se, I must wait, if you give me the least ground of hope. This
place was made for you, and no other woman shall ever come into it as my
wife--that I swear. If you will not have me, I will sell it, and live a
bachelor."

Mrs. Smiley laughed softly and tunefully. "Perhaps you would prefer to
limit your endurance, and tell me how long you _will_ allow me to
deliberate before you sell and retire to bachelorhood?"

"You know very well," he returned, ruefully, "that I shall always be
hoping against all reason that the wished-for answer was coming at
last."

"Then we will say no more about it at present."

"And I may come occasionally to learn whether that 'something' has been
decided?"

"Yes, if you have the patience for it. But, I warn you, there is a
chance of my having to say 'No.'"

"If there is only a chance of your having to say 'No,' I think I may
incur the risk," said Rumway, with a sudden accession of hopefulness;
and, as they walked home together once more, the gossips pronounced it
an engagement. The Captain himself felt that it was, although, when he
reviewed the conversation, he discovered that he founded his impression
upon that one glance of the gray eyes, rather than upon anything that
had been said. And Mrs. Smiley put the matter out of mind as much as
possible, and waited.

One day, about the last of the month, a letter came to her from over the
mountains. It ran in this wise:

"MY LOVELY LADY: I am once more among the familyar seanes of 40
year ago. My son is hear, an' about as I expected. I had rather
be back at Clatsop, with the old bote; but, owin' to circumstances
I can't controll, think it better to end my dais on this side ov
the mountains. You need not look for me to come back, but I send
you an' the boy my best love, an' hope you hav done as I advised.

"Yours, faithfully, til deth,

"JOE CHILLIS."

Soon after the receipt of this letter, Captain Rumway called to inquire
concerning the settlement of the matter on which his marriage depended.
That evening he stayed later than usual, and, in a long confidential
talk which he had with Mrs. Smiley, learned that there was a condition
attached to the consummation of his wishes, which required his
recognition of the claims of "poor old Joe" to be considered a friend of
the family. To do him justice, he yielded the point more gracefully
than, from his consciousness of his own position, could have been
expected.