No longer was he the shrinking, timorous
supplicant. Victorious love had set her crown upon his brows,
bestowing dignity upon his years and glory upon his manhood. His
explanation came fearlessly to his lips.
"There ain't no wreck," he said quietly. "All the same I'm glad you
saw my lantern an' came, 'cause I've got somethin' to tell you all. Me
an' Sarah Libbie are goin' to get married."
For a moment there was an incredulous hush. Then Willie Spence came to
the rescue.
"Well, I will say, Jack," he drawled, "you had a pretty good nerve to
get us out on a night like this to tell us that! You might at least
have waited 'til mornin'. Still, I reckon if I'd been nigh on to a
quarter of a century gettin' my spunk together to ask a woman to marry
me an' had finally done it, I'd a-wanted somebody to know it."
The words were not unkindly spoken and Jack joined in the general
laugh. Nothing mattered to him now. Oblivious to the spectators, he
was bending down over the woman he loved and murmuring:
"I love you, Sarah Libbie.
Pages:
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302