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 not Ruth merely rescued, but her single piercing glance, and then staring at him with those dark-blue eyes that really saw not; and then there would come the vision of Ruth pleading to be allowed to walk home, with those eyes reillumined with a light not merely of consciousness returned—or was this all but a feverish fancy of his own?

It was not until two days after the accident that Matthew Watson called at the shop to thank John for his timely assistance. The latter saw him coming and divined his errand, but there was no escaping the inevitable interview, and John put on as cheerful a countenance as possible and determined to anticipate Matthew by changing the character of the conversation, or if the girl's rescue must be mentioned, he would do the talking himself. He had been a passive listener long enough.

"How is thy daughter, Ruth, this morning?" he asked as Matthew entered the shop. "I trust she is well over the annoyance of an unintended bath and is in no danger of catching a fever from after-excitement."