Queenie shook her head.
"It will do no good to Emmie, and only anger him against you both. He is an old man now, and ailing; and some say he suffers a good deal at times, and then he gets almost beside himself. You do not know to what you expose yourself."
"Besides," finding the girl still remained silent, "you may even turn him more against you. Sometimes I have seen him start and bite his lip when the school has passed our office window; he never fails to recognise it, and he seems disturbed and put out for minutes afterward. You see his sin lies heavy on him—the sin of those wicked words, Miss Queenie."
"Yes, yes, I know," she interrupted hastily, "and most likely he repents. Caleb, it is useless; nothing you can say will shake my resolution. Things have come to this pass, that I would rather beg my bread than be indebted any longer to Miss Titheridge. If we stay there Emmie will die, and then what good will my life be to me."
The old man shook his head reproachfully. "Miss Queenie, you know what you have refused?"
"Yes," she returned, looking at him with a smile that made her face absolutely beautiful, "yes, dear old friend; but it was right. You were too old to work for us, too old to be burthened with two such helpless creatures; and then how were we to know whether Mr. Calcott's anger might not have been turned on you. Were we to bring trouble on our only friend?"
"I said," continued Caleb in a broken voice, "that as long as I had a crust of bread and a cup of water, and a roof, however humble, I would share them with you and Emmie."
"And my answer," continued the girl softly, as she lifted the wrinkled hand to her lips, "my answer was that Emmie and I loved you too well to bring sorrow and ruin on you. Caleb, Emmie is dearer to me than anything in the world; but I would rather lose her than do such a thing."
"Ah, you were always so proud and self-willed," ejaculated Caleb, sorrowfully.
"Then I am proud of my pride; I rejoice in a self-will that prevents me from harming so deeply one whom I love. You have given us more than crusts, you have shared with us a nobler shelter than your roof, for you have warmed us through and through with a kindness that has known no stint or limit; and Emmie and I will bless you for it all our lives."