By him she sits, talking in some words which for us have little meaning, and in a voice now shrill, and now sinking to a croon, while with one hand she clasps his wrist, and with the other strokes his brow, till the shadow passes from his soul and, clinging close to her, he sinks back to sleep.
But as the years went by these fits grew rarer till at last they ceased altogether, since, thanks be to God, childhood can forget its grief.
What did not cease, however, was the lad's love for Suzanne, or her love for him, which, if possible, was yet deeper.

Brother may love sister, but that affection, however true, yet lacks something, since nature teaches that it can never be complete.

But from the beginning--yes, even while they were children--these twain were brother and sister, friend and friend, lover and lover; and so they remained till life left them, and so they will remain for aye in whatever life they live.

Their thought was one thought, their heart was one heart; in them was neither variableness nor shadow of turning; they were each of each, to each and for each, as one soul in their separate spirits, as one flesh in their separate bodies.

I who write this am a very old woman, and though in many things I am most ignorant, I have seen much of the world and of the men who live in it, yet I say that never have I known any marvel to compare with the marvel and the beauty of the love between Ralph Kenzie, the castaway, and my sweet daughter, Suzanne.