"If thou wilt kiss me, master," she said, "I will tell thee something should please thee mightily. Guess whom thou shalt see this hour—ay, this moment! And thank my brother for't."
Merrylips peered over her elbow at Dick Fowell.
"Oh, surely," she faltered, "'tis never—"
"Did I not tell thee I'd requite thy kindness, Tibbott?" said Dick Fowell. "Look yonder, laddie, and tell me have I kept my word?"
Merrylips saw the door to the parlor swing open. For a moment she dared not look. She was afraid that he who entered might not be the one whom with all her heart she prayed that she might see.
CHAPTER XXX
TO PUT IT TO THE TOUCH
At last Merrylips gathered courage to look. Then she saw that just inside the door stood a young man, who blinked as if he had newly come from a dark place.
He looked worn and tired. He seemed to have slept in his clothes. His coat, an old one, was too big for him, and his hair was dishevelled, and his face unshaven. But for all his sorry attire and his altered face, Merrylips knew him.
"Munn! Oh, my brother Munn!" she cried.