And now it was no longer far off, the falling in love at least.
And as for its being a joke--Jed shuddered at the thought. He was
very fond of Charlie Phillips; he had made up his mind at first to
like him because he was Ruth's brother, but now he liked him for
himself. And, had things been other than as they were, he could
think of no one to whom he had rather see Maud Hunniwell married.
In fact, had Captain Hunniwell known the young man's record, of his
slip and its punishment, Jed would have been quite content to see
the latter become Maud's husband. A term in prison, especially
when, as in this case, he believed it to be an unwarranted
punishment, would have counted for nothing in the unworldly mind of
the windmill maker. But Captain Sam did not know. He was
tremendously proud of his daughter; in his estimation no man would
have been quite good enough for her. What would he say when he
learned? What would Maud say when she learned? for it was almost
certain that Charles had not told her. These were some of the
questions which weighed upon the simple soul of Jedidah Edgar
Wilfred Winslow.
And heavier still there weighed the thought of Ruth Armstrong. He
had given her his word not to mention her brother's secret to a
soul, not even to him. And yet, some day or other, as sure and
certain as the daily flowing and ebbing of the tides, that secret
would become known.
Pages:
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307