"He was my father, remember, and I never forgot that, even though he drove me away from home. And more than that, for my mother's sake I could not betray him."
Dane ceased, and gazed thoughtfully into the fire. The Colonel was deeply stirred. Impulsively he reached out and seized Dane by the hand.
"Young man," he began, "I honour you more than words can express. You did what was right, and I should have done the same. I was a fool for doubting you, as I did that day in the hills. As the son of my old friends, Thomas Norman and his noble wife, I now take you to my heart and home, and have no hesitation in giving to you her who is dearer to me than life."
He then took Jean's hand and placed it where his own had been, and clasped them together.
"May God bless you both," he said, "and may you be true to each other."
"We shall," Dane fervently declared, "while the grass grows, the sun shines, and the water flows."
CHAPTER XXXIII
SEEDS OF EMPIRE
Supper was ready and waiting in a cosy room in a well-built house situated in one of the most beautiful spots on the St. John River. The table had been laid with care, and the light from the bright open fire-place cast its soft flickering glow upon the spotless linen and well-arranged dishes. A colored woman, a worthy successor to Old Mammy, entered and lighted the tapers in the seven-branched candle-stick which had once adorned Thomas Norman's lonely cabin. A smile illumined her face as she looked into an adjoining room where a woman was seated before another fire, surrounded by three children.
If was Christmas Eve, and Jean Norman was resting after the work of the day. In fact, she had been exceptionally busy for several days, so it was pleasant to sit in the big, comfortable chair awaiting Dane's arrival from the city.