"Noël," said the girl gently, and looking distressed, "you know, my dear
one, that I do care very much, and I cannot think why you speak to me in
that bitter way."

"Marie, do you care? You have seemed lately so indifferent to my plans,
and it has made me angry, for, my darling, you must have seen that my
love for you is deep, strong, mighty, like the flow of yonder great
river. Aye, it is stronger, greater, more unchangeable."

A glad light came into the girl's pale face, but she did not speak, and
Noël went on:

"It is not as if my love for you were a thing of yesterday, for I can
never remember the time when you were not first in my thoughts. Yes,
Marie--

'Il y a longtemps que je t'aime,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.'"

"What, Noël, never? That is a long, long time. Are you sure, Noël?"

"Am I sure, Marie? Is yonder great rock, on which countless tides have
beaten, sure? Is the mighty Gulf sure of its ebb and flow? Is anything
sure in this world, Marie?"

The girl did not answer, and he went on:

"Tell me, Marie, do you care for me or do you not?"

Marie hesitated, and Noël impatiently gathered up some loose pebbles and