* * * * *
Mrs. Benbow went home to do the scouring and cleaning.
David rode off to Ludlow and bought a book.
Joan sat in her room at the Malt-House Farm, and cried her heart out. Then she looked at the advertisement and answered it. "It was kind of David," she said.
* * * * *
So Joan went out into the world.
* * * * *
The weeks, the months, seem long without her. He buys his books, and with every new book he buys new comfort. He recalls the historian's words: "Some day, when she is tired, she will be glad to lean on some one whom she can trust."
So David waits.
THE END.