Once inside, I
was all right. I only had to sign, an' come out again; it didn't
take a minute. Mr. Crane stayed and fixed the bonds wid the
trustees, an' I come home wid Carl and Jennie." Then, turning to
her father, she said, "Gran'pop, will ye and Jennie go into the
kitchen for a while? I've some private business wid Mr. Babcock."
When they were gone her whole manner changed. She buried her face
for a moment in the pillow, covering her cheek with her hands;
then, turning to Babcock, she said:--
"Now, me friend, will ye lock the door?"
For some minutes she looked out of the window, through the
curtains and nasturtiums, then, in a low, broken voice, she said:
"I'm in great trouble. Will ye help me?"
"Help you, Tom? You know I will, and with anything I've got.
What is it!" he said earnestly, regaining his chair and drawing it
closer.
"Has no one iver told ye about me Tom?" she asked, looking at him
from under her eyebrows.
"No; except that he was hurt or--or--out of his mind, maybe, and
you couldn't bring him home."
"An' ye have heared nothin' more?"
"No," said Babcock, wondering at her anxious manner.
"Ye know that since he went away I've done the work meself,
standin' out as he would have done in the cold an' wet an' workin'
for the children wid nobody to help me but these two hands.
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