"Supper's ready,"
said he. "We all have to eat, no matter what comes."
Something in his voice and manner affected Blanche deeply. She buried
her face in her hands and wept while Rivers sat helplessly looking at
her. She could not rise and walk before him yet. The shame of her sin
weighed her down.
Bailey poured some tea and gave it to Rivers.
"Take this to her while I toast her some bread."
She drank the tea but refused food, and Rivers sat down again still
wearing an air of defiance, though Bailey did not appear to notice it.
He ate a hearty supper, making a commonplace remark now and again.
Once he said, "We're in for a hard winter."
"It's hell on the squatters," Rivers replied, for want of other words.
"I don't know what they'll do. No money and no work for most of them.
They'll have to burn hay. If it hadn't been for the price on buffalo
bones, I guess some of them would starve."
Rising from the table, Bailey moved about doing up the work. He was very
thoughtful, and the constraint increased in tension.
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