"What is it, Katy? Don't be afraid to tell me."
"I am afraid to tell you." Katy turned her white face toward him. "But I must tell you. It has been on my mind day and night. I have tried to think of another way, but I cannot."
"But what is it?"
"When I was a little girl and lived with my grandfather and grandmother, I used to run away, and one day I ran away to the church. Alvin Koehler's father was there plastering the wall, and I watched him, and after a while I went to sleep in a pew. When I woke up Alvin's father was gone, but your father was there, David."
David gave a great start.
"You cannot say anything to me against my father!"
"But I must tell you, David. You will have to decide what is to be done. I haven't told the squire or any one, but you must know. It has been on my mind all this time. I can't rest or sleep any more. I went up to your father and he spoke roughly to me, and then I ran out and went home to my grandmother. She laughed at me and said your father was only chasing me home where I ought to be. After a while I believed it. Then Alvin Koehler's father got up at the funeral and talked about the communion set and I didn't believe such a thing for a minute, not a minute. Alvin is not—is not—very honest—and I never believed it."
"You didn't believe what?" said David with a dry throat. "What in this world are you talking about?"
"I didn't believe for a minute that your father would have anything to do with taking the communion set. I—"
"He didn't have anything to do with it," cried David. "What nonsense is this?"