hivered an' cried like a baby whenever I thought o' that icy river.

"I guess I must 'a' went to sleep, afterwards, fer when I woke up the
fire was gett'n' low an' Ol' Swallertail opened the door on a sudden
an' walked in. Josie, ye orter seen him! His legs was wet an' icy, too,
so he must 'a' slipped on the stones himself; an' he was shakin' all
over as if he'd got the ague. His face was a dirty white an' his eyes
burnt like two coals. He threw on more wood, reckless-like, an' jerked
off his shoes an' socks an' set down t'other side the stove. Neither of
us said noth'n' fer awhile an' then he looks at me sort o' curious an'
asks:

"'Did ye git across, Ingua?'

"'No,' says I. 'I near got drowned, tryin' it.'

"Then he set silent ag'in, lookin' at the fire. By-'n'-by says he:
'Ingua, yer old enough to hev sense, an' I want ye to think keerful on
what I'm goin' ter say. Folks aroun' here don't like you an' me very
much, an' if they got a chance--or even thought they had a chance--
they'd crush us under heel like they would scorpions. That's 'cause
we're Craggs, for Craggs ain't never be'n poplar in this neighborhood,
for some reason. Now lis'n. I've done with Ned Joselyn. It ain't nay
fault as I've cast him off; it's his'n. He's got a bad heart an' he's
robbed me right an' left. I could fergive him fer that, because--well,
ye don't need to know why I clung to the feller when I knew he was a
scoundrel. But he robbed a cause dearer to my heart than myself, an'
for that I couldn't fergive him. Nobody knows Ned were here to-night,
Ingua, so if anybody asks ye questions ye didn't see him at all. Fix
that firm in yer mind. Ye don't know noth'n' 'bout Ned sence he went
away las' October. Ye hain't seen him. Stick to that, girl, an' yer all
right; but if ye blab--if ye ever tell a soul as Ned were here--I'll
hev to kill yer myself, to stop yer mouth. Fix that in yer mind, too.'

"I was so skeered that I jes' looked at him. Then I says in a whisper:
'What did ye do to Ned, Gran'dad?'

"He turned his eyes on me so fierce that I dropped my head.

"'I didn't kill him, if that's what ye mean,' says he. 'I orter
strangled him, but I didn't want to swing fer no common thief like Ned
Joselyn. Besides, he's--but that's none o' yer business. So I
threatened him, an' that was jus' as good as killin'. He won't show up
ag'in here, never; an' he ain't likely to show up anywheres else that
he's known. P'raps he'll be hunted for, but he'l