At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 227: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

216 AT A GIRL’S MERCY. the girl who had been her friend all her life. There was the merry call from garret to cellar, as though life would not grant in one day the happiness that was crowding to the lips of its inmates. “It’s too good for anything.’’ Nan whispered, as she caught her friend around the waist, meeting in the upper hall, where the western sun flooded through the high windows in a magnificent burst of glory. ‘‘It’s just too good to be true, Helen Travers, that my very best brother is to have you, and my other very dearest brother is to come to us to-night with the girl who proved her gentle heart, while he was so ill there at the South. It’s just too good to believe, and I never shall believe it until it is proved beyond a doubt.’’ Helen laughed also, though there was a hidden touch of tenderness in the soft sound that told of deeper feeling beneath the merry surface. “Ttis good to think of, Nan,’’ she said, and there was that in the hazel eyes that made the other reach up a-tip-toe to kiss her. ‘I am proud of my brave soldier lover, and of my little Nan’s brothers. But there is another brother who happens to be mine that somebody else should be proud of, too, saucy child !’’ “Oh!” the warm color flamed across the dimpled cheeks, and the wide eyes grew dewy for an in- stant. “‘Of course, Helen Travers! But Iam only talking about your happiness now. Mine came to me ever so long ago, and the war will always have a kindly thought from me, remembering what it brought me.”’ “Yes, and the brother of yours who is coming home to-night brought back to you, as it wer3, from ~ the dead,’’ added Helen, gravely. That had been a terrible time when there had — come no news of this bonny, blue-eyed brother; when it seemed that there could come no news to heal the sore hearts waiting and longing for what they were certain could never come to them. When ~ it seemed that the terrible war had ended, but also ended for them the merry voice and the sunny heart that had been one with this sunny haired — comicbooks.com — + Gay