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Show lOS HICJI ,\ IW 1/UIWI:;:, c il ity of mind , at no period, would have cuabled her to give coHsccutivcly. ]Jy questions carefully put, nnd at the proper moment, Ito at length got from her the wlwlc amount of lt CL' knowledge, and len rued f'nongh to concl ude, as wns the trutil , tltnt wl1at hnd been said by the mother of tile girl had been sa id conjecturally . His fear had been thnt she had stolen forth on the previous night, nnd, secreting herself near the place of con fCrencc between l ) ick ett and himself, had witnessed the in tm ·vicw, and comprehended all its terms. However relieved from his fear by the revelation of the idiot, he wns still not a little annoyed by the close guessing of the woman. A mind so ncutc, so penetrating, so able to search iuto the bosom, and watch its secret desires without the l1 clp of words, was able to effect yet more ; and he dreaded its increased activity in the present business. Vague npprellCnsions sti ll flonted in his soul, though he strove to dissipate tl1em, and he felt a degree of insecurity which made him half-forgetful of his sim1)le and scarce lyconscious companion. She, meanwhile, dwelt upon the nfl'air wllicl1 she had llnrrated, with a tenncity as strange ns had been her former reluctance or ind ifference; un t il, at length, as she repeated her mother's unfavorable opinion of himself, l1is disquiet got the bettf'r of his co urtesy, for l1o exclnimed aloud:- " No more of this nonsense, Jauc! Your mothrr's a foo l, and the best thing she cnn do hereafter is to kerp her tongue." 11 No, no, Mr. ,John!" replied the girl enr nestly, "mother's no fool , Mr. John; it's Jane that's a fool. EYerybody calls Jane a fool, but nobody calls mother so." " I don't cnll you so, Jane," said Hurd is kindly, sitt ing beside her ns he spoke, and p utting his arm about het waist. "No, .Mr. John, I know you tlon't, and"-iu a whisper" I'd like you to tell me, l\Ir. ~Tolm, wl1y otl1er people call me so. I'm n big girl, and I can run, and walk, nnd ride, like other people. I can spin and I can sew. I help mother plant potatoes, I can bre:tk the corn, hull it and measure it, and can do a lmndred things besides. I talk like other people ; and did you ever see a body pick flowers, and such pretty ones, faster than me, :M:r. John 1" "No, Jane, I uevm· did." "And. such pretty ones too, 1\tr . . John! Look at this little lOU pink OIH', with the ye llow drops. Con:C', rend it to me now,]\(r. J"ohn, and show me how to read it like you.'' "Not now, Jnnc- some otl1er tim!'. Gi,·e me a kiss, nowa sweet ki ss!" "\Veil, there, nobody :l~ks me to kiss but you :mU l\[iss J[nry somet i me~, )[r. J ohn. Sometimes T kiss mother, but she don't ~C'em to like it. 1 wonder wl1y, 1\lr. John- it must be because J'm a fool." "No, no, Jnne, you're not a fool." "I wish I wasn't, l\fr. John-l don't tl1ink I am; for, you know, I toltl you how m:my things I can do just like other people." "Yes, Jane, and you have a sweeter little mouth than anybody. You kiss like a little angel, and your checks arc as rosy-" "Oh, don't, 1\fr. John! that's enough. Lord , if motl1er was only to sec us now, what would silO sny1 'J1cll me, 1\lr. John, why don't I wunt mother to sec me when you're so good to me 1 .And when you kiss me so, what makes me afraid and tremble 1 lt is strange, JHr. John!" " It's ~ccause you~· mot.ll cr's cross to you, and cold, and gets vexed w1th you so often, Jane." "Do you think so, ~h. John1 But, it can't be; mother isn't cross to me, Ur. John, and she hasn't whipped me I don't know the day when. She don't know that you walk with me into the woods, Mr. J ohn: wl1y don't I want to tell l1 er - it's so very strange 1 She would be mighty vexed if she was to seo me now." Hurd is answered her with a kiss; and in the next in stant the tread of u sudden footstep Lehind them, and the uttera nce of a single word by the intruder, caused the simple girl to scream out, nnd to leap like an affrighted deer from the arms that emLrnccd her. |