tell &#8217;im when I get done with you,&#8221;
+muttered the man. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you run? You c&#8217;n run,
+can&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Oh, if Bennett would only come! She was still near
+enough to Paradise Road for him to hear her calling.</p>
+<p>Maudlin reached out his hand and caught the long
+curls between his dirty fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you won&#8217;t run,&#8221; he said, &#8220;then, that for you!&#8221; and
+he gave a cruel twist to the shining hair, pulling Jinnie
+almost off her feet.</p>
+<p>Then the ruffian turned, slowly dragging her foot by
+foot into the marshland. She opened her lips, and gave
+one long scream; then another and another before Maudlin
+pulled her to him and closed her mouth with a large
+hand, and Jinnie grew faint with fright and terror.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span></p>
+<p>They were out of sight now of Paradise Road, still Jinnie
+struggled and struggled, gripping with both hands at
+Bates&#8217; fingers jerking at her curls.</p>
+<p>Suddenly Lafe&#8217;s solemn words surged through her mind.
+&#8220;He has given His angels charge over thee.&#8221; Oh God!
+Dear God! What glorious, blessed words! Lafe&#8217;s angels,
+her angels&mdash;Jinnie&#8217;s heart throbbed with faith.
+Once Lafe had told her no one, no, not even Maudlin
+Bates, could keep her own from her! Her honor and her
+very life were in the tender hands of the cobbler&#8217;s angels.
+Suddenly in fancy Jinnie saw the whole world about teeming
+with bright ecstatic beings, and multitudes of them
+were hurrying through the warm summer air to the Bellaire
+marshes. They were coming&mdash;coming to help her, to
+save her from a fate worse than death! Her mind reeled
+under the terrible pain Maudlin was inflicting upon her,
+and she closed her eyes in agony. With one mighty effort,
+she dragged her face from the brown, hard hand and
+screamed at the top of her lungs.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Theodore King swung his car around into Paradise
+Road with busy thoughts. He had decided to go himself
+that morning to bring the little fiddler back to his home
+with the shortwood. He had a plan for Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Past the cobbler&#8217;s shop sped the big motor, and as it
+drew up to the marshes, he heard a blood-curdling cry
+from the depths of the underbrush. In another instant he
+was out on the ground, dashing along the path. He saw
+Jinnie and Maudlin before either one of them knew he was
+near. He saw the fellow pulling the black curls, and saw
+a hand almost covering the fair young face.</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie saw him, and sent him one swift, terrified,
+appealing glance.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span></p>
+<p>In the smallest fraction of a second Maudlin was sprawling
+on the ground, and Theodore was soundly kicking
+him. Jinnie sank down on the damp moss and began to
+cry weakly. Her face was scratched from the man&#8217;s fingers,
+her head aching from the strenuous pulling of her
+hair. Then she covered her eyes with her hands. God
+<i>had</i> sent an angel&mdash;she was saved! When Mr. King
+touched her gently, she sat up, wiping away little streams
+of blood running down her face and neck.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you came,&#8221; she sobbed, raising her head, &#8220;and oh,
+I needed you so!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore lifted her to her feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should say you did, you poor child! I should certainly
+think you did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then he turned to Maudlin Bates.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What, in God&#8217;s name, were you trying to do?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Maudlin, raging with anger, scrambled from the ground.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get out o&#8217; here,&#8221; he hissed, &#8220;an&#8217; mind your own business.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;When I keep a bully away from a nice little girl, I&#8217;m
+minding my business all right.... What was he trying
+to do, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Maudlin walked backward until he was almost in the
+brush.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to marry her,&#8221; he said, surlily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He isn&#8217;t,&#8221; cried Jinnie. &#8220;Oh, don&#8217;t believe him, Mr.
+King! He says Uncle Lafe said he can marry me, but he
+can&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Once more Theodore turned on Maudlin, threateningly,
+his anger riding down his gentleness to Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now get out of here,&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;and don&#8217;t ever
+let me hear of your even speaking to this child again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The shortwood gatherer stood his ground until Theodore,
+with raised fist, was almost upon him.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I said to get out!&#8221; thundered Mr. King.</p>
+<p>With a baffled cry, Bates turned, rushed back into the
+marsh, and for several seconds they heard him beating
+down the brushwood as he ran.</p>
+<p>Theodore tenderly drew the girl into Paradise Road.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wanted to see your uncle to-day,&#8221; he explained, without
+waiting for the question which he read in Jinnie&#8217;s eyes,
+&#8220;so I came over myself instead of sending Bennett.... There,
+child! Don&#8217;t tremble so! Never mind the wood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie hung back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got to sell it to you this afternoon,&#8221; she murmured
+brokenly. &#8220;Peg&#8217;s got to have the money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve enough at home until to-morrow.... Wait
+until to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie looked longingly at the wood.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Somebody&#8217;ll take it,&#8221; she objected, &#8220;and it&#8217;s awful
+hard to gather.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A grip of pain stabbed Theodore&#8217;s heart. This slender,
+beautiful girl, rosy with health and genius, should
+gather wood no more for any one in the world.... To
+soothe her, he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll come by and pick it up on my way back....
+Come along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He lifted her into the car, and they moved slowly
+through Paradise Road, and drew up before the cobbler&#8217;s
+shop.</p>
+<p>Lafe put down his hammer as they entered, and bade
+King take a chair. Jinnie sat weakly on the bench beside
+Mr. Grandoken. He took her hand, and the loving
+pressure brought forth a storm of outraged tears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Twas Maudlin, Lafe,&#8221; she wept.</p>
+<p>Then her arms stole around the cobbler. &#8220;The angels
+sent Mr. King!... Lafe, Lafe, save me from Maudlin!
+He&mdash;he&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span></p>
+<p>Theodore King rose to his feet, his face paling. Lafe,
+smoothing Jinnie&#8217;s head now buried in his breast, lifted
+misty eyes to the young man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My poor baby! My poor little girl!&#8221; he stammered.
+&#8220;She has much to stand, sir.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other man took several nervous turns around the
+shop. Presently he paused near the cobbler and coughed
+in embarrassment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m interested in doing something for your niece, Mr.
+Grandoken,&#8221; said he lamely.</p>
+<p>On hearing this, Jinnie lifted her head, and Lafe bowed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thank you, sir,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t approve of her going into the marshes alone to
+gather wood,&#8221; continued Mr. King. &#8220;She&#8217;s too young,
+too&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t uther, sir,&#8221; interrupted Lafe sadly, &#8220;but we&#8217;ve
+got to live.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Not heeding the cobbler&#8217;s explanation, Theodore proceeded
+deliberately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She plays too well on the violin not to have all the
+training that can be given her. Now let me be of some
+service until she is self-supporting.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Again Lafe repeated, &#8220;Thank you, sir, but I don&#8217;t
+think Jinnie could accept money from any one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see why not! It&#8217;s quite customary when a
+young person is ambitious to receive&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is it, sir?&#8221; ejaculated Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Indeed yes, and I&#8217;ve been making inquiries, and I find
+there&#8217;s a very good teacher on the hill who&#8217;ll give her the
+rudiments.... After that, we&#8217;ll see.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie was breathing very fast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lessons cost lots of money,&#8221; objected Lafe feebly,
+drawing the girl closer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know that,&#8221; interposed Mr. King, &#8220;but I want to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span>
+pay for them. She ought to take one every day, the
+teacher says, commencing to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie stood up. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t let you pay for &#8217;em,&#8221; she
+said quickly. &#8220;I&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>She sat down again at a motion from Theodore.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please don&#8217;t object until I have finished,&#8221; he smiled
+at her. &#8220;It&#8217;s like this: If you study, you&#8217;ll be able to
+earn a lot of money. Then you can return every dollar
+to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Suddenly it came to her mind to tell him she would have
+all the money she needed when she should be eighteen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll have&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she began, but Lafe, feeling what she
+was going to say, stopped her. It wasn&#8217;t time to confide
+in any one about the danger hanging over her. He took
+the matter in his own hands with his usual melancholy dignity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie&#8217;ll be glad to let you help her, sir, providin&#8217; you
+keep track of the money you spend,&#8221; he agreed.</p>
+<p>The girl could scarcely believe her ears. Suddenly her
+indignant sense of Maudlin&#8217;s abuse faded away, leaving
+her encouraged and warm with ambition.</p>
+<p>Theodore took one more stride around the little room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now that&#8217;s sensible, Mr. Grandoken,&#8221; he said contentedly.
+&#8220;And before I go, I want you to promise me
+your niece won&#8217;t go into the marshes even once more. I
+must have your word before I can be satisfied. As it is
+now, she earns three dollars a week bringing me wood.
+That I must add to the lesson money&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s dissenting gesture broke off Mr. King&#8217;s statement,
+but he resumed immediately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re sensitive on that point, I&#8217;ll add it in with the
+other money. I think it wise to keep our arrangements
+to ourselves, though.&#8221; He stopped, his face changing.
+&#8220;And I&mdash;I would like to make you more comfortable here.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span></p>
+<p>Lafe shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t take anything for me and Peggy,&#8221; he announced
+decidedly, &#8220;but Jinnie&#8217;ll give back all you let her
+have some day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Theodore King went away reluctantly.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXII_MOLLYS_DISCOVERY' id='CHAPTER_XXII_MOLLYS_DISCOVERY'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+<h3>MOLLY&#8217;S DISCOVERY</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Peggy had given Jinnie a violin box, and as the girlwalked rapidly homeward, she gazed at it with pride, and
+began to plan how the woman&#8217;s burdens could be lightened
+a little&mdash;how she could bring a smile now and then
+to the sullen face. This had been discussed between Lafe
+and herself many times, and they had rejoiced that in a
+few months, when Jinnie was eighteen, Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s
+worries would be lessened.</p>
+<p>She reached the bottom of the hill just as a car dashed
+around the lower corner, a woman at the wheel. One
+glance at the occupant, and Jinnie recognized Molly Merriweather.
+The woman smiled sweetly and drove to the
+edge of the pavement.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good afternoon,&#8221; she greeted Jinnie. &#8220;Won&#8217;t you
+take a little ride with me? I&#8217;ll drive you home afterwards.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s heart bounded. As yet Molly had not discovered
+her identity, and the girl, in spite of Lafe&#8217;s caution,
+wanted to know all that had passed in Mottville after she
+left. She wanted to hear about her dead father, of Matty,
+and the old home. She gave ready assent to Molly&#8217;s invitation
+by climbing into the door opened for her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t have to go home right away, do you?&#8221;
+asked Miss Merriweather pleasantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I suppose not,&#8221; acceded Jinnie shyly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span></p>
+<p>She connected Molly the Merry with all that was good.
+She remembered the woman&#8217;s kindly smiles so long ago in
+Mottville, and&mdash;that she was a friend of Theodore King.
+She was startled, however, after they had ridden in silence
+a while, when the woman pronounced his name.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you seen Mr. King lately?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess it&#8217;s three days,&#8221; she answered, low-voiced.</p>
+<p>Three days! Molly racked her brain during the few seconds
+before she spoke again to bring to mind when Theodore
+had been absent from home out of business hours.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a very nice man,&#8221; she remarked disinterestedly.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s gratitude burst forth in youthful impetuosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s more&#8217;n nice,&mdash;he&#8217;s the best man in the world.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he is,&#8221; murmured Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theo&mdash;I mean Mr. King,&#8221; stammered Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Molly turned so quickly to look at the girl&#8217;s reddening
+face that the car almost described a circle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You call him by his first name, then?&#8221; she asked, with
+a sharp backward turn of the wheel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; denied Jinnie, extremely confused. &#8220;Oh, no!
+Only&mdash;only&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Only what?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;When I think of him, then I do. Theodore&#8217;s such a
+pretty name, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly bit her lip. Here was the niece of a cobbler
+who dared to think familiarly of a man in high social
+position. She had tried to make herself believe Theo was
+simply philanthropic, but now the more closely she examined
+the beautiful face of the girl, the more she argued
+with herself, the greater grew her fear.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What does he call you?&#8221; Molly spoke amiably, as if
+discussing these unimportant little matters for mere
+politeness&#8217; sake.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Mostly Jinnie,&#8221; was the prompt reply. &#8220;I&#8217;m just
+Jinnie to every one who loves me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She said this without thought of its import. Angrily
+Molly sent the motor spinning along at a higher rate.
+She was growing to hate the little person at her side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are your own people?&#8221; she demanded, when
+they were on the road leading to the country.</p>
+<p>Jinnie glanced up. &#8220;Dead!&#8221; she answered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the cobbler, Mr. Grandoken, is he your father&#8217;s
+or mother&#8217;s brother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie pondered a moment, undecided how to answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, you see it&#8217;s like this&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly lessened the speed. Turning squarely around,
+she looked keenly at the scarlet, lovely face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why are you blushing?&#8221; she queried.</p>
+<p>Then like a flash she remembered. What a silly fool
+she had been! Jordan Morse would give his eyes almost
+to locate this girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I remember now who you are,&#8221; she said, taking a
+long breath. &#8220;You&#8217;re Virginia Singleton.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie touched her arm appealingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You won&#8217;t tell anybody, will you, please? Please
+don&#8217;t.... There&#8217;s a reason why.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me the reason.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t now, not now. But I have to live with Lafe
+Grandoken quite a long time yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ran away from your home?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your father died the same night you came away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and&mdash;please, what happened after I left?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he was buried, and the house is empty.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly forebore to mention Jordan Morse, and Jinnie&#8217;s
+tongue refused to utter the terrifying name.</p>
+<p>Presently the girl, with tears in her eyes, said softly:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And Matty, old Matty?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s Matty?&#8221; interjected Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The black woman who took care of me. She lived
+with me for ever so long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly didn&#8217;t reply for some time. Then:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think she died; at least I heard she did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A cold shudder ran over Jinnie&#8217;s body. Matty then
+had gone to join those who, when they were called, had
+no choice but to answer. She leaned against the soft
+cushions moodily. She was harking back to other days,
+and Molly permitted her to remain silent for some time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You must have people of your own you could live
+with,&#8221; she resumed presently. &#8220;It&#8217;s wrong for a girl with
+your money&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s lovely mouth set at the corners.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t leave Lafe and Peggy for anybody in the
+world, not if I had relations, but I haven&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought&mdash;I thought,&#8221; began Molly, pretending to
+bring to mind something she&#8217;d forgotten. &#8220;You have an
+uncle,&#8221; she burst forth.</p>
+<p>Jinnie grew cold from head to foot. Her father&#8217;s words,
+&#8220;He won&#8217;t find in you much of an obstacle,&#8221; came to her
+distinctly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does your uncle know where you are?&#8221;</p>
+<p>This question brought the girl to the present.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No. I don&#8217;t want him to know, either. Not till&mdash;not
+till I&#8217;m eighteen.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s tone was so cold and unsympathetic Jinnie regretted
+she had accepted her invitation to ride. But she
+need not be afraid; Lafe would keep her safe from all
+harm. Had she not tried out his faith and the angels&#8217;
+care with Maudlin Bates? However, she felt she owed
+some explanation to the woman at her side.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;My uncle doesn&#8217;t like me,&#8221; she stammered, calming
+her fear. &#8220;And Lafe loves me, Lafe does.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you know your uncle doesn&#8217;t love you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Thinking of Lafe&#8217;s often repeated caution not to divulge
+her father&#8217;s disclosure of Morse&#8217;s perfidy, Jinnie
+remained quiet.</p>
+<p>The birds above their heads kept up a shrill chatter.
+On ordinary occasions Jinnie would have listened to mark
+down in her memory a few notes to draw from her fiddle,
+but at this moment she was too busy looking for a proper
+explanation. Glancing sidelong at the woman&#8217;s face and
+noting the expression upon it, she grew cold and drew
+into the corner. She would not dare&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I almost think it&#8217;s my duty to write your uncle,&#8221; said
+Molly deliberately.</p>
+<p>Jinnie gasped. She straightened and put forth an impetuous
+hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please don&#8217;t! I beg you not to. Some day, mebbe,
+some day&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In the meantime you&#8217;re living with people who can&#8217;t
+take care of you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, but they do, and Mr. King&#8217;s helping me,&#8221; faltered
+Jinnie. &#8220;Why, he&#8217;d do anything for me he could. He
+loves my fiddle&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does he love you?&#8221; asked Molly, her heart beating
+swiftly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know, but he&#8217;s very good to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly with one hand carefully brushed a dead leaf from
+her skirt.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you love him?&#8221; she asked, forcing casuality into
+her tone.</p>
+<p>Did she love Theodore King? The question was flung
+at Jinnie so suddenly that the truth burst from her lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, I love him very, very much&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span></p>
+<p>The machine started forward with a tremendous jerk.
+Jinnie gave a frightened little cry, but the woman did not
+heed her. The motor sped along at a terrific rate, and
+there just ahead Jinnie spied a lean barn-cat, crossing
+the road. She screamed again in terror. Still Molly
+sped on, driving the car straight over the thin, gaunt
+animal. Jinnie&#8217;s heart leapt into her mouth. All her
+great love for living things rose in stout appeal against
+this ruthless deed. She lifted her slight body and sprang
+up and out, striking the hard ground with a sickening
+thud. She sat up, shaking from head to foot. A short
+distance ahead Molly Merriweather was turning her machine.
+Jinnie crawled to the middle of the road, still
+dizzy from her fall. There, struggling before her, was
+the object for which she had jumped. The cat was
+writhing in distracted misery, and Jinnie picked him up
+in her arms. She was sitting on the ground when Molly,
+very pale, rolled back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You little fool! You silly little fool!&#8221; she exclaimed,
+leaping out. &#8220;You might have been killed doing such a
+thing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ran over the kitty,&#8221; wept Jinnie, bowing her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And what if I did? It&#8217;s only a cat. Throw it down
+and come with me immediately.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie wasn&#8217;t used to such sentiments. She got to her
+feet, a queer, rebellious feeling buzzing through her brain.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to walk home,&#8221; she said brokenly, &#8220;and take
+the kitty with me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Saying this, she took off her jacket and wrapped it
+about the cat. Molly glared at her furiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the strangest little dunce I ever saw,&#8221; she cried.
+&#8220;If you&#8217;re determined to take the little beast, get in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly was sorry afterward she had not let Jinnie have
+her way, for they had driven homeward but a little distance
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span>
+when she saw Theodore&#8217;s car coming toward them.
+He himself was at the wheel, and waved good-naturedly.
+Molly reluctantly stopped her machine. The man looked
+in astonishment from the girl to the woman. He noticed
+Jinnie&#8217;s white face and the long blue mark running from
+her forehead to her chin. Molly, too, wore an expression
+which changed her materially. He stepped to the
+ground and leaned over the edge of their car.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Something happened?&#8221; he questioned, eyeing first one,
+then the other.</p>
+<p>Molly looked down upon the girl, who was staring at
+Mr. King.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&mdash;I&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; began Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Molly made a short explanation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She jumped out of the car,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I was just
+telling her she might have been killed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jumped out of the car?&#8221; repeated Theodore, aghast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we were going at a terrible rate,&#8221; Molly went on.</p>
+<p>Her voice was toned with accusation, and Jinnie saw a
+reprimanding expression spread over the man&#8217;s face. She
+didn&#8217;t want him to think ill of her, yet she was not sorry
+she had jumped. He was kind and good; he would pity
+the hurt thing throbbing against her breast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&mdash;we&mdash;ran over a cat&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she said wretchedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A barn-cat,&#8221; cut in Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he was awfully hurt,&#8221; interpolated Jinnie. &#8220;I
+couldn&#8217;t leave him in the road. I had to get him, didn&#8217;t I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore King made a movement of surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you notice it in the road?&#8221; he asked Miss Merriweather.</p>
+<p>The woman was thoroughly angry, so angry she could
+not guard her tongue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I saw him,&#8221; she replied haughtily, &#8220;but I
+wouldn&#8217;t stop for an old cat; I can tell you that much.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Miss Grandoken looks ill,&#8221; Theodore answered slowly,
+&#8220;and as I am going her way, I think she&#8217;d better come
+with me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly was about to protest when two strong arms were
+thrust forth, and Jinnie with the cat was lifted out. Before
+the girl fully realized what had happened, she was
+sitting beside her friend, driving homeward. She could
+hear through her aching brain the chug-chug of Molly&#8217;s
+motor following. It was not until they turned into Paradise
+Road that Mr. King spoke to her. Then he said
+gently:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was a dreadful risk you took, child.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think about that,&#8221; murmured Jinnie, closing
+her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I suppose not. Your heart&#8217;s too tender to let
+anything be abused.... Is the cat dead?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie pulled aside her jacket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, but he&#8217;s breathing awful hard. It hurts him to
+try to live. I want to get home quick so Peggy can do
+something for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll hurry, then,&#8221; replied Mr. King, and when he saw
+Lafe&#8217;s face in the window, he again addressed her:</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d better try to smile a little, Miss Jinnie, or your
+uncle&#8217;ll be frightened.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie roused herself, but she was so weak when she
+tried to walk that Theodore picked her up in his arms
+and carried her into the shop.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII_NOBODYS_CAT' id='CHAPTER_XXIII_NOBODYS_CAT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+<h3>NOBODY&#8217;S CAT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Lafe uttered a quick little prayer as the door opened.
+His glance through the window had shown him Jinnie&#8217;s
+pale face and her dark head drooping against Mr. King&#8217;s
+shoulder. Theodore smiled as he entered, which instantly
+eased the fear in the cobbler&#8217;s heart and he waited for the
+other man to speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie had a fall,&#8221; explained Mr. King, &#8220;so I drove
+her home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He placed the girl in a chair. She was still holding the
+mangled cat in her arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is she much hurt?&#8221; questioned Lafe anxiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Lafe, I&#8217;m not hurt a bit. Miss Merriweather
+took me for a little ride. I jumped out to get this kitty
+because she ran over &#8217;im.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She displayed the quivering grey tiger cat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jumped out of a fast-goin&#8217; car, honey!&#8221; chided Lafe.
+&#8220;That was some dangerous.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes were veiled with wonder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I couldn&#8217;t let him stay and get run over again,
+could I, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, darlin&#8217;, of course you couldn&#8217;t.... Are you
+pretty well broke up?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. King explained the accident as best he could, and
+after he departed Mrs. Grandoken came in with Bobbie
+clinging to her skirts. Then the story was repeated.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t we do something for him, Peg?&#8221; pleaded Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Peg knelt down and examined the animal as it lay on
+the floor. She would not have admitted for anything
+that she was disturbed because of Jinnie&#8217;s fall. She only
+said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Twasn&#8217;t your fault, miss, that you ain&#8217;t almost dead
+yourself.... I&#8217;ll get a dish with some water.... You
+need it as much as the cat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was Bobbie who brought from Peggy a fierce ejaculation.
+He was standing in the middle of the floor with
+fluttering hands, a woebegone expression on his upturned
+face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My stars&#8217;re goin&#8217; out,&#8221; he whimpered. &#8220;I want to
+touch my Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She ain&#8217;t hurt much, kid,&#8221; said Peg, hoarsely. &#8220;Don&#8217;t
+be shakin&#8217; like a leaf, Bobbie! You&#8217;d think the girl was
+dead.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie called the boy to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here, honey,&#8221; she soothed him, &#8220;and I&#8217;m all right.
+I got a little whack on the ground, that&#8217;s all.... There,
+don&#8217;t cry, dearie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg looked down on them frowningly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re both of you little fools,&#8221; she muttered. &#8220;Get
+out of my way till I go to the kitchen, or I&#8217;ll kick you out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When Mrs. Grandoken brought the water, they worked
+over the cat for a long time, and at length Peg carried
+the poor little mangled body to the kitchen, Bobbie following
+her.</p>
+<p>Jinnie sat down beside the cobbler on the bench.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s something I don&#8217;t know, Jinnie,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>Fully and freely she told him all&mdash;all that had happened
+that day. She explained Molly&#8217;s recognition of
+her and the terrors of the afternoon&#8217;s ride.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She hates barn-cats,&#8221; went on the girl, &#8220;and, Lafe,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span>
+when the wheels gritted over him, I flew right out on the
+ground.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s arms tightened about her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You just couldn&#8217;t help it,&#8221; he murmured. &#8220;God bless
+my little girl!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then Mr. King took me with him,&#8221; concluded Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Lafe had his own view of Molly the Merry, but he didn&#8217;t
+tell the faint, white girl at his side that he thought the
+woman was jealous of her.</p>
+<p>As Jinnie again recounted nervously the conversation
+about her Uncle Jordan, the cobbler said softly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all in the hands of the angels, pet! No harm&#8217;ll
+come to you ever.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Jordan Morse answered Miss Merriweather&#8217;s telephone
+call.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to talk with you,&#8221; said she peremptorily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll come right up,&#8221; replied Morse.</p>
+<p>She stood on the porch with her hands tightly locked
+together when Jordan dashed up the roadway. She
+walked slowly down the steps.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s up?&#8221; demanded Morse.</p>
+<p>Molly glanced backward at the quiet home. Theodore&#8217;s
+mother was taking her afternoon siesta, and no one else
+was about. She slipped her hand into Morse&#8217;s arm and
+led him under the trees.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s go to the summer house,&#8221; she urged.</p>
+<p>Once seated, Morse looked at her curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re ill,&#8221; he said, noting her distorted face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, only furious.... I&#8217;ve made a discovery.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anything of value?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, to you&mdash;and to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse bent a keen glance upon her.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; was all he said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know where your niece, Virginia Singleton, is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She said this deliberately, realizing the while the worth
+of her words.</p>
+<p>Morse got to his feet unsteadily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe it,&#8221; he returned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I knew you wouldn&#8217;t, but I do just the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In this town.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse dropped back on the seat once more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For God&#8217;s sake, don&#8217;t play with me. Why don&#8217;t
+you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to! Keep still, can&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re torturing me,&#8221; muttered the man, mopping his
+brow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s&mdash;she&#8217;s Jinnie Grandoken&mdash;the girl who played
+at Theo&#8217;s party.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good God!&#8221; and then through the silence came another
+muttered, &#8220;Great merciful God!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly allowed him to regain his self-control.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told you that night, Jordan, I thought I remembered
+her,&#8221; she then said. &#8220;To-day I found out it was she.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me all you know,&#8221; ordered Morse, with darkening
+brow.</p>
+<p>Molly openly admitted her jealousy of Jinnie. She
+had no shame because, long before, she had told her husband
+of her absorbing passion for Theodore King.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I discovered it purely by accident,&#8221; she went on, relating
+the story.</p>
+<p>Morse chewed the end of his cigar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now what&#8217;re you going to do?&#8221; demanded Molly presently.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span></p>
+<p>Jordan threw away his cigar and thrust his hands deep
+into his pockets, stretching out a pair of long legs.
+There he sat considering the tips of his boots in silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got to think, and think quick,&#8221; he broke out suddenly.
+&#8220;My God! I might have known she didn&#8217;t belong
+in that cobbler&#8217;s shop.... I&#8217;ll go now.... Don&#8217;t
+mention this to Theo.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As he was leaving, he said with curling lip:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess now you know my prospects you won&#8217;t be so
+stingy. I&#8217;ll have to have money to carry this through.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; said Molly.</p>
+<p>When she was alone, Molly&#8217;s anger decreased. She
+had an ally now worth having. She smiled delicately as
+she passed up the stairs to her room, and the smile was
+brought to her lips because she remembered having begged
+Jordan to help her in this matter several times before.
+Then he had had no incentive, but to-day&#8211;&#8211;Ah, now he
+would give her a divorce quietly! The social world in
+which she hoped to move would know nothing of her
+youthful indiscretion.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>That night Jinnie and Peg were bending anxiously over
+a basket near the kitchen stove. All that human hands
+and hearts could do had been done for the suffering barn-cat.
+He had given no sign of consciousness, his breath
+coming and going in long, deep gasps.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll die, won&#8217;t he, Peg?&#8221; asked Jinnie, sorrowfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, sure. An&#8217; it&#8217;ll be better for the beast, too.&#8221; Peg
+said this tempestuously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to have him live,&#8221; replied Jinnie. &#8220;Milly Ann
+mightn&#8217;t love him, but she got used to Happy Pete, didn&#8217;t
+she?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;This feller,&#8221; assured Peggy, wagging her head, &#8220;won&#8217;t
+get used to anything more on this earth.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor kitty,&#8221; mourned Jinnie.</p>
+<p>She was thinking of the beautiful world, the trees and
+the flowers, and the wonderful songs of nature amidst
+which the dying animal had existed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope he&#8217;ll go to some nice place,&#8221; she observed sadly,
+walking away from Mrs. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>Later, after cogitating deeply, Jinnie expressed herself
+to the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe, Lafe dear,&#8221; she said, &#8220;it&#8217;s all true you told me,
+ain&#8217;t it?... All about the angels and God?... The
+poor kitty&#8217;s suffering awful. He&#8217;s got the Christ too,
+hasn&#8217;t he, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man looked into the agonized young face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, child,&#8221; he replied reverently, &#8220;he&#8217;s got the Christ
+too, same&#8217;s you an&#8217; me. God&#8217;s in everything. He loves
+&#8217;em all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>That night the girl sat unusually long with paper and
+pencil. Just before going to bed she placed a paper on
+the cobbler&#8217;s knee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wrote that hurt kitty some poetry,&#8221; she said shyly.</p>
+<p>Lafe settled his spectacles on his nose, picked up the
+sheet, and read:</p>
+<table style='margin: auto' summary=''><tr><td>
+<p style='margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'>
+&#8220;<i>I&#8217;m nobody&#8217;s cat and I&#8217;ve been here so long,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>In this world of sorrow and pain,</i></span><br />
+<i>I&#8217;ve no father nor mother nor home in this place,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And must always stay out in the rain.</i></span><br />
+&nbsp;<br />
+&#8220;<i>Hot dish water, stones at me have been thrown,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And one of my hind legs is lame;</i></span><br />
+<i>No wonder I run when I know the boys</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>Come to see if I&#8217;m tame.</i></span><br />
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span>
+&nbsp;<br />
+&#8220;<i>I&#8217;ve a friend in the country, and he&#8217;s nobody&#8217;s dog,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And his burdens&#8217;re heavy as mine,</i></span><br />
+<i>He told me one day the boys had once tied</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>A tin can to his tail with a line.</i></span><br />
+&nbsp;<br />
+&#8220;<i>Now they talk in the churches of God and his Son,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>Of Paradise, Heaven and Hell;</i></span><br />
+<i>Of a Savior who came on earth for mankind,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And for His children all should be well.</i></span><br />
+&nbsp;<br />
+&#8220;<i>Now I&#8217;d like to know if God didn&#8217;t make me,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And cause me to live and all that?</i></span><br />
+<i>I believe there&#8217;s a place for nobody&#8217;s child,</i><br />
+<span style='margin-left: 0.78125em;'><i>And also for nobody&#8217;s cat.</i>&#8221;</span></p>
+</td></tr></table>
+<p>Mr. Grandoken lifted misty eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fine,&#8221; he said, &#8220;an&#8217; every word true!... Every
+single word.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The next morning Jinnie went to the basket behind the
+stove. The cat was dead,&mdash;dead, in the same position in
+which she had left him the night before, and close to his
+nose was the meat Peggy had tried to entice him to eat.
+She lifted the basket and carried it into the shop.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor little feller,&#8221; said Lafe. &#8220;I &#8217;spose you&#8217;ll have to
+bury him, lass.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie edged forward, and felt for Jinnie&#8217;s fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bury him on the hill, dearie, where you found me,&#8221; he
+whispered. &#8220;It&#8217;s lovely there, and he can see my stars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; replied Jinnie, dropping her hand on the
+boy&#8217;s golden head.</p>
+<p>That afternoon, just before the funeral, Jinnie stood
+quietly in front of the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she said, looking at him appealingly, &#8220;the
+kitty&#8217;s happy even if he is dead, isn&#8217;t he?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; replied Lafe. &#8220;His angels&#8217;ve got charge of him,
+all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was wondering something,&#8221; ventured the girl,
+thoughtfully. &#8220;Couldn&#8217;t we take him in the &#8216;Happy in
+Spite&#8217;?... Eh, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lake looked at her in surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I never thought of takin&#8217; anything dead in the club,&#8221;
+said he dubiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But he&#8217;s happy, you said, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s happy enough, yes, sure!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then let&#8217;s take him in,&#8221; repeated Jinnie eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s take &#8217;im in, cobbler,&#8221; breathed Bobbie, pressing
+forward. &#8220;He wants to come in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They lifted the cover of the basket, and there in quietude
+the barn-cat was sleeping his long last sleep.</p>
+<p>Jinnie lifted one of the stiff little paws, and placed it
+in Lafe&#8217;s fingers. The cobbler shook it tenderly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re in the club, sir,&#8221; said he in a thick, choked
+voice. Then Jinnie and Bobbie, carrying their precious
+dead comrade, started for the hill.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV_HE_MIGHT_EVEN_MARRY_HER' id='CHAPTER_XXIV_HE_MIGHT_EVEN_MARRY_HER'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;HE MIGHT EVEN MARRY HER&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see why you must have her out of the way entirely,&#8221; hesitated Molly Merriweather, looking up into
+Jordan Morse&#8217;s face. &#8220;Couldn&#8217;t you send her to some
+girls&#8217; place?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now you don&#8217;t know anything about it, Molly,&#8221; answered
+the man impatiently. &#8220;If she doesn&#8217;t disappear
+absolutely, the cobbler and Theodore&#8217;ll find her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so,&#8221; said Molly, meditatively, &#8220;but it seems
+horrible&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse interrupted her with a sarcastic laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what Theodore would think, and more, too, if
+he thought any one was going to harm a hair of the child&#8217;s
+head.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly flamed red.</p>
+<p>&#8220;To save her, he might even marry her,&#8221; Morse went
+on relentlessly.</p>
+<p>Molly gestured negatively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He wouldn&#8217;t. He couldn&#8217;t!&#8221; she cried stormily. She
+had never permitted herself to face such a catastrophe
+save when she was angry.</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse contemplated his wife a short space of
+time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t understand your falling in love with a man
+who hasn&#8217;t breathed a word of affection for you,&#8221; he said
+tentatively.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span></p>
+<p>Molly showed him an angry face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re not a woman, so you can&#8217;t judge,&#8221; she replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thank God for that!&#8221; retorted Morse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We wouldn&#8217;t have had any of this trouble,&#8221; he continued,
+at length, &#8220;if you&#8217;d let me know about the boy.
+There&#8217;s no excuse for you, absolutely none. You know
+very well I would have come back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>All the softness in the woman turned to hardness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How many times,&#8221; she flamed, &#8220;must I tell you I was
+too angry to write or beg you to come, Jordan?... I&#8217;ve
+told you over and over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And with all you say, I can&#8217;t understand it. Are
+you going to impart your precious past to Theodore?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; replied Molly, setting her lips.</p>
+<p>Presently Morse laughed provokingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How you women do count your chickens before they&#8217;re
+hatched! Where did you get the idea Theodore was going
+to ask you to marry him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll make him,&#8221; breathed Molly, with confidence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, go ahead,&#8221; bantered Morse. &#8220;All I ask for releasing
+you is that you&#8217;ll help me rid myself of my beautiful
+niece, Virginia, at the same time ridding yourself,
+my lady, and give me my boy when we find him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His tones in the first part of the speech were mocking,
+but Molly noted when he said &#8220;boy&#8221; his voice softened.
+She looked at him wonderingly. What a strange mixture
+of good and evil he was! When he got up to leave, she
+was not sorry. She watched him stride away with a deep
+sigh of relief.</p>
+<p>She was still sitting in the summer house when Theodore
+King swung his motor through the gate and drew up
+before the porch. He jumped out, wiped his face, saw
+Molly, and smiled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, it&#8217;s cool here,&#8221; he said, walking toward her.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Molly. &#8220;Come and sit down a minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore looked doubtfully at the house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I really ought to do some writing, but I&#8217;ll sit a while
+if you like. I passed Jordan on the way home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly nodded, and Theodore quizzed her with laughing
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t he coming pretty often?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;Jordan&#8217;s
+got prospects, Molly! If his niece isn&#8217;t found, you know,
+he&#8217;ll have a fortune.... Better set your cap for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly blushed under his words, trying not to show her
+resentment. Was Theodore a perfect fool? Couldn&#8217;t he
+see she desired no one but himself, and him alone?</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jordan doesn&#8217;t care for me that way,&#8221; she observed
+with dignity, &#8220;and I don&#8217;t care for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore flicked an ash from his cigar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think you&#8217;re mistaken, Molly&mdash;I mean as far as he
+is concerned.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not! Of course, I&#8217;m not! Oh, Theodore, I&#8217;ve been
+wanting to ask you something for a long time. I do want
+to go back home for a day.... Would you take me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore eyed her through wreaths of blue smoke.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I might,&#8221; he hesitated, &#8220;but hadn&#8217;t you better
+ask Jordan? I&#8217;m afraid he wouldn&#8217;t like me&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly got up so quickly that Theodore, surprised, got
+up too.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want Jordan, and I do want you,&#8221; she said
+emphatically. &#8220;Of course if you don&#8217;t care to go&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;On the contrary,&#8221; interrupted Theodore, good-naturedly,
+&#8220;I would really like it.... Yes, I&#8217;ll go all right....
+I have a reason for going.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s whole demeanor changed. She gave a musical
+laugh. He could have but one reason, and she felt she
+knew that reason! What a handsome dear he was, and
+how she loved the whole bigness of him!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span></p>
+<p>As she turned to walk away, Theodore fell in at her
+side, suiting his steps to hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mind you, Molly, any day you say but Saturday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why not Saturday?&#8221; asked Molly, pouting. &#8220;I might
+want you then!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Unsuspecting, Mr. King explained.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The fact is, Saturday I&#8217;ve planned to go on the hill.
+You remember Grandoken&#8217;s niece? I want to find out
+how she&#8217;s progressing in her music.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If Theodore had been watching Molly&#8217;s face, he would
+have noted how its expression changed darkly. But,
+humming a tune, he went into the house unconcernedly,
+and Molly recognized the rhythm as one Jinnie had played
+that night long ago with Peg Grandoken&#8217;s lace curtains
+draped about her.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s youth, her bright blue eyes, her wonderful
+talent, Molly hated, and hated cordially. Then she decided
+Theodore should go with her Saturday.</p>
+<p>That evening when Jordan Morse came in, Molly told
+him she would help him in any scheme to get Jinnie away
+from Bellaire.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re beginning to understand he likes her pretty
+much, eh?&#8221; asked the man rudely.</p>
+<p>Molly wouldn&#8217;t admit this, but she replied simply:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want her around. That&#8217;s all! As long as
+she&#8217;s in Bellaire, the Kings&#8217;ll always have her here with
+her fiddle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some fiddle,&#8221; monotoned Jordan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the violin that attracts Theodore,&#8221; hesitated
+Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And her blue eyes,&#8221; interrupted Jordan, smiling
+widely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Her talent, you mean,&#8221; corrected Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And her curls,&#8221; laughed Morse. &#8220;I swear if she wasn&#8217;t
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span>
+a relation of mine I&#8217;d marry the kid myself. She&#8217;s a
+beauty!... She&#8217;s got you skinned to death.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t be insulting, Jordan,&#8221; admonished Molly,
+flushing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the truth, though. That&#8217;s where the rub comes.
+You can&#8217;t wool me, Molly. If she were hideous, you
+wouldn&#8217;t worry at all.... Why, I know seven or eight
+girls right here in Bellaire who&#8217;d give their eye teeth and
+wear store ones to get Theodore to look at &#8217;em crosseyed....
+Lord, what fools women are!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly left him angrily, and Morse, shrugging his shoulders,
+strolled on through the trees. Not far from the
+house he met Theodore, and they wandered on together,
+smoking in silence. Morse suddenly developed an idea.
+Why shouldn&#8217;t he sound King about Jinnie? Accordingly,
+he began with:</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a wonderful girl, Grandoken&#8217;s niece.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This topic was one Theodore loved to speak of, to dream
+so, so he said impetuously:</p>
+<p>&#8220;She is indeed. I only wish I could get her away from
+Paradise Road.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse turned curious eyes on his friend.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s any place for an impressionable
+young girl like her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s living with Jews, too, isn&#8217;t she?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but good people,&#8221; Theodore replied. &#8220;I want
+her to go away to school. I&#8217;d be willing to pay her expenses&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse flung around upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Send her away to school? You?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. Why not? Wouldn&#8217;t it be a good piece of
+charity work? She&#8217;s the most talented girl I ever saw.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the prettiest,&#8221; Jordan cut in.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;By far the prettiest,&#8221; answered King without hesitation.</p>
+<p>His voice was full of feeling, and Jordan Morse needed
+no more to tell him plainly that Theodore loved Jinnie
+Grandoken. A sudden chill clutched at his heart. If
+King ever took Jinnie under his protection, his own plans
+would count for nothing. He went home that night disgusted
+with himself for having stayed away from his home
+country so long, angry that Molly had not told him about
+the baby, and more than angry with Theodore King.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXV_WHEN_THEODORE_FORGOT' id='CHAPTER_XXV_WHEN_THEODORE_FORGOT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+<h3>WHEN THEODORE FORGOT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>For the next few days Jordan Morse turned over in his
+mind numerous plans to remove Jinnie from Grandoken&#8217;s
+home, but none seemed feasible. As long as Lafe knew
+his past and stood like a rock beside the girl, as long as
+Theodore King was interested in her, he himself was powerless
+to do anything. How to get both the cobbler and
+his niece out of the way was a problem which continually
+worried him.</p>
+<p>He mentioned his anxiety to Molly, asking her if by any
+means she could help him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I did tell her I&#8217;d write to you,&#8221; said Molly.</p>
+<p>Morse&#8217;s face fell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s a stubborn little piece,&#8221; he declared presently.
+&#8220;Theo&#8217;s in love with her all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t really mean that!&#8221; stammered Molly, her
+heart thumping.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps not very seriously, but such deep interest as
+his must come from something more than just the girl&#8217;s
+talent. He spoke about sending her away to school.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He shan&#8217;t,&#8221; cried Molly, infuriated.</p>
+<p>Morse&#8217;s rehearsal of Theodore&#8217;s suggestion was like
+goads in her soul.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If she&#8217;d go,&#8221; went on the man, &#8220;nothing you or I could
+do would stop him. The only way&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly whirled upon him abruptly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll help you, Jordan, I will.... Anything, any
+way to keep him from her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They were both startled and confused when Theodore
+came upon them suddenly with his swinging stride, but
+before Morse went home, he whispered to Molly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve thought of something&mdash;tell you to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>That night Molly scarcely slept. The vision of a black-haired
+girl in the arms of Theodore King haunted her
+through her restless dreams, and the agony was so intense
+that before the dawn broke over the hill she made up her
+mind to help her husband, even to the point of putting
+Jinnie out of existence.</p>
+<p>That morning Morse approached her with this command:</p>
+<p>&#8220;You try to get Jinnie to go with you to Mottville.
+You wouldn&#8217;t have to stay but a day or so. There your
+responsibilities would end.... I&#8217;ll be there at the same
+time.... Will you do it, Molly?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Molly, and her heart began to sing and her
+eyes to shine. Her manner to Jordan as he left was more
+cordial than since his return from Europe.</p>
+<p>At noon time, when Theodore King saw her walking,
+sweetly cool, under the trees, he joined her. Molly had
+donned the dress he had complimented most, and as he approached
+her, she lifted a shy gaze to his.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You couldn&#8217;t take me to-morrow, you&#8217;re sure?&#8221; she
+begged, her voice low, deep and appealingly resonant.</p>
+<p>Theodore hesitated. Being naturally chivalrous and
+kindly, he disliked to refuse, but he had already sent a note
+to Jinnie to meet him at the master&#8217;s Saturday, and it
+went against his inclination to break that appointment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see how I can,&#8221; he replied thoughtfully, &#8220;but
+choose any day next week, and we&#8217;ll make a real picnic
+of it.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so disappointed,&#8221; Molly murmured sadly. &#8220;I
+wanted to go Saturday. But of course&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll see if I can arrange it,&#8221; he assured her. &#8220;Possibly
+I might go up to hear her play to-day.... I&#8217;ll see....
+Later I&#8217;ll &#8217;phone you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Leaving the house, he headed his car toward the lower
+end of the town. He was glad of an excuse to go to Paradise
+Road. Lafe smiled through the window at him, and
+he entered the shop at the cobbler&#8217;s cordial, &#8220;Come in!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you want Jinnie, eh?&#8221; asked Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. I&#8217;ll detain her only a moment.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie got up from the floor where he was playing soldiers
+with tacks and nails.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Boy&#8217;ll call Jinnie,&#8221; said he, moving forward.</p>
+<p>The two men watched the slender blind child feel his
+way to the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie loves to take a part in things,&#8221; explained Lafe.
+&#8220;Poor little fellow!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is he hopelessly blind?&#8221; asked Theodore.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; and Lafe sighed. &#8220;I sent him once by Peg
+to ask a big eye specialist. He&#8217;s a good little shaver, but
+his heart&#8217;s awful weak. You wouldn&#8217;t think he&#8217;s almost
+eleven, would you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore shook his head, shocked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t possible!&#8221; he exclaimed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He ain&#8217;t growed much since he come here over two
+years ago. Jinnie can carry him in one arm.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor child!&#8221; said Theodore sympathetically.</p>
+<p>Just then Jinnie came into the room shyly. Bobbie had
+excitedly whispered to her that &#8220;the beautiful big man
+with the nice hands&#8221; wanted her. She hesitated at the
+sight of Mr. King, but advanced as Lafe held out his hand
+to her.</p>
+<p>Before Theodore could explain, she had told him:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;The master isn&#8217;t giving me a lesson to-day, but he will
+to-morrow because you&#8217;re coming.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With pride in her voice, she said it radiantly, the color
+mantling high in her cheeks. Molly&#8217;s importunate insistence
+escaped Theodore&#8217;s mind. When with Jinnie, ordinary
+matters generally did fade away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very glad,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I hope you&#8217;ve progressed
+a lot.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She has, sir, she sure has,&#8221; Lafe put in. &#8220;You&#8217;ll be
+surprised! How long since you&#8217;ve heard her play?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A long time,&#8221; answered Theodore, and still forgetting
+Molly, he went on, &#8220;I wonder if you&#8217;d like to come to the
+house to-morrow to dinner and play for us. My mother
+was speaking about how much she&#8217;d enjoy it only a short
+time ago.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes sparkled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should love to come,&#8221; she answered gladly.</p>
+<p>He rose to go, taking her hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll send the car for you,&#8221; he promised her.</p>
+<p>He was sitting at his office desk when Molly the Merry
+once more came into his mind. An ejaculation escaped
+his lips, and he made a wry face. Then, in comparison,
+Jinnie, with all her sparkling youth, rose triumphant before
+him. He loved the child, for a child she still seemed
+to him. To tell her now of his affection might harm her
+work. He would wait! She was so young, so very young.</p>
+<p>For a long time he sat thinking and dreaming of the
+future, and into the quiet of his office he brought, in brilliant
+vision, a radiant, raven-haired woman&mdash;his ideal&mdash;his
+Jinnie. Suddenly again he remembered his promise to
+Molly and slowly took down the telephone. Then deliberately
+he replaced it. It would be easier to explain the
+circumstances face to face with her, and no doubt entered
+his mind but that the woman would be satisfied and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span>
+very glad that Jinnie was coming with her violin to play
+for them. Molly wouldn&#8217;t mind postponing her trip for a
+few days.</p>
+<p>Molly was reclining as usual in the hammock with a
+book in her hand when he ran up the steps.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Molly,&#8221; he began, going to her quickly, &#8220;I want to confess.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Confess?&#8221; she repeated, sitting up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, it&#8217;s this way: When I went out this morning I
+felt sure I could arrange about to-morrow.... But
+what do you think?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather put down the book, stood up, her
+hand over her heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t guess,&#8221; she breathed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I went to Grandoken&#8217;s&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You could have sent a note,&#8221; Molly cut in.</p>
+<p>Theodore looked at her curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I could, but I didn&#8217;t. I wanted Jinnie to understand&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>His voice vibrated deeply when he spoke that name, and
+the listener&#8217;s love-laden ears caught the change immediately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; she murmured in question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When I got there and saw her, I forgot about Saturday.
+Before I had a chance, she told me she wasn&#8217;t going
+to the master&#8217;s to-day. Then without another
+thought&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221; interviewed Molly with widening eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pardon me, Molly,&#8221; Theodore said tactlessly, &#8220;for forgetting
+you&mdash;you will, won&#8217;t you? I asked her to play
+here to-morrow night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly felt the structure of her whole world tumbling
+down about her ears. He had forgotten her for that
+girl, that jade in Paradise Road, the girl who stood between
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span>
+her and all her hopes. She took one step forward
+and forgot, her dignity, forgot everything but his stinging
+insult.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How dared you?&#8221; she uttered hoarsely. Her voice
+grew thin as it raised to the point of a question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dare!&#8221; echoed Theodore, his expression changing.</p>
+<p>Molly went nearer him with angry, sparkling eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, how dared you ask that girl to come here when I
+dislike her? You know how I hate her&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. King tossed his cigar into the grass, gravity settling
+on his countenance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hadn&#8217;t the slightest idea you disliked her,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>Molly eagerly advanced into the space between them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She is trying to gain some sort of influence over you,
+Theo, just the same as she got over that Jewish cobbler.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore King gazed in amazement at the reddening,
+beautiful face. Surely he had not heard aright. Had she
+really made vile charges against the girl? To implicate
+Jinnie with a thought of conspiracy brought hot blood
+about his temples. He wouldn&#8217;t stand that even from an
+old-time friend. Of course he liked Molly very much, yes,
+very much indeed, but this new antagonistic spirit in
+her&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with you, Molly?&#8221; he demanded abruptly.
+&#8220;You haven&#8217;t any reason to speak of the child
+that way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The child!&#8221; sneered Molly. &#8220;Why, she&#8217;s a little river
+rat&mdash;a bold, nasty&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore King raised his great shoulders, throwing
+back his closely cropped head. Then he sprang to refute
+the terrible aspersion against the girl he loved.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stop!&#8221; he commanded in a harsh voice, leaning over
+the panting woman. &#8220;And now I&#8217;ll ask you how <i>you</i>
+dare?&#8221; he finished.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span></p>
+<p>Molly answered him bravely, catching her breath in a
+sob.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dare because I&#8217;m a woman.... I dare because I
+know what she&#8217;s doing. If she hadn&#8217;t played her cards
+well, you&#8217;d never&#8217;ve paid any attention to her at all....
+No one can make me believe you would have been interested
+in a&mdash;in a&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man literally whirled from the porch, bounded into
+the motor, turned the wheel, and shot rapidly away.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI_MOLLY_ASKS_TO_BE_FORGIVEN' id='CHAPTER_XXVI_MOLLY_ASKS_TO_BE_FORGIVEN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2>
+<h3>MOLLY ASKS TO BE FORGIVEN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>All the evening Molly waited in despair. She dared
+not appear at dinner and arose the next morning after a
+sleepless night. For two or three hours she hovered about
+the telephone, hoping for word from Theodore. He would
+certainly &#8217;phone her. He would tell her he was sorry
+for the way he had left her, for the way he had spoken to
+her. Even his mother noticed her pale face and extreme
+nervousness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, dear?&#8221; asked Mrs. King, solicitously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing, nothing&mdash;much,&#8221; answered Molly evasively.</p>
+<p>Mrs. King hesitated before she ventured, &#8220;I thought I
+heard you and Theo talking excitedly last night. Molly,
+you musn&#8217;t quarrel with him.... You know the wish
+of my heart.... I need you, child, and so does he.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather knelt beside the gentle woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t care for me, dear!&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>For an instant she was impelled to speak of Jinnie, but
+realizing what a tremendous influence Theodore had over
+his mother, she dared not. Like her handsome son, Mrs.
+King worshipped genius, and Molly reluctantly admitted
+to herself that the girl possessed it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s young yet,&#8221; sighed the mother, &#8220;and he&#8217;s always
+so sweet to you, Molly. Some day he&#8217;ll wake up....
+There, there, dearie, don&#8217;t cry!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so unhappy,&#8221; sobbed Molly.</p>
+<p>Mrs. King smoothed the golden head tenderly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, child, he can&#8217;t help but love you,&#8221; she insisted.
+&#8220;He knows how much I depend on you.... I&#8217;d have
+had you with me long before if your father hadn&#8217;t needed
+you.... Shall I speak to Theodore?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, no&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; gasped Molly, and she ran from the room.</p>
+<p>Under the tall trees she paced for many minutes. How
+could she wait until dinner&mdash;until he came home? She
+felt her pride ebbing away as she watched the sun cross
+the sky. The minutes seemed hours long. Molly went
+swiftly into the house. First assuring herself no one was
+within hearing distance, she paused before the telephone,
+longing, yet scarcely daring to use it. Then she took off
+the receiver and called Theodore&#8217;s number. His voice,
+deep, low and thrilling, answered her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s I, Theo,&#8221; she said faintly.... &#8220;Molly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he answered, but that was all.</p>
+<p>He gave her no encouragement, no opening, but in desperation
+she uttered,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore, I&#8217;m sorry!... Oh, I&#8217;m so sorry!...
+Won&#8217;t you forgive me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was silence on the wire for an appreciable length
+of time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore?&#8221; murmured Molly once more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you to forgive me.... I couldn&#8217;t wait until
+you came home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She heard a slight cough, then came the reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t control your thoughts, Molly, but I dislike to
+have my friends illy spoken of.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know! I know it, Theodore! But please forgive me,
+won&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; answered Theodore, and he clicked off the
+&#8217;phone.</p>
+<p>Molly dropped her face into her hands.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;He hung the receiver up in my ear,&#8221; she muttered.
+&#8220;How cruel, how terrible of him!&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was a wan, beautiful face that turned up to Theodore
+King when he came home to dinner. Too kindly by
+nature to hurt any one, he smiled at Molly. Then he
+stopped and held out his hand. The woman took it, saying
+earnestly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, Theo.... I&#8217;m very sorry. I think I&#8217;m
+a little cat, don&#8217;t you?&#8221; and she laughed, the tension
+lifted from her by his cordiality.</p>
+<p>There was a wholesomeness in her manner that made
+Theodore&#8217;s heart glad.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course not, Molly!... You couldn&#8217;t be that!...
+And next week we will have a lovely day in the
+country.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly turned away sadly. She had hoped he would
+do as she wanted him to in spite of his appointment with
+Jinnie Grandoken.</p>
+<p>That evening Jinnie wore a beautiful new dress when
+she started for the Kings. Of course she didn&#8217;t know that
+Theodore had arranged with Peggy to purchase it, and
+when Mrs. Grandoken had told her to come along and buy
+the gown, Jinnie&#8217;s eyes sparkled, but she shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather you&#8217;d spend the money on Lafe and Bobbie,&#8221;
+she said.</p>
+<p>But Peggy replied, &#8220;No,&#8221; and that&#8217;s how it came that
+Jinnie stepped quite proudly from the motor car at the
+stone steps.</p>
+<p>Molly Merriweather met her with a forced smile, and
+Jinnie felt strained until Theodore King&#8217;s genial greeting
+dissipated the affront. After the dinner, through which
+she sat very much embarrassed, she played until, to the
+man watching her, it seemed as if the very roof would lift
+from the house and sail off into the Heavens.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195' name='page_195'></a>195</span></p>
+<p>When Jinnie was ready to go home, standing blushing
+under the bright light, she had never looked more lovely.
+Molly hoped Theo would send the girl alone in the car with
+Bennett, but as she saw him put on his hat, she said, with
+hesitancy:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mayn&#8217;t I go along?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She asked the question of Theodore, and realized instantly
+that he did not want her.</p>
+<p>Jinnie came forward impetuously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, do come, Miss Merriweather! It&#8217;ll be so nice.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And Molly hated the girl more cordially than ever.</p>
+<p>On arriving home Jinnie beamed out her happiness to
+the cobbler and his wife.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the fiddle, Peggy, they loved the fiddle,&#8221; she told
+the woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you make it, Jinnie?&#8221; asked Peggy gruffly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What, the fiddle?&#8221; demanded Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Peggy nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; faltered Jinnie in surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then don&#8217;t brag about it,&#8221; warned Peggy. &#8220;If you&#8217;d
+a glued them boards together, it&#8217;d a been something, but
+as long as you didn&#8217;t, it ain&#8217;t no credit to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe laughed, and Jinnie, too, uttered a low, rueful
+sound. How funny Peg was! And when Mrs. Grandoken
+had gone to prepare for the night, Lafe insisted that Jinnie
+tell him over and over all the happenings of the evening.
+For a long time afterwards she sat dreaming, reminiscing
+in sweet fancy every word and smile Theodore had given
+her.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196' name='page_196'></a>196</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII_HAVENT_YOU_ANY_SOUL' id='CHAPTER_XXVII_HAVENT_YOU_ANY_SOUL'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;HAVEN&#8217;T YOU ANY SOUL?&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Whenever Molly Merriweather was mentioned to Theodore
+King, that young man felt a twinge in his conscience.
+His mother had taken him gently to task. Out of respect
+for Molly&#8217;s wishes she refrained from speaking of the
+girl&#8217;s affection for him, but cautioned him to be careful
+not to offend her companion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s very sensitive, you know, Theodore dear, and
+very good to me. I really don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;d do without
+her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was thoughtless!... I&#8217;ll do better, mother mine,&#8221;
+he smiled. &#8220;I&#8217;ll go to her now and tell her so.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore found Molly writing a letter in the library.
+He sank into an easy chair and yawned good-naturedly.
+The woman was still furious with him, so merely lifted her
+eyes at his entrance, and went on writing. Theodore was
+quiet for a few moments, then with a laugh went to the
+desk and took the pen forcibly from Molly&#8217;s hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come and make up,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have we anything to make up?&#8221; she asked languidly,
+keeping her eyes on the paper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course we have. You know very well, Molly, you&#8217;re
+angry with me.... Now mother says&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>She caught his bantering tone, and resenting it, drew
+her fingers away haughtily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You learn good manners from your mother, it seems.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span></p>
+<p>Her tone was insolent and angered him. Theodore
+returned quickly to his chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t,&#8221; he denied. &#8220;You know I don&#8217;t! But
+before you asked me to go with you Saturday, I told you I
+had an appointment&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and you told me who it was with, too,&#8221; Molly
+thrust back in his teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Exactly, because there&#8217;s no reason why I shouldn&#8217;t.
+I&#8217;ve taken an extreme interest in the little girl.... You
+offended me by talking against her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s temper was rising by the minute. She had armored
+herself with a statement, the truth of which she
+would force upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure I said anything that wasn&#8217;t true,&#8221; she
+returned discourteously.</p>
+<p>Theodore leaned back in his chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you didn&#8217;t mean it when you said you were
+sorry?&#8221; he demanded shortly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wanted you to go with me, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you took that way to make me. Was that it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly picked up her pen and made a few marks with it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not interested in Miss Grandoken,&#8221; she replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So I notice,&#8221; retorted Theodore, provokingly.</p>
+<p>She turned around upon him with angry, sparkling eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think you&#8217;ve a lot of nerve to bring her into your
+home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She hazarded this without thought of consequences.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; he asked presently, searching her
+face with an analytical gaze.</p>
+<p>Molly was wrought up to the point of invention, perhaps
+because she was madly jealous.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Men generally keep that sort of a woman to themselves,&#8221;
+she explained. &#8220;A home is usually sacred to the
+ordinary man.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span></p>
+<p>Theodore was stung to silence. It was a bitter fling,
+and his thoughts worked rapidly. It took a long moment
+for his tall figure to get up from the chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what <i>do</i> you mean?&#8221; he demanded, thrusting his
+hands into his pockets.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe I need tell you any more,&#8221; she answered.</p>
+<p>Theodore stood in the middle of the room as if turned
+to stone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m dense, I guess,&#8221; he admitted huskily.</p>
+<p>Angered beyond reason or self-control, Molly pushed
+the letter away impatiently and stood up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, if you&#8217;re so terribly dense, then listen. No man
+is ever interested in a girl like that unless she is something
+more to him than a mere&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; She broke off, because a
+dark red flush was spreading in hot waves over the man&#8217;s
+face. But bravely she proceeded, &#8220;Of course you wouldn&#8217;t
+insult your family and your friends by marrying her.
+Then what conclusion do you want them to draw?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore looked at her as if she&#8217;d suddenly lost her
+senses. She had cast an aspersion upon the best little soul
+in God&#8217;s created world.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, of all the villainous insinuations I ever heard!&#8221;
+he thundered harshly. &#8220;My God, woman! Haven&#8217;t you
+any soul ... any decency about you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The question leaped out of a throat tense with uncontrollable
+rage. It was couched in language never used to
+her before, and caused the woman to stagger back. She
+was about to demand an apology, when Theodore flung
+out of the room and banged the door behind him.</p>
+<p>Molly sat down quickly. Humiliating, angry tears
+flowed down her cheeks and she made no effort to restrain
+them. What cared she that Theodore had repudiated her
+accusation? She felt she had discovered the truth, and
+nothing more need be said about it.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span></p>
+<p>After growing a little calmer, she saw that she&#8217;d made
+another mistake by enraging Theodore. He had not taken
+her insults against the girl as she had expected.</p>
+<p>Half an hour later she called his office and was informed
+he was out.</p>
+<p>Theodore left Molly more angry than he&#8217;d ever been in
+his life. Instead of making him think less of Jinnie,
+Molly&#8217;s aspersions drew him more tenderly toward the girl.
+As he strode through the road under the trees, his heart
+burned to see her. He looked at his watch&mdash;it was four
+o&#8217;clock. Jinnie had had her lesson in the morning, so he
+could not call for her at the master&#8217;s. Just then he saw
+her walking quickly along the street, and she lifted shy,
+glad eyes as he spoke her name. By this time his temper
+had cooled, yet there lingered in his heart the stabbing
+hurt brought there by Molly&#8217;s slurs. He felt as if in
+some way he owed an apology to Jinnie; as if he must
+make up for harm done her by a vile, gossiping tongue.</p>
+<p>He fell into step beside her and gently took the violin
+box from her hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And how is my little friend to-day?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>His voice, unusually musical, made Jinnie spontaneously
+draw a little nearer him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very well,&#8221; she returned, demurely, &#8220;and I&#8217;ve
+learned some very lovely things. I went up twice to-day&mdash;sometimes
+the master makes me come back in the afternoon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It eased his offended dignity to see her so happy, so
+vividly lovely. He had gone to Molly with the intention
+of asking her to go with him some day soon to Mottville.
+He thought of this now with a grim setting of his teeth;
+but looking at Jinnie, an idea more to his liking came in
+its place. He would take <i>her</i> somewhere for a day. She
+needed just such a day to make her color a little brighter,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span>
+although as he glanced at her again, he had to admit she
+was rosy enough. Nevertheless a great desire came over
+him to ask her; so when they had almost reached the cobbler&#8217;s
+shop, he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;How would a nice holiday suit you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie looked up into his face, startled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean by a holiday? Not to take lessons?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore caught her thought, and laughed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no, not that! But I was thinking if you would go
+with me into the country&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;For a whole day?&#8221; gasped Jinnie, stopping point blank.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, for a whole day,&#8221; replied Theodore, smiling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I couldn&#8217;t go. I couldn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?... Don&#8217;t you want to?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Of course she wanted to go. Jinnie felt that if she
+knew she was going with him, she&#8217;d fly to the sky and back
+again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she murmured. &#8220;I&#8217;d like to go, but I couldn&#8217;t&mdash;for
+lots of reasons!... Lafe wouldn&#8217;t let me for one,
+and then Bobbie needs me awfully.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They started on, and Jinnie could see Lafe&#8217;s window,
+but not the cobbler himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;d bring you back at dusk,&#8221; Theodore assured
+her, &#8220;and you&#8217;d be happy&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Happy! Happy!&#8221; she breathed, with melting eyes.
+&#8220;I&#8217;d be more&#8217;n happy, but I can&#8217;t go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore raised his hat quickly and left her without
+another word.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII_JINNIE_DECIDES_AGAINST_THEODORE' id='CHAPTER_XXVIII_JINNIE_DECIDES_AGAINST_THEODORE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE DECIDES AGAINST THEODORE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Now for a few days Theodore King had had in mind a
+plan which, as he contemplated it, gave him great delight.
+He had decided to send Jinnie Grandoken away to school,
+to a school where she would learn the many things he
+considered necessary.</p>
+<p>So one morning at Jinnie&#8217;s lesson hour he appeared at
+the cobbler&#8217;s shop and was received by Lafe with his
+usual grave smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie&#8217;s at the master&#8217;s,&#8221; said Mr. Grandoken, excusing
+the girl&#8217;s absence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know. The fact is, I wanted to talk with you
+and Mrs. Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe looked at him critically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobsie,&#8221; said he to the blind boy, &#8220;call Peggy, will
+you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>When the woman and child came in hand in hand, Peggy
+bowed awkwardly to Mr. King. Somehow, when this young
+man appeared with his aristocratic manner and his genial,
+friendly advances, she was always embarrassed.</p>
+<p>Theodore cleared his throat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For some time,&#8221; he began, &#8220;I&#8217;ve had in mind a little
+plan for Miss Jinnie, and I do hope you&#8217;ll concur with me
+in it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He glanced from the cobbler to his wife, and Lafe replied,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve been too kind already, Mr. King&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t a question of kindness, my dear Mr. Grandoken.
+As I&#8217;ve told you before, I&#8217;m very much interested
+in your niece.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie slipped from Mrs. Grandoken and went close to
+the speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s my Jinnie,&#8221; breathed the boy with a saintly smile.</p>
+<p>Theodore laughed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know that, my lad, but you want her to be
+happy, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She is happy,&#8221; interjected Lafe, trembling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might tell us your plan,&#8221; broke in Peg sourly,
+who always desired to get the worst over quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, it is to send her away to school for a few years.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie gave a little cry and staggered to Peg, holding
+out his hands. She picked him up, with bitterness depicted
+in her face. But when she looked at her husband
+she was shocked, for he was leaning against the wall,
+breathing deeply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I knew the thought of letting her go would affect you,
+Mr. Grandoken,&#8221; soothed Theodore. &#8220;That&#8217;s why I came
+alone. Jinnie&#8217;s so tender-hearted I feared the sight of
+your first grief might cause her to refuse.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does she know you was goin&#8217; to ask us this?&#8221; demanded
+Peg suspiciously.</p>
+<p>Mr. King shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course not! If she had, she and I would have asked
+it together.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;God bless &#8217;er!&#8221; murmured Lafe. &#8220;You see it&#8217;s like this,
+sir: Peg and me don&#8217;t want to stand in her light.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t let my Jinnie go,&#8221; sighed Bobbie. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t
+any stars when she&#8217;s gone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The poor child&#8217;s devoted to her,&#8221; excused Lafe.
+&#8220;That&#8217;s what makes him act so about it.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span></p>
+<p>Theodore&#8217;s sympathy forced him to his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So I see,&#8221; said he. &#8220;Come here, young man! I want
+to talk to you a minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Reluctantly Bobbie left Mrs. Grandoken, and Theodore,
+sitting again, took him on his knee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Bobbie, look at me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie turned up a wry, tearful face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got my eyes on you, sir,&#8221; he wriggled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right! Don&#8217;t you want your Jinnie to learn
+a lot of things and be a fine young lady?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She is a fine young lady now,&#8221; mumbled Bobbie stubbornly,
+&#8220;and she&#8217;s awful pretty.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;True,&#8221; acquiesced Theodore, much amused, &#8220;but she
+must study a lot more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe could learn her things,&#8221; argued Bobbie, sitting
+up very straight. &#8220;Lafe knows everything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. King smiled and glanced at the cobbler, but Lafe&#8217;s
+face was so drawn and white that Theodore looked away
+again. He couldn&#8217;t make it seem right that he should
+bring about such sorrow as this, yet the thought of Jinnie
+and what he wanted her to be proved a greater argument
+with him than the grief of her family.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve told you, sir,&#8221; Lafe repeated, &#8220;and I say again,
+my wife and me don&#8217;t want to stand in our girl&#8217;s light.
+She&#8217;ll decide when she comes home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore got up, placing Bobbie on his feet beside him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope she&#8217;ll think favorably of my idea, then,&#8221; said
+he, &#8220;and to-morrow I&#8217;ll see her and make some final arrangements.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After he had gone, Peggy and Lafe sat for a long time
+without a word.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go to the kitchen, Bobbie,&#8221; said Mrs. Grandoken presently,
+&#8220;and give Happy Pete a bit of meat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy paused in his stumbling way to the kitchen.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want my Jinnie to go away,&#8221; he mumbled.</p>
+<p>When the door closed on the blind child, Peggy shook
+her shoulders disdainfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll go, of course,&#8221; she sneered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; we can&#8217;t blame &#8217;er if she does, Peg,&#8221; answered
+Lafe sadly. &#8220;She&#8217;s young yet, an&#8217; such a chance ain&#8217;t
+comin&#8217; every day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The woman got heavily to her feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hate &#8217;er, but the house&#8217;s dead when she ain&#8217;t in it,&#8221;
+and she went rapidly into the other room.</p>
+<p>Jinnie came into the shop wearily, but one look at the
+cobbler brought her to a standstill. She didn&#8217;t wait to
+take off her hat before going directly to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe&mdash;Lafe dear, you&#8217;re sick. Why, honey dear&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t very well, Jinnie darlin&#8217;. Would you mind
+askin&#8217; Peggy to come in a minute?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken looked up as the girl came in.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe wants you, Peg. He&#8217;s sick, isn&#8217;t he? What
+happened to him, Peggy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie uttered a whining cry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; he called, &#8220;Jinnie, come here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg pushed the girl back into the little hall.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You shut up, Bobbie,&#8221; she ordered, &#8220;and sit there!
+Jinnie&#8217;ll come back in a minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then the speaker shoved the girl ahead of her into the
+shop and stood with her arms folded, austerely silent.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to know what&#8217;s the matter,&#8221; insisted Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You tell &#8217;er, Peg. I just couldn&#8217;t,&#8221; whispered Lafe.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken drew a deep breath and ground her
+teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got to go away, kid,&#8221; she began tersely, dropping
+into a chair.</p>
+<p>Jinnie blanched in fright.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My uncle!&#8221; she exclaimed, growing weak-kneed.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;No such thing,&#8221; snapped Peg. &#8220;You&#8217;re goin&#8217; to a
+fine school an&#8217; learn how to be a elegant young lady.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who said so?&#8221; flashed Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King,&#8221; cut in Lafe.</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie understood, and she laughed hysterically.
+For one blessed single moment her woman&#8217;s heart told
+her that Theodore would not be so eager for her welfare if
+he didn&#8217;t love her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Was that what made your tears, Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her eyes glistened as she uttered the question.</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And what made Bobbie cry so loud?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Was Mr. King here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; said Peg.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he said I was to go away to school, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; repeated Peg, &#8220;an&#8217; of course you&#8217;ll go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie went forward and placed a slender hand on Lafe&#8217;s
+shoulder. Then she faced Mrs. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t you both know me well enough to tell him I
+wouldn&#8217;t go for anything in the world?&#8221;</p>
+<p>If a bomb had been placed under Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s
+chair, she wouldn&#8217;t have jumped up any more quickly, and
+she flung out of the door before Jinnie could stop her.
+Then the girl wound her arms about the cobbler&#8217;s neck.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t leave you, dear, not for any school on
+earth,&#8221; she whispered. &#8220;Now I&#8217;m going to tell Mr. King
+so.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sped along Paradise Road and into the nearest
+drug store. It took her a few minutes to find Theodore&#8217;s
+number, and when she took off the receiver, she had not the
+remotest idea how to word her refusal. She only remembered
+Lafe&#8217;s sad face and Bobbie&#8217;s sharp, agonizing calling
+of her name.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to speak to Mr. King,&#8221; she said in answer to a
+strange voice at the other end of the wire.</p>
+<p>Her voice was so low that a sharp reply came back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;d you want?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore King.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She waited a minute and then another voice, a voice she
+knew and loved, said,</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is Mr. King!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m Jinnie Grandoken,&#8221; Theodore heard. &#8220;I wanted
+to tell you I wouldn&#8217;t go away from home ever; no, never!
+I wouldn&#8217;t; I couldn&#8217;t!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you want to study?&#8221; Mr. King asked eagerly.</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head as if she were face to face with
+him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m studying all the time,&#8221; she said brokenly, &#8220;and I
+can&#8217;t go away now. If they couldn&#8217;t spare me one day,
+they couldn&#8217;t all the time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I suppose that settles it,&#8221; was the reluctant reply.
+&#8220;I hoped you&#8217;d be pleased, but never mind! I&#8217;ll see
+you very soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told him!&#8221; said Jinnie, facing the cobbler. &#8220;Now,
+Lafe, don&#8217;t ever think I&#8217;m going away, because I&#8217;m not.
+I&#8217;ve got some plans of my own for us all when I&#8217;m eighteen.
+Till then I stay right here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>At dinner Peg cut off a very large piece of meat and
+flung it on Jinnie&#8217;s plate.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;re plumin&#8217; yourself because you didn&#8217;t
+go to school; but you needn&#8217;t, &#8217;cause nothin&#8217; could drag
+you from this shop, an&#8217; there&#8217;s my word for it.&#8221; Then
+she glanced at Lafe, and ended, &#8220;If &#8217;er leg was nailed to
+your bench, she wouldn&#8217;t be any tighter here. Now eat,
+all of you, an&#8217; keep your mouths shut.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX_PEGS_VISIT' id='CHAPTER_XXIX_PEGS_VISIT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2>
+<h3>PEG&#8217;S VISIT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>One morning Bobbie sat down gravely some distance
+from Lafe, took up one of Milly Ann&#8217;s kittens, and fell
+into troubled thought. After permitting him to be silent
+a few moments, the cobbler remarked,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anything on your mind, comrade?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Bobbie, sighing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t you tell a feller what it is?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie pushed the kitten from his lap. He crept to
+the cobbler&#8217;s side slowly. Then, as he leaned his golden
+head against his friend, Lafe&#8217;s arm fell about him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me, laddie,&#8221; insisted Mr. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My stars&#8217;re all gone out,&#8221; faltered the boy sadly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What made &#8217;em go out, Bob?... Can you tell?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; blubbered Bobbie. &#8220;I guess Jinnie&#8217;s sick, that&#8217;s
+what&#8217;s the matter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sick?&#8221; asked Lafe, in a startled voice. &#8220;Who said
+so?... Did she?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, but I know!... She cried last night, and other
+nights too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe considered a moment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad you told me, Bob,&#8221; he said, knocking the ashes
+from his pipe.</p>
+<p>Jinnie left the master&#8217;s home with lagging footsteps.
+The idea of going away to school had not appealed to her,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span>
+but never in all her life had she been so tempted to do anything
+as to go with Theodore for one blessed day in the
+country&mdash;but a whole day from home could not be thought
+of.</p>
+<p>The cobbler saw her crossing the tracks, and after the
+daily salute, she came on with bent head. He watched her
+closely during the evening meal and gave Bobbie credit
+for discovering the truth. After Peg had wheeled him
+back to the shop and he was alone with Jinnie, Lafe called
+her to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bring the stool,&#8221; said he, &#8220;an&#8217; sit here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Languidly she sank down, resting against him. She
+was very tired besides being very unhappy. Lafe placed
+two fingers under her chin, lifting her face to his. Her
+eyes were full of tears, and she no longer tried to conceal
+her suffering. The cobbler remained quiet while she cried
+softly. At last:</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Maudlin Bates, ain&#8217;t it, darlin&#8217;?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t you tell your friend what &#8217;tis?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;m crying because I&#8217;m foolish, dear,&#8221; she replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, that&#8217;s not true, Jinnie. I feel as bad seeing you
+cry&#8217;s if &#8217;twas Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This was a compliment, and Jinnie tried to sit up
+bravely, but a friendly hand held her close.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just begin, an&#8217; the rest&#8217;ll come easy,&#8221; Lafe insisted.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s tongue refused to talk, and of a sudden she
+grew ashamed and dropped her scarlet face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe I can tell it, Lafe dear,&#8221; she got out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Something about a man?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I got to know! Tell me!&#8221; he directed.</p>
+<p>His insistence drew forth a tearful confession.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Before Mr. King spoke about the school, he asked me
+to go a day in the country with my fiddle, and I couldn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After the telling, she caught her breath and hid her face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221; Lafe demanded. &#8220;Why couldn&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie raised startled eyes to the cobbler&#8217;s for the better
+part of a minute. What did he mean? Was it possible&#8211;&#8211;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought you wouldn&#8217;t let me&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t ask me, did you, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, because&mdash;because&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because why?&#8221; Lafe intended to get at the root of
+the matter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Too long from the shop! Bobbie needs me,&#8221; replied
+Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think so, child.... The kid&#8217;d be all right
+with me and Peg.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe?&#8221; cried Jinnie, standing up and throwing her
+arms around him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ought to a told me when he spoke of it, Jinnie.
+I could a fixed it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler smiled, and then laughed.</p>
+<p>Once more on the stool in front of him, Jinnie said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid Mr. King was a little offended.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would a done you a lot of good to get out in the
+fields&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; chided Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the woods, Lafe. I&#8217;d taken my fiddle. He asked
+me to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; replied Lafe.... &#8220;Call Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken, looking from one to the other, noticed
+Lafe&#8217;s gravity and signs of Jinnie&#8217;s tears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter?&#8221; she inquired.</p>
+<p>Lafe told her quietly, and finished with his hand on
+Jinnie&#8217;s head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Our little helper ought to have some fun, Peggy.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210' name='page_210'></a>210</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie glanced up. What would Peggy think? But for
+a few minutes Peg didn&#8217;t tell them. Then she said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;She ought a went, I think, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie got up so quickly that Happy Pete and Milly
+Ann stirred in their sleep.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Peg, I do want to&mdash;but how can I, now I&#8217;ve said
+I wouldn&#8217;t?... How can I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t,&#8221; decided Peg gruffly, and Jinnie dropped
+down once more at Lafe&#8217;s feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess you&#8217;ll have to forget about it, child, an&#8217; be
+&#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;,&#8221; said Lafe, with a sigh.</p>
+<p>The next day Peggy took Lafe into her confidence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think it could be did,&#8221; she ended, looking at her husband.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mebbe,&#8221; said Mr. Grandoken thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do it,&#8221; snapped Peg, &#8220;but I hate &#8217;er, an&#8217; you can
+bang me if that ain&#8217;t a fact, but&mdash;but I&#8217;ll go, I said.&#8221;</p>
+<p>About ten o&#8217;clock Peggy dressed and went out.</p>
+<p>Theodore King was in his office, trying to keep his mind
+on a line of figures. Of late work palled on him. He
+sighed and leaned back thoughtfully, striking and touching
+a match to his cigar. Memories of blue-eyed Jinnie
+enveloped him in a mental maze. She stood radiant and
+beckoning, her exquisite face smiling into his at every
+turn.</p>
+<p>He realized now how much he desired Jinnie Grandoken&mdash;and
+were she with him at that moment, life could
+offer him nothing half so sweet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want her always,&#8221; he said grimly, aloud to himself.</p>
+<p>A boy&#8217;s head appeared at the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Woman to see you, sir,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mrs. Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Show her in,&#8221; and Theodore stood up.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_211' name='page_211'></a>211</span></p>
+<p>Peggy came in embarrassedly. She had a mission to
+perform which she very much disliked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good morning, Mrs. Grandoken,&#8221; said Theodore, holding
+out his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good morning, sir,&#8221; said Peg, flushing darkly.</p>
+<p>Her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. How could
+she state her errand to this dignified, handsome young
+man? He was looking at her questioningly; but that
+wasn&#8217;t all&mdash;he was smiling encouragingly also.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t you sit down?&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>Peggy coughed, smoothed her mouth with her hand,
+pulled the thin shawl more closely about her shoulders,
+and took the indicated seat. Taking no time to reflect
+on the best way to present her case, she blurted out,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe didn&#8217;t know till last night about your askin&#8217; Jinnie
+to go for a holiday?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man was at a loss to say more than that one word
+in question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; replied Peggy, &#8220;and she&#8217;s been cryin&#8217;&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Crying?&#8221; ejaculated Theodore. &#8220;Crying, you say?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; nodded Peggy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d she cry for?&#8221; asked Theodore. &#8220;She positively
+refused to go with me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it, but she thought me an&#8217; Lafe wouldn&#8217;t let
+&#8217;er.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore moved uneasily about the office.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And would you?&#8221; he asked presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; responded Peggy, nodding vigorously. &#8220;Sure!
+Jinnie&#8217;s been workin&#8217; awful hard for years, an&#8217; Lafe&#8217;d like
+you to take &#8217;er. But you musn&#8217;t tell &#8217;er I come here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Saying this, Peggy rose to her feet. She had finished
+what she had come to say and was ready to go. Theodore
+King laughingly thanked her and shook her heartily
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212' name='page_212'></a>212</span>
+by the hand. Then he escorted her to the door, and she
+returned to Lafe a little less grim.</p>
+<p>It was nearly noon when Jinnie left the master&#8217;s music
+room, carrying her fiddle box. Her teacher noticed she
+played with less spirit than usual, but had refrained from
+mentioning it.</p>
+<p>She was coming down the steps when King&#8217;s car dashed
+up to the door. Her meetings with him were always unexpected
+and found her quite unprepared for the shock to
+her emotions.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to take you home, Jinnie,&#8221; said Theodore,
+jumping out.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s throat filled, and silently she allowed him to help
+her to the seat. They were in the flat of the town before
+he turned to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t given up my plan to take you away for a
+day,&#8221; he said gently.</p>
+<p>Jinnie gulped with joy. He was going to ask her again!
+Lafe and Peg had said she could go. She waited for him
+to proceed, which he did more gravely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When I make up my mind to do a thing, I generally
+do it. Now which day shall it be, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;ll have to let you tell,&#8221; whispered Jinnie,
+which whisper Theo caught despite the noise of the chugging
+motor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then, to-morrow,&#8221; he decided, driving up to the cobbler&#8217;s
+shop. &#8220;I&#8217;ll come for you at nine o&#8217;clock.... Look
+at me, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Slowly she dragged a pair of unfathomable blue eyes to
+his.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to be happy for one whole beautiful day,
+Jinnie,&#8221; said he hoarsely.</p>
+<p>He helped her out, and neither one spoke again. The
+motor started away, and the girl rushed into the shop.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213' name='page_213'></a>213</span></p>
+<p>Lafe had just said to Peggy, &#8220;There they be! He&#8217;s
+been after &#8217;er!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe, Lafe dear,&#8221; Jinnie gurgled. &#8220;I&#8217;m going with
+&#8217;im to-morrow. All day with the birds and flowers! Oh,
+Peggy dear, I&#8217;m so happy!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken glared at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ugh! &#8217;S if it matters to me whether you&#8217;re happy or
+not!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie stooped and smothered Bobbie with caresses.
+With his arms tightly about her neck, he purred contentedly,</p>
+<p>&#8220;My stars&#8217;re all shinin&#8217; bright, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kiss me, both of you kids!&#8221; was all Lafe said.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214' name='page_214'></a>214</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXX_WHAT_THE_FIDDLE_TOLD_THEODORE' id='CHAPTER_XXX_WHAT_THE_FIDDLE_TOLD_THEODORE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2>
+<h3>WHAT THE FIDDLE TOLD THEODORE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie looked very sweet when she bade farewell to Peg
+and Lafe the next morning. Mr. King&#8217;s car was at the
+door, and the cobbler watched him as he stepped from it
+with a monosyllabic greeting to the girl and helped her
+to the seat next to his. Peggy, too, was craning her neck
+for a better view.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re thick as thieves,&#8221; she said, with a dubious
+shake of her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess he likes &#8217;er,&#8221; chuckled Lafe. &#8220;To make a long
+story short, wife, a sight like that does my eyes good!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken shrugged her shoulders, growled deep
+in her throat, and opined they were all fools.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; quit doin&#8217; yourself proud, Lafe!&#8221; she grumbled.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re grinnin&#8217; like a Cheshire cat. &#8217;Tain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; to
+your credit she&#8217;s goin&#8217; to have the time of her life.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, &#8217;tain&#8217;t to my credit, Peggy,&#8221; retorted the cobbler,
+&#8220;but &#8217;tis to yours, wife.&#8221;</p>
+<p>By the time Lafe finished this statement, Mr. King and
+Jinnie Grandoken were bowling along a white road toward
+a hill bounding the west side of the lake.</p>
+<p>&#8220;See that basket down here?&#8221; said the man after a long
+silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s our picnic dinner! I brought everything I
+thought a little girl with a sweet tooth might like.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_215' name='page_215'></a>215</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie had forgotten about food. Her mind had dwelt
+only upon the fact she was going to be with him all day,
+one of those long, beautiful days taken from Heaven&#8217;s
+cycle for dear friends. The country, too, stretched in
+majestic splendor miles ahead of them, trees rimming the
+road on each side and making a thick woodland as far as
+one could see.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad I brought my fiddle,&#8221; Jinnie remarked presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I am, too,&#8221; said Theodore.</p>
+<p>The place he chose for their outing was far back from
+the highway, and leaving the car at one side of the road,
+they threaded their way together to it. The sky above
+was very blue, the lake quietly reflecting its sapphire
+shades. Off in the distance the high hills gazed down upon
+the smaller ones, guarding them in quietude.</p>
+<p>Theodore spread one of the auto robes on the ground,
+and shyly Jinnie accepted his invitation to be seated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, it&#8217;s lovely,&#8221; she said in soft monotone, glancing
+at the lake.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Theodore dreamily.</p>
+<p>His eyes were upon the placid water, his thoughts upon
+the girl at his side. Jinnie was thinking of him, too, and
+there they both sat, with passionate longing in their young
+hearts, watching nature&#8217;s great life go silently by.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Play for me,&#8221; Theodore said at length, without taking
+his eyes from the water. &#8220;Stand by that big tree so I
+can look at you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Flushed, palpitating, and beautiful, Jinnie took the
+position he directed. She had come to play for him, to
+mimic the natural world for his pleasure.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shall I play about the fairies?&#8221; she asked bashfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; assented King.</p>
+<p>As on that night in his home when first she came into
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216' name='page_216'></a>216</span>
+his life in full sway, the man now imagined he saw creeping
+from under the flower petals and from behind the tall
+trees, the tiny inhabitants of Jinnie&#8217;s fairyland. Then he
+turned his eyes toward her, and as he watched the lithe
+young figure, the pensive face lost and rapt in the lullaby,
+Theodore came to the greatest decision of his life.
+He couldn&#8217;t live without Jinnie Grandoken! No matter if
+she was the niece of a cobbler, no matter who her antecedents
+were&mdash;she was born into the world for him, and all
+that was delicate and womanly in her called out to the
+manhood in him; and all that was strong, masterful, and
+aggressive in him clamored to protect and shield her, and
+in that fleeting moment the brilliant young bachelor suddenly
+lost his hold on bachelordom, as a boy loses his hold
+on a kite. There are times in every human life when such
+a decision as Theodore then made seemed the beginning of
+everything. It was as if the past had wrapped him around
+like the grey shell of a cocoon.</p>
+<p>A loose lock of hair fell coquettishly from the girl&#8217;s dark
+head low upon the fiddle, and Theodore loved and wanted
+to kiss it, and when the instrument dropped from under
+the dimpled chin, he held out his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here, Jinnie,&#8221; he said softly. &#8220;Come sit beside
+me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She came directly, as she always did when he asked anything
+of her. He drew her down close to his side, and for
+a long time they remained quiet. Jinnie was facing the
+acme of joy. The day had only begun, and she was with
+the object of her dreams. Just as when she had lived in
+the hills the fiddle had held the center of her soul, so now
+Theodore King occupied that sacred place. The morning
+light rose in her eyes, the blue fire transforming her face.</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_4' id='linki_4'></a>
+<img src='images/illus-215.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 338px; height: 492px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 338px;'>
+&#8220;PLAY FOR ME,&#8221; THEODORE SAID. &#8220;STAND BY THAT BIG TREE SO I CAN LOOK AT YOU.&#8221;<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217' name='page_217'></a>217</span></div>
+<p>Theodore turned, saw, and realized at that moment.
+He discovered in her what he had long desired. She loved
+him! All the old longing, all the strength and passion
+within him broke loose at the nearness of her. Suddenly
+he stretched out his arms and drew her still nearer. Jinnie
+felt every muscle of his strongly fibered body grow
+tense at her touch. She tried to draw away from his encircling
+arms, but the rise and fall of her bosom, girlishly
+curved&mdash;the small-girl shyness that caused her to endeavor
+to unloose his strong hands, only goaded him to press her
+closer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t leave me, my dearest, my sweet,&#8221; he breathed,
+kissing her lids and hair. &#8220;I love you! I love you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She gasped once, twice, and her head fell upon his
+breast, and for a moment she lay wrapped in her youthful
+modesty as in a mantle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kiss me, Jinnie,&#8221; Theodore murmured entreatingly.</p>
+<p>She buried her head closer against him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kiss me,&#8221; he insisted, drawing her face upward. His
+lips fell upon hers, and Jinnie&#8217;s eyes closed under the magic
+of her first kiss.</p>
+<p>The master-passion of the man brought to sudden life
+corresponding emotions in the girl&mdash;emotions that hurt
+and frightened her. She put her hand to his face, and
+touched it. He drew back, looking into her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t,&#8221; she breathed. &#8220;Don&#8217;t kiss me any more like&mdash;like
+that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you love me, my girlie, sweet?&#8221; he murmured, his
+lips roving over her face in dear freedom. &#8220;You do!...
+You do!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s arms went about him, but her tongue refused
+to speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kiss me again!&#8221; Theodore insisted.</p>
+<p>Oh, how she wanted to kiss him once more! How she
+gloried in the strong arms, and the handsome face strung
+tense with his love for her! Then their lips met in the wonders
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218' name='page_218'></a>218</span>
+of a second kiss. Jinnie had thought the first one
+could never be equaled, but as she lay limply in his arms,
+his lips upon hers, she lost count of everything.</p>
+<p>It might have been the weird effect of the shadows, or
+the deep, sudden silence about them that drew the girl
+slowly from his arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want my fiddle,&#8221; she whispered. &#8220;Let me go!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Faint were the inflections of the words; insistent the
+drawing back of the dear warm body.</p>
+<p>Theodore permitted her to get up, and with staggering
+step she took her position at the tree trunk.</p>
+<p>Then he sank down, hot blood coursing through his
+veins. Long ago he had realized in Jinnie and the fiddle
+essentials&mdash;essentials to his future and his happiness, and
+to-day her kisses and divine, womanly yielding had only
+strengthened that realization. Nothing now was of any
+importance to him save this vibrant, temperamental girl.
+There was something so delightfully young&mdash;so pricelessly
+dear in the way she had surrendered herself to him. The
+outside world faded from his memory as Jinnie closed her
+eyes, and with a very white face began to play. For that
+day she had finished with the song of the fairies, the babbling
+of the brook, and the nodding rhythm of the flowers
+in the summer&#8217;s breeze. All that she considered now was
+Theodore and his kisses. The bow came down over a
+string with one long, vibrating, passionate call. It expressed
+the awakening of the girl&#8217;s soul&mdash;awakened by the
+touch of a man&#8217;s turbulent lips&mdash;Jinnie&#8217;s God-given man.
+Her fiddle knew it&mdash;felt it&mdash;expressed it!</p>
+<p>With that first seductive kiss the soul-stirring melody
+was full born within her, as a world is called into the firmament
+by one spoken word of God. And as she played,
+Theodore moved silently toward her, for the fiddle was
+flashing out the fervor of the kisses she had given him.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219' name='page_219'></a>219</span></p>
+<p>He was close at her feet before he spoke, and simultaneously
+the white lids opened in one blue, blue glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie!&#8221; breathed Theodore, getting up and holding
+out his arms. &#8220;Come to me! Come to me, my love! I
+can&#8217;t live another moment without you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The bow and fiddle remained unnoticed for the next half
+hour, while the two, the new woman and the new man, were
+but conscious of one another, nothing else.</p>
+<p>At length Theodore spoke.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, look up and say, &#8216;Theodore, I love you&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was hard at first, because her mind had never reached
+the point of speaking aloud her passionate love for him,
+but Theodore heard the halting words, and droned them
+over to himself, as a music lover delights in his favorite
+strains.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you love me well enough to marry me some day?&#8221;
+he murmured.</p>
+<p>Marry him! This, too, was a new thought. Jinnie&#8217;s
+heart fluttered like a bird in her breast. To be with him
+always? To have him for her own? Of course, he was
+hers, and she was his! Then into her mind came the
+thought of Lafe, Peggy, and Bobbie, and the arms around
+him relaxed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I love you better&#8217;n anybody in the world,&#8221; she told
+him, pathetically, &#8220;but I can&#8217;t ever leave the cobbler....
+They need me there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They can&#8217;t keep you,&#8221; he cried passionately. &#8220;I want
+you myself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His vehemence subdued her utterly. She glanced into
+his face. In his flashing eyes, Jinnie read a power inimitable
+and unsurpassed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t ever leave &#8217;em,&#8221; she repeated, quivering, &#8220;but
+couldn&#8217;t they live&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;d take the little blind boy,&#8221; promised Theodore.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_220' name='page_220'></a>220</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie remained pensive. To bring the shine in her
+eyes once more, he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t you like Bobbie to live with us?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, of course; but I couldn&#8217;t leave Lafe and Peg in
+Paradise Road.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore surrounded the entreating, uplifted face with
+two strong hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know that. We&#8217;ll take care of them all&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Still Jinnie held back her full surrender.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can I take Happy Pete, too? And the cats? There&#8217;s
+an awful lot of &#8217;em.... Milly Ann does have so many
+kitties,&#8221; she ended na&iuml;vely.</p>
+<p>Theodore laughed delightedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dearest little heart! Of course we&#8217;ll take them all,
+every one you love!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Will you tell Lafe about&mdash;about us?&#8221; Jinnie asked
+shyly, &#8220;I&mdash;I&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; but she had no more time to finish.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell him to-morrow, Jinnie!&#8221; exclaimed Theodore.
+&#8220;Are you happy, dearest?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So happy,&#8221; she sighed, with loving assurance.</p>
+<p>The rest of the day they were like two frolicking children,
+eating their luncheon under the tall trees. When
+the shadows fell, they left their trysting place, and with
+their arms about each other, went slowly back to the
+automobile.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221' name='page_221'></a>221</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI_WHAT_THEODORE_TOLD_HIS_FRIEND' id='CHAPTER_XXXI_WHAT_THEODORE_TOLD_HIS_FRIEND'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2>
+<h3>WHAT THEODORE TOLD HIS FRIEND</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s been gone all day,&#8221; mourned Molly miserably to
+Jordan Morse. They had finished dinner; Molly had put
+Mrs. King to bed, and the two were seated in chairs on
+the lawn. Every minute that passed and found Theodore
+still away was like an eternity to the woman. She had
+always hated the office hours which took him from the
+house, hated the business friends who dropped in now and
+then and changed the conversation from the delicate personal
+things she always managed to dwell upon.</p>
+<p>During the years she had been companion to Mrs. King,
+Theo&#8217;s dinner and luncheon hours were ones of joy to her.
+Now this day had passed without him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll show up before long,&#8221; Morse said presently.
+&#8220;What a lot of worry you have over that man!...
+Now if you had a problem on your hands like mine&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The soft chug of a motor cut off his ejaculation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s coming, now,&#8221; he said, getting up.</p>
+<p>Molly responded coldly to Theodore&#8217;s friendly salute
+from the car.</p>
+<p>As Mr. King walked quickly toward them, Morse called
+laughingly,</p>
+<p>&#8220;We had just decided you&#8217;d been kidnapped.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing like that,&#8221; answered Theodore, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been in
+the country.... Sit down, Jordan; no use standing
+up!&#8221; And Theodore seated himself on the grass.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222' name='page_222'></a>222</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a fine day,&#8221; he went on boyishly, scarcely
+knowing what to say.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lovely,&#8221; agreed Molly, and Jordan supplemented this
+by asking:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have a&mdash;pleasant ride?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, delightful! One doesn&#8217;t realize how murky the
+city is until he goes in the country for a day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After a time, during which he looked up through the
+enfolding green of the trees, he proceeded calmly,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I took Miss Grandoken on a picnic.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse&#8217;s sudden glance at Molly warned her to control
+herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s an odd child,&#8221; continued Theodore, &#8220;but, then,
+all geniuses are. I don&#8217;t know when I&#8217;ve so thoroughly
+enjoyed myself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse&#8217;s &#8220;That&#8217;s good,&#8221; was closely followed by Molly&#8217;s
+curt question, &#8220;Where&#8217;d you go?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just up the lake a ways. We took some picnic
+stuff&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And her fiddle, I suppose?&#8221; cut in Molly sarcastically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course. Jinnie&#8217;s not Jinnie without her fiddle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She does play well,&#8221; admitted Jordan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;More than well,&#8221; interpolated Theodore. &#8220;She plays
+divinely.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then again they fell into an oppressive silence.</p>
+<p>Molly was so curious to know the events of the day she
+could scarcely control her impatience.</p>
+<p>Suddenly Mr. King announced:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to marry Jinnie Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly and Morse slowly got to their feet. They stood
+looking down upon the young millionaire with jaws apart
+and startled eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, you needn&#8217;t look as if I were about to commit
+some crime,&#8221; he said, quizzing them with laughing eyes.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223' name='page_223'></a>223</span>
+&#8220;I suppose a chap can get married if he wants to; can&#8217;t
+he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; blurted Miss Merriweather.</p>
+<p>A drawn, helpless expression had crept into her eyes,
+making her appear like an old woman.</p>
+<p>Theodore got to his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s ridiculous?&#8221; he demanded, immediately on the
+defensive. &#8220;My wanting to be happy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not that quite,&#8221; replied the woman, &#8220;but surely you
+can&#8217;t&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can and I will!&#8221; exclaimed Theodore decidedly. &#8220;I
+couldn&#8217;t be happy without her, and mother&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;ll kill &#8217;er,&#8221; warned Molly significantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; denied Theodore. &#8220;My mother&#8217;s a woman
+of sense! When she knows her big boy&#8217;s madly in love
+with the sweetest girl in the world, she&#8217;ll take it as a matter
+of course.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather turned toward the house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ll go,&#8221; she said in strained tones.</p>
+<p>She had almost reached the veranda when Theodore
+called her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Molly!&#8221; he shouted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t tell mother. I want to surprise her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; and the woman went on again, trembling
+from the blow which had struck her in the face.</p>
+<p>The two men, lolling under the trees, said but little
+more, and with burning heart and unsettled mind, Jordan
+Morse went back to his apartment.</p>
+<p>He had scarcely settled himself before his telephone
+tinkled. Taking down the receiver, he said,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A faint voice answered him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Molly, Jordan!... Listen! I&#8217;m down at the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_224' name='page_224'></a>224</span>
+foot of the hill. Do come here! I&#8217;m nearly frantic....
