idden in the hills while this thing, that the
girl was telling, was going on--the strong, clear mind of the listener
interpreted the truth by the knowledge gained through a long, hard life.

"And so, you see, Miss Lois Ann, it's like he opened heaven for me; and
I want to hide here till he comes to take me up, up into heaven with
him. And no one else must know."

Lois Ann had torn the cawl from Nella-Rose's baby face--had felt, in her
superstitious heart, that the child was mysteriously destined to see
wide and far; and now, with agony that she struggled to conceal, she
knew that to her was given the task of drawing the veil from the soul of
the girl at her feet in order that she might indeed see far and wide
into the kingdom of suffering women.

For a moment the woman fenced, she would put the cup from her if she
could, like all humans who understand.

"You--are yo' lying to me?" she asked faintly, and oh, but she would
have given much to hear the girl's impish laugh of assent. Instead, she
saw Nella-Rose's eyes grow deadly serious.

"It's no lie, Miss Lois Ann; it's a right beautiful truth."

"And for days and nights you stayed alone with this man?"

The lean hand, with unrelenting strength, now gripped the drooping face
and held it firmly while the firelight played full upon it, meanwhile
the keen old eyes bored into Nella-Rose's very soul.

"But he--he is my man! You forget the--marrying on the hill, Miss Lois
Ann!"

The voice was raised a bit and the colour left the trembling lips.

"Your man!" And a bitter laugh rang out wildly.

"Stop, Miss Lois Ann! Yo' shall not look at me like that!"

The vision was dulled--Nella-Rose shivered.

"You shall not look at me like that; God would not--why should you?"

"God!"--the cracked voice spoke the word bitterly. "God! What does God
care for women? It's the men as God made things for, and us-all has to
fend them off--men and God are agin us women!"

"No, no! Let me free. I was so happy until--Oh! Miss Lois Ann, you
shall not take my happiness away."

"Yo' came to the right place, yo' po' lil' chile."

The eyes had seen all they needed to see and the hand let drop the
pretty, quivering face.

"We'll wait--oh! certainly we-all will wait a week; two weeks; then
three. An' we-all will hide close and see what we-all shall see!" A
hard, pitiful laugh echoed through the room. "And now to bed! Take the
closet back o' my chamber. No one can reach yo' there, chile.