-l-y B-i-b-l-e," she spelled.

Thrusting it into her blouse, she bounded out into the night, and raced
up the railroad track almost to the Hoghole trestle before she stopped,
satisfied that no one had seen her theft.

Then, taking the book from her bosom, she kissed it reverently.

"Them old fools ain't goin' to have every damn Bible in this here town.
I air a right like them to this un." Again she kissed it, as she
mumbled: "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John."

That night the candle burned longer in the Skinner shanty, and an auburn
head bent over an open book. A faltering voice spelled out the
sufferings of the Nazarene. Once Tess smiled wanly when reading of how
the Saviour had borne all the woes of the world--that any one believing
could be saved. Her head nodded over the pages, and almost instantly the
rapt face dropped upon the open Bible and Tessibel slept.

A strange dream filled her sleep. A great light flashed suddenly into
the sky--Tessibel's sky--and through the brightness of it she could see
the cross with the Man upon it; could see the nail prints in the swollen
flesh, the thorns pressing into the bowed head. Then as Tessibel dreamed
she moved upon the open Bible and groaned with the dream-Christ upon the
cross. Directly in front of the crucified Saviour Daddy Skinner was
coming toward her with the student.

She started up--a cry of disappointed anguish escaping her lips. The
candle had burned out in the grease cup, the wind was rocking the shanty
and making the rafters creak dismally. Tess shivered as she tossed her
clothes upon the floor, and crept exhausted into Daddy's bed. The last
thing she heard was the splashing of her pet eel in the water-pail.

The next morning, on a piece of yellow paper, she scratched Daddy a
small note. Frederick's words that her father would be pleased with it
filled her with a desire to write. For three hours she struggled with
her first letter.

"daddy the ice air a goin out of the lake ben letts air a gettin
well he air a cuss i air lonlie yit without ye i red my bible last
nite i cribbed it frum the mishion it says as how god air gooder
then i thote he wer cum home and i reads as how a brite lite was a
shinin about the cross and as how the christ ruz up here air a
story bout a squatter brat it air bout tess she cride and cride fer
her dady til her eel what she luved herd her and he cride hisself
to deth this here mornin he wer be