"... No. He may have been as happy as we, once; fancy him as a young lover! There is a price for ambition centered in grasping things: the soul dries up and shrivels."
"Poor man!"
"This is the real wealth...."
He took her within his arms. At home in his kiss, her lips parted slightly within his, like a bud daring to offer its tenderest petals to the crush of the enveloping wind. When he let her go, he lay slack with delicious unrest.
Abruptly he sat up, a decisive ring in his voice. "I'm going to marry you, Jane."
"I had hoped so." She could not prevent the dimple from smiling within her rounded cheek.
"I mean—now!"
"To-night?"
"I'll get the license to-morrow, adorable child—and we can have Dr. Gulley, or the mayor——"
"Let's have His Honor! An Irish blessing isn't to be scoffed at, and the Free Tabernaclers, as rebels, are a bit pallid. 'The Courthouse Wedding'—how your mother will relish that!"