“‘I am not hungry,’ he replied.
“‘Have a glass of fresh milk, then?’ she said.
“‘Not to-night,’ he answered. ‘I have just driven the cow in from the pasture.’
“‘I brought her from the pasture myself,’ said the woman, ‘milked her, and turned her out again.’
“Johnny said nothing to this, but he knew the cow had not been milked, and he wondered where the woman got the milk that his father was drinking. He thought it over, and forgot all about his grief. He noticed that as soon as his father drank the milk he began to smile at the woman. He smiled at the woman, but was cross to Johnny.
“After supper the woman went out, and after a while Johnny went out, too, leaving his father sitting by the fire smoking his pipe. Johnny went to the lot, thinking the woman had gone there. He wanted to see whether she would milk the cow. He crept along the side of the fence, and soon he was near enough to peep through a crack without being seen. He saw the woman rubbing the cow on the back while the calf was getting all the milk.
“‘You see how good I am to you, sister,’ said she. ‘Now I want you to be good to me. When that boy Jack goes after you to the pasture, I want you to lead him a chase. I saw him beating your calf to-day. But see how good I am to your calf, sister. I give it all the milk.’
“The cow shook her horn and switched her tail, and Johnny, sitting in the fence corner, wondered what it all meant.
“‘I see,’ said the cow, after a while. ‘You want to marry the boy’s father, and the boy is in the way. But suppose they find you out. What then?’
“‘Trust me for that, sister,’ said the woman; ‘trust me for that.’