hat little church in the woods; so, unless you
can find out what became of the license, it will be a hard job to prove
the marriage."

"I fear so," sobbed Dainty; then she added: "Do you think, mammy, that
Mrs. Ellsworth is still unrelenting?"

"Hard as a stone, honey!"

"But perhaps if she knew the truth, that a child is to come of that
secret marriage, she might relent and pity it enough to acknowledge me
as Love's wife," sighed Dainty, anxiously.

But her listeners all persuaded her that such a thing was impossible.
The woman would never acknowledge anything that would cause her to lose
her grip on the wealth she was holding by a shameless fraud.

"Honey, don't yo' go nigh them deceitful wretches! Don't yo' even let
them know that yo' are alive, or there'll be a new plot set on foot
direckly 'ginst yo' sweet life and the one that's comin' too! Hab yo'
forgot how the old 'oman shet yo' up in dat dark dungeon till yo'
pisened yo'self, and how dem gals tried to burn yo' up in de ole cabin,
and would hab 'ceeded, too, but for John Franklin breakin' in de winder
and fetchin' yo' out--an' his face an' han's an' hair all scorched
drefful!" expostulated mammy.

Among them all they persuaded her that it was better not to try to prove
her rights than to lose her life.

"You stay here quietly long o' us, honey, and don't let no one know who
you air, and arter your chile comes, you may leave it with me ef you
wants, and I'll tek keer of it till the good Lord makes a better way for
it. And all of us we'll pray and pray that good luck may come to you,"
exclaimed Mrs. Peters, piously, while her husband chimed in, fervently:

"You kin 'pend on us to be your firm fren's fer life, ma'am, and you air
jist as welcome ter anythin' we got as any one of our nine boys!"

Oh, how their humble kindness went to her wounded heart, encouraging her
to cry out, passionately:

"There is one thing I crave more than I ought on earth, and perhaps some
one might manage it for me; it is to see my husband's face again!"

A dark cloud seemed suddenly to fall over them all, and she cried in
dismay:

"Why do you all look so strange and frightened? Oh, my God! do not tell
me he is dead!"

"No, deares', yo' husban' ain't dead!" sighed mammy, and burst into
sudden loud sobs, as she added: "Dey done tooken him away dis larst week
to New York, honey. Doctor Platt, dat good ole man, yo' know, and
Franklin, his body-servant, as sabed yo' from de fi