ld him. "I knew you would. And I
want you to take this, too, and keep it. I don't want to go away like
this, but I have to. If I didn't start right now I--I might not go at
all. I hate to leave her alone--in this town. That's half of what the
Judge let me have today on this place. It's not much, but it's
something if she should need anything while I'm gone. I thought you
might--see that she was all right--till I got back?"

The servant of the "Gov'mint" stood and stared down at the limp little
roll of bills in his hand; he stared until something caught in his
throat and made him gulp again noisily. But his face was shamelessly
defiant of the mist that smarted under his eyelids when he looked up
again.

"Take care of her?" he whispered. "Me take care of her for you?
Why--why, Godfrey--why, man----"

He dashed one hand across his eyes.

"I'm a old gossipy fool," he exclaimed. "Nothin' but a old gossipy
fool; but I reckon you don't hev to _count_ them bills over before you
leave 'em with me. Not unless you want to. I've been just an ordinary,
common waggle-tongue. That's what I really come for in such a hurry
tonight, once I'd thought of it. Jest to see if I couldn't nose around
into business that wa'n't no concern of mine. But I'm gittin' over
that--I'm gittin' over that fast! Learning a little dignity of
bearin', too, as you might say. And I don't deny I ain't a little
curious yet--more'n a little curious. But I want to tell you this:
There's some folks that lies mostly for profit, and some that lies
largely for their own amusement, and they both do jest about as much
damage in the long run, and I ain't no better, jest because I never
made nothin' outen mine. But if you could kinda drop me a line, maybe
once in a while, and tell me how you're gittin' on, I'd be mighty glad
to hear. An' it wouldn't do no harm, either." He nodded his head, in
turn, in the direction of the drab cottage across the valley.
"Because--because she's goin' to be waitin' to hear--she's goin' to be
sorry, and kinda wonderin'. I know--well, jest because I know!"

Still he lingered, with his fingers on the door catch. He shoved out
his free hand.

"I--I suppose we'd ought to shake hands, hedn't we," he faltered;
"bein' as it's kinda considered the reg'lar and customary thing to do
on such occasions?"

Denny was smiling as his hand closed over those clawlike fingers; he
was smiling in a way that Old Jerry had never seen before. Because the
n