legible:

"--is very ill; you may be sent for now at any time."

Katherine pondered over the dirty fragment with a very puzzled
expression. There were three ways of explaining the presence of
that bit of paper at the encampment on Ochre Lake: it might have
been stolen from Jervis by the Indians, when they came down to the
Cove; or the Indians coming up from Maxohama might have been robbed
of the mails they were bringing by other Indians; or they might
have perished in one of the winter storms, and the bags might have
been found afterwards, and appropriated as justifiable treasure
trove.

Katherine said nothing of all this to Miles; she wanted to speak to
Jervis about it first, for, of course, it might be only part of an
old letter that he had lost, and of no importance at all to anyone
else. If this were proved to be the case she would be greatly
relieved. A whole host of misgivings had arisen in her heart on
reading the words: "You may be sent for now at any time". If
Jervis were to go away, what a blank it would make in her life! Of
course he would come back again, but the dreary months of his
absence would be very hard to live through.

She did not see Jervis that day until evening. He came in as usual
when night school was over. Then all the family were gathered in
the one sitting-room the house contained, which left little chance
for private conversation of any kind; the boys went away to bed
after a time, taking their father with them, and then Mrs. Burton
went to put her little girls to bed, and the lovers were alone for
the brief half-hour which was all the time they could get for
uninterrupted talk on most days. Then Katherine produced the
fragment, stated how she had discovered it, and asked a little
shyly if it were part of an old letter, or a bit of one he had
never received.

"I have never had it, of that I am quite certain," he said, with a
very grave look on his face.

"Then who is ill? Is it one of your brothers?" she asked, with a
painful throb at her heart; for something in his looks and his
expression made her certain that if the summons came he would have
to go.

"No, George and Fred are hard as nails; nothing is likely to ail
them, nor would their illness necessitate my going home. I expect
it is Cousin Samuel who is ill," Jervis answered, with a curious
hesitancy of manner and a sort of constraint which made Katherine's
heart heavy as lead, although she held her head high an