We did not commit ourselves by any opinion, as we did not know but that some day it would be brought against us.
We formed an opinion, however, respecting the mental capacity of the youth, for whose sake the poor girl had wandered so many miles; and I no longer wondered that she saw a difference between her lover and Fred.
"Then you received no letter from Miss Purcel, announcing that she would sail on such a day, and requesting you to be on the lookout for her?" asked Fred.
"Of course I didn't," responded the young man, with commendable eagerness. "That is just what I am finding fault with."
"Then you will be rejoiced to learn that, after great suffering and privation, Miss Purcel has arrived, and is in Ballarat," Fred said.
The news almost deprived him of the power of articulation, and for a moment I thought that he would faint, but he didn't. He was too eager to see her, and welcome her to her new home.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Not far distant," Fred answered.
"Take me to her without delay," he cried; "I shall die with joy."