“But—but we are in such a disgraceful plight,” she faltered. “You saw that cabin; you see my rags an' noticed Jeff's looks. You know what folks that used to know us will say an' think. We thought we was so smart. We was goin' to roll in money an' fine things an' prove that we knowed what we was about, but misfortune after misfortune piled on us, till—”
“That's all to end,” Paul said, with firmness. “Do you know what I did to-day? As soon as I heard that Mayburn had put you in that dirty hut I rode over to his home and rented the cottage next door for you, and made a better all-round contract for Jeff—a contract under which he can easily earn money.”
“You—you say?” she gasped. She laid both her thin hands on his arms and flashed a hungry stare into his face. “You say you rented that cottage?”
“Yes, here is the key,” he answered, putting it into her hand. “You can move in to-night if you wish, but I wouldn't till to-morrow if I were you, for I have bought a complete outfit of new furniture in town and it will be out early in the morning.”
“Oh, Paul, Paul—my boy, my baby!” she was weeping now. Violent sobs shook her frail form from head to foot. Again he drew her into his arms, and stroked back her thin hair from her wrinkled brow. “And that is not all, mother dear,” he continued. “You've waited long enough for the comforts and things you love. I shall supply you with everything—food, clothing, and anything else you want. I am going to make you three happy. I am able to do it, and it will be the joy of my life.” She slowly dried her tears on the skirt of her dress. She looked at him, and a glad, childlike smile broke over her face as he led her homeward..
“It all seems like a pretty dream,” she muttered. “I'm afraid I'll wake in a minute.”
“Life ought to be that way always,” he said. “If it isn't beautiful it is our fault. If anything goes wrong with us it is because we are out of harmony with the laws of the universe, which are perfect. It is never the universe that is wrong, but only our blind notion of it.”
“But, oh, Paul—” She was not capable of rising to his philosophy, and she paused and drew herself sorrowfully from his arm. “You are doing all this, but I know how most folks look at things. They say—some do—that—that you are goin' with Ethel Mayfield, an' her folks are proud an' well off. They are not the same sort of stock as me an' Jeff, and if you tie yourself to us, why, may be she—”
An expression of inner pain rose to the surface of his face. “People are apt to make mistakes,” he said, awkwardly, and he forced a little misleading laugh. “It is true that I have driven out with her several times, but it was only because she needed an escort and her mother wished it. She and I understand each other, in a friendly way, but that is all.”
“So thar is nothin' in that?”