“Of course, I was mistaken.  Herbert was always careless about money, and, no doubt, he spent it freely after he was first married.  He would naturally wish to have everything pretty and nice for his young wife, and, no doubt, he counted upon my forgiving him long before the money was spent.

“I am not excusing myself.  God knows how bitterly I have condemned myself, all these years.  I only want to show you that I had no idea of condemning him to starvation.  He was my only son, and I loved him.  I felt, perhaps, his rebellion all the more, because he had never before given me a day’s trouble.  I was harsh, obstinate, and cruel.

“I have only the one old excuse.  I never thought it would turn out as it did.  What would I give, if I could say, as you can, that you have a clear conscience, and that you acted always as it seemed to be your duty!

“And now, Mr. Wilks, now that I have heard your story, I trust that you will forgive my past suspicions of you, and let me say how much I honour and esteem you for your conduct.  No words can tell you how I thank you, for your goodness and kindness to my little granddaughter; our little granddaughter, I should say.  You have the better right, a thousand-fold, to her than I have; and, had I been in your place, I could never have made such a sacrifice.

“We must be friends, sir, great friends.  Our past has been saddened by the same blow.  All our hopes, in the future, are centred on the same object.”

The two men rose to their feet together, and their hands met in a firm clasp, and tears stood in both their eyes.

Then the squire put his hand on the other’s shoulder, and said, “We will talk again, presently.  Let us go into the next room.  The little one is longing to see you, and we must not keep her.”

For the next hour, the two men devoted themselves to the child.  Now that she had her old friend with her, she felt no further misgivings, and was able to enter into the full delight of her new home.

The house and its wonders were explored, and, much as she was delighted with these, the gardens and park were an even greater excitement and pleasure.  Dancing, chattering, asking questions of one or the other, she was half wild with pleasure, and the squire was no less delighted.  A new light and joy had come into his life, and with it the ten years, which sorrow and regret had laid upon him, had fallen off; for, although his habits of seclusion and quiet had caused him to be regarded as quite an old man by his neighbours, he was still three years short of sixty, while the sergeant was two years younger.

It was a happy morning for them, all three; and when John Petersham went in, after lunch, to the kitchen, he assured his fellow servants that it was as much as he could do to keep from crying with joy, at the sight of the squire’s happy face, and to hear him laugh and joke, as he had not done for eight years now.