“And had he?” Mrs. Royal inquired.

“Yes; knew him well.  Now, the way those two men did talk would have done your heart good.  To think of Captain Josh chatting with a missionary, when for years he has been so much down on missions and missionaries.  That is one on the old captain, and I shall not forget it when I see him again, ho, ho,” and Parson Dan leaned back in his comfortable chair and fairly shook with merriment.

“I hope that his interest will keep up,” was Mrs. Royal’s comment, as she picked up the paper she had laid aside.  “Perhaps he will learn that missionaries are of some use in the world after all.”

“I am afraid not, Martha,” the parson returned, as he reached for his pipe and tobacco lying on a little stand by his side.  “It is only his son which made him interested to-night, and that is as far as it goes.”

“It might be the beginning, though, Daniel, who can tell?  I always liked Jimmy.  He and Alec got on so well together.  Do you know what day this is?”

“Ay, ay, Martha,” and the clergyman’s face grew grave, and a slight mistiness dimmed his eyes.  “I haven’t forgotten it.”

“He would have been twenty-five to-day, Daniel.”

“I know it, and it seems only yesterday that I went for old Doctor Paddock.  It was a night something like this, and I was so afraid that we would not get back in time.”

The fire danced cheerily before them, and the clock on the mantel ticked steadily as the two sat for some time in silence, gazing thoughtfully upon the blazing sticks.

“I dreamed last night that I saw him,” Mrs. Royal at length remarked.  “He was a baby, and had on his little white dress.  He looked up into my face and smiled, just like he used to do.  I gave a cry of joy and put out my arms to take him.  At that I awoke, and he disappeared.  Oh, Daniel, we didn’t value him enough when we had him—­and now he’s gone.”

“And do you remember, Martha, what plans we made for his future?  Our hopes have been sadly shattered.”

“We have only his memory with us now, Daniel,” was the quiet reply.  “I always think of him as a baby, or as a strong manly boy coming home from school.  But for that precious recollection I hardly know how I could bear up at all.”

Scarcely had she finished speaking, when a faint knock sounded upon the front door.  They both started and listened attentively, thinking that perhaps it was only the wind.  But when the knock was repeated, Parson Dan rose quickly to his feet, crossed the room and entered the outer hall.  As he unlocked and opened the front door, a shaving of cold wind whipped into the room, while the inky night rose suddenly before him like a great perpendicular wall.  For a few seconds he could see nothing, but as his eyes became accustomed to the blackness, he beheld a dim form standing before him.  Then a large bundle was thrust suddenly into his arms, and the figure disappeared.