"Why, that night we talked upon that bench on Boston Common, had I
dared propose such a thing, I would have said: 'Come and marry me
now.' I would, indeed, Sheila."
The girl clenched her hands and drew in a breath. She raised her
face to his, and in the darkness Tunis Latham saw it shine with a
light from within. A great and desperate longing filled her voice
when she cried:
"Oh, why didn't you do just that, Tunis Latham? I would have said
'yes.' And all this--_this_ need not have been."
Swiftly she caught him around the neck, pressed her lips fiercely to
his, while the tears rained down her face, wetting his face as well.
Then she was gone. He heard her sobbing wildly in the dark. He was
alone.
CHAPTER XXIII
A CALL UNANNOUNCED
Cap'n Ira and Prudence did not see Sheila again that evening, for
she slipped in by the kitchen door after they had gone into the
sitting room and went up to her own chamber. They heard her mount
the stairs and marked the tread of her light feet overhead.
The girl was not thinking of the old people just then. Their need
entered into her determination to remain if she could. But this
night was one time when Sheila Macklin thought almost altogether of
herself and her personal difficulties.
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