+Yes, I&#8217;ll wait.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Very soon Molly saw Jordan crossing the street, and
+she went to meet him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s walk,&#8221; she said fretfully. &#8220;I can&#8217;t breathe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you feel like I do,&#8221; replied Morse moodily, &#8220;I pity
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He led her to a small park where they sat down upon
+one of the wooden benches.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m shocked beyond expression,&#8221; said Molly wearily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So am I,&#8221; replied Morse. Then picking up the thread
+of thought which had troubled him all the evening, he went
+on, &#8220;I need my boy! Every night I&#8217;m haunted by dreams.
+I&#8217;d give up my plans about Jinnie if I had him....&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I never!&#8221; ejaculated Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The trouble with you is you haven&#8217;t any heart,&#8221; went
+on Jordan. &#8220;How you put your mind on anything but
+finding that child I don&#8217;t know. But I notice you manage
+to keep close on Theo&#8217;s heels every minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I love him,&#8221; admitted Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you love your son, your poor little lost son?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course, Jordan! Don&#8217;t be stupid!... Of course
+I do, but I don&#8217;t know where he is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;re making very little effort to find him, that&#8217;s
+evident. You&#8217;ve seen him, and I haven&#8217;t, yet I&#8217;d give half
+my life to get my hands on him.&#8221; He paused, drew a long
+breath, and proceeded, &#8220;I&#8217;ll warn you of this much, Molly.
+When I do find him&mdash;and find him I will&mdash;you won&#8217;t get
+a chance to even see him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Jordan!&#8221; gasped Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; he insisted, with an ugly shrug. &#8220;I tell
+you, Molly, I&#8217;ve always been impressed with the idea mothers
+cared more for their children than fathers, but I&#8217;m
+over that now since knowing you.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_225' name='page_225'></a>225</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Jordan!&#8221; repeated Molly faintly once more.</p>
+<p>Not heeding her appealing voice, he rushed on, &#8220;I&#8217;d be
+willing to strangle half the world for money to hire detectives
+to search for him. But as I&#8217;ve said before, I&#8217;d let
+Jinnie alone if I had him&mdash;and work for him with my two
+hands&mdash;if I had to dig graves.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly turned her startled eyes upon the excited man.
+She had never known the depths of his nature.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You make me tired,&#8221; he proceeded with sarcasm.
+&#8220;What in hell do you think Theodore could see in you
+when a girl like Jinnie cares for him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, Jordan Morse!&#8221; stammered the woman. &#8220;How
+dare you talk to me like that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because it&#8217;s true,&#8221; replied Jordan hotly. &#8220;You&#8217;re like
+a lot of women&mdash;if a man looks sidewise at you, you think
+he&#8217;s bowled over with your charms. Good Heavens! It&#8217;s
+sickening!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t ask you here to talk like this,&#8221; said Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What if you didn&#8217;t?&#8221; snapped Jordan. &#8220;<i>You</i> can talk
+now if you want to! I&#8217;m going home in five minutes, and
+I want some money before I go, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you some to-morrow. Now what&#8217;re you going
+to do about Theodore?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he won&#8217;t marry Jinnie,&#8221; replied Morse slowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How can you help it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to figure out. If I can get
+her away from Grandoken&#8217;s, she won&#8217;t get back, I can
+tell you that. But that damn cobbler and Theo&#8217;ll make
+such a devilish row&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t be profane,&#8221; chided Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A woman like you&#8217;s enough to make any man swear....
+Now listen to me. The very fact that Jinnie ran
+away from home shows me that Tom Singleton told her
+I put &#8217;im in a mad house! Jinnie, of course, told Grandoken.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226' name='page_226'></a>226</span>
+I&#8217;ve got to get that cobbler&mdash;and&mdash;you&#8217;ve got to
+help me get Jinnie&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Haven&#8217;t I done all I could?&#8221; gasped Molly. &#8220;I can&#8217;t
+go down there and take her by the nape of the neck, can
+I?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, but I will! Now let&#8217;s go! I want to do some
+pretty tall thinking before morning. Once let those two
+people be married and I&#8217;m lost.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So am I,&#8221; muttered Molly, swaying at his vehement
+words.</p>
+<p>They threaded their way back to the hill, and Morse
+left Molly at her gate. As she walked slowly up the road,
+she could see the light in Theodore&#8217;s window, and his
+shadow thrown on the curtain.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_227' name='page_227'></a>227</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII_JORDAN_MORSES_PLAN' id='CHAPTER_XXXII_JORDAN_MORSES_PLAN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2>
+<h3>JORDAN MORSE&#8217;S PLAN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The next morning Jordan Morse rose after a sleepless
+night, his face drawn in long, deep-set lines. The hours
+had been spent in futile planning. To save himself from
+the dire consequences of his misdeeds, to procure the
+money which would come to Jinnie when she was eighteen
+years old, was the one idea that dinned constantly at his
+brain. She and the cobbler would have to be put out of
+the way, and this must be done before Theodore announced
+publicly his intention of marrying the girl. Jordan had
+no wish to break his friendship with Theodore, so he could
+do nothing openly. If it were a mere case of filching
+what little he could from Jinnie&#8217;s estate before she became
+of age, it would be an easy matter, but the girl
+must disappear. How? Where? There was finality in
+one of his decisions that moment. He must get possession
+of her that very day. Theodore would let no grass grow
+under his feet. He would marry her offhand, and educate
+her afterwards.</p>
+<p>Jordan wondered vaguely if the Jewish cobbler had an
+enemy among the shortwood gatherers. If so, and the
+man could be found, it would bring his own salvation.</p>
+<p>With this desire uppermost in his mind, Jordan wended
+his way to the lower part of the town, passed into Paradise
+Road, and paused a second in front of Lafe Grandoken&#8217;s
+shop to read the sign:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228' name='page_228'></a>228</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe Grandoken: Cobbler of Folks&#8217; and Children&#8217;s
+Shoes and Boots.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His lips curled at the crude printing, and he went on
+past the remaining shanties to the entrance to the marsh.
+At the path where Jinnie had so many times brought forth
+her load of wood, he paused again and glanced about. As
+far north as he could see, the marsh stretched out in misty
+greenness. The place seemed to be without a human being,
+until Jordan suddenly heard the crackling of branches,
+and there appeared before him a young man with deep-set,
+evil eyes, and large, pouting mouth. Upon his shoulders
+was a shortwood strap.</p>
+<p>At the sight of Mr. Morse, the wood gatherer hesitated,
+made a sort of obeisance, and proceeded to move on. Jordan
+stopped him with a motion of his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;In a hurry?&#8221; he asked good-naturedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Got to sell my wood,&#8221; growled the man.</p>
+<p>Morse appraised him with an analytical glance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s your name?&#8221; he demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maudlin Bates. What&#8217;s yours?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jordan Morse.... Just wait a minute. I want to
+talk to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Down came the shortwood strap on the ground. Maudlin
+scented something interesting.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I got to sell my wood,&#8221; he repeated, surly-toned.
+However, he nodded his head when Jordan explained that
+it might be to his advantage to tarry a while.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll pay you for your time,&#8221; agreed Morse eagerly.</p>
+<p>Side by side they seated themselves on a fallen tree.
+The young wood gatherer looked wicked enough to do anything
+that might be requested of him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you married?&#8221; asked Morse.</p>
+<p>Maudlin&#8217;s face darkened.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he grunted moodily.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_229' name='page_229'></a>229</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Ha! In love? I see!&#8221; laughed the other.</p>
+<p>Maudlin turned sheepish eyes on his interrogator; then
+looked down, flushed, and finished:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d a been married all right if it hadn&#8217;t been for a
+damn bloke along Paradise Road,&#8221; he explained.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes? Tell me about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, what&#8217;s the use! Everybody&#8217;s stickin&#8217; their noses
+in my business, and it ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; to do with &#8217;em uther.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might help you,&#8221; suggested Jordan, seemingly interested.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t anybody c&#8217;n help me,&#8221; sulked Maudlin. &#8220;Got the
+richest man in town &#8217;gainst me, and money&#8217;s what makes
+the mare go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The words &#8220;richest man&#8221; startled Morse, but he only
+said, &#8220;That&#8217;s so! But tell me just the same.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aw, it&#8217;s only a wench I wanted! A mutt by the name
+of King butted in on me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse mentally congratulated himself that he
+had struck the right nail on the head the very first whack.</p>
+<p>To gain possession of Jinnie&#8217;s money meant finding his
+boy, and that was the dearest wish of his heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might tell me about it,&#8221; he reiterated slowly. &#8220;I
+ought to be able to help you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Naw, you can&#8217;t!&#8221; scoffed Maudlin. &#8220;My pa and me&#8217;s
+tried for a long time, but there ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; doin&#8217; with
+Jinnie. She&#8217;s a sure devil, Jinnie is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jordan&#8217;s blood tingled in anticipation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that the girl&#8217;s name?&#8221; he queried.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, she&#8217;s a niece of a cobbler up the track yonder,
+and as pretty a little minx as walks Paradise Road. If I
+had &#8217;er I&#8217;d fix her. I&#8217;d beat her till she minded me, I c&#8217;n
+tell y&#8217; that!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I believe beating&#8217;s the way to subdue most women,&#8221;
+said Morse, lighting a cigarette. But as he said this, a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_230' name='page_230'></a>230</span>
+slight smile passed over his face. He thought of Molly
+Merriweather in connection with the man&#8217;s logic.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the way pa done to my stepmother,&#8221; observed
+Maudlin presently. &#8220;She was a onery woman as ever you
+see, but pa one day just licked her, and then licked &#8217;er
+every day till now she don&#8217;t dast but mind &#8217;im.... I&#8217;d
+do that with Jinnie if I had &#8217;er.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse watched rings of smoke curl upward in the summer
+air, breaking among the branches of the trees.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why don&#8217;t you steal &#8217;er?&#8221; he demanded at length.</p>
+<p>Bates&#8217; lower jaw fell down, showing discolored teeth.
+He stared at his inquisitor in consternation. Then he
+dropped back into his former slovenly attitude.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I never thought o&#8217; that,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll help you,&#8221; offered Morse, carelessly, brushing
+ashes from his coat lapel.</p>
+<p>Maudlin turned his eyes slowly from their straight ahead
+position until they came directly upon the handsome face
+of the other man. Then the two looked long and steadily
+at each other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;re you drivin&#8217; at?&#8221; blurted Bates.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Only that I&#8217;m also interested in getting Jinnie away
+from Grandoken. The fact is I hate King, and I think it&#8217;s
+a good way to get even with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He refrained, however, from mentioning he was Jinnie&#8217;s
+relative.</p>
+<p>&#8220;D&#8217;you have me in mind when you come here?&#8221; questioned
+Bates.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No! But I felt sure there&#8217;d be some young buck round
+here who&#8217;d fallen in love with the girl before this. And I
+found you without asking&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d make her beg me to marry her after I&#8217;d had &#8217;er a
+week or two,&#8221; interrupted Maudlin, with dilating pupils.
+&#8220;How could we steal &#8217;er?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231' name='page_231'></a>231</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Just steal &#8217;er, I said,&#8221; replied Morse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I said, &#8216;How?&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse waited a minute until Bates repeated once more,
+&#8220;How, mister?&#8221; then he asked:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you run a motor car?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, but my pa can.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My God! You musn&#8217;t mention this to any one, not
+even your father. I&#8217;ll run the car myself. You go to the
+cobbler and by some excuse get the girl in the car&mdash;after
+that I&#8217;ll see to her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bates narrowed his eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, you won&#8217;t see to nothin&#8217;,&#8221; he growled surlily. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t take a step till I know I get &#8217;er. I&#8217;ll marry &#8217;er all
+right, but she&#8217;s got to want to marry me first.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t care what you do with &#8217;er,&#8221; replied Morse morosely.
+&#8220;Marry &#8217;er or not, just get her, that&#8217;s all!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The cobbler&#8217;s got a vixen of a wife,&#8221; complained
+Maudlin at length.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Persuade her to go somewhere, can&#8217;t you?&#8221; snapped
+Morse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s easy,&#8221; drawled Maudlin, wobbling his head.</p>
+<p>For a long time they sat talking and planning, until at
+length Morse put his hand in his pocket and handed the
+other man some money. Maudlin tucked it away with a
+grin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy cash, eh? What&#8217;d you say the dame&#8217;s name
+was?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Merriweather&mdash;Molly Merriweather. She&#8217;s companion
+to Mr. King&#8217;s mother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie fiddles all the afternoon.... Mebbe she
+won&#8217;t go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, she will. Tell her Miss Merriweather wants her
+to arrange a surprise for Theodore King. Tell &#8217;er Miss
+Merriweather wants her to play.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_232' name='page_232'></a>232</span></p>
+<p>Bates laughed evilly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;ll fix the huzzy. Anything about that damn fiddle&#8217;ll
+fetch &#8217;er every time! When I get &#8217;er I&#8217;ll bust it up
+for kindlin&#8217; wood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then it&#8217;s settled,&#8221; said Morse, rising. &#8220;You go this
+afternoon at three o&#8217;clock to Grandoken&#8217;s, tell Jinnie
+what I told you to, get the cobbler into an argument, and
+I&#8217;ll do the rest.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll be sure to be there?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course! What&#8217;d you think I am? Keep your mouth
+shut! Be sure of that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Three o&#8217;clock, then,&#8221; said Maudlin, getting up. &#8220;So
+long!&#8221; and lifting his wood, he went on his way rejoicing.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_233' name='page_233'></a>233</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII_THE_MURDER' id='CHAPTER_XXXIII_THE_MURDER'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2>
+<h3>THE MURDER</h3>
+</div>
+<p>At half past one that afternoon a messenger appeared
+at Grandoken&#8217;s with a letter for Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Peggy called the girl to the shop.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Boy&#8217;s got something for you,&#8221; she declared. &#8220;It&#8217;s a
+letter, I guess.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie held out her hand with thumping pulses, took
+the extended pencil, and signed her name to a blank page.
+Then the boy held out the missive. Of course it was from
+Theodore, thought Jinnie. She had scarcely slept the
+night before, fitfully dreaming of him. Throwing a shy
+smile at Peg, she went into her bedroom and shut the door.
+With a long, ecstatic breath, she set herself to the delightful
+task of slowly perusing the beloved epistle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My darling,&#8221; Jinnie read, and she kissed those two
+words, each one separately. Then she whispered them
+again, &#8220;My darling,&#8221; and read on:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m coming this afternoon at three to see your uncle,
+and I thought you might like me to talk with him alone. It
+will be a simple matter for you to take the little blind boy
+and go away for an hour or so, but be sure and return at
+four. By that time I&#8217;ll have our arrangements all made,
+but I won&#8217;t go until I see you.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I send all my love to you, my sweetheart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your own,</p>
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Theodore.</span>&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_234' name='page_234'></a>234</span></div>
+<p>Jinnie kissed the words &#8220;my sweetheart&#8221; too, and then
+joyfully slipped the letter inside her dress. She daren&#8217;t
+speak of his coming, for how could she conceal her happiness
+from Lafe?</p>
+<p>At two o&#8217;clock, she said to Peggy:</p>
+<p>&#8220;May I take Bobbie for a little walk, dear?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The blind child heard the request and scrambled up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can I go, Peggy?&#8221; he pleaded.</p>
+<p>Peg glared at the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought you always fiddled in the afternoon,&#8221; she
+queried.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I do generally,&#8221; acquiesced Jinnie, &#8220;but&mdash;to-day&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, go &#8217;long,&#8221; said Peg, not very graciously. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+goin&#8217; over to Miss Bates&#8217; a while. Maudlin come by just
+now, an&#8217; said would I come over.... Get back early!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie dressed Bobbie with trembling fingers. The boy
+noticed she could scarcely button his jacket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter, Jinnie dear?&#8221; he whispered.</p>
+<p>Jinnie was just slipping on his cap as he spoke. She
+bent and kissed him passionately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing, honey, only Jinnie&#8217;s happy, very happy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m so glad,&#8221; sighed Bobbie, with a smiling wag. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+happy too. Let&#8217;s go on the hill, and take Petey.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;d be lovely, dear,&#8221; replied the girl.</p>
+<p>A few minutes later, with the little dog at their heels,
+they were wending their way up the board walk to the hill.</p>
+<p>Mr. Grandoken, alone in his shop, worked with contented
+vigor. The days, those beautiful summer days, were bringing
+untold joy to him. Peggy seemed in brighter spirits,
+and Jinnie&#8217;s radiant face made Lafe rejoice. Little Bobbie&#8217;s
+stars were always shining nowadays, so what more
+could the dear man want? As he sat tip-tapping, he took
+himself in fancy to that day ahead when Heaven would
+unfold another blessing for Peg&mdash;for him. He put down
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_235' name='page_235'></a>235</span>
+his hammer and glanced out of the window, and suddenly
+Maudlin Bates loomed up, with all his hulking swagger
+obliterating the shoemaker&#8217;s mental bliss.</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded as Maudlin stepped into the shop. There
+was an unusually aggressive expression upon the young
+wood gatherer&#8217;s face, and Mr. Grandoken refrained from
+asking him to sit down. Instead he questioned:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Brought some cobblin&#8217;?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Bates. &#8220;Wanted to talk to you; that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hurry up, then, &#8217;cause I&#8217;m busy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s Jinnie?&#8221; queried Maudlin.</p>
+<p>Swift anger changed the cobbler&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that to you?&#8221; he demanded. &#8220;And you needn&#8217;t
+be drippin&#8217; tobacco juice around my shop.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t hurt it, I guess,&#8221; answered Maudlin insolently,
+sitting down heavily.</p>
+<p>With every passing minute, Lafe was growing more and
+more enraged.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yap me your business and get out,&#8221; he ordered, picking
+up his hammer.</p>
+<p>He settled his eyes on the sodden face before him, and
+for a minute or two each plumbed the strength of the
+other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to marry Jinnie,&#8221; announced Maudlin, drawing
+his large feet together and clasping his fingers over
+his knees.</p>
+<p>The cobbler deliberately placed the hammer beside him
+once more and leaned back against the wall.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who said so?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I do,&#8221; defied Maudlin, swaggering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that what you come to say to me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yep.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, now you&#8217;re done with your braggin&#8217;, get out,
+an&#8217; get out quick.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236' name='page_236'></a>236</span></p>
+<p>But Maudlin didn&#8217;t move.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I said to scoot,&#8221; said Lafe presently, in suppressed
+tones. He was magnificent in his ferocity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I heard you!&#8221; observed Maudlin, still sitting, though
+a little cowed in his former egotistical spirit.</p>
+<p>Lafe picked up the hammer and pounded frantically
+on the sole of a shoe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to have money,&#8221; muttered Maudlin when the
+cobbler paused for a few nails.</p>
+<p>As Lafe proceeded with his work silently, Maudlin said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll marry Jinnie and take the empty shack next to
+pa&#8217;s. I got money, I said.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s lips were moving rapidly, but the other could
+not hear what he was saying. The fact was, the cobbler
+was asking for strength and self-control.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s Jinnie?&#8221; demanded Maudlin again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She ain&#8217;t here,&#8221; said Lafe, &#8220;an&#8217; I want you to get out
+before she comes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He said this more gently, because his muttered prayers
+had somewhat assuaged his rage.</p>
+<p>Just then a motor car dashed into the little lane at the
+side of the house, and Maudlin knew that Morse had arrived.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll go when I see Jinnie,&#8221; he insisted, sinking deeper
+into his chair, &#8220;I want to tell &#8217;er somethin&#8217; about a party.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t no show o&#8217; your seein&#8217; &#8217;er to-day,&#8221; replied Lafe.
+&#8220;I bargained with your pa about you lettin&#8217; my girl alone,
+and that&#8217;s all there is to it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pa&#8217;s cobblin&#8217; ain&#8217;t nothin&#8217; to do with me,&#8221; observed
+Maudlin darkly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll wait for &#8217;er!&#8221;</p>
+<p>At that minute Theodore King&#8217;s car drew up in front
+of the shop, and he stepped out. Maudlin caught a glimpse
+of him and set his teeth sharply. He&#8217;d have it out with
+this man, too. They might as well all understand what
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_237' name='page_237'></a>237</span>
+his intentions were. He wondered if Morse, from his point
+of vantage, had seen Mr. King arrive.</p>
+<p>When Theodore swung into the shop, he paused at the
+sight of Bates and frowned. He brought to mind the
+chastening he had given the fellow, and how Jinnie had
+suffered through his brutality.</p>
+<p>Lafe smiled cordially at the young man and asked him
+to be seated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie&#8217;s out,&#8221; stated the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it!&#8221; responded Theodore, taking a chair. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+come to have a talk with you.&#8221; Then looking from Mr.
+Grandoken to Maudlin, he queried, &#8220;Will you soon be disengaged?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope so,&#8221; he said disinterestedly.</p>
+<p>Lafe always disciplined himself after a siege with his
+temper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He won&#8217;t be alone till I get through with &#8217;im,&#8221; grunted
+Maudlin, with an ugly expression. &#8220;I been tellin&#8217; &#8217;im I&#8217;m
+goin&#8217; to marry Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe straightened with a throat sound that boded no
+good for the speaker, and Theodore got swiftly to his
+feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t repeat what you&#8217;ve just said,&#8221; the latter gritted
+between his teeth, whirling on Maudlin.</p>
+<p>Bates shot out of his chair at this command.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My tongue&#8217;s my own,&#8221; he roared, &#8220;and Jinnie&#8217;ll be glad
+to marry me before&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore&#8217;s big fist swept out, striking the man full in
+the face, and Maudlin dropped like an ox hit with an axe,
+but he was on his feet in another minute. His rapidly
+swelling face was blanched with rage.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Damn you, twicet and three times damn you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe made an ejaculation, and neither one of the three
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_238' name='page_238'></a>238</span>
+men noticed that the door to the little hall at the back
+had opened a trifle.</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse was peering in upon the enraged trio.
+He saw the man he&#8217;d hired to help him take the first knock
+down and get up swiftly. He saw Theodore King make
+another dive at the wood gatherer. The cobbler was in
+direct range of Jordan&#8217;s vision, and he slipped his hand
+into his pocket, from which he took a revolver. Two quick,
+short cracks, and the pistol came flying through the room
+and landed near the cobbler&#8217;s bench. Then the kitchen
+door slammed suddenly. Theodore staggered forward and
+sank slowly to the floor, while Maudlin fell headlong without
+a cry.</p>
+<p>As in a maze Lafe heard a motor leap away like a mad
+thing. Through the window he could see Theodore&#8217;s car
+where the young man had left it. He made a desperate
+effort to rise, but sank back with a shuddering groan. He
+forced his eyes to Bates, who was close to the shop door,
+then dragged them backward to Mr. King, whose head was
+almost under his bench. Each had received a bullet, and
+both lay breathing unconsciously. The cobbler stooped
+over and placed his hand under Theodore&#8217;s head to
+straighten it a little. For a full minute nothing was
+heard but the loud rattling in Maudlin&#8217;s throat and the
+steady, laborious breath of the man at his feet.</p>
+<p>Sudden tears diffused the cobbler&#8217;s eyes, and he leaned
+over and tenderly touched the damp forehead of Jinnie&#8217;s
+friend.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s given His angels charge over thee, boy,&#8221; he murmured,
+just as Jinnie, leading Bobbie by the hand, walked
+in.</p>
+<p>The girl took one impetuous step forward and noted
+Lafe&#8217;s white, agonized face. Then she caught a glimpse
+of the stricken men on the floor. Her tongue refused its
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239' name='page_239'></a>239</span>
+office, and dropping the blind child&#8217;s fingers, she came
+quickly forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Call help! Hurry! Get a doctor!&#8221; gasped Lafe, and
+Jinnie, without saying a word, rushed out.</p>
+<p>Afterward she could not measure with accuracy the
+events of that afternoon. Peggy came home and put the
+terrified Bobbie in bed, telling him curtly to stay there
+until she allowed him to get up. Several doctors rushed
+in and examined both Theodore and Maudlin. Not one
+word had escaped Jinnie&#8217;s pale lips until the wounded
+men were removed from the shop. Then she sank at the
+cobbler&#8217;s feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Will he die?&#8221; she whispered, in awe-stricken tones.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maudlin&#8217;s dyin&#8217;,&#8221; replied the cobbler, with bowed head,
+&#8220;an&#8217; Mr. King&#8217;s awful bad off, the doctor says.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie went to Lafe&#8217;s side and put her arm about his
+neck, and as if it had never been, their joy was blotted
+out by the hand of a bloody tragedy.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_240' name='page_240'></a>240</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COBBLERS_ARREST' id='CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COBBLERS_ARREST'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV</h2>
+<h3>THE COBBLER&#8217;S ARREST</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Tearing away from Paradise Road, Jordan Morse
+drove madly up the hill. No one had seen him come; no
+one had seen him go. He must get in touch with Molly
+immediately. In his nervous state he had to confide in
+some one.</p>
+<p>Molly had settled Mrs. King in an easy chair and was
+on the lawn, pacing restlessly to and fro, when Jordan
+swiftly drove his machine through the gate and up to the
+veranda. Catching one hasty glimpse of his haggard face,
+the woman knew something extraordinary had happened.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve put my foot in it, all right,&#8221; he ejaculated, jumping
+to the soft grass. &#8220;My God! I don&#8217;t know what I
+have done!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s face blanched.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me quickly,&#8221; she implored.</p>
+<p>Jordan repeated his conversation with Maudlin Bates,
+stating how his plans had suddenly matured on hearing
+the wood gatherer denounce King and Grandoken.</p>
+<p>Then he proceeded a little more calmly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It seems I hadn&#8217;t been at the side door of Grandoken&#8217;s
+shack a minute before Theodore drove up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s hands came together.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore?&#8221; she repeated breathlessly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and the Bates man was with Grandoken. I heard
+loud talking, stole into the little hall, and found the back
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241' name='page_241'></a>241</span>
+part of the house empty. Jinnie wasn&#8217;t there; at least I
+didn&#8217;t see her. Bates had already inveigled Mrs. Grandoken
+away. I opened the door into the cobbler&#8217;s shop
+just as Theo was striking Bates in the face. I waited a
+minute, and as Theo struck out again, I fired&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fired!&#8221; gasped Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, at Grandoken. I wanted to kill him&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But Theo&mdash;you might have hit Theodore, Jordan.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I didn&#8217;t, I tell you! I&#8217;m sure I didn&#8217;t. If I hit
+any one, &#8217;twas Bates or the cobbler.... Get back near
+the veranda for fear Theodore &#8217;phones.&#8221;</p>
+<p>No sooner had the words left his lips than a bell sounded
+from the house. Molly ran up the steps. As she took
+down the receiver, she dropped it, but picked it up again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Halloa,&#8221; she called faintly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is this Theodore King&#8217;s home?&#8221; shouted a voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King&#8217;s had an accident. He&#8217;s in the hospital.
+Break the news carefully to his mother, please.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Dazedly, Molly slipped the receiver back to its hook.
+She stumbled to the porch and down the steps, her face
+ashen with anguish.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You shot Theo, Jordan,&#8221; she cried hysterically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut your head,&#8221; growled Morse, glancing furtively
+about. &#8220;Don&#8217;t talk so loud.... Now then, listen!
+There&#8217;ll be hell to pay for this. But Bates won&#8217;t peach,
+and I&#8217;m sure I clipped the cobbler&#8217;s wings. Keep quiet till
+you hear from me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He sprang again into the machine and was gone before
+the woman could gather her wits together.</p>
+<p>She turned and went slowly up the steps. It was her
+duty to break the news to Theodore&#8217;s mother&mdash;she who
+knew so much, but dared to tell so little! How to open
+the conversation with the gentle sufferer she knew not.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242' name='page_242'></a>242</span></p>
+<p>Mrs. King smiled a greeting as she entered, but at the
+sight of Molly&#8217;s face, her book dropped to the floor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it?&#8221; she stammered.</p>
+<p>Molly knelt down beside her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Probably very little,&#8221; she said hastily. &#8220;Don&#8217;t get excited&mdash;please&mdash;but&mdash;but&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Theodore!&#8221; gasped the mother, intuitively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s hurt a little, just a little, and they&#8217;ve taken him
+to the hospital.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. King tried to rise, but dropped back weakly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s badly hurt or he&#8217;d come home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll find out,&#8221; offered Molly eagerly. Then as an afterthought,
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll go if you&#8217;ll promise me to stay very quiet
+until I get back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I promise,&#8221; said Mrs. King, sobbing, &#8220;but go quickly!
+I simply can&#8217;t be still when I&#8217;m uncertain.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In another house of lesser proportions, a girl was
+huddled in a chair, gazing at Lafe Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; they told you over the telephone he was dyin&#8217;?&#8221;
+he demanded, looking at Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; gulped Jinnie, &#8220;and Maudlin&#8217;s dead. The hospital
+people say Mr. King can&#8217;t live.&#8221; The last words
+were stammered and scarcely audible. &#8220;Lafe, who shot
+him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno,&#8221; said Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t you see who had the gun?&#8221; persisted the girl,
+wiping her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King didn&#8217;t have it; nuther did Maudlin. It came
+from over there, an&#8217; I heard a car drive away right
+after.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head hopelessly. It was all so mysterious
+that her heart was gripped with fright. A short
+time before, an officer had been there cross-questioning
+Lafe suspiciously. Then he had gone away with the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243' name='page_243'></a>243</span>
+pistol in his pocket. She stared out of the window, fear-shadowed.
+In a twinkling her whole love world had
+tumbled about her ears, and she listened as the cobbler
+told her once more the story of the hour she&#8217;d been away
+with Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;re two men coming here right now,&#8221; she said
+suddenly, getting up. &#8220;Lafe, there&#8217;s Burns, the cop on
+this beat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re wantin&#8217; to find out more, I presume,&#8221; replied
+Lafe wearily.</p>
+<p>As the men entered the shop, Jinnie backed away and
+stood with rigid muscles. She was dizzily frightened at
+the sight of the gruff officers, who had not even saluted
+Lafe.</p>
+<p>The foremost man was a stranger to them both.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you Lafe Grandoken?&#8221; he demanded, looking at
+the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; affirmed Lafe.</p>
+<p>The man flourished a paper with staid importance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m the sheriff of this county, an&#8217; I&#8217;ve a warrant for
+your arrest for murderin&#8217; Maudlin Bates,&#8221; he sing-songed.</p>
+<p>Jinnie sprang forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe didn&#8217;t shoot &#8217;im,&#8221; she cried desperately.</p>
+<p>The man eyed her critically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you do it, kid?&#8221; he asked, smiling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I wasn&#8217;t here!&#8221; answered Jinnie, short-breathed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then how&#8217;d you know he didn&#8217;t do it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>For a moment Jinnie was nonplussed. Then she came
+valiantly to her friend&#8217;s aid.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know he didn&#8217;t. Of course he didn&#8217;t, you wicked,
+wicked men! Don&#8217;t you dare touch &#8217;im, don&#8217;t you dare!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he&#8217;s got to go with me,&#8221; affirmed the man in
+ugly, sneering tones. &#8220;Whistle for the patrol, Burns,
+and we&#8217;ll wheel the Jew in!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244' name='page_244'></a>244</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie heard, as in a hideous dream, the shrill, trilling
+whistle; heard the galloping of horses and saw a long
+black wagon draw up to the steps.</p>
+<p>When the two sullen men laid violent hold of the wheelchair,
+Jinnie&#8217;s terrified fingers reached toward the cobbler,
+and the sheriff gave her hand a sharp blow. Lafe uttered
+an inarticulate cry, and at that moment Jinnie
+forgot &#8220;Happy in Spite,&#8221; forgot Lafe&#8217;s angels and the
+glory of them, and sprang like a tiger at the man who
+had struck her. She flung one arm about his neck and
+fought him with tooth and nails. So surprised was Policeman
+Burns that he stood with staring eyes, making no
+move to rescue his mate from the tigerish girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Damn you! Damn you!&#8221; screamed Jinnie. &#8220;I&#8217;ll kill
+you before you take &#8217;im.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe cried out again, calling her name gently, imploringly,
+and tenderly. When his senses returned, Burns
+grasped Jinnie in his arms and held her firmly. There
+she stood panting, trying to break away from the policeman&#8217;s
+detaining fingers. She looked half crazed in the
+dimming late afternoon light.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Merciful God, but you&#8217;re a tartar, miss!&#8221; said the
+sheriff ruefully. &#8220;Well, if she ain&#8217;t clawed the blood
+clean through my skin!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She comes of bad stock,&#8221; exclaimed Burns. &#8220;You
+can&#8217;t expect any more of Jews. Go on; I&#8217;ll hold &#8217;er till
+you and Mike get the chair out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Hearing this, Jinnie began to sob hysterically and
+make more desperate efforts to free herself. The viselike
+fingers pressed deeper into her tender flesh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here, huzzy, you needn&#8217;t be tryin&#8217; none of your muck
+on me,&#8221; said Burns. &#8220;Keep still or I&#8217;ll break your arm.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sickened with pain, and her eyes sought Lafe&#8217;s.
+If he&#8217;d been in his coffin, he couldn&#8217;t have been whiter.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245' name='page_245'></a>245</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; he chided brokenly, &#8220;you&#8217;ve forgot what I told
+you, ain&#8217;t you, lass?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Through the suffering, tender mind flashed the words
+he&#8217;d taught her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There aren&#8217;t any angels, Lafe,&#8221; she sobbed. &#8220;There
+aren&#8217;t any.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then, as another man entered the shop, she cried:
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t take &#8217;im, oh, please don&#8217;t take &#8217;im, not now, not
+just yet, not till Peggy gets back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Turning around in his chair, Lafe looked up at the
+men.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Could&mdash;I&mdash;say&mdash;good-bye&mdash;to my&mdash;wife?&#8221; he asked
+brokenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where is she?&#8221; demanded the officer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Gone to the store,&#8221; answered Lafe. &#8220;She&#8217;ll be here
+in a minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let &#8217;er come to the jail,&#8221; snapped the angry sheriff.
+&#8220;She&#8217;ll have plenty of time to say good-bye there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>At that they tugged the chair through the narrow
+door. Then two boards were found upon which to roll
+it into the patrol.</p>
+<p>Inside the shop Jinnie was quiet now, save for the convulsions
+that rent her body. She looked up at the man
+holding her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me go,&#8221; she implored. &#8220;I&#8217;ll be good, awful good.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Perhaps it was the pleading blue eyes that made the
+officer release her arms. Jinnie sprang to the door, and
+as Lafe saw her, he smiled, oh such a smile! The girl ran
+madly to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe! Lafe!&#8221; she screamed. &#8220;Lafe dear!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe bent, touched the shining black curls, and a glorified
+expression spread over his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s given His angels charge over you, lass,&#8221; he
+murmured, &#8220;an&#8217; it&#8217;s a fact you&#8217;re not to forget.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246' name='page_246'></a>246</span></p>
+<p>Then they rolled him up the planks and into the wagon.
+With clouded eyes Jinnie watched the black patrol bowl
+along toward the bridge, and as it halted a moment on
+Paradise Road to allow an engine to pass, the cobbler
+leaned far out of his wheel chair and waved a thin white
+hand at her. Then like a deer she ran ahead until she
+came within speaking distance of him. The engine passed
+with a shrieking whistle, and the horses received a sharp
+crack and galloped off. Jinnie flung out her arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe!&#8221; she screamed. &#8220;I&#8217;ll stay with Peg till you
+come.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He heard the words, waved once more, and the wagon
+disappeared over the bridge.</p>
+<p>For full ten minutes after Lafe was taken away, Jinnie
+sat in the shop like one turned to stone. The thing that
+roused her was the side door opening and shutting. She
+got up quickly and went into the little hall, closing the
+shop door behind her. Mrs. Grandoken, with bundles in
+her hands, was entering the kitchen. Jinnie staggered
+after her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; murmured Jinnie, throwing her arms about
+the stooped shoulders. &#8220;You&#8217;ll be good&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was as if she had said it to Bobbie, tenderly, low-pitched,
+and imploring. Peg seemed so miserable and
+thin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with you, kid?&#8221; growled Mrs.
+Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The town folks,&#8221; groaned Jinnie, &#8220;the town folks&#8217;ve
+made a mistake, an awful mistake.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken turned sunken eyes upon the speaker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What mistake&#8217;ve they made?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s throat hurt so she couldn&#8217;t say any more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What mistake?&#8221; asked Peg again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They think Lafe shot&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247' name='page_247'></a>247</span></p>
+<p>Peggy wheeled on the hesitating speaker. Shoving her
+to one side, she stalked through the door. Jinnie flew
+after her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy, Peg, he&#8217;ll come back!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop door and the empty
+room with overturned chairs and scattered tools told
+its silent, eloquent tale.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Honey,&#8221; whispered Jinnie. &#8220;Honey dear&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;God&#8217;s Jesus,&#8221; muttered Peg, with roving eyes, &#8220;God&#8217;s
+Jesus, save my man!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she slid to the floor, and when she once more
+opened her eyes, Jinnie was throwing water in her face.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_248' name='page_248'></a>248</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXV_ALONE_IN_THE_SHOP' id='CHAPTER_XXXV_ALONE_IN_THE_SHOP'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXV</h2>
+<h3>ALONE IN THE SHOP</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Later in the day Jordan Morse and Molly Merriweather
+met at the hospital. They looked into each
+other&#8217;s eyes, not daring to mention the terrible consternation
+that possessed them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you heard anything?&#8221; murmured Molly, glancing
+about before speaking.</p>
+<p>Jordan nodded his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s awful,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Bates is dead&mdash;if you say a
+word, I&#8217;m lost.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Depend on me,&#8221; Molly assured him. &#8220;Oh, how dreadful
+it all is! Theodore must get well,&#8221; she continued in
+agitation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he won&#8217;t!&#8221; snarled Morse. Then he went on
+passionately. &#8220;Molly, I swear I didn&#8217;t intend to shoot
+<i>him</i>. I was mad clear through and aimed at the cobbler.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hush!&#8221; warned Molly. &#8220;Some one&#8217;s coming.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A young doctor approached them with gravity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King?&#8221; murmured Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is slowly failing. The bullet found a vital spot&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the other man&mdash;Bates? Is it true he&#8217;s dead?&#8221;
+interjected Morse eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he died shortly after the tragedy. It&#8217;s all a mystery,
+but I think they&#8217;ve arrested the guilty man.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Both listeners stared at the speaker as if he&#8217;d told
+them the world had come to an end. It was Morse who
+managed to mutter:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_249' name='page_249'></a>249</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What man?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Haven&#8217;t you heard? They&#8217;ve arrested Lafe Grandoken.
+The shooting occurred in his cobbling shop, and the
+gun was found as proof of his crime. Of course, like all
+Jews, he&#8217;s trying to invent a story in his own favor....
+He&#8217;s undoubtedly the criminal.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Not until they were in the street did Jordan express
+himself to Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What heavenly luck! So they&#8217;ve arrested Grandoken.
+If Theodore lives&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly clutched his arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he must! He must! Jordan! I shall die myself
+if he doesn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse turned sharply upon her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t throw a fit right here. You&#8217;re not the only
+one suffering. My atmosphere is cleared a little with
+Grandoken&#8217;s arrest, though.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you&#8217;ve still to reckon with Jinnie,&#8221; ventured
+Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy now,&#8221; returned the man. &#8220;I&#8217;ll get her before
+Theodore is well.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take me home,&#8221; pleaded Molly wearily. &#8220;Such a
+day as this is enough to ruin all the good looks a woman
+ever had.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Disgustedly, Jordan flung open the motor door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, my God, you&#8217;ve got about as much brains and
+heart as a chipmunk. Climb in!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Later, as the two separated, Morse said, with low-pitched
+voice:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, then, I&#8217;m going to plan to get Jinnie. Might&#8217;s
+well be hung for a sheep&#8217;s a lamb&#8211;&#8211;I&#8217;m just as well
+satisfied that Bates is dead. After I secure Jinnie&mdash;then
+for my boy. God! I can scarcely wait until I have him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather went into the house in utter exhaustion,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_250' name='page_250'></a>250</span>
+nor did she pause to take off her hat before
+telling Theodore&#8217;s mother the little she could to encourage
+her.</p>
+<p>If Molly was suffering over the crime which had sent
+the man she loved to the hospital, Jinnie was going through
+thrice that agony for the same man. He had almost
+met his death in coming to tell Lafe of their love, and
+had been struck down in his mission by an unknown hand.
+Jinnie knew it was an unknown hand, because just as sure
+as she lived, so sure was she that Lafe had not committed
+the crime. The cobbler had explained it all to her, and
+she believed him. Peggy was dreadfully ill! After her
+fainting spell, the girl put Mrs. Grandoken to bed, and
+then went to comfort Bobbie. She found him huddled on
+his pillow, clasping Happy Pete in his arms. The small
+face was streaked with tears and half buried from sight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; called Jinnie softly.</p>
+<p>The yellow head came up with a jerk, the flashing grey
+eyes begging in mute helplessness an explanation for these
+unusual happenings.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here, Jinnie. What&#8217;s the matter with everybody?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie lay down beside him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy&#8217;s sick,&#8221; she said, not daring to say more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>An impulsive arm went across the child&#8217;s body.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s gone away for a little while, dear, just for a
+few days!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Something in her tones made Bobbie writhe. With the
+acuteness of one with his affliction, his ears had caught
+the commotion in the shop.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But he can&#8217;t walk, Jinnie. Did he walk?&#8221; he demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How&#8217;d he go, in a motor car?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_251' name='page_251'></a>251</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; repeated the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some one took him, then?&#8221; demanded Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In a wagon?&#8221;</p>
+<p>By this time she could feel the tip-tap of his anguished
+heart against hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she admitted, but that was all. She felt that
+to tell the truth then would be fatal to the throbbing
+young life in her arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she whispered, cuddling him. &#8220;Lafe&#8217;s coming
+home soon. Be a good boy and lie still and rest. Jinnie&#8217;ll
+come back in a few minutes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She crawled off the bed, and went to the shop door.
+By main force she had to drag her unwilling feet over
+the threshold. She stood for two tense minutes scanning
+the room with pathetic keenness. Then she walked forward
+and stood beside the bench. It seemed to be sentiently
+alive with the magnetism of the man who had lately
+occupied it. Jinnie sat on it, a cry bursting from her
+white lips. She wanted to be with him, but she had promised
+to take care of Peggy, and she would rather die than
+betray that trust. Her eyes fell upon two dark spots
+upon the floor, one near the door and one almost under
+her feet. She shuddered as she realized it was blood.
+Then she went to the kitchen for water and washed it
+away. This done, she gathered up Lafe&#8217;s tools, reverently
+kissing each one as she laid it in the box under the
+bench. How lonely the shop looked in the gathering
+gloom! To dissipate the lengthening shadows in the corners,
+she lighted the lamp. The flickering flame brought
+back keenly the hours she had spent with Lafe&mdash;hours in
+which she had learned so much. The whole horror that
+had fallen on the household rushed over her being like a
+tidal wave over a city. Misery of the most exquisite kind
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_252' name='page_252'></a>252</span>
+was tearing her heart in pieces, stabbing her throat with
+long, forklike pains. Tense throat muscles caught and
+clung together, choking back her breath until she lay
+down, full length, upon the cobbler&#8217;s bench.</p>
+<p>In poignant grief she thought of the expression of
+Lafe&#8217;s face when he had been wheeled from the room. His
+voice came back through the faint light.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He has given His angels charge over thee, lassie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But how could she believe in the angels, with Lafe in
+prison and Theodore dying? She got up, spent and
+worn with weeping, and went in to Peggy, sitting for a
+few minutes beside the agonized woman, but she could not
+say one word to make that agony less. In losing the two
+strong friends, she had lost her faith too. Peg&#8217;s face
+was turned to the wall, and as she didn&#8217;t answer when
+the girl laid her hand on her shoulder, Jinnie tiptoed out.
+In her own room she lay for seemingly century-long hours
+with Bobbie pressed tightly to her breast.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_253' name='page_253'></a>253</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVI_JINNIE_EXPLAINS_THE_DEATH_CHAIR_TO_BOBBIE' id='CHAPTER_XXXVI_JINNIE_EXPLAINS_THE_DEATH_CHAIR_TO_BOBBIE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVI</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE EXPLAINS THE DEATH CHAIR TO BOBBIE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Seven days had dragged their seemingly slow length
+from seconds to minutes, from minutes to hours, from
+hours to days. In the cobbler&#8217;s shop Jinnie and Bobbie
+waited in breathless anxiety for Peg&#8217;s return. She had
+gone to the district attorney for permission to visit her
+husband in his cell. Nearly three hours had passed since
+her departure, and few other thoughts were in the mind
+of the girl save the passionate wish for news of her two
+beloved friends. She was standing by the window looking
+out upon the tracks, and as a heavy train steamed
+past she counted the cars with melancholy rhythm. There
+came to her mind the day she had found Bobbie on the
+hill, and all the sweet moments since when the cobbler
+had been with them. She choked back a sob that made a
+little noise in her tightened throat.</p>
+<p>Bobbie stumbled his unseeing way to her and shoved a
+small, cold hand into hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie&#8217;s sad,&#8221; he murmured. &#8220;Bobbie&#8217;s stars&#8217;re blinkin&#8217;
+out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken and Jinnie had come to an understanding
+that Bobbie should not know of the cobbler&#8217;s
+trouble, so the strong fingers closed over the little ones,
+but the girl did not speak. At length she caught a glimpse
+of Peg, who, with bent head, was stumbling across the
+tracks. Peggy had failed in her mission! Jinnie knew
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_254' name='page_254'></a>254</span>
+it because the woman did not look up as she came within
+sight of the house.</p>
+<p>As Mrs. Grandoken entered slowly, Jinnie turned to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t see him?&#8221; she said in a tone half exclamation,
+half question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; responded Peg, wearily, sitting down. &#8220;I waited
+&#8217;most two hours for the lawyer, an&#8217; when he come, I
+begged harder&#8217;n anything, but it didn&#8217;t do no good. He
+says I can&#8217;t see my man for a long time. I guess they&#8217;re
+tryin&#8217; to make him confess he killed Maudlin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s hand clutched frantically at the other&#8217;s arm.
+Both women had forgotten the presence of the blind child.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He wouldn&#8217;t do that,&#8221; cried Jinnie, panic-stricken.
+&#8220;A man can&#8217;t own up to doing a thing he didn&#8217;t do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Course not,&#8221; whispered Bobbie, in an awed whisper,
+and the girl sat down, drawing him to her lap. She could
+no longer guard her tongue nor hide her feelings. She
+took the afternoon paper from Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Read about it aloud,&#8221; implored the woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It says,&#8221; began Jinnie, &#8220;Mr. King&#8217;s dying.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The paper fluttered from her hand, and she sat like a
+small graven image. To see those words so cruelly set in
+black and white, staring at her with frightful truth, harrowed
+the very soul of her. A sobbing outburst from
+Bobbie mingled with the soft chug, chug of the engine
+outside on the track. Happy Pete, too, felt the tragedy
+in the air. He wriggled nearer his young mistress and
+rested his pointed nose on one of her knees, while his
+twinkling yellow eyes demanded, in their eloquent way, to
+know the cause of his loved ones&#8217; sorrow.</p>
+<p>Peggy broke a painful pause.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Everybody in town says Lafe done it,&#8221; she groaned,
+&#8220;an&#8217;&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she caught her breath. &#8220;Oh, God! it seems I
+can&#8217;t stand it much longer!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_255' name='page_255'></a>255</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie got up, putting the limp boy in her chair. She
+was making a masterful effort to be brave, to restrain the
+rush of emotion demanding utterance. Some beating thing
+in her side ached as if it were about to burst. But she
+stood still until Peg spoke again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all bad business, Jinnie! an&#8217; I can&#8217;t see no help
+comin&#8217; from anywhere.&#8221;</p>
+<p>If Peg&#8217;s head hadn&#8217;t fallen suddenly into her hands,
+perhaps Jinnie wouldn&#8217;t have collapsed just then. As it
+was, her knees gave way, and she fell forward beside the
+cobbler&#8217;s wife. Bobbie, in his helpless way, knelt too.</p>
+<p>Since Lafe&#8217;s arrest the girl had not prayed, nor could
+she recall the promises Lafe had taught her were made for
+the troubled in spirit. Could she now say anything to
+make Peg&#8217;s suffering less, even if she did not believe it all
+herself?</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg,&#8221; she pleaded, &#8220;don&#8217;t shiver so!... Hold up
+your head.... I want to tell you something.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy made a negative gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It ain&#8217;t to be bore, Jinnie,&#8221; she moaned hoarsely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe ain&#8217;t no chance. They&#8217;ll put him in the chair.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Such awful words! The import was pressed deeper into
+two young hearts by Peg&#8217;s wild weeping.</p>
+<p>Jinnie staggered to her feet. Blind Bobbie broke into
+a prolonged wail.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe ain&#8217;t never done nothin&#8217; bad in all his life,&#8221; went
+on the woman, from the shelter of her hands. &#8220;He&#8217;s the
+best man in the world. He&#8217;s worked an&#8217; worked for everybody,
+an&#8217; most times never got no pay. An&#8217; now&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t say it again, Peggy!&#8221; Jinnie&#8217;s voice rang out.
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t think such things. They couldn&#8217;t put Lafe in a
+wicked death chair&mdash;they <i>couldn&#8217;t</i>.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie&#8217;s upraised eyes were trying to pierce through
+their veil of darkness to seek the speaker&#8217;s meaning.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_256' name='page_256'></a>256</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What chair, Jinnie?&#8221; he quivered. &#8220;What kind of a
+chair&#8217;re they goin&#8217; to put my beautiful Lafe in?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s mind went back to the teachings of the cobbler,
+and the slow, sweet, painful smile intermingled with
+her agony. Again and again the memory of the words,
+&#8220;He hath given his angels charge over thee,&#8221; swelled her
+heart to the breaking point. She wanted to believe, to feel
+again that ecstatic faith which had suffused her as Maudlin
+Bates pulled her curls in the marsh, when she had
+called unto the Infinite and Theodore had answered.</p>
+<p>Peg needed Lafe&#8217;s angels at that moment. They all
+needed the comfort of the cobbler&#8217;s faith.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg,&#8221; she began, &#8220;your man&#8217;d tell you something
+sweet if he could see you now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg ceased writhing, but didn&#8217;t lift her face. Jinnie
+knew she was listening, and continued:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Haven&#8217;t you heard him many a time, when there
+wasn&#8217;t any wood in the house or any bread to eat, tell
+you about&mdash;about&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Down dropped the woman&#8217;s hands, and she lifted a woebegone
+face to her young questioner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;ve heard him, Jinnie,&#8221; she quavered, &#8220;but I ain&#8217;t
+never believed it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you can, Peggy! You can, sure! Lots of times
+Lafe&#8217;d say, &#8216;Now, Jinnie, watch God and me!&#8217; And I
+watched, and sure right on the minute came the money.&#8221;
+She paused a moment, ruminating. &#8220;That money we got
+the day he went away came because he prayed for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl was reverently earnest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe&#8217;s got a chance, all right,&#8221; she pursued, keeping
+Peg&#8217;s eye. &#8220;More&#8217;n a chance, if&mdash;if&mdash;if&#8211;&#8211;Oh, Peggy,
+we&#8217;ve got to pray!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how,&#8221; said Peg, in stifled tones.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s face lighted with a mental argument Lafe had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_257' name='page_257'></a>257</span>
+thrown at her in her moments of distrust. She was deep
+in despondency, but something had to be done.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peg, you don&#8217;t need to know anything about it. I
+didn&#8217;t when I came here. Lafe says&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d Lafe say?&#8221; cut in Peggy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That you must just tell God about it&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; Jinnie
+lifted a white, lovely face. &#8220;He&#8217;s everywhere&mdash;not away
+off,&#8221; she proceeded. &#8220;Talk to Him just like you would
+to Lafe or me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken sunk lower in her chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wisht I&#8217;d learnt when Lafe was here. Now I dunno
+how.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But will you try?&#8221; Jinnie pleaded after a little.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know &#8217;em better&#8217;n I do, Jinnie,&#8221; Peg muttered,
+dejectedly. &#8220;You ask if it&#8217;ll do any good.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie cleared her throat, coughed, and murmured:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Close your eyes, Bobbie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie shut his lids with a gulping sob, and so did Peg.</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie began in a low, constrained voice:</p>
+<p>&#8220;God and your angels hovering about Lafe, please send
+him back to the shop. Get him out of jail, and don&#8217;t let
+anybody hurt him. Amen.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t let any chair hurt my beautiful cobbler,&#8221; wailed
+Bobbie, in a new paroxysm of grief. &#8220;Gimme Lafe an&#8217;
+my stars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In another instant Peggy staggered out of the room,
+leaving the blind boy and Jinnie alone.</p>
+<p>As the door closed, Bobbie&#8217;s voice rose in louder appeal.
+Happy Pete touched him tenderly with a cold, wet
+nose, crawling into his arms with a little whine.</p>
+<p>Jinnie looked at her two charges hopelessly. She knew
+not how to comfort them, nor could she frame words that
+would still the agony of the child. Yet she lifted Bobbie
+and Happy Pete and sat down with them on her lap.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_258' name='page_258'></a>258</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t cry, honey,&#8221; she stammered. &#8220;There! There!
+Jinnie&#8217;ll rock you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her face was ashen with anxiety, and perspiration stood
+in large drops upon her brow. Mechanically she drew
+her sleeve across her face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to ask you to be awful good, Bobbie,&#8221; she
+pleaded presently. &#8220;Lafe&#8217;s being arrested is hard on
+Peg&mdash;and she&#8217;s sick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie burst in on her words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But they&#8217;ll sit my cobbler in a wicked chair, and kill
+him, Jinnie. Peggy said they would.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You remember, Bobbie,&#8221; soothed the girl, &#8220;what Lafe
+said about God&#8217;s angels, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The yellow head bent forward in assent.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And how they&#8217;re stronger&#8217;n a whole bunch of men?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; breathed Bobbie; &#8220;but the chair&mdash;the men&#8217;ve
+got that, an&#8217; mebbe the angels&#8217;ll be busy when they&#8217;re
+puttin&#8217; the cobbler in it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This idea made him shriek out louder than before:
+&#8220;They&#8217;ll kill Lafe! Oh, Jinnie, they will!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They can&#8217;t!&#8221; denied Jinnie, rigidly. &#8220;They can&#8217;t!
+Listen, Bobbie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The wan, unsmiling blind face brought the girl&#8217;s lips
+hard upon it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to know all about the death chair,&#8221; he whimpered
+stubbornly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she breathed, &#8220;will you believe me if I tell
+you about it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; promised Bobbie, snuggling nearer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hang on to Pete, and I will tell you,&#8221; said Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m hangin&#8217; to &#8217;im,&#8221; sighed Bobbie, touching Pete&#8217;s
+shaggy forelock. &#8220;Tell me about the chair.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie was searching her brain for an argument to satisfy
+him. She wouldn&#8217;t have lied for her own welfare&mdash;but
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_259' name='page_259'></a>259</span>
+for Bobbie&mdash;she could feel the weak, small heart palpitating
+against her arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, in the first place,&#8221; she began deliberately, &#8220;Peg
+doesn&#8217;t know everything about murders. Why, Bobbie,
+they don&#8217;t do anything at all to men like Lafe. Why, a
+cobbler, dear, a cobbler could kill everybody in the whole
+world if he liked.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie&#8217;s breath was sent out in one long exclamation of
+wonder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;A cobbler,&#8221; went on Jinnie impressively, &#8220;could steal
+loaves of bread right under a great judge&#8217;s nose and he
+couldn&#8217;t do anything to him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie had made a daring speech, such a splendid one;
+she wanted to believe it herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me more,&#8221; chirped Bobbie. &#8220;What about the
+death chair, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She had nursed the hope that the boy would be satisfied
+with what she had already told him, but she proceeded in
+triumphant tones:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you mean the chair Peg was speaking about, huh?
+Sure I know all about that.... There isn&#8217;t anything
+I don&#8217;t know about it.... I know more&#8217;n all the judges
+and preachers put together.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A small, trustful smile appeared at the corners of Bobbie&#8217;s
+mouth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know you do, Jinnie,&#8221; he agreed. &#8220;Tell it to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie pressed her lips on his hair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And if I tell you, kiddie, you&#8217;ll not cry any more or
+worry Peggy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be awful good, and not cry once,&#8221; promised the
+boy, settling himself expectantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, then, listen hard!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Accordingly, after a dramatic pause, to give stress to
+her next statement, she continued:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_260' name='page_260'></a>260</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;There isn&#8217;t a death chair in the whole world can kill
+a cobbler.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie braced himself against her and sat up. His
+blind eyes were roving over her with an expression of disbelief.
+Jinnie knew he was doubting her veracity, so she
+hurried on.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course they got an electric chair that&#8217;ll kill other
+kinds of men,&#8221; she explained volubly, &#8220;but if you&#8217;ll believe
+me, Bobbie, no cobbler could ever sit in it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie dropped back again. There was a ring of truth
+in Jinnie&#8217;s words, and he began to believe her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And another thing, Bobbie, there&#8217;s something in the
+Bible better&#8217;n what I&#8217;ve told you. You believe the Bible,
+don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe&#8217;s Bible?&#8221; asked Bobbie, scarcely audible.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure! There isn&#8217;t but one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Jinnie, I believe that,&#8221; said the boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; and Jinnie glanced up at the ceiling, &#8220;there&#8217;s
+just about a hundred pages in that book tells how once
+some men tried to put a cobbler in one of those chairs, and
+the lightning jumped out and set &#8217;em all on fire&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie straightened up so quickly that Happy Pete fell
+to the floor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes, Jinnie dear,&#8221; he breathed. &#8220;Go on!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie hesitated. She didn&#8217;t want to fabricate further.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just so awful I hate to tell you,&#8221; she objected.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d be happier if you would,&#8221; whispered Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I will! The fire, jumping out, didn&#8217;t hurt the
+cobbler one wee bit, but it burned the wicked men&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+Jinnie paused, gathered a deep breath, and brought to
+mind Lafe&#8217;s droning voice when he had used the same
+words, &#8220;Burned &#8217;em root and branch,&#8221; declared she.</p>
+<p>Bobbie&#8217;s face shone with happiness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is that all?&#8221; he begged.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_261' name='page_261'></a>261</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t it enough?&#8221; asked Jinnie, with tender chiding.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aren&#8217;t there nothin&#8217; in it about Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, sure!&#8221; Again she was at loss for ideas, but somehow
+words of their own volition seemed to spring from
+her lips. &#8220;Sure there is! There&#8217;s another hundred pages
+in that blessed book that says good men like Lafe won&#8217;t
+ever go into one of those chairs, never, never.... The
+Lord God Almighty ordered all those death chairs to be
+chopped up for kindling wood,&#8221; she ended triumphantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shortwood?&#8221; broke out Bobbie.</p>
+<p>Unheeding the interruption, Jinnie pursued: &#8220;They
+just left a chair for wicked men, that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie slipped to the floor and raised his hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, pretty Jinnie. I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to believe every word
+you&#8217;ve said, every word, and my stars&#8217;re all shinin&#8217; so
+bright they&#8217;re just like them in the sky.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie kissed the eager little face and left the child sitting
+on the floor, crooning contentedly to Happy Pete.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe told me once,&#8221; Jinnie whispered to herself on the
+way to the kitchen, &#8220;when a lie does a lot of good, it&#8217;s
+better than the truth if telling facts hurts some one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She joined Peggy, sighing, &#8220;I&#8217;m an awful liar, all right,
+but Bobbie&#8217;s happy.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_262' name='page_262'></a>262</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVII_WHAT_THE_THUNDER_STORM_BROUGHT' id='CHAPTER_XXXVII_WHAT_THE_THUNDER_STORM_BROUGHT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVII</h2>
+<h3>WHAT THE THUNDER STORM BROUGHT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>In the past few weeks Jinnie Grandoken had been driven
+blindly into unknown places, forced to face conditions
+which but a short time before would have seemed unbearable.
+However, there was much with which Jinnie could
+occupy her time. Blind Bobbie was not well. He was
+mourning for the cobbler with all his boyish young soul,
+and every day Peggy grew more taciturn and ill. The
+funds left by Theodore were nearly gone, and Jinnie had
+given up her lessons. She was using the remaining money
+for their meagre necessities.</p>
+<p>So slowly did the days drag by that the girl had grown
+to believe that the authorities would never bring Lafe to
+trial, exonerate him, and send him home. Then, too, Theodore
+was still in the hospital, and she thought of him ever
+with a sense of terrific loss. But the daily papers brought
+her news of him, and now printed that his splendid constitution
+might pull him through. It never occurred to her
+that her loved one would believe Lafe had shot him and
+Maudlin Bates. Theodore was too wise, too kindly, for
+such suspicions.</p>
+<p>For a while after receiving permission from the county
+attorney, she visited Lafe every day. Peggy had seen
+him only once, being too miserable to stand the strain of
+going to the jail. But Mrs. Grandoken never neglected
+sending by the girl some little remembrance to her husband.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_263' name='page_263'></a>263</span>
+Perhaps it was only a written message, but mostly
+a favorite dish of food or an article of his wearing apparel.</p>
+<p>One afternoon Bobbie sat by the window with his small,
+pale face pressed close to the pane. Outside a great
+storm was raging, and from one end of Paradise Road to
+the other, rivulets of water rushed down to the lake. Several
+times that day, when the boy had addressed Mrs.
+Grandoken, she had answered him even more gruffly than
+of yore. He knew by her voice she was ill, and his palpitating
+heart was wrung so agonizingly that he was constantly
+in tears. Now he was waiting for Jinnie, and the
+sound of the buffeting rain and the booming roar of heavy
+thunder thrilled him dismally. To hear Jinnie&#8217;s footsteps
+at that moment would be the panacea for all his grief.</p>
+<p>Peg came into the shop, and Bobbie turned slightly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie&#8217;s stayin&#8217; awful long at the jail to-day,&#8221; said
+the woman fretfully. &#8220;Do you hear her comin&#8217;, Bobbie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Bobbie, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been stretchin&#8217; my ears almost
+to the hill to hear her. If she doesn&#8217;t come soon, I&#8217;ll die&mdash;my
+stars&#8217;ve been gone a long time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish she&#8217;d come,&#8221; sighed Mrs. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bend over here, Peg,&#8221; entreated Bobbie, &#8220;I want to
+touch your eyes!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without comment the woman leaned over, and the boy&#8217;s
+fingers wavered over her wrinkled countenance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re awful sick, dearie,&#8221; he grieved, pressing against
+her. &#8220;Can Blind Bobbie do anything?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg dropped her arm around him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid,&#8221; she whispered. &#8220;I wish Lafe and Jinnie
+was here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One long shiver shook Bobbie&#8217;s slender body. That Peg
+could ever be afraid was a new idea to him. It terrified
+him even to contemplate it. He began to sob wistfully,
+but in another instant raised his head.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_264' name='page_264'></a>264</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s comin&#8217;,&#8221; he cried sharply. &#8220;I hear &#8217;er. I got
+two stars, mebbe three.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When Jinnie opened the door, the water was dripping
+from her clothes, and her hair hung in long, wet curls to
+her waist. One look into Peg&#8217;s twisted, pain-ridden face,
+and she understood.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad you&#8217;re here,&#8221; said the woman, with a gesture
+of helplessness. And Bobbie echoed, with fluttering hands,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m glad, too, Jinnie. Me and Peg was so &#8217;fraid.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl spoke softly to Bobbie, and drew Peggy into
+the bedroom. There, with her arm thrown across Mrs.
+Grandoken&#8217;s shoulder, she gave all the assurance and comfort
+of which she was capable.</p>
+<p>Long after midnight, the rain still came down in thrashing
+torrents, and through the pieces of broken tin on the
+roof the wind shrilled dismally.</p>
+<p>There was a solemn hush in the back bedroom where
+Peggy lay staring at the ceiling. In front of the shadowy
+lamp was a bit of cardboard to protect the sick woman&#8217;s
+eyes from the light. At Peggy&#8217;s side sat Jinnie, and in
+her arms lay a small bundle. Jinnie had gained much
+knowledge in the last few hours. She had discovered the
+mystery of all existence. She had seen Peg go down into
+that wonderful valley of life and bring back Lafe&#8217;s little
+boy baby, and the girl&#8217;s eyes held an expression of impenetrable
+things. She moved her position slightly so as
+to study Mrs. Grandoken&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>Suddenly Peg&#8217;s eyes lowered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, gimme a drink, will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Placing the child on the bed, the girl got up instantly.
+She went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of milk.
+It had scarcely touched the woman&#8217;s lips before she raised
+her hand and pushed it away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I mustn&#8217;t drink that,&#8221; she whispered feebly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_265' name='page_265'></a>265</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I got it specially for you, Peggy dear,&#8221; insisted Jinnie....
+&#8220;Drink it,&#8221; she wheedled, &#8220;please.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie sat down again, listening as the elements
+kept up their continuous rioting, and after a while they
+lulled her to rest. Suddenly her head dropped softly on
+the bundle in her arms, and the three&mdash;Peggy, Jinnie and
+the tiny Jewish baby&mdash;slept.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s name, spoken in low tones, roused her quickly.
+She raised her head, a sharp pain twisting her neck.
+Peggy was looking at her, with misery in her face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I feel awful sick, Jinnie,&#8221; she moaned. &#8220;Can&#8217;t you say
+somethin&#8217; t&#8217;me, somethin&#8217; to make me feel better?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Something to make her feel better! The words touched
+the listener deeply. Oh, how she wanted to help! To alleviate
+Peg&#8217;s suffering was her one desire. If it had been
+Bobbie, or even Lafe, Jinnie would have known exactly
+what to say; but Peggy, proud, stoical Peggy!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me put the baby with you where it&#8217;s warm, Peg,&#8221;
+she said, gently. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to talk to you a minute....
+There, now, you&#8217;re all safe, little mister, near your mammy&#8217;s
+heart.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she knelt down by the bed and took the woman&#8217;s
+hot fingers in hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy,&#8221; she began softly, &#8220;things look awful bad just
+now, but Lafe told me once, when they looked that way, it
+was time for some one to come along and help. I&#8217;ll tell
+you about it, Peg! Eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who c&#8217;n come?&#8221; demanded Mrs. Grandoken, irritably.
+&#8220;Mr. King can&#8217;t, an&#8217; we hain&#8217;t no other friends who&#8217;ll
+come to a cobbler&#8217;s shop.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The question in her voice gave Jinnie the chance she
+was looking for.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, there is,&#8221; she insisted. &#8220;Now listen, while I say
+something; will you?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_266' name='page_266'></a>266</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; said Peg, squeezing Jinnie&#8217;s fingers.</p>
+<p>Then Jinnie started to repeat a few verses Lafe had
+taught her. She couldn&#8217;t tell exactly where they were in
+the Bible, but the promise in them had always made her
+own burdens lighter, and since seeing Lafe daily, she had
+partially come back to her former trust.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;The Lord is my Shepherd,&#8217;&#8221; she droned sleepily.
+Then on and on until she came to, &#8220;&#8216;Yea, though I walk
+through the valley of the shadow of death,&#8217;&#8221; and Peg
+broke into a sob.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;I will fear no evil,&#8217;&#8221; soothed Jinnie, amid the roaring
+of the wind and the crackling of the thunder over the
+hill.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;For thou art with me,&#8217;&#8221; she finished brokenly. &#8220;He&#8217;s
+the one I was talking about, Peggy. He&#8217;ll help us all if
+we can believe and be&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she quickly ended, &#8220;Happy in Spite.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg continued to sob. One arm was across her baby
+boy protectingly, and the other hand Jinnie held in hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Somehow things seem easier, Peggy, when you hold
+your head up high, and believe everything&#8217;ll come all right....
+Lafe said so; that&#8217;s why he started the club.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wisht I could think that way. I&#8217;m near dead,&#8221;
+groaned the woman.</p>
+<p>Jinnie smoothed the soft, grey-streaked hair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t you like to come into the club, dear?&#8221; she
+faltered, scarcely daring to put the question. &#8220;Then
+you&#8217;ll be happy with us all&mdash;with Lafe and Bobbie and&mdash;and&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie wanted to say another name, but doubted its
+wisdom&mdash;and then abruptly it came; &#8220;and Jinnie,&#8221; she
+finished.</p>
+<p>Peggy almost sat up in bed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Darlin&#8217;,&#8221; she quivered. &#8220;Darlin&#8217; girl, I&#8217;ve been cussed
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_267' name='page_267'></a>267</span>
+mean to Lafe an&#8217; you. I&#8217;ve told you many a time with
+my own mouth I hated you, but God knows, an&#8217; Lafe
+knows, I loved you the minute I set eyes on you.&#8221; She
+dropped back on the pillow and continued, &#8220;If you&#8217;ll take
+me in your club, an&#8217; learn me how to believe, I&#8217;ll try; I
+swear I will.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For a long time Jinnie sat crooning over and over the
+verses she&#8217;d learned from Lafe, and bye-and-bye she heard
+Peg breathing regularly and knew she slept. Then she
+settled herself in the chair, and sweet, mysterious dreams
+came to her through the storm.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_268' name='page_268'></a>268</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVIII_THE_STORY_OF_A_BIRD' id='CHAPTER_XXXVIII_THE_STORY_OF_A_BIRD'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2>
+<h3>THE STORY OF A BIRD</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Lafe Grandoken, in his wheel chair, sat under the barred
+prison window, an open Bible on his knees. Slowly the
+shadows were falling about him, and to the man every
+shade had an entity of its own. First there trooped before
+him all the old memories of the many yesterdays&mdash;of Peg&mdash;his
+little dead lad&mdash;and Jinnie. And lastly, ghostlike,
+came the shattered hopes of to-morrow, and with these he
+groaned and shivered.</p>
+<p>Jinnie stole in and looked long upon her friend through
+the iron-latticed door. The smile that played with the
+dimples in her cheeks and the dancing shadows in the violet
+eyes indicated her happiness. Lafe looked older and thinner
+than ever before, and her heart sang when she thought
+of the news she had to tell him. She longed to pronounce
+his name, to take away the far-away expression that
+seemed to hold him in deep meditation. During her tramp
+to the jail she&#8217;d concocted a fairy story to bring a smile
+to the cobbler&#8217;s lips. So at length:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>Mr. Grandoken&#8217;s head came up quickly, and he turned
+the chair and wheeled toward her. There was the same
+question in his eyes that had been there for so many days,
+and Jinnie smiled broadly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she began mysteriously, &#8220;a great big bird flew
+right into the house last night. He flopped in to get out
+of the storm!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_269' name='page_269'></a>269</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;A bird?&#8221; repeated Lafe, startled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and everybody says it&#8217;s awful good luck.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s expression grew tragic, and Jinnie hurried on
+with her tale.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll bet you can&#8217;t guess what kind of a bird &#8217;twas,
+Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe shook his head. &#8220;I can&#8217;t lessen &#8217;twas a robin,&#8221;
+said he.</p>
+<p>Jinnie giggled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My, no! He was a heap bigger&#8217;n a robin. Guess
+again!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Such chatter from Jinnie was unusual, especially of
+late, but Lafe bore it patiently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t,&#8221; he sighed, shaking his head.</p>
+<p>Jinnie clapped her hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I knew you couldn&#8217;t! Well, Lafe, it was a&mdash;a&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes?&#8221; queried Lafe wearily, during her hesitation.
+&#8220;Well, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was a great, big, beautiful white stork, Lafe, and
+he brought you a new Jew baby. What&#8217;d you think of
+that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, girl, lass, you ain&#8217;t tellin&#8217; me&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, dear, he&#8217;s there, as big as life and twice as natural,
+Peg says.... Of course,&#8221; she rambled on, &#8220;the
+stork went away, but the Jew baby&mdash;to make a long story
+short, he&#8217;s with&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;His ma, eh, dear?&#8221; interjected Lafe. &#8220;How&#8217;s Peg,
+honey?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, she&#8217;s fine,&#8221; replied Jinnie, &#8220;and I&#8217;ve a lot to tell
+you, dearest.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Begin,&#8221; commanded Lafe, with wide, bright eyes.</p>
+<p>Jinnie commenced by telling how lovely the baby was.
+Of course she didn&#8217;t rehearse Peg&#8217;s suffering. It wouldn&#8217;t
+do any good.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_270' name='page_270'></a>270</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;And the baby looks like you, Lafe,&#8221; she observed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does he really?&#8221; gasped Lafe, trying to smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got your Jew look &#8217;round his nose,&#8221; added Jinnie
+gravely. &#8220;You wanted him to look like you, didn&#8217;t you,
+Lafe?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure, Jinnie. And now about Peggy? Tell me about
+Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy&#8217;s with us, Lafe&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; Jinnie stopped and drew
+a long breath. &#8220;What&#8217;d you think? Oh&mdash;guess!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t! Tell me, Jinnie! Don&#8217;t keep me waitin&#8217;
+for good things.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy&#8217;s in the &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;, and I&#8217;m learning her
+all the verses you taught me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Lafe&#8217;s head dropped on his hands and tears trickled
+through his fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish I could see her,&#8221; he groaned deeply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When she gets well, you can,&#8221; promised Jinnie, &#8220;and
+mebbe the baby.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s head was raised quickly and his eyes sparkled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d love to see &#8217;em both,&#8221; was all he could stammer.</p>
+<p>The girl thrust her fingers through the bars to him, and
+they stood thus, regarding each other in all confidence and
+faith, until Jinnie dropped his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King&#8217;s getting well,&#8221; she said softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad, very glad. He don&#8217;t think I done it, does
+he, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, and when I see him I&#8217;ll tell him you didn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And as if that settled it, she turned to go; then hesitating,
+she smiled upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give me four nice kisses, Lafe. I&#8217;ll take one to Peg,
+Bobbie, and the baby, and keep one for myself.&#8221; Then
+after their lips had met through the bars in resounding
+smacks, Jinnie gasped, &#8220;We can&#8217;t forget Milly Ann and
+Happy Pete. Two more, honey!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_271' name='page_271'></a>271</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;God bless you, Jinnie lass,&#8221; murmured Lafe, trying to
+hide his emotion, and then he wheeled quickly back into
+the falling afternoon light under the window.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s energetic mind was busy with a scheme. She
+wasn&#8217;t sure it would meet with Peg&#8217;s approval, but when
+she arrived home, she sat down beside Mrs. Grandoken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Peggy,&#8221; she began emphatically, &#8220;I want you to
+pay attention to what I&#8217;m saying to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I will,&#8221; said Peggy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe wants to see the baby!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now?&#8221; asked Mrs. Grandoken, surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, he didn&#8217;t say just now, but his eyes asked it,
+and, Peg, I was wondering if I couldn&#8217;t take the little
+kid up to the jail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peggy shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They wouldn&#8217;t let you in with &#8217;im,&#8221; she objected.</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought a long time. Presently she laughed a
+little, chuckling laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know how to get him in there!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How?&#8221; asked Peggy, incredulously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, everybody knows I&#8217;ve been a shortwood girl.
+I&#8217;ll roll him up in a bundle&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Peg&#8217;s hand sought the little body under the covers protectingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I won&#8217;t hurt him, Peg,&#8221; assured Jinnie. &#8220;We&#8217;ll
+wrap him up the first fine day! You can do it yourself,
+dear.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One week later Jinnie went slowly up the incline that
+led to the prison. On her back was a shortwood strap
+filled with brush and small twigs.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to see Lafe Grandoken,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>To surprise Lafe she crept softly along the corridor
+until she halted at his cell door. She could see him plainly,
+and the troubled lines were almost erased from between his
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_272' name='page_272'></a>272</span>
+brows. She was glad of that, for she wanted him to smile,
+to be &#8220;Happy in Spite.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She called his name and he turned, wheeling toward her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hoped you&#8217;d be comin&#8217;,&#8221; he said, smiling gravely.
+Then noting the shortwood, he exclaimed, &#8220;Have you had
+to go to work again, lass?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just for to-day,&#8221; and Jinnie displayed her white teeth
+in a broad smile. &#8220;I&#8217;ve brought you something, Lafe, and
+I wrapped it up in shortwood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl carefully slipped the strap from her shoulders
+and sat down beside it on the floor. Watching
+eagerly, Lafe peered between the bars, for surely his
+Peggy had sent him some token of her love. The girl
+paused and looked up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut your eyes tight, Lafe,&#8221; she commanded playfully.</p>
+<p>Lafe closed his eyes, wrinkling down his lids. Then
+Jinnie lifted the baby and uncovered the small face. The
+little chap opened his eyes and yawned as the girl held
+him close to the bars.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Lafe, quick! Look! Ha! It&#8217;s a Jew!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cobbler&#8217;s eyes flew open, and he was staring squarely
+into a small, rosy, open-eyed baby face. For a moment
+he thought he was dreaming&mdash;dreaming a dream he had
+dreamed every night since the thunder storm. He caught
+at his chin to stay the chattering of his teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It ain&#8217;t him, Jinnie, my Jew baby?&#8221; he murmured
+brokenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, &#8217;tis,&#8221; and she laughed. &#8220;It&#8217;s your own little feller.
+I brought him to get a kiss from his daddy. Kiss
+him! Kiss him smack on the mouth, Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And Lafe kissed his baby&mdash;kissed him once, twice, and
+three times, gulping hard after each caress. He would
+never have enough of those sweet kisses, never, never! And
+as his lips descended reverently upon the smooth, rose-colored
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_273' name='page_273'></a>273</span>
+skin, Mr. Grandoken laughed, and Jinnie laughed,
+and the baby, too, wrinkled up his nose.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; Jinnie said tenderly, drawing the baby away,
+&#8220;I knew you wanted to see him; didn&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe nodded. &#8220;An&#8217; I&#8217;ll never be able to thank you for
+this, Jinnie.... Let me kiss him once more.... Oh,
+ain&#8217;t he beautiful?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Just before the girl wrapped the boy again in the shortwood,
+she suggested,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe, what&#8217;s against taking him into the &#8216;Happy in
+Spite&#8217;? He&#8217;s happier&#8217;n any kid in the whole world, having
+you for a daddy and Peg for his mother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie thrust the baby&#8217;s plump hand through the bars,
+and Lafe, with tears in his eyes, shook it tenderly, then
+kissed it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe Grandoken, Jr,&#8221; he whispered, &#8220;you&#8217;re now a
+member of the &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217; Club.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And then Jinnie took the baby back to Peggy.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_274' name='page_274'></a>274</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIX_JINNIES_VISIT_TO_THEODORE' id='CHAPTER_XXXIX_JINNIES_VISIT_TO_THEODORE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIX</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE&#8217;S VISIT TO THEODORE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>So suddenly had the two strong, friendly forces been
+swept from Jinnie&#8217;s daily life that as yet she had not the
+power to think with precision. Lafe she had had every
+day for almost three years, and Theodore King&mdash;oh, how
+she loved him! Rumors were afloat that no power could
+save Lafe&mdash;her dear, brave cobbler.</p>
+<p>Day by day the girl&#8217;s faith increased, and of late she
+had uttered silent prayers that she might be allowed to
+see Theodore.</p>
+<p>One morning she was in the kitchen rocking little Lafe
+when Peggy called her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s some one to see you,&#8221; said she.</p>
+<p>Jinnie gave the mother her baby and went to the shop
+door. A man in a white suit smiled down upon her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m from the hospital,&#8221; said he. &#8220;Mr. King would
+like to see you this morning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s heart seemed to climb into her throat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Theodore King?&#8221; she murmured.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said the young man. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got a car here. Will
+you come?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course! Wait till I get my hat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Once at their destination, they tiptoed into Theodore&#8217;s
+room noiselessly, and as Jinnie stood over the bed, looking
+down upon him, she suffered keenly, he looked so deathlike;
+but she resolutely controlled her feelings. When Theodore
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_275' name='page_275'></a>275</span>
+glanced at her, she forced herself to smile, and the
+sight of the lovely girl refreshed the sick man, giving him
+a new impetus to recover.</p>
+<p>He smiled back, endeavoring not to show his weakness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You see I&#8217;m getting well,&#8221; he whispered.</p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded. She wasn&#8217;t sure whether he was or not.
+How her heart ached to do something for him!</p>
+<p>One of his long, thin hands lay over the coverlet, and
+Jinnie wanted to kiss it. Tears were standing thick on
+her lashes.</p>
+<p>The doctor stood beside her, consulting his watch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you wish to speak, Mr. King,&#8221; he said kindly, &#8220;you
+must do so quickly, for the young lady can stay but two
+minutes more. That&#8217;s all!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The doctor turned his back upon them, watch in hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kiss me, dear!&#8221; murmured Theodore.</p>
+<p>Oblivious of the doctor&#8217;s presence, Jinnie stooped and
+kissed him twice, taking the thin hand he extended.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I sent for you because I feared you&#8217;d go to work at
+the wood again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie would reassure him on this point even by an untruth,
+for she might be driven, for the sake of Peggy and
+the children, to go back into that hated occupation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I promise I won&#8217;t,&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you still taking lessons?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t when you were sick. I just couldn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you must; you must go to-morrow. I have something
+here for you,&#8221; he said, reaching under the pillow
+with his free hand.</p>
+<p>Jinnie drew back abashed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re too sick to think of us,&#8221; she murmured.</p>
+<p>Theodore raised her hand to his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No! No, darling, I think of you always&mdash;every day and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_276' name='page_276'></a>276</span>
+shall even when I&#8217;m dead. You must take this
+money. Do you love me, dearest, very much?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He smiled again as she stooped impetuously to kiss him,
+and with her face very close to his, she whispered,</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe didn&#8217;t do it, darling!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it,&#8221; replied Theodore, closing his eyes.</p>
+<p>Then the doctor turned and sent her away.</p>
+<p>When she sank back in the automobile, Jinnie opened
+her hand with the roll of bills in it, and all the way home,
+she repeated, &#8220;He has given His angels charge over thee.&#8221;
+She was hoping and praying for Theodore King.</p>
+<p>Two days later, coming down the hill, she met Miss
+Merriweather on horseback. The young woman stopped
+her and asked her to accompany her home. Jennie hesitated.
+She still had memories of the cat sent to its death
+in Molly&#8217;s fit of anger and the woman&#8217;s chilling reception
+of her at the King dinner. Nevertheless she turned and
+walked slowly beside the horse. When they reached the
+porch of Mr. King&#8217;s home, a groom came and led the animal
+away. Jinnie laid down her fiddle, taking the chair
+indicated by Molly. It had been Jordan Morse&#8217;s idea
+that she should endeavor to again talk with the girl, but
+the woman scarcely knew how to begin. Jinnie looked so
+very lovely, so confiding, so infinitely sweet. Molly leaned
+over and said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wasn&#8217;t it queer how suddenly I remembered who you
+were? That night at the party your name refused to
+come to my mind. I&#8217;ve wanted to tell you several times
+how sorry I was about your accident!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I recognized you the minute I saw you,&#8221; said Jinnie,
+smiling, relieved a little by Molly&#8217;s apology.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve a good memory,&#8221; answered Molly. &#8220;Now I
+want to tell you something, and I hope you&#8217;ll be guided
+by my judgment.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_277' name='page_277'></a>277</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie looked straight at her without a sign of acquiescence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it?&#8221; she asked presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You must leave Grandoken&#8217;s!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie started to speak, but Molly&#8217;s next words closed
+her lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please don&#8217;t get nervous! Listen to me! You&#8217;re a
+very young and very pretty girl and there&mdash;there is some
+one interested in you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie pricked up her ears. Some one interested in her!
+Of course she knew who it was. Theodore! But she
+wouldn&#8217;t leave Peggy even for him, and the thought that he
+would not ask this of her brought her exquisite joy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is it Mr. King who&#8217;s interested in me?&#8221; she asked,
+timidly.</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s eyes narrowed into small slits.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, it isn&#8217;t Mr. King who&#8217;s interested in you!&#8221; she replied
+a trifle mockingly. &#8220;Mr. King&#8217;s too sick to be interested
+in anybody.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie couldn&#8217;t refrain from saying, &#8220;He looked awful
+ill when I saw him at the hospital.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly stared at her blankly. She grew dizzy and very
+angry. This girl always made her rage within herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve seen him since&mdash;since&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>A maddened expression leapt into Molly&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I drive there every day, but they won&#8217;t let <i>me</i> see
+him,&#8221; she said, reddening.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King sent for me,&#8221; Jinnie replied, resolutely.</p>
+<p>And as the girl admitted this, with deepening flushes,
+Molly looked away. When she had first spoken of Jinnie&#8217;s
+future to Jordan Morse, she had pleaded with him to
+be kind to her, but now she could surround that white
+throat and strangle the breath from it without compunction.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_278' name='page_278'></a>278</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Will you tell me what he said to you?&#8221; she queried,
+trying to hide her anger.</p>
+<p>Jinnie looked down, and locked her fingers together.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell,&#8221; she said at length, moving in discomfort.</p>
+<p>She wanted to go&mdash;to get away from the woman who
+looked at her so analytically, so resentfully. She got up
+nervously and picked up her fiddle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t go,&#8221; urged Molly, starting forward.</p>
+<p>Then she laughed a little and went on, &#8220;I suppose I did
+feel a bit jealous at first because we&mdash;Mr. King and I&mdash;have
+been friends so many years. But now we won&#8217;t think
+any more about it. I do want you to go from that terrible
+Paradise Road. It&#8217;s no place for a girl in your position.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve told me that before,&#8221; retorted Jinnie, with
+clouded eyes. &#8220;My position isn&#8217;t anything. I haven&#8217;t
+any other home, and I&#8217;m a sort of a helper to Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A helper to Peggy! Doubtless if Lafe had heard that
+he would have smiled. Truly she was a wonderful little
+helper, but she was more than that, much more&mdash;helper,
+friend, and protector all in one.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Another thing,&#8221; added Jinnie quickly, &#8220;I love &#8217;em all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve your own home in Mottville,&#8221; the woman suggested.
+&#8220;You ought to be there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sank back into the chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I couldn&#8217;t ever go there!&#8221; she cut in swiftly. &#8220;But
+I can&#8217;t tell you why.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you want me to help you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t help any, taking me away from Peggy.
+I&#8217;d rather you&#8217;d do something for Lafe. Help him get
+out of prison. Will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not interested in him,&#8221; said Molly. &#8220;But I am in
+you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_279' name='page_279'></a>279</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221; blurted Jinnie.</p>
+<p>Molly colored.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One can&#8217;t explain an interest like mine. But I&#8217;d go
+back to Mottville with you, and help you with your&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head violently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t go there for anything in the world,&#8221; she
+interjected.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t understand why not!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, first I couldn&#8217;t, and I won&#8217;t.... Then Peggy
+needs me in Paradise Road, and there&#8217;s the baby and Bobbie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s Bobbie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Our little kid,&#8221; replied Jinnie, smiling sweetly.</p>
+<p>She did not think it necessary to explain that she had
+found Bobbie in the woods. He was as much one of them
+as Lafe&#8217;s baby or herself. Neither did she speak of the
+boy&#8217;s pitiful condition.</p>
+<p>In spite of Jinnie&#8217;s absolute refusal, Molly went on:</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you don&#8217;t understand. You&#8217;ve got your own life
+to think of!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie burst in with what she thought was a clinching
+triumph.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I take lessons on my fiddle every day. Some time I
+hope&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s eyes gleamed again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How can you afford to take lessons?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The questioner read the truth in the burning blush that
+swept the girl&#8217;s dark hair line, and her little white teeth
+came together.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Grandoken is not your uncle,&#8221; she snapped.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s more&#8217;n my uncle; he&#8217;s a father to me, and when
+he comes home&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s not coming home. Murderers don&#8217;t get off so
+easily.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_280' name='page_280'></a>280</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie got up and again picked her fiddle from the floor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He isn&#8217;t a murderer!&#8221; she stammered, with filling eyes.
+&#8220;Lafe wouldn&#8217;t kill anything.... I&#8217;ve been with him
+almost three years and I know. Why, he wouldn&#8217;t let Peg
+or me swat flies.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather saw her mistake. She realized then
+as never before that nothing could take from the girl her
+belief in the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit down,&#8221; she urged. &#8220;Don&#8217;t go yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to sit down,&#8221; said Jinnie, very much offended.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m going! I&#8217;m sorry you think Lafe&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly rose too. Impetuously she held out her hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I really shouldn&#8217;t have spoken that way, because I
+don&#8217;t know a thing about it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie relented a little, but not enough to sit down. She
+was too deeply hurt to accept Molly&#8217;s hospitality further.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we musn&#8217;t quarrel, child,&#8221; decided the woman.
+&#8220;Now won&#8217;t you reconsider my proposition? I should love
+to do something for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Resolutely the dark curls shook in refusal.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to stay with Peggy till Lafe gets out, and
+then when I&#8217;m eighteen I&#8217;m going to school. I&#8217;ve been
+studying a lot since I left Mottville.... Why sometimes&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+she resumed eagerly, &#8220;when we haven&#8217;t had
+enough to eat, Lafe&#8217;s made me buy a book to study out of,
+and I promised him I&#8217;d stay with his family till he came
+back. And&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she walked to the edge of the porch,
+turning suddenly, &#8220;and he&#8217;s coming back, all right,&#8221; she
+ended, going down the stairs.</p>
+<p>Molly watched the slim young figure swing out to the
+road. The girl didn&#8217;t look around, and the woman waited
+until she had disappeared through the gate.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll not get out, and you, you little upstart,&#8221; she
+gritted, &#8220;you&#8217;ll not stay in Paradise Road, either.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_281' name='page_281'></a>281</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XL_AN_APPEAL_TO_JINNIES_HEART' id='CHAPTER_XL_AN_APPEAL_TO_JINNIES_HEART'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XL</h2>
+<h3>AN APPEAL TO JINNIE&#8217;S HEART</h3>
+</div>
+<p>One afternoon she was on her way home from her lesson
+when she heard a voice call, &#8220;Miss Grandoken!&#8221; She
+glanced up swiftly, recognizing the speaker immediately.
+He had been present that first night she had played for
+Theodore&#8217;s guests, and she remembered vividly her intuitive
+dislike of him; but because he was a friend of Theodore&#8217;s
+she went forward eagerly. The man drove his car
+to the side of the pavement and bowed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Would you care to be of service to Mr. King?&#8221; he
+asked, smiling.</p>
+<p>Jinnie noticed his dazzling teeth and scarlet lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, indeed! I wish I might.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then come with me,&#8221; replied the man. &#8220;Will you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without fear she entered the open car door and sat
+down, placing her violin on the seat beside her. She sank
+back with a sigh. The time had come she had so longed
+for; she was going to do something for Theodore. She
+was glad now she had consented to take two lessons that
+day, or she would have missed this blessed opportunity to
+show her gratitude to her dear one, in acts, as well as
+words. The car turned and sped up the hill.</p>
+<p>If Jinnie wondered where the man was taking her, she
+did not allude to it. They were driving in the same direction
+she took every day to visit the master, and the
+very familiarity of it turned aside any question that arose
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_282' name='page_282'></a>282</span>
+in her mind. As he helped her from the machine, she
+looked up at the sombre building in front of them. In
+passing it daily she had often wondered what it was and
+if any one lived within its vast stone walls. One hasty
+glance, as she was being ushered in, showed paint pails,
+brushes, and long ropes fastened from the roof to broad
+planks below.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Miss Merriweather will be here very soon,&#8221; the man explained
+good-naturedly. &#8220;She wants you to go with her
+to the hospital.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s mind flew to that one time she had visited Theodore&#8217;s
+sick bed. She would be glad to see Molly the Merry.</p>
+<p>She had forgiven all the woman&#8217;s cruelty.</p>
+<p>The long flights of stairs they mounted were dark and
+uncarpeted. Their footsteps made a hollow sound through
+the wide corridors, and there was no other sign of human
+life about the place. But still Jinnie followed the man in
+front of her, up and up, until she had counted five floors.
+Then he took a key from his pocket and put it in the lock,
+turning it with a click.</p>
+<p>Jinnie waited until, stepping inside, he turned and smilingly
+bade her enter. There was so little natural suspicion
+in the girl&#8217;s heart that she never questioned the propriety,
+much less the safety, of coming into a strange place
+with an unknown man. Her dear one was ill. She was
+anxious to see him again, to help him if possible. She
+felt a little shy at the thought of seeing Miss Merriweather
+once more. The man led her to an inner room and suavely
+waved to a chair, asking her to be seated. Casting anxious
+eyes about the place, she obeyed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going after Miss Merriweather now, if you&#8217;ll wait
+a few moments,&#8221; explained the stranger. &#8220;She wasn&#8217;t
+ready and asked me to bring you first. I think she&#8217;s preparing
+a surprise for Mr. King.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_283' name='page_283'></a>283</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s tender little heart warmed toward Molly the
+Merry. Just then she had untold gratitude for the woman
+who was allowing her to take Theodore something with
+her own hands. Oh, what joy!</p>
+<p>She smiled back at the speaker as he moved toward the
+door. Then he left her, asking her politely to make herself
+at home until he returned.</p>
+<p>Jinnie waited and waited until she thought she couldn&#8217;t
+possibly wait any longer. Peg would be worried, terribly
+worried, and little Bobbie wouldn&#8217;t eat his supper without
+her. But because of Miss Merriweather&#8217;s kindness and
+her own great desire to see her sweetheart, she must stay
+until the last moment. She grew tired, stiff with sitting,
+and the little clock on the mantel told her she&#8217;d been
+there over two hours. She got up and went to the window.
+The building stood high on a large wooded bluff
+overlooking a deep gorge. The landscape before her interested
+her exceedingly, and took her in fancy to the
+wilderness of Mottville. The busy birds fluttered to and
+fro, twittering sleepily to each other, and for a short time
+the watcher forgot her anxiety in the majesty of the scene.</p>
+<p>Miles of hills and miles and miles of water stretched
+northward as far as her eyes could discern anything. The
+same water passed and repassed the old farmhouse, and
+for some time Jinnie tried to locate some familiar spot, off
+where the sky dipped to the lake. It wasn&#8217;t until she noticed
+the hands of the clock pointed to half past six that
+she became terribly nervous.</p>
+<p>She wanted to go to the hospital and get back to Peg.
+Mrs. Grandoken couldn&#8217;t leave the baby with Blind Bobbie,
+and there was supper to buy. Once more she paced
+the rooms, then back to the window. She shivered for
+some unknown reason, and a sharp consciousness of evil
+suddenly grew out of the lengthening hours. With the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_284' name='page_284'></a>284</span>
+gathering dusk the hills and gorge had fallen into voiceless
+silence, and because her nerves tingled with vague
+fear, Jinnie drew the curtains to shut out the yawning
+dark, and lighted a lamp on the table.</p>
+<p>The room was arranged simply with a small divan, at
+the head of which was a pillow. Jinnie sat down and
+leaned back. Her face held a look of serious attention.
+She wondered if anything had happened to Molly the
+Merry. Then abruptly she decided to go downstairs.
+If they weren&#8217;t coming, she&#8217;d <i>have</i> to go home. She went
+to the door and, turning the knob, pulled hard. The door
+was locked, and the key was gone! Her discovery seemed
+to unmake her life in a twinkling. She was like one
+stricken with death&mdash;pale, cold and shivering. She did not
+know what she was going to do, but she must act&mdash;she
+must do something! A round of inspection showed her
+she could not open one of the doors. The windows, too,
+had several nails driven into their tops and along the sides,
+and the doors were securely fastened with keys. She
+went back to the window, raised the curtains, and looked
+out into the gloom. There was not another light to be
+seen.</p>
+<p>The clock on the mantel had struck nine, and Jinnie had
+grown so horrified she dared not sit down. Many a time
+she went to the door and pressed her ear to it, but no
+sound came through the deep silence.</p>
+<p>It was after eleven when she dropped on the divan and
+drew the coverlet over her. The next she knew, daylight
+was streaming in upon her face.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_285' name='page_285'></a>285</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLI_JINNIES_PLEA' id='CHAPTER_XLI_JINNIES_PLEA'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLI</h2>
+<h3>JINNIE&#8217;S PLEA</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie sprang up, unable at first to remember where
+she was. Then it all came to her. She was locked away
+from the world in a big house overlooking the gorge.
+However, the morning brought a clear sun, dissipating
+some of her fear&mdash;filling her with greater hope.</p>
+<p>The dreadful dreams during the night had been but
+dreams of fear and pain&mdash;of eternal separation from her
+loved ones. Such dreams, such fears, were foolish! No
+one could take her away from Peggy. She wouldn&#8217;t go!
+Ah, the man would return very soon with Molly the
+Merry.</p>
+<p>The clock struck eight. What would Blind Bobbie
+think&mdash;and Peggy? The woman might decide she had left
+her forever; but no, no, Peg couldn&#8217;t think that!</p>
+<p>Childlike, she was hungry. If some one had intentionally
+imprisoned her, they must have left her something to
+eat. Investigation brought forth some cold meat, a bottle
+of milk, and some bread. Jinnie ate all she could swallow.
+Then for an hour and a half she paced up and down,
+wishing something would happen, some one would come.
