“The fresh, smart father in the blue coat—” said poor Caleb, “he’s gone!”
“Nothing is gone,” she answered. “Dearest Father, no! Everything is here—in you. But, Father——” She hesitated.
“Mary—Mary is just what you told me? There is no change in her? You never told me anything of her that was not true?”
“I should have done so, I’m afraid,” said Caleb, “if I could have made her better than she was. But I must have changed her for the worse, if I had changed her at all. Nothing could improve her, Bertha.”
The blind girl was delighted with this reply, even though she had felt so sure of what it must be, and her renewed embrace of Dot was charming to behold.
The Dead Returns to Life
Dot glanced at the clock, and saw that it was within a few minutes of striking, and immediately became very excited.
“More changes than you think for may happen, though,” said Dot; “changes for the better, I mean; changes for great joy to some of us. You mustn’t let them startle you too much when they come. But listen! You’ve a quick ear, Bertha. Do you hear wheels upon the road?”
“Yes—coming very fast.”
“I—I—I know you have a quick ear,” said Dot, holding her hand to her heart and talking as fast as she could, “because I have often noticed it, and because you were so quick to hear that strange step last night. Though why you should have taken such quick notice of it, and said, ‘Whose step is that?’ seems strange. But, as I said just now, there are great changes in this world; great changes, and we can’t do better than prepare ourselves to be surprised at hardly anything.”