ould not
understand this, but she wasted no words in explanation. When her eyes
met his, the joy in her face passed into pity for a minute; she looked
at him quietly and frankly; then she said:

"Love is good in itself, and suffering is good, and God is good. I
think," she added very simply, as a child might have done, "that you
are good, too. Do not fear or be discouraged."

Then, with her own hand, she gently disengaged his from the bridle and
rode up the hill on her errand of mercy.

CHAPTER IV.

HOPE BORN OF SPRING.

"Love is good; suffering is good; God is good"--that was what she had
answered him when he had said that for her sake he was shut out from all
that was good on earth. His heart did not rebel so bitterly against this
answer as it would have done if he had not felt assured that she spoke
of what she had experienced, and that his present experience was in some
sort a comradeship with her. Then, again, there was the inexplicable
fact that the knowledge of the way in which he regarded her had given
her pleasure; that was a great consolation to him, although he did not
gather from it any hope for the future. Her whole manner indicated that
she was, as he supposed her to be, entirely out of his reach, not only
by the barrier of circumstance, but by her own deliberate preference;
and yet he was certain that she was glad that he loved her. What did
that mean? He had so seen her life that he knew she was incapable of
vanity or selfish satisfaction; when she was glad it was because it was
right to be glad. Caius could not unravel this, and yet, deep within
him, he knew that there was consistency in it. Had she not said that
love in itself was good? it must be good, then, both to the giver and
receiver. He felt a certain awe at finding his own poor love embraced
in such a doctrine; he felt for the first time how gross and selfish,
how unworthy, it was.

It was now the end of March; the snow was melting; the ice was breaking;
it might be three or four weeks before ships could sail in the gulf, but
it would not be longer. There was no sign of further outbreak of
diphtheria upon the island. Caius felt the time of his going home to be
near; he was not glad to think of leaving his prison of ice. Two
distinct efforts were made at this time to entertain him.

O'Shea made an expedition to the island of the picture rocks, and, in
rough kindliness, insisted upon taking Caius with him, not to see the
rocks--O