+Anything would be better than such deadly uncertainty.</p>
+<p>Perhaps it was the overwhelming stillness of the building,
+possibly a natural alertness indicative of her fear,
+that allowed Jinnie to catch the echoes of footsteps at the
+farther end of the corridor. But before she got to the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_286' name='page_286'></a>286</span>
+door, a key grated in the lock, and the man who had
+brought her there was standing beside her. Their eyes
+met in a clinging, challenging glance&mdash;the blue of the
+one clashing with the sinister grey, as steel strikes fire
+from steel. An insolent smile broke over his face and he
+asked nonchalantly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you find the food?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie did not answer. She stood contemplating his
+face. How she hated his smile, his white teeth, and his
+easy, suave manner. Their glances battled again for a
+moment across the distance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why did you bring me here?&#8221; she demanded abruptly.</p>
+<p>He spread his feet outward and hummed, toying the
+while with a smooth white chin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit down,&#8221; said he, with assumed politeness.</p>
+<p>Jinnie stared at him with contemptuous dread in her
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to; I want to know why I&#8217;m here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t you guess?&#8221; asked the stranger with an easy
+shrug.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Jinnie. &#8220;Why?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you can&#8217;t guess who I am?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; repeated Jinnie once more, passionately, &#8220;and I
+want to know why I&#8217;m here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He came toward her, piercing her face with a pair of
+compelling, mesmeric eyes that made her stagger back to
+the wall. Then he advanced a step nearer, covering the
+space Jinnie had yielded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m Jordan Morse,&#8221; he then said, clipping his words off
+shortly.</p>
+<p>If a gun had burst in Jinnie&#8217;s face, she could have
+been no more alarmed. She was frozen to silence, and every
+former fear her father had given life to almost three
+years before, beset her once more, only with many times
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_287' name='page_287'></a>287</span>
+the amount of vigor. Nevertheless, she gave back look
+for look, challenge for challenge, while her fingers locked
+and interlocked. Her uncle, who had sent her father to
+his grave, the man who wanted her money, who desired her
+own death!</p>
+<p>Then her eyes slowly took on a tragic expression. She
+knew then she was destined to encounter the tragedy of
+Morse&#8217;s terrific vengeance, and no longer wondered why
+her father had succumbed to his force. He stood looking
+at her, his gaze taking in the young form avidiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the most beautiful girl in the world,&#8221; he averred
+presently.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s blue eyes narrowed angrily. However, in spite
+of her rage, she was terribly frightened. An instinct of
+self-preservation told her to put on a bold, aggressive
+front.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give me that key and let me go,&#8221; she insisted, with an
+upward toss of her head.</p>
+<p>She walked to the door and shook it vigorously. Morse
+followed her and brought her brutally back to the center
+of the room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not so fast,&#8221; he grated. &#8220;Don&#8217;t ever do that again!
+I&#8217;ve been hunting you for almost three years.... Sit
+down, I said.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t!&#8221; cried Jinnie, recklessly. &#8220;I won&#8217;t! You
+can&#8217;t keep me here. My friends&#8217;ll find me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man hazarded a laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What friends?&#8221; he queried.</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought quickly. What friends? She had no
+friends just then, and because she knew she was dependent
+upon him for her very life, she listened in despair as he
+threw a truth at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The only friends you have&#8217;re out of business! Lafe
+Grandoken will be electrocuted for murder&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_288' name='page_288'></a>288</span></p>
+<p>The hateful thing he had just said and the insistence
+in it maddened her. She covered her face with her hands
+and uttered a low cry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And Theodore King is in the hospital,&#8221; went on Morse,
+mercilessly. &#8220;It&#8217;ll do no good for you to remember him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was too normally alive not to express the loving
+heart outraged within her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I shall love him as long as I live,&#8221; she shivered between
+her fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hell of a lot of good it&#8217;ll do you,&#8221; grunted the man
+coarsely.</p>
+<p>Keen anxiety empowered her to raise an anguished face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want my money&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she hesitated. &#8220;Well, you
+can have it.... You want it, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her girlish helplessness made Morse feel that he was
+without heart or dignity, but he thought of his little boy
+and of how this girl was keeping from him the means to
+institute a search for the child, and his desire for vengeance
+kindled to glowing fires of hate. He remembered
+that, steadily of late, he had grown to detest the whole
+child-world because of his own sorrow, and nodded acquiescence,
+supplementing the nod with a harsh:</p>
+<p>&#8220;And, by God, I&#8217;m going to have it, too!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then let me go back to Lafe&#8217;s shop. I&#8217;ll give you every
+cent I have.... I won&#8217;t even ask for a dollar.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It took some time for Morse to digest this idea; then
+he slowly shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t be allowed to give me what would be
+mine&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I die,&#8221; breathed Jinnie, shocked. She had read his
+thought and blurted it forth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, if you die. But I haven&#8217;t any desire to kill you....
+I have another way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What way? Oh, tell me!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_289' name='page_289'></a>289</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Not now,&#8221; drawled Morse. &#8220;Later perhaps.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man contemplated the tips of his boots a minute.
+Then he looked at her, the meditative expression still in
+his eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;To save your friends,&#8221; he said at length, &#8220;you&#8217;ve got
+to do what I want you to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean&mdash;to save Lafe?&#8221; gasped Jinnie, eagerly.</p>
+<p>Morse gave a negative gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, not him. The cobbler&#8217;s got to go. <i>He knows too
+much about me.</i>&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie thought of Lafe, who loved and helped everybody
+within helping distance, of his wonderful faith and patience,
+of the day they had arrested him, and his last words.</p>
+<p>She could not plan for herself nor think of her danger,
+only of the cobbler, her friend,&#8211;&#8211;the man who had taken
+her, a little forlorn fugitive, when she had possessed no
+home of her own&mdash;he who had taught her about the angels
+and the tenderness of Jesus. From her uncle&#8217;s last statement
+she had received an impression that he knew who had
+fired those shots. He could have Lafe released if he
+would. She would beg for the cobbler&#8217;s life, beg as she had
+never begged before.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please, please, listen,&#8221; she implored, throwing out her
+hands. &#8220;You must! You must! Lafe&#8217;s always been so
+good. Won&#8217;t you let him live?... I&#8217;ll tell him about
+your wanting the money.... You shall have it! I&#8217;ll
+make any promise for him you want me to, and he&#8217;ll keep
+it.... He didn&#8217;t kill Maudlin Bates, and I believe you
+know who did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse lowered his lids until his eyes looked like grey
+slits across his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Supposing I do,&#8221; he taunted. &#8220;As I&#8217;ve said, Grandoken
+knows too much about me. He won&#8217;t be the first one
+I&#8217;ve put out of my way.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_290' name='page_290'></a>290</span></p>
+<p>He said this emphatically; he would teach her he was
+not to be thwarted; that when he desired anything, Heaven
+and earth, figuratively speaking, would have to move. He
+frowned darkly at her as Jinnie cut in swiftly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;You killed my father. He told me you did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse flicked an ash from a cigar he had lighted, and
+his eyes grew hard, like rocks in a cold, gray dawn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you know all my little indiscretions, eh?&#8221; he gritted.
+&#8220;Then don&#8217;t you see I can&#8217;t give you&mdash;your liberty?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Liberty! What did he mean by taking her liberty
+away? She asked him with beating heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just this, my dear child,&#8221; he advanced mockingly.
+&#8220;There are places where people&#8217;re taken care of and&mdash;the
+world thinks them dead. In fact, your father had a taste
+of what I can do. Only he happened to&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you put him somewhere?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Same kind of a place I&#8217;m going to put you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; He
+hesitated a moment and ended, &#8220;A mad house!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you let him come home to me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not I. Damn the careless keepers! He skipped out
+one day, and I didn&#8217;t know until he&#8217;d a good start of me.
+I followed as soon as possible, but you were gone. Now&mdash;now&mdash;then,
+to find <i>such</i> a place for you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s imagination called up the loathsome thing he
+mentioned and terrified her to numbness. At that moment
+she understood what her father had written in that sealed
+letter to Lafe Grandoken.</p>
+<p>But she couldn&#8217;t allow her mind to dwell upon his threat
+against herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d you mean when you said I could save my
+friends?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re fond of Mrs. Grandoken, aren&#8217;t you?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_291' name='page_291'></a>291</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie nodded, trying to swallow a lump in her throat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And&mdash;and there&#8217;s a&mdash;a&mdash;blind child too&mdash;who could
+be hurt easily.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s living world reeled before her eyes. During
+this speech she had lost every vestige of color. She sprang
+toward him and her fingers went blue-white from the force
+of her grip on his arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you couldn&#8217;t, you wouldn&#8217;t hurt poor little Bobbie?&#8221;
+she cried hysterically. &#8220;He can&#8217;t see and he&#8217;s sick,
+terribly ill all the time. I&#8217;ll do anything you say&mdash;anything
+to help &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she fell to the floor, groveling at his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get up! You needn&#8217;t cry; things&#8217;ll be easy enough for
+you if you do exactly as I tell you. The first order I
+give you is to stay here quietly until I come again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As he spoke, he lifted her up, and she stood swaying
+pitiably.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t I let Peg know where I am?&#8221; she entreated when
+she could speak. &#8220;Please! Please!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I should think not,&#8221; scoffed Morse. Then, after a moment&#8217;s
+consideration, he went on, &#8220;You might write her a
+note, if you say what I dictate. I&#8217;ll have it mailed from
+another town. I don&#8217;t want any one to know you&#8217;re still
+in Bellaire.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Could I send her a little money, too?&#8221; she asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied Morse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then tell me what to write, and I will.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After he had gone and Jinnie was once more alone, she
+sat at the window, her eyes roving over the landscape.
+Her gaze wandered in melancholy sadness to the shadowy
+summit of the distant hills, in which the wild things of
+nature lived in freedom, as she herself had lived with Lafe
+Grandoken in Paradise Road, long before her uncle&#8217;s menacing
+shadow had crossed her life. Then her eyes lowered
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_292' name='page_292'></a>292</span>
+to the rock-rimmed gorge, majestic in its eternal solitude.
+She was on the brink of some terrible disaster. She knew
+enough of her uncle&#8217;s character to realize that. She spent
+the entire day without even looking at her beloved fiddle,
+and after the night closed in, she lay down, thoroughly
+exhausted.</p>
+<p>Peggy took a letter from the postman&#8217;s hand mechanically,
+but when she saw the well-known writing, she trembled
+so she nearly dropped the missive from her fingers.
+She went into the shop, where Bobbie lay face downward
+on the floor. At her entrance, he lifted a white face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Has Jinnie come yet?&#8221; he asked faintly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Peg, studying the postmark of the letter.
+Then she opened it. A five-dollar bill fell into her lap,
+and she thrust it into her bosom with a sigh.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Peggy Darling</span>,&#8221; she read with misty eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve had to go away for a little while. Don&#8217;t worry.
+Here&#8217;s some money. Use it and I&#8217;ll send more. Kiss Bobbie
+for me and tell him Jinnie&#8217;ll come back soon. And the
+baby, oh, Peggy, hug him until he can&#8217;t be hugged any
+more. Don&#8217;t tell Lafe I&#8217;m away.</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'><span style='margin-right: 3.125em;'>&#8220;With all my love,</span><br />
+&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Jinnie</span>.&#8221;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Peggy put down the letter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie!&#8221; she said.</p>
+<p>The boy looked up. &#8220;I ain&#8217;t got any stars, Peggy,&#8221;
+he wailed tragically. &#8220;I want Jinnie and Lafe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got a letter from Jinnie here,&#8221; announced Peggy.</p>
+<p>The boy got to his feet instantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When she&#8217;s comin&#8217; back?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She don&#8217;t say, but she sends a lot of kisses and love
+to you. She had to go away for a few days.... Now
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_293' name='page_293'></a>293</span>
+don&#8217;t snivel!... Come here an&#8217; I&#8217;ll give you the kisses
+she sent.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He nestled contentedly in Peggy&#8217;s arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let me feel the letter,&#8221; came a faltering whisper presently.</p>
+<p>Bobbie ran his fingers over the paper, trying with sensitive
+finger tips to follow the ink traces.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can I keep it a little while?&#8221; he begged.... &#8220;Please,
+Peggy!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; said Peg, putting him down, and when the baby
+cried, Mrs. Grandoken left the blind child hugging Happy
+Pete, with Jinnie&#8217;s letter flattened across his chest between
+him and the dog.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_294' name='page_294'></a>294</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLII_BOBBIE_TAKES_A_TRIP' id='CHAPTER_XLII_BOBBIE_TAKES_A_TRIP'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLII</h2>
+<h3>BOBBIE TAKES A TRIP</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie had been gone two weeks. Nearly every day the
+postman brought a letter from the girl to Peggy, and after
+reading it several times to herself, she gave it to Blind
+Bobbie. Mrs. Grandoken had discovered this was the way
+to keep him quiet.</p>
+<p>One afternoon the boy sat on the front steps of the
+cobbler&#8217;s shop, sunning himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can hear Jinnie better when she comes,&#8221; said
+Peg, as an excuse to coax him out of doors. &#8220;Now sit
+there till I get back from the market.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie had Happy Pete in his arms when he heard
+strange footsteps walking down the short flight of steps.
+He lifted his head as he heard a voice speak his name.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; it said softly. &#8220;Are you Bobbie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; replied the boy tremblingly.</p>
+<p>The soft voice spoke again. &#8220;Do you want to see Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie clutched Happy Pete with one arm and struggled
+up, holding out a set of slender fingers that shook like
+small reeds in a storm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I want to see &#8217;er,&#8221; he breathed. &#8220;Do you know
+where she is?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ll come along with me, I&#8217;ll take you to her.
+Bring the dog if you like.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to see her to-day,&#8221; stated Bobbie.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_295' name='page_295'></a>295</span></p>
+<p>Jordan Morse took Bobbie&#8217;s hand in his.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on then, and don&#8217;t make a noise,&#8221; cautioned the
+man. &#8220;Put down the dog; he&#8217;ll follow you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Once in Paradise Road, he stooped and lifted the slight
+boyish figure and walked quickly away. Beyond the turn
+in the road stood his car. He placed Bobbie and the dog
+on the seat beside him, and in another moment they were
+speeding toward the hill.</p>
+<p>At that moment Jinnie was brooding over her violin.
+Her fiddle was her only comfort in the lonely hours. The
+plaintive tones she drew from it were the only sounds she
+heard, save the rushing water in the gorge and the thrashing
+of the trees when the wind blew. The minutes hung
+long on her hands, and the hours seemed to mock her as
+they dragged along in interminable sequence. With her
+face toward the window, she passed several hours composing
+a piece which had been in embryo in her heart for a
+long time. The solitude, the grandeur of the scenery, the
+wonderful lake with its curves and turns, sometimes made
+her forget the tragic future that lay before her.</p>
+<p>She was just finishing with lingering, tender notes when
+Jordan Morse came quickly through the corridor.</p>
+<p>Bobbie stiffened in his arms suddenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hear Jinnie&#8217;s fiddle,&#8221; he gasped. &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to my Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>When the key turned in the lock, the girl came to the
+door. At first she didn&#8217;t notice the blind child, but her
+name, unsteadily called, brought her eyes to the little figure.
+Happy Pete recognized her with a wild yelp, wriggled
+himself past the other two, and whiningly crouched
+at her feet. Jinnie had them both in her arms before
+Morse turned the key again in the lock.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie and Happy Pete!&#8221; she cried. Then she got
+up and flashed tearful eyes upon Morse.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_296' name='page_296'></a>296</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What did you bring them for? Did you tell Peg?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I didn&#8217;t tell Peg and&mdash;and I brought him&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+he paused and beckoned her with an upward toss of his
+chin.</p>
+<p>Jinnie followed him agitatedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I brought him,&#8221; went on Morse, &#8220;because I don&#8217;t just
+like your manner. I brought him as a lever to move you
+with, miss.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then he left hurriedly, something unknown within him
+stirring with life. He decided afterward it was the sight
+of the blind child&#8217;s golden head pressed against Jinnie&#8217;s
+breast that had so upset him.</p>
+<p>As he drove away, he crushed a desire to return again,
+to take them both, boy and girl, back to the cobbler&#8217;s
+shop. But he must not allow his better emotions to attack
+him in this matter. He had known for a long time
+Jinnie could be wielded through her affection for the lad.
+He thought of his own child somewhere in the world and
+what it meant to him to possess Jinnie&#8217;s money, and set
+his teeth. He would bring the girl to his terms through
+her love for the slender blind boy.</p>
+<p>That day Jinnie wrote a letter to Peg, telling her that
+Bobbie was with her, and Happy Pete, too.</p>
+<p>The stolid woman had quite given way under the mysterious
+disappearance of the boy. When she returned
+home, she searched every lane leading to the marshes until
+dusk. In fact, she stumbled far into the great waste
+place, calling his name over and over. He was the last
+link that held her to the days when Lafe had been in the
+shop, and Peg would have given much if her conscience
+would cease lashing her so relentlessly. It eased her anxiety
+a little when a new resolution was born in her stubborn
+heart. If they all came back to the shop, she&#8217;d make
+up to them in some way for her ugly conduct. With this
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_297' name='page_297'></a>297</span>
+resolve, she went home to her own baby, sorrowful, dejected
+and lonely.</p>
+<p>All the evening while Peg was mourning for them, Jinnie
+sat cuddling Bobbie, until the night put its dark hood
+on the ravine and closed it in a heavy gloom. Happy
+Pete, with wagging tail, leaned against the knees of the
+girl, and there the three of them remained in silence until
+Bobbie, lifting his face, said quiveringly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Peggy almost died when you went away, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie felt her throat throb.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me about it,&#8221; she said hoarsely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t much to tell,&#8221; replied the child, sighing,
+&#8220;only Peggy was lonely. She only had me and the baby,
+and I didn&#8217;t have any stars and the baby&#8217;s got no teeth.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the baby? Is he well, dear?&#8221; questioned Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, fine!&#8221; the boy assured her. &#8220;He&#8217;s growed such a
+lot. I felt his face this morning, and oh, my, Jinnie, his
+cheeks puff out like this!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie gathered in a long breath, and puffed out his
+own thin, drawn cheeks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just like that!&#8221; he gasped, letting out the air.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And Lafe?&#8221; ventured Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe&#8217;s awful bad off, I guess. Bates&#8217; little boy told
+me he was going to die&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Bobbie, no, he isn&#8217;t!&#8221; Jinnie&#8217;s voice was sharp
+in protestation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, he is!&#8221; insisted Bobbie. &#8220;Bates&#8217; boy told me so!
+He said Lafe wouldn&#8217;t ever come back to the shop, &#8217;cause
+everybody says he killed Maudlin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As the words left his lips, he began to sob. &#8220;I want
+my cobbler,&#8221; he screamed loudly, &#8220;and I want my beautiful
+stars!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, Bobbie, you&#8217;ll be sick if you scream that way.
+There, there, honey!&#8221; Jinnie hushed him gently.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_298' name='page_298'></a>298</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to be &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;,&#8221; the boy went on. But
+his words brought before the pale girl that old, old memory
+of the cobbler who had invented the club for just such
+purposes as this. How could she be &#8216;Happy in Spite&#8217;
+when Bobbie suffered; when Peg and baby Lafe needed
+her; happy when Lafe faced an ignominious death
+for a crime he had not committed; happy when her beloved
+was perhaps still very ill in the hospital? She got
+up and began to walk to and fro. Suddenly she paused
+in her even march across the room. Unless she steadied
+her fluttering, stinging nerves, she&#8217;d never be able to still
+the wretched boy. There&#8217;s an old saying that when one
+tries to help others, winged aid will come to the helper.
+And so it was with Jinnie. She had only again taken
+Bobbie close when there came to her Lafe&#8217;s old, old words:
+&#8220;He hath given his angels charge over thee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she said softly, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to play for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As Jinnie straightened his limp little body out on the
+divan, she noticed how very thin he had become, how his
+heart throbbed continually, how the agonized lines drew
+and pursed the sensitive, delicate mouth.</p>
+<p>Then she played and played and played, and ever in
+her heart to the rhythm of her music were the words, &#8220;His
+angels shall have charge over thee.&#8221; Suddenly there came
+to her a great belief that out of her faith and Lafe&#8217;s faith
+would come Bobbie&#8217;s good, and Peg&#8217;s good, and especially
+the good of the man shut up in the little cell. When the
+boy grew sleepy, Jinnie made him ready for bed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll lie down with you, Bobbie,&#8221; she whispered, &#8220;and
+Happy Pete can sleep on the foot of the bed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And as the pair of sad little souls slept, Lafe&#8217;s angels
+kept guard over them.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_299' name='page_299'></a>299</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLIII_THEODORE_SENDS_FOR_MOLLY' id='CHAPTER_XLIII_THEODORE_SENDS_FOR_MOLLY'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLIII</h2>
+<h3>THEODORE SENDS FOR MOLLY</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Theodore King was rallying rapidly in the hospital.
+All danger of blood poison had passed, and though he was
+still very weak, his surgeon had ceased to worry, and the
+public at large sat back with a sigh, satisfied that the
+wealthiest and most promising young citizen in the county
+had escaped death at the hand of an assassin.</p>
+<p>One morning a telephone message summoned Molly Merriweather
+to the hospital. In extreme agitation she dressed
+quickly, telling Mrs. King she would return very soon.
+Never had she been so hilariously happy. Jinnie Grandoken
+had disappeared, as if she had been sunk in the sea.
+Molly now held the whip hand over her husband; she could
+force him to divorce her quietly. It was true of them
+both now their principal enemies were out of the way.
+Theo was getting well, and would come home in a few
+days.</p>
+<p>While she had thought him dying, nothing save Jordan&#8217;s
+tales of the girl&#8217;s experiences in the gorge house had been
+able to rouse her to more than momentary interest.</p>
+<p>With glowing cheeks she followed the hospital attendant
+through a long corridor to Theodore&#8217;s room. She entered
+softly and for a moment stood gazing at him admiringly.
+How very handsome he was, even with the hospital
+pallor! When the sick man became cognizant of
+Molly&#8217;s presence, he turned and smiled a greeting. He
+indicated a chair, and she sank into it.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_300' name='page_300'></a>300</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You sent for me, Theodore?&#8221; she reminded him softly,
+bending forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He was silent so long, evidently making up his mind to
+something, that Molly got up and smoothed out his pillow.
+Theodore turned to her after she had reseated herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Molly,&#8221; he began, &#8220;do you know where Jinnie Grandoken
+is?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s eyelids narrowed. So he was still thinking of
+the girl!</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she said deliberately.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It seems strange,&#8221; went on King somberly. &#8220;I&#8217;ve tried
+every way I know how to discover her whereabouts, and
+can&#8217;t. I sent to the Grandoken&#8217;s for her, but she was
+gone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You still care for her then?&#8221; queried Molly dully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. I know you dislike the poor child, but I thought
+if you knew that I&mdash;well, I really love her, you might help
+me, Molly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was a bitter harvest to reap after all these weeks
+of waiting&mdash;his telling her he loved another woman&mdash;and
+as his voice rang with devotion for Jinnie Grandoken,
+Molly restrained herself with difficulty. She dared not
+lose her temper, as she had several times before under like
+conditions. With her hands folded gracefully in her lap,
+she replied:</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I could help you, Theo, I would; but if Mrs. Grandoken
+doesn&#8217;t know where her own niece is, how should I
+know?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re so clever,&#8221; sighed Theodore, &#8220;I imagined you
+might be able to discover something where a woman like
+Mrs. Grandoken would fail. She&#8217;s got a young child, I
+hear.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_301' name='page_301'></a>301</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you suggest?&#8221; inquired Molly presently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to find out quickly where she&#8217;s gone,&#8221; the sick
+man said bluntly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want to see her?&#8221; demanded Molly.</p>
+<p>Theodore nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;d get well sooner if I could,&#8221; and he sighed
+again. Then his ivory skin grew scarlet even to his temples,
+but the blood rushed away, leaving him deathly white.
+Molly went to him quickly and leaned over the bed. She
+wanted&mdash;oh, how she wanted to feel his arms about her!
+But he only touched her cold hand lightly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Help me, Molly,&#8221; he breathed.</p>
+<p>Molly choked back an explanation. She would glory in
+doing anything for him&mdash;anything within her power; but
+nothing, nothing for Jinnie Grandoken. Suddenly an idea
+took possession of her. She would make him doubt Jinnie&#8217;s
+love for him, even if she lied to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course I knew you cared for her,&#8221; she said slowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I made that clear, I think,&#8221; said Theo, &#8220;and she
+cares for me. I told you I asked her to marry me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He laid stress on the latter half of his statement because
+of a certain emphasis in Molly&#8217;s.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t like to hurt you&mdash;while you&#8217;re ill,&#8221; she ventured.</p>
+<p>Theodore thrust forth his hand eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come closer,&#8221; he pleaded. &#8220;You know something; you
+can tell me. Please do, Molly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know much, mind you, Theo&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take hold of my hand, Molly!... Please don&#8217;t
+keep me in such suspense.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She drew her chair closer to the bed, her heart throbbing
+first with desire, then with anger, and laid her white
+fingers in his.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell me,&#8221; insisted Mr. King.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_302' name='page_302'></a>302</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;There was a boy&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean the little blind boy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, no,&#8221; denied Molly, paling. The very mention of
+such an affliction hurt her sadly. &#8220;No,&#8221; she said again,
+&#8220;I mean a friend of the boy who was shot; you remember
+him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I remember Maudlin Bates; certainly I do; but I
+don&#8217;t think I heard of any other.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly hadn&#8217;t either; she had shot at random and the
+shot told.</p>
+<p>Theodore sat up in bed with whitening face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Molly,&#8221; he stammered, &#8220;Molly, has any one hurt her?
+Has&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly shook her head disgustedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t be foolish, Theo,&#8221; she chided. &#8220;No one would
+want to hurt a grown girl like her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then what about the man?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think she went away with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where to?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore sank back. Molly&#8217;s fingers slipped from his,
+and for a moment he covered his face with his hands, soundless
+sobs shaking his weak body. The woman knew by his
+appearance that he believed her absolutely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;ll kill me!&#8221; he got out at last.</p>
+<p>Molly slipped an arm under his head. She had never
+seen him in such a state.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theo, don&#8217;t! Don&#8217;t!&#8221; she implored. &#8220;Please don&#8217;t
+shake so, and I&#8217;ll tell you all I know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Very well!... I&#8217;m listening.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The words were scarcely audible, but Molly knew and
+hugged the thought that his belief in Jinnie Grandoken
+had been shaken.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you hear that Jinnie was in Binghamton?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_303' name='page_303'></a>303</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; murmured Theodore.</p>
+<p>The woman released her hold on Theodore, and said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;The man was over there with her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore turned his face quickly away and groaned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s enough,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me any more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They were quiet for a long time&mdash;very quiet.</p>
+<p>Then Molly, with still enlarging plans, burst out:</p>
+<p>&#8220;What if I should bring her back to you, Theo?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He flashed dark-circled eyes toward her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Could you?&#8221; he asked drearily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think so, perhaps. Suppose you write her a little
+note, and then&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ring the bell for writing material quickly.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He had all his old-time eagerness. He was partly sitting
+up, and Molly placed another pillow under his head.</p>
+<p>Theodore wrote steadily for some moments. Then he
+addressed an envelope to &#8220;Jinnie Grandoken,&#8221; placed the
+letter in it, and fastened down the flap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You won&#8217;t mind?&#8221; he asked wearily, handing it to
+Molly and sinking back.</p>
+<p>Molly took the letter, and with a few more words, went
+out. Once at home in her bedroom, she sat down, breathing
+deeply. With a hearty good will she could have torn
+the letter into shreds, but instead she ripped open the envelope
+and read it.</p>
+<p>After she had finished, she let the paper flutter from
+her hand and sat thinking for a long time. Then, sighing,
+she got up and tucked the letter inside her dress.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_304' name='page_304'></a>304</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLIV_MOLLY_GIVES_AN_ORDER_TO_JINNIE' id='CHAPTER_XLIV_MOLLY_GIVES_AN_ORDER_TO_JINNIE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLIV</h2>
+<h3>MOLLY GIVES AN ORDER TO JINNIE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>A motor car dashed to the side of the street, and Jordan
+Morse helped Molly to the pavement. She stood for a
+moment looking at the gorge building contemplatively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And she&#8217;s been here all the while?&#8221; she remarked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and a devil of a time I&#8217;ve had to keep her, too.
+If there&#8217;d been any one in the whole place, I believe she&#8217;d
+have made them hear; though since the boy came she&#8217;s behaved
+better.&#8221; Morse&#8217;s face became positively brutal under
+recollections. &#8220;I&#8217;ve made her mind through him,&#8221; he
+terminated.</p>
+<p>Jinnie had put Bobbie into bed and kissed him, and soon
+the child was breathing evenly. She knew Jordan Morse
+would come that night, so she closed the door between the
+two rooms and walked nervously up and down. Bobbie
+was always ill for hours after Morse had made his daily
+calls. She hoped the man would allow the child to remain
+in bed. When the key grated in the lock, she was standing
+in the middle of the room, her eyes fastened on the door.
+Every time he came, she had hopes that he might relent,
+if but a little.</p>
+<p>Morse entered, followed by Molly the Merry. Jinnie
+took a step forward when she saw the woman. Molly
+paused and inspected sharply the slim young figure, her
+mind comprehending all its loveliness. Then woman to
+woman they measured each other, as only women can. Jinnie
+advanced impulsively.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_305' name='page_305'></a>305</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve come to take me home!&#8221; she breathed.</p>
+<p>Molly shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to talk to you,&#8221; she retorted hoarsely.</p>
+<p>Never had she seen so beautiful a girl! The martyrdom
+Jinnie had endured had only enhanced her attractiveness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit down,&#8221; said Molly peevishly.</p>
+<p>Jinnie made a negative gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m tired of sitting.... Oh, you will do something
+for me, something for poor little Bobbie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse moved to the door between the two rooms, but
+Jinnie rushed in front of him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s asleep,&#8221; she said beseechingly. &#8220;Don&#8217;t wake him
+up! He&#8217;s had a dreadful spell with his heart to-day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse turned inquiring eyes upon Molly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You wanted to see him, didn&#8217;t you?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>Molly flung out a hand pettishly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let him sleep,&#8221; she replied. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to be bored
+with fits and tears.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie sank into a chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He ought to have a doctor,&#8221; she sighed, as if she were
+speaking to herself. Then turning to Molly, she bent an
+entreating look upon her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Please do something for him. Get a doctor, oh, do!
+He&#8217;s so little and so sick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not a bit interested in him,&#8221; replied Molly with
+a shrug.</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s nerves had borne all they could. She trembled
+unceasingly. The girlish spirit had been broken by
+Morse&#8217;s continual persecution.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s so little,&#8221; she petitioned again, &#8220;and he can&#8217;t
+live long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As Molly had said, she was not interested in the sleeping
+child. The only time she cared to hear him mentioned
+was when Jordan told her of Jinnie&#8217;s anguish over his
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_306' name='page_306'></a>306</span>
+treatment of the child. She had delighted in his vividly
+described scene of how he had forced the girl to do his
+will through her love for the little fellow. Now she, too,
+would wreak her vengeance on Jinnie through the same
+source.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come to tell you something about Theodore King,&#8221;
+she remarked slowly, watching the girl avidly the while.</p>
+<p>Jinnie sat up quickly. If her dear one had sent her a
+message, then he must know where she was.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then tell it,&#8221; was all she said.</p>
+<p>Molly put her hand into a leather hand bag and drew
+forth a letter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t for you,&#8221; she stated, with glinting eyes. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+known for a long time you thought he cared for you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He does,&#8221; interjected Jinnie emphatically.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think not. Here&#8217;s a letter he wrote to me. It will
+dispel any idea you may have about his affection for you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t wish to read your letter,&#8221; said Jinnie proudly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Read it!&#8221; ordered Morse frowning, and because she
+feared him, Jinnie took the letter nervously. The woman&#8217;s
+words had shattered her last hope. For a moment the
+well-known handwriting whirled; then the words came
+clearly before her vision:</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>My Darling</span>,&#8221; she read.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t you come to me when you get this? My heart
+aches to have you once more in my arms. I shall expect
+you very soon. With all my love,</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Theodore.</span>&#8221;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>It was not strange that she crushed the paper between
+her fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t destroy my letter,&#8221; Molly said mockingly,
+thrusting forth her hand. &#8220;Give it to me.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_307' name='page_307'></a>307</span></p>
+<p>She took it from Jinnie&#8217;s shaking hand and, smoothing
+it out, replaced it in her pocket book.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t have come but for your own good,&#8221; she said,
+looking up. &#8220;Mr. Morse told me you had an idea that
+Mr. King loved you, and I want you to write him a letter&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Write who a letter?&#8221; asked Jinnie dully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because I tell you to,&#8221; snapped Molly.</p>
+<p>Then taking another letter from her bag, she held it
+out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re to copy this and give it to Mr. Morse to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie took the letter and read it slowly. She struggled
+to her feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll not write it,&#8221; she said hoarsely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think you will,&#8221; said Morse, rising.</p>
+<p>Jinnie stared at him until he reached the closed door
+behind which Bobbie slept.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t! Don&#8217;t!&#8221; she shuddered. &#8220;I&#8217;ll write, I&#8217;ll do
+anything if you won&#8217;t hurt Bobbie.&#8221; Raising her eyes to
+Morse, she said in subdued tones, &#8220;I&#8217;ll try to give it to you
+to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Never had her heart ached as it did then. The perils
+she was passing through and had passed through were
+naught to the present misery. She realized then her hope
+had been in Theodore&#8217;s rescuing her.</p>
+<p>A certain new dignity, however, grew upon her at that
+moment. She stood up, looking very tall, very slight, to
+the man and woman watching her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish you&#8217;d both go,&#8221; she said wearily. &#8220;I&#8217;d rather
+be alone with Bobbie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly smiled and went out with Jordan Morse.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_308' name='page_308'></a>308</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;She gave in all right,&#8221; remarked Molly, when they
+were riding down the hill. &#8220;I knew she would.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course. She worships Grandoken&#8217;s youngster....
+I was wondering there once how you felt when you knew
+she was reading her own letter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly&#8217;s face grew dark with passionate rebellion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll write me one of my own before the year is out,&#8221;
+said she.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not so sure!&#8221; responded Morse thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>For a long time after the closing of the door, Jinnie
+sat huddled in the chair. Nothing else in all the world
+could have hurt her as she had been hurt that night, and
+it wasn&#8217;t until very late that she crept in beside the blind
+boy, and after four or five hours, dropped asleep.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_309' name='page_309'></a>309</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLV_WRITING_A_LETTER_TO_THEODORE' id='CHAPTER_XLV_WRITING_A_LETTER_TO_THEODORE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLV</h2>
+<h3>WRITING A LETTER TO THEODORE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The first thing Jinnie saw the next morning was the
+rough draft of the letter Molly had ordered her to copy.
+To send it to Theodore was asking more of her than she
+could bear. She turned and looked at Bobbie. He was
+still sleeping his troubled, short-breathed sleep. She had
+shielded him with her life, with her liberty. Now he demanded,
+in that helpless, babyish, blind way of his, that
+she repudiate her love.</p>
+<p>In the loneliness of the gorge house she had become used
+to the idea of never again seeing Theodore, but to allow
+him to think the false thing in that letter was dreadful.
+She picked it up and glanced it over once more, then
+dropped it as if the paper had scorched her fingers. She&#8217;d
+die rather than send it, and she would tell her uncle so
+when he came that morning.</p>
+<p>She was very quiet, more than usually so, when she gave
+the blind boy his breakfast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she said, &#8220;you know I&#8217;d do anything for you
+in this whole world, don&#8217;t you? I mean&mdash;I mean anything
+I could?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mystified, the boy bobbed his curly head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure I do, Jinnie, and I&#8217;d do anything for you too,
+honey.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She kissed him passionately, as her eyes sought the letter
+once more. It lay on the floor, the words gleaming
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_310' name='page_310'></a>310</span>
+up at her in sinister mockery. She tore her eyes from it,
+shaking in dread. Would she have the courage to stand
+against Jordan Morse in this one thing? She had given
+in to him at every point, but this time she intended to
+stand firmly upon the rock of her love. Once more she
+picked up the letter and put it away.</p>
+<p>Two hours later, with loathing and disgust depicted in
+her white face, she saw Mr. Morse enter, and her blazing
+blue eyes stabbed the man&#8217;s anger to the point of desiring
+to do her harm. For a moment he contemplated her in
+silence. He was going to have trouble with her that day.
+What a fool Molly was! It was she who insisted upon
+that bally letter. What did he care about Theodore King?
+Still his wife had him completely within her power, and
+he was really afraid of her now and then when she flew
+into rages about his niece and Theodore. He mopped his
+brow nervously.</p>
+<p>A few days more and it would be ended. Inside of one
+week he would be free from every element which threatened
+him, free to commence the search for his child. He strode
+across the room to Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on with me,&#8221; he ordered under his breath.</p>
+<p>Jinnie obediently followed him into the inner room.
+Morse slammed the door with his foot.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s the letter?&#8221; he growled between his teeth.</p>
+<p>Jinnie went to the table, got the original draft and
+handed it over.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here it is,&#8221; she said slowly.</p>
+<p>He glanced over the paper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, this is the one we left here yesterday, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where is the one you wrote? I don&#8217;t want this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A glint of understanding flashed upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where is the other?&#8221; he demanded once more.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_311' name='page_311'></a>311</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t written it and I don&#8217;t intend to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For one single instant Morse&#8217;s mind swept over the
+sacrifices she had made. She had done every single thing
+he had told her, not for her sake but for others. He shuddered
+when he thought of the trouble he would have had
+with her had not the blind boy been within his power also.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get the paper and write it now,&#8221; he said ominously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I will not!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She meant the words, a righteous indignation flaming
+her face, making her eyes shine no longer blue, but opal
+color. Morse wondered dully if she could and would stand
+out against what he would be forced to do.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see,&#8221; he began shiftily. &#8220;I have to teach you a lesson
+every time I come here, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This time you won&#8217;t,&#8221; she flashed at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This time I will,&#8221; he taunted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather be dead,&#8221; she faltered. &#8220;I&#8217;d rather be dead
+than write it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps! But would you rather have&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; he made
+a backward jerk of his thumb toward the other room&mdash;&#8220;him
+dead?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes misted in agony, but Theodore was still
+near her in spirit, and she remembered the dear hours they
+had spent together and how much she loved him. A sudden
+swift passion shook her as his kisses lived warm again
+upon her face. That letter she would not write. But as
+she made this decision for the hundredth time that day,
+Morse&#8217;s words recurred to her. Would she rather have
+Bobbie dead? Yes, if she were dead too. But life was so
+hard to part with! She was so strong. How many times
+she had prayed of late to die! But every morning found
+her woefully and more miserably alive than the one before.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I understand you&#8217;d rather, then,&#8221; drawled Morse.</p>
+<p>Jinnie shook her head.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_312' name='page_312'></a>312</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;d rather have, only I can&#8217;t write
+the letter.&#8221; She made one rapid step toward him&mdash;&#8220;I
+know,&#8221; she went on feverishly, &#8220;I won&#8217;t ever see Theodore
+again&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse&#8217;s emphatic nod broke off her words, but she
+went on courageously. &#8220;I don&#8217;t expect to, but I love him.
+Can&#8217;t you see that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quite evident,&#8221; replied the man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why hurt me more than necessary then?&#8221; she demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is part of Miss Merri&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She loves him too?&#8221; cried Jinnie, staggering back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and he&mdash;well, you saw his letter yesterday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I saw it,&#8221; breathed Jinnie with swift coming
+breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Miss Merriweather thinks Theodore might still feel
+his obligations to you unless you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Does she know he asked me to marry him?&#8221; In spite
+of her agony, she thrilled in memory.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and he told me, too. But Miss Merriweather intends
+to marry him herself, and all she wants is to wipe
+thoughts of you from his mind.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A powerful argument swept from her lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t make any difference to him about me if
+he loved her.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re an analytical young miss,&#8221; said Morse with
+one of his disagreeable smiles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve taught me to be,&#8221; she retorted, blazing. &#8220;Now
+listen! You asked me if I&#8217;d rather have Bobbie die than
+write the letter, didn&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I say &#8216;yes&#8217;.&#8221; She caught her breath. &#8220;We&#8217;ll
+both die.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, by God, you&#8217;re a cool one! Theodore&#8217;s more
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_313' name='page_313'></a>313</span>
+lucky than I thought. So that&#8217;s the way you love
+him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She grew more inexplicable with each passing day.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Poor Theodore!&#8221; murmured Morse, to break the tense
+silence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought it all out this morning,&#8221; explained Jinnie.
+&#8220;Bobbie&#8217;s awfully ill, terribly. He can&#8217;t live long anyway,
+and I&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; A terrific sob shook her as a raging gale
+rends a slender flower.</p>
+<p>Jinnie controlled her weeping that the blind child in the
+other room might not hear. Never had Jordan been so
+sorely tempted to do a good deed. Good deeds were not
+habitual to him, but at that moment a desire possessed
+him to take her in his arms, to soothe her, to restore her to
+Peggy and give her back to Theodore. But the murder
+scene in the cobbler&#8217;s shop came back with strong renewed
+vigor. He had gone too far, and he must have
+money. Molly held him in her power, and as he thought
+of her tightly set lips, the danger signal she had tossed at
+him more times than once, he crushed dead his better
+feeling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your plan won&#8217;t work,&#8221; he said slowly. &#8220;Write the
+letter&mdash;I am in a hurry.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I will not,&#8221; she refused him once more.</p>
+<p>Morse walked to the door, and she allowed him to open
+it. Then with clenched hands she tottered after him. He
+was going to kill Bobbie and herself. Somehow within her
+tortured being she was glad. Morse waited and looked
+back, asking her a question silently.</p>
+<p>She made no response, however, but cast her eyes upon
+the blind boy sitting dejectedly upon the floor, one arm
+around Happy Pete.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; said Bobbie, rolling his eyes, &#8220;I was afraid
+you were goin&#8217; to stay in there all day.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_314' name='page_314'></a>314</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here, boy,&#8221; ordered Morse. &#8220;Get up and come
+here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie turned his delicate, serious face in the direction
+of the voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to,&#8221; he gulped, shaking his head. &#8220;I don&#8217;t
+like you, Mister Black Man. I can&#8217;t get up anyway, my
+heart hurts too much!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Still the girl stood with the vision of Theodore King before
+her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t write it, I won&#8217;t,&#8221; she droned to herself insistently.</p>
+<p>Morse sprang forward and grasped the child.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get up,&#8221; he hissed.</p>
+<p>Bobbie scrambled up because he was made to. He uttered
+a frightened, terrified cry.</p>
+<p>Then, &#8220;Jinnie!&#8221; he gasped.</p>
+<p>Jinnie saw Morse shake the slender little body and drop
+into a chair, dragging the child forward. Bobbie could
+no longer speak. The dazed girl knew the little heart was
+beating in its very worst terror. She couldn&#8217;t bear the
+sight and closed her eyes for an instant. When she
+opened them, Morse&#8217;s hand was raised above the boy&#8217;s
+golden head, but she caught it in hers before it descended.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do it,&#8221; she managed to whisper. &#8220;Look! Look!
+You&#8217;ve killed him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In another moment she had Bobbie in her arms, his face
+pressed against her breast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get out of here!&#8221; she said, deathly white, to Morse.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ll do it, come back to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And Morse was glad to escape.</p>
+<p>After Jinnie brought Bobbie to his senses and he lay
+like a crumpled leaf on the divan, she took up the hated
+letter. She sat down to read it once more.</p>
+<p>It was short, concise, and to the point.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_315' name='page_315'></a>315</span></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Mr. King</span>:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I made a mistake in ever thinking I cared for you. I
+have some one else now I love better, and expect to be
+very happy with him.</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Jinnie Grandoken.</span>&#8221;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>The next morning when Morse came jauntily in, she
+handed him the copy of it without a word. He only said
+to her:</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you&#8217;d
+done this in the first place. You won&#8217;t bother me long now.
+Mr. King is home and almost well.&#8221; Then he smiled, showing
+his white, even teeth. &#8220;He&#8217;ll be glad to receive this
+letter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get out,&#8221; Jinnie gritted. &#8220;Get out before I&mdash;I kill
+you!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Two days later Molly Merriweather was in the seventh
+heaven of bliss. As Morse had said, Theodore was home,
+looking more like himself. With her heart in her mouth,
+the woman entered his sitting room with Jinnie&#8217;s letter.
+Jordan had had it mailed to King from Binghamton.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve brought you a letter, Theodore,&#8221; smiled Molly
+nervously.</p>
+<p>He extended his hand, and upon recognizing the handwriting,
+turned deadly white.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to be alone,&#8221; said he without looking up.</p>
+<p>When he sent for her a little while later, and she sat
+opposite him, he said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather not speak of&mdash;of&mdash;Miss Grandoken again.
+Will you give me a drink, Molly?&#8221; And the woman noted
+the hurt look in his eyes.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_316' name='page_316'></a>316</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLVI_BUST_EM_OUT' id='CHAPTER_XLVI_BUST_EM_OUT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLVI</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;BUST &#8217;EM OUT&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, ain&#8217;t we ever goin&#8217; back to Peggy?&#8221; Bobbie
+asked one day, his eyes rolling upward. His small face
+was seamed with questioning anxiety.</p>
+<p>The girl drew him to her lap.</p>
+<p>How many times Jinnie had asked that question of herself!
+How she longed for Paradise Road, with its row of
+shacks, Peggy and the baby! Bobby knew how she felt
+by the way she squeezed his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t we?&#8221; he asked again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some time,&#8221; answered Jinnie limply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did the black man say we could go, Jinnie?&#8221; the boy
+demanded.</p>
+<p>Jinnie patted his head comfortingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope he&#8217;ll take us home soon,&#8221; she remarked, trying
+to put full assurance into her tones.</p>
+<p>Bobbie zigzagged back to the divan, drew himself upon
+it, and Jinnie knew by his abstracted manner that he was
+turning the matter over in his busy little brain.</p>
+<p>Two hours later, when Jordan Morse came in, the child
+was still sitting in the same position, and the man beckoned
+the girl into the other room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Grandoken&#8217;s trial is to start this afternoon within an
+hour,&#8221; he informed her. &#8220;You&#8217;ll be here to-day and to-morrow.
+You see the court won&#8217;t be long in proving the
+cobbler&#8217;s guilt.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_317' name='page_317'></a>317</span></p>
+<p>If he had expected her to cry, he was mistaken. She
+was past crying, seemingly having shed all of her tears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He didn&#8217;t do it,&#8221; she averred stubbornly. &#8220;I know
+he didn&#8217;t.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In justice to Lafe, she always reiterated this.</p>
+<p>Morse gave a sinister laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What you know or don&#8217;t know won&#8217;t matter,&#8221; he responded,
+and looking at the angry, beautiful face, he ejaculated,
+&#8220;Thank God for that!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned her back, but he requested her sharply
+to look at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you told the boy where I&#8217;m going to take you?&#8221;
+he demanded, when she was eyeing him disdainfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I never knew a woman before who could hold her
+tongue,&#8221; he commented in sarcasm.</p>
+<p>Jinnie didn&#8217;t heed the compliment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When he asks you questions, what do you tell him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That you will come for us soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I will, all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie went nearer him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are you going to take him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Morse shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll know in time,&#8221; said he.</p>
+<p>How ominous his words were, and how his eyes narrowed
+as he looked at her! She was thoroughly afraid of that
+tone in his voice. Her own fate she was sure of, but
+Bobbie&mdash;desperation filled her soul. She would beg Morse
+to let him go back to Peggy.</p>
+<p>Lifting clasped hands, she walked very close to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re going to have all my money,&#8221; she said with
+emphasis. &#8220;I&#8217;ve done everything I can, and I&#8217;ll make
+Bobbie promise not to say a word to any one if you&#8217;ll take
+him to Mrs. Grandoken.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_318' name='page_318'></a>318</span></p>
+<p>Morse shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Too dangerous,&#8221; he replied, and he went out without
+a glance at the blind boy on the divan.</p>
+<p>Once more alone with Bobbie, Jinnie sat down to think.
+How could she rescue him from this awful position? How
+get him back to Peggy? Somehow she felt that if she
+could be sure the little boy was safe, she could go away to
+the place Morse had described with at least a little relief.
+That day Lafe&#8217;s accusers were to try him before a
+jury&#8211;&#8211;. She had almost lost hope for the cobbler&mdash;he
+was lame, had no friends, and was a Jew, one of the hated
+race. She knew how the people of Bellaire despised the
+Jews. For Peggy she didn&#8217;t worry so much. Jordan
+Morse had given his solemn promise that, if Lafe died in
+the electric chair&mdash;and she died to the world&mdash;he would
+be of financial assistance to Peggy.</p>
+<p>She sat studying Bobbie attentively. The child&#8217;s face
+was pathetically white and she could see the quick palpitation
+of his heart under his jacket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I heard what the black man said, Jinnie,&#8221; Bobbie
+blurted presently, sinking in a little heap. &#8220;I mean when
+he had you in the other room a little while ago. You
+was beggin&#8217; him to help me; wasn&#8217;t you, Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie went to him quickly and gathered him into her
+arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she implored, &#8220;you must never let him know,
+never, never, that you heard him talking. He might
+hurt you worse than he has.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie flashed his eyes questioningly in evident terror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;d he hurt me more for? I ain&#8217;t done nothin&#8217;
+to him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess because he&#8217;s bad, dear,&#8221; said Jinnie sadly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then if he&#8217;s bad, why do you stay here?&#8221; He clung to
+her tremulously. &#8220;Take me away, Jinnie!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_319' name='page_319'></a>319</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t!&#8221; lamented Jinnie. &#8220;I&#8217;ve told you, Bobbie, the
+door&#8217;s locked.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She could lovingly deceive him no longer.</p>
+<p>How the little body trembled! How the fluttering
+hands sought her aid in vain!</p>
+<p>&#8220;My stars&#8217;re all gone, Jinnie,&#8221; sobbed Bobbie. &#8220;My
+beautiful stars! I can&#8217;t see any of &#8217;em if I try. I&#8217;m
+awful &#8217;fraid, honey dear. It&#8217;s so dark.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie tightened her arms about him, racking her brain
+for soothing words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But Lafe&#8217;s God is above the dark, Bobbie,&#8221; she whispered
+reverently. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got to believe it, dearie! God
+is back up there ... just up there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She took his slender forefinger and pointed upward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How does God look, Jinnie? Just how does he look?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen him,&#8221; admitted the girl, &#8220;but I think,
+Bobbie, I think he looks like Lafe. I know he smiles like
+him anyway.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad,&#8221; sighed the boy. &#8220;Then He&#8217;ll help us, won&#8217;t
+He? Lafe would if he could. If you say He will, He
+will, Jinnie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Five tense minutes passed in silence. Then: &#8220;Sure we
+couldn&#8217;t get out of the window, dearie?&#8221; asked Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re locked, too,&#8221; answered the girl, low-toned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d bust &#8217;em out,&#8221; volunteered the boy, with sudden
+enthusiasm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But there&#8217;s a deep gorge in front of every one, honey,&#8221;
+replied Jinnie sadly.</p>
+<p>Yet Bobbie&#8217;s words&mdash;&#8220;bust &#8217;em out&#8221;&mdash;took hold of her
+grippingly, and the thought of leaving that unbearable
+place was like a tonic to the frantic girl. She crossed the
+room rapidly and examined the window panes. But even
+if she could break them, as Bobbie suggested, the water
+below would receive their bodies, and death would follow.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_320' name='page_320'></a>320</span>
+If it were a street, she might manage. Yet the sight of
+the flowing water, the dark depths between the ragged
+rocks, did not send Bobbie&#8217;s words, &#8220;bust &#8217;em out,&#8221; from
+her mind. If they fell together, the boy would never be
+tortured any more. To-morrow Jordan Morse would be
+in the courtroom all day. To-morrow&#8211;&#8211;God, dear
+God! She seemed to hear Lafe&#8217;s monotone, &#8220;There&#8217;s always
+to-morrow, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was called upon to think, to act alone in a tragic
+way. Of course she would be killed if she jumped into
+the deep gorge with the child and Happy Pete. She tried
+to think, to plan, but after the manner of all believing
+sufferers, could only pray.</p>
+<p>Bobbie need fear no evil! &#8220;Angels have been given
+charge over him, and Bobbie shall not want,&#8221; Jinnie whispered,
+her mind spinning around like a child&#8217;s top. A
+sudden faith boomed at the portals of her soul. What
+was the use of asking help for Bobbie if she didn&#8217;t have
+faith in an answer?</p>
+<p>To-day would bring forth a plan for to-morrow. To-morrow
+Bobbie would be saved from Jordan Morse.
+To-morrow would end his terror in the gorge house. To-morrow&mdash;she
+would be eighteen years old!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she entreated, going to the child swiftly,
+&#8220;Bobbie, do you remember any prayers Lafe taught you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The child bobbed his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; he concurred. &#8220;&#8216;Now I lay me&#8217; and &#8216;Our
+Father which art in Heaven.&#8217;... I know them, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then sit upon the divan again and say them over
+and over, and pray for Lafe, and that you&#8217;ll get out of
+here and be happy. You mustn&#8217;t tell Mr. Morse if he
+comes, but I&#8217;m going to try to get you out of the window.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_321' name='page_321'></a>321</span></p>
+<p>As she stood in the gathering gloom and peered into
+the water below, Jinnie could hear the child lisping his
+small petitions.</p>
+<p>At that moment a new faith came for herself. Lafe&#8217;s
+angels would save her, too, from Jordan Morse&#8217;s revenge.</p>
+<p>At ten-thirty the next morning Morse came. With
+trepidation Jinnie heard him open the door. He was extremely
+nervous and stayed only a few moments.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got to be in court at eleven,&#8221; he explained, &#8220;and
+I&#8217;ll come for you both about ten this evening. Be ready,
+you and the boy, and remember what I told you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>When they were alone once more, she sat down beside
+the blind child and placed her arm around him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, will you do exactly what I tell you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; responded Bobbie, cheerfully. &#8220;Are we goin&#8217;
+home?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without answering him, Jinnie said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then take Happy Pete and don&#8217;t move until I get
+back. Just pray and pray and pray! That&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Happy Pete snuggled his head under Bobbie&#8217;s arm and
+they both sat very still. The boy scarcely dared to
+breathe, he was so anxious to please his Jinnie.</p>
+<p>The farthest window in the inner room door seemed to
+be the best one to attack. If Morse surprised her, it
+would be easier to cover up her work. With a frantic
+prayer on her lips, she took off her shoe and gave the
+pane of glass one large, resounding blow. It cracked in
+two, splinters not only flying into the room, but tumbling
+into the gorge below. Then she hastily hammered away
+every particle of glass from the frame, and, shoving her
+shoulders through, looked out and down. The very air
+seemed filled with angels. They could and would save
+her and Bobbie even in the water&mdash;even if they were within
+the suction of the falls there, some distance below and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_322' name='page_322'></a>322</span>
+beyond. Then her eyes swept over the side of the building,
+and she discovered a stone ledge wide enough for a
+human being to crawl along. Would she dare try it with
+her loved ones? She distinctly remembered seeing a
+painter&#8217;s paraphernalia in the front, and they might be
+there still! The more she thought, the greater grew her
+hope, and with this growing hope came a larger faith. At
+least she&#8217;d find what was at the end of the building away
+off there to the east.</p>
+<p>To-day, yes, now!... She couldn&#8217;t wait, for her
+uncle was coming to-night. It must be now, this minute.
+She went back to Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to try it, darling,&#8221; she told him, kissing his
+cheek. &#8220;Sit right here until I get back. Hang to Petey.
+He might follow me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then cautiously she dragged her body through the
+hole in the window, and began to crawl along the stone
+ledge. The roar of the water on the rocks below made
+her dizzy. But over and over did she cry into God&#8217;s ever
+listening ear:</p>
+<p>&#8220;He has given&mdash;he has given his angels&mdash;angels charge
+over thee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie reached the corner of the building, and looked
+out over the city. The ledge extended around the other
+side of the building, and she turned the corner and went
+slowly onward. At the south end she stopped still, glancing
+about.</p>
+<p>Only one thing of any value was in the range of her
+vision. The two long ropes she had seen long before were
+still hanging from the roof and fastened securely to a
+large plank almost on the ground. It brought to Jinnie&#8217;s
+mind what Lafe had told her,&mdash;of Jimmie Malligan who
+had been killed, and of how he himself had lost his legs.</p>
+<p>Could she, by means of the rope, save the three precious
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_323' name='page_323'></a>323</span>
+things back in that awful room&mdash;Bobbie, Happy Pete, and
+her fiddle?</p>
+<p>To be once more under God&#8217;s sun with the blue above
+gave her new strength. Then she turned and crawled
+slowly back.</p>
+<p>At the corner she grew faint-hearted. It must have
+been the gorge below that made her breath come in catching
+sobs. But on and on she went until through the
+window she could see Bobbie with Happy Pete asleep in
+his arms. The child was still muttering over his little
+prayers, his blind eyes rolling in bewildered anxiety.</p>
+<p>Jinnie was very white when she sat down beside him.
+Putting her face close to his, she brushed his cheek lovingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie,&#8221; she said, touching his hair with her lips,
+&#8220;how much do you love Jinnie?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;More&#8217;n all the world,&#8221; replied Bobbie without hesitation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then if you love me <i>that</i> much, you&#8217;ll do just what I
+tell you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; Bobbie assured her under his breath.</p>
+<p>Jinnie took a towel&mdash;she couldn&#8217;t find a rope&mdash;and
+strapped the violin to Bobbie&#8217;s back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got to take my fiddle with me, dearie,&#8221; she explained,
+&#8220;and I can&#8217;t carry it because I&#8217;ve got you. You
+can&#8217;t carry it because you&#8217;ve got to hold Happy Pete....
+Now, then, come on!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie drew the reluctant, trembling child to his feet
+and permitted him to feel around the window-sash; she
+also held him tightly while he measured the stone ledge
+with his fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m awful &#8217;fraid,&#8221; he moaned, drooping.</p>
+<p>Jinnie feared he was going to have another fainting
+spell. To ward it off, she said firmly:
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_324' name='page_324'></a>324</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, you want to see Lafe, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;S&#8217;awful much,&#8221; groaned Bobbie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then don&#8217;t hold your breath.&#8221; She saw him stagger,
+and grasping him, cried out &#8220;Breathe, Bobbie, breathe!
+We&#8217;re going to Peggy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie began to breathe naturally, and a beatific smile
+touched the corners of his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I got so many stars to-day, Jinnie,&#8221; he quavered, &#8220;one
+slipped right down my throat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you mustn&#8217;t be scared again, Bobbie! If we stay,
+the black man&#8217;ll come back and shake you again and take
+us to some place that&#8217;ll make us both sick. You just
+keep on praying, and I will, too.... Now, then, I&#8217;m
+going out, and when I say, &#8216;Ready,&#8217; you crawl after me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that noise?&#8221; shivered Bobbie, clutching Happy
+Pete.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s water,&#8221; answered Jinnie, &#8220;water in the gorge.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Bobbie&#8217;s teeth chattered. &#8220;Do we have to jump in it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;m going to take you down a rope.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With that she crawled through the hole, and when once
+on the stone ledge, she put her hand in on the boy&#8217;s head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lift up your leg and hang tight to Petey,&#8221; she shuddered,
+and the blind boy did as he was bidden, and Jinnie
+pulled him, with the dog and fiddle, through the opening.
+She put him on his knees in front of her with her arms
+tightly about him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie, Jinnie!&#8221; moaned Bobbie. &#8220;My heart&#8217;s jumpin&#8217;
+out of my mouth!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie pressed her teeth together with all her might
+and main, shivering so in terror that she almost lost the
+strength of her arms.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t think about your heart,&#8221; she implored, &#8220;and
+don&#8217;t shake so! Just think that you&#8217;re going to Lafe and
+Peg.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_325' name='page_325'></a>325</span></p>
+<p>Then they began their long, perilous journey to the
+corner of the building. It must have taken twenty minutes.
+Jinnie had no means by which to mark the time.
+She only knew how difficult it was to keep the blind child
+moving, with the water below bellowing its stormy way
+down the rock-hill to the lake. Happy Pete gave a weird
+little cry now and then. But on and on they went, and
+at the corner Jinnie spoke:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, we&#8217;ve got to turn here. Let your body go
+just as I shove it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Limp was no word for Bobbie&#8217;s body. He was dreadfully
+tired. His heart thumped under Jinnie&#8217;s arms like
+a battering-ram.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, don&#8217;t breathe that way, don&#8217;t!&#8221; she entreated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t help it, honey! my side hurts,&#8221; he whispered.
+&#8220;But I&#8217;ll go where you take me, Jinnie dear.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl turned him carefully around the sharp ledge
+corner, and they went on again. Her arms seemed almost
+paralyzed, but they clung to the child ahead, and the
+child ahead clung to the little dog, who hung very straight
+and inert in front of his body.</p>
+<p>When they reached the south corner, Jinnie explained
+their next move to Bobbie in this way:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now listen,&#8221; she told him. &#8220;You get on my back with
+your legs under my arms, hang to me like dear life, and
+keep Happy Pete between us. Don&#8217;t hurt him if you can
+help it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They were within touch of one of the dangling ropes
+and far below Jinnie saw the swaying plank to which it was
+fastened. Once on that board, she could get to the
+ground.</p>
+<p>Then she continued: &#8220;Now while I lean over, you get
+on my back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As she guided his slender hands, she felt them cold
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_326' name='page_326'></a>326</span>
+within her own, but in obedience to her command, Bobbie
+put his legs about her, one arm around her neck, and
+with the other held Happy Pete.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We won&#8217;t fall, will we, Jinnie?&#8221; quavered the boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Jinnie, helping to settle him on her back.</p>
+<p>Then she crawled closer to the rope, took up her skirt
+and placed it about the rough hemp. She was afraid to
+use her bare hands. The rope might cut and burn them
+so dreadfully that she&#8217;d have to let go. With a wild
+inward prayer, she swung off into the air, with the boy,
+the dog and the fiddle on her back, and began her downward
+slide. She counted the windows as they passed, one,
+two, three, and then four. Only a little distance more
+before she would be upon firm ground. As her feet
+touched the plank, she glanced into the street and in that
+awful moment saw Jordan Morse crossing the corner
+diagonally, within but a few yards of where she stood,
+terrified.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_327' name='page_327'></a>327</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLVII_BOBBIES_STARS_RENEW_THEIR_SHINING' id='CHAPTER_XLVII_BOBBIES_STARS_RENEW_THEIR_SHINING'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLVII</h2>
+<h3>BOBBIE&#8217;S STARS RENEW THEIR SHINING</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Jinnie stood rooted to the spot, the burden on her
+back bearing heavily upon her. She scarcely dared
+breathe, but kept her startled eyes upon the advancing
+man. Her uncle was walking with his head down. As
+he approached the building, a terrible shiver passed over
+the blind boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The black man&#8217;s comin&#8217;!&#8221; he shuddered. &#8220;I hear&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hush!&#8221; whispered Jinnie, and Bobbie dropped his head
+and remained quiet.</p>
+<p>The girl&#8217;s heart was thumping almost as fast as his.</p>
+<p>In the oppressive silence she heard Bobbie&#8217;s faint whisper:
+&#8220;Our&mdash;our Father who art in Heaven,&#8221; and her
+own lips murmured: &#8220;He has given his angels charge over
+thee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without raising his eyes, Jordan Morse sprang to the
+steps and entered the door.</p>
+<p>Jinnie turned her head and almost mechanically
+watched him disappear. Then she took one long, sobbing
+breath.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bobbie, Bobbie,&#8221; she panted, &#8220;get down quick!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy slid to the plank, dropping Happy Pete.</p>
+<p>Jinnie grasped the child&#8217;s cold hand in hers, and they
+ran rapidly to a thick clump of trees. Once out of sight
+of the building, she picked up the little dog and sank
+down, clutching Bobbie close to her heart.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_328' name='page_328'></a>328</span></p>
+<p>The beginning of the second day of Lafe&#8217;s trial brought
+a large crowd to the courthouse. All the evidence thus
+far given had been against him, but he sat in his wheelchair,
+looking quietly from under his shaggy brows, and
+never once, with all that was said against him, did the
+sweet, benevolent expression change to anger. The cobbler
+had put his life into higher hands than those in the
+courtroom, and he feared not.</p>
+<p>After the morning session, Jordan Morse left the room
+with a satisfied smile. He walked rapidly to the streetcar
+and took a seat, with a thoughtful expression on his
+countenance. Lafe would be convicted, and he would get
+rid of the girl now shut away from the world in the gorge
+building. Then, with the money that would be his, he&#8217;d
+find his child,&mdash;the little boy who was his own and for
+whom he so longed. He often looked at Molly and wondered
+how she could smile so radiantly when she knew
+she had lost her child,&mdash;her own flesh and blood,&mdash;her
+own little son.</p>
+<p>Even after he left the car and was approaching the
+gorge, he worried about the two in the house. It was
+because his mind was bent on important plans that he
+did not see Jinnie swinging in the sunshine between heaven
+and earth. He climbed the stairs, framing a sentence for
+the girl&#8217;s benefit. As he unlocked the door, the silence
+of the room bore down upon him like an evil thing. He
+went hurriedly into the second room, only to find it also
+empty. For the moment he did not notice the shattered
+glass on the floor, and his heart sank within him, but the
+breeze that drifted to his face brought his eyes to the
+broken window. With an oath, he jumped to it and
+looked out. Far below, the water tumbled as of yore over
+the rocks. He strained horrified eyes for a glimpse of a
+human body. The girl and boy must have dropped together
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_329' name='page_329'></a>329</span>
+into the deep abyss, preferring death to uncertainty.
+They were gone&mdash;gone over the ragged rocks,
+where their bodies would be lost in some of the fathomless
+juts a mile beyond. He would never be bothered with
+Jinnie again. Then he turned from the window. His
+most terrifying obstacle was out of his way. The blind
+child did not concern him. He was but a feather in the
+wind,&mdash;the little fellow who always shrank from him.</p>
+<p>As if leaving a tomb, he went softly from the room and
+turned the key in the lock with a sigh. Jinnie had relieved
+him of an awful responsibility. At least fate had
+taken from his hands a detestable task, at which he had
+many a time recoiled. So far all of his enemies, with the
+exception of Theodore King, had one by one been taken
+away, and he swung himself out of the building with a
+great burden lifted from his shoulders.</p>
+<p>As he passed, Jinnie was still drawing long breaths
+under the thick bushes, Bobbie&#8217;s face against her breast,
+and it was not until she was sure Morse had gone that she
+ventured to speak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to Lafe and Peg, Bobbie,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Can
+you walk a long way?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; gurgled Bobbie, color flaming his face. &#8220;My
+legs&#8217;ll go faster&#8217;n anything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And &#8220;faster&#8217;n anything&#8221; those thin little legs did go.
+The boy trotted along beside his friend, down the hill to
+the flats. Jinnie chose a back street leading to the lower
+end of the town.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d better carry you a while, dearie,&#8221; she offered presently,
+noting with what difficulty he breathed. &#8220;You take
+the fiddle!&#8221; And without remonstrance from the boy she
+lifted him in her arms.</p>
+<p>From the tracks Lafe&#8217;s small house had the appearance
+of being unoccupied. Jinnie went in, walking from the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_330' name='page_330'></a>330</span>
+shop to the kitchen, where she called &#8220;Peggy!&#8221; two or
+three times. Then the thought of the cobbler&#8217;s trial
+rushed over her. Peggy and the baby were at court with
+Lafe, of course.</p>
+<p>Knowing she must face her uncle in the courtroom, she
+went to Lafe&#8217;s black box and drew forth the sealed letter
+her father had sent to Grandoken. This she hid in her
+dress, and taking Bobbie and the fiddle, she went out and
+closed the door.</p>
+<p>Another long walk brought them to the courthouse,
+which stood in solemn stone silence, with one side to the
+dark, iron-barred jail. Jinnie shivered when she thought
+of the weary months Lafe had sat within his gloomy cell.</p>
+<p>She entered the building, holding Bobbie&#8217;s hand. Every
+seat in the room was filled, and a man was making a speech,
+using the names of Maudlin Bates and Lafe Grandoken.</p>
+<p>Then she looked about once more, craning her neck
+to catch sight of those ahead. Her eyes fell first upon
+Lafe, God bless him! There he sat, her cobbler, in the
+same old wheelchair, wearing that look of benign patience
+so familiar to her. Only a little distance from him sat
+Peggy, the baby sleeping on her knees. Molly the Merry
+was seated next to Jordan Morse, whose large white hand
+nervously clutched the back of the woman&#8217;s chair.</p>
+<p>Several stern-looking men at a table had numerous
+papers over which they were bending. Then Jinnie&#8217;s gaze
+found Jasper Bates. She could see, by the look upon his
+face, that he was suffering. She felt sorry, sorry for
+any one who was in trouble, who had lost a son in such
+a manner as Jasper had. Then she awoke to the import
+of the lawyer&#8217;s words.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Before you, Gentlemen of the Jury,&#8221; he was saying,
+&#8220;is a murderer, a Jew, Lafe Grandoken. You know very
+well the reputation of the people on Paradise Road. The
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_331' name='page_331'></a>331</span>
+good book says &#8216;a life for a life.&#8217; This Jew shot and
+killed his neighbor&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie lost his next words. She was looking at Lafe,
+and saw his dear face grow white with stabbing anguish.
+The girl&#8217;s throat filled with sobs, and she suddenly remembered
+something Theodore had once said to her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you want anything, child, just play for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And she wanted the life of her cobbler, the man who
+had taken her, with such generosity, into his heart and
+meagre home. She slipped the fiddle from the case and
+stooped and whispered in Bobbie&#8217;s ear:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Grab the back of my dress, dearie, and don&#8217;t let go!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She moved into the aisle, making ready to start on her
+life mission. She lifted the bow, and with a long sweep,
+drew an intense minor note from the strings. A sea of
+faces swung in her direction. Jinnie forgot every one
+but the cobbler&mdash;she was playing for his life&mdash;improvising
+on the fiddle strings a wild, pleading, imploring melody.
+On and on she went, with Blind Bobbie, in trembling
+confusion, clinging to her skirts, and Happy Pete with
+sagging head at their heels. At the first sound of the
+fiddle Lafe tried to rise, and did rise. He stood for a
+moment on his shaking legs, and there, to the amazement
+of the gaping crowd of his townsfolk, he swayed to and
+fro, watching and listening as the wonderful music filled
+and thrilled through the room.</p>
+<p>A heavenly light shone on the wrinkled face.</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse got to his feet, chalk white. Molly the
+Merry was looking at Jinnie as if she saw a ghost.</p>
+<p>The onlookers saw Lafe&#8217;s unsteady steps as he tottered
+toward the lovely girl and blind child. When he was
+within touching distance, she put the instrument and
+bow under one arm and took Lafe&#8217;s hand in hers. Her
+voice rang out like the tone of a bell.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_332' name='page_332'></a>332</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come for you, Lafe. I&#8217;ve come to take you back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Molly&#8217;s eyes dropped from Jinnie to the boy, and
+a cry broke from her. Before her was the child for whom,
+in spite of the evidence of her smiling lips, she had truly
+mourned. The wan, blind face was turned upward, the
+golden hair lying in damp curls on the lovely head. Spontaneously
+the woman reached forward and took the little
+hand in hers. All the mother within her leaped up, like a
+brilliant flash of lightning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My baby!&#8221; was all she said; and Bobbie, white, trembling
+and palpitating, cried in a weird, high voice:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve found my mother!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Jordan Morse understood. The hot blood was
+tearing to his ear drums. The blind boy he had persecuted
+and tortured, the boy he had made suffer, was his
+own son. That wonderful quality in the man, the fatherhood
+within him, rose in surging insistence. Instant remorse
+attacked him, as an oak is attacked by fierce winter
+storms. He saw the boy&#8217;s angelic face grow the color
+of death; saw Molly the Merry gather him up. Then a
+stab of jealousy cut his heart like a knife. He bent over
+with set jaws.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give him to me,&#8221; he cried. &#8220;He&#8217;s mine!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly surrendered the child with reluctance, but terror
+and fright were depicted upon Bobbie&#8217;s face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie! Lafe! Peggy!&#8221; he screamed. &#8220;He&#8217;ll hurt
+me! The black man&#8217;s goin&#8217; to kill me! Jinnie, pretty
+Jinnie&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The passionate voice grew faint and ceased. Then
+the loving little heart burst in the boyish bosom, and Bobbie&#8217;s
+angels bore away his young soul to another world
+where blindness is not,&mdash;where his uplifted being would
+understand that the stars he&#8217;d loved,&mdash;the stars he&#8217;d
+gathered in his small, unseeing head,&mdash;were but a reflection
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_333' name='page_333'></a>333</span>
+of those in God&#8217;s firmament. With one final quiver
+he straightened out in his father&#8217;s arms and was silent.
+All his loves and sorrows were in the eternal yesterdays,
+and to-day had delivered him into the charge of Lafe&#8217;s
+angels.</p>
+<p>Jinnie was crying hysterically, and her father&#8217;s dying
+curse upon her uncle leapt into her mind. She was clinging
+to the cobbler, and both had moved to Peg, where
+the woman sat as if turned to stone.</p>
+<p>Not a person in the courtroom stirred. In consternation
+the jury sat in their chairs like graven images, taking
+in the freshly wrought tragedy with tense expressions.
+The judge, too, leaned forward in his chair, watching.</p>
+<p>Jordan Morse faced the room, with its silent, observant
+crowd, pressing to his breast the dead body of his child.
+Then he turned to Lafe, white, twitching, and suffering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I shot Maudlin Bates,&#8221; he said, haltingly; then turning
+to the jury he continued: &#8220;The cobbler&#8217;s an innocent
+man&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>A menacing groan fell from a hundred lips at his words.</p>
+<p>He deliberately took from his hip pocket a revolver,
+lifted the weapon and finished:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m&mdash;I&#8217;m sorry, Jinnie, I&#8217;m&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then came the sharp, short bark of the gun, and the
+bullet found a path to his brain. He staggered, frantically
+clutching the slender body of Bobbie closer&mdash;and
+toppled over.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_334' name='page_334'></a>334</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLVIII_FOR_BOBBIES_SAKE' id='CHAPTER_XLVIII_FOR_BOBBIES_SAKE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLVIII</h2>
+<h3>FOR BOBBIE&#8217;S SAKE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s homecoming was one of solemn rejoicing. The
+only shadow hanging over the happy family was the absence
+of Blind Bobbie, who now lay by the side of his dead
+father.</p>
+<p>After the first greetings, Lafe took his boy baby and
+pressed him gratefully to his heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s beautiful, Peggy dear, ain&#8217;t he?&#8221; he implored,
+drinking in with affectionate, fatherly eyes the rosy little
+face. &#8220;Wife darlin&#8217;, make a long story short an&#8217; tell me
+he&#8217;s beautiful.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Grandoken eyed her husband sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she admonished, &#8220;you&#8217;re as full of brag as a
+egg is of meat, and salt won&#8217;t save you. All your life
+you&#8217;ve boasted till I thought the world&#8217;d come to an end,
+an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t never said a word against it. Now you can&#8217;t
+teach me none of your bad habits, because I won&#8217;t learn
+&#8217;em, so don&#8217;t try.&#8221; She paused, her lips lifting a little
+at the corners, and went on: &#8220;But I&#8217;m tellin&#8217; you with
+my own lips there ain&#8217;t a beautifuller baby in this county&#8217;n
+this little feller, nor one half so beautiful! So there&#8217;s
+my mind, sir.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Tis so, dear,&#8221; murmured the cobbler, rejoicing.</p>
+<p>About five o&#8217;clock in the afternoon, while Peggy was
+uptown replenishing the slender larder and Lafe and Jinnie
+were alone with the baby, there came a timid knock.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_335' name='page_335'></a>335</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie went to the door and there stood Molly Merriweather.
+The woman&#8217;s face was white and drawn, her
+eyes darkly circled underneath.</p>
+<p>One glance at her and Jinnie lost her own color.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to speak with you just a moment,&#8221; the woman
+said beseechingly. &#8220;May I come in?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Without answering, Jinnie backed into the room, which
+action Molly took as a signal to enter.</p>
+<p>She inclined her head haughtily to the cobbler.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Would you mind if I spoke to Miss Grandoken alone?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe looked to Jinnie for acquiescence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If Jinnie&#8217;ll help me to the kitchen,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;you
+can talk here. I&#8217;m a little unsteady on my feet yet, miss!&#8221;</p>
+<p>It took some time for the tottering legs to bear him
+away, but the strong, confident girl helped him most
+patiently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might just slip me the baby, Jinnie,&#8221; said Lafe,
+after he was seated in the kitchen. &#8220;I could be lookin&#8217; at
+&#8217;im while you&#8217;re talkin&#8217;. You ain&#8217;t mindin&#8217; the woman,
+honey lass, be you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, dear,&#8221; answered Jinnie.</p>
+<p>This done, the girl returned to Molly, who stood at
+the window staring out upon the tracks. She turned
+quickly, and Jinnie noticed her eyes were full of tears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you won&#8217;t refuse to tell me something of
+my&mdash;my little boy?&#8221; she pleaded.</p>
+<p>Tears welled over Jinnie&#8217;s lids too. Bobbie&#8217;s presence
+and adoration were still fresh in her mind.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s dead,&#8221; she mourned. &#8220;My little Bobbie! Poor
+little hurt Bobbie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly made a passionate gesture with her gloved hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t, please don&#8217;t say those things! I&#8217;m so miserable
+I can&#8217;t think of him. I only wanted to know how
+you got him.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_336' name='page_336'></a>336</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I just found him,&#8221; stated Jinnie. Then, because
+Molly looked so white, she forgot the anguish the woman
+had caused her, and rehearsed the story of Bobbie&#8217;s life
+from the time she had discovered him on the hill.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess he was always unhappy till he came to us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I helped to hurt him,&#8221; cried Molly, shivering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you didn&#8217;t know he was yours,&#8221; soothed Jinnie.</p>
+<p>The woman shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, of course I didn&#8217;t know,&#8221; she replied, and then
+went on rapidly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was so young when I married your uncle, I didn&#8217;t
+know anything. When I lost my baby, I knew no way to
+search for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Won&#8217;t you sit down?&#8221; Jinnie had forgotten that they
+were both standing. &#8220;Sit in that little rocker; it&#8217;s Bobbie&#8217;s,&#8221;
+she finished.</p>
+<p>Molly looked at the little chair and turned away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe bought it for him,&#8221; Jinnie explained eagerly.
+&#8220;He was too sick with his heart to get around much like
+other boys.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Miss Merriweather wrung her hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me any more,&#8221; she begged piteously. &#8220;He&#8217;s
+dead and nothing can help him now. I&#8217;ve&mdash;something
+else to say to you.&#8221; Jinnie wiped her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. King is quite well now, and&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;m glad!&#8221; cried Jinnie. &#8220;Does he&mdash;he ever speak
+of me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly shook her head mutely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want him to see you!&#8221; she cried, her eyes
+growing hard and bright.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why?&#8221; Jinnie said the one word in bewilderment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t know yet what Jordan and I did to you,
+nor about&mdash;about&mdash;Bobbie. I don&#8217;t want him to, either,
+just yet. I fear if he does, he won&#8217;t care for me.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_337' name='page_337'></a>337</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes drew down at the corners.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course he wouldn&#8217;t if he knew,&#8221; she said, with
+tightly gripped fingers.</p>
+<p>Molly paid no heed to this, but went on rapidly:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, first, you don&#8217;t love him as I do&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I love him very much,&#8221; interjected Jinnie, &#8220;and he
+used to love me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The woman&#8217;s lips drew linelike over her teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you see he doesn&#8217;t any longer,&#8221; she got out, &#8220;and
+if you go away&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go away?&#8221; gasped Jinnie.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, from Bellaire. You won&#8217;t stay here, now that
+you&#8217;re rich.&#8221; She threw a contemptuous glance about
+the shop. Jinnie caught the inflection of the cutting
+voice and noted the expression in the dark eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll stay wherever Lafe and Peggy are,&#8221; she said stubbornly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps, but that doesn&#8217;t say you&#8217;re going to live in
+this street all your life.... I want you to go back to
+Mottville.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie still looked a cold, silent refusal.</p>
+<p>Molly grew even whiter than before, but remembering
+Jinnie&#8217;s kindly heart, she turned her tactics.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very miserable,&#8221; she wept, &#8220;and I love Theodore
+better than any one in the world.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So do I,&#8221; sighed Jinnie, bowing her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But he doesn&#8217;t love you, child, and he does love me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie&#8217;s eyes fixed their gaze steadily on the other
+woman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then why&#8217;re you afraid for him to see me?&#8221; she demanded.</p>
+<p>Molly got to her feet. She saw her flimsily constructed
+love world shattered by the girl before her. She knew
+Theodore still loved her, and that if he knew all her own
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_338' name='page_338'></a>338</span>
+wickedness, his devotion would increase a hundredfold.
+He must not see Jinnie! Jinnie must not see him! Rapidly
+she reviewed the quarrels she and Theodore had had,
+remembered how punctiliously he always carried out his
+honorable intentions, and then&mdash;Molly went very near
+the girl, staring at her with terror in her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jinnie,&#8221; she said softly, &#8220;pretty Jinnie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Those words were Bobbie&#8217;s last earthly appeal to her,
+and Jinnie&#8217;s face blanched in recollection.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t you love my baby?&#8221; Molly hurried on.</p>
+<p>A memory of fluttering fingers traveling over her face
+left Jinnie&#8217;s heart cold. Next to Lafe and Theodore she
+had loved Bobbie best.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I loved him, oh, very much indeed!&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he often told you he loved&mdash;his&mdash;his&mdash;mother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly was slowly drawing the girl&#8217;s hands into hers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;d want me to be happy, Jinnie dear. Oh, please
+let me have the only little happiness left me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie drew away, almost hypnotized.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t be a&mdash;a good woman unless I have Theodore,&#8221;
+Molly moaned. &#8220;You&#8217;re very young&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her eyes sought the girl&#8217;s, who was struggling to her
+feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For Bobbie&#8217;s sake, Jinnie, for&mdash;for&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie brought to mind the blind boy, his winsome ways,
+his desire for his beautiful mother, her own love for Theodore,
+and turning away, said with a groan:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want Theodore to be happy, and I want you to be
+happy, too, for&mdash;for Bobbie&#8217;s sake. I&mdash;I promise not to
+see him, but I&#8217;ll always believe he loves me&mdash;that&mdash;that&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a good girl,&#8221; interrupted Molly with a sigh
+of relief.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_339' name='page_339'></a>339</span></p>
+<p>Jinnie went to the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go now,&#8221; she said, with proudly lifted head, &#8220;and I
+hope I&#8217;ll never see you again as long as I live.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Molly went away, and for a long time the girl
+stood, with her back to the door, weeping out the sorrow
+of a torn young soul. She had promised to give up Theodore
+completely. She had lost her love, her friend, her
+sweetheart. Once more she had surrendered to Bobbie
+Grandoken the best she had to give.</p>
+<p>Later, when the cobbler and his wife were crooning over
+their little son, Jinnie, with breaking heart, decided she
+would leave Bellaire at once, as Molly had asked her. She
+must never think of Theodore again. She&#8217;d renounced
+him, firmly believing he still loved her; she&#8217;d promised to
+depart without seeing him, but surely, oh, a little farewell
+note, with the assurances of her gratitude, would not be
+breaking that promise.</p>
+<p>So, until Peggy carried the baby away to bed, the girl
+composed a letter to Theodore, pathetic in its terseness.
+She also wrote to Molly, telling her she had decided to go
+back to Mottville immediately.</p>
+<p>When she had finished the letters, she took her usual
+place on the stool at the cobbler&#8217;s feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lafe,&#8221; she ventured, wearily, &#8220;some time I&#8217;m going
+to tell you everything that&#8217;s happened since I last saw
+you, but not to-night!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whenever you&#8217;re ready, honey,&#8221; acquiesced Lafe.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I&#8217;ve been thinking of something else, dear. I want
+to go to Mottville.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe&#8217;s face paled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see how Peg an&#8217; me&#8217;ll live without you, Jinnie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Jinnie touched the hand smoothing her curls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t live without you either, Lafe, and I won&#8217;t
+try&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_340' name='page_340'></a>340</span></p>
+<p>The cobbler bent and kissed her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t try, dear,&#8221; she repeated. &#8220;You must all live
+with me, although I&#8217;ll go first to arrange things a little.
+We&#8217;ll never worry about money any more, dearest.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And Mr. King,&#8221; Lafe faltered, quite disturbed, &#8220;what
+about him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I shan&#8217;t ever see him again,&#8221; Jinnie stated sadly.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve just written him, and he&#8217;ll understand.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lafe knew by the finality of her tones that she did not
+care to discuss Theodore that night.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_341' name='page_341'></a>341</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XLIX_BACK_HOME' id='CHAPTER_XLIX_BACK_HOME'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XLIX</h2>
+<h3>BACK HOME</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Late the next afternoon Jinnie left the train at Mottville
+station, her fiddle box in one hand, and a suitcase in
+the other. She stood a moment watching the train as
+it disappeared. It had carried her from the man she
+loved, brought her away from Bellaire, the city of her
+hopes. One bitter fact reared itself above all others.
+The world of which Theodore King had been the integral
+part was dead to her. What was she to do without him,
+without Bobbie to pet and love? But a feeling of thanksgiving
+pervaded her when she remembered she still had
+Lafe&#8217;s smile, the baby to croon over, and dear, stoical
+Peggy. They would live with her in the old home. It
+was preferable to staying in Bellaire, where her heart
+would be tortured daily. Rather the brooding hills, the
+singing pines, and all the wildness of nature, which was
+akin to the struggle within her, and perhaps in the future
+she might gather up the broken threads of her life.</p>
+<p>She shook as if attacked with ague as she came within
+sight of the gaunt farmhouse, and the broken windows and
+hanging doors gave her a sense of everlasting decay.</p>
+<p>Below her in the valley lay the blue lake, a shining
+spread of water, quiet and silent, here and there upon it
+the shadow of a floating, fluffy cloud. She listened to the
+nagging chatter of the squirrels, mingled with the fluttering
+of the forest birds high above her head. As she
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_342' name='page_342'></a>342</span>
+stood on the hill, the only human being in all the wilderness
+about, in fancy she seemed to be at the very top of
+the world.</p>
+<p>She heard the old familiar voices of the mourning pines,
+and remembered their soothing magic, and a stinging reproach
+swept over her at the thought of her forgetfulness
+of them. They had been friends when no other
+friends were near. Along with the flood of memories
+came Matty&#8217;s ghastly ghost stories and her past belief
+that her mother&#8217;s spirit hovered near her.</p>
+<p>She went through the lane leading to the house and
+paused under the trees. Presently she placed her violin
+box and suitcase on the grass and lay down beside them.
+In the eaves of the house a dove cooed his late afternoon
+love to his mate, and Jinnie, because she was very young
+and very much in love, brought Theodore before her with
+that lingering retrospection that takes possession in such
+sensuous moments. She could feel again the hot tremor
+of his hands as they clung to hers, and she bent her head
+in shame at the acute, electrifying sensations. He belonged
+to another woman; he no longer belonged to her.
+She must conquer her love for him, and at that moment
+every desire to study, every thought of work seemed insipid
+and useless. The whole majestic beauty of the
+scene, her sudden coming into a great deal of money, did
+not add to her happiness. She would gladly give it all
+up to be again with her loves of yesterday. But that
+could not be! The future lay in a hard, straight line
+before her. She was striving against a ceaseless, resisting
+force,&mdash;the force of her whole passionate nature.</p>
+<p>With their usual reluctance, the things of night at
+length crept forth. Jinnie felt some of them as they
+touched her hands, her face, and moved on. One of the
+countless birds fluttered low, as if frightened at the advancing
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_343' name='page_343'></a>343</span>
+dark, brushed her cheek, then winged on and
+up and was lost in the tree above her. Somewhere deep
+in the gloom shrouding the little graveyard came the
+ghostly flutter of an owl.</p>
+<p>Jinnie was flat on her back, and how long she lay thus
+she could never afterward remember, but it was until the
+stars appeared and the moon formed queer fantastic pictures,
+like frost upon a window pane. In solemn review
+passed the days,&mdash;from that awful night when she had
+left her father dead upon the floor in the house nearby
+to the present moment. She glanced at the windows.
+They looked back at her like square, darkening eyes.</p>
+<p>She wondered dully how that wee star away off there
+could blink so peacefully in its nightly course when just
+below it beat a heart that hurt like hers. She closed her
+eyes, and when she opened them again, long black fingers
+were drawing dark pictures across the sky. A drop of
+rain fell upon her face, but still she did not move. Then,
+like rows of soldiers, the low clouds drew slowly together,
+and the stars softly wept themselves out.</p>
+<p>Suddenly, from the other side of the lake, the thunder
+rolled up, and with the distant boom came the thought of
+Lafe&#8217;s infinite faith, and the memory fell upon Jinnie like
+a benediction from God&#8217;s dark sky.</p>
+<p>She arose from the grass, took the fiddle box and bag,
+and walked to the porch. She went in through the broken
+door. It was dark, too dark to see much, and from the
+leather case she took a box of matches and a candle.
+Memories crowded down upon her thick and fast. In the
+kitchen, which was bare, she could mark the place where
+Matty used to sit and where her own chair had been.</p>
+<p>The long stairs that led from the basement to the upper
+floor yawned black in the gloom. Candle and fiddle in
+hand, Jinnie mounted them and halted before the unopened
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_344' name='page_344'></a>344</span>
+door. Somehow it seemed as if she would find before
+the grate the long, thin body of her dead father, and
+she distinctly remembered the spindle fire-flames falling
+in golden yellow licks upon his face. In her imagination
+she could again see the flake-like ashes, thrown out from
+the smoldering fire, rise grey to the ceiling, then descend
+silently over him like a pale shroud.</p>
+<p>After this hesitation, she slowly turned the handle of
+the door and walked in. The only things remaining in
+the room were a broken table and chair. She placed the
+violin on the floor and the candle on the table. Then
+with a shudder Jinnie drew from her blouse an unopened
+letter, studying it long in the flickering light. It had
+been written in this very room three years before, and
+within its sealed pages lay the whole secret which now
+none but the dead knew.</p>
+<p>It took no effort on her part to bring back to her
+memory Jordan Morse&#8217;s handsome face and his rock-grey
+eyes, eyes like Bobbie&#8217;s. He and Bobbie had gone away
+together. She touched the corner of the envelope to the
+candle, watching it roll over in a brown curl as it burned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s happy now,&#8221; she murmured. &#8220;He&#8217;s got his baby
+and Lafe&#8217;s angels.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then she gathered up the handful of ashes, opened the
+window, and threw them out. The hands of the night
+wind snatched them as they fell and carried them swiftly
+away through the rain.</p>
+<p>On her way to the attic stairs, she stood a minute before
+the window, awe-stricken. From the north the great
+storm was advancing, and from among the hills rolled
+the distant roar of thunder. It brought to her mind the
+night when Peggy had gone into the life-valley and
+brought back Lafe&#8217;s baby; and she remembered, too, with
+a sob, Blind Bobbie, and how she missed him. Ah, it
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_345' name='page_345'></a>345</span>
+was a lonely, haunted little spirit that crept up the dark
+narrow stairs to the garret!</p>
+<p>Only that the room seemed lower and more stuffy, it,
+too, was much the same as she had left it. She brushed
+aside some silvery cobwebs, raised the window, and sat
+down on a dilapidated trunk. On the floor at her feet,
+almost covered with dust, was the old fairy book about
+the famous kings. She picked it up mechanically. On
+the first page was the man in the red suit, with the overhanging
+nose and fat body,&mdash;he whom she at one time
+believed to be related to Theodore.</p>
+<p>Again she was overwhelmed with her misery. Theodore
+belonged to another woman, and Jinnie, alone with her
+past and an uncertain future, sat staring dry-eyed into
+the stormy night.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_346' name='page_346'></a>346</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_L_GOD_MADE_YOU_MINE' id='CHAPTER_L_GOD_MADE_YOU_MINE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER L</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;GOD MADE YOU MINE&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen any papers for three days, Molly.
+What&#8217;s become of them all?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Theodore and Molly were sitting in the waning sunshine,
+the many-colored autumn leaves drifting silently past
+them to form a varied carpet over the grass.</p>
+<p>All fear had now left the woman. She had Jinnie&#8217;s
+promise not to see Theodore, and he had apparently forgotten
+there ever was such a girl in the world.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d really like to see the papers,&#8221; repeated Theodore.
+&#8220;Dear me, how glad I am to be so well!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re all glad,&#8221; whispered Molly, with bright eyes.</p>
+<p>She had kept the papers from him purposely, playfully
+pretending she would rather give him an account of the
+court proceedings. When she described how another man
+had confessed to the shooting, Theodore felt a glad thrill
+that the cobbler was exonerated. Later Molly decided
+she would tell him about Morse, but never that she had
+married him. It was she who suggested, after a time of
+silence:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore, don&#8217;t you think a little trip would do us
+all good? Your mother&#8217;s been so worried over you&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where would we go?&#8221; he asked, without interest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Anywhere to get away from Bellaire for a season.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We might consider it,&#8221; he replied reluctantly. Then
+he fell to thinking of a blue-eyed girl, of the letter,&mdash;that
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_347' name='page_347'></a>347</span>
+puzzling letter she had sent him. When he could bear his
+thoughts no longer, he got up and walked away under the
+trees, and Molly allowed him to go. She watched him
+strolling slowly, and was happy. He had been so sweet,
+so kindly, almost thrilling to her of late. She would make
+him love her. It would be but a matter of a few weeks if
+she could get him away from Bellaire. Just at that moment
+Mrs. King&#8217;s bell rang, and she went into the house.
+When she came back, Theodore was sitting on the veranda
+reading a letter, with another one unopened on his knee.
+The sight of his white face brought an exclamation from
+her lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore!&#8221; she cried.</p>
+<p>He reminded her she was standing by saying:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sit down!&#8221;</p>
+<p>This she was glad to do, for her knees trembled. Her
+eyes caught the handwriting on the unopened letter, resting
+like a white menace on Theodore&#8217;s lap. She saw her
+own name upon it, but dared not, nor had she the strength,
+to ask for it.</p>
+<p>At length, with a long breath, Theodore looked at her
+steadily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This letter is for you,&#8221; he said, picking up her own.
+&#8220;Open it and then&mdash;give it to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Never had she heard such tones in his voice, nor had
+she ever been so thoroughly frightened. Mechanically she
+took the letter, tore open the flap, and read the contents:</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Dear Miss Merriweather</span>:</p>
+<p>&#8220;After you left the shop, I decided to do as you wanted
+me to. I shall go back to Mottville, and afterwards
+Peggy and Lafe will come to me. I&#8217;ll keep my promise
+and won&#8217;t see Theodore. I hope you will make him
+happy.</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Jinnie Grandoken.</span>&#8220;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_348' name='page_348'></a>348</span></div>
+<p>Molly crushed the paper between her fingers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t do that,&#8221; commanded Theodore sharply. &#8220;Give
+it to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s mine,&#8221; murmured Molly, lacking breath to speak
+aloud.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give it to me!&#8221; thundered Theodore.</p>
+<p>And because she dared not disobey, she slowly extended
+the letter.</p>
+<p>With deliberation the man spread out the crumpled
+page and read it through slowly. Then once more he
+took up his own letter and perused it.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Dear Mr. King</span>:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going back to my home in the hills to-morrow.
+I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re better. I thank you for all you&#8217;ve
+done for Lafe and Peggy, and hope you&#8217;ll always be
+happy. For what you did for me I can&#8217;t thank you
+enough, but as soon as I get my money, I&#8217;ll send back all
+you&#8217;ve advanced for my lessons and other things. I&#8217;m
+praying all the time for you.</p>
+<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:right'>&#8220;<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Jinnie Grandoken Singleton.</span>&#8221;<br /></p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Sudden tears almost blotted the signature from Theodore&#8217;s
+vision.</p>
+<p>On the spur of the moment he picked up both letters
+and thrust them into his pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come upstairs with me,&#8221; he ordered the woman staring
+at him with frozen features.</p>
+<p>Molly followed him as in a dream, preceding him when
+he stepped aside to allow her to enter the little sitting-room,
+where of late she had passed so many pleasant
+hours. Then as he closed the door, he whirled upon her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I want the meaning of those letters. Have you
+seen Miss Grandoken?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_349' name='page_349'></a>349</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes!&#8221; She could say no more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yesterday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s something I don&#8217;t know. Ah! That&#8217;s why
+you kept the papers from me.&#8221; Quickly he turned to the
+bell.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore!&#8221; gasped Molly. &#8220;Wait! Wait! Don&#8217;t&mdash;don&#8217;t
+ring! I&#8217;ll tell you; I will!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He pressed the bell button savagely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t believe you under oath,&#8221; he muttered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want all this week&#8217;s papers, and I want &#8217;em quick!&#8221;
+he snapped at the servant. &#8220;Every one! Last night&#8217;s
+too!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He walked to the window, but turned again as a knock
+came upon the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t find the papers, sir,&#8221; excused the maid.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait!&#8221; Theodore closed the door, exclaiming in white
+heat, &#8220;Molly, where are those papers?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;In my room,&#8221; replied Molly sulkily.</p>
+<p>Mr. King gave the order, and again they were behind
+closed doors. Molly made a sorry picture of shame when
+Theodore looked at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll get to the bottom of this if it kills me,&#8221; he said
+wearily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theo, Theo, don&#8217;t read the papers!&#8221; she gasped. Then
+she fell forward at his feet. &#8220;I love you, dear; I love
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve lost your mind, Molly,&#8221; he said harshly.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re mad, completely mad.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;m not. Listen, Theodore, I&#8217;m here at your feet,
+miserable, unhappy; I want to be forgiven&#8211;&#8211;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then tell me what you did to Jinnie Grandoken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t! I can&#8217;t!&#8221;</p>
+<p>When another knock sounded on the door, Theodore
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_350' name='page_350'></a>350</span>
+opened it and took the papers through the smallest imaginable
+crack. Molly crawled to a chair and leaned her
+head upon the seat. Without a word, Theodore sat down
+and began to turn the pages of the papers nervously.
