"I'd like to go home at once, if you don't mind?" he said brokenly.
"But you haven't half finished your supper."
"I'd like to eat it with the little ones and mother, if you wouldn't mind?"
"By all means, if you would rather," Ruth said, smiling through unshed tears.
"I should feel happier," he said; and he emptied his plate into the basket.
Ralph went and opened the door for him, and watched him as he hurried away into the darkness.
He came back after a few minutes, and sat down; but neither he nor Ruth spoke again for some time. It was Ralph who at length broke the silence.
"He may be a long way from being a hero," he said, "but he has a lot of goodness in him. I shall never think hardly of him any more."
Ruth did not reply for a long time, then she said, "I am glad Brewer is to begin prospecting for you."
"Yes?" he questioned.