“Borne it! My dear boy, she is no longer the same. The delightful air, the freedom from all restraint, the grandeur of the scenery we have come through, everything has seemed to be giving her back her lost strength, and it is a new life she is beginning to live.”
“I am thankful,” I said.
“But tell me, Mayne,” he said; “there is some coolness between you and my brother. He did not tell me what it was. Have you not been happy with him?”
“Yes,” I said, “till now.”
And then I told him everything, from the discovery of the gold to the moment of his arrival. He stood looking thoughtful for a few moments, and then said—
“And young Dean believes it too?”
“Yes,” I said; “and that caused the struggle that you saw.”
“Of course—of course. I see.”
“But, Mr John, indeed, indeed I kept my word. I did not—I would not tell a soul; and I have carefully avoided going to the place.”
He stood with his brows knit in silence, looking straight away.