I'm much obleeged for lettin' me go round with ye; an' I never want to go agin." Jim went out into the pleasant morning air.

The sun had dispelled the light frost of the night, the sky was blue overhead, and the blue-birds, whose first spring notes were as sweet and fresh as the blossoms of the arbutus, were caroling among the maples.

Far away to the north he could see the mountain at whose foot his cabin stood, red in the sunshine, save where in the deeper gorges the snow still lingered.

Sevenoaks lay at the foot of the hill, on the other hand, and he could see the people passing to and fro along its streets, and, perched upon the hill-side among its trees and gardens, the paradise that wealth had built for Robert Belcher.

The first emotion that thrilled him as he emerged from the shadows of misery and mental alienation was that of gratitude.