"Where are we bound now?" asked Bertha as she paced the deck, her hand on Tempest's arm.
"Home!" was the answer.
"To stay?"
Instead of answering, Tempest said:
"We are at war with England. That country has destroyed some of our cities and is devastating our land. She has claimed the supremacy of the ocean, as you know. We have disputed her right. Now what is my duty? My great ancestor left England in the Mayflower; he founded a family unexcelled for its patriotism. His descendants, by marriage, united the great tribes of the Indians with the white people. My father fought with Greene at Bunker Hill and with Washington at Valley Forge. What is my duty?"
Bertha Decatur did not hesitate in her answer.
"My brave boy, you must fight—until the end."
"I thought you would say so. But do you know what you told me when I asked for this little hand?" asked Tempest, placing his hard hand on her soft one.
"I said I would only marry a hero."