+As he read both accounts of Lafe&#8217;s trial, bitter ejaculations
+fell from his lips. The story of Bobbie&#8217;s dramatic
+death and Morse&#8217;s suicide brought forth a groan. When
+he placed the papers slowly beside him on the floor, Molly
+raised her face, white and torn with grief.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now you know it all, forgive me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never, while I live!&#8221; he cried. &#8220;What ungodly wretchedness
+you&#8217;ve made that child suffer! And you were
+married all the time to Morse, and the mother of that
+poor little boy!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; sobbed Molly.</p>
+<p>Then a sudden thought took possession of him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You and Morse made Jinnie write me that first letter.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Molly nodded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;May God forgive you both!&#8221; he stammered, and
+whirled out of the room.</p>
+<p>An hour later, with new strength and purpose, Theodore
+threw a few clothes into a suitcase, ordered the fastest
+motor in the garage, and was standing on the porch when
+Molly came swiftly to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Theodore,&#8221; she said, with twitching face, &#8220;if you go
+away now, you won&#8217;t find me here when you get back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He glanced her over with curling lip.</p>
+<p>&#8220;As you please,&#8221; he returned indifferently. &#8220;You&#8217;ve
+done enough damage as it is. If you&#8217;ve any heart, stay
+here with the only person in the world who has any faith
+in you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Vacantly the woman watched the motor glide away over
+the smooth white road, and then limply slid to the floor
+in a dead faint.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_351' name='page_351'></a>351</span></p>
+<p>All the distance from Bellaire to Mottville Theodore
+was tortured with doubt. He brought to mind Jinnie&#8217;s
+girlish embarrassment when they had been together; the
+fluttering white lids as his kisses brought a blue flash
+from the speaking love-lit eyes. She had loved him then;
+did she now? Of course she must love him! She had
+brought to him the freshness of spring&mdash;the love of the
+mating birds among the blossoms&mdash;the passionate desire
+of a heaven-wrought soul for its own, to whom could be
+entrusted all that was his dearest and best. He would
+follow her and win her,&mdash;yea, <i>win</i> the woman God had
+made for him and him alone, and into his eyes leapt the
+expression of the conquering male, the force God had
+created within him to reach for the woman sublime and
+cherish her.</p>
+<p>When the car entered Mottville, rain was falling and
+the wind was mourning ceaselessly.</p>
+<p>By inquiry, Theodore found the road to the Singleton
+farm, and again, as he impatiently sank back in the motor,
+he mentally vowed, with the vow of a strong man, that
+the girl should listen to him. He never realized, until
+they were climbing the rain-soaked hill, how starved was
+the very soul of him.</p>
+<p>The road was running with water, but they ploughed
+on, until through the trees the farmhouse loomed up
+darkly. Bennett stopped the car at the gate and Theodore
+jumped out. A light twinkling in the upper part
+of the house told him she was there. Harmonious echoes
+were sounding and resounding in his ears. They were
+notes from Jinnie&#8217;s fiddle, and for a moment, as they
+sobbed out through the attic window, he leaned back
+against the wet fence, feeling almost faint. The wild,
+sweet, unearthly melody surged over him with memories
+of the past.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_352' name='page_352'></a>352</span></p>
+<p>Then he passed under the thrashing pines, mounted the
+broken steps, and entered the house.</p>
+<p>It took but a minute to find the stairs by which to
+reach her, and there he stood in the gloom of the attic
+door, watching the swaying young figure and noting the
+whole pitiful dejection of her. In the single little light her
+eyes were as blue as the wing of a royal bird, and oh, what
+suffering she must have gone through! Then Jinnie
+ceased playing, and, as if drawn by a presence she knew
+not of, she turned her eyes slowly toward the door, and
+when she saw him, she fell, huddled with her violin on the
+garret floor, staring upward with frightened eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re there,&#8221; she panted, &#8220;if&mdash;if&mdash;speak to me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He bounded forward and gathered her up, and the light
+of an adoring love shone full upon him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My sweet, my sweet, my beautiful, my little wonder-woman!&#8221;
+he breathed. &#8220;Did you think I could live without
+you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>She was leaning, half fainting, against his breast, like a
+wind-blown flower.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve come for you,&#8221; he said hoarsely. &#8220;Dearest,
+sweetest Jinnie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>She pressed backward, loyalty for another woman rising
+within her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But Molly, Molly the Merry&#8211;&#8211;&#8221; she breathed.</p>
+<p>Theodore shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I only know I love you, sweetheart, that I&#8217;ve come for
+you,&#8221; and as his lips met hers, Jinnie clung to him, a very
+sweet young thing, and between those warm, passionate
+kisses she heard him murmur:</p>
+<p>&#8220;God made you mine, littlest love!&#8221;</p>
+<p>And so they went forth from the lonely farmhouse,
+with none but the cobbler&#8217;s angels watching over them.</p>
+<p>THE END</p>
+
+<!-- generated by ppg.rb version: 0.21a -->
+<!-- timestamp: Mon Mar 30 17:56:10 -0600 2009 -->
+
+
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+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
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+</pre>
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,13975 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rose O'Paradise
+
+Author: Grace Miller White
+
+Release Date: March 31, 2009 [EBook #28462]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROSE O'PARADISE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: VIRGINA LEFT THE FARMHOUSE, CARRYING HER FIDDLE AND THE
+PAIL OF CATS, AND THE BLIZZARD SWALLOWED HER UP.]
+
+
+
+
+ROSE O' PARADISE
+
+BY
+
+GRACE MILLER WHITE
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY, ETC.
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+
+W. J. SHETTSLINE
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NEW YORK
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
+
+THE H. K. FLY COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+I lovingly dedicate this book
+
+to
+
+Rose and Will Scott
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+       I. Father and Daughter                                        9
+      II. A White Presence                                          28
+     III. Jinnie's Farewell to Molly the Merry                      35
+      IV. Jinnie Travels                                            42
+       V. Like Unto Like Attracted                                  49
+      VI. Peg's Bark                                                57
+     VII. Just a Jew                                                62
+    VIII. "Every Hand Shall Do Its Share," Quoth Peg.               70
+      IX. By the Sweat of Her Brow                                  79
+       X. On the Broad Bosom of the "Happy in Spite"                83
+      XI. What Happened to Jinnie                                   89
+     XII. Watching                                                  95
+    XIII. What Jinnie Found on the Hill                             98
+     XIV. "He's Come to Live With Us, Peggy"                       105
+      XV. "Who Says the Kid Can't Stay?"                           110
+     XVI. Jinnie's Ear Gets a Tweak                                116
+    XVII. Jinnie Discovers Her King's Throne                       122
+   XVIII. Red Roses and Yellow                                     129
+     XIX. The Little Fiddler                                       136
+      XX. The Cobbler's Secret                                     145
+     XXI. The Coming of the Angels                                 152
+    XXII. Molly's Discovery                                        163
+   XXIII. Nobody's Cat                                             171
+    XXIV. "He Might Even Marry Her"                                179
+     XXV. When Theodore Forgot                                     185
+    XXVI. Molly Asks to Be Forgiven                                192
+   XXVII. "Haven't You Any Soul?"                                  196
+  XXVIII. Jinnie Decides Against Theodore                          201
+    XXIX. Peg's Visit                                              207
+     XXX. What the Fiddle Told Theodore                            214
+    XXXI. What Theodore Told His Friend                            221
+   XXXII. Jordan Morse's Plan                                      227
+  XXXIII. The Murder                                               233
+   XXXIV. The Cobbler's Arrest                                     240
+    XXXV. Alone in the Shop                                        248
+   XXXVI. Jinnie Explains the Death Chair to Bobbie                253
+  XXXVII. What the Thunder Storm Brought                           262
+ XXXVIII. The Story of a Bird                                      268
+   XXXIX. Jinnie's Visit to Theodore                               274
+      XL. An Appeal to Jinnie's Heart                              281
+     XLI. Jinnie's Plea                                            285
+    XLII. Bobbie Takes a Trip                                      294
+   XLIII. Theodore Sends for Molly                                 299
+    XLIV. Molly Gives an Order to Jinnie                           304
+     XLV. Writing a Letter to Theodore                             309
+    XLVI. "Bust 'Em Out"                                           316
+   XLVII. Bobbie's Stars Renew Their Shining                       327
+  XLVIII. For Bobbie's Sake                                        334
+    XLIX. Back Home                                                341
+       L. "God Made You Mine"                                      346
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+ Virgina left the farmhouse, carrying her fiddle and
+ the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.   _Frontispiece_
+
+ "I guess they won't eat much, because Milly Ann
+ catches all kind of live things. I don't like her to
+ do that, but I heard she was born that way and can't
+ help it."                                                          56
+
+ "You needn't feel so glad nor look as if you was
+ goin' to tumble over. It ain't no credit to anyone
+ them curtains was on the shelf waitin' to be cut up
+ in a dress for you to fiddle in."                                 136
+
+ "Play for me," Theodore said. "Stand by that big tree
+ so I can look at you."                                            216
+
+
+
+
+ROSE O' PARADISE
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+FATHER AND DAUGHTER
+
+
+On a hill, reared back from a northern lake, stood a weather-beaten
+farmhouse, creaking in a heavy winter blizzard. It was an
+old-fashioned, many-pillared structure. The earmarks of hard winters
+and the fierce suns of summer were upon it. From the main road it was
+scarcely discernible, settled, as it was, behind a row of pine trees,
+which in the night wind beat and tossed mournfully.
+
+In the front room, which faced the porch, sat a man,--a tall, thin
+man, with straight, long jaws, and heavy overhanging brows. With moody
+eyes he was staring into the grate fire, a fearful expression upon his
+face.
+
+He straightened his shoulders, got up, and paced the floor back and
+forth, stopping now and then to listen expectantly. Then again he
+seated himself to wait. Several times, passionately insistent, he
+shook his head, and it was as if the refusal were being made to an
+invisible presence. Suddenly he lifted his face as the sound of a
+weird, wild wail was borne to him, mingling with the elf-like moaning
+of the wind. He leaned forward slightly, listening intently. From
+somewhere above him pleading notes from a violin were making the night
+even more mournful. A change came over the thin face.
+
+"My God!" he exclaimed aloud. "Who's playing like that?"
+
+He crossed the room and jerked the bell-rope roughly. In a few moments
+the head of a middle-aged colored woman appeared at the door.
+
+"Did you tell my daughter I wanted to see her?" questioned the man.
+
+"No, sah, I didn't. When you got here she wasn't in. Then she slid to
+the garret afore I saw 'er. Now she's got to finish her fiddlin' afore
+I tell 'er you're here. I never bother Miss Jinnie when she's
+fiddlin', sah." The old woman bowed obsequiously, as if pleading
+pardon.
+
+The man made a threatening gesture.
+
+"Go immediately and send her to me," said he.
+
+For perhaps twenty minutes he sat there, his ears straining to catch,
+through the whistling wind, the sounds of that wild, unearthly
+tune,--a tune different from any he had ever heard. Then at length it
+stopped, and he sank back into his chair.
+
+He turned expectantly toward the door. Footsteps, bounding with life,
+with strength, were bearing down upon him. Suddenly a girl's face,--a
+rosy, lovely face,--with rapturous eyes, was turned up to his. At the
+sight of her stern father, the girl stopped, bringing her feet
+together at the heels, and bowed. Then they two,--Thomas Singleton the
+second and Virginia, his daughter,--looked at each other squarely.
+
+"Ah, come in!" said the man. "I want to talk with you. I believe
+you're called Virginia."
+
+"Yes, sir; Jinnie, for short, sir," answered the girl, with a slight
+inclination of her head.
+
+Awkwardly, and with almost an embarrassed manner, she walked in front
+of the grate to the chair pointed out to her. The man glanced sharply
+at the strongly-knit young figure, vibrant with that vital thing
+called "life." He sighed and dropped back limply. There followed a
+lengthy silence, until at last Thomas Singleton shifted his feet and
+spoke slowly, with a grim setting of his teeth.
+
+"I have much to say to you. Sit back farther in your chair and don't
+stare at me so."
+
+His tones were fretful, like those of a man sick of living, yet trying
+to live. He dropped his chin into the palm of his hand and lapsed into
+a meditative gloom.
+
+Virginia leaned back, but only in this did she obey, for her eyes were
+still centered on the man in silent attention. She had little awe of
+him within her buoyant young soul, but much curiosity lay under the
+level, penetrating glance she bent upon her father. Here was a man
+who, according to all the human laws of which Virginia had ever heard,
+belonged to her, and to her alone. There were no other children and no
+mother. Yet so little did she know of him that she wouldn't have
+recognized him had she met him in the road. Singleton's uneasy glance,
+seeking the yellow, licking flames in the grate, crossed hers.
+
+"I told you not to stare at me so, child!" he repeated.
+
+This time the violet eyes wavered just for an instant, then fastened
+their gaze once more upon the speaker.
+
+"I don't remember how you look," she stammered, "and I'd like to know.
+I can't tell if I don't look, can I?"
+
+Her grave words, and possibly the steady, piercing gaze, brought a
+twitch to the father's lips. Surely his child had spoken the truth. He
+himself had almost forgotten he had a girl; that she was the only
+living creature who had a call upon the slender thread of his life.
+Had he lived differently, the girl in front of him would have been
+watching him for some other reason than curiosity.
+
+"That's why I'm looking at you, sir," she explained. "If any one on
+the hills'd say, 'How's your father looking, Jinnie?' if I hadn't
+looked at you sharp, sir, how'd I know?"
+
+She sighed as her eyes roved the length of the man once more. The
+ashes in the grate were no grayer than his face.
+
+"You're awful thin and white," she observed.
+
+"I'm sick," replied Singleton in excuse.
+
+"Oh, I'm sorry!" answered Virginia.
+
+"You're quite grown up now," remarked the man presently, with a
+meditative air.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir!" she agreed. "I'm a woman now. I'm fifteen years old."
+
+"I see! Well, well, you _are_ quite grown up! I heard you playing just
+now. Where did you ever learn such music?"
+
+Jinnie placed her hand on her heart. "I got it out of here, sir," she
+replied simply.
+
+Involuntarily Singleton straightened his rounded shoulders, and a
+smile touched the corners of his mouth. Even his own desperate
+condition for the moment was erased from his mind in the pride he felt
+in his daughter. Then over him swept a great regret. He had missed
+more than he had gained in his travels abroad, in not living with and
+for the little creature before him.
+
+Her eyes were filled with contemplation; then the lovely face, in its
+exquisite purity, saddened for a moment.
+
+"Matty isn't going to take me across her knee never any more," she
+vouchsafed, a smile breaking like a ray of sunshine.
+
+The blouse slipped away from her slender throat, and she made a
+picture, vivid and beautiful. The fatherhood within Thomas Singleton
+bounded in appreciation as he contemplated his daughter for a short
+space, measuring accurately the worth within her. He caught the
+wonderful appeal in the violet eyes, and wished to live. God, how he
+wanted to live! He would! He would! It meant gathering his supremest
+strength, to be put forth in efforts of mere existing. Something out
+of an unknown somewhere, brought to him through the stormy, wonderful
+music he had heard, made the longing to live so vehement that it hurt.
+Then the horror of Virginia's words drifted through his tortured
+brain.
+
+"What?" he ejaculated.
+
+"Now I'm fifteen," explained the girl, "I get a woman's beating with a
+strap, you see. A while ago I got one that near killed me, but I never
+cried a tear. Matty was almost scared to death; she thought I was
+dead. Matty can lick hard, Matty can."
+
+Virginia sighed in recollection.
+
+"You don't mean to say the nigger whipped you?"
+
+The girl shook her curly head.
+
+"Whipped me! No! Matty don't whip; she just licks with all her
+muscle.... Matty's muscle's as strong as a tree limb."
+
+Mr. Singleton bowed his head. It had never occurred to him in all
+those absent years that the child was being abused. How simply she had
+told her tale of suffering!
+
+"But I'm fifteen now," she repeated gladly, "so I stand up, spread my
+feet like this"--she rose and suited the action to the words--"and
+Matty lays her on damn hard, too."
+
+He covered his mouth with one thin hand, choked down a cough, and
+endeavored to change the subject.
+
+"And school? Have you been to school?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" assured the girl, sitting down again. "I went to school
+back in the hills. There were only five boys and me. There wasn't any
+girls. I wish there had been."
+
+"You like girls, I imagine, then," said her father.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir! Yes, indeed, sir! I often walk five miles to play a
+while with one. None of the mothers around Mottville Corners'll let
+their girls be with me. You see, this house has a bad name."
+
+A deep crimson dyed the man's ashen skin. He made as if to speak, but
+Jinnie went on.
+
+"Over in the Willow Creek settlement the kids are awful bad, but I get
+along with 'em fine, because I love 'em right out of being hellish."
+
+She was gazing straight into her father's face in all sincerity, with
+no trace of embarrassment.
+
+"You know Mrs. Barker, the housekeeper you left me with?" she demanded
+a little later. "Well, she died when I was ten. Matty stayed, thinking
+every day you'd come home. I suppose mebbe I did grow up sort of
+cussed, and I suppose everybody thinks I'm bad because I've only a
+nigger to live with, and no mother, not--not even _you_."
+
+Singleton partly smothered an oath which lengthened itself into a
+groan, looked long at the slim young figure, then at the piquant
+face.
+
+"Just lately I've been wanting some one of my own to love," she
+pursued. "I only had Milly and her cats. Then the letter come saying
+you'd be here--and I'm very glad."
+
+The smile lighting her face and playing with the dimples in her cheeks
+made Thomas Singleton feel as if Heaven's breath had touched him.
+
+"Do you care at all for me?" he asked gloomily.
+
+There had come over him a desire that this winsome girl,--winsome in
+spite of her crudity,--would say she did. Wonder, love, sympathy, were
+alive in her eyes. Jinnie nodded her head.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir!" she murmured. "Of course I love you! I couldn't tell
+you how much.... I love--why, I even love Mose. Mose's Matty's man.
+He stole and et up all our chickens--but I love him just the same. I
+felt sorry about his killing the hens, because I loved them too."
+
+"I see," sighed the father.
+
+"Now there's Molly--I call her Molly the Merry----"
+
+"Who's Molly the Merry?" interrupted Singleton.
+
+"Old Merriweather's daughter. She's prettier than the summer roses,
+and they're pretty, believe me. Her smiles're warmer'n the sun."
+
+"Ah, yes! I remember the Merriweathers. Is the old man still alive?"
+
+"Well, yes, but he's as good as dead, though. Ain't walked in three
+years. And Matty's man, Mose, told Matty, and Matty told me, he's
+meaner'n forty damn devils."
+
+"So you swear, too?" asked the father, breathing deeply.
+
+Virginia opened wide and wider two sparkling blue eyes.
+
+"Swear, sir?" she protested. "I didn't swear."
+
+"Pardon me," replied Singleton, laconically. "I thought I heard you
+say 'damn' several times."
+
+Virginia's smile showed two rows of white teeth.
+
+"Oh, so you did!" she laughed, rising. "But 'damn' isn't swearing. You
+ought to hear me really swear sometimes. Shall I show you how I--I can
+swear?"
+
+Singleton shook his head.
+
+"I'd rather you wouldn't!... Sit down again, please."
+
+The man at intervals turned a pair of burning bright eyes upon her.
+They weren't unlike her own eyes, only their expression puzzled
+Virginia.
+
+She could not understand the rapid changes in her father. He wasn't
+the man she had mentally known all these years. But then, all she had
+had by which to visualize him was an old torn picture, turned face to
+the wall in the garret. He didn't look at all like the painting--he
+was thinner, older, and instead of the tender expression on the
+handsome, boyish face, time had placed one of bitterness, anxiety, and
+dread. He sat, crouched forward, stirring the grate fire, seemingly
+lost in thought. Virginia remained quiet until he was ready to speak.
+
+"I'm going to die soon,--very soon."
+
+It was only natural that Virginia should show how his statement
+shocked her. She grew deathly white, and an expression of misery knit
+the lovely young face.
+
+"How soon?" she shivered, drawing back.
+
+"Perhaps to-night--perhaps not for weeks, but I must tell you
+something before then."
+
+"All right," agreed Virginia, "all right.... I'm here."
+
+"I haven't been a good father to you," the man began after a pause,
+"and I'm not sure I could do better if I should stay on here with you.
+So I might as well go now as any time! Your mother would've done
+differently if she'd lived. You look some like her."
+
+"I'm sorry I don't remember her," remarked Virginia apologetically.
+
+"She went away when you were too little even to know her. Then I left
+you, too, though I don't suppose any one but her could have made you
+happy."
+
+"Oh, I've been happy!" Jinnie asserted. "Old Aunt Matty and the
+cats're all I need around, and I always have my fiddle. I found it in
+the garret."
+
+It was easy to believe that she was telling the truth, for to all
+appearances she looked happy and healthy. However, Mr. Singleton's
+eyes darkened and saddened under the words. Nothing, perhaps, had ever
+touched him so deeply.
+
+"It's no life for a girl of fifteen years to live with cats and
+niggers," he muttered.
+
+One less firmly faithful to conscience would have acquiesced in this
+truthful statement; not so Virginia.
+
+"Matty's a good nigger!" she insisted, passionately. "She'd do
+anything she could for me!"
+
+Seemingly the man was not impressed by this, for his strong jaws were
+set and unyielding upon the unlighted cigar clenched between his
+teeth.
+
+"I might as well tell you to-night as to-morrow," he concluded,
+dropping the cigar on the table. "Your mother left you her money and
+property when she died."
+
+"I know it, sir, and it's a lot, too! Matty told me about it one night
+along with 'er ghost stories, sir.... Ever heard Matty's ghost
+stories, sir?"
+
+"No, but I didn't bring you here to talk about Matty. And tell me,
+what makes you say 'sir' to me all the time?"
+
+His impatient tone, his sharp, rasping voice, didn't change Virginia's
+respectful attitude. She only bent her head a trifle and replied:
+
+"Anybody must always say 'sir' to another body when she's kind of half
+afraid of him, sir."
+
+She was composed for a moment, then went on:
+
+"It isn't every day your father comes home, sir, and I've waited a
+long, long time. I'd be a hell of a kid if I couldn't muster up a
+'sir' for you."
+
+Singleton glanced sidewise at his young daughter, bending his brows
+together in a frown.
+
+"You're a queer sort of a girl, but I suppose it's to be expected when
+you've only lived with niggers.... Now will you remember something if
+I tell it to you?"
+
+"Yes, sir," breathed Virginia, drawing back a little from his strong
+emotion.
+
+"Well, this! Don't ever say 'sir' to any human being living! Don't
+ever! Do you understand me? What I mean is, when you say 'sir,' it's
+as if you were--as if you were a servant or afraid--you make yourself
+menial. Can you remember, child?"
+
+"Yes, sir,--yes, I'll remember.... I _think_ I'll remember."
+
+"If you're going to accomplish anything in the world, don't be afraid
+of any one."
+
+A dozen explanations, like so many birds, fluttered through Virginia's
+mind. Before her rose her world of yesterday, and a sudden apology
+leapt to her lips. She turned on her father a wondering, sober
+glance.
+
+"I've never said 'sir' or 'ma'am' before in all my life--never!" she
+remarked.
+
+"So you're afraid of me?"
+
+"A little," she sighed.
+
+"Ah, don't be, child! I'm your father. Will you keep that in mind?"
+
+"I'll try to; I will, sure."
+
+Mr. Singleton shifted uneasily, as if in pain.
+
+"This money is coming to you when you're eighteen years old,"
+explained Mr. Singleton. "My dying will throw you into an ocean of
+difficulties. I guess the only service I've ever done you has been to
+keep your Uncle Jordan from you."
+
+"Matty told me about him, too," she offered. "He's a damn bad duffer,
+isn't he, mister?"
+
+"Yes, and I'm going to ask you not to call me 'mister,' either. Look
+here!... I'm your father! Can't anything get that into your head?"
+
+"I keep forgetting it," answered the girl sadly. "And you're so big
+and thin and different from any man I know. You look as weak as a--as
+a cat."
+
+She stretched forth her two strong legs, but sank back.
+
+"Yes, your Uncle Jordan is bad," proceeded Singleton, presently, "bad
+enough to want to get us both out of the way, and he wouldn't find
+much of an obstacle in you."
+
+A clammy chill clutched at Virginia's heart like tightening fingers.
+The import of his words burned deep within her. She got to her
+feet--but reseated herself at once at a wave of her father's hand. The
+thought of death always had a sobering effect upon her--it filled her
+with longing, yet dread. The beautiful young mother, whose picture
+hung in the best room, and whose eyes followed her in every direction,
+was dead. Matty had told her many times just how her mother had gone,
+and how often the gentle spirit had returned to hover over the beloved
+young daughter. Now the memory of it was enhanced by the roar of the
+wind and the dismal moaning of the tall pines. Virginia firmly
+believed that her mother, among other unearthly visitants, walked in
+the night when the blizzard kept up its incessant beating. She also
+believed that the sound through the pines--that roaring,
+ever-changing, unhuman sound--was not of the wind's making. It was
+voices,--spirit voices,--voices of the dead, of those who had gone
+down into the small cemetery beyond the road.
+
+Only the day before Matty had told her how, one night, a tall,
+wandering white thing had walked in silence across the fields to
+Jonathan Woggles' house. In the story, Jonathan's grandpa was about to
+pass away. The glittering spirit stalked around and around the house,
+waiting for the old man's soul. She was about to relate the tale when
+her father repeated:
+
+"Your uncle is bad enough to want us out of the way."
+
+The shuddering chill again possessed her. She was torn between horror
+and eagerness--horror of what might be and eagerness to escape it.
+
+"But he can't get us out, can he?" she questioned.
+
+"Yes, I'm afraid he can and will! Your Uncle Jordan is your mother's
+stepbrother, no direct relation to you, but the only one left to look
+after you in the world but me. If you've any desire to live, you must
+leave here after I've gone, and that's all there is to it!"
+
+Virginia then understood, for the first time, something of the danger
+menacing her. Her heart beat and pounded like an engine ploughing up
+hill. From sheer human desire of self-preservation, she partly rose
+from the chair, with the idea of immediate departure.
+
+"I could go with Matty, couldn't I?" she suggested.
+
+Mr. Singleton made a negative gesture with his head, flinging himself
+down again.
+
+"Matty? Matty, the nigger? No, of course not. Matty is nothing to any
+one who hasn't money, and you'll have none to pay her, or any one
+else, after I'm gone. You must eat and live for three long years. Do
+you understand that?... Sit back in your chair and don't fidget," he
+concluded.
+
+The girl obeyed, and a silence fell between them. The thought of the
+wonderful white presence of which Matty had told her faded from her
+mind. Her heart lay stone-like below her tightening throat, for her
+former world and all the dear familiar things it held were to be
+dashed from her, as a rose jar is broken on a marble floor, by a
+single decision of the thin, tall father whom yesterday she had not
+known. She understood that if her uncle succeeded in his wicked plans,
+she, too, would join that small number of people, dead and buried,
+under the pines. Her father's words brought the cemetery, with its
+broken cross and headstones, its low toolhouse, and the restless night
+spirits, closer than Matty, with her vivid, ghastly tales, had ever
+done. In the past, Matty had stood between her and her fears; in the
+future, there would be only a stranger, her uncle, the man her father
+had just warned her against. At length Mr. Singleton coughed
+painfully, and spoke with evident effort.
+
+"The doctor told me not long ago I might die at any moment. That's
+what made me escape--I mean, what drove me home."
+
+He rose and walked nervously up and down the room.
+
+"The doctor made me think of you. I can't live long."
+
+"It's awful bad," answered the girl, sighing. "I wouldn't know where
+to go if there wasn't any Matty--or--you."
+
+Her voice lowered on the last word, and she continued: "I wish I had
+my mother. Matty says mothers kiss their girls and make over 'em like
+Milly Ann does with her kittens--do they? Some of 'em?"
+
+The father glanced curiously into the small, earnest, uplifted face.
+
+"I couldn't help being your girl," pursued Virginia. "I'd have had
+another father if I could, one who'd 've loved me. Matty says even
+fathers like their kids sometimes--a little." She paused a minute, a
+wan, sweet smile passing over her lips. "But I've got Milly Ann and
+her kittens, and they're soft and warm and wriggley."
+
+What a strange child was this daughter of his! She spoke of cats as if
+they were babies; of loving as if it were universal. Each moment, in
+her presence, he realized more and more what he had missed in thus
+neglecting her. But he had hurried to Mottville from foreign lands to
+perform one duty, at least,--to save her, if possible. So he returned
+to his vital subject.
+
+"Your Uncle Jordan's coming, perhaps this week. He's found out I'm
+here! That's why you must go away."
+
+"Shall I--just go?" queried Virginia. "I don't know of any special
+place--do you?" and she shivered again as the wind, in a fierce gust,
+blew out from the slumbering fire a wreath of smoke that encircled the
+room and hung grey-blue about the ceiling.
+
+"I only know one man," reflected Mr. Singleton, presently, "and you'll
+have to find him yourself--after I've gone, of course; but if Jordan
+Morse should come, you'd have to go quickly."
+
+"I'd go faster'n anything," decided the girl, throwing up her head.
+
+"Your mother's father used to have a family in his tenement house on
+this place, and they were all very fond of her when she was a girl.
+One of the sons moved to Bellaire. He's the only one left, and would
+help you, I know."
+
+"Mebbe if you'd talk to my uncle----" Virginia cut in.
+
+An emphatic negative gesture frightened her.
+
+"You don't know him," said Singleton, biting his lips. "He's nearer
+being a devil than any other human being." It was a feeling of
+bitterness, of the deadly wrong done him, that forced him to sarcasm.
+"The great--the good Jordan Morse--bah!" he sneered. "If he's 'good,'
+so are fiends from perdition."
+
+He sent the last words out between his teeth as if he loathed the idea
+expressed in them. If they brought a sombre red to the girl's cheeks,
+it was not because she did not have sympathy with him.
+
+Sudden leaping flames of passion yellowed the man's eyes, and he
+staggered up.
+
+"May God damn the best in him! May all he loves wither and blight! May
+black Heaven break his heart----"
+
+Jinnie sprang forward and clutched him fiercely by the arm. "Don't!
+Don't!" she implored. "That's awful, awful!"
+
+Singleton sank back, brushing his foaming lips with the back of his
+hand.
+
+"Well," he muttered, "he followed me abroad and did for me over
+there!"
+
+"Did for you?" Virginia repeated after him, parrot-like, gazing at him
+in a puzzled way as she sat down again.
+
+"Yes, me! If I'd had any sense, I might have known his game. In the
+state of his finances he'd no business to come over at all. But I
+didn't know until he got there how evil he was. Oh, God! I wish I
+had--but I didn't, and now my only work left is to send you
+somewhere----Oh, why didn't I know?"
+
+The deep sadness, the longing in his voice brought Virginia to her
+feet once more. She wanted to do something for the thin, sick man
+because she loved him--just that! Years of neglect had failed to kill
+in the young heart the cherished affection for her absent parent, and
+in some subtle way he now appealed to the mother within her, as all
+sick men do to all heart-women.
+
+"I'd like to help you if I could, father," she said.
+
+The man, with a quick, spasmodic action, drew her to him. Never had he
+seen such a pair of eyes! They reminded him of Italian skies under
+which he had dreamed brave dreams--dreamed dreams which would ever be
+dreams. The end of them now was the grave.
+
+"Little girl! My little girl!" he murmured, caressing her shoulders.
+Then he caught himself sharply, crushing the sentiment from his
+voice.
+
+"Hide yourself; change your name; do anything to keep from your uncle.
+When you're old enough to handle your own affairs, you can come out of
+your hiding-place--do you understand me?"
+
+"I think I do," she said, tears gathering under her lids.
+
+"I don't know of any one I could trust in this county. Jordan Morse
+would get 'em all under his spell. That would be the last of you. For
+your mother's sake----" His lips quivered, but he went on with a
+masterful effort to choke down a sob,--"I may honestly say, for your
+own sake, I want you to live and do well."
+
+There was some strain in his passionate voice that stirred terrific
+emotion in the girl, awakening new, tumultuous impulses. It gave her a
+mad desire to do something, something for her father, something for
+herself. At that moment she loved him very much indeed and was ready
+to go to any length to help him. He had told her she must leave.
+Perhaps----
+
+Virginia glanced through the window into the darkness. Through the
+falling snow she could see a giant pine throw out appealing arms. They
+were like beckoning, sentient beings to the girl, who loved nature
+with all the passionate strength of her young being. Yet to-night they
+filled her with new wonder,--an awe she had never felt before. Despite
+her onrushing thoughts, she tried to calm her mind, to say with eager
+emphasis:
+
+"Shall I run to-night--now?"
+
+"No, not to-night; don't leave me yet. Sit down in the chair again;
+stay until I tell you."
+
+"All right," murmured Virginia, walking away.
+
+The father watched the fire a few minutes.
+
+"I'll give you a letter to Grandoken, Lafe Grandoken," he said
+presently, looking up. "For your mother's sake he'll take you, and
+some day you can repay him. You see it's this way: Your mother trusted
+your uncle more than she did me, or she'd never have given you into
+his care in case of my death. Well, he's got me, and he'll get you."
+
+With no thought of disobedience, Virginia slipped from the chair to
+her feet.
+
+"He won't get me if I run now, will he?" she questioned breathlessly;
+"not if I go to--what'd you say his name was?"
+
+She was all excitement, ready to do whatever she was bidden. Slowly,
+as she stood there, the tremendous suspense left her.
+
+"Why couldn't we both go, you and me?" she entreated eagerly. "Let's
+both go to-night. I'll take care of you. I'll see you don't get wet."
+
+Her glance met and held his for a few seconds. The vibrant voice
+thrilled and stirred the father as if he had been dead and suddenly
+slipped back to life again. A brave smile, tenderly sweet, broke over
+Virginia's lips.
+
+"Come," she said, holding out her hands. "Come, I'll get my fiddle and
+we'll go."
+
+He was struck by the vehemence of her appeal. He allowed himself to
+listen for a moment--to overbalance all his preconceived plans, but
+just then his past life, Jordan Morse, his own near approaching end,
+sank into his mind, and the fire in his eyes went out. There was
+finality in the shake of his shoulders.
+
+"No, no," he murmured, sinking back. "It's too late for me. I couldn't
+earn money enough to feed a pup. I'm all to pieces--no more good to
+any one. No, you'll have to go alone."
+
+"I'm sorry." The girl caught her breath in disappointment. She was
+crying softly and made no effort to wipe away her tears.
+
+The silent restraint was broken only by the ticking of the shadowy
+clock on the mantel and Virginia's broken sobs. She stifled them back
+as her father spoke comfortingly.
+
+"Well, well, there, don't cry! If your mother'd lived, we'd all 've
+been better."
+
+"I wish she had," gasped the girl, making a dash at her eyes. "I wish
+she'd stayed so I'd 've had her to love. Perhaps I'd 've had you, too,
+then."
+
+"There's no telling," answered Singleton, drawing up to his desk and
+beginning to write.
+
+Virginia watched the pen move over the white page for a space, her
+mind filled with mixed emotions. Then she turned her eyes from her
+father to the grate as a whirl of ashes and smoke came out.
+
+Matty's story came back to her mind, and she glanced toward the
+window, but back to the fire quickly. The blizzard seemed to rage in
+sympathy with her own riotous thoughts. As another gust of wind
+rattled the casements and shook down showers of soot from the chimney,
+Virginia turned back to the writer.
+
+"It's the ghosts of my mother's folks that make that noise," she
+confided gently.
+
+"Keep quiet!" ordered Singleton, frowning.
+
+After the letters were finished and sealed, Mr. Singleton spoke.
+"There! I've done the best I can for you under the circumstances. Now
+on this,"--he held up a piece of paper--"I've written just how you're
+to reach Grandoken's in Bellaire. These letters you're to give to him.
+This one let him open and read." Mr. Singleton tapped a letter he held
+up. "In this one, I've written what your uncle did to me. Give it to
+Grandoken, telling him I said to let it remain sealed unless Jordan
+Morse claims you. If you reach eighteen safely, burn the letter."
+
+He paused and took out a pocketbook.
+
+"Money is scarce these days, but take this and it'll get you to
+Grandoken's. It's all I have, anyway. Now go along to bed."
+
+He handed the envelopes to her, and his hand came in contact with
+hers. The very touch of it, the warmth and life surging through her,
+gave a keener edge to his misery.
+
+Virginia took the letters and money. She walked slowly to the door. At
+the threshold she halted, turning to her father.
+
+"May I take the cats with me?" she called back to him.
+
+She started to explain, but he cut her words off with a fierce
+ejaculation.
+
+"Hell, yes!" he snapped. "Damn the cats! Get out!"
+
+Once in the hall, Virginia stood and looked back upon the closed
+door.
+
+"I guess he don't need me to teach him swear words," she told herself
+in a whisper.
+
+Then she went down to the kitchen, where Matty sat dreaming over a
+wood fire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A WHITE PRESENCE
+
+
+"Does yer pa want me?" grunted Matty, lifting a tousled black head.
+
+Virginia made a gesture of negation.
+
+"No, he told me to get the hell out," she answered. "So I got! He's
+awful sick! I guess mebbe he'll die!"
+
+Matty nodded meaningly.
+
+"Some folks might better 'a' stayed to hum for the past ten years than
+be runnin' wild over the country like mad," she observed.
+
+Virginia reached behind the stove and drew Milly Ann from her bed.
+
+"Father"--Jinnie enjoyed using the word and spoke it lingeringly--"says he
+wishes he'd stayed here now. You know, my Uncle Jordan, Matty----" She
+hesitated to confide in the negro woman what her father had told her. So
+she contented herself with:
+
+"He's coming here soon."
+
+Matty rolled her eyes toward the girl.
+
+"I'se sorry for that, honey bunch." Then, without explaining her
+words, asked: "Want me to finish about Jonathan Woggles' grandpa
+dyin'?"
+
+But Virginia's mind was traveling in another channel.
+
+"Where's Bellaire, Matty?" she demanded.
+
+"Off south," replied the woman, "right bearin' south."
+
+"By train?"
+
+"Yes, the same's walkin' or flying'," confirmed Matty. "Jest the
+same."
+
+"Then you can finish the story now, Matty," said Virginia presently.
+
+Matty settled back in her chair, closed her eyes, and began to hum.
+
+"How far'd I tell last night?" she queried, blinking.
+
+"Just to where the white thing was waiting for Grandpa Woggles'
+spirit," explained Virginia.
+
+"Oh, yas. Well, round and round that house the white shadder swep',
+keepin' time to the howlin' of other spirits in the pine trees----"
+
+"But there aren't any pine trees at Woggles'," objected Virginia.
+
+"Well, they'd be pines if they wasn't oaks," assured Matty. "Oaks or
+pines, the spirits live in 'em jest the same."
+
+"I 'spose so," agreed Virginia. "Go on!"
+
+"An' round and round he went, meltin' the snow with his hot feet,"
+mused Matty, sniffing the air. "And in the house Betty Woggles set
+beside the old man, holdin' his hand, askin' him to promise he
+wouldn't die.... Hum! As if a human bein' could keep from the stalkin'
+whiteness beckonin' from the graveyard. 'Tain't in human power."
+
+"Can't anybody keep death away, Matty?" inquired Virginia, an
+expression of awe clouding her eyes.
+
+She was thinking of the man upstairs whom she but twice had called
+"father."
+
+"Nope, not after the warnin' comes to him. Now Grandad Woggles had
+that warnin' as much as three days afore the angel clim' the fence and
+flopped about his house. But don't keep breakin' in on me, little
+missy, 'cause I cain't finish if ye do, and I'se jest reachin' the
+thrillin' part."
+
+"Oh, then hurry," urged Jinnie.
+
+"Well, as I was sayin', Betty set by the ole man, starin' into his
+yeller face; 'twas as yeller as Milly Ann's back, his face was."
+
+"Some yeller," murmured Virginia, fondling Milly Ann.
+
+"Sure! Everybody dyin' gets yeller," informed Matty.
+
+Virginia thought again of the sick man upstairs. His face was white,
+not yellow, and her heart bounded with great hope. He might live yet a
+little while. Yes, he surely would! Matty was an authority when she
+told of the dead and dying, of the spirits which filled the pine
+trees, and it seldom occurred to Virginia to doubt the black woman's
+knowledge. She wanted her father to live! Life seemed so dizzily upset
+with no Matty, with no Milly Ann, and no--father, somewhere in the
+world. Matty's next words, spoken in a sepulchral whisper, bore down
+on her with emphasis.
+
+"Then what do ye think, honey bunch?"
+
+"I don't know!" Virginia leaned forward expectantly.
+
+"Jest as Betty was hangin' fast onto her grandpa's spirit, another
+ghost, some spots of black on him, come right longside the white one,
+wavin' his hands's if he was goin' to fly."
+
+Virginia sat up very straight. Two spirits on the scene of Grandpa
+Woggles' passing made the story more interesting, more thrilling. Her
+sparkling eyes gave a new impetus to the colored woman's wagging
+tongue.
+
+"The white spirit, he sez, 'What _you_ hangin' round here fer?'"
+
+Matty rolled her eyes upward. "This he sez to the black one, mind
+you!"
+
+Virginia nodded comprehendingly, keeping her eyes glued on the shining
+dark face in front of her. She always dreaded, during the exciting
+parts of Matty's nightly stories, to see, by chance, the garden, with
+its trees and the white, silent graveyard beyond. And, although she
+had no fear of tangible things, she seldom looked out of doors when
+Matty crooned over her ghost stories.
+
+Just then a bell pealed through the house.
+
+Matty rose heavily.
+
+"It's yer pa," she grumbled. "I'll finish when I git back."
+
+Through the door the woman hobbled, while Virginia bent over Milly
+Ann, stroking her softly with a new expression of gravity on the young
+face. Many a day, in fancy, she had dreamed of her father's
+homecoming. He was very different than her dreams. Still she hoped the
+doctor might have made a mistake about his dying. A smile came to the
+corners of her mouth, touched the dimples in her cheek, but did not
+wipe the tragedy from her eyes. She was planning how tenderly she
+would care for him, how cheerful he'd be when she played her fiddle
+for him.
+
+She heard Matty groping up the stairs--heard her pass down the hall
+and open the door. Then suddenly she caught the sound of hurried steps
+and the woman coming down again. Matty had crawled up, but was almost
+falling down in her frantic haste to reach the kitchen. Something
+unusual had happened. Virginia shoved Milly Ann to the floor and stood
+up. Matty's appearance, with chattering teeth and bulging eyes,
+brought Jinnie forward a few steps.
+
+"He's daid! Yer pa's daid!" shivered Matty. "And the house is full of
+spirits. They're standin' grinnin' in the corners. I'm goin' hum now,
+little missy. I'm goin' to my ole man. You'd better come along fer
+to-night."
+
+Jinnie heard the moaning call of the pine trees as the winter's voice
+swept through them,--the familiar sound she loved, yet at which she
+trembled. Confused thoughts rolled through her mind; her father's fear
+for her; his desire that she should seek another home. She could not
+stay in Mottville Corners; she could not go with Matty. No, of course
+not! Yet her throat filled with longing sobs, for the old colored
+woman had been with her many years.
+
+By this time Matty had tied on her scarf, opened the door, and as
+Virginia saw her disappear, she sank limply to the floor. Milly Ann
+rubbed her yellow back against her young mistress's dress. Virginia
+caught her in her arms and drew her close.
+
+"Kitty, kitty," she sobbed, "I've got to go! He said I could take you
+and your babies, and I will, I will! I won't leave you here with the
+spirits."
+
+She rose unsteadily to her feet and went to the cupboard, where she
+found a large pail. Into this she folded a roller towel. She then
+lifted the kittens from the box behind the stove and placed them in
+the pail, first pressing her lips lovingly to each warm, wriggley
+little body. Milly Ann cuddled contentedly with her offspring as the
+girl covered them up.
+
+Jinnie had suddenly grown older, for a responsibility rested upon her
+which no one else could assume.
+
+To go forth into the blizzard meant she must wrap up warmly. This she
+did. Then she wrapped a small brown fiddle in her jacket, took the
+pail and went to the door. There she stood, considering a moment, with
+her hand on the knob. With no further hesitancy she placed the kittens
+and fiddle gently on the floor, and went to the stairs. The thought of
+the spirits made her shiver. She saw long shadows making lines here
+and there, and had no doubt but that these were the ghosts Matty had
+seen. She closed her eyes tightly and began to ascend the stairs,
+feeling her way along the wall. At the top she opened reluctant lids.
+The library door stood ajar as Matty had left it, and the room
+appeared quite the same as it had a few moments before, save for the
+long figure of a man lying full length before the grate. That eternal
+period, that awful stop which puts a check on human lives, had settled
+once and for all the earthly concerns of her father. The space between
+her and the body seemed peopled with spectral beings, which moved to
+and fro in the dimly lit room. Her father lay on his back, the flames
+from the fire making weird red and yellow twisting streaks on his
+white, upturned face.
+
+The taut muscles grew limp in the girl's body as she staggered forward
+and stood contemplating the wide-open, staring eyes. Then with a long
+sigh breathed between quivering lips, she dropped beside the lifeless
+man. The deadly forces eddying around her were not of her own making.
+With the going of this person, who was her father by nature,
+everything else had gone too. All her life's hopes had been dissolved
+in the crucible of death. She lay, with her hands to her mouth,
+pressing back the great sobs that came from the depths of her heart.
+She reached out and tentatively touched her father's cheek; without
+fear she moved his head a little to what she hoped would be a more
+comfortable position.
+
+"You told me to go," she whispered brokenly, "and I'm going now. You
+never liked me much, but I guess one of my kisses won't hurt you."
+
+Saying this, Jinnie pressed her lips twice to those of her dead
+father, and got to her feet quickly. She dared not leave the lamp
+burning, so within a short distance of the table she drew a long
+breath and blew toward the smoking light. The flame flared thrice like
+a torch, then spat out, leaving the shivering girl to feel her way
+around the room. To the sensitive young soul the dark was almost
+maddening. She only wanted to get back to Milly Ann, and she closed
+the door with no thought for what might become of the man inside. He
+was dead! A greater danger menaced her. He had warned her and she
+would heed. As she stumbled down the stairs, her memories came too
+swiftly to be precise and in order, and the weird moans of the night
+wind drifted intermittently through the wild maze of her thoughts. She
+would say good-bye to Molly the Merry, for Molly was the only person
+in all the country round who had ever spoken a kindly word to her.
+Their acquaintance had been slight, because Molly lived quite a
+distance away and the woman had never been to see her, but then of
+course no one in the neighborhood approved of the house of Singleton.
+
+Later by five minutes, Virginia left the dark farmhouse, carrying her
+fiddle and the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+JINNIE'S FAREWELL TO MOLLY THE MERRY
+
+
+Virginia turned into the Merriweather gate, went up the small path to
+the kitchen, and rapped on the door. There was no response, so she
+turned the handle and stepped into the room. It was warm and
+comfortable. A teakettle, singing on the back of the stove, threw out
+little jets of steam. Jinnie placed the pail on the floor and seated
+herself in a low chair with her fiddle on her lap. Molly would be back
+in a minute, she was sure. Just as she was wondering where the woman
+could be, she heard the sound of voices from the inner room. A swift
+sensation of coming evil swept over her, and without taking thought of
+consequences, she slipped under the kitchen table, drawing the pail
+after her. The long fringe from the red cloth hung down about her in
+small, even tassels. The dining room door opened and she tried to
+stifle her swiftly coming breaths. Virginia could see a pair of legs,
+man's legs, and they weren't country legs either. Following them were
+the light frillings of a woman's skirts.
+
+"It's warmer here," said Miss Merriweather's voice.
+
+Molly and the man took chairs. From her position Virginia could not
+see his face.
+
+"Your father's ill," he said in a voice rich and deep.
+
+"Yes," replied Molly. "He's been near death for a long time. We've had
+to give him the greatest care. That's why I haven't told him
+anything."
+
+The man bent over until Jinnie could see the point of his chin.
+
+"I see," said he.... "Well, Molly, are you glad to have me back?"
+
+Molly's face came plainly within Jinnie's view. At his question the
+woman went paler. Then the man leaned over and tried to take one of
+her hands. But she drew it away again and locked her fingers together
+in her lap.
+
+"Aren't you glad to see me back again?" he repeated.
+
+Molly's startled eyes came upward to his face.
+
+"I don't know--I can't tell--I'm so surprised and----"
+
+"And glad," laughed the stranger in a deep, mesmeric voice. "Glad to
+have your husband back once more, eh?"
+
+Virginia's start was followed quickly by an imploration from Molly.
+
+"Hush, hush, please don't speak of it!"
+
+"I certainly shall speak of it; I certainly shall. I came here for no
+other reason than that. And who would speak of it if I didn't?"
+
+Molly shivered. There was something about the man's low, modulated
+tones that repelled Virginia. She tried in vain to see his face. She
+was sure that nowhere in the hills was there such a man.
+
+"You've been gone so long I thought you'd forgotten or--or were dead,"
+breathed Molly, covering her face with her hands.
+
+"Not forgotten, but I wasn't able to get back."
+
+"You could have written me."
+
+The man shrugged himself impatiently.
+
+"But I didn't. Don't rake up old things; please don't. Molly, look at
+me."
+
+Molly uncovered a pair of unwilling eyes and centered them upon his
+face.
+
+"What makes you act so? Are you afraid?"
+
+"I did not expect you back, that's all."
+
+"That's not it! Tell me what's on your mind.... Tell me."
+
+Molly's white lids fell, her fingers clenched and unclenched.
+
+"I didn't--I couldn't write," she whispered, "about the baby."
+
+"Baby!" The word burst out like a bomb. The man stood up. "Baby!" he
+repeated. "You mean my--our baby?"
+
+Molly swallowed and nodded.
+
+"A little boy," she said, in a low voice.
+
+"Where is he?" demanded the man.
+
+"Please, please don't ask me, I beg of you. I want to forget----"
+
+"But you can't forget you're married, that you've been the mother of a
+child and--and--that I'm its father."
+
+Molly's tears began to flow. Virginia had never seen a woman cry
+before in all her young life. It was a most distressing sight.
+Something within her leaped up and thundered at her brain. It ordered
+her to venture out and aid the pretty woman if she could. Jinnie was
+not an eavesdropper! She did not wish to hear any more. But fear kept
+her crouched in her awkward position.
+
+"I just want to forget if I can," Molly sobbed. "I don't know where
+the baby is. That's why I want to forget. I can't find him."
+
+"Can't find him? What do you mean by 'can't find him'?"
+
+Molly faced about squarely, suddenly.
+
+"I've asked you not to talk about it. I've been terribly unhappy and
+so miserable.... It's only lately I've begun to be at all
+reconciled."
+
+"Nevertheless, I _will_ hear," snapped the man angrily. "I _will_
+hear! Begin back from the letter you wrote me."
+
+"Asking you to help me?" questioned the girl.
+
+"Yes, asking me to help you, if you want to be blunt. Molly, it won't
+make you any happier to hatch up old scores. I tell you I've come to
+make amends--to take you--if you will----"
+
+"And I repeat, I can't go with you!"
+
+"We'll leave that discussion until later. Begin back where I told you
+to."
+
+Molly's face was very white, and her lids drooped wearily. Virginia
+wanted so much to help her! She made a little uneasy movement under
+the table, but Molly's tragic voice was speaking again.
+
+"My father'd kill me if he knew about it, so I never told him or any
+one."
+
+"Including me," cut in the man sarcastically.
+
+"You didn't care," said Molly with asperity.
+
+"How do you know I didn't care? Did you tell me? Did you? Did I
+know?"
+
+Molly shook her head.
+
+"Then I insist upon knowing now, this moment!"
+
+"My father would have killed me----"
+
+"Well!" His voice rushed in upon her hesitancy.
+
+"When I couldn't stay home any longer, I went away to visit a cousin
+of my mother's. At least, my father thought I'd gone there. I only
+stayed with Bertha a little while and father never knew the truth of
+it."
+
+"And then after that?"
+
+"I didn't know what to do with my baby. I was afraid people'd say I
+wasn't married, and then father----"
+
+"Go on from the time you left your cousin's."
+
+Molly thought a minute and proceeded.
+
+"I looked in all the papers to find some one who wanted a baby----"
+
+"So you gave him away? Well, that's easy to overcome. You couldn't
+give my baby away, you know."
+
+"No, no, indeed! I didn't give him away.... I boarded him out and
+saved money to pay for him. I even took summer boarders. The woman who
+had him----"
+
+Molly's long wait prompted the man once more.
+
+"Well?" he said again. "The woman what?"
+
+"The woman began to love the baby very much, and she wasn't very poor,
+and didn't need the money. Lots of times I went with it to her, and
+she wouldn't take it."
+
+A thought connected with her story made Molly bury her face in her
+hands. The man touched her.
+
+"Go on," he said slowly. "Go on. And then?"
+
+"Then once when I went to her she said she was going to take the baby
+on a little visit to some relatives and would write me as soon as she
+got back."
+
+"Yes," encouraged the low voice.
+
+"She never wrote or came back. I couldn't find where she'd gone, and
+father was terribly ill, and I've hoped and hoped----"
+
+"How long since you last saw him?"
+
+Molly considered a moment.
+
+"A long time," she sighed.
+
+"How many years?"
+
+"One!"
+
+"Then he was almost seven years with the woman?"
+
+"Yes," breathed Molly, and they lapsed into silence.
+
+The man meditated a space and Jinnie heard a low, nervous cough come
+from his lips.
+
+"Molly," he said presently, "I'm going to have a lot of money soon. It
+won't be long, and then we'll find him and begin life all over."
+
+"Oh, I'd love to find him," moaned Molly, "but I couldn't begin over
+with you. It's all hateful and horrible now."
+
+The man leaned over and touched her, not too tenderly. When Molly's
+face was turned to him, he tilted her chin up.
+
+"You care for some one else?" he said abruptly.
+
+The droop of the girl's head was his answer. He stood up suddenly.
+
+"That's it! That's it! What's his name?"
+
+A shake of her head was all the answer Molly gave him.
+
+"I asked you his name. Get up! Stand up!"
+
+As if to force her to do his will, he took hold of her shoulders
+sharply and drew her upward.
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+"It doesn't matter."
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+Virginia did not catch Molly's whisper.
+
+A disbelieving grunt fell from the stranger's lips.
+
+"I remember him as a boy. Weren't they one summer at the Mottville
+Hotel? He's years younger than you."
+
+Molly gathered courage.
+
+"He doesn't know how old I am," she responded, "and his mother loves
+me, too. They were with me three summers." Then, remembering the man's
+statement, she added, "Ages don't count nowadays. And I _will_ be
+happy."
+
+"You'll get happiness with _me_, not with _him_," said an angry voice.
+"Has he ever told you he loved you?"
+
+"No, no, indeed not. But he was here to-day! His mother's ill and
+wanted me to come as her companion, but I couldn't leave father right
+now."
+
+"Does he know you love him?"
+
+An emphatic negative ejaculation from Molly brought a sigh of relief
+from the man.
+
+"Forget him!" said he. "Now I'm going. I shall come back to-night, and
+_remember_ this. I'll leave no stone unturned to find that boy. I've
+always longed for one, and I'll move Heaven and earth to find him."
+
+Virginia saw him whirl about, open the door, and stride out.
+
+Molly Merriweather stood for a few minutes in silence, trembling.
+
+"I didn't dare to tell him the baby was blind," she whispered, too low
+for Jinnie to hear.
+
+Then she slowly glided away, leaving the girl under the table, with
+her pail full of cats, and the fiddle. Presently Virginia crawled out
+cautiously, the pail on her arm, and hugging her fiddle, she opened
+the door swiftly, and disappeared down the road, running under the
+tall trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+JINNIE TRAVELS
+
+
+Virginia took the direction leading to the station. Many a time she
+had watched the trains rush by on their way to New York, but never in
+those multitudinous yesterdays had it entered her mind that some day
+she would go over that same way, to be gone possibly forever. The wind
+was blowing at such a terrific rate that Jinnie could scarcely walk.
+There was no fear in her heart, only deep solemnity and a sense of awe
+at the magnificence of a storm. She had left the farmhouse so suddenly
+that the loneliness of parting had not then been forced upon her as it
+was now; the realization was settling slowly upon the clouded young
+mind.
+
+She was a mere puppet in the hands of an inexorable fate, which had
+shown her little mercy or benevolence.
+
+Out of sight of the Merriweather homestead, she kept to the path along
+the highway, now and then shifting the pail from one hand to the
+other, and clasping the beloved fiddle to her breast. Once she looked
+down to find Milly Ann peeping above the rim of the pail. Jinnie could
+see the glint of her greenish eyes. She stopped and, with a tenderly
+spoken admonition, covered her more closely with the roller towel.
+When the lighted station-house glimmered through the falling snow,
+Jinnie sighed with relief.
+
+"I couldn't 've carried you and the fiddle much farther, Milly Ann,"
+she murmured.
+
+At that moment a tall figure, herculean in size, loomed out of the
+night and advanced hastily. The man's head was bent forward against
+the storm. Virginia caught a glimpse of his face as he passed in the
+streak of light thrown out from the station.
+
+He sprang to the platform and disappeared in the doorway. Jinnie saw
+him plainly when she, too, entered, and her eyes followed him as he
+went out.
+
+She had never seen him before. Like the man in the Merriweather
+kitchen, he bore the stamp of the city upon him.
+
+Virginia bought her ticket as her father had directed, and while the
+pail was still on the floor, she bent to examine Milly Ann and the
+kittens. The latter were asleep, but the mother-cat lazily opened her
+eyes to greet, with a purr, the soft touch of Jinnie's fingers. The
+girl waited inside the room until the shriek of the engine's whistle
+told her of its approach; then, with the fiddle and the pail, she
+walked to the platform.
+
+The long, snakelike train was edging the hill, its headlight bearing
+down the track in one straight, glittering line.
+
+For the first time in her life, Jinnie felt really afraid. In other
+days, with beating heart, she had hugged close to the roadside as the
+monster slipped either into the station and stopped, or rushed around
+the curve. Tonight she was going aboard, over into a strange land
+among strange people.
+
+She tilted the pail lovingly and hugged a little more tightly the
+fiddle in her arm. Whatever happened, she had Milly, her little
+family, and the comforting music. Jinnie could never be quite alone
+with these. As the train slowed up, the conductor jumped down.
+
+It seemed to Virginia like a dream as she walked toward the steps at
+the end of the car. As she was about to lift her foot to climb up, she
+heard a voice say:
+
+"Let me help you, child. Here, I'll take the pail."
+
+Virginia looked upward into the face of a man,--the same face she had
+seen in the station a few moments before,--and around the handsome
+mouth was a smile of reassuring kindliness.
+
+She surrendered the pail with a burning blush, and felt, with a
+strange new thrill, a firm hand upon her arm. The next thing she knew
+she was in a seat, with the pail on the floor and the fiddle lying
+beside her.
+
+She gazed around wonderingly. There was no one in sight but the tall
+man who, across the aisle, was arranging his overcoat on the back of
+the seat. Jinnie looked at him with interest--he had been so kind to
+her--and noted his thick, blond hair, which had been cropped close to
+a massive head. She admired him, too. Suddenly he looked up, and the
+girl felt a clutch at her heart. Just why that happened she could not
+tell. Again came the charming smile, the parted lips showing a set of
+dazzling white teeth.
+
+Jinnie smiled back, responsively. The man came over.
+
+"May I sit beside you?" he asked.
+
+Jinnie moved the fiddle invitingly and huddled herself into the
+corner. When the man started to move the pail, Jinnie stayed him.
+
+"Oh, don't, please," she protested. "It's only Milly and----"
+
+"Milly and what?" quizzically came the question.
+
+"Her kitties--see?"
+
+She drew aside the towel and exposed the sleeping family.
+
+A broad smile lit up the man's face.
+
+"Oh, cats! I see! Where're you taking them?"
+
+"To Bellaire."
+
+"Ah, Bellaire; that's where I'm going. We'll have a nice ride
+together, almost two hours."
+
+"I'm glad." Jinnie leaned back, sighing contentedly.
+
+In those few minutes she had grown to have great faith in this
+stranger, the third of the puzzling trio that had come into her life
+that night. First her father, then the man with Molly the Merry, and
+now this brilliant new friend, who quite took away her breath as she
+peeped up at him. His smile seemed to be ever ready. It warmed her and
+made her glow with friendliness. She liked, too, the deep tones in his
+voice and the sight of his strong hands as they gestured during his
+speeches.
+
+"Where are you going in Bellaire?" he questioned.
+
+Virginia cogitated for a moment. She couldn't tell the story her
+father had told her, yet she must answer his kindly question.
+
+At length, "The cats and I are going to live with my uncle," said
+she.
+
+"He lives in Bellaire?"
+
+"Yes, but I've never seen him. I'll find him, though, when I get
+there."
+
+It didn't occur to the man to ask the name of her relatives, and
+Jinnie was glad he did not.
+
+"Perhaps I shall see you some time in the city," he responded to her
+statement. Jinnie hoped so; oh, how she hoped she might see him
+again!
+
+"Mebbe," was all she said.
+
+"You see I live there with my mother," continued the man. "Our home is
+called Kinglaire. My name is King."
+
+Virginia lifted her head with a queer little start.
+
+"I've read about your people," she said. "I've got a book in our
+garret that tells all about Kings."
+
+"That's very nice," answered Mr. King. "I won't have to explain
+anything about us, then."
+
+"No, I know," said Jinnie in satisfaction.
+
+At least she thought she knew. Hadn't she read over and over, when
+seated in the garret, the story of the old and new kings, how they sat
+on their thrones, and ruled their people sometimes with a rod of iron?
+Jinnie brought to mind some of the vivid pictures, and shyly lifted a
+pair of violet eyes to scan the face above her. Surely this King was
+handsomer than any in the book. She tried to imagine him on his
+throne, and wondered if he were always smiling as now.
+
+"You're quite different from your relations," she observed presently.
+
+Theodore King laughed aloud. The sound startled the girl into a
+straighter posture. It rang out so merrily that she laughed too after
+making up her mind that he was not ridiculing her.
+
+"Really you are!" she exclaimed. "I mean it. You know the picture of
+the King with a red suit on,--he doesn't look like you. His nose went
+sort of down over his mouth--I mean, well, yours don't."
+
+She stumbled through the last few words, intuitively realizing that
+she had been too personal.
+
+"You like to read, I gather," stated Mr. King.
+
+"Yes, but I like to fiddle better," said Jinnie.
+
+"Oh, you play, do you?"
+
+Jinnie's eyes fell upon the instrument standing in the corner of the
+opposite seat, wrapped in an old jacket. She nodded.
+
+"I play some. I love my fiddle almost as much as I do Milly Ann and
+her kitties."
+
+"Won't you play for me?" asked Mr. King, gravely putting forth his
+hand.
+
+Jinnie paused a moment. Then without further hesitancy she took up the
+violin and unfastened it.
+
+"I'll be glad to fiddle for a king," she said naively.
+
+She did not speak as she turned and twisted the small white keys.
+
+Outside the storm was still roaring over the hills, sweeping the lake
+into monstrous waves. The shriek of the wind mingled with the snap of
+the taut strings under the agile fingers of the hill girl. Then Jinnie
+began to play. Never in all his life had Theodore King seen a picture
+such as the girl before him made. The wondrous beauty of her, the
+marvelous fingers traveling over the strings, together with the
+moaning of the night wind, made an impression upon him he would never
+forget. Sometimes as her fingers sped on, her eyes were penetrating;
+sometimes they darkened almost to melancholy. When the last wailing
+note had finally died away, Jinnie dropped the instrument to her
+side.
+
+"It's lonely on nights like this when the ghosts howl about," she
+observed. "They love the fiddle, ghosts do."
+
+Theodore King came back to himself at the girl's words. He drew a long
+breath.
+
+"Child," he ejaculated, "whoever taught you to play like that?"
+
+"Why, I taught myself," answered Jinnie.
+
+"Please play again," entreated Mr. King, and once more he sat
+enthralled with the wonder of the girl's melodies. The last few
+soulful notes Mr. King likened to a sudden prayer, sent out with a
+sobbing breath.
+
+"It's wonderful," he murmured slowly. "What is the piece you've just
+played?"
+
+"It hasn't any name yet," replied the girl. "You see I only know
+pieces that're in my head."
+
+Then all the misery of the past few hours swept over her, and Jinnie
+began to cry. A burden of doubt had clouded the usually clear young
+mind. What if the man to whom she was going would not let her and the
+cats live with him? He might turn them away.
+
+Mr. King spoke softly to her.
+
+"Don't cry," said he. "You won't be lonely when you get to your
+uncle's."
+
+But she met his smiling glance with a feeling of constraint. He did
+not know the cause of her tears; she could not tell him. If she only
+knew,--if she only had one little inkling of the reception she would
+receive at the painter's home. However, she did cheer up a little when
+Mr. King, in evident desire to be of some service, began to tell her
+of the city to which she was going.
+
+In a short time he saw the dark head nodding, and he drew Jinnie down
+against his arm, whispering:
+
+"Sleep a while, child; I'll wake you up at Bellaire."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+LIKE UNTO LIKE ATTRACTED
+
+
+Jinnie Singleton watched Theodore King leave the train at the little
+private station situated on his own estate. As she drew nearer the
+city depot, her heart beat with uncertainty, for that day would decide
+her fate, her future; she would know by night whether or not she
+possessed a friend in the world.
+
+For some hours she sat in the station on one of the hard benches,
+waiting for daylight, at which time she and Milly Ann would steal
+forth into the city to find Lafe Grandoken, her mother's friend.
+
+A reluctant, stormy dawn was pushing its way from the horizon as she
+picked up the pail and fiddle and stepped out into the falling snow.
+
+Stopping a moment, she asked the station master about the Grandokens,
+but as he had only that week arrived in Bellaire, he politely, with
+admiration in his eyes, told her he could not give her any
+information. But on the railroad tracks Virginia saw a man standing
+with his hands thrust deep into his pockets.
+
+"What'd you want of Lafe Grandoken?" asked the fellow in reply to her
+question.
+
+"I've come to see him," answered Jinnie evasively.
+
+"He's a cobbler and lives down with the shortwood gatherers there on
+Paradise Road. Littlest shack of the bunch! He ain't far from my
+folks. My name's Maudlin Bates."
+
+He went very near her.
+
+"Now I've told you, you c'n gimme a kiss," said he.
+
+"I'll give you a bat," flung back Jinnie, walking away.
+
+Some distance off she stood looking down the tracks, her blue eyes
+noting the row of huts strung along the road and extending toward the
+hills. At the back of them was a marshland, dense with trees and
+underbrush.
+
+"My father told me Mr. Grandoken was a painter of houses!" Jinnie
+ruminated: "But that damn duffer back there says he's changed his work
+to cobbling. I'll go and see! I hope it won't be long before I'm as
+warm as can be. Wonder if he'll be glad to see me!"
+
+"It's the smallest house among 'em," she cogitated further, walking
+very fast. "Well! There ain't any of 'em very big."
+
+She traveled on through heavy snow, glancing at every hut until,
+coming to a standstill, she read aloud:
+
+"Lafe Grandoken, Cobbler of Folks' and Children's Shoes and Boots."
+
+Jinnie turned and, going down a short flight of steps, hesitated a
+moment before she knocked timidly on the front door. During the moment
+of waiting she glanced over what she hoped was to be her future home.
+It was so small in comparison with the huge, lonely farmhouse she had
+left the night before that her heart grew warm in anticipation. Then
+in answer to a man's voice, calling "Come in!" she lifted the latch
+and opened the door.
+
+The room was small and cheerless, although a fire was struggling for
+life in a miniature stove. In one corner was a table strewn with
+papers. Back from the window which faced the tracks was a man, a kit
+of cobbler's tools, in the disarray of daily use, on the bench beside
+him. He halted, with his hammer in the air, at the sight of the
+newcomer.
+
+"Come in and shut the door," said he, and the girl did as she was
+bidden. "Cold, ain't it?"
+
+"Yes," replied Jinnie, placing the pail and fiddle on the floor.
+
+The girl looked the man over with her steady blue eyes. Then her heart
+gave one great bound. The grey face had lighted with a sweet, sad
+smile; the faded eyes, under the bushy brows, twinkled welcome. A
+sense of wonderful security and friendship rushed over her.
+
+"Well, what's your business? Got some shoes to mend?" asked the man.
+"Better sit down."
+
+Jinnie took a chair in silence, a passionate wish suffusing her being
+that this small home might be hers. She was so lonely, so homesick.
+The little room seemed radiant with the smile of the cobbler. She only
+felt the wonderful content that flowed from the man on the bench to
+herself; she wanted to stay with him; never before had she been face
+to face with a desire so great.
+
+"I've come to live with you," she gulped, at length.
+
+The cobbler gave a quick whack at the little shoe he held in the
+vise.
+
+"I'm Jinnie Singleton, kid of Thomas Singleton, the second," the girl
+explained, almost mechanically, "and I haven't any home, so I've come
+to you."
+
+During this statement the cobbler's hammer rattled to the floor, and
+he sat eyeing the speaker speechlessly. Then he slowly lifted his arms
+and held them forth.
+
+"Come here! Lass, come here!" he said huskily. "I'd come to you, but I
+can't."
+
+In her mental state it took Jinnie a few seconds to gather the import
+of the cobbler's words. Then she sprang up and went forward with
+parted, smiling lips, tears trembling thick on her dark lashes. When
+Jinnie felt a pair of warm, welcoming arms about her strong young
+shoulders, she shivered in sudden joy. The sensation was delightful,
+and while a thin hand patted her back, she choked down a hard sob.
+However, she pressed backward and looked down into Lafe Grandoken's
+eyes.
+
+"I thought I'd never cry again as long as I lived," she whispered,
+"but--but I guess it's your loving me that's done it."
+
+It came like a small confession--as a relief to the overburdened
+little soul.
+
+"I guess I've rode a hundred miles to get here," she went on, half
+sobbing, "and you're awful glad to see me, ain't you?"
+
+It didn't need Lafe's, "You bet your boots," to satisfy Jinnie. The
+warmth of his arms, the shining, misty eyes, set her to shivering
+convulsively and shaking with happiness.
+
+"Set here on the bench," invited the cobbler, softly, "an' tell me
+about your pa an' ma."
+
+"They're both dead," said Jinnie, sitting down, but she still kept her
+hand on the cobbler's arm as if she were afraid he would vanish from
+her sight.
+
+The man made a dash at his eyes with his free hand.
+
+"Both dead!" he repeated with effort, "an' you're their girl!"
+
+"Yes, and I've come to live with you, if you'll let me."
+
+She drew forth the letters written the night before.
+
+"Here's two letters," she ended, handing them over, and sinking down
+again into the chair.
+
+She sat very quietly as the cobbler stumbled through the finely
+written sheets.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+                                             "Mottville Corners, N. Y.
+
+"Dear Mr. Grandoken," whispered Lafe.
+
+"My girl will bring you this, and, in excuse for sending her, I will
+briefly state: I'm very near the grave, and she's in great danger. I
+want to tell you that her Uncle Jordan Morse has conquered me and will
+her, if she's not looked after. For her mother's sake, I ask you to
+take her if you can. She will repay you when she's of age, but until
+then, after I'm gone, she can't get any money unless through her
+uncle, and that would be too dangerous. When I say that my child's
+life isn't worth this paper if she is given over to Morse, you'll see
+the necessity of helping her. I don't know another soul I could trust
+as I am trusting you. The other letter Virginia will explain. Keep it
+to use against Morse if you need to.
+
+"I can't tell you whether my girl is good or not, but I hope so. I've
+woefully neglected her, but now I wish I had a chance to live the past
+few years over. She'll tell you all she knows, which isn't much. What
+you do for her will be greatly appreciated by me, and would be by her
+mother, too, if she could understand her daughter's danger.
+"Gratefully yours,
+
+                                                "THOMAS G. SINGLETON."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The cobbler put down the paper, and the rattling of it made Jinnie
+raise her head.
+
+"Come over here again," said the shoemaker, kindly. "Now tell me all
+about it."
+
+"Didn't the letter tell you?"
+
+"Some of it, yes. But tell me about yourself."
+
+Lafe Grandoken listened as the girl recounted her past life with
+Matty, and when at the finish she remarked,
+
+"I had to bring Milly Ann----"
+
+Grandoken by a look interrupted her explanation.
+
+"Milly Ann?" he repeated.
+
+Then came the story of the mother-cat and her babies. Jinnie lifted
+the towel, and the almost smothered kittens scrambled over the top of
+the pail. Milly Ann stretched her cramped legs, then proceeded
+vigorously to wash the faces of her numerous children.
+
+"She wouldn't 've had a place to live if I hadn't brought her,"
+explained Jinnie, looking at the kittens. "I guess they won't eat
+much, because Milly Ann catches all kinds of live things. I don't like
+'er to do that, but I heard she was born that way and can't help it."
+
+"I guess she'll find enough to eat around here," he said softly.
+
+"I brought my fiddle, too," Jinnie went on lovingly. "I couldn't live
+without it any more'n I could without Milly Ann."
+
+The cobbler nodded.
+
+"You play?" he questioned.
+
+"A little," replied the girl.
+
+Mr. Grandoken eyed the instrument on the floor beside the pail.
+
+"You oughter have a box to put it in," he suggested. "It might get
+wet."
+
+Virginia acquiesced by bowing her head.
+
+"I know it," she assented, "but I carried it in that old wrap.... Did
+Father tell you about my uncle?"
+
+"Yes," replied the cobbler.
+
+"And that he was made to die for something my uncle did?"
+
+"Yes, an' that he might harm you.... I knew your mother well, lass,
+when she was young like you."
+
+An expression of sadness pursed Jinnie's pretty mouth.
+
+"I don't remember her, you see," she murmured sadly. "I wish I had her
+now."
+
+And she heard the cobbler murmur, "What must your uncle be to want to
+hurt a little, sweet girl like you?"
+
+They did not speak again for a few moments.
+
+"Go call Peg," the cobbler then said.
+
+At a loss, Virginia glanced about.
+
+"Peg's my woman--my wife," explained Lafe. "Go through that door
+there. Just call Peg an' she'll come."
+
+In answer to the summons a woman appeared, with hands on hips and arms
+akimbo. Her almost colorless hair, streaked a little with grey, was
+drawn back from a sallow, thin face out of which gleamed a pair of
+light blue eyes. Jinnie in one quick glance noted how tall and angular
+she was. The cobbler looked from his wife to her.
+
+"You've heard me speak about Singleton, who married Miss Virginia
+Burton in Mottville, Peggy, ain't you?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," answered the woman.
+
+"His kid's come to live with us. She calls herself Jinnie." He threw
+his eyes with a kindly smile to the girl, standing hesitant, longing
+for recognition from the tall, gaunt woman. "I guess she'd better go
+to the other room and warm her hands, eh?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, dark-faced, with drooping lips, ordered the girl into
+the kitchen.
+
+Alone with his wife, Lafe read Singleton's letter aloud.
+
+"I've heard as much of her yarn as I can get," he said, glancing up.
+"I just wanted to tell you she was here."
+
+"We ain't got a cent to bless ourselves with," grumbled Mrs.
+Grandoken, "an' times is so hard I can't get more work than what I'm
+doin'."
+
+A patient, resigned look crossed the cobbler's pain-worn face.
+
+"That's so, Peg, that's so," he agreed heartily. "But there's always
+to-morrow, an' after that another to-morrow. With every new day
+there's always a chance. We've got a chance, an' so's the girl."
+
+The woman dropped into a chair, noticing the cobbler's smile, which
+was born to give her hope.
+
+"There ain't much chance for a bit of a brat like her," she snarled
+crossly, and the man answered this statement with eagerness, because
+the rising inflection in his wife's voice made it a question.
+
+"Yes, there is, Peg," he insisted; "yes, there is! Didn't you say
+there was hope for me when my legs went bad--that I had a chance for a
+livin'? Now didn't you, Peggy? An' ain't I got the nattiest little
+shop this side of way up town?"
+
+Peg paused a moment. Then, "That you have, Lafe; you sure have," came
+slowly.
+
+"An' didn't I make full sixty cents yesterday?"
+
+"You did, Lafe; you sure did."
+
+"An' sixty cents is better'n nothin', ain't it, Peg?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken arose hastily.
+
+"Course 'tis, Lafe! But don't brag 'cause you made sixty cents. You
+might a lost your hands same's your feet. 'Tain't no credit to you you
+didn't. Here, let me wrap you up better! You'll freeze all that's left
+of your legs, if you don't."
+
+"Them legs ain't much good," sighed the cobbler. "They might as well
+be off; mightn't they, Peg?"
+
+Peggy wrapped a worn blanket tightly about her husband.
+
+"You oughter be ashamed," she growled darkly. "Ain't you every day
+sayin' there's always to-morrow?"
+
+This time her voice was toned with finality, and she turned and went
+out.
+
+[Illustration: "I GUESS THEY WON'T EAT MUCH, BECAUSE MILLY ANN CATCHES
+ALL KIND OF LIVE THINGS. I DON'T LIKE HER TO DO THAT, BUT
+I HEARD SHE WAS BORN THAT WAY AND CAN'T HELP IT."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+PEG'S BARK
+
+
+Virginia and Lafe Grandoken sat for some time with nothing but the
+tick-tack of the hammer to break the silence.
+
+"It bein' the first time you've visited us, kid," broke in the man,
+pausing, "you can't be knowin' just what's made us live this way."
+
+Virginia made a negative gesture and smiled, settling herself
+hopefully for a story, but Lafe brought a frightened expression
+quickly to her face by his low, even voice, and the ominous meaning of
+his words.
+
+"Me an' Peg's awful poor," said he.
+
+"Then mebbe I'd better not stay, Mr. Lafe," faltered Jinnie.
+
+The cobbler threaded his fingers through his hair.
+
+"The shanty's awful small," he interjected, thoughtfully.
+
+"I think it's awful nice, though," offered the girl. Some thought
+closed her blue eyes, but they flashed open instantly.
+
+"Cobbler," she faltered, "is Mrs. Peggy mad when she grits her teeth
+and wags her head?"
+
+As if by its own volition the cobbler's hammer stayed itself in the
+air.
+
+"No," he smiled, "just when she acts the worst is when she's likely to
+do her best ... I've knowed Peggy this many a year."
+
+"She was a wee little bit cross to me," commented the girl.
+
+"Was she? I didn't hear anything she said."
+
+"I'll tell you, then, Mr. Lafe," said Virginia. "When I was standing
+by the fire warming my hands, she come bustling out and looked awful
+mad. She said something about folks keeping their girls to home."
+
+"Well, what after that?" asked the cobbler, as Jinnie hesitated.
+
+"She said she could see me eating my head off, and as long as I had to
+hide from my uncle, I wouldn't be able to earn my salt."
+
+"Well, that's right," affirmed the cobbler, wagging his head. "You got
+to keep low for a while. Your Uncle Morse knows a lot of folks in this
+town."
+
+"But they don't know me," said Virginia.
+
+"That's good," remarked Lafe.
+
+As he said this, Peg opened the door roughly and ordered them in to
+breakfast.
+
+Virginia sat beside the cobbler at the meager meal. On the table were
+three bowls of hot mush. As the fragrant odor rose to her nostrils,
+waves of joy crept slowly through the young body.
+
+"Peggy 'lowed you'd be hungry, kid," said the cobbler, pushing a bowl
+in front of her.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken interrupted her husband with a growl.
+
+"If I've any mem'ry, you 'lowed it yourself, Lafe Grandoken," she
+muttered.
+
+A smile deepened on the cobbler's face and a slight flush rose to his
+forehead.
+
+"I 'lowed it, too, Peggy dear," he said.
+
+"Eat your mush," snapped the woman, "an', Lafe, don't 'Peggy dear' me.
+I hate it; see?"
+
+Virginia refused to believe the startling words. She would have
+adored being called "dear." In Lafe's voice, great love rang out; in
+the woman's, she scarcely knew what. She glanced from one to the other
+as the cobbler lifted his head. He was always thanking some one in
+some unknown place for the priceless gift of his woman.
+
+"I'll 'Peggy dear' you whenever I feel like it, wife," he said
+gravely, "for God knows you're awful dear to me, Peg."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken ignored his speech, but when she returned from the
+stove, her voice was a little more gentle.
+
+"You can both stuff your innards with hot mush. You can't starve on
+that.... Here, kid, sit a little nearer!"
+
+So Virginia Singleton, the lame cobbler, and Peggy began their first
+meal, facing a new day, which to Lafe was yesterday's to-morrow.
+
+A little later Virginia followed the wheel chair into the cobbler's
+shop. Peggy grumblingly left them to return to her duties in the
+kitchen.
+
+"Terrible cold day this," Lafe observed, picking up a shoe. "The
+wind's blowin' forty miles the hour."
+
+Virginia's next remark was quite irrelevant to the wind.
+
+"I'm hoping Mrs. Peggy'll get the money she was talking about."
+
+"Did she tell you she needed some?"
+
+Virginia nodded, and when she spoke again, her tongue was parched and
+dry.
+
+"She said she had to have money to-night. I hope she gets it; if she
+doesn't I can't stay and live with you."
+
+"I hope she gets it, too," sighed the cobbler.
+
+Of a sudden a thought seemed to strike him. The girl noticed it and
+looked a question.
+
+"Peggy's bark's worser'n her bite," Lafe explained in answer. "She's
+like a lot of them little pups that do a lot of barkin' but wouldn't
+set their teeth in a biscuit."
+
+"Does that mean," Jinnie asked eagerly, "if she don't get the two
+dollars to-night, Mrs. Peggy might let me stay?"
+
+"That's just what it means," replied Lafe, making loud whacks on the
+sole of a shoe. "You'll stay, all right."
+
+The depth of Virginia's gratitude just then could only be estimated by
+one who had passed through the same fires of deep uncertainty, and in
+the ardor of it she flung her arms around the cobbler's neck and
+kissed him.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Lafe, with useless legs, had been brought home to his wife, she
+had stoically taken up the burden that had been his. At her husband's
+suggestion that he should cobble, Mrs. Grandoken had fitted up the
+little shop, telling him grimly that every hand in the world should do
+its share. And that was how Lafe Grandoken, laborer and optimist,
+began his life's great work--of cobbling a ray of comfort to every
+soul entering the shack. Sometimes he would insist that the sun shone
+brighter than the day before; then again that the clouds had a cooling
+effect. But if in the world outside Lafe found no comfort, he always
+spoke of to-morrow with a ring of hope in his voice.
+
+Hope for another day was all Lafe had save Peggy, and to him these
+two--hope and the woman--were Heaven's choicest gifts. Now Peggy
+didn't realize all these things, because the world, with its trials
+and vicissitudes, gave her a different aspect of life, and she was not
+in even her ordinary good humor this day as she prepared the midday
+meal. Her mind was busy with thoughts of the new burden which the
+morning had brought.
+
+Generally Lafe consulted her about any problem that presented itself
+before him, but, that day, he had taken a young stranger into their
+home, and Mrs. Grandoken had used all kinds of arguments to persuade
+him to send the girl away. Peggy didn't want another mouth to feed.
+She didn't care for any one in the world but Lafe anyway.
+
+When the dinner was on the table, she grimly brought her husband's
+wheel chair to the kitchen. Virginia, by the cobbler's invitation,
+followed.
+
+"Any money paid in to-day?" asked Peggy gruffly, drawing the cobbler
+to his place at the table.
+
+"No," he said, smiling up at her, "but there'll be a lot to-morrow....
+Is there some bread for----for Jinnie, too?"
+
+Peggy replied by sticking her fork into a biscuit and pushing it off
+on Virginia's plate with her finger.
+
+Virginia acknowledged it with a shy upward glance. Peg's stolid face
+and quick, insistent movements filled her with vague discomfort. If
+the woman had tempered her harsh, "Take it, kid," with a smile, the
+little girl's heart might have ached less.
+
+Lafe nodded to her when his wife left the room for a moment.
+
+"That biscuit's Peg's bite," said he, "so she'll bark a lot the rest
+of the day, but don't you mind."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+JUST A JEW
+
+
+When the cobbler was at work again, Virginia, after picking up a few
+nails and tacks scattered on the floor, sat down.
+
+"Would you like to hear something about me and Peggy, lassie?" he
+inquired, "an' will you take my word for things?"
+
+Jinnie nodded trustfully. She had already grown to love the cobbler,
+and her affection grew stronger as she stated:
+
+"There isn't anything you'd tell me, cobbler, I wouldn't believe!"
+
+With slow importance Lafe put down his hammer.
+
+"I'm a Israelite," he announced.
+
+"What's that?" asked the girl, immediately interested.
+
+The cobbler looked over his spectacles and smiled.
+
+"A Jew, just a plain Jew."
+
+"I don't know what a Jew is either," confessed Jinnie.
+
+Lafe groped for words to explain his meaning.
+
+"A Jew," he ventured presently, "is one of God's----chosen----folks. I
+mean one of them chose by Him to believe."
+
+"Believe what?"
+
+"All that God said would be," explained Lafe, reverently.
+
+"And you believe it, cobbler?"
+
+"Sure, kid; sure."
+
+The shoemaker saw a question mirrored in the depths of the violet
+eyes.
+
+"And thinking that way makes you happy, eh, Mr. Lafe? Does it make you
+smile the way you do at girls without homes?"
+
+As she put this question sincerely to him, Jinnie reminded the cobbler
+of a beautiful flower lifting its proud head to the sun. In his
+experience with young people, he had never seen a girl like this one.
+
+"It makes me happier'n anything!" he replied, cheerfully. "The
+wonderful part is I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't lost my legs.
+I'll tell you about it, lass."
+
+Jinnie settled back contentedly.
+
+"A long time ago," began Mr. Grandoken, "God led a bunch of Jews out
+of a town where a king was torturin' 'em----"
+
+The listener's eyes darkened in sympathy.
+
+"They was made to do a lot of things that hurt 'em; their babies and
+women, too."
+
+Jinnie leaned forward and covered the horny hand with her slender
+fingers.
+
+"Have you ever had any babies, Lafe?" she ventured.
+
+A perceptible shadow crossed the man's face.
+
+"Yes," said he hesitatingly. "Me and Peggy had a boy--a little fellow
+with curly hair--a Jew baby. Peggy always let me call him a Jew baby,
+though he was part Irish."
+
+"Oh!" gasped Jinnie, radiantly.
+
+"I was a big fellow then, kid, with fine, strong legs, an' nights,
+when I'd come home, I'd carry the little chap about."
+
+The cobbler's eyes glistened with the memory, but shadowed almost
+instantly.
+
+"But one day----" he hesitated.
+
+The pause brought an exclamation from the girl.
+
+"And one day--what?" she demanded.
+
+"He died; that's all," and Lafe gazed unseeingly at the snow-covered
+tracks.
+
+"And you buried him?" asked Virginia, softly.
+
+"Yes, an' the fault was mostly mine, Jinnie. I ain't had no way to
+make it up to Peggy, but there's lots of to-morrows."
+
+"You'll make her happy then?" ejaculated the girl.
+
+"Yes," said Lafe, "an' I might a done it then, but I wouldn't listen
+to the voices."
+
+A look of bewildered surprise crossed the girl's face. Were they
+spirit voices, the voices in the pines, of which Lafe was speaking?
+She'd ask him.
+
+"God's voices out of Heaven," said he, in answer to her query. "They
+come every night, but I wouldn't listen, till one day my boy was took.
+Then I heard another voice, demandin' me to tell folks what was what
+about God. But I was afraid an' a--coward."
+
+The cobbler lapsed into serious thought, while Virginia moved a small
+nail back and forth on the floor with the toe of her shoe. She
+wouldn't cry again, but something in the low, sad voice made her
+throat ache. After the man had been quiet for a long time, she pressed
+him with:
+
+"After that, Lafe, what then?"
+
+"After that," repeated the cobbler, straightening his shoulders,
+"after that my legs went bad an' then--an' then----"
+
+Virginia, very pale, went to the cobbler, and laid her head against
+his shoulder.
+
+"An' then, child," he breathed huskily, "I believed, an' I know, as
+well as I'm livin', God sent his Christ for everybody; that in the
+lovin' father"--Lafe raised his eyes--"there's no line drawed 'tween
+Jews an' Gentiles. They're all alike to Him. Only some're goin' one
+road an' some another to get to Him, that's all."
+
+These were quite new ideas to Virginia. In all her young life no one
+had ever conversed with her of such things. True, from her hill home
+on clear Sunday mornings she could hear the church bells ding-dong
+their hoarse welcome to the farmers, but she had never been inside the
+church doors. Now she regretted the lost opportunity. She wished to
+grasp the cobbler's meaning. Noting her tense expression, Grandoken
+continued:
+
+"It was only a misunderstandin' 'tween a few Jews when they nailed the
+Christ to the cross. Why, a lot of Israelites back there believed in
+'im. I'm one of them believin' Jews, Jinnie."
+
+"I wish I was a Jew, cobbler," sighed Jinnie. "I'd think the same as
+you then, wouldn't I?"
+
+"Oh, you don't have to be a Jew to believe," returned Lafe. "It's as
+easy to do as 'tis to roll off'n a log."
+
+This lame man filled her young heart with a deep longing to help him
+and to have him help her.
+
+"You're going to teach me all about it, ain't you, Lafe?" she
+entreated presently.
+
+"Sure! Sure! You see, it's this way: Common, everyday folks--them with
+narrer minds--ain't much use for my kind of Jews. I'm livin' here in a
+mess of 'em. Most of 'em's shortwood gatherers. When I found out about
+the man on the cross, I told it right out loud to 'em all. ... You're
+one of 'em. You're a Gentile, Jinnie."
+
+"I'm sorry," said the girl sadly.
+
+"Oh, you needn't be. Peg's one, too, but she's got God's mark on her
+soul as big as any of them women belongin' to Abraham, Isaac and
+Jacob----I ain't sure but it's a mite bigger."
+
+The speaker worked a while, bringing the nails from his lips in rapid,
+even succession. Peg was the one bright spot that shone out of his
+wonderful yesterdays. She was the one link that fastened him securely
+to a useful to-morrow.
+
+Virginia counted the nails mechanically as they were driven into the
+leather, and as the last one disappeared, she said:
+
+"Are you always happy, Lafe, when you're smiling? Why, you
+smile--when--even when--" she stammered, caught her breath, and
+finished, "even when Mrs. Peggy barks."
+
+An amused laugh came from the cobbler's lips.
+
+"That's 'cause I know her, lass," said he. "Why, when I first found
+out about the good God takin' charge of Jews an' Gentiles alike, I
+told it to Peg, an', my, how she did hop up an' down, right in the
+middle of the floor. She said I was meddlin' into things that had took
+men of brains a million years to fix up.
+
+"But I knew it as well as anything," he continued. "God's love is
+right in your heart, right there----" He bent over and gently touched
+the girl.
+
+She looked up surprised.
+
+"I heard He was setting on a great high throne up in Heaven," she
+whispered, glancing up, "and he scowled dead mad when folks were
+wicked."
+
+Lafe smiled, shook his head, and picked up his hammer.
+
+"No," said he. "No, no! He's right around me, an' He's right around
+you, an' everything a feller does or has comes from Him."
+
+Virginia's thoughts went back to an episode of the country.
+
+"Does He help a kid knock hell out of another kid when that kid is
+beating a littler kid?"
+
+Her eyes were so earnest, so deep in question, that the cobbler
+lowered his head. Not for the world would he have smiled at Virginia's
+original question. He scarcely knew how to answer, but presently
+said:
+
+"Well, I guess it's all right to help them who ain't as big as
+yourself, but it ain't the best thing in the world to gad any one."
+
+"Oh, I never licked any of 'em," Jinnie assured him. "I just wanted to
+find out, that's all."
+
+"What'd you do when other kids beat the littler ones?" demanded the
+cobbler.
+
+"Just shoved 'em down on the ground and set on 'em, damn 'em!"
+answered Jinnie.
+
+Lafe raised his eyes slowly.
+
+"I was wonderin' if I dared give you a lesson, lass," he began in a
+low voice.
+
+"I wish you would," replied Virginia, eagerly. "I'd love anything
+you'd tell me."
+
+"Well, I was wonderin' if you knew it was wicked to swear?"
+
+Like a shot came a pang through her breast. She had offended her
+friend.
+
+"Wicked? Wicked?" she gasped. "You say it's wicked to swear,
+cobbler?"
+
+Lafe nodded. "Sure, awful wicked," he affirmed.
+
+Virginia took a long breath.
+
+"I didn't know it," she murmured. "Father said it wasn't polite, but
+that's nothing. How is it wicked, cobbler?"
+
+Lafe put two nails into position in the leather sole and drove them
+deep; then he laid down the hammer again.
+
+"You remember my tellin' you this morning of the man with angels,
+white angels, hoverin' about the earth helpin' folks?"
+
+"Yes," answered Virginia.
+
+"Well, He said it was wicked."
+
+An awe-stricken glance fell upon the speaker.
+
+"Did He tell you so, Lafe?"
+
+"Yes," said Lafe. "It ain't a question of politeness at all, but just
+bein' downright wicked. See, kid?"
+
+"Yes, cobbler, I do now," Jinnie answered, hanging her head. "Nobody
+but Matty ever told me nothing before. I guess she didn't know much
+about angels, though."
+
+"Well," continued Lafe, going back to his story, "God give his little
+boy Jesus to a mighty good man an' a fine woman--as fine as Peg--to
+bring up. An' Joseph trundled the little feller about just as I did my
+little Lafe, an' bye-an'-bye when the boy grew, He worked as his
+Father in Heaven wanted him to. The good God helped Joseph an' Mary to
+bring the Christ down face to face with us--Jews an' Gentiles alike."
+
+"With you and me?" breathed Virginia, solemnly.
+
+"With you an' me, child," repeated the cobbler in subdued tones.
+
+Virginia walked to the window and drummed on the pane. Through mere
+force of habit the cobbler bent his head and caught the tacks between
+his teeth. He did it mechanically; he was thinking of the future. In
+the plan of events which Lafe had worked out for himself and Peg,
+there was but one helper, and each day some new demonstration came to
+make his faith the brighter. In the midst of his meditation, Jinnie
+returned to her seat.
+
+"Cobbler, will you do something I ask you?"
+
+"Sure," assented Lafe.
+
+"Get busy trusting Peg'll get the two dollars to-night."
+
+"I have long ago, child, an' she's goin' to get it, too. That's one
+blessin' about believin'. No one nor nobody can keep you from gettin'
+what's your own."
+
+"Mrs. Peggy doesn't think that way," remarked Virginia, with keen
+memories of Mrs. Grandoken's snapping teeth.
+
+"No, not yet, but I'm trustin' she will. You see how 'tis in this
+shop. Folks is poor around here. I trust 'em all, Jews and Gentiles
+alike, but Peg thinks I ought to have the money the minute the work's
+done. But I know no man can keep my money from me, so I soothe her
+down till she don't whine any more. That's how I know her bark's
+worser'n her bite. Didn't I tell you about the biscuit?"
+
+"Yes," replied Virginia, "and I hope it'll only be bark about the
+money; what if she didn't get it?"
+
+"She'll get it," assured Lafe, positively.
+
+Just before bed time Lafe whispered in Jinnie's ear, "Peggy got the
+two! I told you she would. God's good, child, and we've all got Him in
+us alike."
+
+And that night, as the air waxed colder and colder, Virginia
+Singleton, daughter of the rich, slept her tired sleep amid the
+fighters of the world.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+"EVERY HAND SHALL DO ITS SHARE," QUOTH PEG.
+
+
+The fifth day of Jinnie's stay in the cobbler's home crept out of the
+cold night accompanied by the worst blizzard ever known along the
+lake. Many times, if it had not been for the protecting overhanging
+hills, the wood gatherers' huts would have been swept quite away. As
+it was, Jinnie felt the shack tremble and sway, and doubted its
+ability to withstand the onslaught.
+
+After breakfast found Lafe and Jinnie conversing interestedly in the
+shop. The cobbler allowed several bright nails to fall into his palm
+before he answered the question which was worrying the girl.
+
+"There ain't no use troublin' about it, child," commented he. "We
+can't starve."
+
+"If I could only work," said Jinnie gloomily, "I bet Peg'd soon like
+me, because she wouldn't have to go out in the cold at all. But you
+think it'd be bad for me, eh, Lafe?"
+
+"Well, you couldn't go around to the factories or stores very well,"
+replied Lafe. "You see your uncle's tryin' to trace you. I showed you
+that this mornin' in the paper, didn't I, where he mourned over you as
+lost after findin' your father dead?"
+
+Jinnie nodded.
+
+"Yes, I read it," she said.
+
+"An' he can't get your money for seven years. That makes him madder'n
+a hatter, of course."
+
+"If he'd let me alone, I'd just as soon give him the money," Jinnie
+said mournfully.
+
+Lafe shook his head.
+
+"The law wouldn't let you, till you was of age. No, sir, you'd either
+have to die a natural death or--another kind, an' you're a pretty
+husky young kid to die natural."
+
+"I don't want to die at all," shivered Jinnie.
+
+Lafe encouraged her with a smile.
+
+"If he finds you," pursued Lafe, "I'd have to give you up. I couldn't
+do anything else. We might pray 'bout it."
+
+A wistful expression came over Jinnie's face.
+
+"Is praying anything like wishing, cobbler?"
+
+"Somethin' the same," replied Mr. Grandoken, "with this
+difference--wishin' is askin' somethin' out of somewhere of some one
+you don't know; prayin' is just talkin' to some one you're acquainted
+with! See?"
+
+"Yes, I think I do," responded the girl. "Your way is mostly praying,
+isn't it, Lafe?"
+
+"Prayin's more powerful than wishin', lass," said Lafe. "When I was
+first paralyzed, I done a lot of wishin'. I hadn't any acquaintance
+with anybody but Peggy. After that I took up with God, an' He's been
+awful good to me."
+
+"He's been good to me, too, Lafe, bringing me here."
+
+This seemed to be a discovery to Virginia, and for a few minutes her
+brain was alive with new hopes. Suddenly she drew her chair in front
+of Grandoken.
+
+"Will to-morrow ever be to-day, cobbler?"
+
+Lafe looked at the solemn-faced girl with smiling, kindly eyes.
+
+"Sure, kid, sure," he asserted. "When you get done wishin' an' there
+ain't nothin' left in the world to want, then to-morrow's to-day."
+
+Jinnie smiled dismally. "There'd never be a day, cobbler, that I
+couldn't think of something I'd like for you--and Peg."
+
+Lafe meditated an instant before replying. Then:
+
+"I've found out that we're always happier, kid, when we've got a
+to-morrow to look to," said he, "'cause when you're just satisfied,
+somethin's very apt to go smash. I was that way once."
+
+He paused for some seconds.
+
+"Jinnie," he murmured, "I haven't told you how I lost the use of my
+legs, have I?"
+
+"No, Lafe."
+
+"Well, as I was sayin', there didn't used to be any to-morrow for me.
+I always lived just for that one day. I had Peg an' the boy. I could
+work for 'm, an' that was enough. It's more'n lots of men get in this
+world."
+
+His voice trailed into a whisper and ceased. He was living for the
+moment in the glory of his past usefulness. The rapt, wrinkled face
+shone as if it had been touched by angel fingers. Virginia watched him
+reverently.
