her chair within the mill.

"You set right down now, baby," he said, and he made a pretence of
having something to do inside the mill, while June watched the creaking
old wheel dropping the sun-shot sparkling water into the swift sluice,
but hardly seeing it at all. By and by Uncle Billy came outside and sat
down and neither spoke a word. Once June saw him covertly looking at his
watch and she put both hands to her throat--stifled.

"What time is it, Uncle Billy?" She tried to ask the question calmly,
but she had to try twice before she could speak at all and when she did
get the question out, her voice was only a broken whisper.

"Five minutes to twelve, baby," said the old man, and his voice had a
gulp in it that broke June down. She sprang to her feet wringing her
hands:

"I can't stand it, Uncle Billy," she cried madly, and with a sob that
almost broke the old man's heart. "I tell you I can't stand it."

* * * * * * *

And yet for three hours more she had to stand it, while the cavalcade
of Tollivers, with Rufe's body, made its slow way to the Kentucky line
where Judd and Dave and Bub left them to go home for the night and be
on hand for the funeral next day. But Uncle Billy led her back to his
cabin, and on the porch the two, with old Hon, waited while the three
hours dragged along. It was June who was first to hear the galloping
of horses' hoofs up the road and she ran to the gate, followed by Uncle
Billy and old Hon to see young Dave Tolliver coming in a run. At the
gate he threw himself from his horse:

"Git up thar, June, and go home," he panted sharply. June flashed out
the gate.

"Have you done it?" she asked with deadly quiet.

"Hurry up an' go home, I tell ye! Uncle Judd wants ye!"

She came quite close to him now.

"You said you'd do it--I know what you've done--you--" she looked as if
she would fly at his throat, and Dave, amazed, shrank back a step.

"Go home, I tell ye--Uncle Judd's shot. Git on the hoss!"

"No, no, NO! I wouldn't TOUCH anything that was yours"--she put her
hands to her head as though she were crazed, and then she turned and
broke into a swift run up the road.

Panting, June reached the gate. The front door was closed and there she
gave a tremulous cry for Bub. The door opened a few inches and through
it Bub shouted for her to come on. The back door, too, was closed, and
not a ray of daylight entered the room except at the port-hole where
Bu