"I read the letter afterwards. It told over and over how he loved
her and how no woman could ever be to him what she was; said they
was made for each other, and all that; and then it went on to say
how he couldn't never see her again; and told about what a grand
old family his was, and how his father was so proud and expected
such great things from him, that he didn't dare tell, them bein'
the last of this here old family, and her bein' a backwoods girl,
without any schoolin' or nothin'."

"My God! O, my God!" faltered the stranger's voice in the
darkness.

Old Matt talked on in a hard easy tone. "Course it was all wrote
out nice and smooth like he talked, but that's the sense of it. He
finished it by sayin' that he would be on his way to the old
country when the letter reached her, and that it wouldn't be no
use to try to find him.

"The girl quieted down after a spell, but her mind never come
back. She wasn't just to say plumb crazy, but she seemed kind o'
dazed and lost like, and wouldn't take no notice of nobody. Acted
all the time like she was expectin' him to come. And she'd stand
out there by the gate for hours at a time, watchin' the Old Trail
and talkin' low to herself.

"Pete is her boy, Mr. Howitt, and as you've seen he ain't just
right. Seems like he was marked some way in his mind like you've
seen other folks marked in their bodies. We've done our best by
the boy, sir, but I don't guess he'll ever be any better. Once for
a spell we tried keepin' him to home, but he got right sick and