laughter, and pardon him, for my sake--for
Burton's."

And here the poor girl groaned bitterly, as she thought of Burton, her
young brother, whom she loved so much, and of whom she was so proud,
and for whom she was so glad that he could live in Boston, amid all the
fine sights of a city, which suited him better than the homely life at
the farm-house. When, after her mother's funeral, her aunt, Mrs.
Wetherby, had offered to take him home with her and bring him up as her
own, Hannah had felt for a time as if she could not let him go and leave
her there alone; but when she thought of all the benefit it would be to
him, and saw how much he wished it, she stifled every selfish feeling,
for his sake, and saw him leave her without a sign of the pain at her
heart, or the unutterable longing she had for his companionship. And
now, as she thought of him, her bitterest pang came from the fact that
if this deed were known, he would suffer all his life from the shame of
it, and, to herself, she said:

"For Burton's sake, I must bear it always, and alone. He must never know
what I know. No one must ever know, and may God forgive me if I am doing
wrong!" And falling upon her knees, with her head upon Rover's neck, the
wretched girl prayed earnestly for grace to know what was right, and
strength to do it.

And He who hears every sincere cry for help, even though His ear may
seem deaf, and the heavens brass, sending back the cry like an unmeaning
sound, gave her the strength needful for the hour, and a feeling of
calmness stole over her, making her quiet, and even fearless of the
stiffened form lying so near her upon the floor.

But when, a few minutes later, her father appeared in the door, with a
candle in his hand, and said to her, "I have done all I can do alone;
you must help me now," the old terror came back, and staggering to her
feet, she asked:

"What do you wish me to do?"

"Help carry him into the next room," her father replied, and then
forgetting Burton, forgetting everything, she burst out again:

"Oh, father, will it not be better to tell the truth, at once? The fact
that you do so will go a long way toward clearing you. The people all
respect you so much, and they know he was quarrelsome and insulting at
times. Think, father, think!"

"I have thought," he answered, "and I tell you I cannot be hanged!"
then going swiftly to his bed-room he came back with a Bible in his
hand, and standing before the white-faced