"Ashamed! And I——" he stopped, drawing in a deep breath at the wonder of it; then raising himself to rest on bent arm, he laid his cheek against her hair. "I ’m th’ one as ought to be ashamed, Rose: a man o’ my age, an’ feelin’ th’ way I do—an’ you a girl. But I ’ve got to have you, Rose. I just got to have you. An’ if you don’t say ’yes’ I swear to God I ’ll give up an’ pull out o’ this country. I don’t want to stop another day if you say ’no.’" She drew away from him and raised her head to look at him doubtfully, appealingly, believingly. A wonderful smile broke through her tears and stilled the trembling of her lips. "You mean it, Buck. Oh! You do! You do!" Her arms were about him and she lowered him gently back again. "Rest you, and get well quickly, wounded man," she murmured. "My man—my man until I die—and after." FINIS