No man can hope more earnestly than I that
you have made the better choice."
Then he turned, with a certain abruptness which reminded her of the
change in his manner she had noticed once or twice during recent days,
and quitted the bridge. She sighed, and was sorry for him, knowing
that he loved her.
Courtenay, who had been far too busy to pay heed to anything beyond the
brief fight between the boats and the canoes, perceived now that the
gangway was in position; lights were shining on both the upper and
lower platforms.
He stretched out his hand, and drew Elsie to him.
"Are you alone, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Kiss me, then, and go to meet your friends. They will be aboard in
less than a minute. Oh, Elsie, I thought I had seen the last of you."
"Was it so bad as that?" she murmured, a great content soothing her
heart and brain at her lover's admission that he was thinking of her
during the worst agony of the fray. He gave her a reassuring hug.
"You will never know how bad it was," he said. "I cannot understand
how we escaped. One moment it all looks like blind chance; the next I
feel like going on my knees in thankfulness for the direct intervention
of Providence.
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