At this moment I thought I heard the handle of the door move, but there was a screen between us and it. I went on.
"That is, if you still want to marry her, you know."
"Marry her!" he said. "If she were a beggar-maid, I would be proud as
King Cophetua to marry her to-morrow."
There was a rustle in the twilight, and a motion of its gloom. With a quick gliding, Adela drew near, knelt beside Harry, and hid her eyes on his knee. I thought it better to go.
Was this unmaidenly of her?
I say "No, for she knew that he loved her."
As I left the room, I heard the colonel call—
"Adela."
And when I returned, I found them both standing by the bedside, and the old man holding a hand of each.
"Now, John Smith," I said to myself, "you may go when you please."