or，presentlyagain，“Ineverhadsuchanidea！“Andhermindopenedwithdelighttothesenewthingswhichcamefromtheman’smindsosimpleanddirect。ToBrowningtheydidcomeback，buttheVirginian，thoughinterested，conceivedadislikeforhim。
“Heisasmarty，“saidhe，onceortwice。
“Nowhereissomething，“saidMolly。“Ihaveneverknownwhattothink。“
“Oh，Heavens！“murmuredthesickman，smiling。“Isitshort？“
“Veryshort。Nowpleaseattend。“Andshereadhimtwelvelinesaboutaloverwhorowedtoabeachinthedusk，crossedafield，tappedatapane，andwasadmitted。
“Thatisthebestyet，“saidtheVirginian。“There’sonlyonethingyu’canthinkaboutthat。“
“Butwait，“saidthegirl，swiftly。“Hereishowtheyparted:——
“Roundthecapeofasuddencamethesea，Andthesunlookedoverthemountain’srim——
Andstraightwasapathofgoldforhim，Andtheneedofaworldofmenforme。“
“Thatisvery，verytrue，“murmuredtheVirginian，droppinghiseyesfromthegirl’sintentones。
“Hadtheyquarrelled？“sheinquired。
“Oh，no！“
“But——“
“Ireckonhelovedherverymuch。“
“Thenyou’resuretheyhadn’tquarrelled？“
“Deadsure，ma’am。Hewouldcomebackaftehhehadplayedsomemoreofthegame。“
“Thegame？“
“Life，ma’am。Whateverhewasa-doin’intheworldofmen。That’sabed-rockpiece，ma’am！“
“Well，Idon’tseewhyyouthinkit’ssomuchbetterthansomeoftheothers。“
“Icouldsca’celyexplain，“answeredtheman。“Butthatwriterdoesknowsomething。“
“Iamgladtheyhadn’tquarrelled，“saidMolly，thoughtfully。Andshebegantolikehavingheropinionsrefuted。
Hisbandages，becomingalittleirksome，hadtobeshifted，andthisturnedtheirdiscoursefromliteraturetoWyoming；andMollyinquired，hadheeverbeenshotbefore？Onlyonce，hetoldher。
“Ihavebeenluckyinhavingfewfusses，“saidhe。“Ihatethem。
Ifamanhastobekilled——“
“Younever——“brokeinMolly。Shehadstartedbackalittle。
“Well，“sheaddedhastilydon’ttellmeif——“
“Ishouldn’twonderifIgotoneofthoseIndians，“hesaidquietly。“ButIwasn’twaitin’tosee！ButIcamemightyneardoingforawhitemanthatday。Hehadbeenhurtin’ahawss。
“Hurting？“saidMolly。
“Injurin。’Iwillnottellyu’aboutthat。Itwouldhurtyu’tohearsuchthings。Buthawsses——don’ttheydependonus？Ain’ttheysomethin’likechildren？Ididnotlayupthemanverybad。
Hewasabletotravel’mostrightaway。Why，you’dhavewantedtokillhimyourself！“
SotheVirginiantalked，norknewwhathewasdoingtothegirl。
NorwassheawareofwhatshewasreceivingfromhimasheunwittinglyspokehimselfouttoherintheseBrowningmeetingstheyhealeachday。ButMrs。Taylorgrewpleased。Thekindlydamewouldsometimescrosstheroadtoseeifshewereneeded，andstealawayagainafterapeepatthewindow。There，inside，amongtherestoredhometreasures，satthetwo:therosyalertgirl，sweetasshetalkedorreadtohim；andhe，thegrave，half-weakgiantamonghiswraps，watchingher。
Ofherdelayedhomevisitheneveragainspoke，eithertoherortoMrs。Taylor；andMollyveeredasidefromanytrendoftalksheforesawwasleadingtowardthatsubject。Butinthosehourswhennovisitorscame，andhewasbyhimselfinthequiet，hewouldlieoftensombrelycontemplatingthegirl’sroom，herlittledaintyknickknacks，herhomephotographs，allthedelicatemanifestationsofwhatshecamefromandwhatshewas。Strengthwasflowingbackintohimeachday，andJudgeHenry’slatestmessengerhadbroughthimclothesandmailfromSunkCreekandmanyinquiriesofkindness，andreturnedtakingthenewsofthecow-puncher’simprovement，andhowsoonhewouldbepermittedthefreshair。HenceMollyfoundhimwaitinginaflannelshirtofhighlybecomingshade，andwithasilkhandkerchiefknottedroundhisthroat；andhetoldheritwasgoodtofeelrespectableagain。
