d fling them
her thoughts in the husk, and listen, listen while they ground them
into dreams. What knowledge would be better than that? What would she
lose by opening the door?

But she had to open the door.

Outside on the stones stood a common lad. He might have been three
years older than she. He had a cap with a hole in it in his hand, and a
shabby jersey that left his brown neck bare. He was whistling when she
lifted the bar, but he stopped as the door fell back, and gave Helen a
quick and careless look.

"Can I have a bit of bread?" he asked.

Helen stared at him without answering. She was so unused to people that
her mind had to be summoned from a world of ghosts before she could
hear and utter real words. The boy waited for her to speak, but, as she
did not, shrugged his shoulders and turned away whistling his tune.

Then she understood that he was going, and she ran after him quickly
and touched his sleeve. He turned again, expecting her to speak; but
she was still dumb.

"Thought better of it?" he said.

Helen said slowly, "Why did you ask me for bread?"

"Why?" He looked her up and down. "To mend my boots with, of course."

She looked at his boots.

"You silly thing," grinned the boy.

A faint color came under her skin. "I'm sorry for being stupid. I
suppose you're hungry."

"As a hunter. But there's no call to trouble you. I'll be where I can
get bread, and meat too, in forty minutes. Good-by, child."

"No," said Helen. "Please don't go. I'd like to give you some bread."

"Oh, all right," said the boy. "What frightened you? Did you think I
was a scamp?"

"I wasn't frightened," said Helen.

"Don't tell me," mocked the boy. "You couldn't get a word out."

"I wasn't frightened."

"You thought I was a bad lot. You don't know I'm not one now."

Helen's eyes filled with tears. She turned away quickly. "I'll get you
your bread," she said.

"You are a silly, aren't you?" said the boy as she disappeared.

Before long she came back with half a loaf in one hand, and something
in the other which she kept behind her back.

"Thanks," said the boy, taking the bit of loaf. "What else have you got
there?"

"It's something better than bread," said Helen slowly.

"Well, let's have a look at it."

She took her hand from behind her, and offered him seven ears of wheat.
They were heavy with grain, and bowed on their ripe stems.

"Is this what you call better than bread?" he asked.

"It is bette