“Hello, Lucy; that you? Where did you go, anyway?” said Jessie, surreptitiously wiping her eyes. “I was looking for you all over.”
“Oh, just around,” Lucile answered, waving her hand vaguely, “congratulating everybody. Did you ever see such a wonderful time in all your life, Jessie? One little chap over there, who is crazy to see his father, asked what the noise was all about. ‘Is it because I’m going to see Daddy?’ he asked, and when his mother couldn’t answer him, she was crying so, he put his little face against hers and begged her not to. ‘It’s just because I’m happy, little lad; so happy,’ she said, and—and—oh, why is it that when you’re happiest, you have to go and cry?” And she dashed the tears away fiercely.
Some hours later the crowd again assembled on deck, everything in readiness to land. The beautiful city towered, majestic and imposing, before them, and the lofty buildings, with the sun full upon them, stood out clear and gleaming against the gray-blue of the sky.
The girls, who had been standing close together, drew a sigh and turned to each other with tear-wet eyes and bursting hearts.
“Well, girls, have you got any luggage?” came in Phil’s matter-of-fact voice. “If you have, hand it over.”
“I’ll take Lucile’s,” said Jack, and, as she suited the action to the word, he cried joyfully, “We’re home, Lucile; we’re home!”
And Mr. Payton, regarding the little group with loving eyes, added, very reverently, “Thank God!”