"My own little girl!" said he. At his voice Julia raised her head, and
put her arms about his neck like a weary child, and rested her wet face
against his own.
"My own brave girl!" Jim said. "I know what courage it took to have you
tell me this! It will never be known to any one else, sweetheart, and we
will bury it in our hearts forever. Kiss me, dearest, and promise me
that my little wife will stop crying!"
For a moment it was as if she tried to push him away.
"Jim," she whispered, tears running down her face, "have you
thought--are you _sure_?"
"Quite sure, sweetheart," he said soothingly and tenderly. "Why, Julie,
wouldn't you forgive me anything I might have done when I was only an
ignorant little boy?"
Julia tightened her arms about him, and sobbed desperately for a long
while. Then her breathing quieted, and she let Jim dry her eyes with his
own handkerchief, and listened, with an occasional long sigh, to his
eager, confident plans. They were still talking quietly when the street
door was flung open and Miss Toland came in, on a rush of fresh air.
"Rain!" said Miss Toland. "Terrible night! Not an umbrella in the Parker
house until Clem came home--it's quarter to ten!"
"Congratulate us, Aunt Sanna," said Jim, rising to his feet with his arm
still about Julia.
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