"Good."
The cynical look on Philip's face deepened as he once more turned away. But before he reached the door he paused, and drawing from his breast a faded flower, with a few limp leaves, handed it to the old man.
"I found the duplicate of the plant you were looking for."
The old man half rose on his elbow, breathless with excitement as he clutched and eagerly examined the plant.
"It is the same," he said, with a sigh of relief, "and yet you said there was no news!"
"May I ask what it means?" said Philip, with a slight smile.
"It means that I am right, and Linnæus, Darwin, and Eschscholtz are wrong. It means a discovery. It means that this which you call an Alpine flower is not one, but a new species."
"An important fact to starving men," said Philip, bitterly.
"It means more," continued the old man, without heeding Philip's tone. "It means that this flower is not developed in perpetual snow. It means that it is first germinated in a warm soil and under a kindly sun. It means that if you had not plucked it, it would have fulfilled its destiny under those conditions. It means that in two months grass will be springing where you found it—even where we now lie. We are below the limit of perpetual snow."
"In two months!" said the young girl, eagerly, clasping her hands.