"You must not be down-hearted, Mother," he said, as she tried in vain to keep back her tears. "You see, I have come back to you twice, safely, and after passing unsuspected in Tippoo's palace, there is no fear of my being detected elsewhere. Besides, of course, every month I am there I become better acquainted with the people, and can pass as a native more easily."
"I am not really afraid, my boy. You have got on so well that, it seems to me, God will surely protect you and bring you back safely. And I can't help thinking that this time your search may be successful. You know why I feel convinced that your father is still alive, and, in spite of past disappointments, I still cling to the belief."
"Well, Mother, if he is to be found I will find him. There are still many hill forts where he may be living, and his very existence forgotten, and until I have visited every one of them, I don't mean to give up the search. Anyhow, I shall come back at the end of ten months, whether I have heard of him or not. I have promised Annie that I will be back before she sails. It is not a very long journey down here, and I shall drop in for a fortnight's stay with you, as I have done this time."
"She is in the next room, crying her eyes out, Dick. You had better look in there, and say goodbye to her. She is not fit to go down to the door."
After parting with his mother, Dick went in to see Annie.
"You must not cry so, child," he said, as she rose from the divan, with her face swollen with crying. "I am sure that you will be very happy here, until I come back."
"I know, Dick; but it won't be at all the same, without you."
"Oh, you will have plenty to do, and you will soon fall into regular ways. Besides, you know, you have got to comfort my mother, and keep up her spirits, and I quite rely upon you to do that."
"I will try, Dick," she said earnestly.
"Now, goodbye, Annie."