as she saw once more the mutilated corpses of the murdered settler's
family, or found herself alone in the shaggy wilds of the Matopos. But
the awakening more than made up for the reminiscence. She was young,
and of sound and buoyant Constitution, and the grim and ghastly
recollection of appalling sights and peril passed through would
eventually fade.

"Am I interrupting you?" said John Ames, as at his entrance the two
looked up. "Nidia was going to stroll down to the bridge with me, Mr
Commerell; but if you want her, why, I shall have to keep myself
company."

"Considerate, as few of them are or would be under the circumstances,"
thought the old gentleman to himself. But aloud he said, "No--no. It's
all right. We've done our talk, John. You'd better take her with you,
and she can tell you what it has all been about. Besides, I have some
business to attend to."

He watched them strolling along the terrace together, and a strange
joyful peace was around the old man's heart.

"God bless them!" he murmured to himself--his spectacles, perhaps, a
trifle dim. "They are a well matched pair, and surely this is a
Heaven-made union if such a thing exists. God bless them, and send them
every happiness!"

And here we take leave to join in the above aspiration; for although
ourselves no believers in the old-fashioned "lived-happy-ever-after"
theory, holding that about nineteen such cases out of twenty, putting it
at a modest proportion, are, in actual fact, but sparsely hedged around
with the a "happy" qualification, yet here we think it possible that the
twentieth case may be found, if only that all the circumstances
attendant upon it go to make for that desirable end.

The End.

End of Project Gutenberg's John Ames, Native Commissioner, by Bertram Mitford

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