And as for
Andrew--certainly he had not known that he cared for her so much until she
turned that tearful, rosy face upon him in welcome; but now it seemed to
him that she had been his and he hers since time began: he could neither
imagine nor remember any other state than this: he said to himself, and
then repeated it to her, that he had loved her always, that it was thought
of her that had kept him firm and faithful to his duty, that she had been
the lodestar toward which he steered on that slow homeward way; and he
thanked Heaven, no doubt devoutly enough, that had saved him from such
distress and brought him back to such bliss. And Louie listened and clung
closer, more joyful and more blest with every pulse of her bounding heart.
After all, sudden as the slipping into so divine a dream had been, it had
need to be full as intense and deep, for it was only for a little while it
lasted. A week's rapt walking in these mid-heavens, where earth and care
and each to-morrow was forgotten, and there broke in upon them the voice
of the Sabrina's owner seeking for Andrew Traverse.
Of course such conduct as that of one who preferred to do his utmost to
save a sinking ship rather than seek safety with her flying crew, was
something too unusual to go unrewarded: it must be signalized into such a
shining light that all other mariners must needs follow it.
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