"Take you! I'd take you if you--if you hated me," he replied, now in the
grip of passion.

"I'll tell dad how I feel," she said, faintly, "and--and marry you when
he says."

He kissed her, would have embraced her had she not put him back.

"Don't! Some--some one will see."

"Columbine, we're engaged," he asserted, with a laugh of possession.
"Say, you needn't look so white and scared. I won't eat you. But I'd
like to.... Oh, you're a sweet girl! Here I was hating to come home. And
look at my luck!"

Then with a sudden change, that seemed significant of his character, he
lost his ardor, dropped the half-bold, half-masterful air, and showed
the softer side.

"Collie, I never was any good," he said. "But I want to be better. I'll
prove it. I'll make a clean breast of everything. I won't marry you with
any secret between us. You might find out afterward and hate me.... Do
you have any idea where I've been these last three years?"

"No," answered Columbine.

"I'll tell you right now. But you must promise never to mention it to
any one--or throw it up to me--ever."