' took a place in a store. She had
ambitions t' soar an' be somethin' different. Once or twice she came
home all dressed up t' kill, an' lookin' like jest nothin' but a picter.
An' once I went t' the city jest t' see her. I took special care o' my
get-up, knowing how much Mary sot by such things. I thought I was all
right till I reached the town; then it broke on me like a clap o'
thunder that I was about as out o' place there as a whale in a
fresh-water lake. Mary was real upset 'bout my comin' onexpected an'
lookin' so different to city folks, an' she out an' out told me 't
warn't no use, she was bein' courted by a city man as was rich, an'
goin' t' make a real lady of her."

Poor Billy's weather-beaten face twitched under the lash of the old
memory which had never lost its power over him. Janet did not take her
eyes from him, nor did she break the spell by a word of hurry or
question. Presently Billy went on.

"An' then--she came back here! Davy, he brought her across the bay after
dark one evenin'. No one on the mainland knew. When I went on the
midnight patrol she met me--an' told me!"

"Told you what?" No longer could Janet hold the question back. She knew
Billy's method of going around a dangerous spot, and her womanhood and
daughterhood demanded _all_.

"'Bout him in the city!" The past misery shook Billy's voice. "He--he
didn't marry her! He went away an' left her! The poor little wrecked
soul came back here, havin' no other harbor in all God's world, an' she
knew she could trust me an' the love I allus had fur her. Her faith
steered her true! She didn't want t' let me take the course I laid out;
she said it wasn't fair t' me. Lord! not fair t' me! She never would
tell me his name. She wanted t' forgit everythin'. It made her shiver t'
talk, even, of the city. She didn't want no help 'long o' him who had
deserted her, an' I never pestered her none. Then I--married her. Davy,
he backed me up, an' he an' Susan Jane went t' Bay End an' saw us
married. Susan Jane kept her visitin' over at the Light till I took her,
calm an' easy-like, t' the parson, an' most folks never guessed the real
truth. An' then we come over here fur a little while, such a little
while! I never seen a more grateful critter than she was. She never
seemed t' take int' 'count the joy 't was fur me to serve her an' chirp
her up. I fixed the little place fur her, an' I took my traps t' the
lean-to so as t' give her plenty o' room, an' by an'