ee her."

Wanaka saw that there was some plan in his mind, and she knew that to
try to ward him off would be dangerous. There was nothing to prevent him
from returning, later, with Weeks or anyone else.

"Bessie!" she called. "Can you come out here a minute?"

And Bessie, coming out, came face to face with Paw Hoover! She stared at
him, frightened and astonished, but she held her ground. And Paw
Hoover's astonishment was as great as her own. This was a new Bessie he
had never seen before. She was neatly dressed now in one of Ayu's blue
skirts and white blouses, and one of the girls had done up her hair in a
new way.

"Well, I swan!" he said. "You've struck it rich, ain't you, Bessie?
Aimin' to run away and leave us?"

Bessie couldn't answer, but Wanaka spoke up.

"You haven't any real hold on her, Mr. Hoover," she said.

"That's right, that's right!" said Paw Hoover. "I cal'late you've had a
hard time once in a while, Bessie. An' I don't believe you ever set that
shed afire on purpose. If you hadn't jumped into the water after that
other girl I'd never have suspicioned you was here, Bessie. You stay
right with these young ladies, if they'll have you. I'll not say a word.
An' if you ever get into trouble, you write to me--see?"

He looked at her, and sighed. Then he beckoned to her, and took her
aside.

"Maw's right set on havin' her own way, Bessie," he said. "But she's my
wife, an' she's a good one, an' if she makes mistakes, I've got to let
her have her way. Reckon I've made enough on 'em myself. Here, you take
this. I guess you've earned it, right enough. That fire didn't do no
real damage--nothin' we can't fix up in a day or two."

Bessie's eyes filled with tears. Paw Hoover was simply proving again
what she had always known--that he was a really good and kindly man. She
longed to tell him that she hadn't set the barn on fire, that it had
been Jake. But she knew he would find it hard to believe that of his
son, and that, even if he took her word for it, the knowledge would be a
blow. And it would do her no good, so she said nothing of that.

"Thank you, Paw," she said. "You always were good to me. I'll never
forget you, and sometime I'll come back to see you and all the others.
Good-bye!"

"Good-bye, Bessie," he said. "You be a good girl and you'll get along
all right. And you stick to Miss Mercer there. She'll see that you get
along."

Not until he had gone did Bessie open her hand and look at the c