He was very eager to reach home, but so weary were both he and Juanita that he had already decided to accept the kind invitation of these new-found friends to stay some weeks with them. Also it was absolutely necessary they should make some preparation, in the matter of dress, for a decent appearance in civilized society.
The table spread by Mrs. Baird and her sons with the simple wedding feast of cake and fruits, garnished with a profusion of beautiful, fragrant flowers, presented a most attractive appearance; nor were its delicacies found less agreeable to the palate than satisfying to the eye.
There was no revel, no intoxicating drink, though a great abundance of delicious lemonade, nor was the feasting prolonged to excess; there was in fact more talk than eating and drinking, and at a primitively early hour all had retired, each to his own room.
"At last, love, we know beyond a question that we are truly husband and wife," Rupert said, holding Juanita to his heart with tenderest caresses. "Does the certainty add to your happiness, as it does to mine?"
"Yes," she murmured, softly; "oh, I am happier than ever before in all my life!"
"Ah, it makes my heart glad to hear it! How proud I shall be to show my little wife to the dear ones at home. I hope to have an opportunity on Monday to send them a few lines to tell that I am yet alive and hope to be with them in a few weeks."
He availed himself of that opportunity, writing to Dr. Landreth to break the news to his parents, but the letter never reached its destination. Hence the intense surprise of his relatives when he arrived among them.
The remainder of the journey was performed in comparative comfort. Rupert bought a pair of stout mules and a roomy wagon, which he and the hospitable Bairds stocked with everything necessary for a journey of several hundred miles through a sparsely settled country.
In this the young couple travelled to New Orleans, stopping at night at some village, farmhouse, or ranch, when any such shelter was near, at other times unharnessing and tethering their mules and sleeping in their wagon.