The next day I was obliged to bid farewell to the Crowders, and my business arrangements made it improbable that I should see them again for a long time--I could not say how long. As I bade Mr. Crowder farewell and stood holding his hand in mine, he smiled, and said: "That's right. Look hard at me; study every line in my face, and then when you see me again you will be better able--"
"Not a bit," said Mrs. Crowder. "He is just as able to judge now as he will be if he stays away for twenty years."
I believed her, as I warmly shook her hand, and I believe that I shall always continue to believe her.