下载辰思小说免费APP
Theykepttheirsecretforawhile，oratleasttheyhadthatspecialjoyofbelievingthatnooneinalltheworldbutthemselvesknewthisthathadhappenedtothem。ButIthinkthattherewasonepersonwhoknewhowtokeepasecretevenbetterthanthesetwolovers。Mrs。Taylormadenoremarkstoanyonewhatever。NobodyonBearCreek，however，wassoextraordinarilycheerfulandserene。ThatpeculiarseveritywhichshehadmanifestedinthedayswhenMollywaspackingherpossessions，hadnowaltogetherchanged。Inthesedaysshewasendlesslykindandindulgenttoher“deary。“Although，asahousekeeper，Mrs。
Taylorbelievedinpunctualityatmeals，andvisitedheroffspringwithdisciplinewhentheywerelatewithoutgoodandsufficientexcuse，Mollywasnowexemptfromthefaintesthintofreprimand。
“Andit’snotbecauseyou’renothermother，“saidGeorgeTaylor，bitterly。“Sheusedtogetit，too。Andwe’retheonlyonesthatgetit。Thereshecomes，justaswe’reaboutreadytoquit！
Aren’tyougoingtosayNOTHINGtoher？“
“George，“saidhismother，“whenyou’vesavedaman’slifeit’llbetimeforyoutotalk。“
SoMollywouldcomeintohermealswithmuchirregularity；andherremarksabouttheimperfectionsofherclockmetwithnorejoinder。AndyetonecanscarcelybesosevereashadbeenMrs。
Taylor，andbecomewhollyasmildasmilk。Therewasonerecurrenteventthatcouldinvariablyawakenhostilesymptomsinthedame。WhenevershesawaletterarrivewiththeBenningtonpostmarkuponit，sheshookherfistatthatletter。“What’sfamilypride？“shewouldsaytoherself。“TaylorcouldbeaSonoftheRevolutionifhe’damindto。Iwonderifshehastoldherfolksyet。“
AndwhenlettersdirectedtoBenningtonwouldgoout，Mrs。Taylorwouldinspecteveryoneasifitsenvelopeoughttogrowtransparentbeneathhereyes，andyielduptoheritsgreatsecret，ifithadone。Butintruththeselettershadnogreatsecrettoyieldup，untiloneday——yes；onedayMrs。Taylorwouldhaveburst，wereburstingathingthatpeopleoftendid。ThreeletterswerethecauseofthisemotiononMrs。Taylor’spart；oneaddressedtoBennington，onetoDunbarton，andthethird——herewasthegreatexcitement——toBennington，butnotinthelittleschoolmarm’sdelicatewriting。Aman’shandhadtracedthoseplain，steadyvowelsandconsonants。
“It’scome！“exclaimedMrs。Taylor，atthissight。“Hehaswrittentohermotherhimself。“
ThatiswhattheVirginianhaddone，andhereishowithadcomeabout。
Thesickman’sconvalescencewasachieved。Theweekshadbroughtbacktohim，nothiswholestrengthyet——thatcouldcomeonlybymanymilesofopenaironthebackofMonte；buthewasstrongenoughnowtoGETstrength。Whenapatientreachesthisstage，heisoutofthewoods。
Hehadgoneforalittlewalkwithhisnurse。Theyhadtaken(underthedoctor’srecommendation)severalsuchlittlewalks，beginningwithafive-minuteone，andatlastto-dayaccomplishingthreemiles。
“No，ithasnotbeentoofar，“saidhe。“IamafraidIcouldwalktwiceasfar。“
“Afraid？“
“Yes。BecauseitmeansIcangotoworkagain。Thisthingwehavehadtogetherisover。“
Forreply，sheleanedagainsthim。
“Lookatyou！“hesaid。“Onlyalittlewhileagoyouhadtohelpmestandonmylaigs。Andnow——“Forawhiletherewassilencebetweenthem。“Ihaveneverhadarightdownsicknessbefore，“hepresentlywenton。“Nottoremember，thatis。IfanypersonhadtoldmeIcouldENJOYsuchathing——“Hesaidnomore，forshereachedup，andnomorespeechwaspossible。
“Howlonghasitbeen？“henextaskedher。
Shetoldhim。
“Well，ifitcouldbeforever——no。Notforeverwithnomorethanthis。IreckonI’dbesickagain！Butifitcouldbeforeverwithjustyouandme，andnooneelsetobotherwith。Butanylongerwouldnotbedoingrightbyyourmother。Shewouldhavearighttothinkillofme。“
“Oh！“saidthegirl。“Letuskeepit。“
“NotafterIamgone。Yourmothermustbetold。“
“Itseemsso——can’twe——oh，whyneedanybodyknow？“
“Yourmotherain’t’anybody。’Sheisyourmother。IfeelmightyresponsibletoherforwhatIhavedone。“
“ButIdidit！“
“Doyouthinkso？Yourmotherwillnotthinkso。Iamgoingtowritetoherto-day。“
“You！Writeto
