bad. Yes, yes, he's finding out now what it is to suffer. Oh, he'll
learn, and I'm glad."

To these bitter words Jean made no reply. She realised that the less
she said the better it would be. To oppose this man would only inflame
his anger. She knew that his excitement increased his suffering, for
at times during his tirades he had placed his hand to his injured side
and gasped for breath. As she gazed into the fire she knew that the
man was watching her, although she did not look in his direction. For
a few minutes a deep silence pervaded the room, and when the man again
spoke it was in a much milder tone.

"You must have had a hard time of it," he said. "I can well imagine
how greatly worried your father must be."

"I fear he is about heart-broken," Jean replied. "He has been failing
of late, and I am afraid this blow will go hard with him. I was his
only comfort."

"It was a great trial for him to leave his old home, I suppose."

"In a way it was. But he was very brave through it all. He did what
he could to encourage others, and many were helped by his cheerful
manner. He told them that it was a great privilege to suffer in a
noble cause, and that it was an honour to be loyal pioneers in a
strange land."

No sooner had Jean uttered these words than she wished them unsaid.
But the man appeared not to have heard them.