and taking some of Frank's thick woolen socks from her basket,
sat down and began mechanically to darn them. She purposely placed
herself so that he could only see her profile. Even then, he would see
that her eyes were still red; she hadn't had time to bathe them.

"I suppose I look a sight, but poor Mrs. Sharp was so upset! She broke
down and cried and of course I've been crying, too. I'm so thankful it's
turned out all right for her. Poor thing, I never saw her in such a
state!"

"They've got five children to feed. I guess it would make a powerful lot
of difference to them," he said quietly.

"I wish you'd told me all about it before. I felt that something was
worrying you, and I didn't know what." There was a pause. "Why _didn't_
you tell me?"

"If I saved the crop, there didn't seem any use fussing, and if I
didn't, you'd know soon enough."

"How could you bear to let me put those dreadful flowers here in the
house?" she said, pointing to the bowl on the table.

"Oh, I guess I didn't mind, if it gave you any pleasure. You didn't know
they was only a weed and a poisonous one for us farmers. You thought
them darned pretty."

"That was very kind of you, Frank," said Nora. Her voice shook a little
in spite of her effort to control it.

"I guess it's queer that a darned little flower like that should be able
to do so much damage."

That subject exhausted, there came another pause. He was very evidently
waiting her lead. Could Eddie have told him anything about the news from
England? No, he hadn't had any opportunity. Besides it would have been
very unlike Eddie, who, as a general rule, had a supreme talent for
minding his own affairs.

"How did it happen that you didn't tell me that you had written to
Eddie?"

"I guess I forgot."

She waited a few moments to make sure that her voice was quite steady:

"Frank, Eddie brought me some letters from home--from England, I
mean--to-day. I've had an offer of a job back in England."

He got up slowly and went over to the corner where the broom hung to get
some straws to run through the mouthpiece of his pipe. His face was
turned from her, so that she could not see that he had closed his eyes
for a moment and that his mouth was drawn with pain.

When he turned he had resumed his ordinary expression. His voice was
perfectly steady when he spoke:

"An offer of a job? Gee! I guess you'll jump at that."

"It's funny it should have come just when you had been tal