“Let us keep it a secret, at least for some time. I am a girl, but I can keep it to myself.”
“Agreed!” responded Fred.
“Promise that you will not pass the encampment on your way back to Springfield, will you?”
“No, I will go by the way of the Lakes, or the Pacific, or around by California and the Isthmus of Panama, if you prefer.”
“My mind is at rest now,” said Hilda with an answering smile. “Thank you, Cousin Fred, I will go home with you now.”
Her mind was at rest so far as concerned the safety of Fred, but her tried nerves could not recover their tone for many days. Her sleep was troubled, and in dreams she saw the wild faces of the gypsies, heard their shouts and imprecations, and saw Fred dying at her feet.
CHAPTER X—AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE
One evening nearly a year after the adventure with the gypsies, Fred came out on the train from Springfield to pass the night under the homestead roof, a thrill of boyish delight paying tribute to it, as always, but more pronounced now that it was the dwelling place of Hilda.
They were expecting him, and Mrs. Warfield, with motherly care, had seen that his favorite dishes were prepared for the evening meal, and with a glad light in her beautiful eyes, welcomed him.
“Where is Hilda, mother?” he asked, glancing inquiringly through the open door of the parlor, after pressing a filial salute upon the yet plump and rosy cheek.