"Ah, would to Heaven he had left no trace behind! But a heart like Odalite's does not easily recover from such a shock as she has sustained." "I know. And yet I think she is already recovering. Pride, duty, honor, all will help her to recover. And of this I wish to speak to you, dear sir." "Le, you have the most forgiving soul I ever met! Why should you take any further interest in your unhappy cousin?" "Because I love her. And it is on this subject that I wish to speak to you. I am under sailing orders for the Pacific Coast, and----" "Le! you under sailing orders? Why, I thought you were going to resign from the navy?" "I should have resigned, if I could have married Odalite; but, as I could not, I did not." "But, even so, I thought you were now entitled to three years home service?" "So I was, but I could not rest after I thought I had lost Odalite, and so I applied for sailing orders on the week before Odalite was to have been married. I received them one hour ago. They came on the evening mail. If I had happened to be at Greenbushes, I should not have got the letter so soon, for, you know, my mail was always sent with yours, and I have never changed the address." "And when do you go, Le?" "I must join my ship at New York on the fourth of January. I must leave here on the second." "The day after New Year's Day. That is very sudden." "Yes; and I do regret it. If I had known--if I could have foreseen events--I should have carried out my first intentions, and resigned from the service, instead of applying for sailing orders; but now that I have applied, and have received them, I must go, much as I regret to do so. I must not seem to trifle with the department or shirk my duty." "Certainly not, lad. And, under present circumstances, perhaps it is best that you go. You and Odalite are young, lad, and can well afford to wait a little longer. When you return from your voyage, Le, the disgraceful drama which has been enacted by this man Anglesea will have been forgotten. Odalite will have long recovered the shock to her spirit, and will be in a better condition to listen to a proposal from you, which it would be indiscreet, to say the least, for you to make her at present." "I see that, sir; I feel it; and that reconciles me to the idea of going to sea again. The utmost favor I plead for now is that you will permit me to see Odalite, to have a private interview with her. I shall not wound her by hinting at the hope hidden in the bottom of my heart--the hope of winning her hand some day; but I wish to ask her to correspond with me during my absence, as with a trusted relation or a true brother. Do you think, sir, that there can be any objection to my making such a request of my cousin?" "None whatever, my dear boy. You have my fullest approval of your course, and my warmest wishes for your success." "Thank you, Uncle Abel."