She was
gone some time, and when she returned again to the stranger's bedside
she was breathless and trembling as from some unusual exertion. And the
following afternoon, when Judy came to her with the announcement that
the boat which had brought the man to them was no longer in the eddy
below the garden, Auntie Sue said, simply, that she was glad it was
gone, and cautioned the girl, again, that the stranger's presence in the
house must not be made known to any one.
When the mountain girl protested, saying, "You-all ain't got no call ter
be a-wearin' yourself ter the bone a-takin' care of such as him," Auntie
Sue answered, "Hush, Judy! How do you know what the poor boy really is?"
To which Judy retorted: "He's just triflin' an' ornery an' no 'count,
that's what he is, or he sure wouldn't been a-floatin' 'round in that
there old John-boat 'thout ary gun, or fishin' lines, or hat even, ter
say nothin' of that there whisky bottle bein' plumb empty."
Auntie Sue made no reply to the mountain girl's harsh summing-up of the
damning evidence against the stranger, but left her and went softly to
the bedside of their guest.
It was perhaps an hour later that Judy, quietly entering the room,
happened upon a scene that caused her to stand as if rooted to the spot
in open-mouthed amazement.
The man was sleeping, and the silvery-haired old maiden-lady, seated
on the side of the bed, was bending over the unconscious stranger and
gently stroking his tumbled, red-brown hair, even as a mother might
lovingly caress her sleeping child.
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