+
+"It's more'n two years ago, now," proceeded the cobbler presently,
+"an' I was workin' on one of them tall uptown buildin's. Jimmy
+Malligan worked right alongside of me. We was great chums, Jimmy an'
+me. One day the ropes broke on one of the scaffoldin's--at least,
+that's what folks said. When we was picked up, my legs wasn't worth
+the powder to blow 'em up--an' Jimmy was dead. ... But Peg says I'm
+just as good as ever."
+
+Here Mr. Grandoken took out his pipe and struck a match. "But I ain't.
+'Cause them times Peg didn't have to work. We always had fires enough,
+an' didn't live like this. But, as I was sayin', me an' Peg just
+kinder lived in to-day. Now, when I hope that mebbe I'll walk again,
+I'm always measurin' up to-morrow----Peg's the best woman in the
+world."
+
+Jinnie shivered as a gust of wind rattled the window pane.
+
+"She makes awful good hot mush," she commented.
+
+"Anyhow," went on Lafe, "I was better off'n Jimmy, because he was
+stone dead. There wasn't any to-day or to-morrow for him, an' I've
+still got Peggy."
+
+"And this shop," supplemented the girl, glancing around admiringly.
+
+"Sure, this shop," assented Lafe. "I had clean plumb forgot this
+shop--I mean, for the minute--but I wouldn't a forgot it long."
+
+He knocked the ashes out of his pipe and set to work.
+
+Neither girl nor man spoke for a while, and it wasn't until Lafe heard
+Peg's voice growling at one of Milly's kittens that he ceased his
+tick-tack.
+
+"You wouldn't like to join my club, lass, would you?" he ventured.
+
+Jinnie looked up quickly.
+
+"Of course I would," she said eagerly. "What kind of a club is it?"
+
+The girl's faith in the cobbler was so great that if Lafe had
+commanded her to go into danger, she wouldn't have hesitated.
+
+"Tell me what the club is, Lafe," she repeated.
+
+"Sure," responded Lafe. "Come here an' shake hands! All you have to do
+to be a member of my club is to be 'Happy in Spite' an' believe
+everythin' happenin' is for the best."
+
+A mystified expression filled the girl's earnest blue eyes.
+
+"I'm awful happy," she sighed, "and I'm awful glad to come in your
+club, but I just don't understand what it means."
+
+The cobbler paid no attention for some moments. He was looking out of
+the window, in a far-away mood, dreaming of an active past, when
+Jinnie accidentally knocked a hammer from the bench. Lafe Grandoken
+glanced in the girl's direction.
+
+"I'm happy in spite--" he murmured. Then he stopped abruptly, and his
+hesitation made the girl repeat:
+
+"Happy in spite?" with a rising inflection. "What does that mean,
+Lafe?"
+
+Lafe began to work desperately.
+
+"It means just this, kid. I've got a little club all my own, an' I've
+named it 'Happy in Spite.'" His eyes gathered a mist as he whispered,
+"Happy in spite of everything that ain't just what I want it to be.
+Happy in spite of not walkin'--happy in spite of Peg's workin'."
+
+Virginia raised unsmiling, serious eyes to the speaker.
+
+"I want to come in your club, too, Lafe," she said slowly. "I need to
+be happy in spite of lots of things, just like you, cobbler."
+
+A long train steamed by. Jinnie went to the window, and looked out
+upon it. When the noise of the engine and the roar of the cars had
+ceased, she whirled around.
+
+"Cobbler," she said in a low voice, "I've been thinking a lot since
+yesterday."
+
+"Come on an' tell me about it, lassie," said Lafe.
+
+She sat down, hitching her chair a bit nearer him, leaned her elbow on
+her knee, and buried a dimpled chin in the palm of her hand.
+
+"Do you suppose, Lafe, if a girl believed in the angels, anybody could
+hurt her?"
+
+"I know they couldn't, kid, an' it's as true's Heaven."
+
+"Well, then, why can't I go out and work?"
+
+Lafe paused and looked over his spectacles.
+
+"Peggy says, 'Every hand should do its share'," he quoted.
+
+Jinnie winced miserably. She picked up several nails from the floor.
+It was a pretext for an activity to cover her embarrassment.
+
+The cobbler allowed her to busy herself a while in this way. Then he
+said:
+
+"Sit in the chair an' wrap up in the blankets, Jinnie. I want to talk
+with you."
+
+She did as she was bidden, sitting quietly until the man chose to
+speak.
+
+"I guess you're beginnin' to believe," said he, at length, "an' if you
+do, a world full of uncles couldn't hurt you. Peg says as how you got
+to work if you stay, an' if you have the faith----"
+
+Jinnie rose tremblingly.
+
+"I know I'll be all right," she cried. "I just know you and me
+believing would keep me safe."
+
+Her eagerness caused Lafe to draw the girl to him.
+
+"Can you holler good an' loud?" he asked.
+
+The girl shot him a curious glance.
+
+"Sure I can."
+
+"Can you walk on icy walks----"
+
+"Oh, I'm as strong as anything," Jinnie cut in, glancing downward at
+herself.
+
+"I know a lot of kids who earn money," said Lafe meditatively.
+
+"What do they do?"
+
+"Get wood out of the marsh behind the huts there. Some of 'em keeps
+families on it."
+
+"Sell wood! And there's lots of it, Lafe?"
+
+"Lots," replied Lafe.
+
+Sell wood! The very words, new, wonderful, and full of action, rang
+through Jinnie's soul like sweet sounding bells. Waves of unknown
+sensations beat delightfully upon her girlish heart. If she brought in
+a little money every day, Peggy would be kinder. She could; she was
+sure she could. She was drawn from her whirling thoughts by the
+cobbler's voice.
+
+"Could you do it, kid? People could think your name was Jinnie
+Grandoken."
+
+Jinnie choked out a reply.
+
+"And mebbe I could make ten cents a day."
+
+"I think you could, Jinnie, an' here's Lafe right ready to help you."
+
+Virginia Singleton felt quite faint. She sat down, her heart beating
+under her knit jacket twice as fast as a girl's heart ought to beat.
+Lafe had suddenly opened up a path to usefulness and glory which even
+in her youthful dreams had never appeared to her.
+
+"Call Peggy," said Lafe.
+
+Soon Peg stood before them, with a questioning face.
+
+"The kid's goin' to work," announced Lafe, "We've got a way of keepin'
+her uncle off'n her trail."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked from her husband to Virginia.
+
+"I want to work like other folks," the girl burst forth, looking
+pleadingly at the shoemaker's wife.
+
+Peggy wiped her arms violently upon her apron, and there flashed
+across her face an inscrutable expression that Lafe had learned to
+read, but which frightened the newcomer.
+
+Oh, how Jinnie wanted to do something to help them both! Now, at this
+moment, when there seemed a likelihood of being industriously useful,
+Jinnie loved them the more. She was going to work, and into her active
+little brain came the sound of pennies, and the glint of silver.
+
+"I want to work, Peggy," she beseeched, "and I'll make a lot of money
+for you."
+
+"Every hand ought to do its share," observed Peg, stolidly, glancing
+at the girl's slender fingers. They looked so small, so unused to hard
+work, that she turned away. An annoying, gripping sensation attacked
+her suddenly, but in another minute she faced the girl again.
+
+"If you do it, miss, don't flounce round's if you owned the hull of
+Paradise Road, 'cause it'll be nothin' to your credit, whatever you
+do. You didn't make yourself."
+
+At the door she turned and remarked, "You've got t'have a shoulder
+strap to hold the wood, an' you musn't carry too much to onct. It
+might hurt your back."
+
+"I'll be careful," gulped Jinnie, "and mebbe I could help make the
+strap, eh, Lafe?"
+
+An hour later Jinnie was running a long needle through a tough piece
+of leather. She was making the strap to peddle shortwood, and a
+happier girl never breathed.
+
+Peg watched her without comment as Lafe fitted the strap about her
+shoulders. In fact, there was nothing for the woman to say, when the
+violet eyes were fixed questioningly upon her. Peggy thought of the
+hunger which would be bound to come if any hands were idle, so she
+muttered in excuse, "There's nothin' like gettin' used to a thing."
+
+"It's a fine strap, isn't it, Lafe?" asked the girl, "It's almost as
+good as a cart."
+
+"You can't use a cart in the underbrush," explained Lafe. "That's why
+the twig gatherers use straps."
+
+"I see," murmured Jinnie.
+
+When the cobbler and girl were once more alone together, they had a
+serious confab. They decided that every penny Jinnie brought in should
+go to enriching the house, and the girl's eyes glistened as she heard
+the shoemaker list over the things that would make them comfortable.
+
+Most delightful thoughts came to endow the girl's mental world, which
+now reached from the cobbler's shop to the marsh, over a portion of
+the city, and back again. It was rosy-hued, bright, sparkling with
+the pennies and nickels she intended to earn. All her glory would come
+with the aid of that twig gatherer's leather strap. She looked down
+upon it with a proud toss of her head. Jinnie was recovering the
+independent spirit which had dominated her when she had wandered alone
+on the hills away to the north.
+
+"I wouldn't wonder if I'd make fifteen cents some days," she remarked
+later at the supper table.
+
+"If you make ten, you'll be doin' well, an' you and Lafe'll probably
+bust open with joy if you do," snapped Peg. "Oh, Lord, I'm gettin'
+sick to my stomick hearin' you folks brag. Go to bed now, kid, if
+you're to work to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie fell asleep to dream that her hand was full of pennies, and her
+pockets running over with nickels. She was just stooping to pick up
+some money from the sidewalk when Peg's voice pierced her ear,
+
+"Kid," said she, "it's mornin', an' your first workin' day. Now hurry
+your lazy bones an' get dressed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+BY THE SWEAT OF HER BROW
+
+
+Over the bridge into Paradise Road went the lithe, buoyant figure of a
+girl, a loose strap hanging from one straight shoulder. Jinnie was
+radiantly happy, for her first day had netted the family twenty cents,
+and if Paradise Road had been covered with eggs, she would not have
+broken many in her flight homeward. If she had been more used to Mrs.
+Grandoken, she would have understood the peculiar tightening at the
+corners of the woman's thin lips when she delivered the precious
+pittance. Virginia searched the other's face for the least sign of
+approbation. She wished Peg would kiss her, but, of course, she dared
+not suggest it. To have a little show of affection seemed to Jinnie
+just then the most desirable thing in the world, but the cobbler's
+wife merely muttered as she went away to the kitchen, and Virginia,
+sighing, sat down.
+
+"Now suppose you tell me all about it, Jinnie," Lafe suggested
+smilingly; "just where you went an' how you earned all the money."
+
+Fatigued almost beyond the point of rehearsing her experiences, Jinnie
+took Milly Ann on her lap and curled up in the chair.
+
+"I guess I've walked fifteen miles," she began. "You know most folks
+don't want wood."
+
+Lafe took one sidewise glance at the beautiful face. He remembered a
+picture he had once seen of an angel. Jinnie's face was like that
+picture.
+
+"Well, first, Lafe," she recounted, "I gathered the wood in the marsh,
+then I went straight across the back field through the swamp. It's
+froze over harder'n hell----"
+
+Lafe uttered a little, "Sh!" and Jinnie, with scarlet face,
+supplemented,
+
+"I mean harder'n _anything_."
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe, nodding.
+
+"Mr. Bates and his kids were there, but he c'n carry a pile three
+times bigger'n I can!"
+
+"Well, you're only a child. Sometimes Bates can't sell all he gets,
+though."
+
+"I sold all mine," asserted Jinnie, brightening.
+
+The cobbler recalled the history of Jinnie's lonely little life--of
+how during those first fifteen years no kindly soul had given her
+counsel, and now his heart glowed with thanksgiving as he realized
+that she was growing in faith and womanliness. He wanted Jinnie to
+give credit where credit was due, so he said,
+
+"You sold your wood because you had a helpin' hand."
+
+Jinnie was about to protest.
+
+"I mean----" breathed Lafe.
+
+"Oh, angels! Eh?" interrupted the girl. "Yes, I sold my last two
+cents' worth by saying what you told me--'He gives His angels charge
+over thee'--and, zip! a woman bought the last bundle and gave me a
+cent more'n I charged her."
+
+"Good!" Lafe was highly pleased. "It'll work every time, an' to make a
+long story short, it works on boots an' shoes, too."
+
+"Wood's awful heavy," Jinnie decided, irrelevantly.
+
+"Sure," soothed Lafe again. He hesitated a minute, drew his hand
+across his eyes, and continued, "An', by the way, Jinnie----"
+
+Jinnie's receptive face caused the cobbler to proceed:
+
+"I wouldn't have nothin' to do with Bates' son Maudlin, if I was
+you.... He's a bad lot."
+
+Jinnie's head drooped. She flushed to her hair.
+
+"I saw him to-day," she replied. "He's got wicked eyes. I hate boys
+who wink!"
+
+A look of desperation clouded the fair young face, and the cobbler,
+looking at the slender girlish figure, and thinking the while of
+Maudlin Bates, suddenly put out his hand.
+
+"Come here, lassie," he said.
+
+Another flame of color mounted to Jinnie's tousled hair. With hanging
+head, she pushed Milly Ann from her lap and walked to the cobbler's
+side.
+
+"What did Maudlin say to you?" he demanded.
+
+"He said he'd--he'd crack my twigs for me if--if I'd kiss him, and he
+pinched me when I wouldn't."
+
+Anger and deep resentment displayed themselves on Lafe's pale face.
+
+"Jinnie, lass," he breathed. "I c'n trust you, child. Can't I trust
+you? You wouldn't----"
+
+Jinnie drew away from Lafe's embrace.
+
+"I guess I'd rather be killed'n have Maudlin kiss me," she cried
+passionately.
+
+Just then Peg came to the door.
+
+"Run to the butcher's for a bit of chopped steak, Jinnie," she
+ordered, "an' make your head save your heels by bringin' in some
+bread."
+
+Jinnie jumped up quickly.
+
+"Please use some of my money to buy 'em, Peggy," she begged. "Oh,
+please do."
+
+Peggy eyed her sternly.
+
+"Kid," she warned. "I want to tell you something before you go any
+farther in life. You may be smart, but 'tain't no credit to you,
+'cause you didn't make yourself. I'm tellin' you this for fear makin'
+so much money'll turn your head.... Here's your ten cents.... Now go
+along."
+
+After Jinnie had gone, Mrs. Grandoken sat down opposite her husband.
+
+"The girl looks awful tired," she offered, after a moment's silence.
+
+"She's been earnin' her livin' by the sweat of her brow," replied
+Lafe, with a wan smile.
+
+"Mebbe she'll get used to it," growled Peg. "Of course I don't like
+her, but I don't want her hurt. 'Twon't make her sick, will it?"
+
+"No, she's as strong as a little ox. She's got enough strength in her
+body to work ten times harder, but Peg----" Here Lafe stopped and
+looked out to the hill beyond the tracks, "but, Peggy, perhaps we c'n
+find her somethin' else after a while, when there ain't so much fear
+of her uncle. To make a long story short, Peg, danger of him's the
+only thing that'll keep the kid luggin' wood."
+
+"I was wonderin'," returned Peg, "if we couldn't get some one
+interested in 'er--the Kings, mebbe. They're a good sort, with lots of
+money, an' are more'n smart."
+
+Lafe's eyes brightened visibly, but saddened again. He shook his
+head.
+
+"We can't get the Kings 'cause I read in the paper last night they're
+gone away West, to be gone for a year or more.... It's a good idea,
+though. Some one'll turn up, sure."
+
+"When they do, my man," Peg said quickly, "don't be takin' any credit
+to yourself, 'cause you hadn't ought to take credit for the plannin'
+your sharp brains do."
+
+As he shook his head, smiling, she left him quickly and shut the
+door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+ON THE BROAD BOSOM OF THE "HAPPY IN SPITE"
+
+
+Thus for one year Jinnie went forth in the morning to gather her
+shortwood, and to sell it in the afternoon.
+
+Peg always gave her a biscuit to eat during her forenoon's work, and
+Jinnie, going from house to house later, was often presented with a
+"hunk of pie," as she afterwards told Lafe. If a housewife gave her an
+apple, she would take it home to the cobbler and his wife.
+
+Late one afternoon, at the close of a bitter day, Jinnie had finished
+her work and was resting on the door sill of an empty house on an
+uptown corner.
+
+She drew forth her money in girlish pride. Twenty-seven cents was what
+she'd earned,--two cents more than any day since she began working.
+This money meant much to Jinnie. She hadn't yet received a kiss from
+Mrs. Grandoken, but was expecting it daily. Perhaps when two cents
+more were dropped into her hand, Peggy might, just for the moment,
+forget herself and unwittingly express some little affection for her.
+
+With this joyous anticipation the girl recounted her money, retained
+sufficient change for the dinner meat, and slipped the rest into her
+jacket pocket. She rose and had started in the direction of the market
+when a clamor near the bridge made her pause. A crowd of men and boys
+were running directly toward her. Above their wild shouts could be
+heard the orders of a policeman, and now and then the frightened cry
+of a small child.
+
+At first Jinnie noticed only the people. Then her eyes lowered and she
+saw, racing toward her, a small, black, woolly dog. The animal, making
+a wild dash for his life, had in his anguish lost his mental balance,
+for he took no heed as to where he ran nor what he struck. A louder
+cry of derision rose up from many throats as the small beast scuttled
+between the legs of a farmer's horse, which gave him a moment's
+respite from his tormentors.
+
+An instant later they were clamoring again for his unhappy little
+life. Suddenly he ran headlong into a tree, striking his shaggy head
+with terrific force. Then he curled up in a limp little heap, just as
+Jinnie reached him.
+
+Before Maudlin Bates, the leader of the crowd, arrived, the girl had
+picked up the insensible dog and thrust him under her jacket.
+
+"He's dead, I guess," she said, looking up into the boy's face, "I'll
+take him to the cobbler's shop and bury him.... He isn't any good when
+he's dead."
+
+Maudlin Bates grinned from ear to ear, put his hands behind his back,
+and allowed his eyes to rove over the girl's straight young figure.
+
+"Billy Maybee was tryin' to tie a tin can to his tail," he explained,
+stuttering, "and the cur snapped at him. We was goin' to hit his head
+against the wall."
+
+"He's dead now," assured Jinnie once more. "It isn't any use to smash
+dead dogs."
+
+This reasoning being unanswerable, Maudlin turned grumblingly away.
+
+Jinnie's heart beat loudly with living hope. Perhaps the little dog
+wasn't dead. Oh, how she hoped he'd live! She stopped half way home,
+and pushed aside her jacket and peeped down at him. He was still quite
+limp, and the girl hurried on. She did not even wait to buy the meat
+nor the bread Peg had asked her to bring in.
+
+As she hurried across the tracks, she saw Grandoken sitting in the
+window.
+
+He saluted her with one hand, but as she was using both of hers to
+hold the dog, she only smiled in return, with a bright nod of her
+head.
+
+Once in the shop, she looked about cautiously.
+
+"I've got something, Lafe," she whispered, "something you'll like."
+
+When she displayed the hurt dog, Lafe put out his hand.
+
+"Is the little critter dead?" he asked solemnly.
+
+"Oh, I hope not!" replied Jinnie, and excitedly explained the
+episode.
+
+"Lafe took the foundling in his hands, turning the limp body over and
+over.
+
+"Jinnie, go ask Peg to bring some hot water in a pan," he said. "We'll
+give the little feller a chanct to live."
+
+Peg came in with a basin of water, stared at the wide-eyed girl and
+her smiling husband, then down upon the dog.
+
+"Well, for Lord's sake, where'd you get that little beast?" she
+demanded. "'Tain't livin', is it? Might as well throw it in the
+garbage pail."
+
+Nevertheless, she put down the basin as she spoke, and took the puppy
+from her husband. At variance with her statement that the dog might as
+well be thrown out, she laid him in the hot water, rubbing the bruised
+body from the top of its head to the small stubby tail. During this
+process Lafe had unfastened Jinnie's shortwood strap, and the girl,
+free, dropped upon the floor beside Peg.
+
+Suddenly the submerged body of the pup began to move.
+
+"He's alive, Peg!" cried Jinnie. "Look at his legs a kicking!... Oh,
+Lafe, he's trying to get out of the water!"
+
+Peg turned sharply.
+
+"If he ain't dead already," she grunted, "you'll kill him hollerin'
+like that. Anyway, 'tain't no credit to hisself if he lives. He didn't
+have nothin' to do with his bein' born, an' he won't have nothin' to
+do with his goin' on livin'. Shut up, now!... There, massy me, he's
+coming to."
+
+Jinnie squatted upon her feet, while Lafe wheeled his chair a bit
+nearer. For some moments the trio watched the small dog, struggling to
+regain consciousness. Then Peggy took him from the water and wrapped
+him carefully in her apron.
+
+"Lordy, he's openin' his eyes," she grinned, "an' you, girl, you go in
+there by the fire an' just hold him in your arms. Mebbe he'll come
+round all right. You can't put him out in the street till he's
+better."
+
+For the larger part of an hour, Jinnie held the newcomer close to her
+thumping heart, and when a spasm of pain attacked the shaggy head
+resting on her arm, she wept in sympathetic agony. Could Peg be
+persuaded to allow the dog to stay? She would promise to earn an extra
+penny to buy food for this new friend. At this opportune moment Mrs.
+Grandoken arrived from the market.
+
+"How's he comin' on?" she asked, standing over them.
+
+"Fine!" replied Jinnie. "And, Peg, he wants to stay."
+
+"Did he tell y' that?" demanded Peg, grimly.
+
+"Well, he didn't say just those words," said the girl, "but, Peggy, if
+he could talk, he'd tell you how much he loved you----"
+
+"Look a here, kid," broke in Mrs. Grandoken, "that dog ain't goin' to
+stay around this house, an' you might as well understand it from the
+beginnin'. I've enough to do with you an' Lafe an' those cats, without
+fillin' my house with sick pups. So get that notion right out of your
+noddle!... See?"
+
+Jinnie bowed her head over the sick dog and made a respectful reply.
+
+"I'll try to get the notion out," said she, "but, Peggy, oh, Peggy
+dear, I love the poor little thing so _awful_ much that it'll be hard
+for me to throw him away. Will you send him off when he's better, and
+not ask me to do it?"
+
+Jinnie cocked her pretty head inquiringly on one side, closed one eye,
+and looked at Peg from the other.
+
+Peggy sniffed a ruse. She came forward, spread her feet a bit, rolling
+her hands nervously in her apron. She hated an everlasting show of
+feelings, but sometimes it was difficult for her to crush the emotions
+which had so often stirred in her breast since the girl came to live
+with them.
+
+"I might as well tell you one thing right now, Jinnie Grandoken," she
+said. "You brought that pup into this house an' you'll take him out,
+or he won't get took; see?"
+
+There was a certain tone in Peg's voice the girl had heard before.
+
+"Then he won't get kicked out 't all, Peg," she said, with a petulant,
+youthful smile. "I just won't do it! Lafe can't, and if you
+don't----"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken made a deep noise in her throat.
+
+"You're a sassy brat," said she, "that's what you are! An' if Lafe
+don't just about beat the life out of you when I tell him about this,
+I will, with my own hand, right before his eyes. That's what----"
+
+Jinnie interrupted her eagerly. "Lafe won't beat me," she answered,
+"but I'll let you make me black and blue, Peg, if I can keep the
+puppy. Matty used to beat me fine, and she was a good bit stronger'n
+you."
+
+Peggy's eyes drew down at the corners, and her lip quivered.
+
+"Keep him if you want to, imp of Satan, but some day----here, see if
+the beast'll eat this bit of meat."
+
+Jinnie placed the shivering dog on the floor, and Peg put a piece of
+meat under his nose. In her excitement, Jinnie rushed away to Lafe.
+Peg's mumble followed her even through the closed door.
+
+"Cobbler, oh, dear good Lafe," cried the girl, "the dog's living! Peg
+says I can keep 'im, and I'm goin' to fiddle for him to-night. Do you
+think he'll forget all about his hurt if I do that, Lafe?"
+
+At that moment, shamed that she had given in to the importunate
+Jinnie, Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop door, shoving the half wet dog
+inside.
+
+"Here's your pup, kid," she growled, "an' y'd best keep him from under
+my feet if you don't want him stepped on."
+
+The cobbler smiled his slow, sweet smile.
+
+"Peg's heart's bigger'n this house," he murmured. "Bring him here,
+lassie."
+
+The girl, dog in arms, stood at the cobbler's side.
+
+"What're you goin' to name him?" asked Lafe, tenderly.
+
+"I dunno, but he's awful happy, now he's going to stay with us."
+
+"Call 'im 'Happy Pete'," said the cobbler, smiling, "an' we'll take
+'im into our club; shall we, kid?"
+
+So Happy Pete was gathered that day into the bosom of the "Happy in
+Spite."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+WHAT HAPPENED TO JINNIE
+
+
+With a sigh Jinnie allowed Lafe to buckle the shortwood strap to her
+shoulder. Oh, how many days she had gone through a similar operation
+with a similar little sigh!
+
+It was a trying ordeal, that of collecting and selling kindling wood,
+for the men of Paradise Road took the best of the shortwood to be
+found in the nearer swamp and marsh lands, and oftentimes it was
+nearly noon before the girl would begin her sale.
+
+But the one real happiness of her days lay in dropping the pennies she
+earned into Peg's hand.
+
+Now Peggy didn't believe in spoiling men or children, but one morning,
+as she tied a scarf about Jinnie's neck, she arranged the black curls
+with more than usual tenderness.
+
+Pausing at the door and looking back at the woman, Jinnie suddenly
+threw up her head in determination.
+
+"I love you, Peggy," she said, drawing in a long breath. "Give me a
+little kiss, will you?"
+
+There! The cat was out of the bag. In another instant Jinnie would
+know her fate. How she dared to ask such a thing the girl could never
+afterwards tell.
+
+If Peg kissed her, work would be easy. If she denied her----Peggy
+glanced at her, then away again, her eyes shifting uneasily.
+
+But after once taking a stand, Jinnie held her ground. Her mouth was
+pursed up as if she was going to whistle. Would Peg refuse such a
+little request? Evidently Peggy would, for she scoffingly ordered.
+
+"Go along with you, kid--go long, you flip little brat!"
+
+"I'd like a kiss awful much," repeated Jinnie, still standing. Her
+voice was low-toned and pleading, her blue eyes questioningly on Peg's
+face.
+
+Peg shook her head.
+
+"I won't kiss you 'cause I hate you," she sniffed. "I've always hated
+you."
+
+Jinnie's eyes filled with tears.
+
+"I know it," she replied sadly, "I know it, but I'd like a kiss just
+the same because--because I _do_ love _you_, Peg."
+
+A bit of the same sentiment that had worried her for over a year now
+attacked Mrs. Grandoken. Her common sense told her to dash away to the
+kitchen, but a tugging in her breast kept her anchored to the spot.
+Suddenly, without a word, she snatched the girl close to her broad
+breast and pressed her lips on Jinnie's with resounding smacks.
+
+"There! There! And _there_!" she cried, between the kisses. "An' if y'
+ever tell a soul I done it, I'll scrape every inch of skin off'n your
+flesh, an' mebbe I'll do something worse, I hate y' that bad."
+
+In less seconds than it takes to tell it, Peg let Jinnie go, and the
+girl went out of the door with a smiling sigh.
+
+"Kisses 're sweeter'n roses," she murmured, walking to the track. "I
+wish I'd get more of 'em."
+
+She turned back as she heard Peg's voice calling her.
+
+"You might toddle in an' bring home a bit of sausage," said the woman,
+indifferently, "an' five cents' worth of chopped steak."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken watched Jinnie until she turned the corner. She felt a
+strangling sensation in her throat.
+
+A little later she flung the kitchen utensils from place to place, and
+otherwise acted so ugly and out of temper that, had Lafe known the
+whole incident, he would have smiled knowingly at the far-off hill and
+held his peace.
+
+Late in the afternoon Jinnie counted seventeen pennies, one dime and a
+nickel. It was a fortune for any girl to make, and what was better
+yet, buckled to her young shoulders in the shortwood strap was almost
+her next day's supply. As she replaced the money in her pocket and
+walked toward the market, she murmured gravely,
+
+"Mebbe Peg's kisses helped me to get it, but--but I musn't forget
+Lafe's prayers."
+
+Her smile was radiant and self-possessed. She was one of the world's
+workers and loved Lafe and Peg and the world with her whole honest
+young heart.
+
+"Thirty-two cents," she whispered. "That's a pile of money. I wish I
+could buy Lafe a posy. He does love 'em so, and he can't get out like
+Peg and me to see beautiful things."
+
+She stopped before a window where brilliant blossoms were exhibited.
+Ever since she began to work, one of the desires of Jinnie's soul had
+been to purchase a flower. As she scrutinized the scarlet and white
+carnations, the deep red roses, and the twining green vines, she
+murmured.
+
+"Peg loves Lafe even if she does bark at him. She won't mind if I buy
+him one. I'll make more money to-morrow."
+
+She opened the door of the shop and drew her unwieldy burden carefully
+inside. A girl stood back of the counter.
+
+"How much're your roses?" asked Jinnie, nodding toward the window and
+jingling the pennies in her pocket.
+
+"The white ones're five cents a piece," said the clerk, "and the red
+ones're ten.... Do y' want one?"
+
+"I'll take a white one," replied the purchaser.
+
+"Shall I wrap it in paper?" asked the other.
+
+"No, I'll carry it this way. I'd like to look at it going home."
+
+The girl passed the rose to Jinnie.
+
+"It smells nice, too," she commented.
+
+"Yes," assented Jinnie, delightedly, taking a whiff.
+
+Then she went on to the meat market to buy the small amount of meat
+required for the three of them.
+
+One of the men grinned at her from the back of the store, calling,
+"Hello, kid!" and Maudlin Bates, swinging idly on a stool, shouted,
+"What's wanted now, Jinnie?" and still another man came forward with
+the question, "Where'd you get the flower, lass?"
+
+"Bought it," replied Jinnie, leaning against the counter. "I got it
+next door for the cobbler. He's lame and can't get out."
+
+The market man turned to wait upon her.
+
+"Five cents' worth of chopped meat," ordered Jinnie, "and four
+sausages."
+
+"Ain't you afraid you'll overload your stomachs over there at the
+cobbler's shop?" laughed one of the men. "I'll tell you what I'll do,
+Jinnie ... Do you see that ring of sausage hangin' on that hook?"
+
+The girl nodded wonderingly, looking sidewise at Maudlin.
+
+"Well, if you'll give us a dance, a good one, mind you, still keepin'
+the wood on your back, I'll buy you the hull string. It'll last a week
+the way you folks eat meat."
+
+Jinnie's face reddened painfully, but the words appealed to her
+money-earning spirit, and with a curious sensation she glanced around.
+Could she dance, with the wondering, laughing, admiring gaze of the
+men upon her? And Maudlin, too! How she detested his lustful, doltish
+eyes!
+
+She straightened her shoulders, considering. The wood was heavy, and
+the strap, bound tightly about her chest and arms, made her terribly
+tired. But a whole string of sausage was a temptation she could not
+withstand. In her fertile imagination she could see Lafe nod his
+approbation, and Peggy joyously frying her earnings in the pan. She
+might even get three more kisses when no one was looking.
+
+"I don't know what to dance," she said presently, studying the rose in
+her confusion.
+
+"Oh, just anything," encouraged the man on the stool. "I'll whistle a
+tune."
+
+"Hand her the sausage, butcher;" sniggered Maudlin, "then she'll be
+sure of it. The feel of it'll make her dance better."
+
+The speaker grinned as the butcher took the string from the hook.
+Jinnie slipped the stem of the cobbler's rose between her white teeth,
+grasped the sausage in one hand and gripped the shortwood strap with
+the other. Then the man started a rollicking whistle, and Jinnie took
+a step or two.
+
+Every one in the place drew nearer. Here was a sight they never had
+seen--a lovely, shy-eyed, rosy, embarrassed girl, with a load of
+kindling wood on the strong young shoulders, turning and turning in
+the center of the market. In one hand she held a ring of sausage, and
+between her lips a white rose.
+
+"If you'll give us a grand fine dance, lass," encouraged the butcher,
+"you c'n have the chopped meat, too."
+
+The man's offer sifted through Jinnie's tired brain and stimulated her
+to quicker action. She turned again, shifting the weight more squarely
+on her shoulders, her feet keeping perfect time with the shrill,
+whistling tune.
+
+"Faster! Faster!" taunted Maudlin. "Earn your meat, girl! Don't be a
+piker!"
+
+Faster and faster whirled Jinnie, the heft of the shortwood carrying
+her about in great circles. Her cap had fallen from her head, loosing
+the glorious curls, and her breath whistled past the stem of Lafe's
+white flower like night wind past a taut wire.
+
+Jinnie forgot everything but the delight of earning something for her
+loved ones--something that would bring a caress from Lafe. She was
+sure of Lafe, very sure!
+
+As voices called "Faster!" and still "Faster!" Jinnie let go the
+shortwood strap to fling aside her curls. Just at that moment she
+whirled nearer Maudlin Bates, who thrust forth his great foot and
+tripped her. As she staggered, not one of those watching had sense
+enough to catch her as she fell. At that moment the door swung open
+and Peg Grandoken's face appeared. She looked questioningly at the
+market man.
+
+"I thought I saw Jinnie come in," she hesitated----
+
+Then realizing something was wrong, her eyes fell upon the stricken
+girl.
+
+"She was just earnin' a little sausage by dancin'," the butcher
+excused.
+
+Peggy stared and stared, stunned for the moment. The hangdog
+expression on Maudlin's face expressed his crime better than words
+would have done. Jinnie's little form was huddled against the counter,
+the shortwood scattered around her, and from her forehead blood was
+oozing. On the slender arm was the ring of sausage and between her set
+teeth was Lafe's pale rose. With her outraged soul shining in her
+eyes, Peggy gathered the unconscious girl in her two strong arms.
+
+"I bet _you_ done it, you damn Maudlin!" she gritted, and without
+another word, left the market.
+
+Within a few minutes she had laid Jinnie on her bed, and was telling
+Lafe the pathetic story.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+WATCHING
+
+
+There was absolute quiet in the home of the cobbler for over a week.
+The house hung heavy with gloom. Jinnie Grandoken was fighting a
+ghastlier monster than even old Matty had created for her amusement.
+
+Of course Jinnie didn't realize this, but two patient watchers knew,
+and so did a little black dog. To say that Lafe suffered, as Peggy
+repeated over and over to him the story of Jinnie's loving act, would
+be words of small import, and through the night hours, when the
+cobbler relieved his wife at the sick girl's bed, shapes black and
+forbidding rose before him, menacing the child he'd vowed to protect.
+
+Could it be that Maudlin Bates had anything to do with Jinnie's fall?
+Even so, he was powerless to shield her from the young wood gatherer.
+A more perplexing problem had never faced his paternal soul. After his
+little son had gone away, there had been no child to love until--and
+now as he looked at Jinnie, agony surged through him with the memory
+of that other agony--for she might go to little Lafe.
+
+There came again the stabbing pain born with Peg's tale of the dance.
+The white rose lay withered in the cobbler's bosom where it had been
+since his girl had been carried to what the doctor said would in all
+probability be her deathbed. It was on nights like this that dead
+memories, with solemn mien, raced from their graves, haunting the
+lame man. Even Lafe's wonderful portion of faith had diminished during
+the past few days. He found himself praying mighty prayers that Jinnie
+would be spared, yet in mental bitterness visualizing her death. Oh,
+to keep yet a while within the confines of his life the child he
+loved!
+
+"Let 'er stay, Lord dear, let my Rose o' Paradise stay," Lafe cried
+out into the shadowy night, time and time again.
+
+Peggy came, as she often did, to wheel him away and order him to bed,
+but this evening Lafe told Peg he'd rather stay with Jinnie.
+
+"She looks like death," he whispered unnerved.
+
+"She is almost dead," replied the woman grimly.
+
+The doctor entered with silent tread. Stealing to the bed, he put his
+hand on the girl's brow.
+
+"She's better," he whispered, smilingly. "Look! Damp! Nothing could be
+a surer sign!"
+
+"May the good God be praised!" moaned Lafe.
+
+Jinnie stirred, lifted her heavy lids, and surveyed the room vacantly.
+Her glance passed over the medical man as if he were not within the
+range of her vision. She gazed at Lafe only, with but a faint glimmer
+of recognition, then on to Peg wavered the sunken blue eyes.
+
+"Drink of water, Peggy dear," she whispered.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken dropped the fluid into the open, parched mouth from a
+spoon; then she bent low to catch the stammering words:
+
+"Did Lafe like the rose, Peggy, and did you get the ring of sausage?"
+
+Peg glanced at the doctor, a question struggling to her lips, but she
+could not frame the words.
+
+"Tell her 'yes'," said the man under his breath.
+
+"Lafe just doted on the flower, honey," acknowledged Peggy, bending
+over the bed, "and I cooked all the sausage, an' we two et 'em. They
+was finer'n silk.... Now go to sleep; will you?"
+
+"Sure," trembled Jinnie. "Put Happy Pete in my arms, dear."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked once more at the doctor. He nodded his head
+slightly.
+
+So with the dog clasped in her arms, Jinnie straightway fell asleep.
+
+Then Peggy wheeled Lafe away to bed, and as she helped him from the
+chair, she said:
+
+"I lied to her just now with my own mouth, Lafe. I told her we et them
+sausages. We couldn't eat 'em 'cause they was all mashed up an'
+covered with blood."
+
+The cobbler's eyes searched the mottled face of the speaker.
+
+"That kind of lies 're blessed by God in his Heaven, Peg," he breathed
+tenderly. "A lie lendin' a helpin' hand to a sick lass is better'n
+most truths."
+
+Before going to bed Peg peeped in at Jinnie. The girl still lay with
+her arm over the sleeping Pete, her eyes roving round the room. She
+caught sight of the silent woman, and a troubled line formed between
+her brows.
+
+"How're you going to get money to live, Peggy?" she wailed. "I'm just
+beginning to remember about the dance and getting hurt."
+
+Peggy stood a moment at the foot of the bed.
+
+"Lafe's got a whole pocket full o' money," she returned glibly.
+
+"That's nice," sighed the girl in relief.
+
+"Shut up now an' go to sleep! Lafe's got enough cash to last a
+month."
+
+And as the white lids drooped over the violet eyes, Peg Grandoken's
+guardian angel registered another lie to her credit in the life-book
+of her Heavenly Father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+WHAT JINNIE FOUND ON THE HILL
+
+
+The days rolled on and on, and the first warm impulses of spring
+brought Jinnie, pale and thin, back to Lafe's side.
+
+She was growing so strong that days when the weather permitted, Peg
+put a wrap on her, telling her to breathe some color into her cheeks.
+
+For a long time Jinnie was willing to remain quietly on the hut steps
+where she could see the cobbler whacking away on the torn footwear.
+She knew that if she looked long enough, he would glance up and smile
+the smile which always warmed the cockles of her loving heart.
+
+As she grew better, and therefore restless, she walked with Happy Pete
+along the cinder path beside the tracks. Each day she went a little
+further than the day before, the spirit of adventure beginning to live
+again within her. The confines of her narrow world were no longer kept
+taut by the necessity of selling wood, and to-day it seemed to broaden
+to the far-away hill from whence the numberless fingers of shadow and
+sunshine beckoned to the sentimental girl.
+
+She wandered through Paradise Road with the little dog as a companion,
+and finding her way to the board walk, strolled slowly along.
+
+Wandering up above the city, she discovered a lonely spot snuggled in
+the hills, and gathering Happy Pete into her arms, she lay down. Over
+her head countless birds sang in the sunshine, and just below, in the
+hollow, were squirrels, chattering out their happy existence.
+Dreamily, through the leaves of the trees, Jinnie watched the white
+clouds float across the sky like flocks of sheep, and soon the peace
+of the surrounding world lulled her to rest.
+
+When Happy Pete touched her with his slender tongue, Jinnie sat up,
+staring sleepily around. At a sound, she turned her head and caught
+sight of a little boy, whose tangled hair lay in yellow curls on his
+head.
+
+The sight of tears and boyish distress made Jinnie start quickly
+toward him, but he seemed so timid and afraid she did not speak.
+
+Suddenly, two slight, twig-scratched arms fluttered toward her, and
+still without a word Jinnie took the trembling hands into hers. Happy
+Pete crawled cautiously to the girl's side; then, realizing something
+unusual, he threw up his black-tipped nose and whined. At the faint
+howl, the boy's hands quivered violently in Jinnie's. He caught his
+breath painfully.
+
+"Oh, who're you? Are you a boy or a girl?"
+
+His eyes were touched with an indefinable expression. Jinnie flushed
+as she scanned for a moment her calico skirt and overhanging blouse.
+Then with a tragic expression she released her hands, and ran her
+fingers through her hair. With such long curls did she look like a
+boy?
+
+"I'm a girl," she said. "Can't you see I'm a girl?"
+
+"I'm blind," said the boy, "so--so I had to ask you."
+
+Jinnie leaned forward and scrutinized him intently.
+
+"You mean," she demanded brokenly, "that you can't see me, nor Happy
+Pete, nor the trees, nor the birds, nor the squirrels, skipping
+around?"
+
+The boy bowed his head in assent, but brightened almost instantly.
+
+"No, I can't see those things, but I've got lots of stars inside my
+head. They're as bright as anything, only sometimes my tears put 'em
+out."
+
+Then, as if he feared he would lose his new friend, he felt for her
+hand once more.
+
+Jinnie returned the clinging pressure. For the second time in her life
+her heart beat with that strange emotion--the protective instinct she
+had felt for her father. She knew at that moment she loved this little
+lad, with his wide-staring, unseeing eyes.
+
+"I'm lost," said the boy, sighing deeply, "and I cried ever so long,
+but nobody would come, and my stars all went out."
+
+"Tell me about your stars," she said eagerly. "Are they sky stars?"
+
+"I dunno what sky stars are. My stars shine in my head lovely and I
+get warm. I'm cold all over and my heart hurts when they go out."
+
+"Oh!" murmured Jinnie. "I wish they'd always shine."
+
+"So do I." Then lifting an eager, sparkling face, he continued,
+"They're shinin' now, 'cause I found you."
+
+"Where're your folks?" asked Jinnie, swallowing hard.
+
+"I dunno. I lost 'em a long time ago, and went to live with Mag. She
+licked me every day, so--I just runned away--I've been here a awful
+long time."
+
+Jinnie considered a moment before explaining an idea that had slipped
+into her mind as if it belonged there. She would take him home with
+her.
+
+"You're going to Lafe's house," she announced presently. "Happy Pete
+and me and Peg live at Lafe Grandoken's home. Peggy makes bully
+soup."
+
+"And I'm so hungry," sighed the boy. "Where's the dog I heard
+barking?"
+
+He withdrew his hands, moving them outward, searching for something.
+The girl tried to push Pete forward, but the dog only snuggled closer
+to her.
+
+"Petey, dear, I'm ashamed of you!" she chided lovingly. "Can't you see
+the little fellow's trying to feel you?"
+
+Then Happy Pete, as if he also were ashamed, came within reach of the
+wavering hands, and crouched low, to be looked over with ten slender
+finger tips.
+
+"He's awful beautiful!" exclaimed the boy. "His hair's softer'n silk,
+and his body's as warm as warm can be."
+
+Jinnie contemplated Happy Pete's points of beauty. Never before had
+she thought him anything more than a homely, lovable dog, with squat
+little legs, and a pointed nose. In lightninglike comparison she
+brought to her mind the things she always considered beautiful--the
+spring violets, the summer roses, that belt of wonderful color
+skirting the afternoon horizon, and all the wonders of nature of which
+her romantic world consisted. The contrast between these and the
+shaking black dog, with his smudge of tangled hair hanging over his
+eyes, shocked Jinnie's artistic sense.
+
+"If----if you say he's beautiful, then he is," she stammered almost
+inaudibly.
+
+"Of course he is! What's your name?"
+
+"Jinnie. Jinnie Grandoken... What's yours?"
+
+"Blind Bobbie, or sometimes just Bobbie."
+
+"Well, I'll call you Bobbie, if you want me to.... I like you awful
+well. I feel it right in here."
+
+She pressed the boy's fingers to her side.
+
+"Oh, that's your heart!" he exclaimed. "I got one too! Feel it jump!"
+
+Jinnie's fingers pressed the spot indicated by the little boy.
+
+"My goodness," she exclaimed, "it'll jump out of your mouth, won't
+it?"
+
+"Nope! It always beats like that!"
+
+"Where's your mother?" asked Jinnie after a space.
+
+"I suppose she's dead, or Mag wouldn't a had me. I don't know very
+much, but I 'member how my mother's hands feel. They were soft and
+warm. She used to come to see me at the woman's house who died--the
+one who give me to Mag."
+
+"She must have been a lovely mother," commented Jinnie.
+
+"She were! Mag tried to find her 'cause she said she was rich, and
+when she couldn't, she beat me. I thought mebbe I'd find mother out in
+the street. That's why I run away."
+
+Jinnie thought of her own dead father, and the child's halting tale
+brought back that one night of agony when Thomas Singleton died, alone
+and unloved, save for herself. She wanted to cry, but instead she
+murmured, "Happy in Spite," as Lafe had bidden her, and the melting
+mood vanished. The cobbler and his club were always wonderfully
+helpful to Jinnie.
+
+"My mother told me onct," Bobbie went on, "she didn't have nothin' to
+live for. I was blind, you see, and wasn't any good--was I?"
+
+The question, pathetically put, prompted Virginia to fling back a
+ready answer.
+
+"You're good 'nough for me and Happy Pete," she asserted, "and Lafe'll
+let you be his little boy too."
+
+The blind child gasped, and the girl continued assuringly, "Peg'll
+love you, too. She couldn't help it."
+
+"Peg?" queried Bobbie.
+
+"Oh, she's Lafe's wife. Happy Pete and me stay in her house."
+
+The blind eyes flashed with sudden hope.
+
+"Mebbe she'll love me a little! Will she?"
+
+"I hope so. Anyway, Lafe will. He loves everybody, even dogs. He'll
+love you; _sure_ he will!"
+
+The boy shook his head doubtfully.
+
+"Nobody but mothers are nice to blind kids. Well--well--'cept you. I'd
+like to go to Lafe's house, though, but mebbe the woman wouldn't want
+me."
+
+Jinnie had her own ideas about this, but because the child's tears
+fell hot upon her hands, the mother within her grew to greater
+proportions. Three times she repeated softly, "Happy in Spite."
+
+"Happy in Spite," she whispered again. Then she sat up with a
+brilliant smile.
+
+"Of course I'm going to take you to Lafe's. Here at Lafe's my heart's
+awful busy loving everybody. Now I've got you I'm going to take care
+of you, 'cause I love you just like the rest. Stand up and let me wipe
+your nose."
+
+"Let me see how you look, first," faltered the boy. "Where's your
+face?... I want to touch it!"
+
+His little hands reached and found Jinnie's shoulders. Then slowly the
+fingers moved upwards, pressing here and there upon the girl's skin,
+as they traveled in rhythmic motion over her cheeks.
+
+"Your hair's awful curly and long," said he. "What color is it?"
+
+"Color? Well, it's black with purple running through it, I guess.
+People say so anyway!"
+
+"Oh, yes, I know what black is. And your eyes're blue, ain't they?"
+
+"Yes, blue," assented Jinnie. "I see 'em when I slick my hair in the
+kitchen glass ... I don't think they're much like yours."
+
+Bobbie paid no heed to the allusion to himself.
+
+"Your forehead's smooth, too," he mused. "Your eyes are big, and the
+lashes round 'em 're long. You're much prettier'n your dog, but then
+girls 're always pretty."
+
+A flush of pleased vanity reddened Jinnie's skin to the tips of her
+ears, and she scrambled to her feet. Then she paused, a solemn
+expression shadowing her eyes.
+
+"Bobbie," she spoke soberly, "now I found you, you belong to me, don't
+you?"
+
+Bobbie thrust forth his hands.
+
+"Yes, yes," he breathed.
+
+"Then from now on, from this minute, I'm going to work for you."
+
+Jinnie's thoughts were on the shortwood strap, but she didn't mention
+it. Oh, how she would work for money to give Peg with which to buy
+food! How happy she would be in the absolute ownership of the boy she
+had discovered in the hills! Tenderly she drew him to her. He seemed
+so pitifully helpless.
+
+"How old 're you?" she demanded.
+
+"Nine years old."
+
+"You don't look over five," said Jinnie, surprised.
+
+"That's because I'm always sick," explained the boy.
+
+Jinnie threw up her head.
+
+"Well, a girl sixteen ought to be able to help an awful little boy,
+oughtn't she?... Here, I'll put my arm round you, right like this."
+
+But the boy made a backward step, so that Jinnie, thinking he was
+about to fall, caught him sharply by the arm.
+
+"I'll walk if you'll _lead_ me," Bobbie explained proudly.
+
+Thus rebuffed, Jinnie turned the blind face toward the east, and
+together they made their way slowly to the plank walk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+"HE'S COME TO LIVE WITH US, PEGGY"
+
+
+They trailed along in silence, the girl watching the birds as flock
+after flock disappeared in the north woods. Now and then, when Jinnie
+looked at the boy, she felt the pride which comes only with
+possession. She was going to work for him, to intercede with Peg, to
+allow the foundling to join that precious home circle where the
+cobbler and his wife reigned supreme.
+
+As they reached the plank walk, the boy lagged back.
+
+"I'm tired, girl," he panted. "I've walked till I'm just near dead."
+
+He cried quietly as Jinnie led him into the shadow of a tree.
+
+"Sit here with me," she invited. "Lay your head on my arm."
+
+And this time he snuggled to her till the blind eyes and the pursed
+delicate mouth were hidden against her arm.
+
+"I told you, Bobbie," Jinnie resumed presently, "I'd let you be Lafe's
+little boy, didn't I?"
+
+"Yes, girl," replied the boy, sleepily.
+
+"Now wasn't that awful good of me?"
+
+"Awful good," was the dreamy answer. "My stars're glory bright now."
+
+"And most likely Lafe'll help you see with your eyes, just like Happy
+Pete and me!" Jinnie went on eagerly. "All the trees and hundreds of
+birds, some of 'em yellow and some of 'em red, an' some of 'em so
+little and cunning they could jump through the knothole in Peg's
+kitchen.... Don't you wish to see all that?"
+
+The small face brightened and the unseeing eyes flashed upward.
+
+"I'd find my mother, then," breathed Bobbie.
+
+"And you'd see a big high tree, with a robin making his nest in it!...
+Have y' ever seen that?"
+
+Jinnie was becoming almost aggressive, for, womanlike, with a point to
+make, each argument was driven home with more power.
+
+"No," Bobbie admitted, and his voice held a certain tragic little
+note.
+
+"And you've never seen the red running along the edge of the sky, just
+when the sun's going down?"
+
+Again his answer was a simple negative.
+
+"And hasn't anybody tried to show you a cow and her calf in the
+country, nipping the grass all day, in the yellow sunshine?"
+
+Jinnie was waxing eloquent, and her words held high-sounding hope. The
+interest in the child's face invited her to go on.
+
+"Now I've said I'd let my folks be yours, and didn't I find you, and
+have you got any one else? If you don't let me help you to Lafe's, how
+you going to see any of 'em?" She paused before delivering her best
+point, which was addressed quite indifferently to the sky. "And just
+think of that hot soup!"
+
+This was enough. Bobbie struggled up, flushed and agitated.
+
+"Put your arm around me, girl," which invitation Jinnie quickly
+accepted.
+
+Then they two, so unlike, went slowly down the walk toward the tracks
+to Lafe Grandoken's home.
+
+Jinnie's heart vied with a trip-hammer as they turned into Paradise
+Road. She did not fear the cobbler, but the thought of Peggy's harsh
+voice, her ruthless catechizing, worried her not a little.
+Nevertheless, she kept her arm about the boy, steadily drawing him on.
+When they came to the side door of the house, the girl turned the
+handle and walked in, leading her weary companion.
+
+Resolutely she passed on to the kitchen, for she wanted the
+disagreeable part over first. She fumbled in hesitation with the knob
+of the door, and Peg, hearing her, opened it. At first, the woman saw
+only Jinnie, with Happy Pete by her side. Then her gaze fell upon the
+other child, whose blind, entreating eyes were turned upward in
+supplication.
+
+"This is Bobbie," announced Jinnie, "and he's come to live with us,
+Peggy."
+
+Poor Peggy stared, surprised to silence. She could find no words to
+fit the occasion.
+
+"He hasn't any home!" Jinnie gasped for breath in her excitement.
+"Mag, a woman somewhere, beat him and he ran away and I found 'im. So
+he belongs to us now."
+
+She was gaining assurance every moment. She hoped that Peggy was
+silently acquiescing, for the woman hadn't uttered a word; she was
+merely looking from one to the other with her characteristically blank
+expression.
+
+"I'm going to give him half of Lafe, too," confided Jinnie, nodding
+her head toward the waiting child.
+
+Then Peggy burst forth in righteous indignation. She demanded to know
+how another mouth was to be fed, and clothes washed and mended; where
+the brat was to sleep, and what good he was anyway.
+
+"Do you think, kid," she stormed at Jinnie, "you're so good yourself
+we're wantin' to take another one worser off'n you are? Don't believe
+it! He can't stay here!"
+
+Jinnie held her ground bravely.
+
+"Oh, I'll start right out and sell wood all day long, if you'll let
+him stay, Peg."
+
+A tousled lock of yellow hair hung over Bobbie's eyes.
+
+"Oh, Peggy, dear, Mrs. Good Peggy, let me stay!" he moaned, swaying.
+"I'm so tired, s'awful tired. I can't find my mother, nor no place,
+and my stars're all out!"
+
+Sobbing plaintively, he sank to the floor, and there the childish
+heart laid bare its misery. Then Jinnie, too, became quite limp, and
+forgetting all about "Happy in Spite," she knelt alongside of her
+newly acquired friend, and the two despairing young voices rose to the
+woman standing over them. Jinnie thrust her arms around the little
+boy.
+
+"Don't cry, my Bobbie," she sobbed. "I'll go back to the hills with
+you, because you need me. We'll live with the birds and squirrels, and
+I'll sell wood so we c'n eat."
+
+When she raised her reproachful eyes to Peg, and finished with a swipe
+at her offending nose with her sleeve, she had never looked more
+beautiful, and Peggy glanced away, fearing she might weaken.
+
+"Tell Lafe I love him, and I love you, too, Peggy. I'll come every day
+and see you both, and bring you some money."
+
+If she had been ten years older or had spent months framing a speech
+to fit the need of this occasion, Jinnie could not have been more
+effective, for Peg's rage entirely ebbed at these words.
+
+"Get up, you brats," she ordered grimly. "An' you listen to me, Jinnie
+Grandoken. Your Bobbie c'n stay, but if you ever, so long as you live,
+bring another maimed, lame or blind creature to this house, I'll kick
+it out in the street. Now both of you climb up to that table an' eat
+some hot soup."
+
+Jinnie drew a long breath of happiness. She had cried a little, she
+was sorry for that. She had broken her resolve always to smile--to be
+"Happy in Spite."
+
+"I'll _never_ bring any one else in, Peg," she averred gratefully.
+
+Then she remembered how sweeping was her promise and changed it a
+trifle.
+
+"Of course if a kid was awful sick in the street and didn't have a
+home, I'd have to fetch it in, wouldn't I?"
+
+Peggy flounced over to the table, speechless, followed by the two
+children.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+"WHO SAYS THE KID CAN'T STAY?"
+
+
+Twenty minutes later Mrs. Grandoken entered the shop and sat down
+opposite her husband.
+
+"Lafe," she began, clearing her throat.
+
+The cobbler questioned her with a glance.
+
+"That girl'll be the death of this hull shanty," she announced
+huskily. "I hate 'er more'n anything in the world."
+
+Lafe placed a half-mended shoe beside him on the bench.
+
+"What's ailin' 'er now, Peggy?"
+
+"Oh, she ain't sick," interrupted Peg, with curling lip. "She never
+looked better'n she does this minute, settin' in there huddlin' that
+pup, but she's brought home another kid, as bad off as a kid can be."
+
+"A what? What'd you say, Peg? You don't mean a youngster!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken bobbed her head, her face stoically expressionless.
+"An' bad off," she repeated querulously. "The young 'un's blind."
+
+Before Lafe's mental vision rose Jinnie's lovely face, her parted lips
+and self-assured smile.
+
+"But where'd she get it? It must belong to some 'un."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shook her head.
+
+"I dunno. It's a boy. He was with a woman--a bad 'un, I gather. She
+beat 'im until the little feller ran away to find his own folks, he
+says--and--Jinnie brought 'im home here. She says she's goin' to keep
+'im."
+
+The speaker drew her brown skin into a network of wrinkles.
+
+"Where'd she find 'im?" Lafe burst forth, "Of course he can't
+stay----"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken checked the cobbler's words with a rough gesture.
+
+"Hush a minute! She got 'im over near the plank walk on the hill--he
+was cryin' for 'is ma."
+
+Lafe was plainly agitated. He felt a spasmodic clutch at his heart
+when he imagined the sorrow of a homeless, blind child, but thinking
+of Peg's struggle to make a little go a long way, he dashed his
+sympathy resolutely aside.
+
+"Of course he can't stay--he can't!" he murmured. "It ain't possible
+for you to keep 'im here."
+
+In his excitement Lafe bent forward and closed his hands over Peg's
+massive shoulder bones. Peggy coughed hoarsely and looked away.
+
+"Who says the kid can't stay?" she muttered roughly. "Who said he
+can't?"
+
+The words jumped off the woman's tongue in sullen defiance.
+
+"But you got too much to do now, Peg. We've made you a lot of trouble,
+woman dear, an' you sure don't want to take another----"
+
+Like a flash, Peg's features changed. She squinted sidewise as if a
+strong light suddenly hurt her sight.
+
+"Who said I didn't?" she drawled. "Some husbands do make me mad, when
+they're tellin' me what I want, an' what I don't want. I hate the
+blind brat like I do the girl, but he's goin' to stay just the same."
+
+A deep flush dyed Lafe's gray face. The intensity of his emotion was
+almost a pain. Life had ever vouchsafed Lafe Grandoken encouragement
+when the dawn was darkest. Now Peg's personal insult lined his clouds
+of fear with silver, and they sailed away in rapid succession as
+quickly as they had come; he saw them going like shadows under
+advancing sun rays.
+
+"Peggy," he said, touching her gently, "you've the biggest heart in
+all the world, and you're the very best woman; you be, sure! If you
+let the poor little kid stay, I'll make more money, if God gives me
+strength."
+
+Peggy pushed Lafe's hand from her arm.
+
+"I 'spose if you do happen to get five cents more, you'll puff out
+with pride till you most bust.... Anyway, it won't take much more to
+buy grub for a kid with an appetite like a bird.... Come on! I'll
+wheel you to the kitchen so you can have a look at 'im."
+
+Jinnie glanced around as the husband and wife entered the room. She
+pushed Happy Pete from her lap and got up.
+
+"Lafe," she exclaimed, "this is Bobbie--he's come to live with us."
+
+She drew the blind boy from his chair and went forward.
+
+"Bobbie," she explained, "this is the cobbler. I told you about him in
+the park. See 'im with your fingers once, and you'll know he's the
+best man ever."
+
+The small boy lifted two frail arms, his lips quivering in fright and
+homesickness. Some feeling created by God rose insistent within Lafe.
+It was a response from the heart of the Good Shepherd, who had always
+gathered into his fold the bruised ones of the world. Lafe drew the
+child to his lap.
+
+"Poor little thing!" he murmured sadly.
+
+With curling lips, his wife stood watching the pair.
+
+"You're a bigger fool'n I thought you was, Lafe Grandoken," she said,
+turning away sharply. "I wouldn't make such a fuss over no one livin'.
+That's just what I wouldn't."
+
+She threw the last remark over her shoulder as if it were something
+she spurned and wanted to be rid of.
+
+Bobbie slipped from Lafe's arms and described a zigzag course across
+the kitchen floor toward the place where Mrs. Grandoken stood. His
+hands fluttered over Peg's dress, as high as they could reach.
+
+"I like you awful well, Mrs. Peggy," he told her, "and I just love
+your kisses, too, Mrs. Peggy dear. They made my stars shine all over
+my head."
+
+The cobbler's wife started guiltily, casting her eyes upon Lafe. He
+was silent, his patient face expressing melancholy sweetness. As far
+as the woman could determine, he had not heard the boy's words.
+Relieved, she allowed her eyes to rest upon Jinnie. The girl was
+looking directly at her. Then Jinnie slowly dropped one white lid over
+a bright, gleeful blue eye in a wicked little wink. This was more than
+Peggy could endure. She _had_ kissed the little boy several times
+during the process of washing the tear-stained face and combing the
+tangled hair, but that any one should know it! Just then, Peggy
+secretly said to herself, "If uther one of them kids get any more
+kisses from me, it'll be when water runs uphill. I 'spose now I'll
+never hear the last of them smacks."
+
+"Let go my skirt! Get away, kid," she ordered Bobbie.
+
+The boy dropped his hands reluctantly. He had hoped for another kiss.
+
+"Peggy," said Lafe, "can I hold him? He seems so sad."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, consciously grim, placed the boy in her husband's
+lap.
+
+"You see," philosophized Jinnie, when she and the blind child were
+with the cobbler, "if a blind kid hasn't any place to live, the girl
+who finds 'im has to bring him home! Huh, Lafe?"
+
+Then she whispered in his ear, "Couldn't Bobbie join the 'Happy in
+Spite'?"
+
+"Sure he can, lass; sure he can," assented Lafe.
+
+Jinnie whirled back to the little boy.
+
+"Bobbie, would you like to come in a club that'll make you happy as
+long's you live?"
+
+The bright blind eyes of the boy flashed from Jinnie to the man, and
+he got to his feet tremulously. In his little mind, out of which
+daylight was shut, Jinnie's words presaged great joy. The girl took
+his hand and led him to the cobbler.
+
+"You'll have to explain the club to 'im, Lafe," she said.
+
+"Yes, 'splain it to me, Lafe dearie," purred Bobbie.
+
+"It's just a club," began Lafe, "only good to keep a body happy. Now,
+me--well, I'm happy in spite a-havin' no legs; Jinnie there, she's
+happy in spite a-havin' no folks. Her and me's happy in spite a
+everything."
+
+Bobbie stood alongside Lafe's bench, one busy set of fingers picking
+rhythmically at the cobbler's coat, the other having sought and found
+his hand.
+
+"I want to be in the club, cobbler," he whispered.
+
+Mr. Grandoken stooped and kissed the quivering face.
+
+"An' you'll be happy in spite a havin' no eyes?" he questioned.
+
+The little boy, pressing his cheek against the man's arm, cooed in
+delight.
+
+"And happy in spite of not finding your mother right yet?" interjected
+Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, yes, 'cause I _am_ happy. I got my beautiful Peggy, ain't I? And
+don't she make me a hull lot of fine soup, and ain't I got Lafe, Happy
+Pete----"
+
+"You got me, too, Bobbie," Jinnie reminded him gently.
+
+Bobbie acquiesced by a quick bend of his head, and Lafe grasped his
+hand.
+
+"Now you're a member of the 'Happy in Spite', Bob," said he smiling.
+"This club is what I call a growin' affair. Four members----"
+
+"Everybody's in," burst forth Jinnie.
+
+"Except Peggy," sighed Lafe. "Some day something'll bring her in,
+too."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+JINNIE'S EAR GETS A TWEAK
+
+
+Bobbie had been at the Grandoken home scarcely a week before Jinnie
+again got into difficulty. One morning, wide-awake, beside the blind
+boy, she happened to glance toward the door. There stood Peg, her face
+distorted by rage, staring at her with terrible eyes. Jinnie sat up in
+a twinkling.
+
+"What is it, Peggy, dear?" she faltered. "What have I done now?"
+
+Without reply, Peggy marched to the bed and took the girl by the ear.
+In this way she pulled her to the floor, walking her ahead of her to
+the kitchen.
+
+"I don't know what I've done, Peggy," repeated Jinnie, meekly.
+
+"I'll show you. You'll know, all right, miss! Now if you've eyes,
+squint down there!"
+
+She was pointing to the floor, and as the room was rather dark, Jinnie
+at first could discern nothing. Then as her eyes became accustomed to
+the shadows, she saw----
+
+"Oh, what is it, Peggy? Oh, my! Oh, my!"
+
+Peggy gave her a rough little shake.
+
+"I'll tell you what, Jinnie Grandoken, without any more ado. Well,
+they're cats, just plain everyday cats! Another batch of Miss Milly
+Ann's kits, if y' want to know. They can't stay in this house, miss,
+an' when I say a thing, I mean it! My word's law in this shanty!"
+
+She was still holding the girl's ear, and suddenly gave it another
+tweak. Jinnie pulled this tender member from Peggy's fingers with a
+delighted little chuckle.
+
+"Peggy darling, aren't they sweet? Oh, Peggy----"
+
+"Ain't they sweet?" mimicked Peggy. "They're just sweet 'nough to get
+chucked out. Now, you get dressed, an' take 'em somewhere. D' you
+hear?"
+
+Jinnie wheeled about for another tug of war. It was dreadful how she
+had to fight with Peggy to get her own way about things like this.
+First with Happy Pete, then with Bobbie, and now--to-day--with five
+small kittens, not one of them larger than the blind child's hand. She
+looked into Mrs. Grandoken's face, which was still grim, but Jinnie
+decided not quite so grim as when the woman appeared at her bedroom
+door.
+
+"I suppose you'll go in an' honey round Lafe in a minute, thinkin'
+he'll help you keep 'em," said Mrs. Grandoken. "But this time it won't
+do no good."
+
+"Peggy!" blurted Jinnie.
+
+"Shut your mouth! An' don't be Peggyin' me, or I'll swat you," vowed
+Peg.
+
+The woman glared witheringly into a pair of beseeching blue eyes.
+
+"Get into your clothes, kid," she ordered immediately, "then you----"
+
+"Then I'll come back, dear," gurgled Jinnie, "and do just what you
+want me to." Then with subtle modification, she continued, "I mean,
+Peg, I'll do just what you want me to after I've talked about it a
+bit... Oh, please, let me give 'em one little kiss apiece."
+
+Peggy flounced to the stove.
+
+"Be a fool an' kiss 'em if you want to... I hate 'em."
+
+In the coarse nightdress Peggy had made for her, Jinnie sat down
+beside Milly Ann. The yellow mother purred in delight. She'd brought
+them five new babies, and no idea entered her mother heart that she
+would have to part with even one.
+
+Out came the kittens into the girl's lap, and one by one they were
+tenderly lifted to be kissed. Both Peggy and the kisser were silent
+while this loving operation was in process. Then Jinnie, still
+sitting, looked from Milly Ann to Peggy.
+
+"I guess she's awful fond of her children, don't you, Peg?"
+
+Peggy didn't answer.
+
+"You see it's like this, Peg----"
+
+"Didn't I tell you not to Peggy me?"
+
+"Then it's like this, darling," drawled Jinnie, trying to be
+obedient.
+
+"An' you needn't darlin' me nuther," snapped Peggy.
+
+Jinnie thought a minute.
+
+"Then it's like this, honey bunch," she smiled again.
+
+Peg whirled around on her.
+
+"Say, you kid----"
+
+"Wait, dearie!" implored Jinnie. "Don't you know mother cats always
+love their kitties just like live mothers do their babies?"
+
+Peggy rattled the stove lids outrageously. Hearing these words, she
+stopped abruptly. Who knows where her thoughts flew? Jinnie didn't,
+for sure, but she thought, by the sudden change of Mrs. Grandoken's
+expression, she could guess.
+
+The woman looked from Milly Ann to the wriggling kittens in Jinnie's
+lap, then she stooped down and again brought to view Jinnie's little
+ear tucked away under the black curls.
+
+"Get up out o' here an' dress; will you? I've said them cats've got to
+go, and go they will!"
+
+Jinnie returned the kittens to their mother, and when she got back to
+her room, Bobbie was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes.
+
+"I couldn't find you, girl," he whimpered. "I felt the bed over and
+you was gone."
+
+Jinnie bent over him.
+
+"Peg took me out in the kitchen, dear... What do you think, Bobbie?"
+
+Bobbie began to tremble.
+
+"I got to go away from here ... eh?"
+
+"Mercy, no!" laughed Jinnie. "Milly Ann's got a lot of new babies."
+
+Bobbie gave a delighted squeal.
+
+"Now I'll have something else to love, won't I?" he gurgled.
+
+Jinnie hoped so! But she hadn't yet received Peg's consent to keep the
+family, so when the little boy was dressed and she had combed her hair
+and dressed herself, they went into the shop, where the cobbler met
+them with a smile.
+
+"Peg's mad," Jinnie observed with a comprehensive glance at Mr.
+Grandoken.
+
+"Quite so," replied Lafe, grinning over the bowl of his pipe. "She had
+frost on her face a inch thick when she discovered them cats. I
+thought she'd hop right out of the window."
+
+"She says I must throw 'em away," ventured Jinnie.
+
+"Cluck! Cluck!" struck Lafe's tongue against the roof of his mouth,
+and he smiled. Jinnie loved that cluck. It put her in mind of the
+Mottville mother hens scratching for their chickens.
+
+"Hain't she ever said anything like that to you before, lass?" the
+cobbler suggested presently.
+
+"She said it about me," piped in Bobbie.
+
+"An' about Happy Pete, too," added Lafe.
+
+"I bet I keep 'em," giggled Jinnie.
+
+"I'll bet with you, kid," said the cobbler gravely.
+
+"I want to see 'em!" Bobbie clamored with a squeak.
+
+But he'd no more than made the statement before the door burst
+violently open and Peg stood before them. Her apron was gathered
+together in front, held by one gripping hand; something moved against
+her knees as if it were alive. In the other hand was Milly Ann,
+carried by the nape of her neck, hanging straight down at the woman's
+side, her long yellow tail dragging on the floor. The woman looked
+like an avenging angel.
+
+"I've come to tell you folks something," she imparted in a very loud
+voice. "Here's this blasted ragtail, that's went an' had this batch of
+five cats. Now I'm goin' to warn y' all----"
+
+Bobbie interrupted her with a little yelp.
+
+"Let me love one, Peggy, dear," he begged.
+
+"I'm goin' to warn you folks," went on Peg, without heeding the
+child's interjection, "that--if--you don't want their necks wrung,
+you'd better keep 'em out of my way."
+
+Saying this, she dropped the mother cat with a soft thud, and without
+looking up, dumped the kittens on top of her, and stalked out of the
+room.
+
+When Jinnie appeared five minutes later in the kitchen with a small
+kitten in her hand, Peg was stirring the mush for breakfast.
+
+"You hate the kitties, eh, Peg?" asked Jinnie.
+
+The two tense wrinkles at the corners of Mrs. Grandoken's mouth didn't
+relax by so much as a hair's line.
+
+"Hate 'em!" she snapped, "I should say I do! I hate every one of them
+cats, and I hate you, too! An' if y' don't like it, y' can lump it. If
+the lumps is too big, smash 'em."
+
+"I know you hate us, darling," Jinnie admitted, "but, Peg, I want to
+tell you this: it's ever so much easier to love folks than to hate
+'em, and as long as the kitties're going to stay, I thought mebbe if
+you kissed 'em once--" Then she extended the kitten. "I brought you
+one to try on."
+
+"Well, Lord-a-massy, the girl's crazy!" expostulated Peg. "Keep the
+cats if you're bound to, you kid, but get out of this kitchen or I'll
+kiss you both with the broom."
+
+Jinnie disappeared, and Peggy heard a gleeful laugh as the girl
+scurried back to the shop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+JINNIE DISCOVERS HER KING'S THRONE
+
+
+Two years and almost half of another had passed since Jinnie first
+came to live with Lafe and Peggy Grandoken. These two years had meant
+more to her than all the other fifteen in her life. Lafe, in his
+kindly, fatherly way, daily impressed upon her the need of her
+studying and no day passed without planting some knowledge in the
+eager young mind.
+
+Her mornings were spent gathering shortwood, her afternoons in selling
+it, but the hours outside these money-earning duties were passed
+between her fiddle and her books. The cobbler often remarked that her
+mumbling over those difficult lessons at his side taught him more than
+he'd ever learned in school. Sometimes when they were having
+heart-to-heart talks, Jinnie confided to him her ambitions.
+
+"I'd like to fiddle all my life, Lafe," she told him once. "I wonder
+if people ever made money fiddling; do they, Lafe?"
+
+"I'm afraid not, honey," he answered, sadly.
+
+"But you like it, eh, Lafe?"
+
+"Sure!... Better'n anything."
+
+One day in the early summer, when there was a touch of blue mist in
+the clear, warm air, Jinnie wandered into the wealthy section of the
+town, hoping thereby to establish a new customer or two.
+
+Maudlin Bates had warned her not to enter his territory or to trespass
+upon his part of the marshland, and for that reason she had in the
+past but turned longing eyes to the hillside besprinkled with handsome
+homes.
+
+But Lafe replied, when she told him this, "No section belongs to
+Maudlin alone, honey.... Just go where you like."
+
+She now entered a large open gate into which an automobile had just
+disappeared, and walked toward the house.
+
+She paused to admire the exterior of the mansion. On the front, the
+porches were furnished with rocking chairs and hammocks, but no person
+was in sight. She walked around to the back, but as she was about to
+knock, a voice arrested her action.
+
+"Do you want to see somebody?"
+
+She turned hastily. There before her was her King, the man she had met
+on that memorable night more than two years before. He doffed his cap
+smiling, recognizing her immediately, and Jinnie flushed to the roots
+of her hair, while the shortwood strap slipped slowly from her
+shoulders.
+
+"Ah, you have something to sell?" he interrogated.
+
+Jinnie's tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. She had never
+completely forgotten him, and his smile was a delightful memory. Now
+as he watched her quizzically, all her former admiration returned.
+
+"Well, well," laughed the man, "if this isn't my little violin girl.
+It's a long time since I saw you last.... Do you love your music as
+much as ever?"
+
+Her first glance at him brought the flushing consciousness that she
+was but a shortwood gatherer; the strap and its burden placed a great
+barrier between them. But his question about the fiddle, her fiddle,
+placed her again on equal footing with him. She permitted herself to
+smile.
+
+"I play every day. My uncle loves it, but my aunt doesn't," she
+answered naively.
+
+"And you're selling wood?"
+
+"Yes, I must help a little."
+
+She made the assertion proudly, offering no excuse for her chosen
+trade.
+
+"And this is all for sale?" indicating the wood.
+
+"Yes," said Jinnie, looking down upon it.
+
+"I'll take it all," Theodore offered, putting his hand into his
+pocket. "How much do you want for it?"
+
+The girl gave him a puzzled glance. "I don't just know, but I
+wish----I wish I could give it to you without any pay."
+
+She moved a little closer and questioned eagerly:
+
+"Won't you please take it?"
+
+An amused expression crossed the man's handsome face.
+
+"Of course not, my child," he exclaimed. "That wouldn't be business. I
+want to buy it.... How about a dollar?"
+
+Jinnie gasped. A dollar, a whole dollar! She made but little more
+during an entire week; she had made less. A dollar would buy----Then a
+thought flashed across her mind.
+
+"I couldn't take a dollar," she refused, "it's too much. It's only
+worth about twenty cents."
+
+"But if I choose to give you a dollar?" pursued the man.
+
+Again the purple black curls shook decidedly.
+
+"I couldn't take more'n it's worth. My uncle wouldn't like me to. He
+says all we can expect in this world's our own and no more. Twenty
+cents is all."
+
+Mr. King studied her face, thoughtfully.
+
+"I've an idea, a good one. Now what do you say to furnishing me wood
+every morning, say at fifty cents a day. We use such a lot! You could
+bring a little more if you like or--or come twice."
+
+Jinnie could scarcely believe she'd heard aright. Unshed tears dimmed
+her eyes.
+
+"I wouldn't have to peddle to any one else, then, would I?" she
+stammered.
+
+"No! That's just what I meant."
+
+Then the tears welled over the drooping lids and a feeling of
+gratitude surged through the girl's whole being. Fifty cents a day! It
+was such a lot of money--as much as Lafe made five days out of six.
+
+Jinnie sent the man a fleeting glance, meeting his smiling eyes with
+pulsing blood.
+
+"I'd love to do it," she whispered gratefully. "Then I'd have a lot of
+time to--to--fiddle."
+
+Mr. King's hand slipped into his pocket.
+
+"I'll pay you fifty cents for to-day's wood," he decided, "and fifty
+for what you're going to bring to-morrow. Is that satisfactory?"
+
+As if in a dream, Jinnie tumbled out the contents of the shortwood
+strap. As she took the money from Mr. King's hand, his fingers touched
+hers; she thrilled to the tips of her curls. Then she ran hastily down
+the long road, only turning to glance back when she reached the gate.
+Mr. King stood just where she had left him, and was looking after her.
+He raised his cap, and Jinnie, with burning face, fled on again.
+
+She wondered what Lafe would say about her unexpected good fortune.
+She would tell _him_ first, before she saw Peggy. She imagined how the
+sweet smile would cross his lips, and how he would put his arm gently
+around her.
+
+Lafe heard her open the side door and called,
+
+"Come in, honey!... Come on in."
+
+She entered after one hasty glance proved the cobbler was alone.
+
+"You sold quick to-day, lass," said he, holding out his hand.
+
+Jinnie had planned on the way home to make great rehearsing of
+Theodore King's kindness, but in another instant she broke forth:
+
+"Lafe, Lafe! I've got something to tell you! Oh, a lovely something! I
+sold all the wood to one man, and I'm going to take him a load every
+day, and get fifty cents for it. Regular customer, Lafe!... Here's a
+dollar for Peg."
+
+Lafe did just what Jinnie expected he would, slipped an arm about her
+waist.
+
+"The good God be praised!" he ejaculated. "Stand here an' tell me all
+about it."
+
+"It was Mr. King----"
+
+"Theodore King?" asked Lafe. "Why, he's the richest man in town. He
+owns the iron works."
+
+Jinnie nodded. "Yes! He's the one I played for in the train when I
+first came here. You remember my telling you, Lafe? And he wants wood
+every day from me. Isn't it fine?"
+
+"'Tis so!" affirmed Lafe. "Jinnie, lass, them angels come in shapes of
+human bein's--mostly so. Now go tell Peggy. It'll take a load off'n
+her heart."
+
+As Jinnie told her story to Mrs. Grandoken and handed her the money,
+the woman's lips twitched at the corners, but she only said,
+warningly:
+
+"Don't get a swelled head over your doin's, lass, for a brat ain't
+responsible for her own smartness."
+
+One morning, about a week afterward, Jinnie rapped at the back door of
+the King mansion.
+
+"Is Mr. King in?" she asked timidly of the servant.
+
+The girl stared hard at the flushed, pretty face.
+
+"He's in, but you can leave the wood if you want to."
+
+"No," refused Jinnie. "I want to see him."
+
+The maid turned away, grumbling, and Jinnie backed from the door with
+bated breath.
+
+Mr. King appeared immediately, seemingly embarrassed. He took both her
+hands.
+
+"Why, my dear child!" he exclaimed. "I'd completely forgotten to leave
+the money for the wood, and you've been bringing it every day."
+
+"Peggy made the dollar go a long ways--that and Lafe's money. We
+didn't need any till to-day.... So--so I asked for you."
+
+"I'm glad you did," responded King, counting and giving her the
+money.
+
+Then his glance fell upon the bulging shortwood strap.
+
+"I'm afraid you carry too much at a time," he admonished, gravely.
+"You mustn't do that."
+
+Jinnie dropped her eyes.
+
+"I was talking to my uncle about it," she explained embarrassedly,
+"and he thought same's I, that you were paying too much for that
+little wood. I'm goin' to bring more after this."
+
+"I'm satisfied, though, and I can't have you hurting yourself by being
+too strenuously honest.... I might--yes, I will! I'll send for you
+every day or every other----"
+
+Jinnie's eyes lighted up with happiness.
+
+"Oh, sir,----" she began entreatingly.
+
+"Wait----" said Mr. King. "It's this way! If you brought it up here in
+one of my cars, it would save a lot of your time, and you wouldn't
+have to come every day."
+
+"I could fiddle more," Jinnie blurted radiantly. She remembered how
+sympathetically he had listened to her through the blizzard. He liked
+the fiddle! She went a little nearer him. "I'm trying to make a tune
+different from any I've ever done, and I can't always play well after
+lugging shortwood all day.... I'd love to deliver it the way you
+said."
+
+King stood gazing at her. How strangely beautiful she was! Something
+in the wind-browned face stirred his heart to its depths.
+
+"Then that's settled," he said kindly. "You tell me where to have my
+man and what time, and to-morrow he'll meet you."
+
+Jinnie thought a moment.
+
+"I wonder if he knows where Paradise Road ends near the edge of the
+marsh."
+
+"He could find it, of course."
+
+"There's a path going into the marsh right at the end of the road.
+I'll meet him there to-morrow at twelve o'clock, and--and I'm so much
+obliged to you."
+
+When Jinnie told Lafe of the new arrangement, she gurgled with joy.
+
+"Lafe, now I'll make that tune."
+
+"Yes, honey," murmured Lafe contentedly. "Now get your fiddle and
+practice; after that you c'n study a while out of that there grammar
+book."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+RED ROSES AND YELLOW
+
+
+The days went on peacefully after the new arrangements for the
+shortwood. Every other day, at twelve o'clock, one of Theodore King's
+cars waited for Jinnie at the head of the path leading into the
+marsh.
+
+When the weather was stormy, Bennett, the chauffeur, took the wood,
+telling Jinnie to run along home.
+
+All this made it possible for Jinnie to study profitably during the
+warm months, and by the last of August she had mastered many difficult
+subjects. Lafe helped her when he could, but often shook his head
+despondently as she sat down beside him on the bench, asking his
+advice.
+
+"The fact is, honey, I ain't got much brains," he said to her one
+afternoon. "If I hung by my neck till I could see through them
+figures, I'd be as dead as Moses."
+
+One Thursday morning, as she climbed into the big car with her load,
+Bennett said,
+
+"I ain't goin' to pay you this mornin'! The boss'll do it. Mr. King
+wants to see you."
+
+Jinnie nodded, her heart pounding.
+
+It was delightful to contemplate seeing him once more. She wondered
+where he had been all these days and if he had thought of her.
+Jinnie's pulses were galloping along like a race horse. She stood
+quietly until the master was called, and he came quickly without
+making her wait.
+
+"I'm going to ask you to do me a favor," he said, coming forward,
+holding out his hand.
+
+Now when Jinnie first heard that he wished to see her, she thought her
+heart could beat no faster, but his words made that small organ tattoo
+against her sides like the flutter of a bird's wing in fright. She
+could do something for him! Oh, what joy! What unutterable joy!
+
+"We're going to have some friends here Sunday evening----"
+
+The sudden upfling of Jinnie's head cut off his words.
+
+What difference would his having friends make to her? Oh, yes, they
+wanted more wood. How gladly she would get it for him; search all day
+for the driest pieces if he needed them!
+
+"I was wondering," proceeded Mr. King, "if you would come here with
+your violin and play for--for--us?"
+
+Jinnie's knees relaxed and she staggered back against the wall.
+
+"You musn't feel embarrassed about it," he hurried on. "I'd be very
+much indebted to you if you thought you could."
+
+Tears were so perilously near Jinnie's lids that some of them rolled
+into her throat. To regain her self-possession enough to speak, she
+swallowed several times in rapid succession. Such a compliment she'd
+never been paid before. She brought her hands together appealingly,
+and Mr. King noticed that his request had heightened her color.
+
+"I'd love to do it," she breathed.
+
+"Of course I'll pay you for it," he said, not able to think of
+anything else,
+
+"I couldn't take any money for fiddling," replied Jinnie. "But I'll
+come. Lafe says money can't be made that way."
+
+She turned to go, but Mr. King detained her.
+
+"Wait a minute," he insisted. "I want to tell you something! You've a
+great gift--a wonderful genius--and out of such genius much money
+_is_ made.... I couldn't think of letting you come here unless you
+allowed me to remunerate you."
+
+Jinnie listened attentively to all he said, but refusal was still in
+her steady gaze. Mr. King, seeing this, continued quickly:
+
+"I want you very much, but on that one point I must have my way. I
+shall give you twenty-five dollars for playing three pieces."
+
+Then Jinnie thought she was going to faint. Twenty-five dollars! It
+was a fortune--a huge fortune! But she couldn't take money for playing
+tunes that came from her heart--tunes that were a part of herself the
+same as her hands or feet. But before she could offer another
+argument, the man finished hurriedly:
+
+"It's settled now. You're to come here Sunday night at eight. I'll
+send for you."
+
+Lafe was sitting at the window as she ran through the shortcut along
+the tracks. Her curls were flying in the wind, her cheeks glowing with
+flaming color. Every day the cobbler loved her more, for in spite of
+the dark soil in which Jinnie thrived, she grew lovelier in spirit and
+face.
+
+He waved his hand to her, and both of her arms answered his salute.
+When the door burst open, Lafe put down his hammer expectantly. Before
+he could speak, she was down upon her knees at his side, her curly
+head buried in his loving arms, and tears were raining down her face.
+
+Lafe allowed her to cry a few moments. Then he said:
+
+"Something's hurt my lassie's heart.... Somebody!... Was it Maudlin?"
+
+Through the tears shone a radiant smile.
+
+"I'm crying for joy, Lafe," she sobbed. "I'm going to play my fiddle
+at Mr. King's house and make twenty-five dollars for three tunes."
+
+Lafe's jaws dropped apart incredulously.
+
+"Twenty-five dollars for playin' your fiddle, child?"
+
+Jinnie told all that had happened since leaving home.
+
+Then Peggy had to be told, and when the amount of money was mentioned
+and Jinnie said:
+
+"It'll all be yours, Peggy, when I get it,"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken grunted:
+
+"You didn't make your insides, lassie. It ain't to your credit you can
+fiddle, so don't get stuck up."
+
+Jinnie laughed gaily and went to the kitchen, where for two hours,
+with Bobbie curled up in the chair holding Happy Pete, she brought
+from the strings of the instrument she loved, mournful tunes mingled
+with laughing songs, such as no one in Bellaire had ever heard.
+
+Over and over, as Lafe listened, he wondered where and how such music
+could be born in the child--for Jinnie, to the lame cobbler, would
+always be a little, little girl.
+
+Later Jinnie went to the store, and when Peggy had watched her cross
+the street, she sat down in front of her husband.
+
+"Lafe," she said, "what's the kid goin' to wear to King's?... She
+can't go in them clothes she's got on."
+
+Lafe looked up, startled.
+
+"Sure 'nough; I never thought of that," he answered. "An' I don't
+believe she has uther."
+
+It was the cobbler who spoke to Jinnie about it.
+
+"I suppose you hain't thought what you're going to wear Sunday
+night?"
+
+Jinnie whirled around upon him.
+
+"Oh, Lafe!" she faltered, sitting down quickly.
+
+"Peggy 'lowed you'd forgotten that part of it."
+
+"I did, Lafe; I did! Oh, I don't know what to do!"
+
+"I wisht I had somethin' for you, Jinnie dear," breathed Bobbie,
+touching her hand.
+
+Jinnie's only response was to put her fingers on the child's head--her
+eyes still on the cobbler.
+
+"What did Peggy say, Lafe?"
+
+"Nothin', only you couldn't go in the clothes you got."
+
+Jinnie changed her position that she might see to better advantage the
+plain little dress she was wearing.
+
+"But I've got to go, Lafe; oh, I've got to!" she insisted. "Mr. King
+wants me.... Please, Lafe, please!"
+
+"Call Peggy, Bobbie," said Lafe, in answer to Jinnie's impetuous
+speech.
+
+Bobbie felt his way to the door, and Peggy came in answer to the
+child's call.
+
+"I only thought of the twenty-five dollars and the fiddling, Peggy,"
+said Jinnie as Mrs. Grandoken rolled her hands in her apron and sat
+down. "Did you say I couldn't go in these clothes?"
+
+"I did; I sure did. You can't go in them clothes, an' what you're
+goin' to wear is more'n I can make out. I'll have to think.... Just
+let me alone for a little while."
+
+It was after Jinnie had gone to bed with Bobbie that Peg spoke about
+it again to Lafe.
+
+"I've only got one thing I could rig her a dress out of," she said. "I
+don't want to do it because I hate her so! If I hated her any worse,
+I'd bust!"
+
+The cobbler raised his hand, making a gesture of denial.
+
+"Peggy, dear, you don't hate the poor little lass."
+
+"Yes, I do," said Peg. "I hate everybody in the world but you....
+Everybody but you, Lafe."
+
+"What'd you think might make a dress for 'er?" asked Grandoken
+presently.
+
+Before answering, Peg brought her feet together and looked down at her
+toes. "There's them lace curtains ma give me when she died," she said.
+"Them that's wrapped up in paper on the shelf."
+
+Lafe uttered a surprised ejaculation.
+
+"I couldn't let you do that, Peg," he said, shaking his head. "Them's
+the last left over from your mother's stuff. Everything else's
+gone.... I couldn't let you, Peggy."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken gave a shake of defiance.
+
+"Whose curtains be they, Lafe?" she asked. "Be they mine or yourn?"
+
+"Yourn, Peggy dear, and may God bless you!"
+
+All through the night Jinnie had dreadful dreams. The thought of
+either not going to Mr. King's or that she might not have anything fit
+to wear filled the hours with nightmares and worryings. In the
+morning, after she crawled out of bed and was wearily dressing Bobbie,
+the little blind boy felt intuitively something was wrong with his
+friend.
+
+"Is Jinnie sick?" he whispered, feeling her face. "My stars ain't
+shinin' much."
+
+The girl kissed him.
+
+"No, honey," she said, "Jinnie's only sad, not sick."
+
+Together they went into the shop, where Peggy stood with the most
+gorgeous lacy stuff draped over her arms. Strewn here and there over
+the yards and yards of it were bright yellow and red roses. Nothing
+could have been more beautiful to the girl, as with widening eyes she
+gazed at it. Lafe's face was shining with happiness. Peggy didn't seem
+to notice the two as they entered, but she lifted the lace, displaying
+its length stolidly.
+
+Jinnie bounded forward.
+
+"What is it, Peg? What is it?"
+
+Lafe beamed through his spectacles.
+
+"A dress for you, girl dear. Peggy's givin' you the things she loves
+best. She's the only woman in the world, Jinnie."
+
+Reverently Jinnie went to Mrs. Grandoken's side. She felt abjectly
+humble in the presence of this great sacrifice. She looked up into the
+glum face of the cobbler's wife and waited in breathless hesitation.
+Peg permitted her eyes to fall upon the girl.
+
+"You needn't feel so glad nor look's if you was goin' to tumble over,"
+she said. "It ain't no credit to any one them curtains was on the
+shelf waitin' to be cut up in a dress for you to fiddle in. Go put the
+mush on that there stove!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE LITTLE FIDDLER
+
+
+Jinnie's heart was skipping about like a silly little kitten as she
+sat watching Peg's stiff fingers making large stitches in the lace.
+
+"Oh, Peg, isn't it lovely? Perfectly beautiful! Nobody ever had a
+dress like that!... My, Peggy! How your fingers fly!"
+
+Peg's face was noncommittal to the point of blankness.
+
+"Tain't no credit to me what my hands do, Miss Jinnie," she said
+querulously. "I didn't make 'em."
+
+The girl's happiness was absolutely complete. The dress would be
+finished and Sunday evening----oh, Sunday evening! Then she walked
+restlessly to the window and studied the sky.
+
+"I hope it doesn't rain to-morrow!... Oh, Peggy, don't you hope so
+too?" Mrs. Grandoken glowered at her.
+
+"Kid," she said, "come away from that window. You been doin' nothin'
+but wishin' 'twon't rain all day. You'll wear out the patience of the
+Almighty; then he'll make it rain an' soak you through a-purpose."
+
+"I don't know which I like best, Lafe," the girl remarked presently,
+turning to the cobbler, "the red roses or the yellow."
+
+Bobbie came to Jinnie's side and fingered the lace.
+
+"Tell me how the dress looks, dear," he whispered, tugging at her
+sleeve.
+
+[Illustration: "YOU NEEDN'T FEEL SO GLAD NOR LOOK AS IF YOU WAS GOIN' TO
+TUMBLE OVER. IT AIN'T NO CREDIT TO ANYONE THEM CURTAINS
+WAS ON THE SHELF WAITIN' TO BE CUT UP IN A DRESS FOR YOU
+TO FIDDLE IN."]
+
+"Sure," agreed Jinnie. "Feel right here! Well, that's a beautiful red
+rose and here's a yellow one." She took his small finger and traced it
+over a yard of lace. "Feel that?"
+
+"Yes," murmured Bobbie.
+
+"Well, that's a green vine running up and down, and all around among
+the roses."
+
+"Oh, my!" gasped Bobbie. "Red and yellow. That's how the sun looks
+when it's goin' down, ain't it? And green's like the grass, eh?"
+
+"Just the same," replied Jinnie, laughing.
+
+"It's a beauty," supplemented Lafe, glowing with tenderness. "There
+won't be a dress at that party that'll beat it."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shook out the voluminous folds of lace.
+
+"Anybody'd think to hear you folks talk that you'd made these rag tags
+with your toe nails," she observed dryly. "The smacking of some folks'
+lips over sugar they don't earn makes me tired! Laws me!... Now I'll
+try it on you, Jinnie," she ended.
+
+Jinnie turned around and around with slow precision as Mrs. Grandoken
+ascertained the correct hanging of the skirt. When the last stitches
+had been put in, and the dress lay in all its gorgeous splendor across
+the chair, Peg coughed awkwardly and spoke of shoes.
+
+"You can't wear them cowhides with lace," said she.
+
+"I might make a pair if I had a day and the stuff," suggested Lafe,
+looking around helplessly.
+
+"Ain't time," replied Peg. And of course it was she who gave Jinnie
+some money taken from a small bag around her neck and ordered her to
+the shop for shoes.
+
+"She ought to have a fiddle box," Lafe suggested.
+
+"There ain't 'nough money in the house for that," replied Peg--"but
+I'll give her a piece of the curtains to wrap it up in."
+
+"That'll look better'n a box," smiled Lafe. "I'm a happy cobbler, I
+am."
+
+When Jinnie returned with a pair of low black slippers, no one noticed
+that they weren't quite what should have been worn with a lace frock.
+Contentment reigned supreme in the Grandoken home that day.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sunday evening at seven Jinnie displayed herself to Lafe. The cobbler
+gave a contented nod.
+
+"You and the dress're beautiful," he ruminated. "Wonderful!... Kiss
+me, Jinnie!"
+
+She not only kissed Lafe, but Bobbie, Happy Pete, and Milly Ann, too,
+came in for their share. Peg looked so sour, so forbidding, that
+Jinnie only faltered,
+
+"Much obliged, Peggy darling.... Oh, I'm so happy!" She stood directly
+in front of Mrs. Grandoken. "Aren't you, dear?" she besought.
+
+"We're all glad, lass," put in the cobbler.
+
+Jinnie's blue, blue eyes were seeking approbation from the gaunt,
+frowning woman.
+
+"None of you've got the sense of my bedpost," snapped Peg, sniffing
+the air. "Get along. They're waitin' for you."
+
+Jinnie arrived in great excitement at Theodore King's door. She
+stumbled up the stone steps of the mansion with the fiddle carefully
+wrapped under her arm.
+
+"Is Mr. King here?" she asked of the maid, hesitatingly.
+
+She stood very still, scarcely breathing, until they called the master
+of the house, and as Theodore's eyes fell upon the lace dress, with
+its red and yellow roses and green vines running the length of the
+slim young figure, he smoothed away a smile that forced itself to his
+lips.
+
+Out of gratitude to Peggy, Jinnie felt she ought to speak of the
+frock, so with an admiring glance downward, she confided:
+
+"Peggy made my dress out of her dead mother's curtains, and gave me
+this piece for my fiddle.... Wasn't it lovely of her?"
+
+The pleading, soulful, violet eyes stirred Theodore King with a new
+sensation. He had passed unscathed through the fires of imploring,
+inviting glances and sweet, tempting lips, nor yet realized that some
+day this black-haired girl would call him to a reckoning.
+
+"It's very pretty, very pretty," he affirmed hurriedly. "I'm glad
+you're here.... Just wait for a moment. I'll come back for you."
+
+There was a fixed line between his handsome eyes as he faced his
+guests. Theodore couldn't analyze his feelings toward Jinnie, but he
+was determined none should make sport of her.
+
+"I've prepared a great treat for you," he stated, smiling, "but I want
+to ask you to overlook anything that may seem incongruous, for the
+musician is very sensitive."
+
+Then he went back for Jinnie, and she followed him into the large
+room. The gorgeous red and yellow roses in the limply hanging blouse
+lent a color to her sunburned skin.
+
+"You may play anything you like," Theodore whispered.
+
+"All right," nodded Jinnie.
+
+She unwrapped the fiddle and tuned it with nimble fingers. Not until
+she placed the instrument under her chin did she raise her head. Her
+eyes went searchingly from face to face of the attentive assembly. It
+so happened that they fell upon a crown of golden hair above a pair of
+dark eyes she vividly remembered. The glance took her back to that
+night more than two years before--to the night when her father died.
+
+Molly Merriweather was seated in queenly fashion in one of the large
+chairs, a questioning look stealing over her countenance. Jinnie
+smiled at her and began to play. It might have been the beautiful
+woman opposite that brought forth the wild hill story, told in
+marvelous harmonies. The rapt young face gave no sign of
+embarrassment, for Jinnie was completely lost in her melodious task.
+Above the dimpled chin that hugged the brown fiddle, Theodore King
+could see the brooding genius of the girl, and longed to bring a
+passionate lovelight for himself into the glorious eyes. The intensity
+of the music established in him an unconquerable hope--a hope that
+could not die as long as life was in him, as long as life was in the
+little fiddler.
+
+As Jinnie finished with dramatic brilliancy, great applause and
+showers of congratulations fell upon her ears. Theodore went to her
+quickly.
+
+"Wonderful! Splendid, child!" he declared joyously. "You're a
+genius!"
+
+His words increased her joy--his compelling dark eyes added to her
+desire to do her best.
+
+She meditated one moment. Then thoroughly unconscious of herself,
+turned and spoke to the audience.
+
+"I'll play about fairies ... the ones who live in the woods and hide
+away in the flowers and under the leaves."
