“Ever since you let me be your little boy,” he answered, with emphasis, “I have been quite happy.”
“And before?”
“Before I was happy sometimes—when I was with you; but I was often very lonely. If I hadn’t felt sure that God would take care of me, I think I should have been miserable sometimes.”
“But you were sure of that?”
Bertie paused and reflected.
“By and by I was—not just at first—but by and by. And then I found out something for me to do, and then all the rest came easy.”
“What did you find to do?”
“I found out that you were lonely and unhappy, and I wanted to comfort you,” answered the child, very softly. “Because you had no little children of your own left. I didn’t think at first that I could; but by and by you said I did.”
“Yes, my child. We were given to one another, to fill, as it were, the blank that God had thought fit to make in both of our lives. We must trust Him now to leave us to one another, and not to part us unless that too is a part of His holy will.”
Bertie looked up timidly.