Tess took a long breath. Ben and Ezra must go before the babe returned. She set herself to rid the shanty of the two men. Without speaking, she took the Bible, and repeated slowly aloud some of the passages she knew best. Both fishermen stared at her in admiration. To read and not spell out almost every word was more than Ezra's own mother could do, and she was the best-educated person in the settlement. "'But I know ye that ye have not the love of God in ye,'" read Tess. Ben Letts broke in upon the girl's voice: "Tessie, will ye row on the lake after the goin' down of the sun? I'll take my fiddle.... Ye like my fiddlin', don't ye, Tess?" "Nope," she replied, her eyes still upon the book. "'I am come in my Father's name, and ye--'" Ezra interrupted the unfinished verse. "Tessibel, will ye go to the meetin' at Haytes'? The man says as how the squatters air welcome." "Nope.... 'receive me not,'" read Tess. "'If another shall come--'" Ben burst forth with an eager invitation: "Will ye come to Glenwood for some ice-cream, Tessie? It air gooder'n pie on hot nights; and ye like my fiddlin', don't ye, Tess?" "Nope.... 'In His own name, ye will--'" "Ye don't like no ice-cream, do ye, Tessie?" put in Ezra Longman. "And ye don't like no meetin's on the hill, eh, Brat?" chuckled Ben. Suddenly the Bible flew into the corner, and the girl, with an oath, jumped to her feet. Neither man had ever seen her in such a temper. She grasped the broom. "Get out of here!" she screamed. "I don't want nothin' but to be let alone! See? Scoot! Or I'll bang hell out'n both of ye." She virtually swept her callers into the sun, and slammed the door in their faces. With remorse in her heart, she sought the place where she had thrown the beloved Bible. One page was quite torn, across--the back badly bent. "It do beat the devil how I could be such a bad brat as to hurt ye like that," she cogitated, smoothing out the crumpled pages with loving fingers. "That damn Ezy and Ben air worser than fleas. But I air a-believin' that they won't be comin' back just yet." CHAPTER XXX