+
+Once more she began to play. She believed in fairies with all her
+heart and had no doubt but that every one else did. Under the spell of
+her music and her loveliness, imaginary elves stole from the solitude
+of the summer night, to join their tiny hands and dance to the rhythm
+of her song.
+
+As she lowered her violin and looked around, she saw astonishment on
+the faces of the strangers about her. A deathlike hush prevailed and
+Jinnie could hear the feverish blood as it struck at her temples.
+Into her eyes came an unfathomable expression, and Theodore King,
+attracted by their latent passion, went rapidly to her.
+
+"It's exquisite!" he said vehemently. "Can't you see how much every
+one likes it?"
+
+"Do you?" queried Jinnie, looking up at him.
+
+"I love it, child; I love it.... Will you play again, please?"
+
+A flame of joy suffused her as again she turned to the open-eyed
+crowd.
+
+"Once," she informed them, "a big lion was hurt in the forest by
+lightning.... This--is--how he died."
+
+She slowly raised the instrument, and sounded a vibrant, resonant,
+minor tone, measured, full and magnificent. Each listener sank back
+with a sigh.
+
+Jinnie knew the mysteries of the forest as well as a singer knows his
+song, and she had not presented ten notes to the imagination of
+Theodore's friends before they were carried away from the dainty room
+in which they sat--away into a dense woodland where, for a few
+minutes, she demonstrated the witching wonders of it. Then she slipped
+the bow between her teeth and struck the violin strings with the backs
+of her fingers. The vibrations of impetuous harmony swept softly
+through the lighted room. Louder and louder was heard the awful fury
+of approaching thunder, while twinkling string-touches flashed forth
+the lightning between the sonorous peals.
+
+Jinnie never knew how the fiddle was capable of expressing the
+cautious tread of the terrified king of beasts in his isolated
+kingdom, but her listeners beheld him steal cautiously from the
+underbrush. They saw him crouch in abject terror at the foot of a
+wide-spreading, gigantic tree, lashing his tail in elemental rage.
+Then another scintillating flash of lightning, and the beast caught
+it full in the face. The slender hand of the little player was poised
+above the strings for a single vibrating moment, during which she
+stood in a listening attitude. Then, with the sweep of three slender
+fingers, the lion's scream cut the air like a two-edged sword.
+
+Death came on rapidly in deep, resounding roars, and the misery of the
+cringing, suffering brute was unfolded--told in heart-rending
+intonations, until at last he gave up his breath in one
+terror-stricken cry.
+
+Jinnie dropped her hands suddenly. "He's dead," she said tremulously.
+"Poor, poor lion!"
+
+She turned tear-wet eyes to Theodore King.
+
+"Shall I play any more?" she asked, shyly.
+
+The man shook his head, not permitting himself to speak.
+
+"Miss Grandoken has given us a wonderful entertainment," said he to
+his friends; then turning to her, he held out his hand, "I want to
+thank you, Miss Grandoken."
+
+Many people crowded around her, asking where and how she had learned
+such music.
+
+Molly the Merry, the mystified expression still on her face, drew
+near.
+
+Again Jinnie smiled at her, hoping the lovely lips would acknowledge
+their former acquaintanceship. But as another person, a man, stepped
+between her and the woman, Jinnie glanced up at him. He was very
+handsome, but involuntarily the girl shuddered. There was something in
+the curling of his lips that was cruel, and the whiteness of his teeth
+accentuated the impression. His eyes filled her with dread.
+
+"Where did you learn that wonderful music?" he smiled.... "I mean the
+music itself."
+
+"Out of my heart," she said simply. "I couldn't get it anywhere
+else."
+
+"She's very delightful!" said the stranger, turning to Theodore. "I've
+forgotten her name?"
+
+He was so near her that Jinnie shrank back, and the master of the
+house noted her embarrassment.
+
+"Her name is Grandoken, Miss Grandoken.... Come," he said, holding out
+his hand to Jinnie, and as she placed her fingers in his, he led her
+away.
+
+A large car was waiting at the front door, and he held her hand in his
+for a few seconds. The touch of her fingers thrilled him through and
+through. He noticed her head just reached his shoulder and a conscious
+desire to draw her to him for one blessed moment surged insistent
+within him. He dropped her hand suddenly.
+
+"I wish now," he said, smiling, "I had sent for you to come here
+before. It was such a treat!"
+
+Jinnie shrank away as he offered her a roll of bills. An unutterable
+shyness crept over her.
+
+"I don't want it," she said, gulping hard. "I'd love to fiddle for you
+all day long."
+
+"But you must take it," insisted King. "Now then, I want to know where
+you live. I'm coming to see your uncle very, very soon."
+
+Lafe and his wife were waiting for the girl, and the cobbler noticed
+Peggy's eyes were misty as Jinnie gave her the money. Over and over
+she told them all about it.
+
+"And he's coming to see you, Lafe," she cried with a tremulous laugh.
+"Mr. King says some day I'll be a great player. Will I, Lafe? Will I,
+Peggy?"
+
+"You may," admitted Peggy, "but don't get a swelled head, 'cause you
+couldn't stop fiddlin' any more'n a bird could stop singin'.... Go to
+bed now, this minute."
+
+And as Jinnie slept her happy sleep in Paradise Road, another woman
+was walking to and fro with a tall man under the trees at Theodore
+King's home.
+
+"I thought I'd scream with laughter when she came in," said Molly the
+Merry. "If it hadn't been for Theo's warning, I'm sure most of us
+would.... Did you ever see such a ridiculous dress, Jordan?"
+
+The man was quiet for a meditative moment. "I forgot about the dress
+when she began to play," he mused. "The sight of her face would drive
+all thoughts of incongruity out of a man's mind."
+
+"Yes, she's very pretty," admitted Molly, reluctantly. "And Jordan, do
+you know there's something strangely familiar about her face?... I
+can't tell where I've seen her."
+
+"Never mind. The important thing to me is I must have money. Can't
+keep up appearances on air."
+
+"You know I'll always help you when I can, Jordan."
+
+"Yes, I know it, and I'll not let you forget it either."
+
+The woman gave him a puzzled look and the man caught her meaning.
+
+"You're wondering why I don't open offices here, aren't you? Well, a
+person can't do two things at once, and I've been pretty busy tracing
+Virginia Singleton. And when I find her, you know very well I will
+return every penny I've borrowed."
+
+And later, when Molly went to her room, she walked up and down
+thoughtfully, trying to bring to her mind the familiar violet eyes and
+the mass of purple black curls which were the crowning glory of Jinnie
+Grandoken.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE COBBLER'S SECRET
+
+
+One Sunday morning, Jinnie sat with Lafe in the shop. In hours like
+these they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The quietude of these
+precious Sabbath moments made the week, with its arduous tasks,
+bearable to the sensitive girl.
+
+For several days past Jinnie had noticed Lafe had something on his
+mind, but she always allowed him to tell her everything in his own
+good time. Now she felt the time had come. His gray face, worn with
+suffering, was shining with a heavenly light as he read aloud from a
+little Bible in his hand. To-day he had chosen the story of Abraham
+and Sarah. When he came to the part where Abraham said:
+
+"Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray
+Thee, from Thy servant," he pronounced the last word with sobbing
+breath. One quick glance was enough for Jinnie's comprehension.
+
+She leaned forward breathlessly.
+
+"What is it, Lafe?... Something great?"
+
+"Yes, something great, lassie, and in God's name most wonderful."
+
+Before Jinnie's world of imagery passed all the good she had desired
+for Lafe. His softly spoken, "In God's name most wonderful," thrilled
+her from head to foot.
+
+"And you've been keeping it from me, Lafe," she chided gently.
+"Please, please, tell me."
+
+Lafe sat back in the wheel chair and closed his eyes. "Wait, child,"
+he breathed hesitatingly. "Wait a minute!"
+
+As Jinnie watched him, she tried to stifle the emotion tugging at her
+heart--to keep back the tears that welled into her eyes. Perhaps what
+he had to tell her _would_ make her cry. Jinnie hoped not, for she
+disliked to do that. It was so childlike, so like Blind Bobbie, who
+always had either a beatific smile on his pale lips, or a mist shining
+in his rock-gray eyes.
+
+At length Lafe sighed a long, deep-drawn sigh, and smiled.
+
+"Jinnie," he began----
+
+"Yes, Lafe."
+
+"I've been wonderin' if you remember the story of the little feller
+God sent to Peg an' me--the one I told you would a been six years
+old."
+
+"Yes, I remember, Lafe."
+
+"An' how good Peggy was----"
+
+"Oh, how good Peggy always is!" interjected Jinnie.
+
+"Yes," breathed Lafe, dreamily. "May God bless my woman in all her
+trials!"
+
+Jinnie hitched her chair nearer his and slipped her arm about his neck
+soothingly.
+
+"She doesn't have trials you don't share, Lafe," she declared.
+
+Lafe straightened up.
+
+"Yes, Peg has many, lassie, I can't help 'er with, an' she'll have a
+many more. To get to tell you something, Jinnie, I asked Peg to take
+Bobbie out with 'er. We can't turn the little feller from the club
+room when he ain't out with Peg; can we, Jinnie?"
+
+"Of course not," agreed Jinnie, nodding.
+
+"So when Peg said she was goin' out," proceeded Lafe, gravely, "I
+says, thinkin' of the things I wanted to say to you, I said to Peggy,
+'Take the little blind chap along with you, Peggy dear,' an' without a
+word she put the youngster into his clothes an' away they went."
+
+Jinnie's curiosity was growing by the minute.
+
+"And you're going to tell me now, Lafe?"
+
+"An' now I'm goin' to tell you, Jinnie."
+
+But he didn't tell her just then. Instead he sat looking at her with
+luminous eyes, and the expression in them--that heavenly
+expression--compelled Jinnie to kneel beside him, and for a little
+while they sat in silence.
+
+"Dear child," Lafe murmured, dropping a tender hand on her shining
+head, "dear, dear girl!"
+
+"It must be a joyful thing, Lafe, for your face shines as bright as
+Bobbie's stars."
+
+"I'm blessed happy to-day!" he sighed, with twitching lips.
+
+Jinnie took his hand in hers and smoothed it fondly.
+
+"What is it, Lafe, dear?" she asked.
+
+"Do you want to kneel while I tell you?" queried the cobbler.
+
+"Yes, right here."
+
+"Then look right at me, Jinnie lass!"
+
+Jinnie _was_ looking at him with her whole soul in her eyes.
+
+"I'm looking at you, Lafe," she said.
+
+"An' don't take your eyes from me; will you?"
+
+"Sure not!"
+
+It must be a great surprise for Lafe to act like this, thought the
+girl.
+
+"Lassie," commenced Lafe, "I want you to be awful good to Peggy....
+It's about her I'm goin' to speak."
+
+Jinnie sank back on the tips of her toes.
+
+"What about Peg? There isn't----"
+
+"Dear Peggy," interrupted Lafe softly, his voice quick with tears,
+"dear, precious Peggy!" Then as he bent over Jinnie and Jinnie bent
+nearer him, Lafe placed his lips to her ear and whispered something.
+
+She struggled to her feet, strange and unknown emotions rising in her
+eyes.
+
+"Lafe!" she cried. "Lafe dear!"
+
+"Yes," nodded the cobbler. "Yes, if you want to know the truth, the
+good God's goin' to send me an' Peg another little Jew baby."
+
+Jinnie sat down in her chair quite dazed. Lafe's secret was much
+greater than she had expected! Much!
+
+"Tell me about it," she pleaded.
+
+Keen anxiety erased the cobbler's smiling expression.
+
+"Poor Peggy!" he groaned again. "She can't see where the bread's
+comin' from to feed another mouth, but as I says, 'Peggy, you said the
+same thing when Jinnie came, an' the blind child, an' this little
+one's straight from God's own tender breast.'"
+
+"That's so, Lafe," accorded Jinnie, "and, Oh, dearie, I'll work so
+hard, so awful hard to get in more wood, and tell me, tell me when,
+Lafe; when is he coming to us, the Jew baby?"
+
+Lafe smiled at her eagerness.
+
+"You feel the same way as I do, honey," he observed. "The very same
+way!... Why, girlie, when Peg first told me I thought I'd get up and
+fly!"
+
+"I should think so, but--but--I want to know how soon, Lafe, dear."
+
+"Oh, it's a long time, a whole lot of weeks!"
+
+"I wish it was to-morrow," lamented Jinnie, disappointedly. "I wonder
+if Peg'll let me hug and kiss him."
+
+"Sure," promised Lafe, and they lapsed into silence.
+
+At length, Jinnie stole to the kitchen. She returned with her violin
+box and Milly Ann in her arms.
+
+"Hold the kitty, darling," she said softly, placing the cat on his
+lap. "She'll be happy, too. Milly Ann loves us all, Milly Ann does."
+
+Then she took out the fiddle and thrummed the strings.
+
+"I'm going to play for you," she resumed, "while you think about Peggy
+and the--and--the baby."
+
+The cobbler nodded his head, and wheeled himself a bit nearer the
+window, from where he could see the hill rise upward to the blue,
+making a skyline of exquisite beauty.
+
+Jinnie began to play. What tones she drew from that small brown
+fiddle! The rapture depicted in her face was but a reflection of the
+cobbler's. And as he meditated and listened, Lafe felt that each tone
+of Jinnie's fiddle had a soul of its own--that the instrument was
+peopled with angel voices--voices that soothed him when he suffered
+beyond description--voices that now expressed in rhythmical harmony
+the peace within him. Jinnie was able to put an estimate on his moods,
+and knew just what comfort he needed most. Until that moment the
+cobbler's wife had seemed outside the charm of the beloved home
+circle. But to-day, ah, to-day!--Jinnie's bow raced over the strings
+like a mad thing. To-day Peggy Grandoken became in the girl's eyes a
+glorified woman, a woman set apart by God Himself to bring to the home
+a new baby.
+
+Jinnie played and played and played, and Theodore in spirit-fancy
+stood beside her. Lafe thought and thought and thought, while Peggy
+walked through his day dreams like some radiant being.
+
+"A baby----my baby, in the house," sang the cobbler's heart.
+
+"A baby, our baby, in the house," poured from Jinnie's soul, and
+"Baby, little baby," sprang from the fiddle over and over, as golden
+flashes of the sun warms the earth. Truly was Lafe being revivified;
+truly was Jinnie! Theodore King! How infinitely close he seemed to
+her! How the memory of his smile cheered and strengthened her!
+
+From the tip of the fiddle tucked under a rounded chin to the line of
+purple-black hair, the blood rushed in riotous confusion over the
+fiddler's lovely face. What was it in Lafe's story that had brought
+Theodore King so near?
+
+Jinnie couldn't have told, but she was sure the fiddle knew. It was
+intoning to Lafe--to her--the language of the birds and the mystery of
+the flower blossoms, the invisible riddles of Heaven and earth, of all
+the concealed secrets beyond the blue of the sky; all the panorama of
+Nature strung out in a wild, sweet forest song. Jinnie had backed
+against the wall as she played, and when out of her soul came the
+twitter of the morning birds, the babbling of the brook on its way to
+the sea, the scream of the owl in a high woodland tree, Lafe turned to
+watch her, and from that moment until she dropped exhausted into a
+chair, he did not take his eyes from her.
+
+"Jinnie!" he gasped, as he thrust forth his hand and took hers.
+"You've made me happier to-day'n I've been in many a week. Peg'll be
+all right.... Everybody'll be all right.... God bless us!"
+
+Jinnie sat up with bright, inquiring eyes.
+
+"Did you tell Peg I was to know about----"
+
+"About our baby?" intervened Lafe tenderly.
+
+He dwelt lovingly on those precious words.
+
+"Yes, about your baby," repeated Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, I told 'er, dear. I said you'd want to be happy too."
+
+"I'm so glad," sighed Jinnie, reverently. "Look!... Peg's coming
+now!"
+
+They both watched Mrs. Grandoken as she stolidly crossed the tracks,
+leading Bobbie by the hand.
+
+And later Jinnie hovered over Peggy in the kitchen. The woman had
+taken on such a new dignity. She must be treated with the greatest and
+most extra care. If Jinnie had done what she craved, she'd have
+bounded to Peg and kissed her heartily. Of course that wouldn't do,
+but talk to her she must,
+
+"Peggy," she said softly, tears lurking in her eyes.
+
+Peg looked at her without moving an eyelash. Jinnie wished she would
+say something; her task would be so much easier.
+
+"Peggy," she begged again.
+
+"Huh?"
+
+"Lafe told me, dear," and then she did something she hadn't done with
+Lafe; she began to cry, just why, Jinnie didn't know; Peg looked so
+sad, so distant, and so ill.
+
+It was probably Jinnie's tears that softened Peg, for she put her hand
+on the girl's shoulders and stood silent. After the first flood of
+tears Jinnie ventured:
+
+"I'm awful happy, Peggy dear, and I want you to know I'm going to work
+harder'n I even did for Blind Bobbie.... I will, Peg, I promise I
+will.... Kiss me, Oh, kiss me, dear!"
+
+Peggy bent over and kissed the upturned, tearful face solemnly. Then
+she turned her back, beginning to work vigorously, and Jinnie returned
+to the shop with the kiss warm on her cheek.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE COMING OF THE ANGELS
+
+
+"You'd better make it a special prayer, Lafe," said Jinnie, a little
+pucker between her eyes. "Every day I'm more'n more afraid of
+Maudlin."
+
+"I will, honey, an' just pop into Bates' cottage an' tell Maudlin's pa
+to run in the shop.... Go long, lass, nobody'll hurt you."
+
+After leaving Lafe's message at the Bates' cottage, Jinnie stepped
+from the tracks to the marshes with a joyful heart. Of course nothing
+could harm her! Lafe's faith, mingled with her own, would save her
+from every evil in the world.
+
+When Bates opened the shop door, the cobbler looked up gravely. He
+nodded his head to Jasper's, "Howdy do, Grandoken?"
+
+"Sit down," said Lafe.
+
+"Jinnie says you wanted me."
+
+"Yes, a few minutes' chat; that's all!"
+
+"Spit it out," said Bates.
+
+Lafe put down his hammer with slow importance.
+
+"It's this way, Jasper. Maudlin's----"
+
+"What's Maudie done now?" demanded Bates, lighting his pipe.
+
+"He's been botherin' my girl, that's what," responded Lafe.
+
+"Jinnie?"
+
+"Sure. She's all the girl I got.... Maudlin's got to stop it, Bates."
+
+A cruel expression flitted over Jasper's face.
+
+"I ain't nothin' to do with Maudlin's love affairs," said he. "Jinnie
+could do worse'n get him, I'm a guessin'! Maudie adds up pretty good,
+Maudie does!"
+
+Lafe shook his head with a grim serenity that became the strained
+white face.
+
+"His addin' up ain't nothin' to his credit, Jasper," he protested.
+"He's as crooked as a ram's horn an' you know it. If you don't, take
+my word for it! There ain't nothin' doin' for him far's Jinnie's
+concerned!... I sent for you to bargain with you." Jasper pricked up
+his ears. The word "bargain" always attracted him.
+
+"Well?" he questioned.
+
+"You keep your boy from my girl and I'll do all your family cobblin'
+for nothin' till Jinnie's a woman."
+
+Bates leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
+
+"It's a bargain, all right. Them kids of mine do wear out the soles of
+their shoes some. But, Lafe, I can't tag Maudlin around all day."
+
+Lafe took up his hammer.
+
+"Lick him if he won't mind you, Bates. He's got to let my girl be, and
+that's all there is to it."
+
+Saying this, he started to work, giving the shortwood gatherer his
+dismissal. Bates left his chair thoughtfully.
+
+"I'll talk to Maudie," said he, "but he's an onery kid; has been ever
+since his mother died. He don't git along with his stepma very well,
+and she's got such a lot of little kids of 'er own she ain't time to
+train no hulk of a boy like Maudlin."
+
+Pausing a moment, he went on, "Maudlin's been madder'n hell because
+that duffer King's been haulin' Jinnie's wood. He says----"
+
+"It ain't any of Maudlin's business who helps Jinnie," interrupted
+Lafe. "If you got any shoes needin' fixin', tote 'em over, Jasper."
+
+Bates left the shop and Lafe fell to work vigorously.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maudlin Bates stood at the path leading to the marshes. He was waiting
+for Jinnie to appear with her load of shortwood. To the young wood
+gatherer, a woman was created for man's special benefit, and a long
+time ago he had made up his mind that Jinnie should be his woman.
+
+He was leaning against a tree when the girl came in sight, with her
+wood-strap on her shoulders. She paid no attention to him, and was
+about to turn into Paradise Road when the man stepped in front of
+her.
+
+"Wait a minute, Jinnie," he wheedled.
+
+Jinnie threw him a disdainful glance.
+
+"I can't wait. I'm in a hurry," she replied, and she hoped the fellow
+would go on before the car arrived.
+
+Young Bates' face was crossed by an obstinate expression.
+
+"I'm goin' to find out," he said, gruffly, "why you're ridin' in rich
+folks' motor cars."
+
+"Isn't anything to you," snapped Jinnie.
+
+The wood gatherer came so close that he forced her back a step on the
+marsh path. Her disdainful eyes had drawn him to her, for, like all
+men, he could be drawn by the woman who scorned him, and mesmerized by
+the sheer repulse. By great effort, Jinnie had escaped from Maudlin's
+insults for many months, but he had never been quite so aggressive as
+this! Now she could see the dark blood in his passionate face mount
+even to the whites of his eyes, those eyes which coveted the youngness
+of her body, the vitality of her girl life, and all the good within
+her.
+
+"Get out of my way!" she said sharply. "You let me alone. I've got a
+right to get my wood hauled if I can."
+
+"Well, you don't do it any more," said Maudlin. "If you're too lazy to
+carry your own wood, I'll help you myself.... You can't go no more to
+King's in _his_ car."
+
+Jinnie turned a pair of glinting blue eyes upon him.
+
+"Who said I couldn't?" she demanded. "Uncle Lafe lets me."
+
+"Your Uncle Lafe said you could marry me," said Maudlin in slow,
+drawling tones.
+
+Jinnie's blood boiled up behind her ears. She was eyeing him in
+bewilderment. Maudlin's words made her more angry than she'd ever been
+in her life.
+
+"You lie, you damn fool!" she cried, and then caught her breath in
+consternation. It was the first oath that had escaped her lips in many
+a long day, and she felt truly sorry for it. She would tell Lafe of
+the provocation that caused it and beg to be forgiven. She moved back
+a step as Maudlin pinched her.
+
+"I don't lie," he growled. "You think because you can scrape on a
+fiddle you're better'n other folks. Pa an' me'll show you you ain't."
+
+"You and your pa don't know everything," answered Jinnie, wrathfully.
+
+"We know 'nough to see what King's doin' all right."
+
+He made a dive at the girl and laid a rough hand on the shortwood
+strap.
+
+"Here! Gimme that wood if you're too lazy to carry it."
+
+Jinnie turned her eyes up the road. It was time Bennett came. The
+sound of his motor would be like sweet music in her ears. She jerked
+the strap away from the man and turned furiously upon him.
+
+"Don't touch me again, Maudlin Bates.... I don't interfere with you.
+I'll--I'll----"
+
+But Maudlin paid no heed to her insistence. He was dragging the strap
+from her shoulders.
+
+Jinnie's face grew waxen white, but she held her own for a few
+minutes. Maudlin was big in proportion to her slenderness, and in
+another instant her shortwood lay on the ground, and she was standing
+panting before him.
+
+"Now, then, just to show what kind of a feller I be," said he, "I'm
+goin' to kiss you."
+
+Jinnie felt cold chills running up and down her back.
+
+"It's time you was kissed," went on Maudlin, "and after to-day I'm
+goin' to be your man.... You can bet on that."
+
+He was slowly forcing her backward along the narrow path that led into
+the marshes. Jinnie knew intuitively he wanted her to turn and run
+into the underbrush that he might have her alone in the great waste
+place.
+
+Like a mad creature, she fought every step of the way, Maudlin's anger
+rising at each cry the girl emitted.
+
+"I'll tell my uncle," she screamed, with sobbing breath.
+
+"You won't want to tell 'im when I get done with you," muttered the
+man. "Why don't you run? You c'n run, can't you?"
+
+Oh, if Bennett would only come! She was still near enough to Paradise
+Road for him to hear her calling.
+
+Maudlin reached out his hand and caught the long curls between his
+dirty fingers.
+
+"If you won't run," he said, "then, that for you!" and he gave a cruel
+twist to the shining hair, pulling Jinnie almost off her feet.
+
+Then the ruffian turned, slowly dragging her foot by foot into the
+marshland. She opened her lips, and gave one long scream; then another
+and another before Maudlin pulled her to him and closed her mouth with
+a large hand, and Jinnie grew faint with fright and terror.
+
+They were out of sight now of Paradise Road, still Jinnie struggled
+and struggled, gripping with both hands at Bates' fingers jerking at
+her curls.
+
+Suddenly Lafe's solemn words surged through her mind. "He has given
+His angels charge over thee." Oh God! Dear God! What glorious, blessed
+words! Lafe's angels, her angels--Jinnie's heart throbbed with faith.
+Once Lafe had told her no one, no, not even Maudlin Bates, could keep
+her own from her! Her honor and her very life were in the tender hands
+of the cobbler's angels. Suddenly in fancy Jinnie saw the whole world
+about teeming with bright ecstatic beings, and multitudes of them were
+hurrying through the warm summer air to the Bellaire marshes. They
+were coming--coming to help her, to save her from a fate worse than
+death! Her mind reeled under the terrible pain Maudlin was inflicting
+upon her, and she closed her eyes in agony. With one mighty effort,
+she dragged her face from the brown, hard hand and screamed at the top
+of her lungs.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Theodore King swung his car around into Paradise Road with busy
+thoughts. He had decided to go himself that morning to bring the
+little fiddler back to his home with the shortwood. He had a plan for
+Jinnie.
+
+Past the cobbler's shop sped the big motor, and as it drew up to the
+marshes, he heard a blood-curdling cry from the depths of the
+underbrush. In another instant he was out on the ground, dashing along
+the path. He saw Jinnie and Maudlin before either one of them knew he
+was near. He saw the fellow pulling the black curls, and saw a hand
+almost covering the fair young face.
+
+Then Jinnie saw him, and sent him one swift, terrified, appealing
+glance.
+
+In the smallest fraction of a second Maudlin was sprawling on the
+ground, and Theodore was soundly kicking him. Jinnie sank down on the
+damp moss and began to cry weakly. Her face was scratched from the
+man's fingers, her head aching from the strenuous pulling of her hair.
+Then she covered her eyes with her hands. God _had_ sent an angel--she
+was saved! When Mr. King touched her gently, she sat up, wiping away
+little streams of blood running down her face and neck.
+
+"Oh, you came," she sobbed, raising her head, "and oh, I needed you
+so!"
+
+Theodore lifted her to her feet.
+
+"I should say you did, you poor child! I should certainly think you
+did."
+
+Then he turned to Maudlin Bates.
+
+"What, in God's name, were you trying to do?"
+
+Maudlin, raging with anger, scrambled from the ground.
+
+"Get out o' here," he hissed, "an' mind your own business."
+
+"When I keep a bully away from a nice little girl, I'm minding my
+business all right.... What was he trying to do, Jinnie?"
+
+Maudlin walked backward until he was almost in the brush.
+
+"I'm goin' to marry her," he said, surlily.
+
+"He isn't," cried Jinnie. "Oh, don't believe him, Mr. King! He says
+Uncle Lafe said he can marry me, but he can't."
+
+Once more Theodore turned on Maudlin, threateningly, his anger riding
+down his gentleness to Jinnie.
+
+"Now get out of here," he exclaimed, "and don't ever let me hear of
+your even speaking to this child again."
+
+The shortwood gatherer stood his ground until Theodore, with raised
+fist, was almost upon him.
+
+"I said to get out!" thundered Mr. King.
+
+With a baffled cry, Bates turned, rushed back into the marsh, and for
+several seconds they heard him beating down the brushwood as he ran.
+
+Theodore tenderly drew the girl into Paradise Road.
+
+"I wanted to see your uncle to-day," he explained, without waiting for
+the question which he read in Jinnie's eyes, "so I came over myself
+instead of sending Bennett.... There, child! Don't tremble so! Never
+mind the wood."
+
+Jinnie hung back.
+
+"I've got to sell it to you this afternoon," she murmured brokenly.
+"Peg's got to have the money."
+
+"We've enough at home until to-morrow.... Wait until to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie looked longingly at the wood.
+
+"Somebody'll take it," she objected, "and it's awful hard to gather."
+
+A grip of pain stabbed Theodore's heart. This slender, beautiful girl,
+rosy with health and genius, should gather wood no more for any one in
+the world.... To soothe her, he said:
+
+"I'll come by and pick it up on my way back.... Come along."
+
+He lifted her into the car, and they moved slowly through Paradise
+Road, and drew up before the cobbler's shop.
+
+Lafe put down his hammer as they entered, and bade King take a chair.
+Jinnie sat weakly on the bench beside Mr. Grandoken. He took her hand,
+and the loving pressure brought forth a storm of outraged tears.
+
+"'Twas Maudlin, Lafe," she wept.
+
+Then her arms stole around the cobbler. "The angels sent Mr. King!...
+Lafe, Lafe, save me from Maudlin! He--he----"
+
+Theodore King rose to his feet, his face paling. Lafe, smoothing
+Jinnie's head now buried in his breast, lifted misty eyes to the young
+man.
+
+"My poor baby! My poor little girl!" he stammered. "She has much to
+stand, sir."
+
+The other man took several nervous turns around the shop. Presently he
+paused near the cobbler and coughed in embarrassment.
+
+"I'm interested in doing something for your niece, Mr. Grandoken,"
+said he lamely.
+
+On hearing this, Jinnie lifted her head, and Lafe bowed.
+
+"Thank you, sir," said he.
+
+"I don't approve of her going into the marshes alone to gather wood,"
+continued Mr. King. "She's too young, too----"
+
+"I don't uther, sir," interrupted Lafe sadly, "but we've got to
+live."
+
+Not heeding the cobbler's explanation, Theodore proceeded
+deliberately.
+
+"She plays too well on the violin not to have all the training that
+can be given her. Now let me be of some service until she is
+self-supporting."
+
+Again Lafe repeated, "Thank you, sir, but I don't think Jinnie could
+accept money from any one."
+
+"I don't see why not! It's quite customary when a young person is
+ambitious to receive----"
+
+"Is it, sir?" ejaculated Lafe.
+
+"Indeed yes, and I've been making inquiries, and I find there's a very
+good teacher on the hill who'll give her the rudiments.... After that,
+we'll see."
+
+Jinnie was breathing very fast.
+
+"Lessons cost lots of money," objected Lafe feebly, drawing the girl
+closer.
+
+"I know that," interposed Mr. King, "but I want to pay for them. She
+ought to take one every day, the teacher says, commencing to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie stood up. "I couldn't let you pay for 'em," she said quickly.
+"I----"
+
+She sat down again at a motion from Theodore.
+
+"Please don't object until I have finished," he smiled at her. "It's
+like this: If you study, you'll be able to earn a lot of money. Then
+you can return every dollar to me."
+
+Suddenly it came to her mind to tell him she would have all the money
+she needed when she should be eighteen.
+
+"I'll have----" she began, but Lafe, feeling what she was going to
+say, stopped her. It wasn't time to confide in any one about the
+danger hanging over her. He took the matter in his own hands with his
+usual melancholy dignity.
+
+"Jinnie'll be glad to let you help her, sir, providin' you keep track
+of the money you spend," he agreed.
+
+The girl could scarcely believe her ears. Suddenly her indignant sense
+of Maudlin's abuse faded away, leaving her encouraged and warm with
+ambition.
+
+Theodore took one more stride around the little room.
+
+"Now that's sensible, Mr. Grandoken," he said contentedly. "And before
+I go, I want you to promise me your niece won't go into the marshes
+even once more. I must have your word before I can be satisfied. As it
+is now, she earns three dollars a week bringing me wood. That I must
+add to the lesson money----"
+
+Lafe's dissenting gesture broke off Mr. King's statement, but he
+resumed immediately.
+
+"If you're sensitive on that point, I'll add it in with the other
+money. I think it wise to keep our arrangements to ourselves, though."
+He stopped, his face changing. "And I--I would like to make you more
+comfortable here."
+
+Lafe shook his head.
+
+"I couldn't take anything for me and Peggy," he announced decidedly,
+"but Jinnie'll give back all you let her have some day."
+
+Then Theodore King went away reluctantly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+MOLLY'S DISCOVERY
+
+
+Peggy had given Jinnie a violin box, and as the girlwalked rapidly
+homeward, she gazed at it with pride, and began to plan how the
+woman's burdens could be lightened a little--how she could bring a
+smile now and then to the sullen face. This had been discussed between
+Lafe and herself many times, and they had rejoiced that in a few
+months, when Jinnie was eighteen, Mrs. Grandoken's worries would be
+lessened.
+
+She reached the bottom of the hill just as a car dashed around the
+lower corner, a woman at the wheel. One glance at the occupant, and
+Jinnie recognized Molly Merriweather. The woman smiled sweetly and
+drove to the edge of the pavement.
+
+"Good afternoon," she greeted Jinnie. "Won't you take a little ride
+with me? I'll drive you home afterwards."
+
+Jinnie's heart bounded. As yet Molly had not discovered her identity,
+and the girl, in spite of Lafe's caution, wanted to know all that had
+passed in Mottville after she left. She wanted to hear about her dead
+father, of Matty, and the old home. She gave ready assent to Molly's
+invitation by climbing into the door opened for her.
+
+"You don't have to go home right away, do you?" asked Miss
+Merriweather pleasantly.
+
+"No, I suppose not," acceded Jinnie shyly.
+
+She connected Molly the Merry with all that was good. She remembered
+the woman's kindly smiles so long ago in Mottville, and--that she was
+a friend of Theodore King. She was startled, however, after they had
+ridden in silence a while, when the woman pronounced his name.
+
+"Have you seen Mr. King lately?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I guess it's three days," she answered, low-voiced.
+
+Three days! Molly racked her brain during the few seconds before she
+spoke again to bring to mind when Theodore had been absent from home
+out of business hours.
+
+"He's a very nice man," she remarked disinterestedly.
+
+Jinnie's gratitude burst forth in youthful impetuosity.
+
+"He's more'n nice,--he's the best man in the world."
+
+"Yes, he is," murmured Molly.
+
+"Theo--I mean Mr. King," stammered Jinnie.
+
+Molly turned so quickly to look at the girl's reddening face that the
+car almost described a circle.
+
+"You call him by his first name, then?" she asked, with a sharp
+backward turn of the wheel.
+
+"No," denied Jinnie, extremely confused. "Oh, no! Only--only----"
+
+"Only what?"
+
+"When I think of him, then I do. Theodore's such a pretty name, isn't
+it?"
+
+Molly bit her lip. Here was the niece of a cobbler who dared to think
+familiarly of a man in high social position. She had tried to make
+herself believe Theo was simply philanthropic, but now the more
+closely she examined the beautiful face of the girl, the more she
+argued with herself, the greater grew her fear.
+
+"What does he call you?" Molly spoke amiably, as if discussing these
+unimportant little matters for mere politeness' sake.
+
+"Mostly Jinnie," was the prompt reply. "I'm just Jinnie to every one
+who loves me."
+
+She said this without thought of its import. Angrily Molly sent the
+motor spinning along at a higher rate. She was growing to hate the
+little person at her side.
+
+"Where are your own people?" she demanded, when they were on the road
+leading to the country.
+
+Jinnie glanced up. "Dead!" she answered.
+
+"And the cobbler, Mr. Grandoken, is he your father's or mother's
+brother?"
+
+Jinnie pondered a moment, undecided how to answer.
+
+"Why, you see it's like this----"
+
+Molly lessened the speed. Turning squarely around, she looked keenly
+at the scarlet, lovely face.
+
+"Why are you blushing?" she queried.
+
+Then like a flash she remembered. What a silly fool she had been!
+Jordan Morse would give his eyes almost to locate this girl.
+
+"I remember now who you are," she said, taking a long breath. "You're
+Virginia Singleton."
+
+Jinnie touched her arm appealingly.
+
+"You won't tell anybody, will you, please? Please don't.... There's a
+reason why."
+
+"Tell me the reason."
+
+"I couldn't now, not now. But I have to live with Lafe Grandoken quite
+a long time yet."
+
+"You ran away from your home?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Your father died the same night you came away."
+
+"Yes, and--please, what happened after I left?"
+
+"Oh, he was buried, and the house is empty."
+
+Molly forebore to mention Jordan Morse, and Jinnie's tongue refused to
+utter the terrifying name.
+
+Presently the girl, with tears in her eyes, said softly:
+
+"And Matty, old Matty?"
+
+"Who's Matty?" interjected Molly.
+
+"The black woman who took care of me. She lived with me for ever so
+long."
+
+Molly didn't reply for some time. Then:
+
+"I think she died; at least I heard she did."
+
+A cold shudder ran over Jinnie's body. Matty then had gone to join
+those who, when they were called, had no choice but to answer. She
+leaned against the soft cushions moodily. She was harking back to
+other days, and Molly permitted her to remain silent for some time.
+
+"You must have people of your own you could live with," she resumed
+presently. "It's wrong for a girl with your money----"
+
+Jinnie's lovely mouth set at the corners.
+
+"I wouldn't leave Lafe and Peggy for anybody in the world, not if I
+had relations, but I haven't."
+
+"I thought--I thought," began Molly, pretending to bring to mind
+something she'd forgotten. "You have an uncle," she burst forth.
+
+Jinnie grew cold from head to foot. Her father's words, "He won't find
+in you much of an obstacle," came to her distinctly.
+
+"Does your uncle know where you are?"
+
+This question brought the girl to the present.
+
+"No. I don't want him to know, either. Not till--not till I'm
+eighteen."
+
+"Why?"
+
+Molly's tone was so cold and unsympathetic Jinnie regretted she had
+accepted her invitation to ride. But she need not be afraid; Lafe
+would keep her safe from all harm. Had she not tried out his faith and
+the angels' care with Maudlin Bates? However, she felt she owed some
+explanation to the woman at her side.
+
+"My uncle doesn't like me," she stammered, calming her fear. "And Lafe
+loves me, Lafe does."
+
+"How do you know your uncle doesn't love you?"
+
+Thinking of Lafe's often repeated caution not to divulge her father's
+disclosure of Morse's perfidy, Jinnie remained quiet.
+
+The birds above their heads kept up a shrill chatter. On ordinary
+occasions Jinnie would have listened to mark down in her memory a few
+notes to draw from her fiddle, but at this moment she was too busy
+looking for a proper explanation. Glancing sidelong at the woman's
+face and noting the expression upon it, she grew cold and drew into
+the corner. She would not dare----
+
+"I almost think it's my duty to write your uncle," said Molly
+deliberately.
+
+Jinnie gasped. She straightened and put forth an impetuous hand.
+
+"Please don't! I beg you not to. Some day, mebbe, some day----"
+
+"In the meantime you're living with people who can't take care of
+you."
+
+"Oh, but they do, and Mr. King's helping me," faltered Jinnie. "Why,
+he'd do anything for me he could. He loves my fiddle----"
+
+"Does he love you?" asked Molly, her heart beating swiftly.
+
+"I don't know, but he's very good to me."
+
+Molly with one hand carefully brushed a dead leaf from her skirt.
+
+"Do you love him?" she asked, forcing casuality into her tone.
+
+Did she love Theodore King? The question was flung at Jinnie so
+suddenly that the truth burst from her lips.
+
+"Oh, yes, I love him very, very much----"
+
+The machine started forward with a tremendous jerk. Jinnie gave a
+frightened little cry, but the woman did not heed her. The motor sped
+along at a terrific rate, and there just ahead Jinnie spied a lean
+barn-cat, crossing the road. She screamed again in terror. Still Molly
+sped on, driving the car straight over the thin, gaunt animal.
+Jinnie's heart leapt into her mouth. All her great love for living
+things rose in stout appeal against this ruthless deed. She lifted her
+slight body and sprang up and out, striking the hard ground with a
+sickening thud. She sat up, shaking from head to foot. A short
+distance ahead Molly Merriweather was turning her machine. Jinnie
+crawled to the middle of the road, still dizzy from her fall. There,
+struggling before her, was the object for which she had jumped. The
+cat was writhing in distracted misery, and Jinnie picked him up in her
+arms. She was sitting on the ground when Molly, very pale, rolled
+back.
+
+"You little fool! You silly little fool!" she exclaimed, leaping out.
+"You might have been killed doing such a thing."
+
+"You ran over the kitty," wept Jinnie, bowing her head.
+
+"And what if I did? It's only a cat. Throw it down and come with me
+immediately."
+
+Jinnie wasn't used to such sentiments. She got to her feet, a queer,
+rebellious feeling buzzing through her brain.
+
+"I'm going to walk home," she said brokenly, "and take the kitty with
+me."
+
+Saying this, she took off her jacket and wrapped it about the cat.
+Molly glared at her furiously.
+
+"You're the strangest little dunce I ever saw," she cried. "If you're
+determined to take the little beast, get in."
+
+Molly was sorry afterward she had not let Jinnie have her way, for
+they had driven homeward but a little distance when she saw
+Theodore's car coming toward them. He himself was at the wheel, and
+waved good-naturedly. Molly reluctantly stopped her machine. The man
+looked in astonishment from the girl to the woman. He noticed Jinnie's
+white face and the long blue mark running from her forehead to her
+chin. Molly, too, wore an expression which changed her materially. He
+stepped to the ground and leaned over the edge of their car.
+
+"Something happened?" he questioned, eyeing first one, then the
+other.
+
+Molly looked down upon the girl, who was staring at Mr. King.
+
+"I--I----" began Jinnie.
+
+Molly made a short explanation.
+
+"She jumped out of the car," she said. "I was just telling her she
+might have been killed."
+
+"Jumped out of the car?" repeated Theodore, aghast.
+
+"And we were going at a terrible rate," Molly went on.
+
+Her voice was toned with accusation, and Jinnie saw a reprimanding
+expression spread over the man's face. She didn't want him to think
+ill of her, yet she was not sorry she had jumped. He was kind and
+good; he would pity the hurt thing throbbing against her breast.
+
+"We--we--ran over a cat----" she said wretchedly.
+
+"A barn-cat," cut in Molly.
+
+"And he was awfully hurt," interpolated Jinnie. "I couldn't leave him
+in the road. I had to get him, didn't I?"
+
+Theodore King made a movement of surprise.
+
+"Did you notice it in the road?" he asked Miss Merriweather.
+
+The woman was thoroughly angry, so angry she could not guard her
+tongue.
+
+"Of course I saw him," she replied haughtily, "but I wouldn't stop for
+an old cat; I can tell you that much."
+
+"Miss Grandoken looks ill," Theodore answered slowly, "and as I am
+going her way, I think she'd better come with me."
+
+Molly was about to protest when two strong arms were thrust forth, and
+Jinnie with the cat was lifted out. Before the girl fully realized
+what had happened, she was sitting beside her friend, driving
+homeward. She could hear through her aching brain the chug-chug of
+Molly's motor following. It was not until they turned into Paradise
+Road that Mr. King spoke to her. Then he said gently:
+
+"It was a dreadful risk you took, child."
+
+"I didn't think about that," murmured Jinnie, closing her eyes.
+
+"No, I suppose not. Your heart's too tender to let anything be
+abused.... Is the cat dead?"
+
+Jinnie pulled aside her jacket.
+
+"No, but he's breathing awful hard. It hurts him to try to live. I
+want to get home quick so Peggy can do something for him."
+
+"I'll hurry, then," replied Mr. King, and when he saw Lafe's face in
+the window, he again addressed her:
+
+"You'd better try to smile a little, Miss Jinnie, or your uncle'll be
+frightened."
+
+Jinnie roused herself, but she was so weak when she tried to walk that
+Theodore picked her up in his arms and carried her into the shop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+NOBODY'S CAT
+
+
+Lafe uttered a quick little prayer as the door opened. His glance
+through the window had shown him Jinnie's pale face and her dark head
+drooping against Mr. King's shoulder. Theodore smiled as he entered,
+which instantly eased the fear in the cobbler's heart and he waited
+for the other man to speak.
+
+"Jinnie had a fall," explained Mr. King, "so I drove her home."
+
+He placed the girl in a chair. She was still holding the mangled cat
+in her arms.
+
+"Is she much hurt?" questioned Lafe anxiously.
+
+"No, Lafe, I'm not hurt a bit. Miss Merriweather took me for a little
+ride. I jumped out to get this kitty because she ran over 'im."
+
+She displayed the quivering grey tiger cat.
+
+"Jumped out of a fast-goin' car, honey!" chided Lafe. "That was some
+dangerous."
+
+Jinnie's eyes were veiled with wonder.
+
+"But I couldn't let him stay and get run over again, could I, Lafe?"
+
+"No, darlin', of course you couldn't.... Are you pretty well broke
+up?"
+
+Mr. King explained the accident as best he could, and after he
+departed Mrs. Grandoken came in with Bobbie clinging to her skirts.
+Then the story was repeated.
+
+"Can't we do something for him, Peg?" pleaded Jinnie.
+
+Peg knelt down and examined the animal as it lay on the floor. She
+would not have admitted for anything that she was disturbed because of
+Jinnie's fall. She only said:
+
+"'Twasn't your fault, miss, that you ain't almost dead yourself....
+I'll get a dish with some water.... You need it as much as the cat."
+
+It was Bobbie who brought from Peggy a fierce ejaculation. He was
+standing in the middle of the floor with fluttering hands, a woebegone
+expression on his upturned face.
+
+"My stars're goin' out," he whimpered. "I want to touch my Jinnie."
+
+"She ain't hurt much, kid," said Peg, hoarsely. "Don't be shakin' like
+a leaf, Bobbie! You'd think the girl was dead."
+
+Jinnie called the boy to her.
+
+"I'm here, honey," she soothed him, "and I'm all right. I got a little
+whack on the ground, that's all.... There, don't cry, dearie."
+
+Peg looked down on them frowningly.
+
+"You're both of you little fools," she muttered. "Get out of my way
+till I go to the kitchen, or I'll kick you out."
+
+When Mrs. Grandoken brought the water, they worked over the cat for a
+long time, and at length Peg carried the poor little mangled body to
+the kitchen, Bobbie following her.
+
+Jinnie sat down beside the cobbler on the bench.
+
+"There's something I don't know, Jinnie," he said.
+
+Fully and freely she told him all--all that had happened that day. She
+explained Molly's recognition of her and the terrors of the
+afternoon's ride.
+
+"She hates barn-cats," went on the girl, "and, Lafe, when the wheels
+gritted over him, I flew right out on the ground."
+
+Lafe's arms tightened about her.
+
+"You just couldn't help it," he murmured. "God bless my little girl!"
+
+"Then Mr. King took me with him," concluded Jinnie.
+
+Lafe had his own view of Molly the Merry, but he didn't tell the
+faint, white girl at his side that he thought the woman was jealous of
+her.
+
+As Jinnie again recounted nervously the conversation about her Uncle
+Jordan, the cobbler said softly:
+
+"It's all in the hands of the angels, pet! No harm'll come to you
+ever."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jordan Morse answered Miss Merriweather's telephone call.
+
+"I want to talk with you," said she peremptorily.
+
+"I'll come right up," replied Morse.
+
+She stood on the porch with her hands tightly locked together when
+Jordan dashed up the roadway. She walked slowly down the steps.
+
+"What's up?" demanded Morse.
+
+Molly glanced backward at the quiet home. Theodore's mother was taking
+her afternoon siesta, and no one else was about. She slipped her hand
+into Morse's arm and led him under the trees.
+
+"Let's go to the summer house," she urged.
+
+Once seated, Morse looked at her curiously.
+
+"You're ill," he said, noting her distorted face.
+
+"No, only furious.... I've made a discovery."
+
+"Anything of value?"
+
+"Yes, to you--and to me."
+
+Morse bent a keen glance upon her.
+
+"Well?" was all he said.
+
+"I know where your niece, Virginia Singleton, is."
+
+She said this deliberately, realizing the while the worth of her
+words.
+
+Morse got to his feet unsteadily.
+
+"I don't believe it," he returned.
+
+"I knew you wouldn't, but I do just the same."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In this town."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Morse dropped back on the seat once more.
+
+"For God's sake, don't play with me. Why don't you----"
+
+"I'm going to! Keep still, can't you?"
+
+"You're torturing me," muttered the man, mopping his brow.
+
+"She's--she's Jinnie Grandoken--the girl who played at Theo's party."
+
+"Good God!" and then through the silence came another muttered, "Great
+merciful God!"
+
+Molly allowed him to regain his self-control.
+
+"I told you that night, Jordan, I thought I remembered her," she then
+said. "To-day I found out it was she."
+
+"Tell me all you know," ordered Morse, with darkening brow.
+
+Molly openly admitted her jealousy of Jinnie. She had no shame
+because, long before, she had told her husband of her absorbing
+passion for Theodore King.
+
+"I discovered it purely by accident," she went on, relating the
+story.
+
+Morse chewed the end of his cigar.
+
+"Now what're you going to do?" demanded Molly presently.
+
+Jordan threw away his cigar and thrust his hands deep into his
+pockets, stretching out a pair of long legs. There he sat considering
+the tips of his boots in silence.
+
+"I've got to think, and think quick," he broke out suddenly. "My God!
+I might have known she didn't belong in that cobbler's shop.... I'll
+go now.... Don't mention this to Theo."
+
+As he was leaving, he said with curling lip:
+
+"I guess now you know my prospects you won't be so stingy. I'll have
+to have money to carry this through."
+
+"All right," said Molly.
+
+When she was alone, Molly's anger decreased. She had an ally now worth
+having. She smiled delicately as she passed up the stairs to her room,
+and the smile was brought to her lips because she remembered having
+begged Jordan to help her in this matter several times before. Then he
+had had no incentive, but to-day----Ah, now he would give her a
+divorce quietly! The social world in which she hoped to move would
+know nothing of her youthful indiscretion.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night Jinnie and Peg were bending anxiously over a basket near
+the kitchen stove. All that human hands and hearts could do had been
+done for the suffering barn-cat. He had given no sign of
+consciousness, his breath coming and going in long, deep gasps.
+
+"He'll die, won't he, Peg?" asked Jinnie, sorrowfully.
+
+"Yes, sure. An' it'll be better for the beast, too." Peg said this
+tempestuously.
+
+"I'd like to have him live," replied Jinnie. "Milly Ann mightn't love
+him, but she got used to Happy Pete, didn't she?"
+
+"This feller," assured Peggy, wagging her head, "won't get used to
+anything more on this earth."
+
+"Poor kitty," mourned Jinnie.
+
+She was thinking of the beautiful world, the trees and the flowers,
+and the wonderful songs of nature amidst which the dying animal had
+existed.
+
+"I hope he'll go to some nice place," she observed sadly, walking away
+from Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+Later, after cogitating deeply, Jinnie expressed herself to the
+cobbler.
+
+"Lafe, Lafe dear," she said, "it's all true you told me, ain't it?...
+All about the angels and God?... The poor kitty's suffering awful.
+He's got the Christ too, hasn't he, Lafe?"
+
+The man looked into the agonized young face.
+
+"Yes, child," he replied reverently, "he's got the Christ too, same's
+you an' me. God's in everything. He loves 'em all."
+
+That night the girl sat unusually long with paper and pencil. Just
+before going to bed she placed a paper on the cobbler's knee.
+
+"I wrote that hurt kitty some poetry," she said shyly.
+
+Lafe settled his spectacles on his nose, picked up the sheet, and
+read:
+
+        "I'm nobody's cat and I've been here so long,
+          In this world of sorrow and pain,
+        I've no father nor mother nor home in this place,
+          And must always stay out in the rain.
+
+        "Hot dish water, stones at me have been thrown,
+          And one of my hind legs is lame;
+        No wonder I run when I know the boys
+          Come to see if I'm tame.
+
+        "I've a friend in the country, and he's nobody's dog,
+          And his burdens're heavy as mine,
+        He told me one day the boys had once tied
+          A tin can to his tail with a line.
+
+        "Now they talk in the churches of God and his Son,
+          Of Paradise, Heaven and Hell;
+        Of a Savior who came on earth for mankind,
+          And for His children all should be well.
+
+        "Now I'd like to know if God didn't make me,
+          And cause me to live and all that?
+        I believe there's a place for nobody's child,
+          And also for nobody's cat."
+
+Mr. Grandoken lifted misty eyes.
+
+"It's fine," he said, "an' every word true!... Every single word."
+
+The next morning Jinnie went to the basket behind the stove. The cat
+was dead,--dead, in the same position in which she had left him the
+night before, and close to his nose was the meat Peggy had tried to
+entice him to eat. She lifted the basket and carried it into the
+shop.
+
+"Poor little feller," said Lafe. "I 'spose you'll have to bury him,
+lass."
+
+Bobbie edged forward, and felt for Jinnie's fingers.
+
+"Bury him on the hill, dearie, where you found me," he whispered.
+"It's lovely there, and he can see my stars."
+
+"All right," replied Jinnie, dropping her hand on the boy's golden
+head.
+
+That afternoon, just before the funeral, Jinnie stood quietly in front
+of the cobbler.
+
+"Lafe," she said, looking at him appealingly, "the kitty's happy even
+if he is dead, isn't he?"
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe. "His angels've got charge of him, all right."
+
+"I was wondering something," ventured the girl, thoughtfully.
+"Couldn't we take him in the 'Happy in Spite'?... Eh, Lafe?"
+
+Lake looked at her in surprise.
+
+"I never thought of takin' anything dead in the club," said he
+dubiously.
+
+"But he's happy, you said, Lafe?"
+
+"He's happy enough, yes, sure!"
+
+"Then let's take him in," repeated Jinnie eagerly.
+
+"Let's take 'im in, cobbler," breathed Bobbie, pressing forward. "He
+wants to come in."
+
+They lifted the cover of the basket, and there in quietude the
+barn-cat was sleeping his long last sleep.
+
+Jinnie lifted one of the stiff little paws, and placed it in Lafe's
+fingers. The cobbler shook it tenderly.
+
+"You're in the club, sir," said he in a thick, choked voice. Then
+Jinnie and Bobbie, carrying their precious dead comrade, started for
+the hill.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+"HE MIGHT EVEN MARRY HER"
+
+
+"I don't see why you must have her out of the way entirely," hesitated
+Molly Merriweather, looking up into Jordan Morse's face. "Couldn't you
+send her to some girls' place?"
+
+"Now you don't know anything about it, Molly," answered the man
+impatiently. "If she doesn't disappear absolutely, the cobbler and
+Theodore'll find her."
+
+"That's so," said Molly, meditatively, "but it seems horrible----"
+
+Morse interrupted her with a sarcastic laugh.
+
+"That's what Theodore would think, and more, too, if he thought any
+one was going to harm a hair of the child's head."
+
+Molly flamed red.
+
+"To save her, he might even marry her," Morse went on relentlessly.
+
+Molly gestured negatively.
+
+"He wouldn't. He couldn't!" she cried stormily. She had never
+permitted herself to face such a catastrophe save when she was angry.
+
+Jordan Morse contemplated his wife a short space of time.
+
+"I can't understand your falling in love with a man who hasn't
+breathed a word of affection for you," he said tentatively.
+
+Molly showed him an angry face.
+
+"You're not a woman, so you can't judge," she replied.
+
+"Thank God for that!" retorted Morse.
+
+"We wouldn't have had any of this trouble," he continued, at length,
+"if you'd let me know about the boy. There's no excuse for you,
+absolutely none. You know very well I would have come back."
+
+All the softness in the woman turned to hardness.
+
+"How many times," she flamed, "must I tell you I was too angry to
+write or beg you to come, Jordan?... I've told you over and over."
+
+"And with all you say, I can't understand it. Are you going to impart
+your precious past to Theodore?"
+
+"No," replied Molly, setting her lips.
+
+Presently Morse laughed provokingly.
+
+"How you women do count your chickens before they're hatched! Where
+did you get the idea Theodore was going to ask you to marry him?"
+
+"I'll make him," breathed Molly, with confidence.
+
+"Well, go ahead," bantered Morse. "All I ask for releasing you is that
+you'll help me rid myself of my beautiful niece, Virginia, at the same
+time ridding yourself, my lady, and give me my boy when we find him."
+
+His tones in the first part of the speech were mocking, but Molly
+noted when he said "boy" his voice softened. She looked at him
+wonderingly. What a strange mixture of good and evil he was! When he
+got up to leave, she was not sorry. She watched him stride away with a
+deep sigh of relief.
+
+She was still sitting in the summer house when Theodore King swung his
+motor through the gate and drew up before the porch. He jumped out,
+wiped his face, saw Molly, and smiled.
+
+"Well, it's cool here," he said, walking toward her.
+
+"Yes," said Molly. "Come and sit down a minute."
+
+Theodore looked doubtfully at the house.
+
+"I really ought to do some writing, but I'll sit a while if you like.
+I passed Jordan on the way home."
+
+Molly nodded, and Theodore quizzed her with laughing eyes.
+
+"Isn't he coming pretty often?" he asked. "Jordan's got prospects,
+Molly! If his niece isn't found, you know, he'll have a fortune....
+Better set your cap for him."
+
+Molly blushed under his words, trying not to show her resentment. Was
+Theodore a perfect fool? Couldn't he see she desired no one but
+himself, and him alone?
+
+"Jordan doesn't care for me that way," she observed with dignity, "and
+I don't care for him."
+
+Theodore flicked an ash from his cigar.
+
+"I think you're mistaken, Molly--I mean as far as he is concerned."
+
+"I'm not! Of course, I'm not! Oh, Theodore, I've been wanting to ask
+you something for a long time. I do want to go back home for a day....
+Would you take me?"
+
+Theodore eyed her through wreaths of blue smoke.
+
+"Well, I might," he hesitated, "but hadn't you better ask Jordan? I'm
+afraid he wouldn't like me----"
+
+Molly got up so quickly that Theodore, surprised, got up too.
+
+"I don't want Jordan, and I do want you," she said emphatically. "Of
+course if you don't care to go----"
+
+"On the contrary," interrupted Theodore, good-naturedly, "I would
+really like it.... Yes, I'll go all right.... I have a reason for
+going."
+
+Molly's whole demeanor changed. She gave a musical laugh. He could
+have but one reason, and she felt she knew that reason! What a
+handsome dear he was, and how she loved the whole bigness of him!
+
+As she turned to walk away, Theodore fell in at her side, suiting his
+steps to hers.
+
+"Mind you, Molly, any day you say but Saturday."
+
+"Why not Saturday?" asked Molly, pouting. "I might want you then!"
+
+Unsuspecting, Mr. King explained.
+
+"The fact is, Saturday I've planned to go on the hill. You remember
+Grandoken's niece? I want to find out how she's progressing in her
+music."
+
+If Theodore had been watching Molly's face, he would have noted how
+its expression changed darkly. But, humming a tune, he went into the
+house unconcernedly, and Molly recognized the rhythm as one Jinnie had
+played that night long ago with Peg Grandoken's lace curtains draped
+about her.
+
+Jinnie's youth, her bright blue eyes, her wonderful talent, Molly
+hated, and hated cordially. Then she decided Theodore should go with
+her Saturday.
+
+That evening when Jordan Morse came in, Molly told him she would help
+him in any scheme to get Jinnie away from Bellaire.
+
+"You're beginning to understand he likes her pretty much, eh?" asked
+the man rudely.
+
+Molly wouldn't admit this, but she replied simply:
+
+"I don't want her around. That's all! As long as she's in Bellaire,
+the Kings'll always have her here with her fiddle."
+
+"Some fiddle," monotoned Jordan.
+
+"It's the violin that attracts Theodore," hesitated Molly.
+
+"And her blue eyes," interrupted Jordan, smiling widely.
+
+"Her talent, you mean," corrected Molly.
+
+"And her curls," laughed Morse. "I swear if she wasn't a relation of
+mine I'd marry the kid myself. She's a beauty!... She's got you
+skinned to death."
+
+"You needn't be insulting, Jordan," admonished Molly, flushing.
+
+"It's the truth, though. That's where the rub comes. You can't wool
+me, Molly. If she were hideous, you wouldn't worry at all.... Why, I
+know seven or eight girls right here in Bellaire who'd give their eye
+teeth and wear store ones to get Theodore to look at 'em crosseyed....
+Lord, what fools women are!"
+
+Molly left him angrily, and Morse, shrugging his shoulders, strolled
+on through the trees. Not far from the house he met Theodore, and they
+wandered on together, smoking in silence. Morse suddenly developed an
+idea. Why shouldn't he sound King about Jinnie? Accordingly, he began
+with:
+
+"That's a wonderful girl, Grandoken's niece."
+
+This topic was one Theodore loved to speak of, to dream so, so he said
+impetuously:
+
+"She is indeed. I only wish I could get her away from Paradise Road."
+
+Morse turned curious eyes on his friend.
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Well, I don't think it's any place for an impressionable young girl
+like her."
+
+"She's living with Jews, too, isn't she?"
+
+"Yes, but good people," Theodore replied. "I want her to go away to
+school. I'd be willing to pay her expenses----"
+
+Morse flung around upon him.
+
+"Send her away to school? You?"
+
+"Yes. Why not? Wouldn't it be a good piece of charity work? She's the
+most talented girl I ever saw."
+
+"And the prettiest," Jordan cut in.
+
+"By far the prettiest," answered King without hesitation.
+
+His voice was full of feeling, and Jordan Morse needed no more to tell
+him plainly that Theodore loved Jinnie Grandoken. A sudden chill
+clutched at his heart. If King ever took Jinnie under his protection,
+his own plans would count for nothing. He went home that night
+disgusted with himself for having stayed away from his home country so
+long, angry that Molly had not told him about the baby, and more than
+angry with Theodore King.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+WHEN THEODORE FORGOT
+
+
+For the next few days Jordan Morse turned over in his mind numerous
+plans to remove Jinnie from Grandoken's home, but none seemed
+feasible. As long as Lafe knew his past and stood like a rock beside
+the girl, as long as Theodore King was interested in her, he himself
+was powerless to do anything. How to get both the cobbler and his
+niece out of the way was a problem which continually worried him.
+
+He mentioned his anxiety to Molly, asking her if by any means she
+could help him.
+
+"I did tell her I'd write to you," said Molly.
+
+Morse's face fell.
+
+"She's a stubborn little piece," he declared presently. "Theo's in
+love with her all right."
+
+"You don't really mean that!" stammered Molly, her heart thumping.
+
+"Perhaps not very seriously, but such deep interest as his must come
+from something more than just the girl's talent. He spoke about
+sending her away to school."
+
+"He shan't," cried Molly, infuriated.
+
+Morse's rehearsal of Theodore's suggestion was like goads in her
+soul.
+
+"If she'd go," went on the man, "nothing you or I could do would stop
+him. The only way----"
+
+Molly whirled upon him abruptly.
+
+"I'll help you, Jordan, I will.... Anything, any way to keep him from
+her."
+
+They were both startled and confused when Theodore came upon them
+suddenly with his swinging stride, but before Morse went home, he
+whispered to Molly:
+
+"I've thought of something--tell you to-morrow."
+
+That night Molly scarcely slept. The vision of a black-haired girl in
+the arms of Theodore King haunted her through her restless dreams, and
+the agony was so intense that before the dawn broke over the hill she
+made up her mind to help her husband, even to the point of putting
+Jinnie out of existence.
+
+That morning Morse approached her with this command:
+
+"You try to get Jinnie to go with you to Mottville. You wouldn't have
+to stay but a day or so. There your responsibilities would end....
+I'll be there at the same time.... Will you do it, Molly?"
+
+"Yes," said Molly, and her heart began to sing and her eyes to shine.
+Her manner to Jordan as he left was more cordial than since his return
+from Europe.
+
+At noon time, when Theodore King saw her walking, sweetly cool, under
+the trees, he joined her. Molly had donned the dress he had
+complimented most, and as he approached her, she lifted a shy gaze to
+his.
+
+"You couldn't take me to-morrow, you're sure?" she begged, her voice
+low, deep and appealingly resonant.
+
+Theodore hesitated. Being naturally chivalrous and kindly, he disliked
+to refuse, but he had already sent a note to Jinnie to meet him at the
+master's Saturday, and it went against his inclination to break that
+appointment.
+
+"I don't see how I can," he replied thoughtfully, "but choose any day
+next week, and we'll make a real picnic of it."
+
+"I'm so disappointed," Molly murmured sadly. "I wanted to go Saturday.
+But of course----"
+
+"I'll see if I can arrange it," he assured her. "Possibly I might go
+up to hear her play to-day.... I'll see.... Later I'll 'phone you."
+
+Leaving the house, he headed his car toward the lower end of the town.
+He was glad of an excuse to go to Paradise Road. Lafe smiled through
+the window at him, and he entered the shop at the cobbler's cordial,
+"Come in!"
+
+"I suppose you want Jinnie, eh?" asked Lafe.
+
+"Yes. I'll detain her only a moment."
+
+Bobbie got up from the floor where he was playing soldiers with tacks
+and nails.
+
+"Boy'll call Jinnie," said he, moving forward.
+
+The two men watched the slender blind child feel his way to the door.
+
+"Bobbie loves to take a part in things," explained Lafe. "Poor little
+fellow!"
+
+"Is he hopelessly blind?" asked Theodore.
+
+"Yes, yes," and Lafe sighed. "I sent him once by Peg to ask a big eye
+specialist. He's a good little shaver, but his heart's awful weak. You
+wouldn't think he's almost eleven, would you?"
+
+Theodore shook his head, shocked.
+
+"It isn't possible!" he exclaimed.
+
+"He ain't growed much since he come here over two years ago. Jinnie
+can carry him in one arm."
+
+"Poor child!" said Theodore sympathetically.
+
+Just then Jinnie came into the room shyly. Bobbie had excitedly
+whispered to her that "the beautiful big man with the nice hands"
+wanted her. She hesitated at the sight of Mr. King, but advanced as
+Lafe held out his hand to her.
+
+Before Theodore could explain, she had told him:
+
+"The master isn't giving me a lesson to-day, but he will to-morrow
+because you're coming."
+
+With pride in her voice, she said it radiantly, the color mantling
+high in her cheeks. Molly's importunate insistence escaped Theodore's
+mind. When with Jinnie, ordinary matters generally did fade away.
+
+"I'm very glad," he replied. "I hope you've progressed a lot."
+
+"She has, sir, she sure has," Lafe put in. "You'll be surprised! How
+long since you've heard her play?"
+
+"A long time," answered Theodore, and still forgetting Molly, he went
+on, "I wonder if you'd like to come to the house to-morrow to dinner
+and play for us. My mother was speaking about how much she'd enjoy it
+only a short time ago."
+
+Jinnie's eyes sparkled.
+
+"I should love to come," she answered gladly.
+
+He rose to go, taking her hand.
+
+"Then I'll send the car for you," he promised her.
+
+He was sitting at his office desk when Molly the Merry once more came
+into his mind. An ejaculation escaped his lips, and he made a wry
+face. Then, in comparison, Jinnie, with all her sparkling youth, rose
+triumphant before him. He loved the child, for a child she still
+seemed to him. To tell her now of his affection might harm her work.
+He would wait! She was so young, so very young.
+
+For a long time he sat thinking and dreaming of the future, and into
+the quiet of his office he brought, in brilliant vision, a radiant,
+raven-haired woman--his ideal--his Jinnie. Suddenly again he
+remembered his promise to Molly and slowly took down the telephone.
+Then deliberately he replaced it. It would be easier to explain the
+circumstances face to face with her, and no doubt entered his mind but
+that the woman would be satisfied and very glad that Jinnie was
+coming with her violin to play for them. Molly wouldn't mind
+postponing her trip for a few days.
+
+Molly was reclining as usual in the hammock with a book in her hand
+when he ran up the steps.
+
+"Molly," he began, going to her quickly, "I want to confess."
+
+"Confess?" she repeated, sitting up.
+
+"Yes, it's this way: When I went out this morning I felt sure I could
+arrange about to-morrow.... But what do you think?"
+
+Miss Merriweather put down the book, stood up, her hand over her
+heart.
+
+"I can't guess," she breathed.
+
+"Well, I went to Grandoken's----"
+
+"You could have sent a note," Molly cut in.
+
+Theodore looked at her curiously.
+
+"I could, but I didn't. I wanted Jinnie to understand----"
+
+His voice vibrated deeply when he spoke that name, and the listener's
+love-laden ears caught the change immediately.
+
+"Well?" she murmured in question.
+
+"When I got there and saw her, I forgot about Saturday. Before I had a
+chance, she told me she wasn't going to the master's to-day. Then
+without another thought----"
+
+"Well?" interviewed Molly with widening eyes.
+
+"Pardon me, Molly," Theodore said tactlessly, "for forgetting you--you
+will, won't you? I asked her to play here to-morrow night."
+
+Molly felt the structure of her whole world tumbling down about her
+ears. He had forgotten her for that girl, that jade in Paradise Road,
+the girl who stood between her and all her hopes. She took one step
+forward and forgot, her dignity, forgot everything but his stinging
+insult.
+
+"How dared you?" she uttered hoarsely. Her voice grew thin as it
+raised to the point of a question.
+
+"Dare!" echoed Theodore, his expression changing.
+
+Molly went nearer him with angry, sparkling eyes.
+
+"Yes, how dared you ask that girl to come here when I dislike her? You
+know how I hate her----"
+
+Mr. King tossed his cigar into the grass, gravity settling on his
+countenance.
+
+"I hadn't the slightest idea you disliked her," he said.
+
+Molly eagerly advanced into the space between them.
+
+"She is trying to gain some sort of influence over you, Theo, just the
+same as she got over that Jewish cobbler."
+
+Theodore King gazed in amazement at the reddening, beautiful face.
+Surely he had not heard aright. Had she really made vile charges
+against the girl? To implicate Jinnie with a thought of conspiracy
+brought hot blood about his temples. He wouldn't stand that even from
+an old-time friend. Of course he liked Molly very much, yes, very much
+indeed, but this new antagonistic spirit in her----
+
+"What's the matter with you, Molly?" he demanded abruptly. "You
+haven't any reason to speak of the child that way."
+
+"The child!" sneered Molly. "Why, she's a little river rat--a bold,
+nasty----"
+
+Theodore King raised his great shoulders, throwing back his closely
+cropped head. Then he sprang to refute the terrible aspersion against
+the girl he loved.
+
+"Stop!" he commanded in a harsh voice, leaning over the panting woman.
+"And now I'll ask you how _you_ dare?" he finished.
+
+Molly answered him bravely, catching her breath in a sob.
+
+"I dare because I'm a woman.... I dare because I know what she's
+doing. If she hadn't played her cards well, you'd never've paid any
+attention to her at all.... No one can make me believe you would have
+been interested in a--in a----"
+
+The man literally whirled from the porch, bounded into the motor,
+turned the wheel, and shot rapidly away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+MOLLY ASKS TO BE FORGIVEN
+
+
+All the evening Molly waited in despair. She dared not appear at
+dinner and arose the next morning after a sleepless night. For two or
+three hours she hovered about the telephone, hoping for word from
+Theodore. He would certainly 'phone her. He would tell her he was
+sorry for the way he had left her, for the way he had spoken to her.
+Even his mother noticed her pale face and extreme nervousness.
+
+"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. King, solicitously.
+
+"Nothing, nothing--much," answered Molly evasively.
+
+Mrs. King hesitated before she ventured, "I thought I heard you and
+Theo talking excitedly last night. Molly, you musn't quarrel with
+him.... You know the wish of my heart.... I need you, child, and so
+does he."
+
+Miss Merriweather knelt beside the gentle woman.
+
+"He doesn't care for me, dear!" she whispered.
+
+For an instant she was impelled to speak of Jinnie, but realizing what
+a tremendous influence Theodore had over his mother, she dared not.
+Like her handsome son, Mrs. King worshipped genius, and Molly
+reluctantly admitted to herself that the girl possessed it.
+
+"He's young yet," sighed the mother, "and he's always so sweet to you,
+Molly. Some day he'll wake up.... There, there, dearie, don't cry!"
+
+"I'm so unhappy," sobbed Molly.
+
+Mrs. King smoothed the golden head tenderly.
+
+"Why, child, he can't help but love you," she insisted. "He knows how
+much I depend on you.... I'd have had you with me long before if your
+father hadn't needed you.... Shall I speak to Theodore?"
+
+"No, no----" gasped Molly, and she ran from the room.
+
+Under the tall trees she paced for many minutes. How could she wait
+until dinner--until he came home? She felt her pride ebbing away as
+she watched the sun cross the sky. The minutes seemed hours long.
+Molly went swiftly into the house. First assuring herself no one was
+within hearing distance, she paused before the telephone, longing, yet
+scarcely daring to use it. Then she took off the receiver and called
+Theodore's number. His voice, deep, low and thrilling, answered her.
+
+"It's I, Theo," she said faintly.... "Molly."
+
+"Yes," he answered, but that was all.
+
+He gave her no encouragement, no opening, but in desperation she
+uttered,
+
+"Theodore, I'm sorry!... Oh, I'm so sorry!... Won't you forgive me?"
+
+There was silence on the wire for an appreciable length of time.
+
+"Theodore?" murmured Molly once more.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want you to forgive me.... I couldn't wait until you came home."
+
+She heard a slight cough, then came the reply.
+
+"I can't control your thoughts, Molly, but I dislike to have my
+friends illy spoken of."
+
+"I know! I know it, Theodore! But please forgive me, won't you?"
+
+"Very well," answered Theodore, and he clicked off the 'phone.
+
+Molly dropped her face into her hands.
+
+"He hung the receiver up in my ear," she muttered. "How cruel, how
+terrible of him!"
+
+It was a wan, beautiful face that turned up to Theodore King when he
+came home to dinner. Too kindly by nature to hurt any one, he smiled
+at Molly. Then he stopped and held out his hand. The woman took it,
+saying earnestly:
+
+"I'm sorry, Theo.... I'm very sorry. I think I'm a little cat, don't
+you?" and she laughed, the tension lifted from her by his cordiality.
+
+There was a wholesomeness in her manner that made Theodore's heart
+glad.
+
+"Of course not, Molly!... You couldn't be that!... And next week we
+will have a lovely day in the country."
+
+Molly turned away sadly. She had hoped he would do as she wanted him
+to in spite of his appointment with Jinnie Grandoken.
+
+That evening Jinnie wore a beautiful new dress when she started for
+the Kings. Of course she didn't know that Theodore had arranged with
+Peggy to purchase it, and when Mrs. Grandoken had told her to come
+along and buy the gown, Jinnie's eyes sparkled, but she shook her
+head.
+
+"I'd rather you'd spend the money on Lafe and Bobbie," she said.
+
+But Peggy replied, "No," and that's how it came that Jinnie stepped
+quite proudly from the motor car at the stone steps.
+
+Molly Merriweather met her with a forced smile, and Jinnie felt
+strained until Theodore King's genial greeting dissipated the affront.
+After the dinner, through which she sat very much embarrassed, she
+played until, to the man watching her, it seemed as if the very roof
+would lift from the house and sail off into the Heavens.
+
+When Jinnie was ready to go home, standing blushing under the bright
+light, she had never looked more lovely. Molly hoped Theo would send
+the girl alone in the car with Bennett, but as she saw him put on his
+hat, she said, with hesitancy:
+
+"Mayn't I go along?"
+
+She asked the question of Theodore, and realized instantly that he did
+not want her.
+
+Jinnie came forward impetuously.
+
+"Oh, do come, Miss Merriweather! It'll be so nice."
+
+And Molly hated the girl more cordially than ever.
+
+On arriving home Jinnie beamed out her happiness to the cobbler and
+his wife.
+
+"And the fiddle, Peggy, they loved the fiddle," she told the woman.
+
+"Did you make it, Jinnie?" asked Peggy gruffly.
+
+"What, the fiddle?" demanded Jinnie.
+
+Peggy nodded.
+
+"No," faltered Jinnie in surprise.
+
+"Then don't brag about it," warned Peggy. "If you'd a glued them
+boards together, it'd a been something, but as long as you didn't, it
+ain't no credit to you."
+
+Lafe laughed, and Jinnie, too, uttered a low, rueful sound. How funny
+Peg was! And when Mrs. Grandoken had gone to prepare for the night,
+Lafe insisted that Jinnie tell him over and over all the happenings of
+the evening. For a long time afterwards she sat dreaming, reminiscing
+in sweet fancy every word and smile Theodore had given her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+"HAVEN'T YOU ANY SOUL?"
+
+
+Whenever Molly Merriweather was mentioned to Theodore King, that young
+man felt a twinge in his conscience. His mother had taken him gently
+to task. Out of respect for Molly's wishes she refrained from speaking
+of the girl's affection for him, but cautioned him to be careful not
+to offend her companion.
+
+"She's very sensitive, you know, Theodore dear, and very good to me. I
+really don't know what I'd do without her."
+
+"I was thoughtless!... I'll do better, mother mine," he smiled. "I'll
+go to her now and tell her so."
+
+Theodore found Molly writing a letter in the library. He sank into an
+easy chair and yawned good-naturedly. The woman was still furious with
+him, so merely lifted her eyes at his entrance, and went on writing.
+Theodore was quiet for a few moments, then with a laugh went to the
+desk and took the pen forcibly from Molly's hand.
+
+"Come and make up," he said.
+
+"Have we anything to make up?" she asked languidly, keeping her eyes
+on the paper.
+
+"Of course we have. You know very well, Molly, you're angry with
+me.... Now mother says----"
+
+She caught his bantering tone, and resenting it, drew her fingers away
+haughtily.
+
+"You learn good manners from your mother, it seems."
+
+Her tone was insolent and angered him. Theodore returned quickly to
+his chair.
+
+"No, I don't," he denied. "You know I don't! But before you asked me
+to go with you Saturday, I told you I had an appointment----"
+
+"Yes, and you told me who it was with, too," Molly thrust back in his
+teeth.
+
+"Exactly, because there's no reason why I shouldn't. I've taken an
+extreme interest in the little girl.... You offended me by talking
+against her."
+
+Molly's temper was rising by the minute. She had armored herself with
+a statement, the truth of which she would force upon him.
+
+"I'm not sure I said anything that wasn't true," she returned
+discourteously.
+
+Theodore leaned back in his chair.
+
+"Then you didn't mean it when you said you were sorry?" he demanded
+shortly.
+
+"I wanted you to go with me, that's all."
+
+"And you took that way to make me. Was that it?"
+
+Molly picked up her pen and made a few marks with it.
+
+"I'm not interested in Miss Grandoken," she replied.
+
+"So I notice," retorted Theodore, provokingly.
+
+She turned around upon him with angry, sparkling eyes.
+
+"I think you've a lot of nerve to bring her into your home."
+
+She hazarded this without thought of consequences.
+
+"What do you mean?" he asked presently, searching her face with an
+analytical gaze.
+
+Molly was wrought up to the point of invention, perhaps because she
+was madly jealous.
+
+"Men generally keep that sort of a woman to themselves," she
+explained. "A home is usually sacred to the ordinary man."
+
+Theodore was stung to silence. It was a bitter fling, and his thoughts
+worked rapidly. It took a long moment for his tall figure to get up
+from the chair.
+
+"Just what _do_ you mean?" he demanded, thrusting his hands into his
+pockets.
+
+"I don't believe I need tell you any more," she answered.
+
+Theodore stood in the middle of the room as if turned to stone.
+
+"I'm dense, I guess," he admitted huskily.
+
+Angered beyond reason or self-control, Molly pushed the letter away
+impatiently and stood up.
+
+"Well, if you're so terribly dense, then listen. No man is ever
+interested in a girl like that unless she is something more to him
+than a mere----" She broke off, because a dark red flush was spreading
+in hot waves over the man's face. But bravely she proceeded, "Of
+course you wouldn't insult your family and your friends by marrying
+her. Then what conclusion do you want them to draw?"
+
+Theodore looked at her as if she'd suddenly lost her senses. She had
+cast an aspersion upon the best little soul in God's created world.
+
+"Well, of all the villainous insinuations I ever heard!" he thundered
+harshly. "My God, woman! Haven't you any soul ... any decency about
+you?"
+
+The question leaped out of a throat tense with uncontrollable rage. It
+was couched in language never used to her before, and caused the woman
+to stagger back. She was about to demand an apology, when Theodore
+flung out of the room and banged the door behind him.
+
+Molly sat down quickly. Humiliating, angry tears flowed down her
+cheeks and she made no effort to restrain them. What cared she that
+Theodore had repudiated her accusation? She felt she had discovered
+the truth, and nothing more need be said about it.
+
+After growing a little calmer, she saw that she'd made another mistake
+by enraging Theodore. He had not taken her insults against the girl as
+she had expected.
+
+Half an hour later she called his office and was informed he was out.
+
+Theodore left Molly more angry than he'd ever been in his life.
+Instead of making him think less of Jinnie, Molly's aspersions drew
+him more tenderly toward the girl. As he strode through the road under
+the trees, his heart burned to see her. He looked at his watch--it was
+four o'clock. Jinnie had had her lesson in the morning, so he could
+not call for her at the master's. Just then he saw her walking quickly
+along the street, and she lifted shy, glad eyes as he spoke her name.
+By this time his temper had cooled, yet there lingered in his heart
+the stabbing hurt brought there by Molly's slurs. He felt as if in
+some way he owed an apology to Jinnie; as if he must make up for harm
+done her by a vile, gossiping tongue.
+
+He fell into step beside her and gently took the violin box from her
+hand.
+
+"And how is my little friend to-day?" he asked.
+
+His voice, unusually musical, made Jinnie spontaneously draw a little
+nearer him.
+
+"I'm very well," she returned, demurely, "and I've learned some very
+lovely things. I went up twice to-day--sometimes the master makes me
+come back in the afternoon."
+
+It eased his offended dignity to see her so happy, so vividly lovely.
+He had gone to Molly with the intention of asking her to go with him
+some day soon to Mottville. He thought of this now with a grim setting
+of his teeth; but looking at Jinnie, an idea more to his liking came
+in its place. He would take _her_ somewhere for a day. She needed just
+such a day to make her color a little brighter, although as he
+glanced at her again, he had to admit she was rosy enough.
+Nevertheless a great desire came over him to ask her; so when they had
+almost reached the cobbler's shop, he said:
+
+"How would a nice holiday suit you?"
+
+Jinnie looked up into his face, startled.
+
+"What do you mean by a holiday? Not to take lessons?"
+
+Theodore caught her thought, and laughed.
+
+"Oh, no, not that! But I was thinking if you would go with me into the
+country----"
+
+"For a whole day?" gasped Jinnie, stopping point blank.
+
+"Yes, for a whole day," replied Theodore, smiling.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't go. I couldn't."
+
+"Why?... Don't you want to?"
+
+Of course she wanted to go. Jinnie felt that if she knew she was going
+with him, she'd fly to the sky and back again.
+
+"Yes," she murmured. "I'd like to go, but I couldn't--for lots of
+reasons!... Lafe wouldn't let me for one, and then Bobbie needs me
+awfully."
+
+They started on, and Jinnie could see Lafe's window, but not the
+cobbler himself.
+
+"But I'd bring you back at dusk," Theodore assured her, "and you'd be
+happy----"
+
+"Happy! Happy!" she breathed, with melting eyes. "I'd be more'n happy,
+but I can't go."
+
+Theodore raised his hat quickly and left her without another word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+JINNIE DECIDES AGAINST THEODORE
+
+
+Now for a few days Theodore King had had in mind a plan which, as he
+contemplated it, gave him great delight. He had decided to send Jinnie
+Grandoken away to school, to a school where she would learn the many
+things he considered necessary.
+
+So one morning at Jinnie's lesson hour he appeared at the cobbler's
+shop and was received by Lafe with his usual grave smile.
+
+"Jinnie's at the master's," said Mr. Grandoken, excusing the girl's
+absence.
+
+"Yes, I know. The fact is, I wanted to talk with you and Mrs.
+Grandoken."
+
+Lafe looked at him critically.
+
+"Bobsie," said he to the blind boy, "call Peggy, will you?"
+
+When the woman and child came in hand in hand, Peggy bowed awkwardly
+to Mr. King. Somehow, when this young man appeared with his
+aristocratic manner and his genial, friendly advances, she was always
+embarrassed.
+
+Theodore cleared his throat.
+
+"For some time," he began, "I've had in mind a little plan for Miss
+Jinnie, and I do hope you'll concur with me in it."
+
+He glanced from the cobbler to his wife, and Lafe replied,
+
+"You've been too kind already, Mr. King----"
+
+"It isn't a question of kindness, my dear Mr. Grandoken. As I've told
+you before, I'm very much interested in your niece."
+
+Bobbie slipped from Mrs. Grandoken and went close to the speaker.
+
+"She's my Jinnie," breathed the boy with a saintly smile.
+
+Theodore laughed.
+
+"Yes, I know that, my lad, but you want her to be happy, don't you?"
+
+"She is happy," interjected Lafe, trembling.
+
+"You might tell us your plan," broke in Peg sourly, who always desired
+to get the worst over quickly.
+
+"Well, it is to send her away to school for a few years."
+
+Bobbie gave a little cry and staggered to Peg, holding out his hands.
+She picked him up, with bitterness depicted in her face. But when she
+looked at her husband she was shocked, for he was leaning against the
+wall, breathing deeply.
+
+"I knew the thought of letting her go would affect you, Mr.
+Grandoken," soothed Theodore. "That's why I came alone. Jinnie's so
+tender-hearted I feared the sight of your first grief might cause her
+to refuse."
+
+"Does she know you was goin' to ask us this?" demanded Peg
+suspiciously.
+
+Mr. King shook his head.
+
+"Of course not! If she had, she and I would have asked it together."
+
+"God bless 'er!" murmured Lafe. "You see it's like this, sir: Peg and
+me don't want to stand in her light."
+
+"I won't let my Jinnie go," sighed Bobbie. "I haven't any stars when
+she's gone."
+
+"The poor child's devoted to her," excused Lafe. "That's what makes
+him act so about it."
+
+Theodore's sympathy forced him to his feet.
+
+"So I see," said he. "Come here, young man! I want to talk to you a
+minute."
+
+Reluctantly Bobbie left Mrs. Grandoken, and Theodore, sitting again,
+took him on his knee.
+
+"Now, Bobbie, look at me."
+
+Bobbie turned up a wry, tearful face.
+
+"I've got my eyes on you, sir," he wriggled.
+
+"That's right! Don't you want your Jinnie to learn a lot of things and
+be a fine young lady?"
+
+"She is a fine young lady now," mumbled Bobbie stubbornly, "and she's
+awful pretty."
+
+"True," acquiesced Theodore, much amused, "but she must study a lot
+more."
+
+"Lafe could learn her things," argued Bobbie, sitting up very
+straight. "Lafe knows everything."
+
+Mr. King smiled and glanced at the cobbler, but Lafe's face was so
+drawn and white that Theodore looked away again. He couldn't make it
+seem right that he should bring about such sorrow as this, yet the
+thought of Jinnie and what he wanted her to be proved a greater
+argument with him than the grief of her family.
+
+"I've told you, sir," Lafe repeated, "and I say again, my wife and me
+don't want to stand in our girl's light. She'll decide when she comes
+home."
+
+Theodore got up, placing Bobbie on his feet beside him.
+
+"I hope she'll think favorably of my idea, then," said he, "and
+to-morrow I'll see her and make some final arrangements."
+
+After he had gone, Peggy and Lafe sat for a long time without a word.
+
+"Go to the kitchen, Bobbie," said Mrs. Grandoken presently, "and give
+Happy Pete a bit of meat."
+
+The boy paused in his stumbling way to the kitchen.
+
+"I don't want my Jinnie to go away," he mumbled.
+
+When the door closed on the blind child, Peggy shook her shoulders
+disdainfully.
+
+"She'll go, of course," she sneered.
+
+"An' we can't blame 'er if she does, Peg," answered Lafe sadly. "She's
+young yet, an' such a chance ain't comin' every day."
+
+The woman got heavily to her feet.
+
+"I hate 'er, but the house's dead when she ain't in it," and she went
+rapidly into the other room.
+
+Jinnie came into the shop wearily, but one look at the cobbler brought
+her to a standstill. She didn't wait to take off her hat before going
+directly to him.
+
+"Lafe--Lafe dear, you're sick. Why, honey dear----"
+
+"I ain't very well, Jinnie darlin'. Would you mind askin' Peggy to
+come in a minute?"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken looked up as the girl came in.
+
+"Lafe wants you, Peg. He's sick, isn't he? What happened to him,
+Peggy?"
+
+Bobbie uttered a whining cry.
+
+"Jinnie," he called, "Jinnie, come here!"
+
+Peg pushed the girl back into the little hall.
+
+"You shut up, Bobbie," she ordered, "and sit there! Jinnie'll come
+back in a minute."
+
+Then the speaker shoved the girl ahead of her into the shop and stood
+with her arms folded, austerely silent.
+
+"I want to know what's the matter," insisted Jinnie.
+
+"You tell 'er, Peg. I just couldn't," whispered Lafe.
+
+Mrs. Grandoken drew a deep breath and ground her teeth.
+
+"You've got to go away, kid," she began tersely, dropping into a
+chair.
+
+Jinnie blanched in fright.
+
+"My uncle!" she exclaimed, growing weak-kneed.
+
+"No such thing," snapped Peg. "You're goin' to a fine school an' learn
+how to be a elegant young lady."
+
+"Who said so?" flashed Jinnie.
+
+"Mr. King," cut in Lafe.
+
+Then Jinnie understood, and she laughed hysterically. For one blessed
+single moment her woman's heart told her that Theodore would not be so
+eager for her welfare if he didn't love her.
+
+"Was that what made your tears, Lafe?"
+
+Her eyes glistened as she uttered the question.
+
+Lafe nodded.
+
+"And what made Bobbie cry so loud?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Was Mr. King here?"
+
+"Sure," said Peg.
+
+"And he said I was to go away to school, eh?"
+
+"Yes," repeated Peg, "an' of course you'll go."
+
+Jinnie went forward and placed a slender hand on Lafe's shoulder. Then
+she faced Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Didn't you both know me well enough to tell him I wouldn't go for
+anything in the world?"
+
+If a bomb had been placed under Mrs. Grandoken's chair, she wouldn't
+have jumped up any more quickly, and she flung out of the door before
+Jinnie could stop her. Then the girl wound her arms about the
+cobbler's neck.
+
+"I wouldn't leave you, dear, not for any school on earth," she
+whispered. "Now I'm going to tell Mr. King so."
+
+Jinnie sped along Paradise Road and into the nearest drug store. It
+took her a few minutes to find Theodore's number, and when she took
+off the receiver, she had not the remotest idea how to word her
+refusal. She only remembered Lafe's sad face and Bobbie's sharp,
+agonizing calling of her name.
+
+"I want to speak to Mr. King," she said in answer to a strange voice
+at the other end of the wire.
+
+Her voice was so low that a sharp reply came back.
+
+"Who'd you want?"
+
+"Theodore King."
+
+She waited a minute and then another voice, a voice she knew and
+loved, said,
+
+"This is Mr. King!"
+
+"I'm Jinnie Grandoken," Theodore heard. "I wanted to tell you I
+wouldn't go away from home ever; no, never! I wouldn't; I couldn't!"
+
+"Don't you want to study?" Mr. King asked eagerly.
+
+Jinnie shook her head as if she were face to face with him.
+
+"I'm studying all the time," she said brokenly, "and I can't go away
+now. If they couldn't spare me one day, they couldn't all the time."
+
+"Then I suppose that settles it," was the reluctant reply. "I hoped
+you'd be pleased, but never mind! I'll see you very soon."
+
+"I told him!" said Jinnie, facing the cobbler. "Now, Lafe, don't ever
+think I'm going away, because I'm not. I've got some plans of my own
+for us all when I'm eighteen. Till then I stay right here."
+
+At dinner Peg cut off a very large piece of meat and flung it on
+Jinnie's plate.
+
+"I suppose you're plumin' yourself because you didn't go to school;
+but you needn't, 'cause nothin' could drag you from this shop, an'
+there's my word for it." Then she glanced at Lafe, and ended, "If 'er
+leg was nailed to your bench, she wouldn't be any tighter here. Now
+eat, all of you, an' keep your mouths shut."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+PEG'S VISIT
+
+
+One morning Bobbie sat down gravely some distance from Lafe, took up
+one of Milly Ann's kittens, and fell into troubled thought. After
+permitting him to be silent a few moments, the cobbler remarked,
+
+"Anything on your mind, comrade?"
+
+"Yes," said Bobbie, sighing.
+
+"Can't you tell a feller what it is?"
+
+Bobbie pushed the kitten from his lap. He crept to the cobbler's side
+slowly. Then, as he leaned his golden head against his friend, Lafe's
+arm fell about him.
+
+"Tell me, laddie," insisted Mr. Grandoken.
+
+"My stars're all gone out," faltered the boy sadly.
+
+"What made 'em go out, Bob?... Can you tell?"
+
+"Yes," blubbered Bobbie. "I guess Jinnie's sick, that's what's the
+matter."
+
+"Sick?" asked Lafe, in a startled voice. "Who said so?... Did she?"
+
+Bobbie shook his head.
+
+"No, but I know!... She cried last night, and other nights too."
+
+Lafe considered a moment.
+
+"I'm glad you told me, Bob," he said, knocking the ashes from his
+pipe.
+
+Jinnie left the master's home with lagging footsteps. The idea of
+going away to school had not appealed to her, but never in all her
+life had she been so tempted to do anything as to go with Theodore for
+one blessed day in the country--but a whole day from home could not be
+thought of.
+
+The cobbler saw her crossing the tracks, and after the daily salute,
+she came on with bent head. He watched her closely during the evening
+meal and gave Bobbie credit for discovering the truth. After Peg had
+wheeled him back to the shop and he was alone with Jinnie, Lafe called
+her to him.
+
+"Bring the stool," said he, "an' sit here."
+
+Languidly she sank down, resting against him. She was very tired
+besides being very unhappy. Lafe placed two fingers under her chin,
+lifting her face to his. Her eyes were full of tears, and she no
+longer tried to conceal her suffering. The cobbler remained quiet
+while she cried softly. At last:
+
+"It's Maudlin Bates, ain't it, darlin'?" he asked.
+
+"No, Lafe."
+
+"Can't you tell your friend what 'tis?"
+
+"I guess I'm crying because I'm foolish, dear," she replied.
+
+"No, that's not true, Jinnie. I feel as bad seeing you cry's if 'twas
+Peggy."
+
+This was a compliment, and Jinnie tried to sit up bravely, but a
+friendly hand held her close.
+
+"Just begin, an' the rest'll come easy," Lafe insisted.
+
+Jinnie's tongue refused to talk, and of a sudden she grew ashamed and
+dropped her scarlet face.
+
+"I don't believe I can tell it, Lafe dear," she got out.
+
+"Something about a man?"
+
+Jinnie nodded.
+
+"Then I got to know! Tell me!" he directed.
+
+His insistence drew forth a tearful confession.
+
+"Before Mr. King spoke about the school, he asked me to go a day in
+the country with my fiddle, and I couldn't."
+
+After the telling, she caught her breath and hid her face.
+
+"Why?" Lafe demanded. "Why couldn't you?"
+
+Jinnie raised startled eyes to the cobbler's for the better part of a
+minute. What did he mean? Was it possible----
+
+"I thought you wouldn't let me----"
+
+"You didn't ask me, did you, Jinnie?"
+
+"No, because--because----"
+
+"Because why?" Lafe intended to get at the root of the matter.
+
+"Too long from the shop! Bobbie needs me," replied Jinnie.
+
+"I don't think so, child.... The kid'd be all right with me and Peg."
+
+"Lafe?" cried Jinnie, standing up and throwing her arms around him.
+
+"You ought to a told me when he spoke of it, Jinnie. I could a fixed
+it."
+
+The cobbler smiled, and then laughed.
+
+Once more on the stool in front of him, Jinnie said:
+
+"I'm afraid Mr. King was a little offended."
+
+"It would a done you a lot of good to get out in the fields----"
+chided Lafe.
+
+"And the woods, Lafe. I'd taken my fiddle. He asked me to."
+
+"Sure," replied Lafe.... "Call Peggy."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken, looking from one to the other, noticed Lafe's gravity
+and signs of Jinnie's tears.
+
+"What's the matter?" she inquired.
+
+Lafe told her quietly, and finished with his hand on Jinnie's head.
+
+"Our little helper ought to have some fun, Peggy."
+
+Jinnie glanced up. What would Peggy think? But for a few minutes Peg
+didn't tell them. Then she said:
+
+"She ought a went, I think, Lafe."
+
+Jinnie got up so quickly that Happy Pete and Milly Ann stirred in
+their sleep.
+
+"Oh, Peg, I do want to--but how can I, now I've said I wouldn't?...
+How can I?"
+
+"You can't," decided Peg gruffly, and Jinnie dropped down once more at
+Lafe's feet.
+
+"I guess you'll have to forget about it, child, an' be 'Happy in
+Spite'," said Lafe, with a sigh.
+
+The next day Peggy took Lafe into her confidence.
+
+"I think it could be did," she ended, looking at her husband.
+
+"Mebbe," said Mr. Grandoken thoughtfully.
+
+"I'll do it," snapped Peg, "but I hate 'er, an' you can bang me if
+that ain't a fact, but--but I'll go, I said."
+
+About ten o'clock Peggy dressed and went out.
+
+Theodore King was in his office, trying to keep his mind on a line of
+figures. Of late work palled on him. He sighed and leaned back
+thoughtfully, striking and touching a match to his cigar. Memories of
+blue-eyed Jinnie enveloped him in a mental maze. She stood radiant and
+beckoning, her exquisite face smiling into his at every turn.
+
+He realized now how much he desired Jinnie Grandoken--and were she
+with him at that moment, life could offer him nothing half so sweet.
+
+"I want her always," he said grimly, aloud to himself.
+
+A boy's head appeared at the door.
+
+"Woman to see you, sir," said he.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Mrs. Grandoken."
+
+"Show her in," and Theodore stood up.
+
+Peggy came in embarrassedly. She had a mission to perform which she
+very much disliked.
+
+"Good morning, Mrs. Grandoken," said Theodore, holding out his hand.
+
+"Good morning, sir," said Peg, flushing darkly.
+
+Her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. How could she state her
+errand to this dignified, handsome young man? He was looking at her
+questioningly; but that wasn't all--he was smiling encouragingly
+also.
+
+"Won't you sit down?" said he.
+
+Peggy coughed, smoothed her mouth with her hand, pulled the thin shawl
+more closely about her shoulders, and took the indicated seat. Taking
+no time to reflect on the best way to present her case, she blurted
+out,
+
+"Lafe didn't know till last night about your askin' Jinnie to go for a
+holiday?"
