"Until to-night. It is so good to have you back again!"?she said with the same brown-study air.
Half laughing, with extreme tenderness at the same time and also the expression of great gladness, both his arms enfolded her, and they stood quite silent for a few minutes, till Dane stooped to reach her lips.
"You shall tell me the rest when you like," said he. "Do you want to tell me any more now?"
"You would not like the rest. It was a very dark time, at first, when you failed me."
He was quite silent again. Then drew her off to the sofa.
"I have another subject to talk about, Hazel."
"Well, I am ready to listen."
"You remember, I had two subjects to discuss with you.?
Christmas in the Hollow we have arranged for. Now about Christmas here. My time is disposed of till the day is over. Then I must go to New York. I have a variety of business to attend to. I want furniture for my new coffee room, books for the school, furniture for the new cottages, gifts for New year. I intend to set up a grocery store also. For all these affairs, and for others, I must go to town the day after Christmas. I propose that we go together."
"Yes, I want to go," said Wych Hazel. "I need a week in town, to get ready for the winter here."
"Perhaps I shall be gone longer than a week," said Dane, keeping his gravity.
"O well?I can easily find an escort back, if I get through first."
"But I should not like that," said Dane looking her in the face with his gray eyes very much alive. "I want your help in my work?I want you with me every minute?I am tired of living without you.
Don"t you understand?"
"Yes, I understand that," said the girl. Who should, if she did not!?
Dane"s lips gave way. "You do not understand much!" said he.
"Don"t you see, Hazel, I am making the audacious proposal that I should carry my wife with me?"
The girl gave a spring away from him which at once put the breadth of the fireplace between her and any such notion.
"You characterize the idea so happily," she said, "that I will leave it there. Will you come into the other room, and rest, and be reasonable?" And Hazel disappeared into the hall and blew a ringing blast on her whistle for Dingee and lights. In the little corner room, when Mr. Rollo arrived there, he found a grand fire, and two arm-chairs on extremely opposite sides of the hearthstone, and Dingee and his young mistress intent upon the first efforts of the newly lighted wax candles. The tall white candles, their heavy, old-fashioned silver holders; and the dark red dress, and dark brown hair; and the swarthy cheeks of the little attendant,?were all aglow in the firelight. Wych Hazel"s face was as far as possible kept out of sight. Dane stood beside the mantelpiece, resting his arm there and looking on; patiently, to outward seeming, so far as any expression of impatience was concerned.
Wych Hazel stood still for a minute after Dingee had gone, then with a slow, grave step went over and placed herself in one of the armchairs.
"Why don"t you sit down?" she said. "It is not good for you to stand."
"People sit down to rest."
"Well, as you are tired already, it is the only thing for you to do."
"I have not gained my cause, and I cannot rest till I do. Bid me rest, Hazel! on that understanding of it."
"Certainly not," said Hazel. "I cannot afford to lose my wits."
"I am tired of living without you, Wych. Whether you have any sympathy with that feeling I do not ask. I only ask you to consider what regard it fairly deserves."
"People do not feel apart, unless there is a barrier between," said Hazel. "As when you barred me out of Morton Hollow."
"Inconsistent"?said Dane smiling; "and weakly delusive. Hazel, you must give me a Christmas gift, and you must let it be that thing which of all others I want the most."
"If you put it to me what you want," said Wych Hazel, "I should say, patience, and moderation, and a little practical common sense."
"You are not the embodiment of those things," said he daringly,?
"and yet I want you."
"Everything that is worth having, is worth waiting for," said Hazel composedly. "You have enough of me now to criticize?that ought to content you."
"Does it content you?"
Hazel started up, and went to him, just touching each arm with one of her little hands.
"Olaf,"?she said, "will you please to sit down?and hush? You know what you promised when I should say that again?"
He took her in his arms and kissed her very fondly, and laughed a little; but holding her yet, became serious again.
"I am bound!" he said. "But the nature of the case obliges me to premise a question or two. Am I not to speak on this subject again till you bid me?"
"No. Yes. That is preposterous. What is your next question?"
"How long must I wait first?"
"Just as long as you can."
"Till to-morrow, then. Think of it, Hazel."
Quitting the subject then, Dane went off into talk that would not even remind her of it, unless by some delicate chain of a.s.sociation.
He gave her the story of his two months. The sick people had been at the first removed to the end of the valley, in some shanties apart from all the rest; and there he and they had been in quarantine together. There the fearful disease had seized one after another of that little band of poor Germans last-arrived, till ten of them were down with it at once. Everybody fled the spot; would not come near enough even to receive messages; and not for love nor money could help be got for nursing. Only old Gyda; and she and Rollo had had it all to do between them; even to washing the clothes the sick persons wore or had on their beds. Dr. Arthur of course had done all he could, but he had other sick beds to attend to; it was out of the question that he should devote himself solely to those at the end of the Hollow; especially as every visit there made needful a careful disinfecting and purifying process before he could approach anybody else, sick or well. Rollo and Gyda had struggled on together, one watching while the other slept. And so Dane would go from one sick-bed to the next, till he had made the round, and begin again; through it all thinking of what he had left at Chickaree, and of Hazel"s pleadings that he had been obliged to disallow, scarce daring to think of the possible joy of going back to her again when the distress should be over. For he could not tell that it would ever be over without first laying himself as low as those whom he tended. The shanties where the sick lay, little better than sheds, had been very good for them but very trying sometimes to the watchers. However, the abundance of fresh air, and the careful quarantine, with a blessing upon the means used, had availed. No outsider had caught the infection, and only two of the sick had died. Those two, Rollo and Arthur had buried, alone and by night.
Softly, slowly, as a man who felt deeply the shadow of fear under which he had been pa.s.sing and from out of which he had come, Dane told Hazel all this. And as one hears the verification of some fearful dream, so Hazel listened. She had taken her foot-cushion again, and sat with varying colour and averted eyes, and now and then a "yes" of full intelligence. For the scanty details she had received from time to time, had been more than filled out by her imagination; and point by point she seemed to know the story before it was told. By and by one hand came upon the arm of Rollo"s chair, and then she leaned her forehead down against that hand, and so sat when the story was finished. Once or twice a quick shiver went over her; otherwise she was quite still.
"I was not unhappy, Wych," said Dane after a little pause. "My latent longing for you it is impossible to tell; but I could not let it come to the front then. And there is a walk and a place "with Jesus only," which at the time is joyful, and on looking back to it seems to have wanted nothing."
Her head stirred a little; presently, she answered,?"I did not think you were unhappy. If I had, I believe it would have been a help sometimes."
"Hey??a help? How?"
"You would not have seemed so far off. And I should not have seemed so much alone."
"That was a mistake, Hazel."
"I only said it seemed so. But there was a certain truth in it, too; because happy people never do guess exactly what goes on in the rest of the world."
"Pray, do the unhappy people?"
But Hazel caught the sound of steps, and started away from her foot-cushion time enough to meet Dr. Arthur midway in the room.
"Rested, Dane?" said the doctor, standing before his late patient.