would have stopped, but the fort is
full of sick soldiers, and as they could be of no help, they went on
their way."

When she had given me the news, it was her turn to question, and mine to
answer. I had to tell her all of our adventures during the war, and she
laughed and cried over them. I grew more and more deeply in love. I was
in no haste to get well, but nature was against me. Every bit of food
she gave me seemed to have some wonderful life-giving power in it and my
health came back in bounds. After it returned, I nearly fell sick again
from the dreadful fear that I might lose her. As the time for my
departure approached, our conversation would halt and stop, and we sat
in silence. I felt down-hearted and hadn't the courage to test my fate,
till one day I saw the tears gather in her eyes and trickle down her
cheeks. Then we soon had an understanding, and our light-heartedness
came back.

"Oh, Ben, I couldn't bear to have you leave, and now I'm so happy."

But she was a wilful thing, and though her name was Ruth, she objected
to following the example of her namesake in the Bible.

"I may be Ruth, but you're not Boaz."

I stoutly asserted that I was baptized Benjamin Boaz Comee, but I could
not bring her to see that she should leave all and follow me.

"No, no, Benjamin Boaz. You're a pretender, and times have changed. I
might not like your people, and they might not like me. Father thinks a
deal of you, and mother loves you as if you were her own son. And you
repay their love by trying to steal me away from them. Is that fair to
them, Boaz? Don't you think they would miss their little girl? And that
their life would be gloomy without me? And besides, Ben, you told me
that they had all the blacksmiths in Lexington that were needed, and
that your chances would be poor. And here we're just pining for another
blacksmith. The new road through the woods puts us on the main highway
to Canada, and there's no better place for a blacksmith than this. Now
that the Indians are gone, you could take up some of that intervale land
up the river, that they talk about, and then I'm here, and if Benjamin
Boaz Comee wants Ruth, he must follow her. Ben, I like my own way."

[Sidenote: WANTED: A BLACKSMITH]

"I like your own way too, and will live wherever you please, provided it
be with you."

I returned home, and found Amos telling Davy of our adventures. For a
time Davy had little to say about his hunting stories.

I we