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。Theyhadtakenunderthedoctor’srecommendationseveralsuchlittlewalks，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！Writetomymother！Oh，theneverythingwillbesodifferent！Theywillall——“MollystoppedbeforetherisingvisionsofBennington。Uponthefairy-talethatshehadbeenlivingwithhercow-boyloverbrokethevoicesoftheworld。Shecouldhearthemfromafar。ShecouldseetheeyesofBenningtonwatchingthismanatherside。ShecouldimaginetheearsofBenningtonlisteningforslipsinhisEnglish。Thereloomeduponhertheroundofvisitswhichtheywouldhavetomake。Theringingofthedoor-bells，thewaitingindrawing-roomsforthemistresstodescendandutterherpreparedcongratulations，whilehersecreteyedevouredtheVirginian’sappearance，andhismannerofstandingandsitting。Hewouldbewearinggloves，insteadoffringedgauntletsofbuckskin。Inasmoothblackcoatandwaistcoat，howcouldtheyperceivethemanhewas？Duringthoseshortformalinterviews，whatwouldtheyeverfindoutofthethingsthatsheknewabouthim？Thethingsforwhichshewasproudofhim？Hewouldspeakshortlyandsimply；theywouldsay，“Oh，yes！“and“HowdifferentyoumustfindthisfromWyoming！“——andthen，afterthedoorwasshutbehindhisdepartingbacktheywouldsay——Hewouldbetotallyunderrated，notintheleastunderstood。Whyshouldhebesubjectedtothis？Heshouldneverbe！
Nowinallthesehalf-formed，hurried，distressingthoughtswhichstreamedthroughthegirl’smind，shealtogetherforgotonetruth。Trueitwasthatthevoiceoftheworldwouldspeakassheimagined。TrueitwasthatintheeyesofherfamilyandacquaintancethisloverofherchoicewouldbeexaminedevenmorelikeaSPECIMENthanareotherloversupontheseoccasions:andallacceptedlovershavetofacethisordealofbeingtreatedlikespecimensbytheotherfamily。Butdearme！mostofusmanagetostandit，dontwe？Itisn’t，perhaps，themostdeliciousexperiencethatwecanrecallinconnectionwithourengagement。Butitdidn’tprovefatal。Wegotthroughitsomehow。
WedinedwithAuntJane，andwinedwithUncleJoseph，andperhapshadtwofingersgiventousbyoldCousinHoratio，whoseenormousfortunewasofthegreatestimportancetoeverybody。Andperhapsfragmentsoftheotherfamily’sestimateofussubsequentlyreachedourownears。Butifachosenlovercannotstandbeingtreatedasaspecimenbytheotherfamily，he’saveryweakvessel，andnotworthanygoodgirl’slove。That’sallIcansayforhim。
NowtheVirginianwasscarcelywhatevenhisenemywouldtermaweakvessel；andMolly’sjealousyoftheimpressionwhichhemightmakeuponBenningtonwasvastlysuperfluous。Sheshouldhaveknownthathewouldindeedcaretomakeagoodimpression；
butthatsuchanxietyonhispartwouldbewhollyforhersake，thatintheeyesofherfriendsshemightstandjustifiedintakinghimforherweddedhusband。Sofarashewasconcernedapartfromher，AuntJaneandUncleJosephmightsayanythingtheypleased，orthinkanythingtheypleased。Hischaracterwasopenforinvestigation。JudgeHenrywouldvouchforhim。
Thisiswhathewouldhavesaidtohissweethearthadshebutrevealedtohimherperturbations。Butshedidnotrevealthem；
andtheywerenotoftheorderthathewithhisnaturewaslikelytodivine。Idonotknowwhatgoodwouldhavecomefromherspeakingouttohim，unlessthatperfectunderstandingbetweenloverswhichindeedisagoodthing。ButIdonotbelievethathecouldhavereassuredher；andIamcertainthatshecouldnothavepreventedhiswritingtohermother。
“Well，then，“shesighedatlast，“ifyouthinkso，Iwilltellher。“
Thatsighofhers，beitwellunderstood，wasnotonlybecauseofthosefar-offvoiceswhichtheworldwouldinconsequenceofhernewsbeliftingpresently。Itcamealsofrombiddingfarewelltothefairy-talewhichshemustleavenow；thatlandinwhichsheandhehadbeenlivingclosetogetheralone，unhindered，unmindfulofallthings。
“Yes，youwilltellher，“saidherlover。“AndImusttellhertoo。“
“Bothofus？“questionedthegirl。
Whatwouldhesaytohermother？Howwouldhermotherlikesuchaletterashewouldwritetoher？Supposeheshouldmisspellaword？Wouldnotsentencesfromhimatthistime——writtensentences——beafurtherbartohiswelcomeacceptanceatBennington？
