e an end of his bossin' some
day. Gosh! I'm glad she got th' money! Noland was some fond of her."

Jake stole a sidelong glance at Luther as he said it and waited to see if
he would elicit an answer. When Luther did not reply, he added:

"I'm dog'on glad I've been here. Lots of folks 'll ask me questions, an'
won't I be innocent? You kin help at your end of this thing too. I guess
we kin do it 'tween us."

The understanding was perfect, but Jake took warning by Luther's refusal
to discuss private affairs. Without saying just what was intended, each
knew what course of action the other meant to take, and so Elizabeth was
granted friends at the critical moment of her life and spared much that
was hard in a community where personalities were the only topics of
conversation.

* * * * *

Nathan Hornby was only too glad to live in the house with Jack Hunter. As
he remarked, it would take no more time to drive over to his work than to
cook his own breakfast in the morning.

Hepsie was at this time Elizabeth's principal defender. While listening to
the reading of the will on the day of the funeral, Hepsie, old in the ways
of her little world, had known that some explanation would have to be made
of so unusual a matter as a man leaving his money to another man's wife,
instead of to the man himself, and had begun by giving out the report
which she intended the world to accept, by talking to Sadie Hansen before
she got out of the dooryard. Hepsie knew that first reports went farthest
with country folk, and Luther, who understood better than any one else why
the money had been left to Elizabeth, was inwardly amused at Sadie's
explanations afterward.

"You know, Luther," Sadie had said on the way home that day, "Mr. Noland
told Hepsie he was agoin' t' leave his share of th' land to Lizzie, 'cause
Doc Morgan says She'll never be strong again after overworkin' for all
them men, an' things. An' she says he felt awful bad 'cause he was a
layin' there sick so long an' her a havin' t' do for 'im when she wasn't
able--an' do you know, she thinks that's why he killed hisself? I always
did like 'im. I think it was mighty nice for him t' leave 'er th' stuff.
My! think of a woman havin' a farm all 'er own!"

And Luther Hansen listened to Sadie telling her mother the same thing the
next day, and smiled again, for Mrs. Crane could talk much, and was to
talk to better purpose than she knew.

Al