nd Bess somehow in the parlour with
Mrs. Ellison.

He remembered, afterward, of handing the writing he had done, at old
Granny Thornton's bidding, to Mrs. Ellison, and of her starting to read
it and breaking down suddenly; of her asking him many questions about
it, and of his answering them almost in a daze. He remembered that Mrs.
Ellison resumed the reading, the tears streaming down her cheeks; of how
he laid down the little bundle of stuff he had brought from the attic,
and pointed it out to Mrs. Ellison.

He remembered that Mrs. Ellison sprang up and seized the child in her
arms--and just about that time Henry Burns stole out and left the two
together; so that he never did know just what happened next.

CHAPTER XIX

THE MYSTERY OF THE MILL

Henry Burns, slipping quietly away from the farmhouse on the hill,
tramped joyously through the snowdrifts to the highway, "caught a ride"
on a sledge going in to Benton and started homeward. He had not ridden
far, however, when a double-seated sleigh appeared in sight, which
seemed even at a distance to be familiar. It became more so when, at
length, he made out clearly a white horse belonging to Tom Harris's
father, and, occupying the two seats, his friends Tom and Bob, Jack
Harvey and George Warren.

Perhaps they didn't give three cheers and a tiger when they espied Henry
Burns! Jack Harvey and George Warren, struggling down the road through
the storm of the afternoon before, had worried not a little about him,
and would have gone back to his aid, if they could have done so. But the
wind and snow had been too fierce; and they could only plod on, hoping
that his usual luck and cleverness would not desert him, and that he
would gain shelter in time.

They seized Henry Burns now and tumbled him into the sleigh, in rough
and hearty fashion; and they turned about and drove back to Benton at
the very best pace that the big horse could make through the snow. Henry
Burns told the story of the night, as they proceeded.

"Say, that's like a story out of the library," remarked George Warren.
"Just think of it! Little Bess a sister of the Ellison fellows. What did
they say, Henry, when you told them?"

"Nothing," replied Henry Burns. "I didn't give 'em a chance. I got out
quick."

"Well, I'm mighty glad for her," exclaimed Jack Harvey, heartily. "She's
the pluckiest little thing I ever saw. I'm glad she's got a good home at
last."

It was some time before Henry Burn