Meanwhile Sam was trotting homeward in a very jubilant frame of mind. He pulled up in front of William Menire's shop and beckoned to his cousin.
"I want you to congratulate me, old man," he said, when William stood at his horse's head.
William's face fell in a moment, and his lips trembled in spite of himself.
"Have you—you—been to—to——?" William began.
"I've just come from there," Sam interrupted, with a laugh. "Been there for the last hour, and now I'm off home feeling that I have done a good day's work."
"You have proposed to her?"
"I have! It required a good bit of courage, but I've done it."
"And she has accepted?"
"She has not rejected me, at any rate. I didn't ask for a definite answer right off. But it is all right, my boy, I'm sure it is. Now, give us your hand. You've been a good friend to me. But for you I might never have got to know her."
William reached up his hand slowly and silently.