while! I reckon ye
don't hardly realize how I studied down thar in prison about ther snow
on these Godforsaken hillsides an' ther wind whirrin' through ther
chinks. But mebby ye _kin_ comprehend this hyar fact. _You'd_ hev
pintedly starved ter death, ef yore maw hedn't rigged up a new still in
place of ther one the Govern_ment_ confiscated, an' made white licker
all ther time I was down thar sarvin' time. _She_ did thet an' paid off
ther interest on the mortgage an' saved a leetle mite for me erginst
ther day when I come home. Now air ye sich a sight better then yore maw
was?"

A yellow flood of sunlight fell upon the two figures and threw into a
relief of high lights their two faces; one sternly patriarchal and
rugged, the other vitally young and spare of feature.

Corded arteries appeared on Bear Cat's temples and, as he listened, the
nails of his fingers bit into the flesh of his palms, but his father
swept on, giving him no opportunity to reply.

"My daddy hed jest shortly afore been lay-wayed an' killed by some
Towers murderer, an' his property had done been parceled out amongst
his children. Thar wasn't but jest fourteen of us ter heir hit an'
nobody got much. When they tuck me down ter ther big Co'te I had ter
hire me a lawyer--an' thet meant a mortgage. Yore maw hedn't, up ter
then, been used ter sich-like slavish poverty. She could hev married
mighty nigh any man in these parts--an' she tuck me.

"Whilst I war a-layin' thar in jail a-tormentin' myself with my
doubtin' whether either one of ye would weather them times alive, _she_
was a-runnin' ther still hyar in my stead. Many's the day she tromped
over them hills through ther snow an' mud with _you_ a-whimperin' on
her breast an' wropped in a shawl thet she needed her own self. Many's
ther night she tromped back ergin an' went hongry ter bed, so's _you_
could have plenty ter eat, when thar warn't sca'cely enough ter divide
betwixt ye. But them things _she_ did in famine days, _you're_ too
sanctified ter relish now."

Turner Stacy trembled from head to foot. It seemed to him that he could
see that grim picture in retrospect and despite his stoic's training
his eyes burned with unshed tears. Loyalty to kith and kin is the
cornerstone of every mountain man's religion, the very grail of his
faith. Into his eyes blazed a tawny, tigerish light, but words choked
in his throat and his father read, in his agitation, only a defiance
which was no part of his though