her that he always thought. Not that these
two had much of these pleasant weeks to themselves or many opportunities
to indulge in conversation which all could not share. Once they went to
the North Gore together, and oh, how vividly came back to David the many
times which during the last year of his father's life he had gone there
with him! The memories awakened were sad, but they were sweet, for all
the bitterness had gone out of his grief for his father, and he told his
mother many things about those drives, and of all his father had said,
and of the thoughts and feelings his words had stirred in his heart.
And she had some things to tell as well.

Once they lingered behind the others on their way home from church, and
turned aside into the grave-yard for a little while. The moonlight was
brightening in the east, and the evening star shone clear in the west,
and in the soft uncertain light, the white grave-stones, and the waving
trees, and the whole place looked strangely beautiful and peaceful to
the boy's eyes. There were not many words spoken. There was no need of
many words between these two. In the heart of the widow, as she sat
there in the spot dearest to her on earth, because of the precious dust
it held, was no forgetfulness of past sorrow, but there was that perfect
submission to God's will, which is the highest and most enduring
happiness. There was trust for the future, such as left no room for
doubt or for discouragement; and so there was peace for the present,
which is better than happiness. She did not speak of all this to David,
but he knew by many tokens what was passing in her heart, and he shared
both the sadness and the gladness of the peaceful hour.

There was a great deal of enjoyment of another kind crowded into the
time of David's stay in Gourlay. There was only one thing to regret,
and that was the absence of Jem. There were few familiar faces or
places that he did not see. Sometimes Frank went with him, and
sometimes Violet, and sometimes they all went together, but neither
Frank nor Violet quite filled Jem's place to his brother. Though David
had generally been regarded as much wiser and steadier than his brother,
when they lived in Gourlay, they had had enough interests and amusements
and tastes in common to make David miss him and regret him at every
turn. And he missed him and wished for him all the more that he himself
was regarded and treated by the people now as a man of