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puckered, and gazed somewhat mournfully into the blaze Sally had a

secret It was a secret which she based on a faint hope If Samson

should come back to Misery, he would come back full of new notions No

man had ever yet returned from that outside world unaltered No man

ever would A terrible premonition said he would not come at all, but,

if he did--if he did--she must kno to read and write Maybe, when

she had learned a little o to school for a term

or two She had not confided her secret The ould not have

understood The book and slate cas beside the fireplace only when thehad withdrawn to her bed,

and the freckled boy was dreah to kill Hollraphy on the slate was discouraging

It was all proving very hard work The girl gazed for a ti she saw in the embers, and then a faint smile came to her

lips By next Christmas, she would surprise Samson with a letter It

should be ritten, and every "hain't" should be an "isn't" Of

course, until then Samson would not write to her, because he would not

know that she could read the letter--indeed, as yet the deciphering of

"hand-write" was beyond her abilities