The others echoed his sentiments faintly, hesitatingly, for they were abashed at what they saw in their chief's face and realized that words were weak and meaningless.
Dan dared not trust himself to speak. He had many things to say to his sister, but his throat ached miserably. Natalie restrained herself only by the greatest effort.
It was Tom Slater who ended the awkward pause by grumbling, sarcastically:
"If all the young lovers are safely ashore, maybe us old men who built the bridge can go and get something to eat."
Murray smiled at the girl beside him.
"I'm afraid they've guessed our secret, dear."
"Secret!" Slater rolled his eyes. "There ain't over a couple thousand people beside us that saw you pop the question. I s'pose she was out of breath and couldn't say no."
Eliza gasped and fled to her brother's arms.
"Sis! Poor—little Sis!" Dan cried, and two tears stole down his brown cheeks. "Isn't this—just great?" Then the others burst into a noisy expression of their gladness.
"Happy Tom" regarded them all pessimistically. "I feel bound to warn you," he said at length, "that marriage is an awful gamble. It ain't what it seems."