"Are you expecting a friend from England?" asked the stranger.
"No, sir, I wish I was," was John's involuntary reply.
"I had a letter from my old friend Mr. Groombridge, of Bristol, and he asked me to call for you on my way to the Docks, as some one you once knew was coming in by the steamer."
"Who did he say it was, sir?" asked John, with a sudden tumultuous beating of the heart.
"He did mention the name, I believe; but, dear me, I've left the letter at home. It's no matter, though, you will soon learn," said Mr. Graham, with an amused smile, as he watched John's face.
"It couldn't be, of course," argued John to himself; but as the steamer came in he eagerly scanned the faces of the passengers, with but one thought.
No, she was not there, and with a bitter feeling of disappointment he fell back.
He looked up. How could he have overlooked that figure with eager hands stretched out towards him! Yes, it was his trusting, loving Ruth, who, unasked, had crossed the seas to help and cheer him in the hard battle he was fighting for her sake.
"Oh, Ruthie," he said, as he grasped her hands; "I don't deserve this. Why have you come, darling?"