"Do you really doubt it?"
"No," was the candid reply. "And I'll be frank enough to confess that I feel very proud of my power. You flattered my vanity as never before. You have put me under a sense of gratitude for which I fear I can never reward you."
"I have my reward in your approval."
She smiled and lifted her finger in warning.
"I'll not forget my promise," he said. "From to-day we understand each other perfectly. I am permitted to love you in silence. You graciously permit this as long as I am silent. In my wounded pride I have vowed that you yourself shall break this silence or it shall remain unbroken forever. This is our compact?"
"Yes," she answered extending her hand. He felt it tremble at his first touch and then rest contentedly and confidently in his strong grasp for a moment before they parted.
When once his decision was made, Norman threw every doubt to the winds and devoted himself with tireless zeal to establishing the Brotherhood on the vast scale he had originally planned.
In every step of the expanding life of the colony Barbara was his constant companion and silent inspiration.
The transfer of the property was duly made under Wolf's keen gray eyes, with every detail of the law carefully guarded.