"
"That was not cowardice, my dear boy," she said, her eyes shining, "but
the truest courage. I think you deserve far more credit for bravery, than
you would if you had rushed in impulsively without a thought of the real
danger you were encountering."
"Praise is very sweet from the lips of those I love; especially my
mother's," he responded, with a glad smile. "And what a nurse you are,
mother mine! it pays to be ill when one can be so tended."
"That is when one is not very seriously ill, I suppose?" she said
playfully, stroking his hair. "By the way, it will take longer to restore
these damaged locks, than to repair any of the other injuries caused by
your escapade."
"Never mind," he said, "they'll grow again in time. What has become of the
Smiths?"
"Your father has found temporary shelter for them at the quarter, and is
rebuilding their hut."
"I knew he would; it is just like him--always so kind, so generous."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINTH.
"Oh, gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully.
Or if thou think'st I'm too quickly won,
I'll frown and be perverse, and say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo; but else not for the world.
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