Instead she slipped out into the night and sitting under a sheltering bush she watched that window.

It was only a short time until George crawled from it, went stealthily to the barn, and a few minutes later she saw him riding barebacked on one of the horses he had bridled, down the footpath beside the stream toward town.

She got up and crossing the barnyard shut the gate after him, and closed the barn door.

She went back to the house and closed his window and lighting a lamp set it on his dresser in front of his small clock.

His door was open in the morning when she passed it on her way to the kitchen, so she got breakfast instead of feeding the horses.