But I am mortally certain you yourself will never come back." The odd thing was that at that moment I did not fear for myself.

I had lived so long with my scheme that I had come to look upon it almost like a trading venture, in which one calculates risks and gains on paper, and thinks no more of it.

I had none of the black fright which I had suffered before my meeting with Grey.

Happily, though a young man's thoughts may be long, his fancy takes short views.

I was far more concerned with what might happen in my absence in the Tidewater than with our fate in the hills.
"It is a gamble," I said, "but the stakes are noble, and I have a private pride in its success." "Also the goad of certain bright eyes," he said, smiling.