‘Thou thought as he was faithless and fickle,’ she answered quickly; ’and so he were.  He were married to another woman not so many weeks at after thou went away.  Oh, Philip, Philip! and now I have thee back, and—­’

‘Dying’ was the word she would have said, but first the dread of telling him what she believed he did not know, and next her passionate sobs, choked her.

‘I know,’ said he, once more stroking her cheek, and soothing her with gentle, caressing hand.  ‘Little lassie!’ he said, after a while when she was quiet from very exhaustion, ’I niver thought to be so happy again.  God is very merciful.’

She lifted up her head, and asked wildly, ’Will He iver forgive me, think yo’?  I drove yo’ out fra’ yo’r home, and sent yo’ away to t’ wars, wheere yo’ might ha’ getten yo’r death; and when yo’ come back, poor and lone, and weary, I told her for t’ turn yo’ out, for a’ I knew yo’ must be starving in these famine times.  I think I shall go about among them as gnash their teeth for iver, while yo’ are wheere all tears are wiped away.’

‘No!’ said Philip, turning round his face, forgetful of himself in his desire to comfort her.  ’God pities us as a father pities his poor wandering children; the nearer I come to death the clearer I see Him.  But you and me have done wrong to each other; yet we can see now how we were led to it; we can pity and forgive one another.  I’m getting low and faint, lassie; but thou must remember this:  God knows more, and is more forgiving than either you to me, or me to you.  I think and do believe as we shall meet together before His face; but then I shall ha’ learnt to love thee second to Him; not first, as I have done here upon the earth.’

Then he was silent—­very still.  Sylvia knew—­widow Dobson had brought it in—­that there was some kind of medicine, sent by the hopeless doctors, lying upon the table hard by, and she softly rose and poured it out and dropped it into the half-open mouth.  Then she knelt down again, holding the hand feebly stretched out to her, and watching the faint light in the wistful loving eyes.  And in the stillness she heard the ceaseless waves lapping against the shelving shore.

Something like an hour before this time, which was the deepest midnight of the summer’s night, Hester Rose had come hurrying up the road to where Kester and his sister sate outside the open door, keeping their watch under the star-lit sky, all others having gone away, one by one, even John and Jeremiah Foster having returned to their own house, where the little Bella lay, sleeping a sound and healthy slumber after her perilous adventure.