Miss Rhody's one diversion in a busy but monotonous life was news. She was wretched if she did not receive the latest bulletins; but it was to her credit that she never repeated anything that might work harm or mischief. David was one of her chosen confidants. He was a safe repository of secrets, a sympathetic listener, and a wise suggester. "I'm glad M'ri's hevin' a blue waist. She looks so sweet in blue. I've made her clo'es fer years. My, how I hoped fer to make her weddin' clo'es onct! It wuz a shame to hev sech a good match spiled. It wuz too bad she hed to hev them two chillern on her hands--" "And now she has a third," was what David thought he read in her eyes, and he hastened to assert: "I am going to help all I can, and I'll soon be old enough to take care of myself." "Land sakes, David, you'd be wuth more'n yer keep to any one. I wonder," she said ruminatingly, "if Martin Thorne will wait for her till Janey's growed up." "Martin Thorne!" exclaimed David excitedly. "Judge Thorne? Why, was he the one--" "He spent his Sunday evenings with her," she asserted solemnly. In the country code of courtships this procedure was conclusive proof, and David accepted it as such. "He wuz jest plain Lawyer Thorne when he wuz keepin' company with M'ri, but we all knew Mart wuz a comin' man, and M'ri wuz jest proud of him. You could see that, and he wuz sot on her." Her work momentarily neglected, Rhody was making little reminiscent stabs at space with her needle as she spoke. "'T wuz seven years ago. M'ri wuz twenty-eight and Mart ten years older. It would hev ben a match as sure as preachin', but Eliza died and M'ri, she done her duty as she seen it. Sometimes I think folks is near-sighted about their duty. There is others as is queer-sighted. Bein' crossed hain't spiled M'ri though. She's kep' sweet through it all, but when a man don't git his own way, he's apt to curdle. Mart got sort of tart-tongued and cold feelin'. There wa'n't no reason why they couldn't a kep' on bein' friends, but Mart must go and make a fool vow that he'd never speak to M'ri until she sent him word she'd changed her mind, so he hez ben a-spitin' of his face ever sence. It's wonderful how some folks do git in their own way, but, my sakes, I must git to work so you kin take this waist home." This was David's first glimpse of a romance outside of story-books, but the name of Martin Thorne evoked disturbing memories. Six years ago he had acted as attorney to David's father in settling his financial difficulties, and later, after Peter Dunne's death, the Judge had settled the small estate. It was only through his efforts that they were enabled to have the smallest of roofs over their defenseless heads. "Miss Rhody," he asked after a long meditation on life in general, "why didn't you ever marry?" Miss Rhody paused again in her work, and two little spots of red crept into her cheeks.