his knife in his pocket he took out the letters which he had not touched
since they were handed to him in the darkness. His first glance at the
handwriting caused him to stop. Then still staring at it, he began to
move slowly and automatically backwards to the porch. When he reached
it he sat down, unfolded the letter, and without attempting to read it,
turned its pages over and over with the unfamiliarity of an illiterate
man in search of the signature. This when found apparently plunged him
again into motionless abstraction. Only once he changed his position
to pull up the legs of his trousers, open his knees, and extend the
distance between his feet, and then with the unfolded pages carefully
laid in the moonlit space thus opened before him, regarded them with
dubious speculation. At the end of ten minutes he rose with a sigh
of physical and mental relaxation, refolded the letter, put it in his
pocket, and made his way to the town.

When he reached the hotel he turned into the bar-room, and observing
that it happened to be comparatively deserted, asked for a glass of
whiskey. In response to the barkeeper's glance of curiosity--as Uncle
Ben seldom drank, and then only as a social function with others--he
explained:--

"I reckon straight whiskey is about ez good ez the next thing for blind
chills."

The bar-keeper here interposed that in his larger medical experience he
had found the exhibition of ginger in combination with gin attended
with effect, although it was evident that in his business capacity he
regarded Uncle Ben, as a drinker, with distrust.

"Ye ain't seen Mr. Ford hanging round yer lately?" continued Uncle Ben
with laborious ease.

The bar-keeper, with his eye still scornfully fixed on his customer, but
his hands which were engaged in washing his glasses under the
counter giving him the air of humorously communicating with a hidden
confederate, had not seen the school-master that afternoon.

Uncle Ben turned away and slowly mounted the staircase to the master's
room. After a moment's pause on the landing, which must have been
painfully obvious to any one who heard his heavy ascent, he gave two
timid raps on the door which were equally ridiculous in contrast with
his powerful tread. The door was opened promptly by the master.

"Oh, it's you, is it?" he said shortly. "Come in."

Uncle Ben entered without noticing the somewhat ungracious form
of invitation. "It war me," he said, "dropped in, not fi