"Come in. Who is it?" "It's me, ma'am," said he; and entered a little at a time. He might have seen the faint color rise to her cheek as she drew herself up in bed, to talk with him. Her face, turned full toward him, was a thing upon which he could not gaze direct. It terrified him with its high born beauty, even as he now resolved to "look right into her eyes." "You've not been in to see me, Mr. Gage," said she at length, bravely. "Why didn't you come? I get awfully lonesome." "Is that so?" said he. "That's just the way I do." "It's too bad, all this awful trouble," said she. "I've been what they call a Jonah, don't you think, Mr. Gage?" "Oh, no, ma'am!" "It was very noble of you--up there," she began, on another tack. "You saved my life. Not worth much." She was smiling cheerily as she could. Sim Gage looked carefully at her face to see how much she knew. "Doctor Barnes told me that that man, the one that took me away, was hurt by a tree; that you got there too late to save him. But to think, I'd have shot that man. I _did_ try to shoot him, Mr. Gage!" "Why, _did_ you, ma'am?" said Sim Gage. "But then, it would of been a miracle if you had a-hit him, your eyes being poor, like. I reckon it's just as well you didn't." "Won't you sit down?" She motioned her hand vaguely. "There's a box right there." "How do you know, ma'am?" "Oh, I know where everything is now. I'm going to learn all about this place. I can do all sorts of things after a while--cook and sweep and wash dishes and feed the chickens, and--oh, a lot of things." It was well enough that he did not see her face as she turned it away, anxious to be brave, not succeeding. "That there looks, now, like you'd moved in," said Sim Gage. "Looks like you'd come to stay, as the feller says." He tried to laugh, but did not make much of it; nor did she. "Oh, I forgot," he resumed suddenly, bethinking himself of the errand which had brought him hither. "I got a letter fer you, ma'am." "A letter? Why, that's strange--I didn't know of any one----" "Sure, it's fer you, ma'am. It's from Annie Squires." "Annie! Oh! what does she say? Tell me!" Sim had the letter opened now, his face puckered. "Why, nothing very much, ma'am," said he. "I can't exactly see what it says--light's rather poor in here just now. But Wid, he read it. And she said it was all right with her, and that she was back in her little room again. I reckon it's the room where you both used to live?" "She isn't married! What did she say?" "No'm, not married. That's all off. Her feller throwed her down. But she says she wants you to write to her right away and tell her--now--tell her about things--you know----" "What does she say?--Tell me _exactly_ what she said." "One thing-"--he plunged desperately--"she said she was sure you was happily married. And she wanted you to tell her all about your husband. But then, good God A'mighty! she didn't know!"