her."

He rang the bell, and John, who had been expecting a summons, instantly
appeared.

"Tell Mr. Wilks I want to speak to him, John."

The old soldier speedily appeared, and his delight was as great as if
James had been his son. He went off to break the news, and, in a short
time, Mrs. Walsham was in the arms of her son.

Major Walsham went no more to the wars, nor did he follow his original
intention of entering the medical profession. Indeed, there was no
occasion for him to do either. For Aggie insisted on his leaving the
army; and she had a very strong voice in the matter. James had not long
been home before he and the young lady came to an understanding. Before
speaking to her, James had consulted his old friend.

"You know how I feel," he said; "but I don't know whether it would be
right. You see, although I am major in the service, I have nothing but
my pay. I owe everything to the squire, and he would naturally look
very much higher for a husband for his granddaughter."

"Don't you be a fool, James Walsham," Mr. Wilks said. "I made up my
mind that you should marry Aggie, ever since the day when you got her
out of the sea. The squire has known, for years, what I thought on the
subject. You will meet with no opposition from him, for he is almost as
proud of you as I am. Besides, he thinks only of Aggie's happiness,
and, unless I am greatly mistaken, that young lady has fully made up
her mind on the subject."

This was indeed the case, for Aggie, when James had settled the point
with her, made no hesitation in telling him that she had regarded him
as her special property since she had been a child.

"I considered it all settled, years and years ago," she said demurely,
"and I was quite aggrieved, I can tell you, when, on your arrival, you
just held out your hand to me, instead of--well, instead of doing the
same to me as to your mother."

"You shall have no reason for complaint, that way, in the future,
Aggie, I promise you. But how could I tell? The last time I saw you,
you were flirting, as hard as you could, with someone else."

"Well, sir, whose fault was that? You chose to make yourself
disagreeable, and stay away, and what was I to do? I should do the same
in the future, I can tell you, if you neglected me in the same way."

"I sha'n't give you the chance, Aggie. You can rely upon that."

The squire was fully prepared for the communication which James had to
make to him, and, as there were no