“No; that would be cruel; they would never cease hunting and searching for me, and it would break Kipwan’s heart.”
“Will you tell him all?”
“Yes.”
“Do you suppose he will object or attempt to dissuade you?”
“He is too good a man to attempt either. He will feel sorrowful, and so shall I, at the separation from those who have been such friends to me all my life—but he will wish me good-speed upon my journey.”
“He must be a good man indeed, and I should like to go into the village and take him by the hand,” said Hammond, who felt just then that he could take any one in the world by the hand.
“No,” she replied; “do not show yourself in the village. You know why?”
“No,” he answered, looking inquiringly at her.
“In the first place, they are always uneasy at the approach of strangers, and then, when it became known that you are the cause of my leaving them, some of the younger members might not feel so particularly Christian toward you.”