“Whydon’tyousendmessagesbyme？“sheaskedhim。
Heshookhishead。“Sheisnotgoingtolikeit，anyway，“heanswered。“Imustspeaktoherdirect。Itwouldbelikeshirking。“
Mollysawhowtruehisinstinctwashere；andalittleflameshotupwardfromtheglowofherloveandprideinhim。Oh，iftheycouldallonlyknowthathewaslikethiswhenyouunderstoodhim！Shedidnotdaresayouttohimwhatherfearwasaboutthisletterofhistohermother。Shedidnotdarebecause——well，becauseshelackedalittlefaith。Thatisit，Iamafraid。Andforthatsinshewasherownpunishment。Forinthisday，andinmanydaystocome，thepurejoyofherlovewasvexedandclouded，allthroughalittlelackoffaith；whileforhim，perfectinhisfaith，hisjoywaslikecrystal。
“Tellmewhatyou’regoingtowrite，“shesaid。
Hesmiledather。“No。“
“Aren’tyougoingtoletmeseeitwhenit’sdone？“
“No。“Thenafreakishlookcameintohiseyes。“I’llletyu’seeanythingIwritetootherwomen。“Andhegaveheroneofhislongkisses。“Let’sgetthroughwithittogether，“hesuggested，whentheywereoncemoreinhissick-room，thatroomwhichshehadgiventohim。“You’llsitonesideo’thetable，andI’llsittheother，andwe’llgoahaid；andprettysoonitwillbedone。“
“Odear！“shesaid。“Yes，Isupposethatisthebestway。“
Andso，accordingly，theytooktheirplaces。Theinkstandstoodbetweenthem。Besideeachofthemshedistributedpaperenough，almost，forapresidentialmessage。Andpensandpencilswereinplenty。WasthisnottheheadquartersoftheBearCreekschoolmarm？
“Why，aren’tyougoingtodoitinpencilfirst？“sheexclaimed，lookingupfromhervacantsheet。Hispenwasmovingslowly，butsteadily。
“No，Idon’treckonIneedto，“heanswered，withhisnoseclosetothepaper。“Oh，damnation，there’sablot！“Hetorehisspoiledbeginninginsmallbits，andthrewthemintothefireplace。“You’vegotittoofull，“hecommented；andtakingtheinkstand，hetippedalittlefromitoutofthewindow。Shesatlostamongherfalsestarts。Hadsheheardhimswear，shewouldnothaveminded。Sheratherlikeditwhenheswore。Hepossessedthatqualityinhisprofanityofnotoffendingbyit。Itisquitewonderfulhowmuchworsethesamewordwillsoundinoneman’slipsthaninanother’s。Butshedidnothearhim。Hermindwasamongalitterofbrokensentences。Eachthoughtwhichshebeganranoutintotheemptyair，orcameagainstsomestonewall。Sothereshesat，hereyesnowuponthatinexorableblanksheetthatlaybeforeher，waiting，andnowturnedwithvacanthopelessnessuponthesundryobjectsintheroom。Andwhileshethussataccomplishingnothing，oppositetohertheblackheadbentdown，andthesteadypenmovedfromphrasetophrase。
Shebecameawareofhisgazingather，flushedandsolemn。Thatstrangecolorofthesea-water，whichshecouldnevername，waslustrousinhiseyes。Hewasfoldinghisletter。“Youhavefinished？“shesaid。
“Yes。“Hisvoicewasveryquiet。“Ifeellikeanhonesterman。“
“PerhapsIcandosomethingto-nightatMrs。Taylor’s，“shesaid，lookingatherpaper。
Onitwereafewwordscrossedout。Thiswasallshehadtoshow。
Atthissettaskinletter-writing，thecow-puncherhadgreatlyexcelledtheschoolmarm！
Butthatnight，whilehelayquitefastasleepinhisbed，shewaskeepingvigilinherroomatMrs。Taylor’s。
Accordingly，thenextday，thosethreelettersdepartedforthemail，andMrs。Taylorconsequentlymadeherexclamation，“It’scome！“
OnthedaybeforetheVirginianreturnedtotakeuphisworkatJudgeHenry’sranch，heandMollyannouncedtheirnews。WhatMollysaidtoMrs。TaylorandwhatMrs。Taylorsaidtoher，isofnointeresttous，thoughitwasofmuchtothem。
ButMr。McLeanhappenedtomakeacallquiteearlyinthemorningtoinquireforhisfriend’shealth。
“Lin，“begantheVirginian，“thereisnoharminyourknowinganhourorsobeforetherest，Iam——“
“Lord！“saidMr。McLean，indulgently。Everybodyhasknowedthatsincethedayshefoundyu’atthespring。“
“Itwasnotso，then，“saidtheVirginian，crossly。
“Lord！Everybodyhasknoweditrightalong。“
“Hmp！“saidtheVirginian。“Ididn’tknowthiscountrywasthatrankwithgossips。“