That seemed to put it
up to me to give Pelton a chance."
"I certainly didn't mean it that way. I had no right to ask you to do
anything about it."
"Mebbe it was the facts put it up to me. Anyhow, I felt responsible."
"Mr. Roper once told me that you always feel responsible when you hear
anybody is in trouble," the young woman answered.
"Roper's a goat. Nobody ever pays any attention to him."
Presently they diverged from the road and sat down on a great flat rock
which dropped out from the hillside like a park seat. For he was still far
from strong and needed frequent rests. Their talk was desultory, for they
had reached that stage of friendship at which it is not necessary to bridge
silence with idle small talk. Here, by some whim of fate, the word was
spoken. He knew he loved her, but he had not meant to say it yet.
But when her steady gray eyes came back to his after a long stillness, the
meeting brought him a strange feeling that forced his hand.
"I love you, Laska. Will you be my wife?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, Sam," she answered directly.
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