," he said, pondering. "And Elia? What of him?"

The girl started. She turned on him, and her pretty eyes were wide
with astonishment.

"It will make no difference," she said, with a sudden coldness she
could not have accounted for. "What do you mean?"

Peter's great shoulders shrugged.

"Why, nothing," he said. "It kind of seemed a natural question."

The tone brought immediate contrition to the girl's warm heart. This
man was always kind to her. It would have been difficult to remember a
single week since she had lived in Barnriff which had not witnessed at
least one small kindness from him. Her eyes wandered over her garden.
He had not long finished digging it over for her.

"Of course it was a natural question," she exclaimed, "only I--well,
it doesn't seem to me as if there could be any question about Elia.
Wherever I am, he will be."

"Just so, just so. He'll still live with you--you and Will. Y'see, I
was only thinking. If--if you wanted a home for him for a while, while
you and Will were--honeymooning, now. Why, he'd be real welcome in my
shack. He'd want for nothing, and I'd look after him same as--well,
not perhaps as well as you could, but I'd do my best. Y'see, Eve, I
like the boy. And, and his very weakness makes me want to help him.
You know he'd get good food. I'm rather particular about my food, and
I cook it myself. He'd have eggs for breakfast, and good bacon, not
sow-belly. And there's no hash in my shanty. The best meat Gay sells,
and he could have all the canned truck he liked. Oh, I'd feed him
well. And I've always got a few dollars for pocket money. Y'see, Eve,
folks honeymooning don't want a third party around, even if he's a
sick boy. I'd take it a real favor if you said 'yes,' I would, true. I
can look after----"

The man felt one of her warm hands squeezing his arm with the
tenderest pressure. There was a moisture in her eyes as she sought
his, but she shook her head.

"Peter, Peter, I don't know where you come from, I don't know why
you're here, unless it is to help us all to be better folks. I know
why you want to take Elia off my hands. I know, and the matter has
troubled me some. Elia doesn't like Will. I know that. But Elia is my
care, he's more--he's my life. He will be with me as long as we both
live, even--yes, even if I had to give Will up. I can't tell you,
Peter, what my poor weakly brother is to me. If anything happened to
him I think it would break my heart. And it seem