"Yes," he answered. "You can do much. You can be my friend."
"Your friend!" she exclaimed. Had she not always been his friend? But there was a deeper meaning in his voice than she had ever heard before, and his appeal sent thrills of pleasure to her heart.
"I am ill," he continued; "but it is more from weakness than any thing else. I am not in pain. A dizziness seizes me, as it seized me just now, and I feel as if my senses were leaving me. I can scarcely stand; and I have no one to trust to."
"Not Minnie?" she said softly and wonderingly.
"Hush! Minnie, of all others, must not be told of this. Can I trust you?"
"I would work till I dropped to serve you."
A flush came into his face.
"To serve me and Minnie?" he said.
"Yes; to serve you and Minnie."
"Give me your sacred promise that what passes between us now will never be divulged, will never be spoken of, by you, unless my tongue is sealed, and the time comes when it may be necessary to speak."