+
+"Oh!"
+
+The man was at a loss to say more than that one word in question.
+
+"No," replied Peggy, "and she's been cryin'----"
+
+"Crying?" ejaculated Theodore. "Crying, you say?"
+
+"Yes," nodded Peggy.
+
+"What'd she cry for?" asked Theodore. "She positively refused to go
+with me."
+
+"I know it, but she thought me an' Lafe wouldn't let 'er."
+
+Theodore moved uneasily about the office.
+
+"And would you?" he asked presently.
+
+"Sure," responded Peggy, nodding vigorously. "Sure! Jinnie's been
+workin' awful hard for years, an' Lafe'd like you to take 'er. But you
+musn't tell 'er I come here."
+
+Saying this, Peggy rose to her feet. She had finished what she had
+come to say and was ready to go. Theodore King laughingly thanked her
+and shook her heartily by the hand. Then he escorted her to the door,
+and she returned to Lafe a little less grim.
+
+It was nearly noon when Jinnie left the master's music room, carrying
+her fiddle box. Her teacher noticed she played with less spirit than
+usual, but had refrained from mentioning it.
+
+She was coming down the steps when King's car dashed up to the door.
+Her meetings with him were always unexpected and found her quite
+unprepared for the shock to her emotions.
+
+"I've come to take you home, Jinnie," said Theodore, jumping out.
+
+Jinnie's throat filled, and silently she allowed him to help her to
+the seat. They were in the flat of the town before he turned to her.
+
+"I haven't given up my plan to take you away for a day," he said
+gently.
+
+Jinnie gulped with joy. He was going to ask her again! Lafe and Peg
+had said she could go. She waited for him to proceed, which he did
+more gravely.
+
+"When I make up my mind to do a thing, I generally do it. Now which
+day shall it be, Jinnie?"
+
+"I guess I'll have to let you tell," whispered Jinnie, which whisper
+Theo caught despite the noise of the chugging motor.
+
+"Then, to-morrow," he decided, driving up to the cobbler's shop. "I'll
+come for you at nine o'clock.... Look at me, Jinnie."
+
+Slowly she dragged a pair of unfathomable blue eyes to his.
+
+"We're going to be happy for one whole beautiful day, Jinnie," said he
+hoarsely.
+
+He helped her out, and neither one spoke again. The motor started
+away, and the girl rushed into the shop.
+
+Lafe had just said to Peggy, "There they be! He's been after 'er!"
+
+"Lafe, Lafe dear," Jinnie gurgled. "I'm going with 'im to-morrow. All
+day with the birds and flowers! Oh, Peggy dear, I'm so happy!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken glared at her.
+
+"Ugh! 'S if it matters to me whether you're happy or not!"
+
+Jinnie stooped and smothered Bobbie with caresses. With his arms
+tightly about her neck, he purred contentedly,
+
+"My stars're all shinin' bright, Jinnie."
+
+"Kiss me, both of you kids!" was all Lafe said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+WHAT THE FIDDLE TOLD THEODORE
+
+
+Jinnie looked very sweet when she bade farewell to Peg and Lafe the
+next morning. Mr. King's car was at the door, and the cobbler watched
+him as he stepped from it with a monosyllabic greeting to the girl and
+helped her to the seat next to his. Peggy, too, was craning her neck
+for a better view.
+
+"They're thick as thieves," she said, with a dubious shake of her
+head.
+
+"I guess he likes 'er," chuckled Lafe. "To make a long story short,
+wife, a sight like that does my eyes good!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken shrugged her shoulders, growled deep in her throat, and
+opined they were all fools.
+
+"An' quit doin' yourself proud, Lafe!" she grumbled. "You're grinnin'
+like a Cheshire cat. 'Tain't nothin' to your credit she's goin' to
+have the time of her life."
+
+"No, 'tain't to my credit, Peggy," retorted the cobbler, "but 'tis to
+yours, wife."
+
+By the time Lafe finished this statement, Mr. King and Jinnie
+Grandoken were bowling along a white road toward a hill bounding the
+west side of the lake.
+
+"See that basket down here?" said the man after a long silence.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's our picnic dinner! I brought everything I thought a little
+girl with a sweet tooth might like."
+
+Jinnie had forgotten about food. Her mind had dwelt only upon the fact
+she was going to be with him all day, one of those long, beautiful
+days taken from Heaven's cycle for dear friends. The country, too,
+stretched in majestic splendor miles ahead of them, trees rimming the
+road on each side and making a thick woodland as far as one could
+see.
+
+"I'm glad I brought my fiddle," Jinnie remarked presently.
+
+"I am, too," said Theodore.
+
+The place he chose for their outing was far back from the highway, and
+leaving the car at one side of the road, they threaded their way
+together to it. The sky above was very blue, the lake quietly
+reflecting its sapphire shades. Off in the distance the high hills
+gazed down upon the smaller ones, guarding them in quietude.
+
+Theodore spread one of the auto robes on the ground, and shyly Jinnie
+accepted his invitation to be seated.
+
+"Oh, it's lovely," she said in soft monotone, glancing at the lake.
+
+"Yes," replied Theodore dreamily.
+
+His eyes were upon the placid water, his thoughts upon the girl at his
+side. Jinnie was thinking of him, too, and there they both sat, with
+passionate longing in their young hearts, watching nature's great life
+go silently by.
+
+"Play for me," Theodore said at length, without taking his eyes from
+the water. "Stand by that big tree so I can look at you."
+
+Flushed, palpitating, and beautiful, Jinnie took the position he
+directed. She had come to play for him, to mimic the natural world for
+his pleasure.
+
+"Shall I play about the fairies?" she asked bashfully.
+
+"Yes," assented King.
+
+As on that night in his home when first she came into his life in
+full sway, the man now imagined he saw creeping from under the flower
+petals and from behind the tall trees, the tiny inhabitants of
+Jinnie's fairyland. Then he turned his eyes toward her, and as he
+watched the lithe young figure, the pensive face lost and rapt in the
+lullaby, Theodore came to the greatest decision of his life. He
+couldn't live without Jinnie Grandoken! No matter if she was the niece
+of a cobbler, no matter who her antecedents were--she was born into
+the world for him, and all that was delicate and womanly in her called
+out to the manhood in him; and all that was strong, masterful, and
+aggressive in him clamored to protect and shield her, and in that
+fleeting moment the brilliant young bachelor suddenly lost his hold on
+bachelordom, as a boy loses his hold on a kite. There are times in
+every human life when such a decision as Theodore then made seemed the
+beginning of everything. It was as if the past had wrapped him around
+like the grey shell of a cocoon.
+
+A loose lock of hair fell coquettishly from the girl's dark head low
+upon the fiddle, and Theodore loved and wanted to kiss it, and when
+the instrument dropped from under the dimpled chin, he held out his
+hand.
+
+"Come here, Jinnie," he said softly. "Come sit beside me."
+
+She came directly, as she always did when he asked anything of her. He
+drew her down close to his side, and for a long time they remained
+quiet. Jinnie was facing the acme of joy. The day had only begun, and
+she was with the object of her dreams. Just as when she had lived in
+the hills the fiddle had held the center of her soul, so now Theodore
+King occupied that sacred place. The morning light rose in her eyes,
+the blue fire transforming her face.
+
+[Illustration: "PLAY FOR ME," THEODORE SAID. "STAND BY THAT BIG TREE SO I
+CAN LOOK AT YOU."]
+
+Theodore turned, saw, and realized at that moment. He discovered in
+her what he had long desired. She loved him! All the old longing, all
+the strength and passion within him broke loose at the nearness of
+her. Suddenly he stretched out his arms and drew her still nearer.
+Jinnie felt every muscle of his strongly fibered body grow tense at
+her touch. She tried to draw away from his encircling arms, but the
+rise and fall of her bosom, girlishly curved--the small-girl shyness
+that caused her to endeavor to unloose his strong hands, only goaded
+him to press her closer.
+
+"Don't leave me, my dearest, my sweet," he breathed, kissing her lids
+and hair. "I love you! I love you!"
+
+She gasped once, twice, and her head fell upon his breast, and for a
+moment she lay wrapped in her youthful modesty as in a mantle.
+
+"Kiss me, Jinnie," Theodore murmured entreatingly.
+
+She buried her head closer against him.
+
+"Kiss me," he insisted, drawing her face upward. His lips fell upon
+hers, and Jinnie's eyes closed under the magic of her first kiss.
+
+The master-passion of the man brought to sudden life corresponding
+emotions in the girl--emotions that hurt and frightened her. She put
+her hand to his face, and touched it. He drew back, looking into her
+eyes.
+
+"Don't," she breathed. "Don't kiss me any more like--like that."
+
+"But you love me, my girlie, sweet?" he murmured, his lips roving over
+her face in dear freedom. "You do!... You do!"
+
+Jinnie's arms went about him, but her tongue refused to speak.
+
+"Kiss me again!" Theodore insisted.
+
+Oh, how she wanted to kiss him once more! How she gloried in the
+strong arms, and the handsome face strung tense with his love for her!
+Then their lips met in the wonders of a second kiss. Jinnie had
+thought the first one could never be equaled, but as she lay limply in
+his arms, his lips upon hers, she lost count of everything.
+
+It might have been the weird effect of the shadows, or the deep,
+sudden silence about them that drew the girl slowly from his arms.
+
+"I want my fiddle," she whispered. "Let me go!"
+
+Faint were the inflections of the words; insistent the drawing back of
+the dear warm body.
+
+Theodore permitted her to get up, and with staggering step she took
+her position at the tree trunk.
+
+Then he sank down, hot blood coursing through his veins. Long ago he
+had realized in Jinnie and the fiddle essentials--essentials to his
+future and his happiness, and to-day her kisses and divine, womanly
+yielding had only strengthened that realization. Nothing now was of
+any importance to him save this vibrant, temperamental girl. There was
+something so delightfully young--so pricelessly dear in the way she
+had surrendered herself to him. The outside world faded from his
+memory as Jinnie closed her eyes, and with a very white face began to
+play. For that day she had finished with the song of the fairies, the
+babbling of the brook, and the nodding rhythm of the flowers in the
+summer's breeze. All that she considered now was Theodore and his
+kisses. The bow came down over a string with one long, vibrating,
+passionate call. It expressed the awakening of the girl's
+soul--awakened by the touch of a man's turbulent lips--Jinnie's
+God-given man. Her fiddle knew it--felt it--expressed it!
+
+With that first seductive kiss the soul-stirring melody was full born
+within her, as a world is called into the firmament by one spoken word
+of God. And as she played, Theodore moved silently toward her, for the
+fiddle was flashing out the fervor of the kisses she had given him.
+
+He was close at her feet before he spoke, and simultaneously the white
+lids opened in one blue, blue glance.
+
+"Jinnie!" breathed Theodore, getting up and holding out his arms.
+"Come to me! Come to me, my love! I can't live another moment without
+you."
+
+The bow and fiddle remained unnoticed for the next half hour, while
+the two, the new woman and the new man, were but conscious of one
+another, nothing else.
+
+At length Theodore spoke.
+
+"Jinnie, look up and say, 'Theodore, I love you'."
+
+It was hard at first, because her mind had never reached the point of
+speaking aloud her passionate love for him, but Theodore heard the
+halting words, and droned them over to himself, as a music lover
+delights in his favorite strains.
+
+"And you love me well enough to marry me some day?" he murmured.
+
+Marry him! This, too, was a new thought. Jinnie's heart fluttered like
+a bird in her breast. To be with him always? To have him for her own?
+Of course, he was hers, and she was his! Then into her mind came the
+thought of Lafe, Peggy, and Bobbie, and the arms around him relaxed.
+
+"I love you better'n anybody in the world," she told him,
+pathetically, "but I can't ever leave the cobbler.... They need me
+there."
+
+"They can't keep you," he cried passionately. "I want you myself."
+
+His vehemence subdued her utterly. She glanced into his face. In his
+flashing eyes, Jinnie read a power inimitable and unsurpassed.
+
+"I couldn't ever leave 'em," she repeated, quivering, "but couldn't
+they live----"
+
+"We'd take the little blind boy," promised Theodore.
+
+Jinnie remained pensive. To bring the shine in her eyes once more, he
+said:
+
+"Wouldn't you like Bobbie to live with us?"
+
+"Yes, of course; but I couldn't leave Lafe and Peg in Paradise Road."
+
+Theodore surrounded the entreating, uplifted face with two strong
+hands.
+
+"I know that. We'll take care of them all----"
+
+Still Jinnie held back her full surrender.
+
+"Can I take Happy Pete, too? And the cats? There's an awful lot of
+'em.... Milly Ann does have so many kitties," she ended naively.
+
+Theodore laughed delightedly.
+
+"Dearest little heart! Of course we'll take them all, every one you
+love!"
+
+"Will you tell Lafe about--about us?" Jinnie asked shyly, "I--I----"
+but she had no more time to finish.
+
+"I'll tell him to-morrow, Jinnie!" exclaimed Theodore. "Are you happy,
+dearest?"
+
+"So happy," she sighed, with loving assurance.
+
+The rest of the day they were like two frolicking children, eating
+their luncheon under the tall trees. When the shadows fell, they left
+their trysting place, and with their arms about each other, went
+slowly back to the automobile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+WHAT THEODORE TOLD HIS FRIEND
+
+
+"He's been gone all day," mourned Molly miserably to Jordan Morse.
+They had finished dinner; Molly had put Mrs. King to bed, and the two
+were seated in chairs on the lawn. Every minute that passed and found
+Theodore still away was like an eternity to the woman. She had always
+hated the office hours which took him from the house, hated the
+business friends who dropped in now and then and changed the
+conversation from the delicate personal things she always managed to
+dwell upon.
+
+During the years she had been companion to Mrs. King, Theo's dinner
+and luncheon hours were ones of joy to her. Now this day had passed
+without him.
+
+"He'll show up before long," Morse said presently. "What a lot of
+worry you have over that man!... Now if you had a problem on your
+hands like mine----"
+
+The soft chug of a motor cut off his ejaculation.
+
+"He's coming, now," he said, getting up.
+
+Molly responded coldly to Theodore's friendly salute from the car.
+
+As Mr. King walked quickly toward them, Morse called laughingly,
+
+"We had just decided you'd been kidnapped."
+
+"Nothing like that," answered Theodore, "I've been in the country....
+Sit down, Jordan; no use standing up!" And Theodore seated himself on
+the grass.
+
+"It's been a fine day," he went on boyishly, scarcely knowing what to
+say.
+
+"Lovely," agreed Molly, and Jordan supplemented this by asking:
+
+"Have a--pleasant ride?"
+
+"Yes, delightful! One doesn't realize how murky the city is until he
+goes in the country for a day."
+
+After a time, during which he looked up through the enfolding green of
+the trees, he proceeded calmly,
+
+"I took Miss Grandoken on a picnic."
+
+Morse's sudden glance at Molly warned her to control herself.
+
+"She's an odd child," continued Theodore, "but, then, all geniuses
+are. I don't know when I've so thoroughly enjoyed myself."
+
+Morse's "That's good," was closely followed by Molly's curt question,
+"Where'd you go?"
+
+"Just up the lake a ways. We took some picnic stuff----"
+
+"And her fiddle, I suppose?" cut in Molly sarcastically.
+
+"Of course. Jinnie's not Jinnie without her fiddle."
+
+"She does play well," admitted Jordan.
+
+"More than well," interpolated Theodore. "She plays divinely."
+
+Then again they fell into an oppressive silence.
+
+Molly was so curious to know the events of the day she could scarcely
+control her impatience.
+
+Suddenly Mr. King announced:
+
+"I'm going to marry Jinnie Grandoken."
+
+Molly and Morse slowly got to their feet. They stood looking down upon
+the young millionaire with jaws apart and startled eyes.
+
+"Well, you needn't look as if I were about to commit some crime," he
+said, quizzing them with laughing eyes. "I suppose a chap can get
+married if he wants to; can't he?"
+
+"It's ridiculous," blurted Miss Merriweather.
+
+A drawn, helpless expression had crept into her eyes, making her
+appear like an old woman.
+
+Theodore got to his feet.
+
+"What's ridiculous?" he demanded, immediately on the defensive. "My
+wanting to be happy?"
+
+"Not that quite," replied the woman, "but surely you can't----"
+
+"I can and I will!" exclaimed Theodore decidedly. "I couldn't be happy
+without her, and mother----"
+
+"It'll kill 'er," warned Molly significantly.
+
+"Not at all," denied Theodore. "My mother's a woman of sense! When she
+knows her big boy's madly in love with the sweetest girl in the world,
+she'll take it as a matter of course."
+
+Miss Merriweather turned toward the house.
+
+"I think I'll go," she said in strained tones.
+
+She had almost reached the veranda when Theodore called her.
+
+"Molly!" he shouted.
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Don't tell mother. I want to surprise her."
+
+"Very well," and the woman went on again, trembling from the blow
+which had struck her in the face.
+
+The two men, lolling under the trees, said but little more, and with
+burning heart and unsettled mind, Jordan Morse went back to his
+apartment.
+
+He had scarcely settled himself before his telephone tinkled. Taking
+down the receiver, he said,
+
+"Well?"
+
+A faint voice answered him.
+
+"It's Molly, Jordan!... Listen! I'm down at the foot of the hill. Do
+come here! I'm nearly frantic.... Yes, I'll wait."
+
+Very soon Molly saw Jordan crossing the street, and she went to meet
+him.
+
+"Let's walk," she said fretfully. "I can't breathe."
+
+"If you feel like I do," replied Morse moodily, "I pity you."
+
+He led her to a small park where they sat down upon one of the wooden
+benches.
+
+"I'm shocked beyond expression," said Molly wearily.
+
+"So am I," replied Morse. Then picking up the thread of thought which
+had troubled him all the evening, he went on, "I need my boy! Every
+night I'm haunted by dreams. I'd give up my plans about Jinnie if I
+had him...."
+
+"Well, I never!" ejaculated Molly.
+
+"The trouble with you is you haven't any heart," went on Jordan. "How
+you put your mind on anything but finding that child I don't know. But
+I notice you manage to keep close on Theo's heels every minute."
+
+"I love him," admitted Molly.
+
+"Don't you love your son, your poor little lost son?"
+
+"Of course, Jordan! Don't be stupid!... Of course I do, but I don't
+know where he is."
+
+"And you're making very little effort to find him, that's evident.
+You've seen him, and I haven't, yet I'd give half my life to get my
+hands on him." He paused, drew a long breath, and proceeded, "I'll
+warn you of this much, Molly. When I do find him--and find him I
+will--you won't get a chance to even see him."
+
+"Oh, Jordan!" gasped Molly.
+
+"That's right," he insisted, with an ugly shrug. "I tell you, Molly,
+I've always been impressed with the idea mothers cared more for their
+children than fathers, but I'm over that now since knowing you."
+
+"Oh, Jordan!" repeated Molly faintly once more.
+
+Not heeding her appealing voice, he rushed on, "I'd be willing to
+strangle half the world for money to hire detectives to search for
+him. But as I've said before, I'd let Jinnie alone if I had him--and
+work for him with my two hands--if I had to dig graves."
+
+Molly turned her startled eyes upon the excited man. She had never
+known the depths of his nature.
+
+"You make me tired," he proceeded with sarcasm. "What in hell do you
+think Theodore could see in you when a girl like Jinnie cares for
+him?"
+
+"Why, Jordan Morse!" stammered the woman. "How dare you talk to me
+like that?"
+
+"Because it's true," replied Jordan hotly. "You're like a lot of
+women--if a man looks sidewise at you, you think he's bowled over with
+your charms. Good Heavens! It's sickening!"
+
+"I didn't ask you here to talk like this," said Molly.
+
+"What if you didn't?" snapped Jordan. "_You_ can talk now if you want
+to! I'm going home in five minutes, and I want some money before I go,
+too."
+
+"I'll give you some to-morrow. Now what're you going to do about
+Theodore?"
+
+"Well, he won't marry Jinnie," replied Morse slowly.
+
+"How can you help it?"
+
+"That's what I'm going to figure out. If I can get her away from
+Grandoken's, she won't get back, I can tell you that. But that damn
+cobbler and Theo'll make such a devilish row----"
+
+"You needn't be profane," chided Molly.
+
+"A woman like you's enough to make any man swear.... Now listen to me.
+The very fact that Jinnie ran away from home shows me that Tom
+Singleton told her I put 'im in a mad house! Jinnie, of course, told
+Grandoken. I've got to get that cobbler--and--you've got to help me
+get Jinnie----"
+
+"Haven't I done all I could?" gasped Molly. "I can't go down there and
+take her by the nape of the neck, can I?"
+
+"No, but I will! Now let's go! I want to do some pretty tall thinking
+before morning. Once let those two people be married and I'm lost."
+
+"So am I," muttered Molly, swaying at his vehement words.
+
+They threaded their way back to the hill, and Morse left Molly at her
+gate. As she walked slowly up the road, she could see the light in
+Theodore's window, and his shadow thrown on the curtain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+JORDAN MORSE'S PLAN
+
+
+The next morning Jordan Morse rose after a sleepless night, his face
+drawn in long, deep-set lines. The hours had been spent in futile
+planning. To save himself from the dire consequences of his misdeeds,
+to procure the money which would come to Jinnie when she was eighteen
+years old, was the one idea that dinned constantly at his brain. She
+and the cobbler would have to be put out of the way, and this must be
+done before Theodore announced publicly his intention of marrying the
+girl. Jordan had no wish to break his friendship with Theodore, so he
+could do nothing openly. If it were a mere case of filching what
+little he could from Jinnie's estate before she became of age, it
+would be an easy matter, but the girl must disappear. How? Where?
+There was finality in one of his decisions that moment. He must get
+possession of her that very day. Theodore would let no grass grow
+under his feet. He would marry her offhand, and educate her
+afterwards.
+
+Jordan wondered vaguely if the Jewish cobbler had an enemy among the
+shortwood gatherers. If so, and the man could be found, it would bring
+his own salvation.
+
+With this desire uppermost in his mind, Jordan wended his way to the
+lower part of the town, passed into Paradise Road, and paused a second
+in front of Lafe Grandoken's shop to read the sign:
+
+"Lafe Grandoken: Cobbler of Folks' and Children's Shoes and Boots."
+
+His lips curled at the crude printing, and he went on past the
+remaining shanties to the entrance to the marsh. At the path where
+Jinnie had so many times brought forth her load of wood, he paused
+again and glanced about. As far north as he could see, the marsh
+stretched out in misty greenness. The place seemed to be without a
+human being, until Jordan suddenly heard the crackling of branches,
+and there appeared before him a young man with deep-set, evil eyes,
+and large, pouting mouth. Upon his shoulders was a shortwood strap.
+
+At the sight of Mr. Morse, the wood gatherer hesitated, made a sort of
+obeisance, and proceeded to move on. Jordan stopped him with a motion
+of his hand.
+
+"In a hurry?" he asked good-naturedly.
+
+"Got to sell my wood," growled the man.
+
+Morse appraised him with an analytical glance.
+
+"What's your name?" he demanded.
+
+"Maudlin Bates. What's yours?"
+
+"Jordan Morse.... Just wait a minute. I want to talk to you."
+
+Down came the shortwood strap on the ground. Maudlin scented something
+interesting.
+
+"I got to sell my wood," he repeated, surly-toned. However, he nodded
+his head when Jordan explained that it might be to his advantage to
+tarry a while.
+
+"I'll pay you for your time," agreed Morse eagerly.
+
+Side by side they seated themselves on a fallen tree. The young wood
+gatherer looked wicked enough to do anything that might be requested
+of him.
+
+"Are you married?" asked Morse.
+
+Maudlin's face darkened.
+
+"No," he grunted moodily.
+
+"Ha! In love? I see!" laughed the other.
+
+Maudlin turned sheepish eyes on his interrogator; then looked down,
+flushed, and finished:
+
+"I'd a been married all right if it hadn't been for a damn bloke along
+Paradise Road," he explained.
+
+"Yes? Tell me about it."
+
+"Oh, what's the use! Everybody's stickin' their noses in my business,
+and it ain't nothin' to do with 'em uther."
+
+"I might help you," suggested Jordan, seemingly interested.
+
+"Ain't anybody c'n help me," sulked Maudlin. "Got the richest man in
+town 'gainst me, and money's what makes the mare go."
+
+The words "richest man" startled Morse, but he only said, "That's so!
+But tell me just the same."
+
+"Aw, it's only a wench I wanted! A mutt by the name of King butted in
+on me."
+
+Jordan Morse mentally congratulated himself that he had struck the
+right nail on the head the very first whack.
+
+To gain possession of Jinnie's money meant finding his boy, and that
+was the dearest wish of his heart.
+
+"You might tell me about it," he reiterated slowly. "I ought to be
+able to help you."
+
+"Naw, you can't!" scoffed Maudlin. "My pa and me's tried for a long
+time, but there ain't nothin' doin' with Jinnie. She's a sure devil,
+Jinnie is."
+
+Jordan's blood tingled in anticipation.
+
+"Is that the girl's name?" he queried.
+
+"Yes, she's a niece of a cobbler up the track yonder, and as pretty a
+little minx as walks Paradise Road. If I had 'er I'd fix her. I'd beat
+her till she minded me, I c'n tell y' that!"
+
+"I believe beating's the way to subdue most women," said Morse,
+lighting a cigarette. But as he said this, a slight smile passed over
+his face. He thought of Molly Merriweather in connection with the
+man's logic.
+
+"It's the way pa done to my stepmother," observed Maudlin presently.
+"She was a onery woman as ever you see, but pa one day just licked
+her, and then licked 'er every day till now she don't dast but mind
+'im.... I'd do that with Jinnie if I had 'er."
+
+Morse watched rings of smoke curl upward in the summer air, breaking
+among the branches of the trees.
+
+"Why don't you steal 'er?" he demanded at length.
+
+Bates' lower jaw fell down, showing discolored teeth. He stared at his
+inquisitor in consternation. Then he dropped back into his former
+slovenly attitude.
+
+"I never thought o' that," said he.
+
+"I'll help you," offered Morse, carelessly, brushing ashes from his
+coat lapel.
+
+Maudlin turned his eyes slowly from their straight ahead position
+until they came directly upon the handsome face of the other man. Then
+the two looked long and steadily at each other.
+
+"What're you drivin' at?" blurted Bates.
+
+"Only that I'm also interested in getting Jinnie away from Grandoken.
+The fact is I hate King, and I think it's a good way to get even with
+him."
+
+He refrained, however, from mentioning he was Jinnie's relative.
+
+"D'you have me in mind when you come here?" questioned Bates.
+
+"No! But I felt sure there'd be some young buck round here who'd
+fallen in love with the girl before this. And I found you without
+asking----"
+
+"I'd make her beg me to marry her after I'd had 'er a week or two,"
+interrupted Maudlin, with dilating pupils. "How could we steal 'er?"
+
+"Just steal 'er, I said," replied Morse.
+
+"And I said, 'How?'"
+
+Morse waited a minute until Bates repeated once more, "How, mister?"
+then he asked:
+
+"Can you run a motor car?"
+
+"No, but my pa can."
+
+"My God! You musn't mention this to any one, not even your father.
+I'll run the car myself. You go to the cobbler and by some excuse get
+the girl in the car--after that I'll see to her."
+
+Bates narrowed his eyes.
+
+"No, you won't see to nothin'," he growled surlily. "I don't take a
+step till I know I get 'er. I'll marry 'er all right, but she's got to
+want to marry me first."
+
+"I don't care what you do with 'er," replied Morse morosely. "Marry
+'er or not, just get her, that's all!"
+
+"The cobbler's got a vixen of a wife," complained Maudlin at length.
+
+"Persuade her to go somewhere, can't you?" snapped Morse.
+
+"Yes, that's easy," drawled Maudlin, wobbling his head.
+
+For a long time they sat talking and planning, until at length Morse
+put his hand in his pocket and handed the other man some money.
+Maudlin tucked it away with a grin.
+
+"Easy cash, eh? What'd you say the dame's name was?"
+
+"Merriweather--Molly Merriweather. She's companion to Mr. King's
+mother."
+
+"Jinnie fiddles all the afternoon.... Mebbe she won't go."
+
+"Yes, she will. Tell her Miss Merriweather wants her to arrange a
+surprise for Theodore King. Tell 'er Miss Merriweather wants her to
+play."
+
+Bates laughed evilly.
+
+"That'll fix the huzzy. Anything about that damn fiddle'll fetch 'er
+every time! When I get 'er I'll bust it up for kindlin' wood."
+
+"Then it's settled," said Morse, rising. "You go this afternoon at
+three o'clock to Grandoken's, tell Jinnie what I told you to, get the
+cobbler into an argument, and I'll do the rest."
+
+"You'll be sure to be there?"
+
+"Of course! What'd you think I am? Keep your mouth shut! Be sure of
+that."
+
+"Three o'clock, then," said Maudlin, getting up. "So long!" and
+lifting his wood, he went on his way rejoicing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THE MURDER
+
+
+At half past one that afternoon a messenger appeared at Grandoken's
+with a letter for Jinnie.
+
+Peggy called the girl to the shop.
+
+"Boy's got something for you," she declared. "It's a letter, I
+guess."
+
+Jinnie held out her hand with thumping pulses, took the extended
+pencil, and signed her name to a blank page. Then the boy held out the
+missive. Of course it was from Theodore, thought Jinnie. She had
+scarcely slept the night before, fitfully dreaming of him. Throwing a
+shy smile at Peg, she went into her bedroom and shut the door. With a
+long, ecstatic breath, she set herself to the delightful task of
+slowly perusing the beloved epistle.
+
+"My darling," Jinnie read, and she kissed those two words, each one
+separately. Then she whispered them again, "My darling," and read on:
+
+"I'm coming this afternoon at three to see your uncle, and I thought
+you might like me to talk with him alone. It will be a simple matter
+for you to take the little blind boy and go away for an hour or so,
+but be sure and return at four. By that time I'll have our
+arrangements all made, but I won't go until I see you.
+
+"I send all my love to you, my sweetheart.
+
+"Your own,
+
+"THEODORE."
+
+Jinnie kissed the words "my sweetheart" too, and then joyfully slipped
+the letter inside her dress. She daren't speak of his coming, for how
+could she conceal her happiness from Lafe?
+
+At two o'clock, she said to Peggy:
+
+"May I take Bobbie for a little walk, dear?"
+
+The blind child heard the request and scrambled up.
+
+"Can I go, Peggy?" he pleaded.
+
+Peg glared at the girl.
+
+"I thought you always fiddled in the afternoon," she queried.
+
+"I do generally," acquiesced Jinnie, "but--to-day----"
+
+"Well, go 'long," said Peg, not very graciously. "I'm goin' over to
+Miss Bates' a while. Maudlin come by just now, an' said would I come
+over.... Get back early!"
+
+Jinnie dressed Bobbie with trembling fingers. The boy noticed she
+could scarcely button his jacket.
+
+"What's the matter, Jinnie dear?" he whispered.
+
+Jinnie was just slipping on his cap as he spoke. She bent and kissed
+him passionately.
+
+"Nothing, honey, only Jinnie's happy, very happy."
+
+"I'm so glad," sighed Bobbie, with a smiling wag. "I'm happy too.
+Let's go on the hill, and take Petey."
+
+"It'd be lovely, dear," replied the girl.
+
+A few minutes later, with the little dog at their heels, they were
+wending their way up the board walk to the hill.
+
+Mr. Grandoken, alone in his shop, worked with contented vigor. The
+days, those beautiful summer days, were bringing untold joy to him.
+Peggy seemed in brighter spirits, and Jinnie's radiant face made Lafe
+rejoice. Little Bobbie's stars were always shining nowadays, so what
+more could the dear man want? As he sat tip-tapping, he took himself
+in fancy to that day ahead when Heaven would unfold another blessing
+for Peg--for him. He put down his hammer and glanced out of the
+window, and suddenly Maudlin Bates loomed up, with all his hulking
+swagger obliterating the shoemaker's mental bliss.
+
+Lafe nodded as Maudlin stepped into the shop. There was an unusually
+aggressive expression upon the young wood gatherer's face, and Mr.
+Grandoken refrained from asking him to sit down. Instead he
+questioned:
+
+"Brought some cobblin'?"
+
+"No," said Bates. "Wanted to talk to you; that's all."
+
+"Hurry up, then, 'cause I'm busy."
+
+"Where's Jinnie?" queried Maudlin.
+
+Swift anger changed the cobbler's face.
+
+"What's that to you?" he demanded. "And you needn't be drippin'
+tobacco juice around my shop."
+
+"Won't hurt it, I guess," answered Maudlin insolently, sitting down
+heavily.
+
+With every passing minute, Lafe was growing more and more enraged.
+
+"Yap me your business and get out," he ordered, picking up his
+hammer.
+
+He settled his eyes on the sodden face before him, and for a minute or
+two each plumbed the strength of the other.
+
+"I'm goin' to marry Jinnie," announced Maudlin, drawing his large feet
+together and clasping his fingers over his knees.
+
+The cobbler deliberately placed the hammer beside him once more and
+leaned back against the wall.
+
+"Who said so?" he asked.
+
+"I do," defied Maudlin, swaggering.
+
+"Is that what you come to say to me?"
+
+"Yep."
+
+"Well, now you're done with your braggin', get out, an' get out
+quick."
+
+But Maudlin didn't move.
+
+"I said to scoot," said Lafe presently, in suppressed tones. He was
+magnificent in his ferocity.
+
+"I heard you!" observed Maudlin, still sitting, though a little cowed
+in his former egotistical spirit.
+
+Lafe picked up the hammer and pounded frantically on the sole of a
+shoe.
+
+"I'm goin' to have money," muttered Maudlin when the cobbler paused
+for a few nails.
+
+As Lafe proceeded with his work silently, Maudlin said:
+
+"I'll marry Jinnie and take the empty shack next to pa's. I got money,
+I said."
+
+Lafe's lips were moving rapidly, but the other could not hear what he
+was saying. The fact was, the cobbler was asking for strength and
+self-control.
+
+"Where's Jinnie?" demanded Maudlin again.
+
+"She ain't here," said Lafe, "an' I want you to get out before she
+comes."
+
+He said this more gently, because his muttered prayers had somewhat
+assuaged his rage.
+
+Just then a motor car dashed into the little lane at the side of the
+house, and Maudlin knew that Morse had arrived.
+
+"I'll go when I see Jinnie," he insisted, sinking deeper into his
+chair, "I want to tell 'er somethin' about a party."
+
+"Ain't no show o' your seein' 'er to-day," replied Lafe. "I bargained
+with your pa about you lettin' my girl alone, and that's all there is
+to it."
+
+"Pa's cobblin' ain't nothin' to do with me," observed Maudlin darkly.
+"I'll wait for 'er!"
+
+At that minute Theodore King's car drew up in front of the shop, and
+he stepped out. Maudlin caught a glimpse of him and set his teeth
+sharply. He'd have it out with this man, too. They might as well all
+understand what his intentions were. He wondered if Morse, from his
+point of vantage, had seen Mr. King arrive.
+
+When Theodore swung into the shop, he paused at the sight of Bates and
+frowned. He brought to mind the chastening he had given the fellow,
+and how Jinnie had suffered through his brutality.
+
+Lafe smiled cordially at the young man and asked him to be seated.
+
+"Jinnie's out," stated the cobbler.
+
+"I know it!" responded Theodore, taking a chair. "I've come to have a
+talk with you." Then looking from Mr. Grandoken to Maudlin, he
+queried, "Will you soon be disengaged?"
+
+Lafe nodded.
+
+"I hope so," he said disinterestedly.
+
+Lafe always disciplined himself after a siege with his temper.
+
+"He won't be alone till I get through with 'im," grunted Maudlin, with
+an ugly expression. "I been tellin' 'im I'm goin' to marry Jinnie."
+
+Lafe straightened with a throat sound that boded no good for the
+speaker, and Theodore got swiftly to his feet.
+
+"Don't repeat what you've just said," the latter gritted between his
+teeth, whirling on Maudlin.
+
+Bates shot out of his chair at this command.
+
+"My tongue's my own," he roared, "and Jinnie'll be glad to marry me
+before----"
+
+Theodore's big fist swept out, striking the man full in the face, and
+Maudlin dropped like an ox hit with an axe, but he was on his feet in
+another minute. His rapidly swelling face was blanched with rage.
+
+"Damn you, twicet and three times damn you----"
+
+Lafe made an ejaculation, and neither one of the three men noticed
+that the door to the little hall at the back had opened a trifle.
+
+Jordan Morse was peering in upon the enraged trio. He saw the man he'd
+hired to help him take the first knock down and get up swiftly. He saw
+Theodore King make another dive at the wood gatherer. The cobbler was
+in direct range of Jordan's vision, and he slipped his hand into his
+pocket, from which he took a revolver. Two quick, short cracks, and
+the pistol came flying through the room and landed near the cobbler's
+bench. Then the kitchen door slammed suddenly. Theodore staggered
+forward and sank slowly to the floor, while Maudlin fell headlong
+without a cry.
+
+As in a maze Lafe heard a motor leap away like a mad thing. Through
+the window he could see Theodore's car where the young man had left
+it. He made a desperate effort to rise, but sank back with a
+shuddering groan. He forced his eyes to Bates, who was close to the
+shop door, then dragged them backward to Mr. King, whose head was
+almost under his bench. Each had received a bullet, and both lay
+breathing unconsciously. The cobbler stooped over and placed his hand
+under Theodore's head to straighten it a little. For a full minute
+nothing was heard but the loud rattling in Maudlin's throat and the
+steady, laborious breath of the man at his feet.
+
+Sudden tears diffused the cobbler's eyes, and he leaned over and
+tenderly touched the damp forehead of Jinnie's friend.
+
+"He's given His angels charge over thee, boy," he murmured, just as
+Jinnie, leading Bobbie by the hand, walked in.
+
+The girl took one impetuous step forward and noted Lafe's white,
+agonized face. Then she caught a glimpse of the stricken men on the
+floor. Her tongue refused its office, and dropping the blind child's
+fingers, she came quickly forward.
+
+"Call help! Hurry! Get a doctor!" gasped Lafe, and Jinnie, without
+saying a word, rushed out.
+
+Afterward she could not measure with accuracy the events of that
+afternoon. Peggy came home and put the terrified Bobbie in bed,
+telling him curtly to stay there until she allowed him to get up.
+Several doctors rushed in and examined both Theodore and Maudlin. Not
+one word had escaped Jinnie's pale lips until the wounded men were
+removed from the shop. Then she sank at the cobbler's feet.
+
+"Will he die?" she whispered, in awe-stricken tones.
+
+"Maudlin's dyin'," replied the cobbler, with bowed head, "an' Mr.
+King's awful bad off, the doctor says."
+
+Jinnie went to Lafe's side and put her arm about his neck, and as if
+it had never been, their joy was blotted out by the hand of a bloody
+tragedy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE COBBLER'S ARREST
+
+
+Tearing away from Paradise Road, Jordan Morse drove madly up the hill.
+No one had seen him come; no one had seen him go. He must get in touch
+with Molly immediately. In his nervous state he had to confide in some
+one.
+
+Molly had settled Mrs. King in an easy chair and was on the lawn,
+pacing restlessly to and fro, when Jordan swiftly drove his machine
+through the gate and up to the veranda. Catching one hasty glimpse of
+his haggard face, the woman knew something extraordinary had
+happened.
+
+"I've put my foot in it, all right," he ejaculated, jumping to the
+soft grass. "My God! I don't know what I have done!"
+
+Molly's face blanched.
+
+"Tell me quickly," she implored.
+
+Jordan repeated his conversation with Maudlin Bates, stating how his
+plans had suddenly matured on hearing the wood gatherer denounce King
+and Grandoken.
+
+Then he proceeded a little more calmly.
+
+"It seems I hadn't been at the side door of Grandoken's shack a minute
+before Theodore drove up."
+
+Molly's hands came together.
+
+"Theodore?" she repeated breathlessly.
+
+"Yes, and the Bates man was with Grandoken. I heard loud talking,
+stole into the little hall, and found the back part of the house
+empty. Jinnie wasn't there; at least I didn't see her. Bates had
+already inveigled Mrs. Grandoken away. I opened the door into the
+cobbler's shop just as Theo was striking Bates in the face. I waited a
+minute, and as Theo struck out again, I fired----"
+
+"Fired!" gasped Molly.
+
+"Yes, at Grandoken. I wanted to kill him----"
+
+"But Theo--you might have hit Theodore, Jordan."
+
+"But I didn't, I tell you! I'm sure I didn't. If I hit any one, 'twas
+Bates or the cobbler.... Get back near the veranda for fear Theodore
+'phones."
+
+No sooner had the words left his lips than a bell sounded from the
+house. Molly ran up the steps. As she took down the receiver, she
+dropped it, but picked it up again.
+
+"Halloa," she called faintly.
+
+"Is this Theodore King's home?" shouted a voice.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Mr. King's had an accident. He's in the hospital. Break the news
+carefully to his mother, please."
+
+Dazedly, Molly slipped the receiver back to its hook. She stumbled to
+the porch and down the steps, her face ashen with anguish.
+
+"You shot Theo, Jordan," she cried hysterically.
+
+"Shut your head," growled Morse, glancing furtively about. "Don't talk
+so loud.... Now then, listen! There'll be hell to pay for this. But
+Bates won't peach, and I'm sure I clipped the cobbler's wings. Keep
+quiet till you hear from me."
+
+He sprang again into the machine and was gone before the woman could
+gather her wits together.
+
+She turned and went slowly up the steps. It was her duty to break the
+news to Theodore's mother--she who knew so much, but dared to tell so
+little! How to open the conversation with the gentle sufferer she knew
+not.
+
+Mrs. King smiled a greeting as she entered, but at the sight of
+Molly's face, her book dropped to the floor.
+
+"What is it?" she stammered.
+
+Molly knelt down beside her.
+
+"Probably very little," she said hastily. "Don't get
+excited--please--but--but----"
+
+"It's Theodore!" gasped the mother, intuitively.
+
+"He's hurt a little, just a little, and they've taken him to the
+hospital."
+
+Mrs. King tried to rise, but dropped back weakly.
+
+"He's badly hurt or he'd come home."
+
+"I'll find out," offered Molly eagerly. Then as an afterthought, "I'll
+go if you'll promise me to stay very quiet until I get back."
+
+"I promise," said Mrs. King, sobbing, "but go quickly! I simply can't
+be still when I'm uncertain."
+
+In another house of lesser proportions, a girl was huddled in a chair,
+gazing at Lafe Grandoken.
+
+"An' they told you over the telephone he was dyin'?" he demanded,
+looking at Jinnie.
+
+"Yes," gulped Jinnie, "and Maudlin's dead. The hospital people say Mr.
+King can't live." The last words were stammered and scarcely audible.
+"Lafe, who shot him?"
+
+"I dunno," said Lafe.
+
+"Didn't you see who had the gun?" persisted the girl, wiping her
+eyes.
+
+"Mr. King didn't have it; nuther did Maudlin. It came from over there,
+an' I heard a car drive away right after."
+
+Jinnie shook her head hopelessly. It was all so mysterious that her
+heart was gripped with fright. A short time before, an officer had
+been there cross-questioning Lafe suspiciously. Then he had gone away
+with the pistol in his pocket. She stared out of the window,
+fear-shadowed. In a twinkling her whole love world had tumbled about
+her ears, and she listened as the cobbler told her once more the story
+of the hour she'd been away with Bobbie.
+
+"There're two men coming here right now," she said suddenly, getting
+up. "Lafe, there's Burns, the cop on this beat."
+
+"They're wantin' to find out more, I presume," replied Lafe wearily.
+
+As the men entered the shop, Jinnie backed away and stood with rigid
+muscles. She was dizzily frightened at the sight of the gruff
+officers, who had not even saluted Lafe.
+
+The foremost man was a stranger to them both.
+
+"Are you Lafe Grandoken?" he demanded, looking at the cobbler.
+
+"Yes," affirmed Lafe.
+
+The man flourished a paper with staid importance.
+
+"I'm the sheriff of this county, an' I've a warrant for your arrest
+for murderin' Maudlin Bates," he sing-songed.
+
+Jinnie sprang forward.
+
+"Lafe didn't shoot 'im," she cried desperately.
+
+The man eyed her critically.
+
+"Did you do it, kid?" he asked, smiling.
+
+"No, I wasn't here!" answered Jinnie, short-breathed.
+
+"Then how'd you know he didn't do it?"
+
+For a moment Jinnie was nonplussed. Then she came valiantly to her
+friend's aid.
+
+"I know he didn't. Of course he didn't, you wicked, wicked men! Don't
+you dare touch 'im, don't you dare!"
+
+"Well, he's got to go with me," affirmed the man in ugly, sneering
+tones. "Whistle for the patrol, Burns, and we'll wheel the Jew in!"
+
+Jinnie heard, as in a hideous dream, the shrill, trilling whistle;
+heard the galloping of horses and saw a long black wagon draw up to
+the steps.
+
+When the two sullen men laid violent hold of the wheelchair, Jinnie's
+terrified fingers reached toward the cobbler, and the sheriff gave her
+hand a sharp blow. Lafe uttered an inarticulate cry, and at that
+moment Jinnie forgot "Happy in Spite," forgot Lafe's angels and the
+glory of them, and sprang like a tiger at the man who had struck her.
+She flung one arm about his neck and fought him with tooth and nails.
+So surprised was Policeman Burns that he stood with staring eyes,
+making no move to rescue his mate from the tigerish girl.
+
+"Damn you! Damn you!" screamed Jinnie. "I'll kill you before you take
+'im."
+
+Lafe cried out again, calling her name gently, imploringly, and
+tenderly. When his senses returned, Burns grasped Jinnie in his arms
+and held her firmly. There she stood panting, trying to break away
+from the policeman's detaining fingers. She looked half crazed in the
+dimming late afternoon light.
+
+"Merciful God, but you're a tartar, miss!" said the sheriff ruefully.
+"Well, if she ain't clawed the blood clean through my skin!"
+
+"She comes of bad stock," exclaimed Burns. "You can't expect any more
+of Jews. Go on; I'll hold 'er till you and Mike get the chair out."
+
+Hearing this, Jinnie began to sob hysterically and make more desperate
+efforts to free herself. The viselike fingers pressed deeper into her
+tender flesh.
+
+"Here, huzzy, you needn't be tryin' none of your muck on me," said
+Burns. "Keep still or I'll break your arm."
+
+Jinnie sickened with pain, and her eyes sought Lafe's. If he'd been in
+his coffin, he couldn't have been whiter.
+
+"Jinnie," he chided brokenly, "you've forgot what I told you, ain't
+you, lass?"
+
+Through the suffering, tender mind flashed the words he'd taught her.
+
+"There aren't any angels, Lafe," she sobbed. "There aren't any."
+
+Then, as another man entered the shop, she cried: "Don't take 'im, oh,
+please don't take 'im, not now, not just yet, not till Peggy gets
+back."
+
+Turning around in his chair, Lafe looked up at the men.
+
+"Could--I--say--good-bye--to my--wife?" he asked brokenly.
+
+"Where is she?" demanded the officer.
+
+"Gone to the store," answered Lafe. "She'll be here in a minute."
+
+"Let 'er come to the jail," snapped the angry sheriff. "She'll have
+plenty of time to say good-bye there."
+
+At that they tugged the chair through the narrow door. Then two boards
+were found upon which to roll it into the patrol.
+
+Inside the shop Jinnie was quiet now, save for the convulsions that
+rent her body. She looked up at the man holding her.
+
+"Let me go," she implored. "I'll be good, awful good."
+
+Perhaps it was the pleading blue eyes that made the officer release
+her arms. Jinnie sprang to the door, and as Lafe saw her, he smiled,
+oh such a smile! The girl ran madly to him.
+
+"Lafe! Lafe!" she screamed. "Lafe dear!"
+
+Lafe bent, touched the shining black curls, and a glorified expression
+spread over his face.
+
+"He's given His angels charge over you, lass," he murmured, "an' it's
+a fact you're not to forget."
+
+Then they rolled him up the planks and into the wagon. With clouded
+eyes Jinnie watched the black patrol bowl along toward the bridge, and
+as it halted a moment on Paradise Road to allow an engine to pass, the
+cobbler leaned far out of his wheel chair and waved a thin white hand
+at her. Then like a deer she ran ahead until she came within speaking
+distance of him. The engine passed with a shrieking whistle, and the
+horses received a sharp crack and galloped off. Jinnie flung out her
+arms.
+
+"Lafe!" she screamed. "I'll stay with Peg till you come."
+
+He heard the words, waved once more, and the wagon disappeared over
+the bridge.
+
+For full ten minutes after Lafe was taken away, Jinnie sat in the shop
+like one turned to stone. The thing that roused her was the side door
+opening and shutting. She got up quickly and went into the little
+hall, closing the shop door behind her. Mrs. Grandoken, with bundles
+in her hands, was entering the kitchen. Jinnie staggered after her.
+
+"Peggy," murmured Jinnie, throwing her arms about the stooped
+shoulders. "You'll be good----"
+
+It was as if she had said it to Bobbie, tenderly, low-pitched, and
+imploring. Peg seemed so miserable and thin.
+
+"What's the matter with you, kid?" growled Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"The town folks," groaned Jinnie, "the town folks've made a mistake,
+an awful mistake."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken turned sunken eyes upon the speaker.
+
+"What mistake've they made?"
+
+Jinnie's throat hurt so she couldn't say any more.
+
+"What mistake?" asked Peg again.
+
+"They think Lafe shot----"
+
+Peggy wheeled on the hesitating speaker. Shoving her to one side, she
+stalked through the door. Jinnie flew after her.
+
+"Peggy, Peg, he'll come back!"
+
+Mrs. Grandoken opened the shop door and the empty room with overturned
+chairs and scattered tools told its silent, eloquent tale.
+
+"Honey," whispered Jinnie. "Honey dear----"
+
+"God's Jesus," muttered Peg, with roving eyes, "God's Jesus, save my
+man!"
+
+Then she slid to the floor, and when she once more opened her eyes,
+Jinnie was throwing water in her face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+ALONE IN THE SHOP
+
+
+Later in the day Jordan Morse and Molly Merriweather met at the
+hospital. They looked into each other's eyes, not daring to mention
+the terrible consternation that possessed them.
+
+"Have you heard anything?" murmured Molly, glancing about before
+speaking.
+
+Jordan nodded his head.
+
+"It's awful," he said. "Bates is dead--if you say a word, I'm lost."
+
+"Depend on me," Molly assured him. "Oh, how dreadful it all is!
+Theodore must get well," she continued in agitation.
+
+"Well, he won't!" snarled Morse. Then he went on passionately. "Molly,
+I swear I didn't intend to shoot _him_. I was mad clear through and
+aimed at the cobbler."
+
+"Hush!" warned Molly. "Some one's coming."
+
+A young doctor approached them with gravity.
+
+"Mr. King?" murmured Molly.
+
+"Is slowly failing. The bullet found a vital spot----"
+
+"And the other man--Bates? Is it true he's dead?" interjected Morse
+eagerly.
+
+"Yes, he died shortly after the tragedy. It's all a mystery, but I
+think they've arrested the guilty man."
+
+Both listeners stared at the speaker as if he'd told them the world
+had come to an end. It was Morse who managed to mutter:
+
+"What man?"
+
+"Haven't you heard? They've arrested Lafe Grandoken. The shooting
+occurred in his cobbling shop, and the gun was found as proof of his
+crime. Of course, like all Jews, he's trying to invent a story in his
+own favor.... He's undoubtedly the criminal."
+
+Not until they were in the street did Jordan express himself to
+Molly.
+
+"What heavenly luck! So they've arrested Grandoken. If Theodore
+lives----"
+
+Molly clutched his arm.
+
+"Oh, he must! He must! Jordan! I shall die myself if he doesn't."
+
+Jordan Morse turned sharply upon her.
+
+"Don't throw a fit right here. You're not the only one suffering. My
+atmosphere is cleared a little with Grandoken's arrest, though."
+
+"But you've still to reckon with Jinnie," ventured Molly.
+
+"Easy now," returned the man. "I'll get her before Theodore is well."
+
+"Take me home," pleaded Molly wearily. "Such a day as this is enough
+to ruin all the good looks a woman ever had."
+
+Disgustedly, Jordan flung open the motor door.
+
+"Well, my God, you've got about as much brains and heart as a
+chipmunk. Climb in!"
+
+Later, as the two separated, Morse said, with low-pitched voice:
+
+"Now, then, I'm going to plan to get Jinnie. Might's well be hung for
+a sheep's a lamb----I'm just as well satisfied that Bates is dead.
+After I secure Jinnie--then for my boy. God! I can scarcely wait until
+I have him."
+
+Miss Merriweather went into the house in utter exhaustion, nor did
+she pause to take off her hat before telling Theodore's mother the
+little she could to encourage her.
+
+If Molly was suffering over the crime which had sent the man she loved
+to the hospital, Jinnie was going through thrice that agony for the
+same man. He had almost met his death in coming to tell Lafe of their
+love, and had been struck down in his mission by an unknown hand.
+Jinnie knew it was an unknown hand, because just as sure as she lived,
+so sure was she that Lafe had not committed the crime. The cobbler had
+explained it all to her, and she believed him. Peggy was dreadfully
+ill! After her fainting spell, the girl put Mrs. Grandoken to bed, and
+then went to comfort Bobbie. She found him huddled on his pillow,
+clasping Happy Pete in his arms. The small face was streaked with
+tears and half buried from sight.
+
+"Bobbie," called Jinnie softly.
+
+The yellow head came up with a jerk, the flashing grey eyes begging in
+mute helplessness an explanation for these unusual happenings.
+
+"I'm here, Jinnie. What's the matter with everybody?"
+
+Jinnie lay down beside him.
+
+"Peggy's sick," she said, not daring to say more.
+
+"Where's Lafe?"
+
+An impulsive arm went across the child's body.
+
+"He's gone away for a little while, dear, just for a few days!"
+
+Something in her tones made Bobbie writhe. With the acuteness of one
+with his affliction, his ears had caught the commotion in the shop.
+
+"But he can't walk, Jinnie. Did he walk?" he demanded.
+
+"No."
+
+"How'd he go, in a motor car?"
+
+"No," repeated the girl.
+
+"Some one took him, then?" demanded Bobbie.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"In a wagon?"
+
+By this time she could feel the tip-tap of his anguished heart against
+hers.
+
+"Yes," she admitted, but that was all. She felt that to tell the truth
+then would be fatal to the throbbing young life in her arms.
+
+"Bobbie," she whispered, cuddling him. "Lafe's coming home soon. Be a
+good boy and lie still and rest. Jinnie'll come back in a few
+minutes."
+
+She crawled off the bed, and went to the shop door. By main force she
+had to drag her unwilling feet over the threshold. She stood for two
+tense minutes scanning the room with pathetic keenness. Then she
+walked forward and stood beside the bench. It seemed to be sentiently
+alive with the magnetism of the man who had lately occupied it. Jinnie
+sat on it, a cry bursting from her white lips. She wanted to be with
+him, but she had promised to take care of Peggy, and she would rather
+die than betray that trust. Her eyes fell upon two dark spots upon the
+floor, one near the door and one almost under her feet. She shuddered
+as she realized it was blood. Then she went to the kitchen for water
+and washed it away. This done, she gathered up Lafe's tools,
+reverently kissing each one as she laid it in the box under the bench.
+How lonely the shop looked in the gathering gloom! To dissipate the
+lengthening shadows in the corners, she lighted the lamp. The
+flickering flame brought back keenly the hours she had spent with
+Lafe--hours in which she had learned so much. The whole horror that
+had fallen on the household rushed over her being like a tidal wave
+over a city. Misery of the most exquisite kind was tearing her heart
+in pieces, stabbing her throat with long, forklike pains. Tense throat
+muscles caught and clung together, choking back her breath until she
+lay down, full length, upon the cobbler's bench.
+
+In poignant grief she thought of the expression of Lafe's face when he
+had been wheeled from the room. His voice came back through the faint
+light.
+
+"He has given His angels charge over thee, lassie."
+
+But how could she believe in the angels, with Lafe in prison and
+Theodore dying? She got up, spent and worn with weeping, and went in
+to Peggy, sitting for a few minutes beside the agonized woman, but she
+could not say one word to make that agony less. In losing the two
+strong friends, she had lost her faith too. Peg's face was turned to
+the wall, and as she didn't answer when the girl laid her hand on her
+shoulder, Jinnie tiptoed out. In her own room she lay for seemingly
+century-long hours with Bobbie pressed tightly to her breast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+JINNIE EXPLAINS THE DEATH CHAIR TO BOBBIE
+
+
+Seven days had dragged their seemingly slow length from seconds to
+minutes, from minutes to hours, from hours to days. In the cobbler's
+shop Jinnie and Bobbie waited in breathless anxiety for Peg's return.
+She had gone to the district attorney for permission to visit her
+husband in his cell. Nearly three hours had passed since her
+departure, and few other thoughts were in the mind of the girl save
+the passionate wish for news of her two beloved friends. She was
+standing by the window looking out upon the tracks, and as a heavy
+train steamed past she counted the cars with melancholy rhythm. There
+came to her mind the day she had found Bobbie on the hill, and all the
+sweet moments since when the cobbler had been with them. She choked
+back a sob that made a little noise in her tightened throat.
+
+Bobbie stumbled his unseeing way to her and shoved a small, cold hand
+into hers.
+
+"Jinnie's sad," he murmured. "Bobbie's stars're blinkin' out."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken and Jinnie had come to an understanding that Bobbie
+should not know of the cobbler's trouble, so the strong fingers closed
+over the little ones, but the girl did not speak. At length she caught
+a glimpse of Peg, who, with bent head, was stumbling across the
+tracks. Peggy had failed in her mission! Jinnie knew it because the
+woman did not look up as she came within sight of the house.
+
+As Mrs. Grandoken entered slowly, Jinnie turned to her.
+
+"You didn't see him?" she said in a tone half exclamation, half
+question.
+
+"No," responded Peg, wearily, sitting down. "I waited 'most two hours
+for the lawyer, an' when he come, I begged harder'n anything, but it
+didn't do no good. He says I can't see my man for a long time. I guess
+they're tryin' to make him confess he killed Maudlin."
+
+Jinnie's hand clutched frantically at the other's arm. Both women had
+forgotten the presence of the blind child.
+
+"He wouldn't do that," cried Jinnie, panic-stricken. "A man can't own
+up to doing a thing he didn't do."
+
+"Course not," whispered Bobbie, in an awed whisper, and the girl sat
+down, drawing him to her lap. She could no longer guard her tongue nor
+hide her feelings. She took the afternoon paper from Mrs. Grandoken's
+hand.
+
+"Read about it aloud," implored the woman.
+
+"It says," began Jinnie, "Mr. King's dying."
+
+The paper fluttered from her hand, and she sat like a small graven
+image. To see those words so cruelly set in black and white, staring
+at her with frightful truth, harrowed the very soul of her. A sobbing
+outburst from Bobbie mingled with the soft chug, chug of the engine
+outside on the track. Happy Pete, too, felt the tragedy in the air. He
+wriggled nearer his young mistress and rested his pointed nose on one
+of her knees, while his twinkling yellow eyes demanded, in their
+eloquent way, to know the cause of his loved ones' sorrow.
+
+Peggy broke a painful pause.
+
+"Everybody in town says Lafe done it," she groaned, "an'----" she
+caught her breath. "Oh, God! it seems I can't stand it much longer!"
+
+Jinnie got up, putting the limp boy in her chair. She was making a
+masterful effort to be brave, to restrain the rush of emotion
+demanding utterance. Some beating thing in her side ached as if it
+were about to burst. But she stood still until Peg spoke again.
+
+"It's all bad business, Jinnie! an' I can't see no help comin' from
+anywhere."
+
+If Peg's head hadn't fallen suddenly into her hands, perhaps Jinnie
+wouldn't have collapsed just then. As it was, her knees gave way, and
+she fell forward beside the cobbler's wife. Bobbie, in his helpless
+way, knelt too.
+
+Since Lafe's arrest the girl had not prayed, nor could she recall the
+promises Lafe had taught her were made for the troubled in spirit.
+Could she now say anything to make Peg's suffering less, even if she
+did not believe it all herself?
+
+"Peg," she pleaded, "don't shiver so!... Hold up your head.... I want
+to tell you something."
+
+Peggy made a negative gesture.
+
+"It ain't to be bore, Jinnie," she moaned hoarsely.
+
+"Lafe ain't no chance. They'll put him in the chair."
+
+Such awful words! The import was pressed deeper into two young hearts
+by Peg's wild weeping.
+
+Jinnie staggered to her feet. Blind Bobbie broke into a prolonged
+wail.
+
+"Lafe ain't never done nothin' bad in all his life," went on the
+woman, from the shelter of her hands. "He's the best man in the world.
+He's worked an' worked for everybody, an' most times never got no pay.
+An' now----"
+
+"Don't say it again, Peggy!" Jinnie's voice rang out. "Don't think
+such things. They couldn't put Lafe in a wicked death chair--they
+_couldn't_."
+
+Bobbie's upraised eyes were trying to pierce through their veil of
+darkness to seek the speaker's meaning.
+
+"What chair, Jinnie?" he quivered. "What kind of a chair're they goin'
+to put my beautiful Lafe in?"
+
+Jinnie's mind went back to the teachings of the cobbler, and the slow,
+sweet, painful smile intermingled with her agony. Again and again the
+memory of the words, "He hath given his angels charge over thee,"
+swelled her heart to the breaking point. She wanted to believe, to
+feel again that ecstatic faith which had suffused her as Maudlin Bates
+pulled her curls in the marsh, when she had called unto the Infinite
+and Theodore had answered.
+
+Peg needed Lafe's angels at that moment. They all needed the comfort
+of the cobbler's faith.
+
+"Peg," she began, "your man'd tell you something sweet if he could see
+you now."
+
+Peg ceased writhing, but didn't lift her face. Jinnie knew she was
+listening, and continued:
+
+"Haven't you heard him many a time, when there wasn't any wood in the
+house or any bread to eat, tell you about--about----"
+
+Down dropped the woman's hands, and she lifted a woebegone face to her
+young questioner.
+
+"Yes, I've heard him, Jinnie," she quavered, "but I ain't never
+believed it!"
+
+"But you can, Peggy! You can, sure! Lots of times Lafe'd say, 'Now,
+Jinnie, watch God and me!' And I watched, and sure right on the minute
+came the money." She paused a moment, ruminating. "That money we got
+the day he went away came because he prayed for it."
+
+The girl was reverently earnest.
+
+"Lafe's got a chance, all right," she pursued, keeping Peg's eye.
+"More'n a chance, if--if--if----Oh, Peggy, we've got to pray!"
+
+"I don't know how," said Peg, in stifled tones.
+
+Jinnie's face lighted with a mental argument Lafe had thrown at her
+in her moments of distrust. She was deep in despondency, but something
+had to be done.
+
+"Peg, you don't need to know anything about it. I didn't when I came
+here. Lafe says----"
+
+"What'd Lafe say?" cut in Peggy.
+
+"That you must just tell God about it----" Jinnie lifted a white,
+lovely face. "He's everywhere--not away off," she proceeded. "Talk to
+Him just like you would to Lafe or me."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken sunk lower in her chair.
+
+"I wisht I'd learnt when Lafe was here. Now I dunno how."
+
+"But will you try?" Jinnie pleaded after a little.
+
+"You know 'em better'n I do, Jinnie," Peg muttered, dejectedly. "You
+ask if it'll do any good."
+
+Jinnie cleared her throat, coughed, and murmured:
+
+"Close your eyes, Bobbie."
+
+Bobbie shut his lids with a gulping sob, and so did Peg.
+
+Then Jinnie began in a low, constrained voice:
+
+"God and your angels hovering about Lafe, please send him back to the
+shop. Get him out of jail, and don't let anybody hurt him. Amen."
+
+"Don't let any chair hurt my beautiful cobbler," wailed Bobbie, in a
+new paroxysm of grief. "Gimme Lafe an' my stars."
+
+In another instant Peggy staggered out of the room, leaving the blind
+boy and Jinnie alone.
+
+As the door closed, Bobbie's voice rose in louder appeal. Happy Pete
+touched him tenderly with a cold, wet nose, crawling into his arms
+with a little whine.
+
+Jinnie looked at her two charges hopelessly. She knew not how to
+comfort them, nor could she frame words that would still the agony of
+the child. Yet she lifted Bobbie and Happy Pete and sat down with them
+on her lap.
+
+"Don't cry, honey," she stammered. "There! There! Jinnie'll rock
+you."
+
+Her face was ashen with anxiety, and perspiration stood in large drops
+upon her brow. Mechanically she drew her sleeve across her face.
+
+"I'm going to ask you to be awful good, Bobbie," she pleaded
+presently. "Lafe's being arrested is hard on Peg--and she's sick."
+
+Bobbie burst in on her words.
+
+"But they'll sit my cobbler in a wicked chair, and kill him, Jinnie.
+Peggy said they would."
+
+"You remember, Bobbie," soothed the girl, "what Lafe said about God's
+angels, don't you?"
+
+The yellow head bent forward in assent.
+
+"And how they're stronger'n a whole bunch of men?"
+
+"Yes," breathed Bobbie; "but the chair--the men've got that, an' mebbe
+the angels'll be busy when they're puttin' the cobbler in it."
+
+This idea made him shriek out louder than before: "They'll kill Lafe!
+Oh, Jinnie, they will!"
+
+"They can't!" denied Jinnie, rigidly. "They can't! Listen, Bobbie."
+
+The wan, unsmiling blind face brought the girl's lips hard upon it.
+
+"I want to know all about the death chair," he whimpered stubbornly.
+
+"Bobbie," she breathed, "will you believe me if I tell you about it?"
+
+"Yes," promised Bobbie, snuggling nearer.
+
+"Hang on to Pete, and I will tell you," said Jinnie.
+
+"I'm hangin' to 'im," sighed Bobbie, touching Pete's shaggy forelock.
+"Tell me about the chair."
+
+Jinnie was searching her brain for an argument to satisfy him. She
+wouldn't have lied for her own welfare--but for Bobbie--she could
+feel the weak, small heart palpitating against her arm.
+
+"Well, in the first place," she began deliberately, "Peg doesn't know
+everything about murders. Why, Bobbie, they don't do anything at all
+to men like Lafe. Why, a cobbler, dear, a cobbler could kill everybody
+in the whole world if he liked."
+
+Bobbie's breath was sent out in one long exclamation of wonder.
+
+"A cobbler," went on Jinnie impressively, "could steal loaves of bread
+right under a great judge's nose and he couldn't do anything to him."
+
+Jinnie had made a daring speech, such a splendid one; she wanted to
+believe it herself.
+
+"Tell me more," chirped Bobbie. "What about the death chair, Jinnie?"
+
+She had nursed the hope that the boy would be satisfied with what she
+had already told him, but she proceeded in triumphant tones:
+
+"Oh, you mean the chair Peg was speaking about, huh? Sure I know all
+about that.... There isn't anything I don't know about it.... I know
+more'n all the judges and preachers put together."
+
+A small, trustful smile appeared at the corners of Bobbie's mouth.
+
+"I know you do, Jinnie," he agreed. "Tell it to me."
+
+Jinnie pressed her lips on his hair.
+
+"And if I tell you, kiddie, you'll not cry any more or worry Peggy?"
+
+"I'll be awful good, and not cry once," promised the boy, settling
+himself expectantly.
+
+"Now, then, listen hard!"
+
+Accordingly, after a dramatic pause, to give stress to her next
+statement, she continued:
+
+"There isn't a death chair in the whole world can kill a cobbler."
+
+Bobbie braced himself against her and sat up. His blind eyes were
+roving over her with an expression of disbelief. Jinnie knew he was
+doubting her veracity, so she hurried on.
+
+"Of course they got an electric chair that'll kill other kinds of
+men," she explained volubly, "but if you'll believe me, Bobbie, no
+cobbler could ever sit in it."
+
+Bobbie dropped back again. There was a ring of truth in Jinnie's
+words, and he began to believe her.
+
+"And another thing, Bobbie, there's something in the Bible better'n
+what I've told you. You believe the Bible, don't you?"
+
+"Lafe's Bible?" asked Bobbie, scarcely audible.
+
+"Sure! There isn't but one."
+
+"Yes, Jinnie, I believe that," said the boy.
+
+"Well," and Jinnie glanced up at the ceiling, "there's just about a
+hundred pages in that book tells how once some men tried to put a
+cobbler in one of those chairs, and the lightning jumped out and set
+'em all on fire----"
+
+Bobbie straightened up so quickly that Happy Pete fell to the floor.
+
+"Yes, yes, Jinnie dear," he breathed. "Go on!"
+
+Jinnie hesitated. She didn't want to fabricate further.
+
+"It's just so awful I hate to tell you," she objected.
+
+"I'd be happier if you would," whispered Bobbie.
+
+"Then I will! The fire, jumping out, didn't hurt the cobbler one wee
+bit, but it burned the wicked men----" Jinnie paused, gathered a deep
+breath, and brought to mind Lafe's droning voice when he had used the
+same words, "Burned 'em root and branch," declared she.
+
+Bobbie's face shone with happiness.
+
+"Is that all?" he begged.
+
+"Isn't it enough?" asked Jinnie, with tender chiding.
+
+"Aren't there nothin' in it about Lafe?"
+
+"Oh, sure!" Again she was at loss for ideas, but somehow words of
+their own volition seemed to spring from her lips. "Sure there is!
+There's another hundred pages in that blessed book that says good men
+like Lafe won't ever go into one of those chairs, never, never.... The
+Lord God Almighty ordered all those death chairs to be chopped up for
+kindling wood," she ended triumphantly.
+
+"Shortwood?" broke out Bobbie.
+
+Unheeding the interruption, Jinnie pursued: "They just left a chair
+for wicked men, that's all."
+
+Bobbie slipped to the floor and raised his hands.
+
+"Jinnie, pretty Jinnie. I'm goin' to believe every word you've said,
+every word, and my stars're all shinin' so bright they're just like
+them in the sky."
+
+Jinnie kissed the eager little face and left the child sitting on the
+floor, crooning contentedly to Happy Pete.
+
+"Lafe told me once," Jinnie whispered to herself on the way to the
+kitchen, "when a lie does a lot of good, it's better than the truth if
+telling facts hurts some one."
+
+She joined Peggy, sighing, "I'm an awful liar, all right, but Bobbie's
+happy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+WHAT THE THUNDER STORM BROUGHT
+
+
+In the past few weeks Jinnie Grandoken had been driven blindly into
+unknown places, forced to face conditions which but a short time
+before would have seemed unbearable. However, there was much with
+which Jinnie could occupy her time. Blind Bobbie was not well. He was
+mourning for the cobbler with all his boyish young soul, and every day
+Peggy grew more taciturn and ill. The funds left by Theodore were
+nearly gone, and Jinnie had given up her lessons. She was using the
+remaining money for their meagre necessities.
+
+So slowly did the days drag by that the girl had grown to believe that
+the authorities would never bring Lafe to trial, exonerate him, and
+send him home. Then, too, Theodore was still in the hospital, and she
+thought of him ever with a sense of terrific loss. But the daily
+papers brought her news of him, and now printed that his splendid
+constitution might pull him through. It never occurred to her that her
+loved one would believe Lafe had shot him and Maudlin Bates. Theodore
+was too wise, too kindly, for such suspicions.
+
+For a while after receiving permission from the county attorney, she
+visited Lafe every day. Peggy had seen him only once, being too
+miserable to stand the strain of going to the jail. But Mrs. Grandoken
+never neglected sending by the girl some little remembrance to her
+husband. Perhaps it was only a written message, but mostly a favorite
+dish of food or an article of his wearing apparel.
+
+One afternoon Bobbie sat by the window with his small, pale face
+pressed close to the pane. Outside a great storm was raging, and from
+one end of Paradise Road to the other, rivulets of water rushed down
+to the lake. Several times that day, when the boy had addressed Mrs.
+Grandoken, she had answered him even more gruffly than of yore. He
+knew by her voice she was ill, and his palpitating heart was wrung so
+agonizingly that he was constantly in tears. Now he was waiting for
+Jinnie, and the sound of the buffeting rain and the booming roar of
+heavy thunder thrilled him dismally. To hear Jinnie's footsteps at
+that moment would be the panacea for all his grief.
+
+Peg came into the shop, and Bobbie turned slightly.
+
+"Jinnie's stayin' awful long at the jail to-day," said the woman
+fretfully. "Do you hear her comin', Bobbie?"
+
+"No," said Bobbie, "I've been stretchin' my ears almost to the hill to
+hear her. If she doesn't come soon, I'll die--my stars've been gone a
+long time."
+
+"I wish she'd come," sighed Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Bend over here, Peg," entreated Bobbie, "I want to touch your eyes!"
+
+Without comment the woman leaned over, and the boy's fingers wavered
+over her wrinkled countenance.
+
+"You're awful sick, dearie," he grieved, pressing against her. "Can
+Blind Bobbie do anything?"
+
+Peg dropped her arm around him.
+
+"I'm afraid," she whispered. "I wish Lafe and Jinnie was here."
+
+One long shiver shook Bobbie's slender body. That Peg could ever be
+afraid was a new idea to him. It terrified him even to contemplate it.
+He began to sob wistfully, but in another instant raised his head.
+
+"She's comin'," he cried sharply. "I hear 'er. I got two stars, mebbe
+three."
+
+When Jinnie opened the door, the water was dripping from her clothes,
+and her hair hung in long, wet curls to her waist. One look into Peg's
+twisted, pain-ridden face, and she understood.
+
+"I'm glad you're here," said the woman, with a gesture of
+helplessness. And Bobbie echoed, with fluttering hands, "I'm glad,
+too, Jinnie. Me and Peg was so 'fraid."
+
+The girl spoke softly to Bobbie, and drew Peggy into the bedroom.
+There, with her arm thrown across Mrs. Grandoken's shoulder, she gave
+all the assurance and comfort of which she was capable.
+
+Long after midnight, the rain still came down in thrashing torrents,
+and through the pieces of broken tin on the roof the wind shrilled
+dismally.
+
+There was a solemn hush in the back bedroom where Peggy lay staring at
+the ceiling. In front of the shadowy lamp was a bit of cardboard to
+protect the sick woman's eyes from the light. At Peggy's side sat
+Jinnie, and in her arms lay a small bundle. Jinnie had gained much
+knowledge in the last few hours. She had discovered the mystery of all
+existence. She had seen Peg go down into that wonderful valley of life
+and bring back Lafe's little boy baby, and the girl's eyes held an
+expression of impenetrable things. She moved her position slightly so
+as to study Mrs. Grandoken's face.
+
+Suddenly Peg's eyes lowered.
+
+"Jinnie, gimme a drink, will you?"
+
+Placing the child on the bed, the girl got up instantly. She went to
+the kitchen and returned with a glass of milk. It had scarcely touched
+the woman's lips before she raised her hand and pushed it away.
+
+"I mustn't drink that," she whispered feebly.
+
+"I got it specially for you, Peggy dear," insisted Jinnie.... "Drink
+it," she wheedled, "please."
+
+Then Jinnie sat down again, listening as the elements kept up their
+continuous rioting, and after a while they lulled her to rest.
+Suddenly her head dropped softly on the bundle in her arms, and the
+three--Peggy, Jinnie and the tiny Jewish baby--slept.
+
+Jinnie's name, spoken in low tones, roused her quickly. She raised her
+head, a sharp pain twisting her neck. Peggy was looking at her, with
+misery in her face.
+
+"I feel awful sick, Jinnie," she moaned. "Can't you say somethin'
+t'me, somethin' to make me feel better?"
+
+Something to make her feel better! The words touched the listener
+deeply. Oh, how she wanted to help! To alleviate Peg's suffering was
+her one desire. If it had been Bobbie, or even Lafe, Jinnie would have
+known exactly what to say; but Peggy, proud, stoical Peggy!
+
+"Let me put the baby with you where it's warm, Peg," she said, gently.
+"I'm going to talk to you a minute.... There, now, you're all safe,
+little mister, near your mammy's heart."
+
+Then she knelt down by the bed and took the woman's hot fingers in
+hers.
+
+"Peggy," she began softly, "things look awful bad just now, but Lafe
+told me once, when they looked that way, it was time for some one to
+come along and help. I'll tell you about it, Peg! Eh?"
+
+"Who c'n come?" demanded Mrs. Grandoken, irritably. "Mr. King can't,
+an' we hain't no other friends who'll come to a cobbler's shop."
+
+The question in her voice gave Jinnie the chance she was looking for.
+
+"Yes, there is," she insisted. "Now listen, while I say something;
+will you?"
+
+"Sure," said Peg, squeezing Jinnie's fingers.
+
+Then Jinnie started to repeat a few verses Lafe had taught her. She
+couldn't tell exactly where they were in the Bible, but the promise in
+them had always made her own burdens lighter, and since seeing Lafe
+daily, she had partially come back to her former trust.
+
+"'The Lord is my Shepherd,'" she droned sleepily. Then on and on until
+she came to, "'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
+death,'" and Peg broke into a sob.
+
+"'I will fear no evil,'" soothed Jinnie, amid the roaring of the wind
+and the crackling of the thunder over the hill.
+
+"'For thou art with me,'" she finished brokenly. "He's the one I was
+talking about, Peggy. He'll help us all if we can believe and be----"
+
+Then she quickly ended, "Happy in Spite."
+
+Peg continued to sob. One arm was across her baby boy protectingly,
+and the other hand Jinnie held in hers.
+
+"Somehow things seem easier, Peggy, when you hold your head up high,
+and believe everything'll come all right.... Lafe said so; that's why
+he started the club."
+
+"I wisht I could think that way. I'm near dead," groaned the woman.
+
+Jinnie smoothed the soft, grey-streaked hair.
+
+"Wouldn't you like to come into the club, dear?" she faltered,
+scarcely daring to put the question. "Then you'll be happy with us
+all--with Lafe and Bobbie and--and----"
+
+Jinnie wanted to say another name, but doubted its wisdom--and then
+abruptly it came; "and Jinnie," she finished.
+
+Peggy almost sat up in bed.
+
+"Darlin'," she quivered. "Darlin' girl, I've been cussed mean to Lafe
+an' you. I've told you many a time with my own mouth I hated you, but
+God knows, an' Lafe knows, I loved you the minute I set eyes on you."
+She dropped back on the pillow and continued, "If you'll take me in
+your club, an' learn me how to believe, I'll try; I swear I will."
+
+For a long time Jinnie sat crooning over and over the verses she'd
+learned from Lafe, and bye-and-bye she heard Peg breathing regularly
+and knew she slept. Then she settled herself in the chair, and sweet,
+mysterious dreams came to her through the storm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+THE STORY OF A BIRD
+
+
+Lafe Grandoken, in his wheel chair, sat under the barred prison
+window, an open Bible on his knees. Slowly the shadows were falling
+about him, and to the man every shade had an entity of its own. First
+there trooped before him all the old memories of the many
+yesterdays--of Peg--his little dead lad--and Jinnie. And lastly,
+ghostlike, came the shattered hopes of to-morrow, and with these he
+groaned and shivered.
+
+Jinnie stole in and looked long upon her friend through the
+iron-latticed door. The smile that played with the dimples in her
+cheeks and the dancing shadows in the violet eyes indicated her
+happiness. Lafe looked older and thinner than ever before, and her
+heart sang when she thought of the news she had to tell him. She
+longed to pronounce his name, to take away the far-away expression
+that seemed to hold him in deep meditation. During her tramp to the
+jail she'd concocted a fairy story to bring a smile to the cobbler's
+lips. So at length:
+
+"Lafe," she whispered.
+
+Mr. Grandoken's head came up quickly, and he turned the chair and
+wheeled toward her. There was the same question in his eyes that had
+been there for so many days, and Jinnie smiled broadly.
+
+"Lafe," she began mysteriously, "a great big bird flew right into the
+house last night. He flopped in to get out of the storm!"
+
+"A bird?" repeated Lafe, startled.
+
+"Yes, and everybody says it's awful good luck."
+
+Lafe's expression grew tragic, and Jinnie hurried on with her tale.
+
+"I'll bet you can't guess what kind of a bird 'twas, Lafe."
+
+Lafe shook his head. "I can't lessen 'twas a robin," said he.
+
+Jinnie giggled.
+
+"My, no! He was a heap bigger'n a robin. Guess again!"
+
+Such chatter from Jinnie was unusual, especially of late, but Lafe
+bore it patiently.
+
+"I can't," he sighed, shaking his head.
+
+Jinnie clapped her hands.
+
+"I knew you couldn't! Well, Lafe, it was a--a----"
+
+"Yes?" queried Lafe wearily, during her hesitation. "Well, Jinnie?"
+
+"It was a great, big, beautiful white stork, Lafe, and he brought you
+a new Jew baby. What'd you think of that?"
+
+"Jinnie, girl, lass, you ain't tellin' me----"
+
+"Yes, dear, he's there, as big as life and twice as natural, Peg
+says.... Of course," she rambled on, "the stork went away, but the Jew
+baby--to make a long story short, he's with----"
+
+"His ma, eh, dear?" interjected Lafe. "How's Peg, honey?"
+
+"Oh, she's fine," replied Jinnie, "and I've a lot to tell you,
+dearest."
+
+"Begin," commanded Lafe, with wide, bright eyes.
+
+Jinnie commenced by telling how lovely the baby was. Of course she
+didn't rehearse Peg's suffering. It wouldn't do any good.
+
+"And the baby looks like you, Lafe," she observed.
+
+"Does he really?" gasped Lafe, trying to smile.
+
+"He's got your Jew look 'round his nose," added Jinnie gravely. "You
+wanted him to look like you, didn't you, Lafe?"
+
+"Sure, Jinnie. And now about Peggy? Tell me about Peggy."
+
+"Peggy's with us, Lafe----" Jinnie stopped and drew a long breath.
+"What'd you think? Oh--guess!"
+
+"I couldn't! Tell me, Jinnie! Don't keep me waitin' for good things."
+
+"Peggy's in the 'Happy in Spite', and I'm learning her all the verses
+you taught me."
+
+Then Lafe's head dropped on his hands and tears trickled through his
+fingers.
+
+"I wish I could see her," he groaned deeply.
+
+"When she gets well, you can," promised Jinnie, "and mebbe the baby."
+
+Lafe's head was raised quickly and his eyes sparkled.
+
+"I'd love to see 'em both," was all he could stammer.
+
+The girl thrust her fingers through the bars to him, and they stood
+thus, regarding each other in all confidence and faith, until Jinnie
+dropped his hand.
+
+"Mr. King's getting well," she said softly.
+
+"I'm glad, very glad. He don't think I done it, does he, Jinnie?"
+
+"No, and when I see him I'll tell him you didn't."
+
+And as if that settled it, she turned to go; then hesitating, she
+smiled upon him.
+
+"Give me four nice kisses, Lafe. I'll take one to Peg, Bobbie, and the
+baby, and keep one for myself." Then after their lips had met through
+the bars in resounding smacks, Jinnie gasped, "We can't forget Milly
+Ann and Happy Pete. Two more, honey!"
+
+"God bless you, Jinnie lass," murmured Lafe, trying to hide his
+emotion, and then he wheeled quickly back into the falling afternoon
+light under the window.
+
+Jinnie's energetic mind was busy with a scheme. She wasn't sure it
+would meet with Peg's approval, but when she arrived home, she sat
+down beside Mrs. Grandoken.
+
+"Now, Peggy," she began emphatically, "I want you to pay attention to
+what I'm saying to you."
+
+"I will," said Peggy.
+
+"Lafe wants to see the baby!"
+
+"Now?" asked Mrs. Grandoken, surprised.
+
+"Well, he didn't say just now, but his eyes asked it, and, Peg, I was
+wondering if I couldn't take the little kid up to the jail."
+
+Peggy shook her head.
+
+"They wouldn't let you in with 'im," she objected.
+
+Jinnie thought a long time. Presently she laughed a little, chuckling
+laugh.
+
+"I know how to get him in there!"
+
+"How?" asked Peggy, incredulously.
+
+"Why, everybody knows I've been a shortwood girl. I'll roll him up in
+a bundle----"
+
+Peg's hand sought the little body under the covers protectingly.
+
+"Oh, I won't hurt him, Peg," assured Jinnie. "We'll wrap him up the
+first fine day! You can do it yourself, dear."
+
+One week later Jinnie went slowly up the incline that led to the
+prison. On her back was a shortwood strap filled with brush and small
+twigs.
+
+"I want to see Lafe Grandoken," she said.
+
+To surprise Lafe she crept softly along the corridor until she halted
+at his cell door. She could see him plainly, and the troubled lines
+were almost erased from between his brows. She was glad of that, for
+she wanted him to smile, to be "Happy in Spite."
+
+She called his name and he turned, wheeling toward her.
+
+"I hoped you'd be comin'," he said, smiling gravely. Then noting the
+shortwood, he exclaimed, "Have you had to go to work again, lass?"
+
+"Just for to-day," and Jinnie displayed her white teeth in a broad
+smile. "I've brought you something, Lafe, and I wrapped it up in
+shortwood."
+
+The girl carefully slipped the strap from her shoulders and sat down
+beside it on the floor. Watching eagerly, Lafe peered between the
+bars, for surely his Peggy had sent him some token of her love. The
+girl paused and looked up.
+
+"Shut your eyes tight, Lafe," she commanded playfully.
+
+Lafe closed his eyes, wrinkling down his lids. Then Jinnie lifted the
+baby and uncovered the small face. The little chap opened his eyes and
+yawned as the girl held him close to the bars.
+
+"Now, Lafe, quick! Look! Ha! It's a Jew!"
+
+The cobbler's eyes flew open, and he was staring squarely into a
+small, rosy, open-eyed baby face. For a moment he thought he was
+dreaming--dreaming a dream he had dreamed every night since the
+thunder storm. He caught at his chin to stay the chattering of his
+teeth.
+
+"It ain't him, Jinnie, my Jew baby?" he murmured brokenly.
+
+"Yes, 'tis," and she laughed. "It's your own little feller. I brought
+him to get a kiss from his daddy. Kiss him! Kiss him smack on the
+mouth, Lafe."
+
+And Lafe kissed his baby--kissed him once, twice, and three times,
+gulping hard after each caress. He would never have enough of those
+sweet kisses, never, never! And as his lips descended reverently upon
+the smooth, rose-colored skin, Mr. Grandoken laughed, and Jinnie
+laughed, and the baby, too, wrinkled up his nose.
+
+"Lafe," Jinnie said tenderly, drawing the baby away, "I knew you
+wanted to see him; didn't you?"
+
+Lafe nodded. "An' I'll never be able to thank you for this, Jinnie....
+Let me kiss him once more.... Oh, ain't he beautiful?"
+
+Just before the girl wrapped the boy again in the shortwood, she
+suggested,
+
+"Lafe, what's against taking him into the 'Happy in Spite'? He's
+happier'n any kid in the whole world, having you for a daddy and Peg
+for his mother."
+
+Jinnie thrust the baby's plump hand through the bars, and Lafe, with
+tears in his eyes, shook it tenderly, then kissed it.
+
+"Lafe Grandoken, Jr," he whispered, "you're now a member of the 'Happy
+in Spite' Club."
+
+And then Jinnie took the baby back to Peggy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+JINNIE'S VISIT TO THEODORE
+
+
+So suddenly had the two strong, friendly forces been swept from
+Jinnie's daily life that as yet she had not the power to think with
+precision. Lafe she had had every day for almost three years, and
+Theodore King--oh, how she loved him! Rumors were afloat that no power
+could save Lafe--her dear, brave cobbler.
+
+Day by day the girl's faith increased, and of late she had uttered
+silent prayers that she might be allowed to see Theodore.
+
+One morning she was in the kitchen rocking little Lafe when Peggy
+called her.
+
+"There's some one to see you," said she.
+
+Jinnie gave the mother her baby and went to the shop door. A man in a
+white suit smiled down upon her.
+
+"I'm from the hospital," said he. "Mr. King would like to see you this
+morning."
+
+Jinnie's heart seemed to climb into her throat.
+
+"Mr. Theodore King?" she murmured.
+
+"Yes," said the young man. "I've got a car here. Will you come?"
+
+"Of course! Wait till I get my hat."
+
+Once at their destination, they tiptoed into Theodore's room
+noiselessly, and as Jinnie stood over the bed, looking down upon him,
+she suffered keenly, he looked so deathlike; but she resolutely
+controlled her feelings. When Theodore glanced at her, she forced
+herself to smile, and the sight of the lovely girl refreshed the sick
+man, giving him a new impetus to recover.
+
+He smiled back, endeavoring not to show his weakness.
+
+"You see I'm getting well," he whispered.
+
+Jinnie nodded. She wasn't sure whether he was or not. How her heart
+ached to do something for him!
+
+One of his long, thin hands lay over the coverlet, and Jinnie wanted
+to kiss it. Tears were standing thick on her lashes.
+
+The doctor stood beside her, consulting his watch.
+
+"If you wish to speak, Mr. King," he said kindly, "you must do so
+quickly, for the young lady can stay but two minutes more. That's
+all!"
+
+The doctor turned his back upon them, watch in hand.
+
+"Kiss me, dear!" murmured Theodore.
+
+Oblivious of the doctor's presence, Jinnie stooped and kissed him
+twice, taking the thin hand he extended.
+
+"I sent for you because I feared you'd go to work at the wood again."
+
+Jinnie would reassure him on this point even by an untruth, for she
+might be driven, for the sake of Peggy and the children, to go back
+into that hated occupation.
+
+"I promise I won't," she said.
+
+"Are you still taking lessons?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I couldn't when you were sick. I just couldn't."
+
+"But you must; you must go to-morrow. I have something here for you,"
+he said, reaching under the pillow with his free hand.
+
+Jinnie drew back abashed.
+
+"You're too sick to think of us," she murmured.
+
+Theodore raised her hand to his lips.
+
+"No! No, darling, I think of you always--every day and shall even
+when I'm dead. You must take this money. Do you love me, dearest, very
+much?"
+
+He smiled again as she stooped impetuously to kiss him, and with her
+face very close to his, she whispered,
+
+"Lafe didn't do it, darling!"
+
+"I know it," replied Theodore, closing his eyes.
+
+Then the doctor turned and sent her away.
+
+When she sank back in the automobile, Jinnie opened her hand with the
+roll of bills in it, and all the way home, she repeated, "He has given
+His angels charge over thee." She was hoping and praying for Theodore
+King.
+
+Two days later, coming down the hill, she met Miss Merriweather on
+horseback. The young woman stopped her and asked her to accompany her
+home. Jennie hesitated. She still had memories of the cat sent to its
+death in Molly's fit of anger and the woman's chilling reception of
+her at the King dinner. Nevertheless she turned and walked slowly
+beside the horse. When they reached the porch of Mr. King's home, a
+groom came and led the animal away. Jinnie laid down her fiddle,
+taking the chair indicated by Molly. It had been Jordan Morse's idea
+that she should endeavor to again talk with the girl, but the woman
+scarcely knew how to begin. Jinnie looked so very lovely, so
+confiding, so infinitely sweet. Molly leaned over and said:
+
+"Wasn't it queer how suddenly I remembered who you were? That night at
+the party your name refused to come to my mind. I've wanted to tell
+you several times how sorry I was about your accident!"
+
+"I recognized you the minute I saw you," said Jinnie, smiling,
+relieved a little by Molly's apology.
+
+"You've a good memory," answered Molly. "Now I want to tell you
+something, and I hope you'll be guided by my judgment."
+
+Jinnie looked straight at her without a sign of acquiescence.
+
+"What is it?" she asked presently.
+
+"You must leave Grandoken's!"
+
+Jinnie started to speak, but Molly's next words closed her lips.
+
+"Please don't get nervous! Listen to me! You're a very young and very
+pretty girl and there--there is some one interested in you."
+
+Jinnie pricked up her ears. Some one interested in her! Of course she
+knew who it was. Theodore! But she wouldn't leave Peggy even for him,
+and the thought that he would not ask this of her brought her
+exquisite joy.
+
+"Is it Mr. King who's interested in me?" she asked, timidly.
+
+Molly's eyes narrowed into small slits.
+
+"No, it isn't Mr. King who's interested in you!" she replied a trifle
+mockingly. "Mr. King's too sick to be interested in anybody."
+
+Jinnie couldn't refrain from saying, "He looked awful ill when I saw
+him at the hospital."
+
+Molly stared at her blankly. She grew dizzy and very angry. This girl
+always made her rage within herself.
+
+"You've seen him since--since----"
+
+A maddened expression leapt into Molly's eyes.
+
+"I drive there every day, but they won't let _me_ see him," she said,
+reddening.
+
+"Mr. King sent for me," Jinnie replied, resolutely.
+
+And as the girl admitted this, with deepening flushes, Molly looked
+away. When she had first spoken of Jinnie's future to Jordan Morse,
+she had pleaded with him to be kind to her, but now she could surround
+that white throat and strangle the breath from it without
+compunction.
+
+"Will you tell me what he said to you?" she queried, trying to hide
+her anger.
+
+Jinnie looked down, and locked her fingers together.
+
+"I can't tell," she said at length, moving in discomfort.
+
+She wanted to go--to get away from the woman who looked at her so
+analytically, so resentfully. She got up nervously and picked up her
+fiddle.
+
+"Don't go," urged Molly, starting forward.
+
+Then she laughed a little and went on, "I suppose I did feel a bit
+jealous at first because we--Mr. King and I--have been friends so many
+years. But now we won't think any more about it. I do want you to go
+from that terrible Paradise Road. It's no place for a girl in your
+position."
+
+"You've told me that before," retorted Jinnie, with clouded eyes. "My
+position isn't anything. I haven't any other home, and I'm a sort of a
+helper to Peggy."
+
+A helper to Peggy! Doubtless if Lafe had heard that he would have
+smiled. Truly she was a wonderful little helper, but she was more than
+that, much more--helper, friend, and protector all in one.
+
+"Another thing," added Jinnie quickly, "I love 'em all."
+
+"You've your own home in Mottville," the woman suggested. "You ought
+to be there."
+
+Jinnie sank back into the chair.
+
+"Oh, I couldn't ever go there!" she cut in swiftly. "But I can't tell
+you why."
+
+"Don't you want me to help you?"
+
+Jinnie shook her head doubtfully.
+
+"It wouldn't help any, taking me away from Peggy. I'd rather you'd do
+something for Lafe. Help him get out of prison. Will you?"
+
+"I'm not interested in him," said Molly. "But I am in you----"
+
+"Why?" blurted Jinnie.
+
+Molly colored.
+
+"One can't explain an interest like mine. But I'd go back to Mottville
+with you, and help you with your----"
+
+Jinnie shook her head violently.
+
+"I wouldn't go there for anything in the world," she interjected.
+
+"I can't understand why not!"
+
+"Well, first I couldn't, and I won't.... Then Peggy needs me in
+Paradise Road, and there's the baby and Bobbie."
+
+"Who's Bobbie?"
+
+"Our little kid," replied Jinnie, smiling sweetly.
+
+She did not think it necessary to explain that she had found Bobbie in
+the woods. He was as much one of them as Lafe's baby or herself.
+Neither did she speak of the boy's pitiful condition.
+
+In spite of Jinnie's absolute refusal, Molly went on:
+
+"But you don't understand. You've got your own life to think of!"
+
+Jinnie burst in with what she thought was a clinching triumph.
+
+"I take lessons on my fiddle every day. Some time I hope----"
+
+Molly's eyes gleamed again.
+
+"How can you afford to take lessons?"
+
+The questioner read the truth in the burning blush that swept the
+girl's dark hair line, and her little white teeth came together.
+
+"Mr. Grandoken is not your uncle," she snapped.
+
+"He's more'n my uncle; he's a father to me, and when he comes
+home----"
+
+"He's not coming home. Murderers don't get off so easily."
+
+Jinnie got up and again picked her fiddle from the floor.
+
+"He isn't a murderer!" she stammered, with filling eyes. "Lafe
+wouldn't kill anything.... I've been with him almost three years and I
+know. Why, he wouldn't let Peg or me swat flies."
+
+Miss Merriweather saw her mistake. She realized then as never before
+that nothing could take from the girl her belief in the cobbler.
+
+"Sit down," she urged. "Don't go yet."
+
+"I don't want to sit down," said Jinnie, very much offended. "I'm
+going! I'm sorry you think Lafe----"
+
+Molly rose too. Impetuously she held out her hand.
+
+"I really shouldn't have spoken that way, because I don't know a thing
+about it."
+
+Jinnie relented a little, but not enough to sit down. She was too
+deeply hurt to accept Molly's hospitality further.
+
+"And we musn't quarrel, child," decided the woman. "Now won't you
+reconsider my proposition? I should love to do something for you."
+
+Resolutely the dark curls shook in refusal.
+
+"I'm going to stay with Peggy till Lafe gets out, and then when I'm
+eighteen I'm going to school. I've been studying a lot since I left
+Mottville.... Why sometimes----" she resumed eagerly, "when we haven't
+had enough to eat, Lafe's made me buy a book to study out of, and I
+promised him I'd stay with his family till he came back. And----" she
+walked to the edge of the porch, turning suddenly, "and he's coming
+back, all right," she ended, going down the stairs.
+
+Molly watched the slim young figure swing out to the road. The girl
+didn't look around, and the woman waited until she had disappeared
+through the gate.
+
+"He'll not get out, and you, you little upstart," she gritted, "you'll
+not stay in Paradise Road, either."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+AN APPEAL TO JINNIE'S HEART
+
+
+One afternoon she was on her way home from her lesson when she heard a
+voice call, "Miss Grandoken!" She glanced up swiftly, recognizing the
+speaker immediately. He had been present that first night she had
+played for Theodore's guests, and she remembered vividly her intuitive
+dislike of him; but because he was a friend of Theodore's she went
+forward eagerly. The man drove his car to the side of the pavement and
+bowed.
+
+"Would you care to be of service to Mr. King?" he asked, smiling.
+
+Jinnie noticed his dazzling teeth and scarlet lips.
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed! I wish I might."
+
+"Then come with me," replied the man. "Will you?"
+
+Without fear she entered the open car door and sat down, placing her
+violin on the seat beside her. She sank back with a sigh. The time had
+come she had so longed for; she was going to do something for
+Theodore. She was glad now she had consented to take two lessons that
+day, or she would have missed this blessed opportunity to show her
+gratitude to her dear one, in acts, as well as words. The car turned
+and sped up the hill.
