"Donelle, I thought——"
"Did I frighten you, Tom?"
"Well, you know there is always the bit of a coward in me. Why are you here?"
"I came to meet you, Tom."
"Has anything gone wrong?" His face darkened; poor Tom never expected things had gone right. His life had not been formed on those lines.
"No, but I wanted you, Tom. There are so many things to talk about, wonderful things. I've gone to your cabin, Tom, and made it ready for you. Every day I've lighted a fire the nights are cold. I thought you might come at night."
Donelle had lighted a fire of which she knew nothing, and Tom could not tell her!
"You're kind," was all he said as he looked at her. Then: "I never had a home until I got that cabin, Donelle. While I am away, I see the curtains you and Mam'selle made and the bedspread and all the rest. When I've been shivering in camp, I saw the fire on my own little hearth, and I was warm!"
Donelle smiled up to him.
"Tell me about your road," she said.