"But I don't understand how you came to be in the hut."
"I heard the girl crying," replied Frederick curtly.
"I missed you when we left Hall's," explained the Dominie. "Charlie called me back to ask about the plans for the new church, and if I had not whistled just when I did, you might have been in that hut still, I suppose."
Frederick found himself wishing that his father had not whistled, his mind going back to the girl in the shanty, whom he had left with her living grief—and her dead.
He saw his sister, Teola, standing on the broad porch waiting for them. The girl scented something unusual in the angry tones of her father's voice. She followed Frederick alone into the library which looked out upon Tessibel's hut.
"What's the matter?"
Frederick shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
"Nothing much."
The brother and sister had grown into a confidential friendship during the past two years. Teola's face dropped as she heard Frederick's halting answer.
"I know better," she retorted decidedly. "You have been having words with father."