Jan-an’s horror-filled eyes took in the significance of the words.
“Where’s––the rest of you?” she gasped.
Larry touched the pinned-up leg of his trousers.
“I paid a debt with the rest,” he said, and there was that in his voice that brought Jan-an closer to him.
“Where yer bound for?” she asked, her dull face quivering.
“I don’t know. A fellow gave me a lift and dropped me––here.”
“You come along home!” Jan-an bent and half lifted Larry. “Lean on me. There, now, lean heavy and take it easy.”
Mary-Clare was sitting in the living-room, sewing and singing, when the sound of steps startled her. She looked up, then her face changed as a dying face does.
“Larry!” she faltered. She was utterly unprepared. She had been kept in ignorance of the little that others knew.