"You will not leave me again, Stanislas?" she went on, with tender insistence.
"My sweet, I must go back. My duty is there, in the Crimea, with my comrades—with the army of my Queen."
"But if anything should happen to you—they may hurt you, kill you!"
"Darling, there is no fear. Be brave."
"Oh, Stanislas! Suppose I should lose you—life would be an utter blank after that; I have no one in the world but you."
McKay was greatly touched by this proof of her deep-seated affection.
"It is only for a little while longer, my sweetest girl! Be patient and hopeful to the end. By-and-by we shall come together, never to part again."
"I am weak, foolish—too loving, perhaps. But, Stanislas, I cannot bear to part with you. Let me go too!"
"Dearest, that is quite impossible."
"If I was only near you—"