?" she whispered, "oh! I understand." The man looked
at her stupidly, clasping and unclasping his bony fingers.

"Do I?" he said brokenly; "I thought 't was you! As God hears me, I
thought 't was you! But now this has happened 'long of the--the poor
little thing, it's kinder knocked me down. I allus felt sorry fur her!
You had so much an' she had, what you might say, nothin'. I allus was a
master hand fur wantin' t' help, an' when I saw you driftin' off t' the
Hills, I wanted t' help you, an' I thought I loved you! An' now I want
t' help her. I'm poor shucks, Janet, an' not over keen; but I'm fairly
full of trouble now!" He bowed his head, and the big tears splashed upon
his rough hands.

In all the past Janet had never so respected him as she did at that
moment. Almost reverently, she touched the bent shoulder.

"It may not be too late, dear Mark," she comforted; "we'll find her, and
all may be well. The best man I ever knew did what you may have to do,
Mark. Forgive and forget, and let a great love have its way!"

The poor fellow could not see into the future. The remorseful past and
the pain-filled present engulfed him.

"She use' t' want me," he groaned out, "'fore the boarders come! She
use' t' come up t' Pa's an' act up real pert an' comical; maybe if she
hadn't, I'd 'a' noticed her more! Ah! if I'd only been content t' see it
then, I might have saved her. I was only up t' Maud Grace's limit, but I
was allus a-thinkin' I was more, an' then when she took t' the boarders
I got mad an', an'--"

Janet knelt upon the leaves and bent her head upon Mark's knees. Never
in her life before had she so touched him, but she knew now that he and
she were out in the open where no future misunderstanding would darken
their way. He needed her and she needed him; and poor, lost Maud needed
them both.

"Don't take on, Janet!" Mark touched the bright head, with clumsy,
reverent hand, "'t warn't any fault of yours. I did all I could t' bring
myself up to a p'int that I hoped I could reach you frum--but 't warn't
in me. I was 'bout Maud Grace's limit, as I say, but I didn't want t'
own to it, an' now," he gulped bravely, "'t ain't much of an offerin'!
I'm a poor shote, but if I could, I'd use my wuthless life fur her. It's
'bout all I kin do."

"And it is the greatest thing on earth, Mark!" Janet smoothed the rough
hand. "Maud will never come to you; you must bring her back and I will
help you both. Go, Mark, go look at the bo