d in everything, and then found that
he had a fortune in his wife," he said. She put out her hand toward him,
and snatched it back to hide her eyes for a moment. She turned toward
the boy, and in a cool voice commanded him not to romp so hard over the
rough ground. Milford saw a soul that loved to be loved, that lived to
be loved, a soul that may not be the most virtuous, but which is surely
the most beautiful. He did not presume to understand women; he estimated
her by a "hunch" as to whether she was good or bad. He remembered that
he had jumped upon his pony and galloped off to the further West, to
keep from falling in love with one. And since that time he had felt
himself safe, so into this woman's eyes he could look without fear.

"Yes," she said, "tell him that love is the greatest estate. It will
make him think, coming from a man. Poor George was in the hardware
business, and he failed not long ago, and I don't know why, for I'm sure
I saved every cent I could. What you tell him will have a good deal of
weight."

Milford had to laugh at this. "I don't know why," said he.

"Because you are a good man."

Milford sneered. "Madam, I'm a crank." He begged her pardon for his
harshness. Her forgiveness came with a smile. He told her that he was
as morbid as a mad dog, and he said it with such energy that she drew
back from him. "But you won't fail to see George, will you? Come on,
Bobbie. Oh, I forgot to tell you of some new arrivals--a Mrs. Goodwin,
wife of a well-known doctor in town, and her companion, one of the
handsomest young women I ever saw--a Norwegian girl, as graceful as one
of her native pines. You won't fail to come, will you? Good-bye."

The evening was sultry, with a lingering smear of red in the western
sky. At the supper table Milford nodded in his chair. The hired man
spoke to him, and he looked up, his batting eyes fighting off sleep.

"Them slashes have about got the best of you, haven't they, Bill? I'd
let that corn go before I'd dig my life out among them tough clods. I'm
givin' it to you straight."

"I don't doubt it. But it will pay in the end. I've come to the
conclusion that all hard work pays. It pays a man's mind, and he
couldn't get a much better reward. But I'd like to go to bed, just the
same."

"Why don't you? Not goin' to dig any more to-night, are you?"

"No, but I've got to go over to Mrs. Stuvic's to see a man."

"A man?" Mitchell asked, with a wink.

"I said a man."

"