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 William entered the house with a glad heart, and, would wonders never cease, Ruth was as beaming as her step-father had been. For once he was really happy, because full of hope, and, seeking an opportunity, he called Ruth to one side, and in a low tone that was lost on all other ears he laid his fortune at her feet, and would gladly have put himself there also, did Friends' discipline permit of such a proceeding.

Ruth was too astonished to make any reply. This was the first intimation she had had that this rattle-brained youth had ever given her a second thought. What could it mean? Was it the property in England, of which he had, of course, heard, and supposed she would go to claim? A hundred wild ideas rushed through her mind, and, forgetting where she was or who were present, she turned and ran out of doors, down the winding lane, and on and on until out of breath, and then, turning about, ran back again, but not to where she had left William standing in blank amazement, but by him to her mother, and, catching her by the hands,