"An hour ago."
"Where is she?"
"Out by the river-bank—I followed her in the shadows. It is best for her to stay there till she is calm."
"I know what ails her," said the father. "She's found that she's not like other girls. She's found that a white soul doesn't count with white people; they never go below the skin." Then he told her of the scene that morning in the store, adding that he believed she loved Lieutenant Burrell.
"Did she say so?"
"No, she denied it, now that she knows she hasn't got his kind of blood in her."
"Blood makes no difference," said the woman, stubbornly. "If he loves her, he will take her; if he does not—that is all."
Gale looked up at her, and was about to explain, when the utter impossibility of her comprehending him made him desist, and he fell moody again. At last he said, "I've got to tell her, Alluna."
"No, no!" cried the woman, aghast. "Don't tell her the truth! Nothing could be worse than that!"
But he continued, deliberately: "Love is the biggest thing in the world; it's the only thing worth while, and she has got to have a fair show at it. This has been on my mind for weeks, and I've put it away, hoping I wouldn't have to do it; but to-day I came face to face with it again, and it's up to me. She'll have to know some time, so the sooner the better."