Melanctha stopped wearing Jem’s ring on her finger.  Poor Melanctha, she wore it on a string she tied around her neck so that she could always feel it, but Melanctha was strong now with Jem Richards, and he never saw it.  And sometimes Jem seemed to be awful sorry for it, and sometimes he seemed kind of glad of it.  Melanctha never could make out really what it was Jem Richards wanted.

There was no other woman yet to Jem, that Melanctha knew, and so she always trusted that Jem would come back to her, deep in his love, the way once he had had it and had made all the world like she once had never believed anybody could really make it.  But Jem Richards was more game than Melanctha Herbert.  He knew how to fight to win out, better.  Melanctha really had already lost it, in not keeping quiet and waiting for Jem to do it.

Jem Richards was not yet having better luck in his betting.  He never before had had such a long time without some good coming to him in his betting.  Sometimes Jem talked as if he wanted to go off on a trip somewhere and try some other place for luck with his betting.  Jem Richards never talked as if he wanted to take Melanctha with him.

And so Melanctha sometimes was really trusting, and sometimes she was all sick inside her with her doubting.  What was it Jem really wanted to do with her?  He did not have any other woman, in that Melanctha could be really trusting, and when she said no to him, no she never would come near him, now he did not want to have her, then Jem would change and swear, yes sure he did want her, now and always right here near him, but he never now any more said he wanted to be married soon to her.  But then Jem Richards never would marry a girl, he said that very often, when he was in this kind of trouble, and now he did not see any way he could get out of his trouble.  But Melanctha ought to wear his ring, sure she knew he never had loved any kind of woman like he loved her.  Melanctha would wear the ring a little while, and then they would have some more trouble, and then she would say to him, no she certainly never would any more wear anything he gave her, and then she would wear it on the string so nobody could see it but she could always feel it on her.

Poor Melanctha, surely her love had made her mad and foolish.

And now Melanctha needed always more and more to be with Rose Johnson, and Rose had commenced again to advise her, but Rose could not help her.  There was no way now that anybody could advise her.  The time when Melanctha could have changed it with Jem Richards was now all past for her.  Rose knew it, and Melanctha too, she knew it, and it almost killed her to let herself believe it.

The only comfort Melanctha ever had now was waiting on Rose till she was so tired she could hardly stand it.  Always Melanctha did everything Rose ever wanted.  Sam Johnson began now to be very gentle and a little tender to Melanctha.  She was so good to Rose and Sam was so glad to have her there to help Rose and to do things and to be a comfort to her.