Shehadcometoreadtohimfortheallottedtime；andshethrewaroundhisshouldersthescarletandblackNavajoblanket，stripedwithitssplendidzigzagsofbarbarity。Thushehalfsat，halfleaned，languidbutatease。Inhislaplayoneofthelettersbroughtoverbythemessenger:andthoughshewasmidwayinabookthatengagedhisfullattention——DAVIDCOPPERFELD——hissilenceandabsentlookthismorningstoppedher，andsheaccusedhimofnotattending。
“No，“headmitted；“Iamthinkingofsomethingelse。“
Shelookedathimwiththatapprehensionwhichheknew。
“Ithadtocome，“saidhe。“Andto-dayIseemythoughtsstraighterthanI’vebeenuptomanagingsince——sincemyhardgotclear。AndnowImustsaythesethoughts——ifIcan，ifIcan！“Hestopped。Hiseyeswereintentuponher；onehandwasgrippingthearmofhischair。
“Youpromised——“trembledMolly。
“Ipromisedyoushouldloveme，“hesternlyinterrupted。
“Promisedthattomyself。Ihavebrokenthatword。“
SheshutDAVIDCOPPERHEADmechanically，andgrewwhite。
“Yourletterhascometomehyeh，“hecontinued，gentleagain。
“My——“Shehadforgottenit。
“Theletteryouwrotetotellmegood-by。Youwroteitalittlewhileago——notamonthyet，butit’sawayandawaylonggoneforme。“
“Ihaveneverletyouknow——“beganMolly。
“Thedoctor，“heinterruptedoncemore，butverygentlynow，“hegaveawdehsImustbekeptquiet。Ireckonyu’thoughttellin’memight——“
“Forgiveme！“criedthegirl。“IndeedIoughttohavetoldyousooner！IndeedIhadnoexcuse！“
“Why，shouldyu’tellmeifyu’preferrednot？Youhadwritten。
Andyouspeak“(heliftedtheletter)“ofneverbeingabletorepaykindness；butyouhaveturnedthetables。Icanneverrepayyoubyanything！byanything！SoIhadfiguredIwouldjustjogbacktoSunkCreekandletyougetaway，ifyoudidnotwanttosaythatkindofgood-by。ForIsawtheboxes。Mrs。Tayloristooniceawomantoknowthetrickoflyin’，andshecouldnotdeceiveme。Ihaveknowedyu’weregoingawayforgoodeversinceIsawthoseboxes。Butnowhyehcomesyourletter，anditseemsnowaybutImustspeak。Ihavethoughtadeal，lyin’inthisroom。And——to-day——IcansaywhatIhavethought。Icouldnotmakeyouhappy。“Hestopped，butshedidnotanswer。Hisvoicehadgrownsofterthanwhispering，butyetwasnotawhisper。Fromitsquietsyllablessheturnedaway，blindedwithsuddentears。
“Once，Ithoughtlovemustsurelybeenough，“hecontinued。“AndIthoughtifIcouldmakeyouloveme，youcouldlearnmetobeless——less-moreyourkind。AndIthinkIcouldgiveyouaprettygoodsortoflove。Butthatdon’thelpthelittlemeanpeskythingsofdaybydaythatmakeroughnessorsmoothnessforfolkstiedtogethersoawfulclose。Mrs。Taylorhyeh——shedon’tknowanythingbetterthanTaylordoes。Shedon’twantanythinghecan’tgiveher。Herfriendswilldoforhimandhisforher。AndwhenIdreamedofyouinmyhome——“heclosedhiseyesanddrewalongbreath。Atlasthelookedatheragain。“Thisisnocountryforalady。Willyu’forgetandforgivethebotheringIhavedone？“
“Oh！“criedMolly。“Oh！“Andsheputherhandstohereyes。Shehadrisenandstoodwithherfacecovered。
“Isurelyhadtotellyouthisallout，didn’tI？“saidthecow-puncher，faintly，inhischair。“Oh！“saidMollyagain“Ihaveputitclearhowitis，“hepursued。“IoughttohaveseenfromthestartIwasnotthesorttokeepyouhappy。“
“But，“saidMolly——“butI——youought——pleasetrytokeepmehappy！“Andsinkingbyhischair，shehidherfaceonhisknees。
Speechless，liebentdownandfoldedherround，puttinghishandsonthehairthathadbeenalwayshisdelight。Presentlyhewhispered:-“Youhavebeatme；howcanIfightthis？“
