them by his own will, had dropped from his eyes. He almost cried
aloud his self-admission that he had loved her all the years from the
first moment when he saw her, a barefoot mountain girl, in Big Jerry's
rude cabin.

And he was _free_! Free to be honest with his own soul, free to tell his
Rose of his love, and throw aside the masquerading cloak of adopted
brotherhood. How strange it was! The woman whom he had thought to marry
was gone from his life like a leaf torn from the binding, and the one
whom he had pretended to regard as a sister would become his mate. That
such would be the case he did not doubt now, even for an instant. That
she had always loved him, he was certain, and, with the warmth of his
wooing, he would fan that steady glow of childish affection into the
flame of womanly love which should weld their hearts together forever.

* * * * *

The days which followed before he was strong enough to journey to
Bordeaux, there to embark for America, seemed to drag by like eternity;
but Donald was Westbound at last. He was going home, home to a new life,
made perfect by a great love. The deadly submarines of the world's
outlaw, lurking under the sea like loathsome phantasies of an evil mind,
held no terrors for him, nor could the discomforts caused by the tightly
closed hatches and enshrouding burlap, which made the ship a pent-up
steambox, until the danger zone was passed, depress his spirits.

The steamer crept as had the days on shore; but there came an afternoon
when she made port at last, and, spurred by a consuming eagerness, he
hastened to his apartment.

He had cabled the news of his departure, and in the mail box were many
letters awaiting him. Feverishly, he looked them over for one in _her_
dear handwriting. To his unreasonable disappointment there was none, but
there were several which required immediate reading--among them one from
his sister Ethel, and one from his old friend, Philip Bentley.

The first contained disquieting news. His little niece, Muriel, had been
very ill with typhoid fever and, although Dr. Bentley had pulled her
through the sickness successfully, she was still far from well, and
apparently not gaining at all.

He opened the other, expecting it to concern the case. But the note did
not mention it. It was only a few lines and read:

"Dear old Don:

I hear that you are 'homeward bound.' Bully! As soon as you reach
Boston, and