in her walk and trembling the terrible decision of adam s tone shook her with fear she presence of mind left for the reflection that arthur would have his reasons for not telling the truth to adam her words and look were enough to determine adam he must give her the letter you perhaps can t believe me because you think too well of him � because you think he loves you better than he does but got a letter i my pocket as he wrote himself for me to give you i ve not read the letter but he says he s told you the truth in it but before i give you the letter consider and don t let it take too much hold on you it been good for if he d wanted to do such a mad thi as marry yon it ud ha led to no happiness i th end nothing she felt a revival of hope at the mention of a letter � which adam had not read there would be something quite different in it fi om what he thought adam took out the letter but he held it in his hand still while he said in a tone of tender entreaty don t you bear me ill will because i m the means o bringing you this pain god knows td ha borne a good deal worse for the sake o it you and think � there s nobody but me knows about and fu take care of you as if i was brother you re the same as ever to me for i don t believe you ve done any wrong had laid her hand on the letter but adam did not loose it till he had done speaking she took no notice of he said � she had not listened but when he the letter she put it into her pocket without opening it and then began to walk more as if she wanted to go in you re in the right not to read it just yet said adam read it when you re by yourself but stay out a little bit longer and let us call the children you look so white and ill aunt may take notice of it heard the it recalled to lier the necessity of her native powers of concealment which had half given way under the shock of adam s words and she had the letter in her pocket she was sure there was comfort in that letter in spite of adam she ran to find and soon reappeared with recovered color leading who was making ii sour face because she had been obliged to throw away an apple that she had set her small teeth in said adam come and ride on my shoulder � ever so high � you ll touch the tops o the trees what little mid ever refused to be comforted by that glorious sense of being seized strongly and swung upward i don t believe cried when the eagle earned him away and perhaps deposited him on jove a shoulder at the end down complacently from her secure height and pleasant was the sight to the mother s eyes as she stood at the house door and saw adam coming with his small burden bless your my pet she said the mother s strong love filling her keen eyes with as leaned forward and put out her arms she had no eyes for at that moment and only said without looking at her you go and draw some ale the are both at the cheese after the ale had been drawn and her uncle s pipe lighted there was to be taken to bed and brought down again in her night gown because she would cry instead of going to sleep then there was supper to be got ready and must be continually in the way to give help adam staid till he knew mrs expected him to go engaging her and her husband in talk as constantly as he could tor the sake of leaving more at ease he lingered because he wanted to see her safely through that evening and he was delighted to find how much self command she showed he knew she had not had time to read the letter but he did not know she was up by a secret hope that the letter would contradict every thing he had said it was hard work for him to leave her � hard to think that he should not know for days how she was her trouble but he must go at last and all he could do was to press her hand gently as he said good by and hope she would take that as a sign that if his love could ever be a refuge for her it was there the same as ever how busy his thoughts were as he walked home in pitying for her folly in referring all her weakness to the sweet of her nature in arthur with and less inclination to admit that his conduct might be too his at s suffering � and also at the sense that she was possibly forever out of his own reach � him to any plea for the friend who had wrought this misery adam was a clear sighted man � a fine fellow indeed morally as well as physically but if the just was ever in love and jealous he was at that moment not perfectly and i can not pretend that adam in these painful days felt nothing but righteous indignation and loving pity he was bitterly jealous and in proportion as his love made him indulgent in his judgment of the found a vent in bis feeling toward arthur her head was likely to be turned he thought when a gentleman with his fine manners and fine clothes adam and his white hands and that way 