e,
everything else had gone too. All her life's hopes had been dissolved
in the crucible of death. She lay, with her hands to her mouth,
pressing back the great sobs that came from the depths of her heart.
She reached out and tentatively touched her father's cheek; without
fear she moved his head a little to what she hoped would be a more
comfortable position.

"You told me to go," she whispered brokenly, "and I'm going now. You
never liked me much, but I guess one of my kisses won't hurt you."

Saying this, Jinnie pressed her lips twice to those of her dead
father, and got to her feet quickly. She dared not leave the lamp
burning, so within a short distance of the table she drew a long
breath and blew toward the smoking light. The flame flared thrice like
a torch, then spat out, leaving the shivering girl to feel her way
around the room. To the sensitive young soul the dark was almost
maddening. She only wanted to get back to Milly Ann, and she closed
the door with no thought for what might become of the man inside. He
was dead! A greater danger menaced her. He had warned her and she
would heed. As she stumbled down the stairs, her memories came too
swiftly to be precise and in order, and the weird moans of the night
wind drifted intermittently through the wild maze of her thoughts. She
would say good-bye to Molly the Merry, for Molly was the only person
in all the country round who had ever spoken a kindly word to her.
Their acquaintance had been slight, because Molly lived quite a
distance away and the woman had never been to see her, but then of
course no one in the neighborhood approved of the house of Singleton.

Later by five minutes, Virginia left the dark farmhouse, carrying her
fiddle and the pail of cats, and the blizzard swallowed her up.

CHAPTER III

JINNIE'S FAREWELL TO MOLLY THE MERRY

Virginia turned into the Merriweather gate, went up the small path to
the kitchen, and rapped on the door. There was no response, so she
turned the handle and stepped into the room. It was warm and
comfortable. A teakettle, singing on the back of the stove, threw out
little jets of steam. Jinnie placed the pail on the floor and seated
herself in a low chair with her fiddle on her lap. Molly would be back
in a minute, she was sure. Just as she was wondering where the woman
could be, she heard the sound of voices from the inner room. A swift
sensation of coming evil swept over her, and without taking thought o