Page:Hegan Rice--Mrs Wiggs of the cabbage patch.djvu/45

 serious, "I wish you would do something for me."

"All right; what is it?" he asked.

She timidly put her hand on his, and looked up at him earnestly.

"It's about Dick Harris," she said. "I wish you would not be with him so much."

Redding's face clouded. "You are n't afraid to trust me?" he asked.

"Oh, no; it is n't that," she said hurriedly; "but, Robert, it makes people think such wrong things about you; I can't bear to have you misjudged."

Redding put his arm around her, and together they stood looking down into the glowing embers.

"Tell me about it, little girl; what have you heard?" he asked.

She hesitated. "It was n't true what they said. I knew it was n't true, but they had no right to say it."