The Oakdale Affair

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"Good!" exclaimed Mr. Prim.

On the trip back to Oakdale, Abigail Prim cuddled
in the back seat beside her father, told him all that she
could think to tell of Bridge and his goodness to her.

"But the man didn't know you were a girl," suggested
Mr. Prim.

"There were two other girls with us, both very pretty,"
replied Abigail, "and he was as courteous and kindly to
them as a man could be to a woman. I don't care any-
thing about his clothes, Daddy; Bridge is a gentleman
born and raised--anyone could tell it after half an hour
with him."

Bridge sat on the front seat with the driver and one
of Burton's men, while Burton, sitting in the back seat
next to the girl, could not but overhear her conversa-
tion.

"You are right," he said. "Bridge, as you call him, is a
gentleman. He comes of one of the finest families of Vir-
ginia and one of the wealthiest. You need have no
hesitancy, Mr. Prim, in inviting him into your home."

For a while the three sat in silence; and then Jonas
Prim turned to his daughter. "Gail," he said, "before we
get home I wish you'd tell me why you did this thing.
I think you'd rather tell me before we see Mrs. P."

"It was Sam Benham, Daddy," whispered the girl. "I
couldn't marry him. I'd rather die, and so I ran away. I
was going to be a tramp; but I had no idea a tramp's
existence was so adventurous. You won't make me marry
him, Daddy, will you? I wouldn't be happy, Daddy."

"I should say not, Gail; you can be an old maid all
your life if you want to."

"But I don't want to--I only want to choose my own
husband," replied Abigail.

Mrs. Prim met them all in the living-room. At sight of
Abigail in the ill-fitting man's clothing she raised her
hands in holy horror; but she couldn't see Bridge at
all, until Burton found an opportunity to draw her to
one side and whisper something in her ear, after which
she was graciousness personified to the dusky Bridge, in-
sisting that he spend a fortnight with them to recuper-
ate.

Between them, Burton and Jonas Prim fitted Bridge
out as he had not been dressed in years, and with the
feel of fresh linen and pressed clothing, even if ill fitting,
a sensation of comfort and ease pervaded him which the
man would not have thought possible from such a source
an hour before.

He smiled ruefully as Burton looked him over. "I ven-
ture to say," he drawled, "that there are other things in
the world besides the open road."

Burton smiled.

It was midnight when the Prims and their guests arose
from the table. Hettie Penning was with them, and ev-
eryone present had been sworn to secrecy about her
share in the tragedy of the previous night. On the mor-
row she would return to Payson and no one there the
wiser; but first she had Burton send to the jail for Giova,
who was being held as a witness, and Giova promised
to come and work for the Pennings.

At last Bridge stole a few minutes alone with Abi-
gail, or, to be more strictly a truthful historian, Abigail
outgeneraled the others of the company and drew
Bridge out upon the veranda.

"Tell me," demanded the girl, "why you were so kind
to me when you thought me a worthless little scamp of a
boy who had robbed some one's home."

"I couldn't have told you a few hours ago," said Bridge.
"I used to wonder myself why I should feel toward a
boy as I felt toward you,--it was inexplicable,--and then
when I knew that you were a girl, I understood, for I
knew that I loved you and had loved you from the mo-
ment that we met there in the dark and the rain be-
side the Road to Anywhere."

"Isn't it wonderful?" murmured the girl, and she had
other things in her heart to murmur; but a man's lips
smothered hers as Bridge gathered her into his arms and
strained her to him.

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