cautiously, nearer and nearer, until, herself unseen in the darkness, she could peer through the window into the lighted waiting-room. If he was there, she could see him; but if he was on the platform on the other side--No; he was there. She drew a long breath of relief, and stole away.
A short distance up the hill a wheelbarrow loaded with stones had been left by the side of the road; she sat down on the stones to
rest, for the first time realizing how tired she was. The train came rushing along; stopped; went on again. She watched it as long as
she could see its lights. Then she rose and turned slowly up the hill, beginning her long walk home. "My," she thought, "won't Granmar be in a tantrum, though!"
When she reached the house she made a circuit, and came through the garden behind towards the back door. "I don't want to see the front yard to-night!" she thought.
But she was rather ashamed of this egotism.
"And they say they'll put me in prison--oh--ow!--an old man, a good old man, a suffering son of humanity like me!" moaned
Uncle Pietro.
"An old man, a good old man, a suffering son of humanity like him," repeated Granmar, shrilly, proud of this fine language.
Suddenly she brandished her lean arms. "You Denza there, with your stored-up money made from my starvation--yam!--mine, how
dare you be so silent, figure of a mule? Starvation! yes, indeed. Wait and I'll show you my arms, Pietro; wait and I'll show you my
ribs--yam!"
"You keep yourself covered up, Granmar," said Prudence, tucking her in; "you'll do yourself a mischief in this cold weather."
"Ahi!" said Granmar, "and do I care? If I could live to see you drowned, I'd freeze and be glad. Stored-up money! stored-up money!" "What do you know of my money?" said Prudence. Her voice trembled a little.
"She confesses it!" announced Granmar, triumphantly.
"An old ma--an," said Pietro, crouching over Nounce's scaldino. "A good old ma--an. But--accommodate yourself."
Prudence sat down and took up her sewing. "I don't believe they'll put you in jail at all, Patro," she said; "'twon't do 'em any good,
and what they want is their money. You just go to 'em and say that you'll do day's work for 'em till it's made up, and they'll let you off, I'll bet. Nine francs, is it? Well, at half a franc a day you can make it up full in eighteen days; or call it twenty-four with the festas."
"The Americans are all mercenary," remarked old Pietro, waving his hand in scorn. "Being themselves always influenced by gain, they
cannot understand lofty motives nor the cold, glittering anger of the nobility. The Leoncinis are noble; they are of the old Count's blood. They do not want their money; they want revenge--they want to rack my bones."
Granmar gave a long howl.
"Favor me, my niece, with no more of your mistakes," concluded Pietro, with dignity.
"I don't believe they'd refuse," said Prudence, unmoved. "I'll go and ask 'em myself, if you like; that'll be the best way. I'll go right away now." She began to fold up her work.
At this Pietro, after putting the scaldino safely on the stove, fell down in a round heap on the floor. Never were limbs so suddenly
contorted and tangled; he clawed the bricks so fiercely with his fingers that Nounce, frightened, left her bench and ran into the next
room.
"What's the matter with you? I never saw such a man," said Prudence, trying to raise him.
"Let be! let be!" called out Granmar; "it's a stroke; and you've brought it on, talking to him about working, working all day long like a horse--a good old man like that."
"I don't believe it's a stroke," said Prudence, still trying to get him up.
"My opinion is," said Granmar, sinking into sudden calm, "that he will die in ten minutes--exactly ten." His face had indeed turned very red.
"Dear me! I suppose I shall have to run down for the doctor," said Prudence, desisting. "Perhaps he'd ought to be bled."
"You leave the doctor alone, and ease his mind," directed Granmar; "that's what he needs, sensitive as he is, and poetical too, poor fellow. You just shout in his ear that you'll pay that money, and you'll be surprised to see how it'll loosen his joints."
Mrs. Guadagni surveyed the good old uncle for a moment. Then she bent over him and shouted in his ear, "I'll make you a hot fig-
tart right away now, Patro, if you'll set up."
As she finished these words Granmar threw her scaldino suddenly into the centre of the kitchen, where it broke with a crash upon
the bricks.
"He's going to get up," announced Prudence, triumphantly.
"He isn't any such thing; 'twas the scaldino shook him," responded Granmar, in a loud, admonitory tone. "He'll never get up again in this world unless you shout in his ear that you'll pay that money."
And in truth Pietro was now more knotted than ever.
At this moment the door opened and Jo Vanny came in. "Why, what's the matter with uncle?" he said, seeing the figure on the floor.
He bent over him and tried to ease his position.
8
"It's a stroke," said Granmar, in a soft voice. "It'll soon be over. Hush! leave him in peace. He's dying; Denza there, she did it."
"They want me to pay the nine francs he has--lost," said Prudence. "Perhaps you have heard, Jo Vanny, that he has--lost nine francs that belonged to the Leoncinis? Nine whole francs." She looked at the lad, and he understood the look; for only the day before she
had confided to him at last her long-cherished dream, and (as she had been sure he would) he had sympathized with it warmly.
"I declare I wish I had even a franc!" he said, searching his pockets desperately; "but I've only got a cigarette. Will you try a cigarette, uncle?" he shouted in the heap's ear.
"Don't you mock him," ordered Granmar (but Jo Vanny had been entirely in earnest). "He'll die soon, and Denza will be rid of him; that's what she wants. 'Twill be murder, of course; and he'll haunt us--he's always said he'd haunt somebody. But I ain't long for this world, so I ain't disturbed. Heaven's waiting wide open for me."
Jo Vanny looked a little frightened. He hesitated a moment, surveying the motionless Pietro; then he drew Prudence aside. "He's an awful wicked old man, and might really do it," he whispered; "'specially as you ain't a Catholic, mamma. I think you'd better give him the money if it'll stop him off; I don't mind, but it would be bad for you if he should come rapping on your windows and showing corpse-lights in the garden by-and-by."
Prudence brought her hands together sharply--a gesture of exasperation. "He ain't going to die any more than I am," she said. But she knew what life would be in that house with such a threat hanging over it, even though the execution were deferred to some vague future time. Angrily she left the room.
Jo Vanny followed her. "Come along, if you want to," she said, half impatient, half glad. She felt a sudden desire that some one
besides herself should see the sacrifice, see the actual despoiling of the little box she had labored to fill. She went to the wood-shed.
It was a gloomy December day, and the vegetables hanging on the walls had a dreary, stone-like look; she climbed up on a barrel, and
removed the hay which filled a rough shelf; in a niche behind was her work-box; with it in her hand she climbed down again.
She gave him the box to hold while she counted out the money--nine francs. "There are twelve in all," she said. "Then you'll have three left," said Jo Vanny.
"Yes, three." She could not help a sigh of retrospect, the outgoing nine represented so many long hours of toil.
"Let me put the box back," said the boy. It was quickly