IsawtheSoutherner’shandgriphishatashewasturningitround。Hehelditstillnow，andhisotherhandfounditandgraduallycrumpledthesoftcrownin。Itmeanteverythingtohim:
recognition，higherstation，betterfortune，aseparatehouseofhisown，and——perhaps——onestepnearertothewomanhewanted。I
don’tknowwhatwordshemighthavesaidtotheJudgehadtheybeenalone，buttheJudgehadchosentodoitinourpresence，thewholethingfrombeginningtoend。TheVirginiansatwiththedampcomingoutonhisforehead，andhiseyesdroppedfromhisemployer’s。
“Thankyu’，“waswhathemanagedatlasttosay。
“Well，now，I’mgreatlyrelieved！“exclaimedtheJudge，risingatonce。Hespokewithhaste，andlightly。“That’sexcellent。Iwasinsomethingofahole，“hesaidtoOgdenandme；“andthisgivesmeonethinglesstothinkof。Savesmealotofparticulars，“hejocoselyaddedtotheVirginian，whowasnowalsostandingup。“Beginrightoff。Leavethebunkhouse。Thegentlemenwon’tmindyoursleepinginyourownhouse。“