And now, watching him, noting the glow in his eyes when he saw her--the pathetic worship in them--her heart protested the decision that her cold judgment had made, and she ran to him with a little, quavering, pitying cry and buried her face on his shoulder, shuddering, murmuring sobbingly: "O Daddy; O Daddy, what have you done!" He stood rigid, his eyes wide with astonishment, looking down at her as she clung to him as though wondering over a sudden miracle.

For he knew she was not an emotional girl, and this evidence of emotion almost stunned him.
"Why, Honey!" He patted her hair and her cheeks and hugged her tightly to him.

And presently he gently disengaged himself and held her at arm's length, peering into her face.
And then, when her clear eyes met his--her gaze direct and searching even though her cheeks had paled, his eyes drooped, and his arms fell to his sides.
"I've done enough, Ruth," he said, soberly.
"Why, Daddy--why did you do it?
Oh, you have made it so hard for me!" "There, there, Honey," he consoled, reaching out and patting her shoulders again.

"I've been a heap ornery, but it ain't goin' to happen again." His eyes shone through a mist that had come into them.
"I've been talkin' with Kane Lawler, an' he opened my eyes.

I've been blind, Ruth--blind to what it all meant to you.