He had been confused and he
was stupid and young. There had been an excuse for his confusion. It was
understandable and could be dealt with. She had now no doubt of her own
ability to deal with John May. As for her father--it was all right for him
to be suspicious regarding the farm hand, but why had he been suspicious of
her?
The perplexed girl sat down in the darkness on the edge of the bed, and a
hard look came into her eyes. After a time her father came up the stairs
and knocked at her door. He did not come in but stood in the hallway
outside and talked. She remained calm while the conversation lasted, and
that confused the man who had expected to find her in tears. That she was
not seemed to him an evidence of guilt.
Tom Butterworth, in many ways a shrewd, observing man, never understood the
quality of his own daughter. He was an intensely possessive man and once,
when he was newly married, there had been a suspicion in his mind that
there was something between his wife and a young man who had worked on the
farm where he then lived. The suspicion was unfounded, but he discharged
the man and one evening, when his wife had gone into town to do some
shopping and did not return at the accustomed time, he followed, and when
he saw her on the street stepped into a store to avoid a meeting. She was
in trouble. Her horse had become suddenly lame and she had to walk home.
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