ght to been wiser. But I never heard tell of it before,
though God knows I've heard the story often enough to-day."

It was now dark, and Will, lighting a lantern, rose and went out into
the yard. From the kitchen window his women watched him moving here and
there; while, as he passed, the light revealed great motionless, rufous
shapes on every hand. The corpses of the beasts hove up into the
illumination and then vanished again as the narrow circle of lantern
light bobbed on, jerking to the beat of Will's footsteps. From the
window Damaris observed her son make a complete perambulation of his
trouble without comment. Then a little emotion trembled on her tongue.

"God's hand be lifted 'gainst the bwoy, same as 't was 'gainst the
patriarch Job seemin'ly. Awnly he bent to the rod and Will--"

"He'm noble an' grand under his sorrows. Who should knaw but me?" cried
Phoebe. "A man in ten thousand, he is, an' never yields to no rod. He'll
win his way yet; an' I be gwaine to cleave to un if he travels to the
other end o' the airth."

"I doan't judge un, gal. God knaws he's been the world to me since his
faither died. He'm my dear son. But if he'd awnly bend afore the
A'mighty breaks him."

"He's got me."

"Ess, an' he'm mouldin' you to his awn vain pride an' wrong ways o'
thinking. If you could lead un right, 't would be a better wife's
paart."

"He'm wiser'n me, an' stronger. Ban't my place to think against him.
Us'll go our ways, childern tu, an' turn our backs 'pon this desert. I
hate the plaace now, same as Will."

Chris here interrupted Phoebe and called her from the other room.

"Wheer's the paper an' ink to? I be setting out the things against Will
comes in. He axed for 'em to be ready, 'cause theer's a deal o'
penmanship afore him to-night. An' wheer's that li'l dictionary what I
gived un years ago? I lay he'll want it."

CHAPTER V

TWO MIGHTY SURPRISES

Will returned from survey of his tribulation. Hope was dead for the
moment, and death of hope in a man of Blanchard's character proved
painful. The writing materials distracted his mind. Beginning without
interest, his composition speedily absorbed him; and before the task was
half completed, he already pictured it set out in great black or red
print upon conspicuous places.

"I reckon it'll make some of 'em stare to see the scholar I am,
anyways," he reflected.

Through the hours of night he wrote and re-wrote. His pen scratched
along, echo