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 her whole life? She bit her lower lip until it almost bled to restrain her feelings. In another moment she would have precipitately fled, but John caught her hands and said, in a manner that meant everything, "Ruth."

"Yes, John," she whispered, with eyes brighter than he had ever seen them, and then withdrawing her hands, turned away.

John Bishop walked with lighter steps than he had ever done. The hills, the trees, the creek, his shop, all the world was wrapped in a new light. Ruth's mother, standing by the window, saw him go, and said, as her daughter came to her side, "John walks as if thee had given him pleasant tidings."

"Mother, I have given him my heart."