Silvia’s face flushed, and her heart fluttered wildly and yet strangely to her. With a tremulous voice she replied:
“That could never be, Rodger.”
“And why not? There is nothing impossible, Silvia.”
“I do not understand you,” she said.
“Then pardon me, Silvia, for speaking plainly what my heart compels me to say,” he said, in a warm, tender voice. “Since I have met you, I have learned to love you, as only a true heart can love. Forgive me, Silvia, but I could not keep back this confession, and I pray you will not feel insulted, or as though I were taking advantage of your helplessness. God forbid.”
The maiden’s eyes sought the ground shyly. Her heart leaped with strange emotion, but, after a few moments’ silence, during which the warm color in her cheeks came and went, she looked up and said:
“Why need I disguise my feelings? Oh, Rodger, my heart tells me I love you; but, give me one day to answer your question, to—”
“Yes, dear Silvia, a week, a year, since I have heard from your lips that I am loved!” replied the handsome ranger, his face radiant with joy.
There was a momentary silence, broken only by the roar of the falls. The ranger was the first to speak.
“Since my heart feels lighter, dear Silvia, since I have something left in the world to hope for now, I feel like another man, yet I am neglecting my duty to you, and so I must leave you now, and go and continue the search for your father. Shall I accompany you into the cavern before I go?”