"Father, dear old man!" said Jim, and put his hands on the broad
shoulders.
Sally knelt down beside him, took both the great hands from the
tear-stained face, and laid them against her cheek. But presently she put
Nancy on his knees.
"I don't like you to cry," the child said softly; "but to-day I cried
too, 'cause my Indian man is dead."
The old man could not speak, but he put his cheek down to hers. After a
minute, "Oh, but she's worth ten times that!" he said as Sally came close
to him with the bundle he had thrust into her hands.
"What is it?" said Jim.
"It's five million dollars--for Nancy," she said. "Five-million--what?"
"The stake, Jim," said Sally. "If you did not drink for four years--never
touched a drop--we were to have five million dollars."
"You never told him, then--you never told him that?" asked the old man.
"I wanted him to win without it," she said. "If he won, he would be the
stronger; if he lost, it would not be so hard for him to bear."
The old man drew her down and kissed her cheek. He chuckled, though the
tears were still in his eyes. "You are a wonder--the tenth wonder of the
world!" he declared.
Jim stood staring at the bundle in Nancy's hands.
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