"It is very much to me," whispered Teola. "I'm so lonely, and so afraid!"
Tessibel sat silently down beside the other girl, twining one arm about the twisted root of the tree. She was used to sorrow, used to watching the agony of human souls without hope. A bird in the top of the tree above them sent a plaintive note into the hot air. Another answered from the forest, and Tessibel raised her head and saw a scarlet bird take wing and disappear into the branches of the wood trees.
She waited for Teola to speak, but at last, seeing there was no cessation of tears, she leaned over and touched her.
"Be ye lonely for yer ma?" she murmured.
Teola shook her head in the negative.
"Then for yer pa?"
"No!"
Ah! Tess had forgotten. Had she not seen Frederick go away weeks before, in a boat filled with pots and kettles and food for a camping expedition? Had he not smiled at her brightly as she passed him on her way to the fish line? She could remember the tense feeling in her throat, and felt again the hot blood rushing madly into her face. Of course, the girl was weeping for her brother!
"Then air ye blattin' for the student?"
She could scarcely utter the last word, scarcely let Teola hear her voice use that beloved name.