“My son, cry not at what I am convinced you did for the best interests of that dear girl. My faith in you is not shaken. Let God alone judge our motives; mankind can do it not!”
“O master! I cannot leave you in this manner! To leave you now with the simple knowledge that I will never return, would be to provoke all manner of thoughts detrimental to my honesty and sincerity of character. You shall know all! I will confide in you my secret!”
Then by the side of this grand old man, Cobb sat and told him of his great undertaking, and of his love for his daughter.
Half an hour after, the door opened, and Colchis, with a face grave and sad, called to his daughter Marie.
Entering the room, she looked from one to the other, as if seeking some explanation of the quiet, sad expression of each.
Junius Cobb bowed his head, and the hot tears fell upon his hands. Colchis turned his face away.
Quickly going to her lover, Marie knelt at his feet, and gently raised his head until their eyes met.
“Do not cry, Junius; do not cry. I know you cannot help yourself. Duty calls you away, and you must go. Such, you have told me, is a soldier’s fortune.”
He clasped her to his heart.
“Marie,” gravely and sadly spoke her father, “he leaves us to-night. When he returns, no man can tell. But let this comfort you: he has asked for your hand; your heart, I know, is his already. I have given my consent, and gladly. Let him go to his duty cheerfully, and await his return. If you are constant in the love you profess as a girl, you shall marry Junius Cobb, or no other. I swear it, as I hope for salvation hereafter,” and he raised his hand toward Heaven in token of his oath.