“I would not tell you then that I had been insulted by ruffian soldiers, that a stranger had rescued me from their clutches, for I knew it would trouble you. Who the gentleman was I did not know. I only saw he was noble and manly. I thanked him and hastened away. Right after that we had our last garden party, to which ’Rinthia brought her cousin, Mr. Walden, when I discovered it was he who rescued me.”
“Mr. Walden!” Mrs. Newville exclaimed.
“A noble young man! I always liked his appearance,” said Mr. Newville.
“Why didn’t you tell us about it, Ruth, so we could have shown him some attention?” Mrs. Newville asked.
“It is not too late to do it now, mother.”
She told the story, that he was a lieutenant, a prisoner, wounded, hovering between life and death; how she had brought about his removal from the jail to the Brandon home, watched over him during the night, wondering if the next moment would not be the last; that just before sunrise the tide had turned and he was going to live.
“You saving him! Wonderful!” Mrs. Newville exclaimed.
“It is just like you, daughter,” said the father, clasping his arms around her and kissing her lips.
“I will go and help care for him, even if he is a rebel,” said Mrs. Newville.