"Oh, never, never! I would rather die. All I wish, all I hope and pray for, is that they never discover I am alive."
"Then stay with us; thee will not have to work at all, and no one will ever hear of thee any more than if thee wast thousands of miles away. We are buried here in the very heart of the forest, where people very rarely come; and if any one did come, thee could easily be concealed till he went away. I know it is dull and lonely here, but thee will get reconciled to that in time."
"Oh, this is just what I wished, but I hardly dared hope for!" exclaimed Christie, with sparkling eyes. "How can I ever thank you for your generous offer?"
"I do not wish for thanks, my daughter; and thee will oblige me, friend Christie, by not mentioning it more. Thou wilt be very useful, and can take care of Bertha, who is insane, but quite harmless. Thou hast seen her, has thee not?"
"The handsome woman with the dark hair and eyes? Yes," replied Christie.
"Then that is settled," said the man, with a smile; "and now that I have questioned thee, it is thy turn. Does thee wish to ask something?"
"Oh, yes, ever so many things," said Christie; "but I am afraid you may not like—that you may be offended."
"There is no danger of that, my daughter. I may not choose to answer some of thy questions, but I will not be offended, let thee say what thee will."
"Well, then," said Christie, with a faint smile, "to begin catechising alter the same fashion as yourself, may I ask your name and that of the lady who lives here?"
"Yes; her name is Bertha Campbell—mine is Reuben Deerwood; thee may call me Uncle Reuben, if thee likes."