s of the plough, he possessed himself of them.
Laughingly he turned her about after the short tussle, and looked down
into her warm, flushed face. Still holding her hands, he pulled her away
from the plough to the grassy edge of the field, leaving Hoyle waiting
astride the mule.

"Whoa, mule. Stand still thar," he shrilled, as the beast sought to
cross the bit of ploughed ground to reach the grass beyond.

"Let him eat a minute, Hoyle," said David. "Let him eat until I come.
Now, Miss Cassandra, what does this mean? Do you think you can plough
all that land? Is that it?"

"I must."

"You must not."

"There is no one else now. I must." He could feel her hands quiver in
his, as he forcibly held them, and knew from her panting breath how her
heart was beating. She held her head high, nevertheless, and looked
bravely back into his eyes.

"You must let me--" he paused. Intuitively he knew he must not say as
yet what he would. "Let me direct you a little. You have been most kind
to me--and--it is my place; I am a doctor, you know."

"If I were sick or hurt, I would give heed to you, I would do anything
you say; but I'm not, and this is laid on me to do. Leave go my hands,
Doctor Thryng."

"If you'll sit down here a moment and talk this thing out with me, I
will. Now tell me first of all, why is this laid on you?"

"Frale is gone and it must be done, or we will have no crop, and then
we must sell the animals, and then go down and live like poor white
trash." Her low, passive monotone sounded like a moan of sorrow.

"You must hire some one to do this heavy work."

"Every one is working his own patch now, and--no, I have no money to
hire with. I reckon I've thought it all over every way, Doctor." She
looked sadly down at her hands and then up at the mountain top. "I know
you think this is no work for a girl to do, and you are right. Our women
never have done such. Only in the war times my Grandmother Caswell did
it, and I can now. A girl can do what she must. I have no way to turn
but to live as my people have lived before me. I thought once I might do
different, go to school and keep separate--but--" She spread out her
hands with a hopeless gesture, and rose to resume her work.

"Give me a moment longer. I'm not through yet. That's right, now listen.
I see the truth of what you say, and I came down this morning to make a
proposition to your mother--not for your sake only--don't be afraid, for
my own as well; but