⁸ The schoolmistress has left Red Gulch for good, having triumphed over her own wayward sensuality. Instead of leaving the town in disgrace with a babe in arms (a scenario that has been played itself out in countless stories), she leaves with grace and nobility, taking another woman's child from a world of shame to one of promise and opportunity. By removing Tommy, Miss Mary is symbolically fulfilling the ultimate schoolmistress' role: reforming and civilizing the rough children of the frontier.