He
received his death wound in the charge, but he lived long enough to know
that the victory was ours."
"He was a great man; his name will never be forgotten. His sword has now
carved it imperishably on the key-stone of the new state's triumphal
arch," said Philip Alston.
"And Tommy Dye?" asked Ruth, lifting her wet eyes. "The Sisters are so
anxious."
"And poor Tommy Dye, also," answered Father Orin.
These two brave men who lived their lives so far apart, had fallen
almost side by side. Joe Daviess, the noble, the fearless, the highly
gifted, the honored, the famous; and Tommy Dye, the kindly, the
reckless, the poorly endowed, the misguided, the obscure,--both had done
all that the noblest could do. The mould and the dead leaves of the
wilderness would cover both their graves. Only the initials of his name
roughly cut on a tree would mark the glorious resting-place of the one.
Only an humble heap of unmarked earth would tell where a noble death had
closed the ignoble life of the other.
XXIII
LOVE CLAIMS HIS OWN
The tears had been heavy on Ruth's dark lashes when she had fallen
asleep, but she awoke with a smile, radiant and expectant.
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