iced her loss. The
drowsiness that often came upon her, like a flash, did so now and she
sank back against her hay-support, sound asleep.

All crowded about Dorothy, excited, incredulous, delighted, sorely
puzzled.

"Could Luna have stolen it, that foolish one?"

"But she wasn't in the house the night it was lost. Don't you
remember? It was then that Dolly found her out by the pond. It
couldn't have been she!"

"Do you suppose it blew out of the window and she picked it up?"

"It couldn't. The window wasn't opened. It stormed, you know."

Such were the questions and answering speculations that followed
Dorothy's exclamation, as the lads and lassies found this real drama
far more absorbing than the composite tale had been.

Mrs. Calvert and Mr. Seth alone said nothing, but they watched with
tender anxiety to see Dorothy's next action. That it satisfied them
was evident, from the smiles of approval gathering on their faces and
the joyous nodding of the gray heads. Their girl hadn't disappointed
them--she was their precious Dorothy still.

She had gone straight to where old Ephraim and his cronies now sat in
a distant part of the barn, enjoying their share of the good things
Alfy and Danny had provided, and kneeling down beside him had laid the
roll of money on his knee. Then audibly enough for all to hear, she
said:

"Dear Ephraim, forgive me, if you can. This is the money I lost, the
ten crisp ten-dollar bills. Count them and see."

"No, no, li'l Missy! No, no. An' fo' de lan', doan you-all kneel to a
pore ole niggah lak me! Fo' de lan', Missy, whe'-all's yo' pride an'
mannehs?"

Her posture so distressed him that she rose and said, turning to her
friends that all might hear:

"It was I, and I alone, who put that money out of sight. I remember
now as clearly as if it were this minute. That red frock was the one I
wore that night when Luna came. There is a rip in it, between the
lining and the outside of the waist. It was an oversight of the
maker's, I suppose, that left it so, but I never mended it, because it
made such a handy pocket, and there was no other. I remember plain.
When the crash came I gathered up the money and thrust it into that
place. Instinct told me it was something to be cared for, I guess,
because I'm sure I didn't stop to think. Then when I went to bed I
must have been too excited to remember about it and left it there. The
next day I gave that frock to Luna and she has worn it ever s