in his hands two small leather-bound books. Tied to one by a faded silk cord which marked the pages was a thin, worn ring of gold.

“That ring war his maw’s, an’ when we war married, I wore hit, but when I took Farwell fer my ol’ man, I nevah wore hit any more, fer he ‘lowed, bein’ hit war gold that-a-way, we’d ought to sell hit. That time I took the lock off’n the door an’ put hit on that thar box. Hit war my gran’maw’s box, an’ I done wore the key hyar evah since. Can you tell what they be? Hit’s the quarest kind of print I evah see. He used to make out like he could read hit. Likely he did, fer whatevah he said, he done.”

It seemed to her little short of a miracle that any one could read it, but David