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"He was a large man, over six feet, barrel-chested He'd worked in the mines in Wales when he was a boy Anytime you saw a crowd of men a mile away, you could easily pick Jake out He was the one with the bright red hair and heard as always laughing"

"Red hair and beard?"

"Yes, he was quite proud of the fact that he stood out from the rest"

"All the world loves a hs"

She sht onuncouth bear He was hardly the type to tickle a young girl's fancy"

"But you married him"

She nodded "He courtedthe blizzard, and when the sun finally broke through the clouds on the fourteenth day, I accepted his proposal Mother and Dad were distraught, of course, but Jake won them over, too"

"You couldn't have been ?"

"I saw him for the last time a year later"

"The day he and the others were lost in the Little Angel" It was more statement than question

"Yes," she said wistfully She avoided his stare and looked nervously toward the kitchen "My goodness, I'd better fix us soram"

But Seagraht with sudden exciteel accident, didn't you, Mrs Austin?"

She seemed to retreat into the cushions of her chair Apprehension spread across her gentle face "I don't knohat you mean"

"I think you do," he said softly

"Nono, you're mistaken"