He grasped holt of my hands as if he wouldn’t never let go.
Sez he, “God bless you for saying that!” He wouldn’t go into the parlor, nor set down, or nothin’. But it got to be my stiddy practice to go down into that hall two or three times a day to gin him news, and as the news grew brighter every day, jest so his face grew brighter, till it got luminous with joy and gratitude the day I told him that Alice wuz out of danger.
Wall, there come a day, long to be remembered, when Martin sent for me. I wuz the first one he asked to see. He couldn’t talk much, and I jest grasped his hand and sez—
“I have been prayin’ for you, Martin.”
“I knew it,” he whispered, “I knew you would.”
And that wuz about all I could say. But I spoze he felt the pity and sympathy that oozed out of my sperit onbeknown to me as I looked down onto that broken-hearted man, and he seemed to like to have me round his room.
Wall, it wuz weeks before I could go home, Josiah a-bearin’ up nobly, aided by Philury, and a-bravely eatin’ pancakes in her hours of too burdened haste, and a-writin’ to me to stay if I could be of any comfort to ’em.
Noble man that he is, though small boneded I am proud of him—a good deal of the time I am.
Wall, there come a time when Martin, a-settin’ up in his study and a-lookin’ over his papers, sent for me, and spoke to me for the first time of Adrian.
He didn’t cry. His speechless grief wuz beyend that relief, but he gin me to understand that his life wuz a blank to him now.