kate did not say "no"; she was by that time in a frame of mind which would have made her equal to tramping through mud for the sake of having jermyn beside her. while at the yard, she noted with delight the heartiness with which all the naval officers greeted jermyn. trif had whispered to her, only a few hours before, that she herself had once been almost in love with jermyn, and that she still believed no other bachelor alive was his equal, but kate had been a woman long enough to attach more importance to men's opinions of men than to women's. luncheon was served for the party on one of the war vessels, and each lady was toasted, and [pg 141]kate noted that when her own name was given, jermyn drained his glass with a look at her which made her feel uncomfortable yet happy.
the party returned to old point by a boat which did not reach the pier until after dark, and as the officer's wife had never before been in norfolk alone her husband was at the pier, in much anxiety, to look for her, and escort her home, and the pier was so covered with freight that jermyn thought it his duty to insist that kate should take his arm, which he held very closely to his side without any remonstrance from the owner, and then he insisted upon finding her brother or trif before he left her.
"'tis all right," whispered trif to fenie, as she saw them approaching.
"about the dolls?" asked trixy, anxiously. "do you think them's in the bundle that he's carryin'?"
"no, you silly child!" said fenie. "your mother means——"
fenie received a warning pinch, but it was too late, for the child exclaimed: "oh, i know!" and made a sudden dash in the direction of the approaching couple. trif snatched at trixy's dress; there was a ripping, tearing sound, and away went the child, while behind her floated something like a train.
"oh, i'm so glad!" she exclaimed, stopping before jermyn and kate so suddenly as to separate them.
"yes," said kate. "here are the dolls, dear."
"i'm awful glad to get 'em; my, what a big bundle! but that wasn't what i meant."
[pg 142]
"what else?" asked kate, in entire innocence.
"why, that you're bein' nice to mr. jermyn. mamma and aunt fee have been talkin' about you all day, and hopin' you wouldn't be a fool—that's what they said; i never say such things about a lady—no indeed! say, you're engaged, aren't you? 'cause——"
"take the package to your mother, trixy, and let her open it for you," said jermyn quickly. "miss trewman, please don't hurry away; do take my arm again, just for a moment; thank you. i merely wished to say—shall we walk a moment?—to say that our friends seem to take unusual interest in us; interest of a kind which i'm sure neither of us has said a word to justify."
"not a word, i'm sure," assented kate.
"but i can't endure," continued jermyn rapidly, "to risk, merely through the prattle of a child, the most delightful friendship i ever made. last night i said to you—but why repeat it? i've no right to expect you to endure any annoyance, for my sake, but if you chance to like me as much as last night you let me think you do, can't we afford to make light of such chatter as that provoking child may inflict upon us? good men are plentiful—better men than i; but to me there is only one woman in all the world, and i can't bear the thought of giving up hope of her until she herself commands me. i assure you that i am entirely in earnest."
"i couldn't suspect you of flirting," said kate, softly.
"thank you," said jermyn, pressing closely to [pg 143]his side the little hand which was trembling on his arm. "i won't ask you for any promises, except that you will allow yourself to become well acquainted with me. you are with friends who love you dearly, and one of them knows me of old. there can be nothing to cause embarrassment between us, except——"
"except trixy?" interrupted kate, with a silvery laugh.
"bless you for laughing about it!" said jermyn, earnestly. "if you can continue to do so, then——"
"one can get accustomed to almost anything," said kate, with another laugh, although why she laughed she was sure she did not know.
"if 'can' could mean 'will,' and if i could be 'anything'—" said jermyn. he did not complete the sentence, so kate looked shyly up at him. they had walked so far that they were beyond the lights of the hotel, but the girl could see that her companion's face, always strong and earnest, seemed intently fixed upon something far ahead. they had walked all the way to the little lighthouse, and just beyond it, and there are few darker places than the base of a lighthouse. the darkness gave kate courage, so she whispered:
"it shall mean 'will,' if you wish it so."
"heaven bless you!" then—what strange influences there are in darkness!—jermyn threw his arms about kate and kissed her.
some student of love has said that kisses gain force by delay. jermyn's was the first kiss kate [pg 144]trewman had ever received from a man who professed to love her, so between astonishment and many other things which she did not understand and could not have called up and thought about at the time had her life depended upon it, she did not resist the kiss nor the several that followed it.
"my angel!" said jermyn. "you will be my wife?"
"how can i help it?" asked kate, softly, "after—after what has happened?"
"hurrah!" sounded a child's voice behind them.
"trixy!"
"i didn't mean to do nothin'," the child explained. "i was just walkin' along behind you, 'cause you both looked so splendid, and walked so nice together, but when you kissed each other——"
"trixy!" exclaimed kate, "i did nothing of the sort!"
"didn't you? then i don't think you was very polite."
