“It is such a dreadful story!” she gasped, her voice broken and unsteady.
“There are worse things happening in the world every day. Mind you, if the fellow had not cheated people before, they would not have been so likely to think he was cheating them then,” said Ike, rising to his feet, and laying some money on the kitchen table, which served Nell as a counter.
She opened the stout leather bag which hung from her waist to give him change, while words from Holy Writ beat themselves out in her brain, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
“Now, don’t you go a-crying yourself blind over Dick Brunsen, because, as I said before, he wasn’t worth it,” said Ike, as he took his change and prepared to depart.
Nell shook her head in a dubious fashion, which might have been translated in several ways, but she made no other remark, save a polite good evening; and Ike went away pondering on the soft-heartedness of girls in general, and of this one in particular, who could sob over the end of a low-down cheat like young Dick Brunsen.
Nell shed a good many tears during the next few days over that story of wilderness tragedy, and there was no doubt at all in her own mind that Doss Umpey and the elder Brunsen must have shared the fate of young Dick; or at any rate had they escaped being shot as he was, most probably they fell victims to the Indians later.
She said no word to Gertrude about the incident. There had never been any inducement to speak much of her past to the Lorimers. Since she could say so little in praise of Doss Umpey, she had carefully refrained from speaking of him at all to anyone, except Mrs. Nichols, who already knew more about him than Nell did herself.
Just now, too, Gertrude had enough sorrow of her own to bear, for Dr. Russell had spoken plainly of Mrs. Lorimer’s condition, and said that a few weeks would probably end the poor woman’s sufferings. He was very kind to them, doing everything in his power for the comfort of the invalid; but he could not lift or lessen the strain of Gertrude’s life, and Nell often looked at her in fear and trembling, wondering what they would do if she broke down.
Then, one day, just when it seemed the strain was as great as it could be, Mrs. Nichols came up from Bratley and announced that she had come on a good long visit, because she felt that she needed change of air and scene.
Nothing could have been more opportune than her coming, and if the doctor was at the bottom of it, neither he nor Mrs. Nichols ever mentioned the fact.