CHAPTER XVIII A Hero in Spite of Himself
It must not be supposed that in all these long conversations with Miss Stewart, while her father told stories turn about with the contented Captain Taber, C. B. ever forgot his friend for one moment. The memory of Merritt had faded almost entirely, or only came now and then with a little pang of contrition that such devoted love as he had been shown by that strange man had been so little requited. Had he been given to reasoning these things out he would have known that the secret of his love for Captain Taber was that he had been able to give himself up entirely to his service, for it will ever be found that the deepest love is that which gives itself to the beloved object. True love is self-sacrificing, not passively recipient, and so even in t
