she entered the house quietly as though nothing had
happened. The very first person she met was John himself, who had come
in by the back way. He laughed at her orange-blossom bouquet, and said
that it was most appropriate, then proceeded to embrace her tenderly in
the passage; and indeed he would have been a poor sort of lover if he
had not. It was exactly at this juncture that old Silas Croft happened
to open the sitting-room door and became the spectator of this
surprising and attractive tableau.

"Well, I never!" said the old gentleman. "What is the meaning of all
this, Bessie?"

Of course there was nothing for it but to advance and explain the facts
of the case, which John did with much humming and ha-ing and a general
awkwardness of manner that baffles description, while Bessie stood by,
her hand upon her lover's shoulder, blushing as red as any rose.

Mr. Croft listened in silence till John had finished, a smile upon his
face and a kindly twinkle in his keen eyes.

"So," he said, "that is what you young people have been after, is it? I
suppose that you want to enlarge your interests in the farm, eh, John?
Well, upon my word, I don't blame you; you might have gone farther and
fared worse. These sort of things never come singly, it seems. I had
another request for your hand, my dear, only this afternoon, from that
scoundrel Frank Muller, of all men in the world," and his face darkened
as he said the name. "I sent him off with a flea in his ear, I can tell
you. Had I known then what I know now, I should have referred him to
John. There, there! He is a bad man, and a dangerous man, but let him
be. He is taking plenty of rope, and he will hang himself one of these
days. Well, my dears, this is the best bit of news that I have heard for
many a long year. It's time you got married, both of you, for it is
not right for man to live alone, or woman either. I have done it all
my life, and that is the conclusion I have come to after thinking the
matter over for somewhere about fifty years. Yes, you have my consent
and my blessing too, and you will have something more one day before so
very long. Take her, John, take her. I have led a rough life, but I have
seen somewhat of women for all that, and I tell you that there is not
a sweeter or a prettier girl in South Africa than Bessie Croft, and in
wanting to marry her you have shown your sense. God bless you both, my
dears; and now, Bessie, come and give your old uncle a kis