There was no need of words.
Joe had a pleasurable sense of her nearness, and there was a delight
in the fragrance of her hair as it waved against his cheek; but just
then love was not uppermost in his mind. All day he had been silent
under the force of an emotion which he could not analyze. Some
power, some feeling in which the thought of Nell had no share, was
drawing him with irresistible strength. Nell had just begun to
surrender to him in the sweetness of her passion; and yet even with
that knowledge knocking reproachfully at his heart, he could not
help being absorbed in the shimmering water, in the dark reflection
of the trees, the gloom and shadow of the forest.
Presently he felt her form relax in his arms; then her soft regular
breathing told him she had fallen asleep and he laughed low to
himself. How she would pout on the morrow when he teased her about
it! Then, realizing that she was tired with her long day's journey,
he reproached himself for keeping her from the needed rest, and
instantly decided to carry her to the raft. Yet such was the novelty
of the situation that he yielded to its charm, and did not go at
once. The moonlight found bright threads in her wavy hair; it shone
caressingly on her quiet face, and tried to steal under the downcast
lashes.
Joe made a movement to rise with her, when she muttered indistinctly
as if speaking to some one.
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