comfort and--and security. That last
is a great thing in a hard world, as I guess you know. The only way I
could repay them was by being a 'good and faithful servant,' as the
Bible puts it, and I had reason to believe that they both came to be
glad of the day they showed kindness to a less fortunate human."

"What was your trouble?" she asked quietly, for this was her first
intimation that his advent to the household had been marked by anything
out of the ordinary. "My father never mentioned it."

"He wouldn't--and it doesn't belong with what I've started to tell you
now, Miss Ocky." He glanced at her apologetically. "I'm telling you
how I know they were glad to have me. When your mother was dying, Miss
Ocky, she had me called in for a word with her. She thanked me for the
service I'd given and said she hoped I would always stay with your
father as long as he needed me--'which will be to the day of his
death,' she said.

"The same thing happened when his time came. I was in and out of his
room a dozen times a day while he was ill, and once he stopped me and
told me a few things he had on his mind.

"'It's a queer thing, Bates,' he said. 'Here I am dying with scarce a
relative to my name, and I'm leaving two daughters to face the world
alone. They'll have money, but they won't have an older person to help
them over the rough places.' I could see he was worried. 'Of course,'
he said, 'Miss Lucy is going to marry that young fellow, Varr. I'm not
so fond of him as she is, though I've nothing against him that would
stop the match. It's her I'm thinking about. She will have this house
when I'm gone and she is married--and I want her to have you.' Well,
Miss Ocky, to tell you the truth I started to say something about
hoping that _you_ would set up housekeeping and find a place for me,
but he wouldn't listen to me for a minute. You know how quick he was.
'I'm competent to judge my own children!' he snapped at me. 'Ocky can
stand on her own two legs as long as she has 'em and will get along
nicely on crutches after that. It's Lucy that may need help.' He
looked at me very sharp--you have his eyes, Miss Ocky. 'I'm a dying
man and this is the last thing I'll ever ask of you,' he said. 'I
don't pretend that you owe me anything, but I'll ask you as a favor to
promise me you'll always stand by Miss Lucy.'

"There couldn't be two answers to that. I promised."

"And you've kept your promise faithfully. Yo