"I am very proud of you."
She stroked the hand against her cheek.
"Do you remember the first time I ever wore it?" She was smiling
up at him.
"Oh, yes!" he nodded his head slowly. "It is strange, isn't it? That was
a long time ago when our friends were married back there in the old
State, and to-night again, way up here in New York, they have not
forgotten us on this their anniversary."
Silence fell for a moment between them.
Then he spoke again, a little sadly:
"Would you wish those days back again, if you could?"
She hesitated thoughtfully.
"I do not know," she said at last. "Sometimes I think so. We had
John then."
"Yes," he said, and turned away his head.
Her hand, as Jimmie Dale watched, seemed to tighten over her husband's;
and now, though her lips quivered, there came a little smile.
"But we have his memory now, dear," she whispered.
Agitated, the old gentleman moved abruptly away from the chair, and
Jimmie Dale could see that the blue eyes were moist.
"That is true--we have his memory." The old colonel's voice trembled.
And then his shoulders squared like a soldier on parade. "Tut, tut!" he
chided. "Why, we are to be gay to-night! And it is almost time for us to
be going.
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