Sheanswerednothing。TheNavajo’sscarletandblackfoldsfelloverboth。Notwithwords，notevenwithmeetingeyes，didthetwoplighttheirtrothinthisfirstnewhour。Sotheyremainedlong，thefairheadnestinginthegreatarms，andtheblackheadlaidagainstit，whileoverthesilentroompresidedthelittleGrandmotherStarkinherframe，rosy，blue，andflaxen，notquitefamiliar，notquitesmiling。
Foralongwhileaftershehadlefthim，helaystill，stretchedinhischair。Hiseyeswerefixedsteadilyupontheopenwindowandthesunshineoutside。Therehewatchedthemovementoftheleavesuponthegreencottonwoods。Whathadshesaidtohimwhenshewent？Shehadsaid，“NowIknowhowunhappyIhavebeen。“
Thesesweetwordsherepeatedtohimselfoverandover，fearinginsomewaythathemightlosethem。Theyalmostslippedfromhimattimes；butwithajumpofhismindhecaughtthemagainandheldthem，——andthen-“I’mnotallstrongyet，“hemurmured。“I
musthavebeenverysick。“And，weakfromhisbulletwoundandfever，heclosedhiseyeswithoutknowingit。Therewerethecottonwoodsagain，waving，waving；andhefeltthecool，pleasantairfromthewindow。Hesawthelightdraughtstirtheashesinthegreatstonefireplace。“Ihavebeenasleep，“hesaid。“Butshewascert’nlyhereherself。Oh，yes。Surely。Shealwayshastogoawayeverydaybecausethedoctorsays——why，shewasreadin’！“
hebrokeoff，aloud。“DAVIDCOPPERFIELD。“Thereitwasonthefloor。“Aha！nailedyouanyway！“hesaid。“ButhowscaredIamofmyself！——You’reafool。Ofcourseit’sso。Nofeverbusinesscouldmakeyu’feellikethis。“
Hiseyedweltawhileonthefireplace，nextonthedeerhorns，andnextittravelledtowardtheshelfwhereherbookswere；butitstoppedbeforereachingthem。
“BettersayoffthenamesbeforeIlook，“saidhe。“I’vehadaheapo’misreadingvisions。And——andsupposin’——ifthiswasjustmysicknessfoolingmesomemore——I’dwanttodie。Iwoulddie！
Nowwe’llsee。IfCOPPERFIELDisonthefloor“(helookedstealthilytobesurethatitwas)，“thenshewasreadin’tomewheneverythinghappened，andthenthereshouldbeaholeinthebookrow，top，left。Top，left，“herepeated，andwarilybroughthisglancetotheplace。“Proved！“hecried。“It’sallso！“
HenownoticedtheminiatureofGrandmotherStark。“Youareawfullikeher，“hewhispered。“You’recert’nlyawfullikeher。MayI
kissyoutoo，ma’am？“
Then，tottering，herosefromhissick-chair。TheNavajoblanketfellfromhisshoulders，andgradually，experimentally，hestoodupright。
Helpinghimselfwithhishandslowlyalongthewalloftheroom，androundtotheoppositewallwithmanyapause，hereachedthepicture，andverygentlytouchedtheforeheadoftheancestraldamewithhislips。“Ipromisetomakeyourlittlegirlhappy，hewhispered。
Healmostfellinstoopingtotheportrait，butcaughthimselfandstoodcarefullyquiet，trembling，andspeakingtohimself。
“Whereisyourstrength？“hedemanded。“Ireckonitisjoythathasunsteadiedyourlaigs。“
Thedooropened。Itwasshe，comebackwithhisdinner。
“MyHeavens！“shesaid；andsettingthetraydown，sherushedtohim。Shehelpedhimbacktohischair，andcoveredhimagain。Hehadsufferednohurt，butsheclungtohim；andpresentlyhemovedandlethimselfkissherwithfullerpassion。
“Iwillbegood，“hewhispered。
“Youmust，“shesaid。“Youlookedsopale！“
“Youarespeakin’lowlikeme，“heanswered。“Butwehavenodreamwecanwakefrom。“
Hadshesurrenderedonthisdaytohercowpuncher，herwildman？
Wassheforeverwhollyhis？HadtheVirginian’sfiresomeltedherheartthatnoriftinitremained？Soshewouldhavethoughtifanythoughthadcometoher。Butinhisarmsto-day，thoughtwaslostinsomethingmoredivine。
