"And you are not sorry, even now, safe here on shore?"
"Sorry! Why I am the happiest girl in all the world this minute. I can hardly think about that money at all, or those scoundrels trying to rob me. I am here with you, and you love me--what more can I ask? Is that silly, dear?"
He laughed, and kissed her, neither giving a thought to their dripping garments, or a regret for the hardships they had passed through. They were there alone, safe, together--all else for the moment mattered not.
"Yes, I love you, Natalie, dear," he answered. "So it is not silly at all. But we must seek shelter and food. Are you strong enough now to climb the bluff? See, there is a ravine leading up yonder, where the footing is easier."
She nodded her readiness to try, too happy for words, and hand in hand they toiled their way upward through the gloom.