“Well, well, child, don’t mind me.  I did not mean anything.  There, good night, Betty.”

Long after she had gone up-stairs Col.  Zane sat by his fireside.  From time to time he sighed.  He thought of the old Virginia home and of the smile of his mother.  It seemed only a few short years since he had promised her that he would take care of the baby sister.  How had he kept that promise made when Betty was a little thing bouncing on his knee?  It seemed only yesterday.  How swift the flight of time!  Already Betty was a woman; her sweet, gay girlhood had passed; already a shadow had fallen on her face, the shadow of a secret sorrow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

March with its blustering winds had departed, and now April’s showers and sunshine were gladdening the hearts of the settlers.  Patches of green freshened the slopes of the hills; the lilac bushes showed tiny leaves, and the maple-buds were bursting.  Yesterday a blue-bird—­surest harbinger of spring—­had alighted on the fence-post and had sung his plaintive song.  A few more days and the blossoms were out mingling their pink and white with the green; the red-bud, the hawthorne, and the dog-wood were in bloom, checkering the hillsides.

“Bessie, spring is here,” said Col.  Zane, as he stood in the doorway.  “The air is fresh, the sun shines warm, the birds are singing; it makes me feel good.”

“Yes, it is pleasant to have spring with us again,” answered his wife.  “I think, though, that in winter I am happier.  In summer I am always worried.  I am afraid for the children to be out of my sight, and when you are away on a hunt I am distraught until you are home safe.”

“Well, if the redskins let us alone this summer it will be something new,” he said, laughing.  “By the way, Bess, some new people came to the fort last night.  They rafted down from the Monongahela settlements.  Some of the women suffered considerably.  I intend to offer them the cabin on the hill until they can cut the timber and run up a house.  Sam said the cabin roof leaked and the chimney smoked, but with a little work I think they can be made more comfortable there than at the block-house.”

“It is the only vacant cabin in the settlement.  I can accommodate the women folks here.”

“Well, we’ll see about it.  I don’t want you and Betty inconvenienced.  I’ll send Sam up to the cabin and have him fix things up a bit and make it more habitable.”

The door opened, admitting Col.  Zane’s elder boy.  The lad’s face was dirty, his nose was all bloody, and a big bruise showed over his right eye.

“For the land’s sake!” exclaimed his mother.  “Look at the boy.  Noah, come here.  What have you been doing?”

Noah crept close to his mother and grasping her apron with both hands hid his face.  Mrs. Zane turned the boy around and wiped his discolored features with a wet towel.  She gave him a little shake and said:  “Noah, have you been fighting again?”