from Tessibel's many times frozen foot.
The little toe marked and cut by frost, limply hanging independent of
its fellows, made Young wince.

Suddenly Tessibel sat up and wound her arms more tightly about the big
humpbacked body.

"I can't go back to the shanty without ye, Daddy," she whimpered, "and
they said--as how ye was comin'--home to stay.... And I ain't
goin'--darned if I air."

Young turned his head again toward the window. He could not banish the
wish that Tess would listen to him.

The deputy placed his hand firmly upon the prisoner's arm, the fisherman
himself trying in vain to loosen the girl's fingers from the shaggy
beard.

"I--I--air to go with Daddy--I air--I air!"

Tessibel brought out the words snappingly, but Skinner, with the aid of
the deputy, opened the clenched hands. Tessibel gave way; she was unable
to stop the awful impending danger that hung over her--absolute
separation from Daddy Skinner.

"Daddy, Daddy," she gasped, sitting up straight: "man--man, let me go
... I air dyin' without my Daddy ... I air alone--all alone!"

The official moved anxiously as she made this appeal to him. She was now
standing on her bare feet, but she bounded forward as the bible-back
rose and fell, and large tears dragged themselves from the lowered lids
of the fisherman's blue-gray eyes. She pantingly caught her father's
hand in hers.

"Kisses, Daddy Skinner, kisses on the bill for Tess--before ye go ...
Tess air a bad brat--"

She could not finish the sentence for the squatter had pressed her to
him convulsively. Then Skinner dropped the slender, relaxed body into
the wooden arm-chair, and iron-hampered, took up his march behind the
deputy. The professor mutely watched the storm, desperate and terrible,
break over the squatter girl. Her wild weeping settled into sobs, the
sound of which rent and shook the man's emotions. At last he ventured to
speak:

"Child, may I be your friend?"

"'Taint no friends I want. It air somethin' to love--to kiss. It air
Daddy I want."

The voice came brokenly from the veil of red hair.

Just then the great iron door clanged in the distance behind the
prisoner. Tessibel sprang to the open door, straining her ears to catch
another sound from the "black place" which had enveloped her father
within its menacing shadows.

"He air--gone.... Daddy--air--gone!"

The words were spoken slowly, and hurt the watching man almost as if the
torture were his own. A shriek ro