His apprehensions, if any such
had induced this caution, were however unnecessary; for ere he had time to
make, or even to reflect on any further movement, admission was demanded
in the well-known voice of the son of him who owned the valley. The bustle
of the arrival, for with Content entered a group of companions loaded with
venison, put an end to the dialogue. Faith seized the opportunity to glide
away in the obscurity, in order to announce to her mistress that the
hunters had returned--an office that she performed without entering at all
into the particulars of her own interview with Eben Dudley.
It is needless to dwell on the satisfaction with which Ruth received her
husband and son, after the uneasiness she had just suffered. Though the
severe manners of the Province admitted of no violent exhibition of
passing emotions, secret joy was reigning in the mild eyes and glowing
about the flushed cheeks of the discreet matron, while she personally
officiated in the offices of the evening meal.
The party had returned teeming with no extraordinary incidents; nor did
they appear to be disturbed with any of that seriousness of air which had
so unequivocally characterized the deportment of him who had preceded
them.
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