"Oh, sugar!" observed the lightkeeper with scorn in his voice. "I cal'late you are purt' near as blind as a bat, Ralph Endicott. Yessir! That gal loves ye so hard it hurts—jest like I said she would under proper encouragement."
"Lorna?" murmured Ralph, his eyes suddenly suffused.
The car swerved and Tobias grabbed the driver's arm.
"Hey! Do ye want to have us in the ditch? She won't like ye no better with a broken neck. And me—I cal'late I want to live a leetle longer. In spite o' Hephzibah Bassett I mean to have some good out o' our recovered savings before I die."
"If she does love me," Ralph went on, "we'll get married right away and I can save her from all the privation she might suffer now that the Nicholets have lost their money."
Tobias suddenly groaned. He turned in the seat to face his companion.
"I give it as my opinion that I'm an awful sinner—the good Lord forgive me! I did it for the best. And Lorna never would have found out she loved you, nor you that you loved her, if ye each hadn't thought t'other was in trouble."
"What do you mean?" asked Ralph, puzzled.
For a second time the old lightkeeper made his confession. Ralph showed at first nothing but wonder.
"And she isn't poor at all?" he finally asked.