Dick, who had been standing in the middle of the room, now came forward, and stood before Martin. "May I have her?" he simply asked. "Nance has promised to be my wife if you will give your consent."
For a few heart beats there was a tense silence, while Martin sat gazing off into space. He was thinking of the past, and of a little child he had rescued from the Indians on the bank of the Mackenzie River years before. Presently his eyes sought those of the young man before him.
"Do you know that Nance is not my child?" he asked in a hesitating voice. "I do not even know her parents' names."
"Yes, I know," Dick replied. "But that doesn't make any difference."
"If you had asked me for Nance a month, nay, even an hour ago," Martin continued, "I should have refused you. She was all I had in the world. But now it is different. You may have her, for I have one to take her place. I have found my Beryl. She has come back to me."
At these words Nance sprang to her feet, and looked eagerly and curiously around the room. Seeing only the nurse standing there with a happy smile upon her face, she was much puzzled, and turned to Martin for an explanation.
"Oh, daddy!" she exclaimed, "how you startled me! What did you mean by saying that Beryl had come back?"
"And so she has, dear. This is my long lost Beryl you see before you."
For an instant only Nance stood there, her eyes filled with wonder. Then they brightened, with complete understanding, and with a glad cry she sprang toward the nurse, who caught her in her arms, and showered kisses upon the fair, fresh face turned up to hers.
During the remainder of the afternoon all was excitement within that little room. There was so much to talk about that it was supper time before they were half through. While Beryl and Nance were preparing the simple repast the two men discussed plans for the future.