no way to
talk to a lady, hear me! She may be a bad one, but she's stuck to you.
If you get off any more talk like that I'll see if a dip in the lake
will make you feel more polite like. See?"

John gave no answer, but relapsed into his sullen silence again.

Eleanor approached Lolla gently.

"We are not angry with you, Lolla," she said, kindly. "No, nor with
John. You love him, do you?"

Lolla gave no answer, but looked up into Eleanor's face with eyes that
spoke plainly enough.

"I thought so. Then you do not want him to go to prison? Try to make him
tell why he did this. If he will do that, perhaps he can go free, and
you and Peter, too. You wouldn't like to have to leave your people, and
not be able to travel along the road, and do all the things you are used
to doing, would you?

"Well, I am afraid that is what will happen to you, unless John will
tell all he knows. They will take you away, soon now, and you will go
down to the town and there you will be locked up, all three of you, and
you and John will not even see one another, for a long time--two or
three years, maybe, or even longer--"

Still Lolla could not speak. But she began to cry, quietly, but with a
display of suffering that moved Eleanor. After all, she felt Lolla was
little more than a girl, and, though she had done wrong, very wrong, she
had never had a proper chance to learn how to do what was right.

"I'm sorry for you, Lolla," said Eleanor. "We all are. We think you
didn't know what you were doing, and how wicked it was. I will do my
best for you, but your best chance is to make John tell all he knows."

"How can I? He blames me. He says if I and Peter hadn't been such
cowards all would have been well. He is angry at me; he will not forgive
me."

"Oh, yes, he will, Lolla. I am sure he loves you, and that he did this
wicked thing because he wanted to have much money to spend buying nice
things for you; pretty dresses, and a fine wagon, with good horses. So
he will be sorry for speaking angrily to you, soon, and you will be able
to make him tell the truth, if you only try. Will you try?"

"Yes," decided Lolla, suddenly. "I think you are good--that you forgive
us. Do you?"

"I certainly do. After all, you see, Lolla, you haven't done us any
harm."

Lolla pointed to Bessie.

"Will she forgive me?" she inquired. "I tricked her--made a fool of
her--but she made a fool of me afterward. I lied to her; will she
forgive me, too, like you