Frederick stepped forward, holding out his hand.
"Thanks," he said brokenly; "I shall never forget this--in you."
The clasping of the two hands and the smile on the lips of the student made Tess broaden her own.
"Yep, jerk off yer coat, and eat," ordered she. "Air ye heard about Daddy?"
"Yes." Young hesitated a moment.
"What is it, Professor?" ejaculated Frederick. "Don't keep her in suspense."
"Daddy ain't a-goin' to hang!... He can't!" Her eyes turned to Frederick. "'Cause ye said he couldn't."
The boy flushed to the roots of his hair and glanced at Professor Young. Again she was giving the credit to Graves--credit the lad so little deserved. Frederick felt this, and muttered: "She doesn't understand yet what you've done, Professor--I'm sorry!"
"They've placed a stay upon your father's execution," explained Young, "that will give us a chance to prove him innocent.... I am positive that he didn't kill the gamekeeper. I went to the prison last week."
"Ye seed him?" asked Tess eagerly, striding close to him. He felt the hot breath against his face and a feeling of longing coursed through his veins.
"Yes," was all he said.
"What did he say about me?"
"Everything good! You will have him very soon here with you, Tessibel."
The girl was fatigued with turbulent emotions, lonely and heartsick. The shadow of the rope was gone from Daddy Skinner. Like a relieved child she sank down upon the floor and began to whimper. Both men were silenced by the swaying red head. The bacon sputtered in the frying pan upon the stove, spitting the grease to the lids, where it burned away in tiny yellow flames.
Then Tess raised her head.
"What a bloke I air to cry when Daddy air a-comin' home.... We air a-goin' to eat now," she ended, wiping her eyes.
Before the meal was over Tess was on better terms with Young than she had ever been before. He outlined to the delighted girl his visit to the prison.
"Your father says, child," he related, "that he took the gun from the stern of the boat, and laid it on the shore, near where he was hauling the net.... He heard a shot and ran forward and was arrested. He swore to me that he did not fire the gun and I believe him. The fatal step was in his taking the rifle at all, because that was disobeying the law."