+
+If Jinnie wondered where the man was taking her, she did not allude to
+it. They were driving in the same direction she took every day to
+visit the master, and the very familiarity of it turned aside any
+question that arose in her mind. As he helped her from the machine,
+she looked up at the sombre building in front of them. In passing it
+daily she had often wondered what it was and if any one lived within
+its vast stone walls. One hasty glance, as she was being ushered in,
+showed paint pails, brushes, and long ropes fastened from the roof to
+broad planks below.
+
+"Miss Merriweather will be here very soon," the man explained
+good-naturedly. "She wants you to go with her to the hospital."
+
+Jinnie's mind flew to that one time she had visited Theodore's sick
+bed. She would be glad to see Molly the Merry.
+
+She had forgiven all the woman's cruelty.
+
+The long flights of stairs they mounted were dark and uncarpeted.
+Their footsteps made a hollow sound through the wide corridors, and
+there was no other sign of human life about the place. But still
+Jinnie followed the man in front of her, up and up, until she had
+counted five floors. Then he took a key from his pocket and put it in
+the lock, turning it with a click.
+
+Jinnie waited until, stepping inside, he turned and smilingly bade her
+enter. There was so little natural suspicion in the girl's heart that
+she never questioned the propriety, much less the safety, of coming
+into a strange place with an unknown man. Her dear one was ill. She
+was anxious to see him again, to help him if possible. She felt a
+little shy at the thought of seeing Miss Merriweather once more. The
+man led her to an inner room and suavely waved to a chair, asking her
+to be seated. Casting anxious eyes about the place, she obeyed.
+
+"I'm going after Miss Merriweather now, if you'll wait a few moments,"
+explained the stranger. "She wasn't ready and asked me to bring you
+first. I think she's preparing a surprise for Mr. King."
+
+Jinnie's tender little heart warmed toward Molly the Merry. Just then
+she had untold gratitude for the woman who was allowing her to take
+Theodore something with her own hands. Oh, what joy!
+
+She smiled back at the speaker as he moved toward the door. Then he
+left her, asking her politely to make herself at home until he
+returned.
+
+Jinnie waited and waited until she thought she couldn't possibly wait
+any longer. Peg would be worried, terribly worried, and little Bobbie
+wouldn't eat his supper without her. But because of Miss
+Merriweather's kindness and her own great desire to see her
+sweetheart, she must stay until the last moment. She grew tired, stiff
+with sitting, and the little clock on the mantel told her she'd been
+there over two hours. She got up and went to the window. The building
+stood high on a large wooded bluff overlooking a deep gorge. The
+landscape before her interested her exceedingly, and took her in fancy
+to the wilderness of Mottville. The busy birds fluttered to and fro,
+twittering sleepily to each other, and for a short time the watcher
+forgot her anxiety in the majesty of the scene.
+
+Miles of hills and miles and miles of water stretched northward as far
+as her eyes could discern anything. The same water passed and repassed
+the old farmhouse, and for some time Jinnie tried to locate some
+familiar spot, off where the sky dipped to the lake. It wasn't until
+she noticed the hands of the clock pointed to half past six that she
+became terribly nervous.
+
+She wanted to go to the hospital and get back to Peg. Mrs. Grandoken
+couldn't leave the baby with Blind Bobbie, and there was supper to
+buy. Once more she paced the rooms, then back to the window. She
+shivered for some unknown reason, and a sharp consciousness of evil
+suddenly grew out of the lengthening hours. With the gathering dusk
+the hills and gorge had fallen into voiceless silence, and because her
+nerves tingled with vague fear, Jinnie drew the curtains to shut out
+the yawning dark, and lighted a lamp on the table.
+
+The room was arranged simply with a small divan, at the head of which
+was a pillow. Jinnie sat down and leaned back. Her face held a look of
+serious attention. She wondered if anything had happened to Molly the
+Merry. Then abruptly she decided to go downstairs. If they weren't
+coming, she'd _have_ to go home. She went to the door and, turning the
+knob, pulled hard. The door was locked, and the key was gone! Her
+discovery seemed to unmake her life in a twinkling. She was like one
+stricken with death--pale, cold and shivering. She did not know what
+she was going to do, but she must act--she must do something! A round
+of inspection showed her she could not open one of the doors. The
+windows, too, had several nails driven into their tops and along the
+sides, and the doors were securely fastened with keys. She went back
+to the window, raised the curtains, and looked out into the gloom.
+There was not another light to be seen.
+
+The clock on the mantel had struck nine, and Jinnie had grown so
+horrified she dared not sit down. Many a time she went to the door and
+pressed her ear to it, but no sound came through the deep silence.
+
+It was after eleven when she dropped on the divan and drew the
+coverlet over her. The next she knew, daylight was streaming in upon
+her face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+JINNIE'S PLEA
+
+
+Jinnie sprang up, unable at first to remember where she was. Then it
+all came to her. She was locked away from the world in a big house
+overlooking the gorge. However, the morning brought a clear sun,
+dissipating some of her fear--filling her with greater hope.
+
+The dreadful dreams during the night had been but dreams of fear and
+pain--of eternal separation from her loved ones. Such dreams, such
+fears, were foolish! No one could take her away from Peggy. She
+wouldn't go! Ah, the man would return very soon with Molly the Merry.
+
+The clock struck eight. What would Blind Bobbie think--and Peggy? The
+woman might decide she had left her forever; but no, no, Peg couldn't
+think that!
+
+Childlike, she was hungry. If some one had intentionally imprisoned
+her, they must have left her something to eat. Investigation brought
+forth some cold meat, a bottle of milk, and some bread. Jinnie ate all
+she could swallow. Then for an hour and a half she paced up and down,
+wishing something would happen, some one would come. Anything would be
+better than such deadly uncertainty.
+
+Perhaps it was the overwhelming stillness of the building, possibly a
+natural alertness indicative of her fear, that allowed Jinnie to catch
+the echoes of footsteps at the farther end of the corridor. But before
+she got to the door, a key grated in the lock, and the man who had
+brought her there was standing beside her. Their eyes met in a
+clinging, challenging glance--the blue of the one clashing with the
+sinister grey, as steel strikes fire from steel. An insolent smile
+broke over his face and he asked nonchalantly:
+
+"Did you find the food?"
+
+Jinnie did not answer. She stood contemplating his face. How she hated
+his smile, his white teeth, and his easy, suave manner. Their glances
+battled again for a moment across the distance.
+
+"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded abruptly.
+
+He spread his feet outward and hummed, toying the while with a smooth
+white chin.
+
+"Sit down," said he, with assumed politeness.
+
+Jinnie stared at him with contemptuous dread in her eyes.
+
+"I don't want to; I want to know why I'm here."
+
+"Can't you guess?" asked the stranger with an easy shrug.
+
+"No," said Jinnie. "Why?"
+
+"And you can't guess who I am?"
+
+"No," repeated Jinnie once more, passionately, "and I want to know why
+I'm here."
+
+He came toward her, piercing her face with a pair of compelling,
+mesmeric eyes that made her stagger back to the wall. Then he advanced
+a step nearer, covering the space Jinnie had yielded.
+
+"I'm Jordan Morse," he then said, clipping his words off shortly.
+
+If a gun had burst in Jinnie's face, she could have been no more
+alarmed. She was frozen to silence, and every former fear her father
+had given life to almost three years before, beset her once more, only
+with many times the amount of vigor. Nevertheless, she gave back look
+for look, challenge for challenge, while her fingers locked and
+interlocked. Her uncle, who had sent her father to his grave, the man
+who wanted her money, who desired her own death!
+
+Then her eyes slowly took on a tragic expression. She knew then she
+was destined to encounter the tragedy of Morse's terrific vengeance,
+and no longer wondered why her father had succumbed to his force. He
+stood looking at her, his gaze taking in the young form avidiously.
+
+"You're the most beautiful girl in the world," he averred presently.
+
+Jinnie's blue eyes narrowed angrily. However, in spite of her rage,
+she was terribly frightened. An instinct of self-preservation told her
+to put on a bold, aggressive front.
+
+"Give me that key and let me go," she insisted, with an upward toss of
+her head.
+
+She walked to the door and shook it vigorously. Morse followed her and
+brought her brutally back to the center of the room.
+
+"Not so fast," he grated. "Don't ever do that again! I've been hunting
+you for almost three years.... Sit down, I said."
+
+"I won't!" cried Jinnie, recklessly. "I won't! You can't keep me here.
+My friends'll find me."
+
+The man hazarded a laugh.
+
+"What friends?" he queried.
+
+Jinnie thought quickly. What friends? She had no friends just then,
+and because she knew she was dependent upon him for her very life, she
+listened in despair as he threw a truth at her.
+
+"The only friends you have're out of business! Lafe Grandoken will be
+electrocuted for murder----"
+
+The hateful thing he had just said and the insistence in it maddened
+her. She covered her face with her hands and uttered a low cry.
+
+"And Theodore King is in the hospital," went on Morse, mercilessly.
+"It'll do no good for you to remember him."
+
+She was too normally alive not to express the loving heart outraged
+within her.
+
+"I shall love him as long as I live," she shivered between her
+fingers.
+
+"Hell of a lot of good it'll do you," grunted the man coarsely.
+
+Keen anxiety empowered her to raise an anguished face.
+
+"You want my money----" she hesitated. "Well, you can have it.... You
+want it, don't you?"
+
+Her girlish helplessness made Morse feel that he was without heart or
+dignity, but he thought of his little boy and of how this girl was
+keeping from him the means to institute a search for the child, and
+his desire for vengeance kindled to glowing fires of hate. He
+remembered that, steadily of late, he had grown to detest the whole
+child-world because of his own sorrow, and nodded acquiescence,
+supplementing the nod with a harsh:
+
+"And, by God, I'm going to have it, too!"
+
+"Then let me go back to Lafe's shop. I'll give you every cent I
+have.... I won't even ask for a dollar."
+
+It took some time for Morse to digest this idea; then he slowly shook
+his head.
+
+"You wouldn't be allowed to give me what would be mine----"
+
+"If I die," breathed Jinnie, shocked. She had read his thought and
+blurted it forth.
+
+"Yes, if you die. But I haven't any desire to kill you.... I have
+another way."
+
+"What way? Oh, tell me!"
+
+"Not now," drawled Morse. "Later perhaps."
+
+The man contemplated the tips of his boots a minute. Then he looked at
+her, the meditative expression still in his eyes.
+
+"To save your friends," he said at length, "you've got to do what I
+want you to."
+
+"You mean--to save Lafe?" gasped Jinnie, eagerly.
+
+Morse gave a negative gesture.
+
+"No, not him. The cobbler's got to go. _He knows too much about me._"
+
+Jinnie thought of Lafe, who loved and helped everybody within helping
+distance, of his wonderful faith and patience, of the day they had
+arrested him, and his last words.
+
+She could not plan for herself nor think of her danger, only of the
+cobbler, her friend,----the man who had taken her, a little forlorn
+fugitive, when she had possessed no home of her own--he who had taught
+her about the angels and the tenderness of Jesus. From her uncle's
+last statement she had received an impression that he knew who had
+fired those shots. He could have Lafe released if he would. She would
+beg for the cobbler's life, beg as she had never begged before.
+
+"Please, please, listen," she implored, throwing out her hands. "You
+must! You must! Lafe's always been so good. Won't you let him live?...
+I'll tell him about your wanting the money.... You shall have it! I'll
+make any promise for him you want me to, and he'll keep it.... He
+didn't kill Maudlin Bates, and I believe you know who did."
+
+Morse lowered his lids until his eyes looked like grey slits across
+his face.
+
+"Supposing I do," he taunted. "As I've said, Grandoken knows too much
+about me. He won't be the first one I've put out of my way."
+
+He said this emphatically; he would teach her he was not to be
+thwarted; that when he desired anything, Heaven and earth,
+figuratively speaking, would have to move. He frowned darkly at her as
+Jinnie cut in swiftly:
+
+"You killed my father. He told me you did."
+
+Morse flicked an ash from a cigar he had lighted, and his eyes grew
+hard, like rocks in a cold, gray dawn.
+
+"So you know all my little indiscretions, eh?" he gritted. "Then don't
+you see I can't give you--your liberty?"
+
+Liberty! What did he mean by taking her liberty away? She asked him
+with beating heart.
+
+"Just this, my dear child," he advanced mockingly. "There are places
+where people're taken care of and--the world thinks them dead. In
+fact, your father had a taste of what I can do. Only he happened
+to----"
+
+"Did you put him somewhere?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Same kind of a place I'm going to put you----" He hesitated a moment
+and ended, "A mad house!"
+
+"Did you let him come home to me?"
+
+"Not I. Damn the careless keepers! He skipped out one day, and I
+didn't know until he'd a good start of me. I followed as soon as
+possible, but you were gone. Now--now--then, to find _such_ a place
+for you!"
+
+Jinnie's imagination called up the loathsome thing he mentioned and
+terrified her to numbness. At that moment she understood what her
+father had written in that sealed letter to Lafe Grandoken.
+
+But she couldn't allow her mind to dwell upon his threat against
+herself.
+
+"What'd you mean when you said I could save my friends?"
+
+"You're fond of Mrs. Grandoken, aren't you?"
+
+Jinnie nodded, trying to swallow a lump in her throat.
+
+"And--and there's a--a--blind child too--who could be hurt easily."
+
+Jinnie's living world reeled before her eyes. During this speech she
+had lost every vestige of color. She sprang toward him and her fingers
+went blue-white from the force of her grip on his arm.
+
+"Oh, you couldn't, you wouldn't hurt poor little Bobbie?" she cried
+hysterically. "He can't see and he's sick, terribly ill all the time.
+I'll do anything you say--anything to help 'em."
+
+Then she fell to the floor, groveling at his feet.
+
+"Get up! You needn't cry; things'll be easy enough for you if you do
+exactly as I tell you. The first order I give you is to stay here
+quietly until I come again."
+
+As he spoke, he lifted her up, and she stood swaying pitiably.
+
+"Can't I let Peg know where I am?" she entreated when she could speak.
+"Please! Please!"
+
+"I should think not," scoffed Morse. Then, after a moment's
+consideration, he went on, "You might write her a note, if you say
+what I dictate. I'll have it mailed from another town. I don't want
+any one to know you're still in Bellaire."
+
+"Could I send her a little money, too?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," replied Morse.
+
+"Then tell me what to write, and I will."
+
+After he had gone and Jinnie was once more alone, she sat at the
+window, her eyes roving over the landscape. Her gaze wandered in
+melancholy sadness to the shadowy summit of the distant hills, in
+which the wild things of nature lived in freedom, as she herself had
+lived with Lafe Grandoken in Paradise Road, long before her uncle's
+menacing shadow had crossed her life. Then her eyes lowered to the
+rock-rimmed gorge, majestic in its eternal solitude. She was on the
+brink of some terrible disaster. She knew enough of her uncle's
+character to realize that. She spent the entire day without even
+looking at her beloved fiddle, and after the night closed in, she lay
+down, thoroughly exhausted.
+
+Peggy took a letter from the postman's hand mechanically, but when she
+saw the well-known writing, she trembled so she nearly dropped the
+missive from her fingers. She went into the shop, where Bobbie lay
+face downward on the floor. At her entrance, he lifted a white face.
+
+"Has Jinnie come yet?" he asked faintly.
+
+"No," said Peg, studying the postmark of the letter. Then she opened
+it. A five-dollar bill fell into her lap, and she thrust it into her
+bosom with a sigh.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"PEGGY DARLING," she read with misty eyes.
+
+"I've had to go away for a little while. Don't worry. Here's some
+money. Use it and I'll send more. Kiss Bobbie for me and tell him
+Jinnie'll come back soon. And the baby, oh, Peggy, hug him until he
+can't be hugged any more. Don't tell Lafe I'm away.
+
+                                            "With all my love,
+                                                             "JINNIE."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Peggy put down the letter.
+
+"Bobbie!" she said.
+
+The boy looked up. "I ain't got any stars, Peggy," he wailed
+tragically. "I want Jinnie and Lafe."
+
+"I've got a letter from Jinnie here," announced Peggy.
+
+The boy got to his feet instantly.
+
+"When she's comin' back?"
+
+"She don't say, but she sends a lot of kisses and love to you. She had
+to go away for a few days.... Now don't snivel!... Come here an' I'll
+give you the kisses she sent."
+
+He nestled contentedly in Peggy's arms.
+
+"Let me feel the letter," came a faltering whisper presently.
+
+Bobbie ran his fingers over the paper, trying with sensitive finger
+tips to follow the ink traces.
+
+"Can I keep it a little while?" he begged.... "Please, Peggy!"
+
+"Sure," said Peg, putting him down, and when the baby cried, Mrs.
+Grandoken left the blind child hugging Happy Pete, with Jinnie's
+letter flattened across his chest between him and the dog.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+BOBBIE TAKES A TRIP
+
+
+Jinnie had been gone two weeks. Nearly every day the postman brought a
+letter from the girl to Peggy, and after reading it several times to
+herself, she gave it to Blind Bobbie. Mrs. Grandoken had discovered
+this was the way to keep him quiet.
+
+One afternoon the boy sat on the front steps of the cobbler's shop,
+sunning himself.
+
+"You can hear Jinnie better when she comes," said Peg, as an excuse to
+coax him out of doors. "Now sit there till I get back from the
+market."
+
+Bobbie had Happy Pete in his arms when he heard strange footsteps
+walking down the short flight of steps. He lifted his head as he heard
+a voice speak his name.
+
+"Bobbie," it said softly. "Are you Bobbie?"
+
+"Yes," replied the boy tremblingly.
+
+The soft voice spoke again. "Do you want to see Jinnie?"
+
+Bobbie clutched Happy Pete with one arm and struggled up, holding out
+a set of slender fingers that shook like small reeds in a storm.
+
+"Yes, I want to see 'er," he breathed. "Do you know where she is?"
+
+"If you'll come along with me, I'll take you to her. Bring the dog if
+you like."
+
+"I want to see her to-day," stated Bobbie.
+
+Jordan Morse took Bobbie's hand in his.
+
+"Come on then, and don't make a noise," cautioned the man. "Put down
+the dog; he'll follow you."
+
+Once in Paradise Road, he stooped and lifted the slight boyish figure
+and walked quickly away. Beyond the turn in the road stood his car. He
+placed Bobbie and the dog on the seat beside him, and in another
+moment they were speeding toward the hill.
+
+At that moment Jinnie was brooding over her violin. Her fiddle was her
+only comfort in the lonely hours. The plaintive tones she drew from it
+were the only sounds she heard, save the rushing water in the gorge
+and the thrashing of the trees when the wind blew. The minutes hung
+long on her hands, and the hours seemed to mock her as they dragged
+along in interminable sequence. With her face toward the window, she
+passed several hours composing a piece which had been in embryo in her
+heart for a long time. The solitude, the grandeur of the scenery, the
+wonderful lake with its curves and turns, sometimes made her forget
+the tragic future that lay before her.
+
+She was just finishing with lingering, tender notes when Jordan Morse
+came quickly through the corridor.
+
+Bobbie stiffened in his arms suddenly.
+
+"I hear Jinnie's fiddle," he gasped. "I'm goin' to my Jinnie."
+
+When the key turned in the lock, the girl came to the door. At first
+she didn't notice the blind child, but her name, unsteadily called,
+brought her eyes to the little figure. Happy Pete recognized her with
+a wild yelp, wriggled himself past the other two, and whiningly
+crouched at her feet. Jinnie had them both in her arms before Morse
+turned the key again in the lock.
+
+"Bobbie and Happy Pete!" she cried. Then she got up and flashed
+tearful eyes upon Morse.
+
+"What did you bring them for? Did you tell Peg?"
+
+"No, I didn't tell Peg and--and I brought him----" he paused and
+beckoned her with an upward toss of his chin.
+
+Jinnie followed him agitatedly.
+
+"I brought him," went on Morse, "because I don't just like your
+manner. I brought him as a lever to move you with, miss."
+
+Then he left hurriedly, something unknown within him stirring with
+life. He decided afterward it was the sight of the blind child's
+golden head pressed against Jinnie's breast that had so upset him.
+
+As he drove away, he crushed a desire to return again, to take them
+both, boy and girl, back to the cobbler's shop. But he must not allow
+his better emotions to attack him in this matter. He had known for a
+long time Jinnie could be wielded through her affection for the lad.
+He thought of his own child somewhere in the world and what it meant
+to him to possess Jinnie's money, and set his teeth. He would bring
+the girl to his terms through her love for the slender blind boy.
+
+That day Jinnie wrote a letter to Peg, telling her that Bobbie was
+with her, and Happy Pete, too.
+
+The stolid woman had quite given way under the mysterious
+disappearance of the boy. When she returned home, she searched every
+lane leading to the marshes until dusk. In fact, she stumbled far into
+the great waste place, calling his name over and over. He was the last
+link that held her to the days when Lafe had been in the shop, and Peg
+would have given much if her conscience would cease lashing her so
+relentlessly. It eased her anxiety a little when a new resolution was
+born in her stubborn heart. If they all came back to the shop, she'd
+make up to them in some way for her ugly conduct. With this resolve,
+she went home to her own baby, sorrowful, dejected and lonely.
+
+All the evening while Peg was mourning for them, Jinnie sat cuddling
+Bobbie, until the night put its dark hood on the ravine and closed it
+in a heavy gloom. Happy Pete, with wagging tail, leaned against the
+knees of the girl, and there the three of them remained in silence
+until Bobbie, lifting his face, said quiveringly:
+
+"Peggy almost died when you went away, Jinnie."
+
+Jinnie felt her throat throb.
+
+"Tell me about it," she said hoarsely.
+
+"There ain't much to tell," replied the child, sighing, "only Peggy
+was lonely. She only had me and the baby, and I didn't have any stars
+and the baby's got no teeth."
+
+"And the baby? Is he well, dear?" questioned Jinnie.
+
+"Oh, fine!" the boy assured her. "He's growed such a lot. I felt his
+face this morning, and oh, my, Jinnie, his cheeks puff out like
+this!"
+
+Bobbie gathered in a long breath, and puffed out his own thin, drawn
+cheeks.
+
+"Just like that!" he gasped, letting out the air.
+
+"And Lafe?" ventured Jinnie.
+
+"Lafe's awful bad off, I guess. Bates' little boy told me he was going
+to die----"
+
+"No, Bobbie, no, he isn't!" Jinnie's voice was sharp in protestation.
+
+"Yes, he is!" insisted Bobbie. "Bates' boy told me so! He said Lafe
+wouldn't ever come back to the shop, 'cause everybody says he killed
+Maudlin."
+
+As the words left his lips, he began to sob. "I want my cobbler," he
+screamed loudly, "and I want my beautiful stars!"
+
+"Bobbie, Bobbie, you'll be sick if you scream that way. There, there,
+honey!" Jinnie hushed him gently.
+
+"I want to be 'Happy in Spite'," the boy went on. But his words
+brought before the pale girl that old, old memory of the cobbler who
+had invented the club for just such purposes as this. How could she be
+'Happy in Spite' when Bobbie suffered; when Peg and baby Lafe needed
+her; happy when Lafe faced an ignominious death for a crime he had not
+committed; happy when her beloved was perhaps still very ill in the
+hospital? She got up and began to walk to and fro. Suddenly she paused
+in her even march across the room. Unless she steadied her fluttering,
+stinging nerves, she'd never be able to still the wretched boy.
+There's an old saying that when one tries to help others, winged aid
+will come to the helper. And so it was with Jinnie. She had only again
+taken Bobbie close when there came to her Lafe's old, old words: "He
+hath given his angels charge over thee."
+
+"Bobbie," she said softly, "I'm going to play for you."
+
+As Jinnie straightened his limp little body out on the divan, she
+noticed how very thin he had become, how his heart throbbed
+continually, how the agonized lines drew and pursed the sensitive,
+delicate mouth.
+
+Then she played and played and played, and ever in her heart to the
+rhythm of her music were the words, "His angels shall have charge over
+thee." Suddenly there came to her a great belief that out of her faith
+and Lafe's faith would come Bobbie's good, and Peg's good, and
+especially the good of the man shut up in the little cell. When the
+boy grew sleepy, Jinnie made him ready for bed.
+
+"I'll lie down with you, Bobbie," she whispered, "and Happy Pete can
+sleep on the foot of the bed."
+
+And as the pair of sad little souls slept, Lafe's angels kept guard
+over them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+THEODORE SENDS FOR MOLLY
+
+
+Theodore King was rallying rapidly in the hospital. All danger of
+blood poison had passed, and though he was still very weak, his
+surgeon had ceased to worry, and the public at large sat back with a
+sigh, satisfied that the wealthiest and most promising young citizen
+in the county had escaped death at the hand of an assassin.
+
+One morning a telephone message summoned Molly Merriweather to the
+hospital. In extreme agitation she dressed quickly, telling Mrs. King
+she would return very soon. Never had she been so hilariously happy.
+Jinnie Grandoken had disappeared, as if she had been sunk in the sea.
+Molly now held the whip hand over her husband; she could force him to
+divorce her quietly. It was true of them both now their principal
+enemies were out of the way. Theo was getting well, and would come
+home in a few days.
+
+While she had thought him dying, nothing save Jordan's tales of the
+girl's experiences in the gorge house had been able to rouse her to
+more than momentary interest.
+
+With glowing cheeks she followed the hospital attendant through a long
+corridor to Theodore's room. She entered softly and for a moment stood
+gazing at him admiringly. How very handsome he was, even with the
+hospital pallor! When the sick man became cognizant of Molly's
+presence, he turned and smiled a greeting. He indicated a chair, and
+she sank into it.
+
+"You sent for me, Theodore?" she reminded him softly, bending
+forward.
+
+"Yes."
+
+He was silent so long, evidently making up his mind to something, that
+Molly got up and smoothed out his pillow. Theodore turned to her after
+she had reseated herself.
+
+"Molly," he began, "do you know where Jinnie Grandoken is?"
+
+Molly's eyelids narrowed. So he was still thinking of the girl!
+
+"No," she said deliberately.
+
+"It seems strange," went on King somberly. "I've tried every way I
+know how to discover her whereabouts, and can't. I sent to the
+Grandoken's for her, but she was gone."
+
+"You still care for her then?" queried Molly dully.
+
+"Yes. I know you dislike the poor child, but I thought if you knew
+that I--well, I really love her, you might help me, Molly."
+
+It was a bitter harvest to reap after all these weeks of waiting--his
+telling her he loved another woman--and as his voice rang with
+devotion for Jinnie Grandoken, Molly restrained herself with
+difficulty. She dared not lose her temper, as she had several times
+before under like conditions. With her hands folded gracefully in her
+lap, she replied:
+
+"If I could help you, Theo, I would; but if Mrs. Grandoken doesn't
+know where her own niece is, how should I know?"
+
+"You're so clever," sighed Theodore, "I imagined you might be able to
+discover something where a woman like Mrs. Grandoken would fail. She's
+got a young child, I hear."
+
+"What do you suggest?" inquired Molly presently.
+
+"I want to find out quickly where she's gone," the sick man said
+bluntly.
+
+"You want to see her?" demanded Molly.
+
+Theodore nodded.
+
+"Yes, I'd get well sooner if I could," and he sighed again. Then his
+ivory skin grew scarlet even to his temples, but the blood rushed
+away, leaving him deathly white. Molly went to him quickly and leaned
+over the bed. She wanted--oh, how she wanted to feel his arms about
+her! But he only touched her cold hand lightly.
+
+"Help me, Molly," he breathed.
+
+Molly choked back an explanation. She would glory in doing anything
+for him--anything within her power; but nothing, nothing for Jinnie
+Grandoken. Suddenly an idea took possession of her. She would make him
+doubt Jinnie's love for him, even if she lied to him.
+
+"Of course I knew you cared for her," she said slowly.
+
+"Yes, I made that clear, I think," said Theo, "and she cares for me. I
+told you I asked her to marry me."
+
+He laid stress on the latter half of his statement because of a
+certain emphasis in Molly's.
+
+"I don't like to hurt you--while you're ill," she ventured.
+
+Theodore thrust forth his hand eagerly.
+
+"Come closer," he pleaded. "You know something; you can tell me.
+Please do, Molly."
+
+"I don't know much, mind you, Theo----"
+
+"Take hold of my hand, Molly!... Please don't keep me in such
+suspense."
+
+She drew her chair closer to the bed, her heart throbbing first with
+desire, then with anger, and laid her white fingers in his.
+
+"Tell me," insisted Mr. King.
+
+"There was a boy----"
+
+"You mean the little blind boy?"
+
+"No, no," denied Molly, paling. The very mention of such an affliction
+hurt her sadly. "No," she said again, "I mean a friend of the boy who
+was shot; you remember him?"
+
+"Oh, I remember Maudlin Bates; certainly I do; but I don't think I
+heard of any other."
+
+Molly hadn't either; she had shot at random and the shot told.
+
+Theodore sat up in bed with whitening face.
+
+"Molly," he stammered, "Molly, has any one hurt her? Has----"
+
+Molly shook her head disgustedly.
+
+"Don't be foolish, Theo," she chided. "No one would want to hurt a
+grown girl like her."
+
+"Then what about the man?"
+
+"I think she went away with him."
+
+"Where to?"
+
+"I'm not sure----"
+
+Theodore sank back. Molly's fingers slipped from his, and for a moment
+he covered his face with his hands, soundless sobs shaking his weak
+body. The woman knew by his appearance that he believed her
+absolutely.
+
+"It'll kill me!" he got out at last.
+
+Molly slipped an arm under his head. She had never seen him in such a
+state.
+
+"Theo, don't! Don't!" she implored. "Please don't shake so, and I'll
+tell you all I know."
+
+"Very well!... I'm listening."
+
+The words were scarcely audible, but Molly knew and hugged the thought
+that his belief in Jinnie Grandoken had been shaken.
+
+"Did you hear that Jinnie was in Binghamton?"
+
+"Yes," murmured Theodore.
+
+The woman released her hold on Theodore, and said:
+
+"The man was over there with her."
+
+Theodore turned his face quickly away and groaned.
+
+"That's enough," he said. "Don't tell me any more."
+
+They were quiet for a long time--very quiet.
+
+Then Molly, with still enlarging plans, burst out:
+
+"What if I should bring her back to you, Theo?"
+
+He flashed dark-circled eyes toward her.
+
+"Could you?" he asked drearily.
+
+"I think so, perhaps. Suppose you write her a little note, and
+then----"
+
+"Ring the bell for writing material quickly."
+
+He had all his old-time eagerness. He was partly sitting up, and Molly
+placed another pillow under his head.
+
+Theodore wrote steadily for some moments. Then he addressed an
+envelope to "Jinnie Grandoken," placed the letter in it, and fastened
+down the flap.
+
+"You won't mind?" he asked wearily, handing it to Molly and sinking
+back.
+
+Molly took the letter, and with a few more words, went out. Once at
+home in her bedroom, she sat down, breathing deeply. With a hearty
+good will she could have torn the letter into shreds, but instead she
+ripped open the envelope and read it.
+
+After she had finished, she let the paper flutter from her hand and
+sat thinking for a long time. Then, sighing, she got up and tucked the
+letter inside her dress.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+MOLLY GIVES AN ORDER TO JINNIE
+
+
+A motor car dashed to the side of the street, and Jordan Morse helped
+Molly to the pavement. She stood for a moment looking at the gorge
+building contemplatively.
+
+"And she's been here all the while?" she remarked.
+
+"Yes, and a devil of a time I've had to keep her, too. If there'd been
+any one in the whole place, I believe she'd have made them hear;
+though since the boy came she's behaved better." Morse's face became
+positively brutal under recollections. "I've made her mind through
+him," he terminated.
+
+Jinnie had put Bobbie into bed and kissed him, and soon the child was
+breathing evenly. She knew Jordan Morse would come that night, so she
+closed the door between the two rooms and walked nervously up and
+down. Bobbie was always ill for hours after Morse had made his daily
+calls. She hoped the man would allow the child to remain in bed. When
+the key grated in the lock, she was standing in the middle of the
+room, her eyes fastened on the door. Every time he came, she had hopes
+that he might relent, if but a little.
+
+Morse entered, followed by Molly the Merry. Jinnie took a step forward
+when she saw the woman. Molly paused and inspected sharply the slim
+young figure, her mind comprehending all its loveliness. Then woman to
+woman they measured each other, as only women can. Jinnie advanced
+impulsively.
+
+"You've come to take me home!" she breathed.
+
+Molly shook her head.
+
+"I've come to talk to you," she retorted hoarsely.
+
+Never had she seen so beautiful a girl! The martyrdom Jinnie had
+endured had only enhanced her attractiveness.
+
+"Sit down," said Molly peevishly.
+
+Jinnie made a negative gesture.
+
+"I'm tired of sitting.... Oh, you will do something for me, something
+for poor little Bobbie?"
+
+Morse moved to the door between the two rooms, but Jinnie rushed in
+front of him.
+
+"He's asleep," she said beseechingly. "Don't wake him up! He's had a
+dreadful spell with his heart to-day."
+
+Morse turned inquiring eyes upon Molly.
+
+"You wanted to see him, didn't you?" he asked.
+
+Molly flung out a hand pettishly.
+
+"Let him sleep," she replied. "I don't want to be bored with fits and
+tears."
+
+Jinnie sank into a chair.
+
+"He ought to have a doctor," she sighed, as if she were speaking to
+herself. Then turning to Molly, she bent an entreating look upon her.
+
+"Please do something for him. Get a doctor, oh, do! He's so little and
+so sick."
+
+"I'm not a bit interested in him," replied Molly with a shrug.
+
+Jinnie's nerves had borne all they could. She trembled unceasingly.
+The girlish spirit had been broken by Morse's continual persecution.
+
+"He's so little," she petitioned again, "and he can't live long."
+
+As Molly had said, she was not interested in the sleeping child. The
+only time she cared to hear him mentioned was when Jordan told her of
+Jinnie's anguish over his treatment of the child. She had delighted
+in his vividly described scene of how he had forced the girl to do his
+will through her love for the little fellow. Now she, too, would wreak
+her vengeance on Jinnie through the same source.
+
+"I've come to tell you something about Theodore King," she remarked
+slowly, watching the girl avidly the while.
+
+Jinnie sat up quickly. If her dear one had sent her a message, then he
+must know where she was.
+
+"Then tell it," was all she said.
+
+Molly put her hand into a leather hand bag and drew forth a letter.
+
+"It isn't for you," she stated, with glinting eyes. "I've known for a
+long time you thought he cared for you----"
+
+"He does," interjected Jinnie emphatically.
+
+"I think not. Here's a letter he wrote to me. It will dispel any idea
+you may have about his affection for you."
+
+"I don't wish to read your letter," said Jinnie proudly.
+
+"Read it!" ordered Morse frowning, and because she feared him, Jinnie
+took the letter nervously. The woman's words had shattered her last
+hope. For a moment the well-known handwriting whirled; then the words
+came clearly before her vision:
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"MY DARLING," she read.
+
+"Won't you come to me when you get this? My heart aches to have you
+once more in my arms. I shall expect you very soon. With all my love,
+
+                                                           "THEODORE."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was not strange that she crushed the paper between her fingers.
+
+"You needn't destroy my letter," Molly said mockingly, thrusting forth
+her hand. "Give it to me."
+
+She took it from Jinnie's shaking hand and, smoothing it out, replaced
+it in her pocket book.
+
+"I wouldn't have come but for your own good," she said, looking up.
+"Mr. Morse told me you had an idea that Mr. King loved you, and I want
+you to write him a letter----"
+
+"Write who a letter?" asked Jinnie dully.
+
+"Theodore."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I tell you to," snapped Molly.
+
+Then taking another letter from her bag, she held it out.
+
+"You're to copy this and give it to Mr. Morse to-morrow."
+
+Jinnie took the letter and read it slowly. She struggled to her feet.
+
+"I'll not write it," she said hoarsely.
+
+"I think you will," said Morse, rising.
+
+Jinnie stared at him until he reached the closed door behind which
+Bobbie slept.
+
+"Don't! Don't!" she shuddered. "I'll write, I'll do anything if you
+won't hurt Bobbie." Raising her eyes to Morse, she said in subdued
+tones, "I'll try to give it to you to-morrow."
+
+Never had her heart ached as it did then. The perils she was passing
+through and had passed through were naught to the present misery. She
+realized then her hope had been in Theodore's rescuing her.
+
+A certain new dignity, however, grew upon her at that moment. She
+stood up, looking very tall, very slight, to the man and woman
+watching her.
+
+"I wish you'd both go," she said wearily. "I'd rather be alone with
+Bobbie."
+
+Molly smiled and went out with Jordan Morse.
+
+"She gave in all right," remarked Molly, when they were riding down
+the hill. "I knew she would."
+
+Morse shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Of course. She worships Grandoken's youngster.... I was wondering
+there once how you felt when you knew she was reading her own
+letter."
+
+Molly's face grew dark with passionate rebellion.
+
+"He'll write me one of my own before the year is out," said she.
+
+"I'm not so sure!" responded Morse thoughtfully.
+
+For a long time after the closing of the door, Jinnie sat huddled in
+the chair. Nothing else in all the world could have hurt her as she
+had been hurt that night, and it wasn't until very late that she crept
+in beside the blind boy, and after four or five hours, dropped
+asleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV
+
+WRITING A LETTER TO THEODORE
+
+
+The first thing Jinnie saw the next morning was the rough draft of the
+letter Molly had ordered her to copy. To send it to Theodore was
+asking more of her than she could bear. She turned and looked at
+Bobbie. He was still sleeping his troubled, short-breathed sleep. She
+had shielded him with her life, with her liberty. Now he demanded, in
+that helpless, babyish, blind way of his, that she repudiate her
+love.
+
+In the loneliness of the gorge house she had become used to the idea
+of never again seeing Theodore, but to allow him to think the false
+thing in that letter was dreadful. She picked it up and glanced it
+over once more, then dropped it as if the paper had scorched her
+fingers. She'd die rather than send it, and she would tell her uncle
+so when he came that morning.
+
+She was very quiet, more than usually so, when she gave the blind boy
+his breakfast.
+
+"Bobbie," she said, "you know I'd do anything for you in this whole
+world, don't you? I mean--I mean anything I could?"
+
+Mystified, the boy bobbed his curly head.
+
+"Sure I do, Jinnie, and I'd do anything for you too, honey."
+
+She kissed him passionately, as her eyes sought the letter once more.
+It lay on the floor, the words gleaming up at her in sinister
+mockery. She tore her eyes from it, shaking in dread. Would she have
+the courage to stand against Jordan Morse in this one thing? She had
+given in to him at every point, but this time she intended to stand
+firmly upon the rock of her love. Once more she picked up the letter
+and put it away.
+
+Two hours later, with loathing and disgust depicted in her white face,
+she saw Mr. Morse enter, and her blazing blue eyes stabbed the man's
+anger to the point of desiring to do her harm. For a moment he
+contemplated her in silence. He was going to have trouble with her
+that day. What a fool Molly was! It was she who insisted upon that
+bally letter. What did he care about Theodore King? Still his wife had
+him completely within her power, and he was really afraid of her now
+and then when she flew into rages about his niece and Theodore. He
+mopped his brow nervously.
+
+A few days more and it would be ended. Inside of one week he would be
+free from every element which threatened him, free to commence the
+search for his child. He strode across the room to Jinnie.
+
+"Come on with me," he ordered under his breath.
+
+Jinnie obediently followed him into the inner room. Morse slammed the
+door with his foot.
+
+"Where's the letter?" he growled between his teeth.
+
+Jinnie went to the table, got the original draft and handed it over.
+
+"Here it is," she said slowly.
+
+He glanced over the paper.
+
+"Why, this is the one we left here yesterday, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes!"
+
+"Where is the one you wrote? I don't want this."
+
+A glint of understanding flashed upon him.
+
+"Where is the other?" he demanded once more.
+
+"I haven't written it and I don't intend to."
+
+For one single instant Morse's mind swept over the sacrifices she had
+made. She had done every single thing he had told her, not for her
+sake but for others. He shuddered when he thought of the trouble he
+would have had with her had not the blind boy been within his power
+also.
+
+"Get the paper and write it now," he said ominously.
+
+"I will not!"
+
+She meant the words, a righteous indignation flaming her face, making
+her eyes shine no longer blue, but opal color. Morse wondered dully if
+she could and would stand out against what he would be forced to do.
+
+"I see," he began shiftily. "I have to teach you a lesson every time I
+come here, eh?"
+
+"This time you won't," she flashed at him.
+
+"This time I will," he taunted.
+
+"I'd rather be dead," she faltered. "I'd rather be dead than write
+it."
+
+"Perhaps! But would you rather have----" he made a backward jerk of
+his thumb toward the other room--"him dead?"
+
+Jinnie's eyes misted in agony, but Theodore was still near her in
+spirit, and she remembered the dear hours they had spent together and
+how much she loved him. A sudden swift passion shook her as his kisses
+lived warm again upon her face. That letter she would not write. But
+as she made this decision for the hundredth time that day, Morse's
+words recurred to her. Would she rather have Bobbie dead? Yes, if she
+were dead too. But life was so hard to part with! She was so strong.
+How many times she had prayed of late to die! But every morning found
+her woefully and more miserably alive than the one before.
+
+"I understand you'd rather, then," drawled Morse.
+
+Jinnie shook her head.
+
+"I don't know what I'd rather have, only I can't write the letter."
+She made one rapid step toward him--"I know," she went on feverishly,
+"I won't ever see Theodore again----"
+
+Morse's emphatic nod broke off her words, but she went on
+courageously. "I don't expect to, but I love him. Can't you see
+that?"
+
+"Quite evident," replied the man.
+
+"Why hurt me more than necessary then?" she demanded.
+
+"This is part of Miss Merri----"
+
+"She loves him too?" cried Jinnie, staggering back.
+
+"Yes, and he--well, you saw his letter yesterday."
+
+"Yes, I saw it," breathed Jinnie with swift coming breath.
+
+"Miss Merriweather thinks Theodore might still feel his obligations to
+you unless you----"
+
+"Does she know he asked me to marry him?" In spite of her agony, she
+thrilled in memory.
+
+"Yes, and he told me, too. But Miss Merriweather intends to marry him
+herself, and all she wants is to wipe thoughts of you from his mind."
+
+A powerful argument swept from her lips.
+
+"It wouldn't make any difference to him about me if he loved her."
+
+"You're an analytical young miss," said Morse with one of his
+disagreeable smiles.
+
+"You've taught me to be," she retorted, blazing. "Now listen! You
+asked me if I'd rather have Bobbie die than write the letter, didn't
+you?"
+
+He nodded.
+
+"Then I say 'yes'." She caught her breath. "We'll both die."
+
+"Well, by God, you're a cool one! Theodore's more lucky than I
+thought. So that's the way you love him?"
+
+She grew more inexplicable with each passing day.
+
+"Poor Theodore!" murmured Morse, to break the tense silence.
+
+"I thought it all out this morning," explained Jinnie. "Bobbie's
+awfully ill, terribly. He can't live long anyway, and I----" A
+terrific sob shook her as a raging gale rends a slender flower.
+
+Jinnie controlled her weeping that the blind child in the other room
+might not hear. Never had Jordan been so sorely tempted to do a good
+deed. Good deeds were not habitual to him, but at that moment a desire
+possessed him to take her in his arms, to soothe her, to restore her
+to Peggy and give her back to Theodore. But the murder scene in the
+cobbler's shop came back with strong renewed vigor. He had gone too
+far, and he must have money. Molly held him in her power, and as he
+thought of her tightly set lips, the danger signal she had tossed at
+him more times than once, he crushed dead his better feeling.
+
+"Your plan won't work," he said slowly. "Write the letter--I am in a
+hurry."
+
+"I will not," she refused him once more.
+
+Morse walked to the door, and she allowed him to open it. Then with
+clenched hands she tottered after him. He was going to kill Bobbie and
+herself. Somehow within her tortured being she was glad. Morse waited
+and looked back, asking her a question silently.
+
+She made no response, however, but cast her eyes upon the blind boy
+sitting dejectedly upon the floor, one arm around Happy Pete.
+
+"Jinnie," said Bobbie, rolling his eyes, "I was afraid you were goin'
+to stay in there all day."
+
+"Come here, boy," ordered Morse. "Get up and come here."
+
+Bobbie turned his delicate, serious face in the direction of the
+voice.
+
+"I don't want to," he gulped, shaking his head. "I don't like you,
+Mister Black Man. I can't get up anyway, my heart hurts too much!"
+
+Still the girl stood with the vision of Theodore King before her.
+
+"I won't write it, I won't," she droned to herself insistently.
+
+Morse sprang forward and grasped the child.
+
+"Get up," he hissed.
+
+Bobbie scrambled up because he was made to. He uttered a frightened,
+terrified cry.
+
+Then, "Jinnie!" he gasped.
+
+Jinnie saw Morse shake the slender little body and drop into a chair,
+dragging the child forward. Bobbie could no longer speak. The dazed
+girl knew the little heart was beating in its very worst terror. She
+couldn't bear the sight and closed her eyes for an instant. When she
+opened them, Morse's hand was raised above the boy's golden head, but
+she caught it in hers before it descended.
+
+"I'll do it," she managed to whisper. "Look! Look! You've killed
+him."
+
+In another moment she had Bobbie in her arms, his face pressed against
+her breast.
+
+"Get out of here!" she said, deathly white, to Morse. "I'll do it,
+come back to-morrow."
+
+And Morse was glad to escape.
+
+After Jinnie brought Bobbie to his senses and he lay like a crumpled
+leaf on the divan, she took up the hated letter. She sat down to read
+it once more.
+
+It was short, concise, and to the point.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"MR. KING:
+
+"I made a mistake in ever thinking I cared for you. I have some one
+else now I love better, and expect to be very happy with him.
+
+                                                   "JINNIE GRANDOKEN."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning when Morse came jauntily in, she handed him the copy
+of it without a word. He only said to her:
+
+"You'd have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you'd done this in the
+first place. You won't bother me long now. Mr. King is home and almost
+well." Then he smiled, showing his white, even teeth. "He'll be glad
+to receive this letter."
+
+"Get out," Jinnie gritted. "Get out before I--I kill you!"
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two days later Molly Merriweather was in the seventh heaven of bliss.
+As Morse had said, Theodore was home, looking more like himself. With
+her heart in her mouth, the woman entered his sitting room with
+Jinnie's letter. Jordan had had it mailed to King from Binghamton.
+
+"I've brought you a letter, Theodore," smiled Molly nervously.
+
+He extended his hand, and upon recognizing the handwriting, turned
+deadly white.
+
+"I'd like to be alone," said he without looking up.
+
+When he sent for her a little while later, and she sat opposite him,
+he said:
+
+"I'd rather not speak of--of--Miss Grandoken again. Will you give me a
+drink, Molly?" And the woman noted the hurt look in his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI
+
+"BUST 'EM OUT"
+
+
+"Jinnie, ain't we ever goin' back to Peggy?" Bobbie asked one day, his
+eyes rolling upward. His small face was seamed with questioning
+anxiety.
+
+The girl drew him to her lap.
+
+How many times Jinnie had asked that question of herself! How she
+longed for Paradise Road, with its row of shacks, Peggy and the baby!
+Bobby knew how she felt by the way she squeezed his hand.
+
+"Ain't we?" he asked again.
+
+"Some time," answered Jinnie limply.
+
+"Did the black man say we could go, Jinnie?" the boy demanded.
+
+Jinnie patted his head comfortingly.
+
+"I hope he'll take us home soon," she remarked, trying to put full
+assurance into her tones.
+
+Bobbie zigzagged back to the divan, drew himself upon it, and Jinnie
+knew by his abstracted manner that he was turning the matter over in
+his busy little brain.
+
+Two hours later, when Jordan Morse came in, the child was still
+sitting in the same position, and the man beckoned the girl into the
+other room.
+
+"Grandoken's trial is to start this afternoon within an hour," he
+informed her. "You'll be here to-day and to-morrow. You see the court
+won't be long in proving the cobbler's guilt."
+
+If he had expected her to cry, he was mistaken. She was past crying,
+seemingly having shed all of her tears.
+
+"He didn't do it," she averred stubbornly. "I know he didn't."
+
+In justice to Lafe, she always reiterated this.
+
+Morse gave a sinister laugh.
+
+"What you know or don't know won't matter," he responded, and looking
+at the angry, beautiful face, he ejaculated, "Thank God for that!"
+
+Jinnie turned her back, but he requested her sharply to look at him.
+
+"Have you told the boy where I'm going to take you?" he demanded, when
+she was eyeing him disdainfully.
+
+"No."
+
+"I never knew a woman before who could hold her tongue," he commented
+in sarcasm.
+
+Jinnie didn't heed the compliment.
+
+"When he asks you questions, what do you tell him?"
+
+"That you will come for us soon."
+
+"I will, all right."
+
+Jinnie went nearer him.
+
+"Where are you going to take him?"
+
+Morse shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You'll know in time," said he.
+
+How ominous his words were, and how his eyes narrowed as he looked at
+her! She was thoroughly afraid of that tone in his voice. Her own fate
+she was sure of, but Bobbie--desperation filled her soul. She would
+beg Morse to let him go back to Peggy.
+
+Lifting clasped hands, she walked very close to him.
+
+"You're going to have all my money," she said with emphasis. "I've
+done everything I can, and I'll make Bobbie promise not to say a word
+to any one if you'll take him to Mrs. Grandoken."
+
+Morse shook his head.
+
+"Too dangerous," he replied, and he went out without a glance at the
+blind boy on the divan.
+
+Once more alone with Bobbie, Jinnie sat down to think. How could she
+rescue him from this awful position? How get him back to Peggy?
+Somehow she felt that if she could be sure the little boy was safe,
+she could go away to the place Morse had described with at least a
+little relief. That day Lafe's accusers were to try him before a
+jury----. She had almost lost hope for the cobbler--he was lame, had
+no friends, and was a Jew, one of the hated race. She knew how the
+people of Bellaire despised the Jews. For Peggy she didn't worry so
+much. Jordan Morse had given his solemn promise that, if Lafe died in
+the electric chair--and she died to the world--he would be of
+financial assistance to Peggy.
+
+She sat studying Bobbie attentively. The child's face was pathetically
+white and she could see the quick palpitation of his heart under his
+jacket.
+
+"I heard what the black man said, Jinnie," Bobbie blurted presently,
+sinking in a little heap. "I mean when he had you in the other room a
+little while ago. You was beggin' him to help me; wasn't you,
+Jinnie?"
+
+Jinnie went to him quickly and gathered him into her arms.
+
+"Bobbie," she implored, "you must never let him know, never, never,
+that you heard him talking. He might hurt you worse than he has."
+
+Bobbie flashed his eyes questioningly in evident terror.
+
+"What'd he hurt me more for? I ain't done nothin' to him."
+
+"I guess because he's bad, dear," said Jinnie sadly.
+
+"Then if he's bad, why do you stay here?" He clung to her tremulously.
+"Take me away, Jinnie!"
+
+"I can't!" lamented Jinnie. "I've told you, Bobbie, the door's
+locked."
+
+She could lovingly deceive him no longer.
+
+How the little body trembled! How the fluttering hands sought her aid
+in vain!
+
+"My stars're all gone, Jinnie," sobbed Bobbie. "My beautiful stars! I
+can't see any of 'em if I try. I'm awful 'fraid, honey dear. It's so
+dark."
+
+Jinnie tightened her arms about him, racking her brain for soothing
+words.
+
+"But Lafe's God is above the dark, Bobbie," she whispered reverently.
+"We've got to believe it, dearie! God is back up there ... just up
+there."
+
+She took his slender forefinger and pointed upward.
+
+"How does God look, Jinnie? Just how does he look?"
+
+"I've never seen him," admitted the girl, "but I think, Bobbie, I
+think he looks like Lafe. I know he smiles like him anyway."
+
+"I'm glad," sighed the boy. "Then He'll help us, won't He? Lafe would
+if he could. If you say He will, He will, Jinnie!"
+
+Five tense minutes passed in silence. Then: "Sure we couldn't get out
+of the window, dearie?" asked Bobbie.
+
+"They're locked, too," answered the girl, low-toned.
+
+"I'd bust 'em out," volunteered the boy, with sudden enthusiasm.
+
+"But there's a deep gorge in front of every one, honey," replied
+Jinnie sadly.
+
+Yet Bobbie's words--"bust 'em out"--took hold of her grippingly, and
+the thought of leaving that unbearable place was like a tonic to the
+frantic girl. She crossed the room rapidly and examined the window
+panes. But even if she could break them, as Bobbie suggested, the
+water below would receive their bodies, and death would follow. If it
+were a street, she might manage. Yet the sight of the flowing water,
+the dark depths between the ragged rocks, did not send Bobbie's words,
+"bust 'em out," from her mind. If they fell together, the boy would
+never be tortured any more. To-morrow Jordan Morse would be in the
+courtroom all day. To-morrow----God, dear God! She seemed to hear
+Lafe's monotone, "There's always to-morrow, Jinnie."
+
+She was called upon to think, to act alone in a tragic way. Of course
+she would be killed if she jumped into the deep gorge with the child
+and Happy Pete. She tried to think, to plan, but after the manner of
+all believing sufferers, could only pray.
+
+Bobbie need fear no evil! "Angels have been given charge over him, and
+Bobbie shall not want," Jinnie whispered, her mind spinning around
+like a child's top. A sudden faith boomed at the portals of her soul.
+What was the use of asking help for Bobbie if she didn't have faith in
+an answer?
+
+To-day would bring forth a plan for to-morrow. To-morrow Bobbie would
+be saved from Jordan Morse. To-morrow would end his terror in the
+gorge house. To-morrow--she would be eighteen years old!
+
+"Bobbie," she entreated, going to the child swiftly, "Bobbie, do you
+remember any prayers Lafe taught you?"
+
+The child bobbed his head.
+
+"Sure," he concurred. "'Now I lay me' and 'Our Father which art in
+Heaven.'... I know them, Jinnie."
+
+"Then sit upon the divan again and say them over and over, and pray
+for Lafe, and that you'll get out of here and be happy. You mustn't
+tell Mr. Morse if he comes, but I'm going to try to get you out of the
+window."
+
+As she stood in the gathering gloom and peered into the water below,
+Jinnie could hear the child lisping his small petitions.
+
+At that moment a new faith came for herself. Lafe's angels would save
+her, too, from Jordan Morse's revenge.
+
+At ten-thirty the next morning Morse came. With trepidation Jinnie
+heard him open the door. He was extremely nervous and stayed only a
+few moments.
+
+"I've got to be in court at eleven," he explained, "and I'll come for
+you both about ten this evening. Be ready, you and the boy, and
+remember what I told you!"
+
+When they were alone once more, she sat down beside the blind child
+and placed her arm around him.
+
+"Bobbie, will you do exactly what I tell you?"
+
+"Sure," responded Bobbie, cheerfully. "Are we goin' home?"
+
+Without answering him, Jinnie said:
+
+"Then take Happy Pete and don't move until I get back. Just pray and
+pray and pray! That's all."
+
+Happy Pete snuggled his head under Bobbie's arm and they both sat very
+still. The boy scarcely dared to breathe, he was so anxious to please
+his Jinnie.
+
+The farthest window in the inner room door seemed to be the best one
+to attack. If Morse surprised her, it would be easier to cover up her
+work. With a frantic prayer on her lips, she took off her shoe and
+gave the pane of glass one large, resounding blow. It cracked in two,
+splinters not only flying into the room, but tumbling into the gorge
+below. Then she hastily hammered away every particle of glass from the
+frame, and, shoving her shoulders through, looked out and down. The
+very air seemed filled with angels. They could and would save her and
+Bobbie even in the water--even if they were within the suction of the
+falls there, some distance below and beyond. Then her eyes swept over
+the side of the building, and she discovered a stone ledge wide enough
+for a human being to crawl along. Would she dare try it with her loved
+ones? She distinctly remembered seeing a painter's paraphernalia in
+the front, and they might be there still! The more she thought, the
+greater grew her hope, and with this growing hope came a larger faith.
+At least she'd find what was at the end of the building away off there
+to the east.
+
+To-day, yes, now!... She couldn't wait, for her uncle was coming
+to-night. It must be now, this minute. She went back to Bobbie.
+
+"I'm going to try it, darling," she told him, kissing his cheek. "Sit
+right here until I get back. Hang to Petey. He might follow me."
+
+Then cautiously she dragged her body through the hole in the window,
+and began to crawl along the stone ledge. The roar of the water on the
+rocks below made her dizzy. But over and over did she cry into God's
+ever listening ear:
+
+"He has given--he has given his angels--angels charge over thee."
+
+Jinnie reached the corner of the building, and looked out over the
+city. The ledge extended around the other side of the building, and
+she turned the corner and went slowly onward. At the south end she
+stopped still, glancing about.
+
+Only one thing of any value was in the range of her vision. The two
+long ropes she had seen long before were still hanging from the roof
+and fastened securely to a large plank almost on the ground. It
+brought to Jinnie's mind what Lafe had told her,--of Jimmie Malligan
+who had been killed, and of how he himself had lost his legs.
+
+Could she, by means of the rope, save the three precious things back
+in that awful room--Bobbie, Happy Pete, and her fiddle?
+
+To be once more under God's sun with the blue above gave her new
+strength. Then she turned and crawled slowly back.
+
+At the corner she grew faint-hearted. It must have been the gorge
+below that made her breath come in catching sobs. But on and on she
+went until through the window she could see Bobbie with Happy Pete
+asleep in his arms. The child was still muttering over his little
+prayers, his blind eyes rolling in bewildered anxiety.
+
+Jinnie was very white when she sat down beside him. Putting her face
+close to his, she brushed his cheek lovingly.
+
+"Bobbie," she said, touching his hair with her lips, "how much do you
+love Jinnie?"
+
+"More'n all the world," replied Bobbie without hesitation.
+
+"Then if you love me _that_ much, you'll do just what I tell you."
+
+"Yes," Bobbie assured her under his breath.
+
+Jinnie took a towel--she couldn't find a rope--and strapped the violin
+to Bobbie's back.
+
+"I've got to take my fiddle with me, dearie," she explained, "and I
+can't carry it because I've got you. You can't carry it because you've
+got to hold Happy Pete.... Now, then, come on!"
+
+Jinnie drew the reluctant, trembling child to his feet and permitted
+him to feel around the window-sash; she also held him tightly while he
+measured the stone ledge with his fingers.
+
+"I'm awful 'fraid," he moaned, drooping.
+
+Jinnie feared he was going to have another fainting spell. To ward it
+off, she said firmly:
+
+"Bobbie, you want to see Lafe, don't you?"
+
+"S'awful much," groaned Bobbie.
+
+"Then don't hold your breath." She saw him stagger, and grasping him,
+cried out "Breathe, Bobbie, breathe! We're going to Peggy."
+
+Bobbie began to breathe naturally, and a beatific smile touched the
+corners of his lips.
+
+"I got so many stars to-day, Jinnie," he quavered, "one slipped right
+down my throat."
+
+"But you mustn't be scared again, Bobbie! If we stay, the black man'll
+come back and shake you again and take us to some place that'll make
+us both sick. You just keep on praying, and I will, too.... Now, then,
+I'm going out, and when I say, 'Ready,' you crawl after me."
+
+"What's that noise?" shivered Bobbie, clutching Happy Pete.
+
+"It's water," answered Jinnie, "water in the gorge."
+
+Bobbie's teeth chattered. "Do we have to jump in it?"
+
+"No, I'm going to take you down a rope."
+
+With that she crawled through the hole, and when once on the stone
+ledge, she put her hand in on the boy's head.
+
+"Lift up your leg and hang tight to Petey," she shuddered, and the
+blind boy did as he was bidden, and Jinnie pulled him, with the dog
+and fiddle, through the opening. She put him on his knees in front of
+her with her arms tightly about him.
+
+"Jinnie, Jinnie!" moaned Bobbie. "My heart's jumpin' out of my
+mouth!"
+
+Jinnie pressed her teeth together with all her might and main,
+shivering so in terror that she almost lost the strength of her arms.
+
+"Don't think about your heart," she implored, "and don't shake so!
+Just think that you're going to Lafe and Peg."
+
+Then they began their long, perilous journey to the corner of the
+building. It must have taken twenty minutes. Jinnie had no means by
+which to mark the time. She only knew how difficult it was to keep the
+blind child moving, with the water below bellowing its stormy way down
+the rock-hill to the lake. Happy Pete gave a weird little cry now and
+then. But on and on they went, and at the corner Jinnie spoke:
+
+"Bobbie, we've got to turn here. Let your body go just as I shove
+it."
+
+Limp was no word for Bobbie's body. He was dreadfully tired. His heart
+thumped under Jinnie's arms like a battering-ram.
+
+"Bobbie, don't breathe that way, don't!" she entreated.
+
+"I can't help it, honey! my side hurts," he whispered. "But I'll go
+where you take me, Jinnie dear."
+
+The girl turned him carefully around the sharp ledge corner, and they
+went on again. Her arms seemed almost paralyzed, but they clung to the
+child ahead, and the child ahead clung to the little dog, who hung
+very straight and inert in front of his body.
+
+When they reached the south corner, Jinnie explained their next move
+to Bobbie in this way:
+
+"Now listen," she told him. "You get on my back with your legs under
+my arms, hang to me like dear life, and keep Happy Pete between us.
+Don't hurt him if you can help it."
+
+They were within touch of one of the dangling ropes and far below
+Jinnie saw the swaying plank to which it was fastened. Once on that
+board, she could get to the ground.
+
+Then she continued: "Now while I lean over, you get on my back."
+
+As she guided his slender hands, she felt them cold within her own,
+but in obedience to her command, Bobbie put his legs about her, one
+arm around her neck, and with the other held Happy Pete.
+
+"We won't fall, will we, Jinnie?" quavered the boy.
+
+"No," said Jinnie, helping to settle him on her back.
+
+Then she crawled closer to the rope, took up her skirt and placed it
+about the rough hemp. She was afraid to use her bare hands. The rope
+might cut and burn them so dreadfully that she'd have to let go. With
+a wild inward prayer, she swung off into the air, with the boy, the
+dog and the fiddle on her back, and began her downward slide. She
+counted the windows as they passed, one, two, three, and then four.
+Only a little distance more before she would be upon firm ground. As
+her feet touched the plank, she glanced into the street and in that
+awful moment saw Jordan Morse crossing the corner diagonally, within
+but a few yards of where she stood, terrified.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+BOBBIE'S STARS RENEW THEIR SHINING
+
+
+Jinnie stood rooted to the spot, the burden on her back bearing
+heavily upon her. She scarcely dared breathe, but kept her startled
+eyes upon the advancing man. Her uncle was walking with his head down.
+As he approached the building, a terrible shiver passed over the blind
+boy.
+
+"The black man's comin'!" he shuddered. "I hear----"
+
+"Hush!" whispered Jinnie, and Bobbie dropped his head and remained
+quiet.
+
+The girl's heart was thumping almost as fast as his.
+
+In the oppressive silence she heard Bobbie's faint whisper: "Our--our
+Father who art in Heaven," and her own lips murmured: "He has given
+his angels charge over thee."
+
+Without raising his eyes, Jordan Morse sprang to the steps and entered
+the door.
+
+Jinnie turned her head and almost mechanically watched him disappear.
+Then she took one long, sobbing breath.
+
+"Bobbie, Bobbie," she panted, "get down quick!"
+
+The boy slid to the plank, dropping Happy Pete.
+
+Jinnie grasped the child's cold hand in hers, and they ran rapidly to
+a thick clump of trees. Once out of sight of the building, she picked
+up the little dog and sank down, clutching Bobbie close to her
+heart.
+
+The beginning of the second day of Lafe's trial brought a large crowd
+to the courthouse. All the evidence thus far given had been against
+him, but he sat in his wheelchair, looking quietly from under his
+shaggy brows, and never once, with all that was said against him, did
+the sweet, benevolent expression change to anger. The cobbler had put
+his life into higher hands than those in the courtroom, and he feared
+not.
+
+After the morning session, Jordan Morse left the room with a satisfied
+smile. He walked rapidly to the streetcar and took a seat, with a
+thoughtful expression on his countenance. Lafe would be convicted, and
+he would get rid of the girl now shut away from the world in the gorge
+building. Then, with the money that would be his, he'd find his
+child,--the little boy who was his own and for whom he so longed. He
+often looked at Molly and wondered how she could smile so radiantly
+when she knew she had lost her child,--her own flesh and blood,--her
+own little son.
+
+Even after he left the car and was approaching the gorge, he worried
+about the two in the house. It was because his mind was bent on
+important plans that he did not see Jinnie swinging in the sunshine
+between heaven and earth. He climbed the stairs, framing a sentence
+for the girl's benefit. As he unlocked the door, the silence of the
+room bore down upon him like an evil thing. He went hurriedly into the
+second room, only to find it also empty. For the moment he did not
+notice the shattered glass on the floor, and his heart sank within
+him, but the breeze that drifted to his face brought his eyes to the
+broken window. With an oath, he jumped to it and looked out. Far
+below, the water tumbled as of yore over the rocks. He strained
+horrified eyes for a glimpse of a human body. The girl and boy must
+have dropped together into the deep abyss, preferring death to
+uncertainty. They were gone--gone over the ragged rocks, where their
+bodies would be lost in some of the fathomless juts a mile beyond. He
+would never be bothered with Jinnie again. Then he turned from the
+window. His most terrifying obstacle was out of his way. The blind
+child did not concern him. He was but a feather in the wind,--the
+little fellow who always shrank from him.
+
+As if leaving a tomb, he went softly from the room and turned the key
+in the lock with a sigh. Jinnie had relieved him of an awful
+responsibility. At least fate had taken from his hands a detestable
+task, at which he had many a time recoiled. So far all of his enemies,
+with the exception of Theodore King, had one by one been taken away,
+and he swung himself out of the building with a great burden lifted
+from his shoulders.
+
+As he passed, Jinnie was still drawing long breaths under the thick
+bushes, Bobbie's face against her breast, and it was not until she was
+sure Morse had gone that she ventured to speak.
+
+"We're going to Lafe and Peg, Bobbie," she said. "Can you walk a long
+way?"
+
+"Yes," gurgled Bobbie, color flaming his face. "My legs'll go faster'n
+anything."
+
+And "faster'n anything" those thin little legs did go. The boy trotted
+along beside his friend, down the hill to the flats. Jinnie chose a
+back street leading to the lower end of the town.
+
+"I'd better carry you a while, dearie," she offered presently, noting
+with what difficulty he breathed. "You take the fiddle!" And without
+remonstrance from the boy she lifted him in her arms.
+
+From the tracks Lafe's small house had the appearance of being
+unoccupied. Jinnie went in, walking from the shop to the kitchen,
+where she called "Peggy!" two or three times. Then the thought of the
+cobbler's trial rushed over her. Peggy and the baby were at court with
+Lafe, of course.
+
+Knowing she must face her uncle in the courtroom, she went to Lafe's
+black box and drew forth the sealed letter her father had sent to
+Grandoken. This she hid in her dress, and taking Bobbie and the
+fiddle, she went out and closed the door.
+
+Another long walk brought them to the courthouse, which stood in
+solemn stone silence, with one side to the dark, iron-barred jail.
+Jinnie shivered when she thought of the weary months Lafe had sat
+within his gloomy cell.
+
+She entered the building, holding Bobbie's hand. Every seat in the
+room was filled, and a man was making a speech, using the names of
+Maudlin Bates and Lafe Grandoken.
+
+Then she looked about once more, craning her neck to catch sight of
+those ahead. Her eyes fell first upon Lafe, God bless him! There he
+sat, her cobbler, in the same old wheelchair, wearing that look of
+benign patience so familiar to her. Only a little distance from him
+sat Peggy, the baby sleeping on her knees. Molly the Merry was seated
+next to Jordan Morse, whose large white hand nervously clutched the
+back of the woman's chair.
+
+Several stern-looking men at a table had numerous papers over which
+they were bending. Then Jinnie's gaze found Jasper Bates. She could
+see, by the look upon his face, that he was suffering. She felt sorry,
+sorry for any one who was in trouble, who had lost a son in such a
+manner as Jasper had. Then she awoke to the import of the lawyer's
+words.
+
+"Before you, Gentlemen of the Jury," he was saying, "is a murderer, a
+Jew, Lafe Grandoken. You know very well the reputation of the people
+on Paradise Road. The good book says 'a life for a life.' This Jew
+shot and killed his neighbor----"
+
+Jinnie lost his next words. She was looking at Lafe, and saw his dear
+face grow white with stabbing anguish. The girl's throat filled with
+sobs, and she suddenly remembered something Theodore had once said to
+her.
+
+"If you want anything, child, just play for it."
+
+And she wanted the life of her cobbler, the man who had taken her,
+with such generosity, into his heart and meagre home. She slipped the
+fiddle from the case and stooped and whispered in Bobbie's ear:
+
+"Grab the back of my dress, dearie, and don't let go!"
+
+She moved into the aisle, making ready to start on her life mission.
+She lifted the bow, and with a long sweep, drew an intense minor note
+from the strings. A sea of faces swung in her direction. Jinnie forgot
+every one but the cobbler--she was playing for his life--improvising
+on the fiddle strings a wild, pleading, imploring melody. On and on
+she went, with Blind Bobbie, in trembling confusion, clinging to her
+skirts, and Happy Pete with sagging head at their heels. At the first
+sound of the fiddle Lafe tried to rise, and did rise. He stood for a
+moment on his shaking legs, and there, to the amazement of the gaping
+crowd of his townsfolk, he swayed to and fro, watching and listening
+as the wonderful music filled and thrilled through the room.
+
+A heavenly light shone on the wrinkled face.
+
+Jordan Morse got to his feet, chalk white. Molly the Merry was looking
+at Jinnie as if she saw a ghost.
+
+The onlookers saw Lafe's unsteady steps as he tottered toward the
+lovely girl and blind child. When he was within touching distance, she
+put the instrument and bow under one arm and took Lafe's hand in hers.
+Her voice rang out like the tone of a bell.
+
+"I've come for you, Lafe. I've come to take you back."
+
+Then Molly's eyes dropped from Jinnie to the boy, and a cry broke from
+her. Before her was the child for whom, in spite of the evidence of
+her smiling lips, she had truly mourned. The wan, blind face was
+turned upward, the golden hair lying in damp curls on the lovely head.
+Spontaneously the woman reached forward and took the little hand in
+hers. All the mother within her leaped up, like a brilliant flash of
+lightning.
+
+"My baby!" was all she said; and Bobbie, white, trembling and
+palpitating, cried in a weird, high voice:
+
+"I've found my mother!"
+
+Then Jordan Morse understood. The hot blood was tearing to his ear
+drums. The blind boy he had persecuted and tortured, the boy he had
+made suffer, was his own son. That wonderful quality in the man, the
+fatherhood within him, rose in surging insistence. Instant remorse
+attacked him, as an oak is attacked by fierce winter storms. He saw
+the boy's angelic face grow the color of death; saw Molly the Merry
+gather him up. Then a stab of jealousy cut his heart like a knife. He
+bent over with set jaws.
+
+"Give him to me," he cried. "He's mine!"
+
+Molly surrendered the child with reluctance, but terror and fright
+were depicted upon Bobbie's face.
+
+"Jinnie! Lafe! Peggy!" he screamed. "He'll hurt me! The black man's
+goin' to kill me! Jinnie, pretty Jinnie----"
+
+The passionate voice grew faint and ceased. Then the loving little
+heart burst in the boyish bosom, and Bobbie's angels bore away his
+young soul to another world where blindness is not,--where his
+uplifted being would understand that the stars he'd loved,--the stars
+he'd gathered in his small, unseeing head,--were but a reflection of
+those in God's firmament. With one final quiver he straightened out in
+his father's arms and was silent. All his loves and sorrows were in
+the eternal yesterdays, and to-day had delivered him into the charge
+of Lafe's angels.
+
+Jinnie was crying hysterically, and her father's dying curse upon her
+uncle leapt into her mind. She was clinging to the cobbler, and both
+had moved to Peg, where the woman sat as if turned to stone.
+
+Not a person in the courtroom stirred. In consternation the jury sat
+in their chairs like graven images, taking in the freshly wrought
+tragedy with tense expressions. The judge, too, leaned forward in his
+chair, watching.
+
+Jordan Morse faced the room, with its silent, observant crowd,
+pressing to his breast the dead body of his child. Then he turned to
+Lafe, white, twitching, and suffering.
+
+"I shot Maudlin Bates," he said, haltingly; then turning to the jury
+he continued: "The cobbler's an innocent man----"
+
+A menacing groan fell from a hundred lips at his words.
+
+He deliberately took from his hip pocket a revolver, lifted the weapon
+and finished:
+
+"I'm--I'm sorry, Jinnie, I'm----"
+
+Then came the sharp, short bark of the gun, and the bullet found a
+path to his brain. He staggered, frantically clutching the slender
+body of Bobbie closer--and toppled over.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+FOR BOBBIE'S SAKE
+
+
+Lafe's homecoming was one of solemn rejoicing. The only shadow hanging
+over the happy family was the absence of Blind Bobbie, who now lay by
+the side of his dead father.
+
+After the first greetings, Lafe took his boy baby and pressed him
+gratefully to his heart.
+
+"He's beautiful, Peggy dear, ain't he?" he implored, drinking in with
+affectionate, fatherly eyes the rosy little face. "Wife darlin', make
+a long story short an' tell me he's beautiful."
+
+Mrs. Grandoken eyed her husband sternly.
+
+"Lafe," she admonished, "you're as full of brag as a egg is of meat,
+and salt won't save you. All your life you've boasted till I thought
+the world'd come to an end, an' I ain't never said a word against it.
+Now you can't teach me none of your bad habits, because I won't learn
+'em, so don't try." She paused, her lips lifting a little at the
+corners, and went on: "But I'm tellin' you with my own lips there
+ain't a beautifuller baby in this county'n this little feller, nor one
+half so beautiful! So there's my mind, sir."
+
+"'Tis so, dear," murmured the cobbler, rejoicing.
+
+About five o'clock in the afternoon, while Peggy was uptown
+replenishing the slender larder and Lafe and Jinnie were alone with
+the baby, there came a timid knock.
+
+Jinnie went to the door and there stood Molly Merriweather. The
+woman's face was white and drawn, her eyes darkly circled underneath.
+
+One glance at her and Jinnie lost her own color.
+
+"I want to speak with you just a moment," the woman said beseechingly.
+"May I come in?"
+
+Without answering, Jinnie backed into the room, which action Molly
+took as a signal to enter.
+
+She inclined her head haughtily to the cobbler.
+
+"Would you mind if I spoke to Miss Grandoken alone?"
+
+Lafe looked to Jinnie for acquiescence.
+
+"If Jinnie'll help me to the kitchen," he replied, "you can talk here.
+I'm a little unsteady on my feet yet, miss!"
+
+It took some time for the tottering legs to bear him away, but the
+strong, confident girl helped him most patiently.
+
+"You might just slip me the baby, Jinnie," said Lafe, after he was
+seated in the kitchen. "I could be lookin' at 'im while you're
+talkin'. You ain't mindin' the woman, honey lass, be you?"
+
+"No, dear," answered Jinnie.
+
+This done, the girl returned to Molly, who stood at the window staring
+out upon the tracks. She turned quickly, and Jinnie noticed her eyes
+were full of tears.
+
+"I suppose you won't refuse to tell me something of my--my little
+boy?" she pleaded.
+
+Tears welled over Jinnie's lids too. Bobbie's presence and adoration
+were still fresh in her mind.
+
+"He's dead," she mourned. "My little Bobbie! Poor little hurt
+Bobbie!"
+
+Molly made a passionate gesture with her gloved hands.
+
+"Don't, please don't say those things! I'm so miserable I can't think
+of him. I only wanted to know how you got him."
+
+"I just found him," stated Jinnie. Then, because Molly looked so
+white, she forgot the anguish the woman had caused her, and rehearsed
+the story of Bobbie's life from the time she had discovered him on the
+hill.
+
+"I guess he was always unhappy till he came to us."
+
+"And I helped to hurt him," cried Molly, shivering.
+
+"But you didn't know he was yours," soothed Jinnie.
+
+The woman shook her head.
+
+"No, of course I didn't know," she replied, and then went on rapidly:
+
+"I was so young when I married your uncle, I didn't know anything.
+When I lost my baby, I knew no way to search for him."
+
+"Won't you sit down?" Jinnie had forgotten that they were both
+standing. "Sit in that little rocker; it's Bobbie's," she finished.
+
+Molly looked at the little chair and turned away.
+
+"Lafe bought it for him," Jinnie explained eagerly. "He was too sick
+with his heart to get around much like other boys."
+
+Miss Merriweather wrung her hands.
+
+"Don't tell me any more," she begged piteously. "He's dead and nothing
+can help him now. I've--something else to say to you." Jinnie wiped
+her eyes.
+
+"Mr. King is quite well now, and----"
+
+"Oh, I'm glad!" cried Jinnie. "Does he--he ever speak of me?"
+
+Molly shook her head mutely.
+
+"I don't want him to see you!" she cried, her eyes growing hard and
+bright.
+
+"Why?" Jinnie said the one word in bewilderment.
+
+"He doesn't know yet what Jordan and I did to you, nor
+about--about--Bobbie. I don't want him to, either, just yet. I fear if
+he does, he won't care for me."
+
+Jinnie's eyes drew down at the corners.
+
+"Of course he wouldn't if he knew," she said, with tightly gripped
+fingers.
+
+Molly paid no heed to this, but went on rapidly:
+
+"Well, first, you don't love him as I do----"
+
+"I love him very much," interjected Jinnie, "and he used to love me."
+
+The woman's lips drew linelike over her teeth.
+
+"But you see he doesn't any longer," she got out, "and if you go
+away----"
+
+"Go away?" gasped Jinnie.
+
+"Yes, from Bellaire. You won't stay here, now that you're rich." She
+threw a contemptuous glance about the shop. Jinnie caught the
+inflection of the cutting voice and noted the expression in the dark
+eyes.
+
+"I'll stay wherever Lafe and Peggy are," she said stubbornly.
+
+"Perhaps, but that doesn't say you're going to live in this street all
+your life.... I want you to go back to Mottville."
+
+Jinnie still looked a cold, silent refusal.
+
+Molly grew even whiter than before, but remembering Jinnie's kindly
+heart, she turned her tactics.
+
+"I'm very miserable," she wept, "and I love Theodore better than any
+one in the world."
+
+"So do I," sighed Jinnie, bowing her head.
+
+"But he doesn't love you, child, and he does love me."
+
+Jinnie's eyes fixed their gaze steadily on the other woman.
+
+"Then why're you afraid for him to see me?" she demanded.
+
+Molly got to her feet. She saw her flimsily constructed love world
+shattered by the girl before her. She knew Theodore still loved her,
+and that if he knew all her own wickedness, his devotion would
+increase a hundredfold. He must not see Jinnie! Jinnie must not see
+him! Rapidly she reviewed the quarrels she and Theodore had had,
+remembered how punctiliously he always carried out his honorable
+intentions, and then--Molly went very near the girl, staring at her
+with terror in her eyes.
+
+"Jinnie," she said softly, "pretty Jinnie!"
+
+Those words were Bobbie's last earthly appeal to her, and Jinnie's
+face blanched in recollection.
+
+"Didn't you love my baby?" Molly hurried on.
+
+A memory of fluttering fingers traveling over her face left Jinnie's
+heart cold. Next to Lafe and Theodore she had loved Bobbie best.
+
+"I loved him, oh, very much indeed!" she whispered.
+
+"And he often told you he loved--his--his--mother?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Molly was slowly drawing the girl's hands into hers.
+
+"He'd want me to be happy, Jinnie dear. Oh, please let me have the
+only little happiness left me!"
+
+Jinnie drew away, almost hypnotized.
+
+"I can't be a--a good woman unless I have Theodore," Molly moaned.
+"You're very young----"
+
+Her eyes sought the girl's, who was struggling to her feet.
+
+"For Bobbie's sake, Jinnie, for--for----"
+
+Jinnie brought to mind the blind boy, his winsome ways, his desire for
+his beautiful mother, her own love for Theodore, and turning away,
+said with a groan:
+
+"I want Theodore to be happy, and I want you to be happy, too,
+for--for Bobbie's sake. I--I promise not to see him, but I'll always
+believe he loves me--that--that----"
+
+"You're a good girl," interrupted Molly with a sigh of relief.
+
+Jinnie went to the door.
+
+"Go now," she said, with proudly lifted head, "and I hope I'll never
+see you again as long as I live."
+
+Then Molly went away, and for a long time the girl stood, with her
+back to the door, weeping out the sorrow of a torn young soul. She had
+promised to give up Theodore completely. She had lost her love, her
+friend, her sweetheart. Once more she had surrendered to Bobbie
+Grandoken the best she had to give.
+
+Later, when the cobbler and his wife were crooning over their little
+son, Jinnie, with breaking heart, decided she would leave Bellaire at
+once, as Molly had asked her. She must never think of Theodore again.
+She'd renounced him, firmly believing he still loved her; she'd
+promised to depart without seeing him, but surely, oh, a little
+farewell note, with the assurances of her gratitude, would not be
+breaking that promise.
+
+So, until Peggy carried the baby away to bed, the girl composed a
+letter to Theodore, pathetic in its terseness. She also wrote to
+Molly, telling her she had decided to go back to Mottville
+immediately.
+
+When she had finished the letters, she took her usual place on the
+stool at the cobbler's feet.
+
+"Lafe," she ventured, wearily, "some time I'm going to tell you
+everything that's happened since I last saw you, but not to-night!"
+
+"Whenever you're ready, honey," acquiesced Lafe.
+
+"And I've been thinking of something else, dear. I want to go to
+Mottville."
+
+Lafe's face paled.
+
+"I don't see how Peg an' me'll live without you, Jinnie."
+
+Jinnie touched the hand smoothing her curls.
+
+"I couldn't live without you either, Lafe, and I won't try----"
+
+The cobbler bent and kissed her.
+
+"I won't try, dear," she repeated. "You must all live with me,
+although I'll go first to arrange things a little. We'll never worry
+about money any more, dearest."
+
+"And Mr. King," Lafe faltered, quite disturbed, "what about him?"
+
+"I shan't ever see him again," Jinnie stated sadly. "I've just written
+him, and he'll understand."
+
+Lafe knew by the finality of her tones that she did not care to
+discuss Theodore that night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+BACK HOME
+
+
+Late the next afternoon Jinnie left the train at Mottville station,
+her fiddle box in one hand, and a suitcase in the other. She stood a
+moment watching the train as it disappeared. It had carried her from
+the man she loved, brought her away from Bellaire, the city of her
+hopes. One bitter fact reared itself above all others. The world of
+which Theodore King had been the integral part was dead to her. What
+was she to do without him, without Bobbie to pet and love? But a
+feeling of thanksgiving pervaded her when she remembered she still had
+Lafe's smile, the baby to croon over, and dear, stoical Peggy. They
+would live with her in the old home. It was preferable to staying in
+Bellaire, where her heart would be tortured daily. Rather the brooding
+hills, the singing pines, and all the wildness of nature, which was
+akin to the struggle within her, and perhaps in the future she might
+gather up the broken threads of her life.
+
+She shook as if attacked with ague as she came within sight of the
+gaunt farmhouse, and the broken windows and hanging doors gave her a
+sense of everlasting decay.
+
+Below her in the valley lay the blue lake, a shining spread of water,
+quiet and silent, here and there upon it the shadow of a floating,
+fluffy cloud. She listened to the nagging chatter of the squirrels,
+mingled with the fluttering of the forest birds high above her head.
+As she stood on the hill, the only human being in all the wilderness
+about, in fancy she seemed to be at the very top of the world.
+
+She heard the old familiar voices of the mourning pines, and
+remembered their soothing magic, and a stinging reproach swept over
+her at the thought of her forgetfulness of them. They had been friends
+when no other friends were near. Along with the flood of memories came
+Matty's ghastly ghost stories and her past belief that her mother's
+spirit hovered near her.
+
+She went through the lane leading to the house and paused under the
+trees. Presently she placed her violin box and suitcase on the grass
+and lay down beside them. In the eaves of the house a dove cooed his
+late afternoon love to his mate, and Jinnie, because she was very
+young and very much in love, brought Theodore before her with that
+lingering retrospection that takes possession in such sensuous
+moments. She could feel again the hot tremor of his hands as they
+clung to hers, and she bent her head in shame at the acute,
+electrifying sensations. He belonged to another woman; he no longer
+belonged to her. She must conquer her love for him, and at that moment
+every desire to study, every thought of work seemed insipid and
+useless. The whole majestic beauty of the scene, her sudden coming
+into a great deal of money, did not add to her happiness. She would
+gladly give it all up to be again with her loves of yesterday. But
+that could not be! The future lay in a hard, straight line before her.
+She was striving against a ceaseless, resisting force,--the force of
+her whole passionate nature.
+
+With their usual reluctance, the things of night at length crept
+forth. Jinnie felt some of them as they touched her hands, her face,
+and moved on. One of the countless birds fluttered low, as if
+frightened at the advancing dark, brushed her cheek, then winged on
+and up and was lost in the tree above her. Somewhere deep in the gloom
+shrouding the little graveyard came the ghostly flutter of an owl.
+
+Jinnie was flat on her back, and how long she lay thus she could never
+afterward remember, but it was until the stars appeared and the moon
+formed queer fantastic pictures, like frost upon a window pane. In
+solemn review passed the days,--from that awful night when she had
+left her father dead upon the floor in the house nearby to the present
+moment. She glanced at the windows. They looked back at her like
+square, darkening eyes.
+
+She wondered dully how that wee star away off there could blink so
+peacefully in its nightly course when just below it beat a heart that
+hurt like hers. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again,
+long black fingers were drawing dark pictures across the sky. A drop
+of rain fell upon her face, but still she did not move. Then, like
+rows of soldiers, the low clouds drew slowly together, and the stars
+softly wept themselves out.
+
+Suddenly, from the other side of the lake, the thunder rolled up, and
+with the distant boom came the thought of Lafe's infinite faith, and
+the memory fell upon Jinnie like a benediction from God's dark sky.
+
+She arose from the grass, took the fiddle box and bag, and walked to
+the porch. She went in through the broken door. It was dark, too dark
+to see much, and from the leather case she took a box of matches and a
+candle. Memories crowded down upon her thick and fast. In the kitchen,
+which was bare, she could mark the place where Matty used to sit and
+where her own chair had been.
+
+The long stairs that led from the basement to the upper floor yawned
+black in the gloom. Candle and fiddle in hand, Jinnie mounted them and
+halted before the unopened door. Somehow it seemed as if she would
+find before the grate the long, thin body of her dead father, and she
+distinctly remembered the spindle fire-flames falling in golden yellow
+licks upon his face. In her imagination she could again see the
+flake-like ashes, thrown out from the smoldering fire, rise grey to
+the ceiling, then descend silently over him like a pale shroud.
+
+After this hesitation, she slowly turned the handle of the door and
+walked in. The only things remaining in the room were a broken table
+and chair. She placed the violin on the floor and the candle on the
+table. Then with a shudder Jinnie drew from her blouse an unopened
+letter, studying it long in the flickering light. It had been written
+in this very room three years before, and within its sealed pages lay
+the whole secret which now none but the dead knew.
+
+It took no effort on her part to bring back to her memory Jordan
+Morse's handsome face and his rock-grey eyes, eyes like Bobbie's. He
+and Bobbie had gone away together. She touched the corner of the
+envelope to the candle, watching it roll over in a brown curl as it
+burned.
+
+"He's happy now," she murmured. "He's got his baby and Lafe's
+angels."
+
+Then she gathered up the handful of ashes, opened the window, and
+threw them out. The hands of the night wind snatched them as they fell
+and carried them swiftly away through the rain.
+
+On her way to the attic stairs, she stood a minute before the window,
+awe-stricken. From the north the great storm was advancing, and from
+among the hills rolled the distant roar of thunder. It brought to her
+mind the night when Peggy had gone into the life-valley and brought
+back Lafe's baby; and she remembered, too, with a sob, Blind Bobbie,
+and how she missed him. Ah, it was a lonely, haunted little spirit
+that crept up the dark narrow stairs to the garret!
+
+Only that the room seemed lower and more stuffy, it, too, was much the
+same as she had left it. She brushed aside some silvery cobwebs,
+raised the window, and sat down on a dilapidated trunk. On the floor
+at her feet, almost covered with dust, was the old fairy book about
+the famous kings. She picked it up mechanically. On the first page was
+the man in the red suit, with the overhanging nose and fat body,--he
+whom she at one time believed to be related to Theodore.
+
+Again she was overwhelmed with her misery. Theodore belonged to
+another woman, and Jinnie, alone with her past and an uncertain
+future, sat staring dry-eyed into the stormy night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+"GOD MADE YOU MINE"
+
+
+"I haven't seen any papers for three days, Molly. What's become of
+them all?"
+
+Theodore and Molly were sitting in the waning sunshine, the
+many-colored autumn leaves drifting silently past them to form a
+varied carpet over the grass.
+
+All fear had now left the woman. She had Jinnie's promise not to see
+Theodore, and he had apparently forgotten there ever was such a girl
+in the world.
+
+"I'd really like to see the papers," repeated Theodore. "Dear me, how
+glad I am to be so well!"
+
+"We're all glad," whispered Molly, with bright eyes.
+
+She had kept the papers from him purposely, playfully pretending she
+would rather give him an account of the court proceedings. When she
+described how another man had confessed to the shooting, Theodore felt
+a glad thrill that the cobbler was exonerated. Later Molly decided she
+would tell him about Morse, but never that she had married him. It was
+she who suggested, after a time of silence:
+
+"Theodore, don't you think a little trip would do us all good? Your
+mother's been so worried over you----"
+
+"Where would we go?" he asked, without interest.
+
+"Anywhere to get away from Bellaire for a season."
+
+"We might consider it," he replied reluctantly. Then he fell to
+thinking of a blue-eyed girl, of the letter,--that puzzling letter
+she had sent him. When he could bear his thoughts no longer, he got up
+and walked away under the trees, and Molly allowed him to go. She
+watched him strolling slowly, and was happy. He had been so sweet, so
+kindly, almost thrilling to her of late. She would make him love her.
+It would be but a matter of a few weeks if she could get him away from
+Bellaire. Just at that moment Mrs. King's bell rang, and she went into
+the house. When she came back, Theodore was sitting on the veranda
+reading a letter, with another one unopened on his knee. The sight of
+his white face brought an exclamation from her lips.
+
+"Theodore!" she cried.
+
+He reminded her she was standing by saying:
+
+"Sit down!"
+
+This she was glad to do, for her knees trembled. Her eyes caught the
+handwriting on the unopened letter, resting like a white menace on
+Theodore's lap. She saw her own name upon it, but dared not, nor had
+she the strength, to ask for it.
+
+At length, with a long breath, Theodore looked at her steadily.
+
+"This letter is for you," he said, picking up her own. "Open it and
+then--give it to me."
+
+Never had she heard such tones in his voice, nor had she ever been so
+thoroughly frightened. Mechanically she took the letter, tore open the
+flap, and read the contents:
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"DEAR MISS MERRIWEATHER:
+
+"After you left the shop, I decided to do as you wanted me to. I shall
+go back to Mottville, and afterwards Peggy and Lafe will come to me.
+I'll keep my promise and won't see Theodore. I hope you will make him
+happy.
+
+                                                    JINNIE GRANDOKEN."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Molly crushed the paper between her fingers.
+
+"Don't do that," commanded Theodore sharply. "Give it to me."
+
+"It's mine," murmured Molly, lacking breath to speak aloud.
+
+"Give it to me!" thundered Theodore.
+
+And because she dared not disobey, she slowly extended the letter.
+
+With deliberation the man spread out the crumpled page and read it
+through slowly. Then once more he took up his own letter and perused
+it.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+"DEAR MR. KING:
+
+"I'm going back to my home in the hills to-morrow. I'm so glad you're
+better. I thank you for all you've done for Lafe and Peggy, and hope
+you'll always be happy. For what you did for me I can't thank you
+enough, but as soon as I get my money, I'll send back all you've
+advanced for my lessons and other things. I'm praying all the time for
+you.
+
+                                         "JINNIE GRANDOKEN SINGLETON."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sudden tears almost blotted the signature from Theodore's vision.
+
+On the spur of the moment he picked up both letters and thrust them
+into his pocket.
+
+"Come upstairs with me," he ordered the woman staring at him with
+frozen features.
+
+Molly followed him as in a dream, preceding him when he stepped aside
+to allow her to enter the little sitting-room, where of late she had
+passed so many pleasant hours. Then as he closed the door, he whirled
+upon her.
+
+"Now I want the meaning of those letters. Have you seen Miss
+Grandoken?"
+
+"Yes!" She could say no more.
+
+"When?"
+
+"Yesterday."
+
+"There's something I don't know. Ah! That's why you kept the papers
+from me." Quickly he turned to the bell.
+
+"Theodore!" gasped Molly. "Wait! Wait! Don't--don't ring! I'll tell
+you; I will!"
+
+He pressed the bell button savagely.
+
+"I wouldn't believe you under oath," he muttered.
+
+"I want all this week's papers, and I want 'em quick!" he snapped at
+the servant. "Every one! Last night's too!"
+
+He walked to the window, but turned again as a knock came upon the
+door.
+
+"I can't find the papers, sir," excused the maid.
+
+"Wait!" Theodore closed the door, exclaiming in white heat, "Molly,
+where are those papers?"
+
+"In my room," replied Molly sulkily.
+
+Mr. King gave the order, and again they were behind closed doors.
+Molly made a sorry picture of shame when Theodore looked at her.
+
+"I'll get to the bottom of this if it kills me," he said wearily.
+
+"Theo, Theo, don't read the papers!" she gasped. Then she fell forward
+at his feet. "I love you, dear; I love you."
+
+"You've lost your mind, Molly," he said harshly. "You're mad,
+completely mad."
+
+"No, I'm not. Listen, Theodore, I'm here at your feet, miserable,
+unhappy; I want to be forgiven----"
+
+"Then tell me what you did to Jinnie Grandoken."
+
+"I can't! I can't!"
+
+When another knock sounded on the door, Theodore opened it and took
+the papers through the smallest imaginable crack. Molly crawled to a
+chair and leaned her head upon the seat. Without a word, Theodore sat
+down and began to turn the pages of the papers nervously. As he read
+both accounts of Lafe's trial, bitter ejaculations fell from his lips.
+The story of Bobbie's dramatic death and Morse's suicide brought forth
+a groan. When he placed the papers slowly beside him on the floor,
+Molly raised her face, white and torn with grief.
+
+"Now you know it all, forgive me!"
+
+"Never, while I live!" he cried. "What ungodly wretchedness you've
+made that child suffer! And you were married all the time to Morse,
+and the mother of that poor little boy!"
+
+"Yes," sobbed Molly.
+
+Then a sudden thought took possession of him.
+
+"You and Morse made Jinnie write me that first letter."
+
+Molly nodded.
+
+"May God forgive you both!" he stammered, and whirled out of the
+room.
+
+An hour later, with new strength and purpose, Theodore threw a few
+clothes into a suitcase, ordered the fastest motor in the garage, and
+was standing on the porch when Molly came swiftly to him.
+
+"Theodore," she said, with twitching face, "if you go away now, you
+won't find me here when you get back."
+
+He glanced her over with curling lip.
+
+"As you please," he returned indifferently. "You've done enough damage
+as it is. If you've any heart, stay here with the only person in the
+world who has any faith in you."
+
+Vacantly the woman watched the motor glide away over the smooth white
+road, and then limply slid to the floor in a dead faint.
+
+All the distance from Bellaire to Mottville Theodore was tortured with
+doubt. He brought to mind Jinnie's girlish embarrassment when they had
+been together; the fluttering white lids as his kisses brought a blue
+flash from the speaking love-lit eyes. She had loved him then; did she
+now? Of course she must love him! She had brought to him the freshness
+of spring--the love of the mating birds among the blossoms--the
+passionate desire of a heaven-wrought soul for its own, to whom could
+be entrusted all that was his dearest and best. He would follow her
+and win her,--yea, _win_ the woman God had made for him and him alone,
+and into his eyes leapt the expression of the conquering male, the
+force God had created within him to reach for the woman sublime and
+cherish her.
+
+When the car entered Mottville, rain was falling and the wind was
+mourning ceaselessly.
+
+By inquiry, Theodore found the road to the Singleton farm, and again,
+as he impatiently sank back in the motor, he mentally vowed, with the
+vow of a strong man, that the girl should listen to him. He never
+realized, until they were climbing the rain-soaked hill, how starved
+was the very soul of him.
+
+The road was running with water, but they ploughed on, until through
+the trees the farmhouse loomed up darkly. Bennett stopped the car at
+the gate and Theodore jumped out. A light twinkling in the upper part
+of the house told him she was there. Harmonious echoes were sounding
+and resounding in his ears. They were notes from Jinnie's fiddle, and
+for a moment, as they sobbed out through the attic window, he leaned
+back against the wet fence, feeling almost faint. The wild, sweet,
+unearthly melody surged over him with memories of the past.
+
+Then he passed under the thrashing pines, mounted the broken steps,
+and entered the house.
+
+It took but a minute to find the stairs by which to reach her, and
+there he stood in the gloom of the attic door, watching the swaying
+young figure and noting the whole pitiful dejection of her. In the
+single little light her eyes were as blue as the wing of a royal bird,
+and oh, what suffering she must have gone through! Then Jinnie ceased
+playing, and, as if drawn by a presence she knew not of, she turned
+her eyes slowly toward the door, and when she saw him, she fell,
+huddled with her violin on the garret floor, staring upward with
+frightened eyes.
+
+"If you're there," she panted, "if--if--speak to me!"
+
+He bounded forward and gathered her up, and the light of an adoring
+love shone full upon him.
+
+"My sweet, my sweet, my beautiful, my little wonder-woman!" he
+breathed. "Did you think I could live without you?"
+
+She was leaning, half fainting, against his breast, like a wind-blown
+flower.
+
+"I've come for you," he said hoarsely. "Dearest, sweetest Jinnie!"
+
+She pressed backward, loyalty for another woman rising within her.
+
+"But Molly, Molly the Merry----" she breathed.
+
+Theodore shook his head.
+
+"I only know I love you, sweetheart, that I've come for you," and as
+his lips met hers, Jinnie clung to him, a very sweet young thing, and
+between those warm, passionate kisses she heard him murmur:
+
+"God made you mine, littlest love!"
+
+And so they went forth from the lonely farmhouse, with none but the
+cobbler's angels watching over them.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rose O'Paradise, by Grace Miller White
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