The face of Captain Ichabod glowed with irrepressible delight; one might have thought he was about to embrace the young woman, notwithstanding the presence of Dickory and the two boatmen, but he did everything he could do before witnesses to express his joy.
Dickory now stepped up to Captain Ichabod. "Oh, now I know you," cried he, and he held out his hand. "You were very kind indeed to my friends, and they have spoken much about you. This is my old home; this is the house where I was born."
"Yes, yes, indeed," said Captain Ichabod, "a very good house, bedad, a very good house." But hesitating a little and addressing Lucilla: "You don't live here alone, do you?"
The girl laughed.
"Oh, no," she cried. "My father and mother will be here presently; in fact, I see them coming."
"That's very well," said Ichabod, "very well indeed. It's quite right that they should live with you. I remember them now; they were on the ship with you."
"Oh, yes," said Lucilla, still laughing.
"Quite right, quite right," said Ichabod; "that was very right."
"I will go meet your father and mother and the dear little Lena; I remember them so well," said Dickory. He started to run off in spite of his bare feet, but he had gone but a little way when Lucilla stopped him. She looked up at him, and this time her face was white.
"Are you sure," said she, "that everything is settled between you and that other girl?"
"Very sure," said Dickory, looking kindly upon her and remembering how pretty she had looked when he first saw her face over the bushes.
She did not say anything, but turned and walked back to Captain Ichabod.
She found that tall gentleman somewhat agitated; he seemed to have a great deal on his mind which he wished to say, feeling, at the same time, that he ought to say everything first.
"That's your father and mother," said he, "stopping to talk to the young man who was born here?"
"Yes," she answered, "and they will be with us presently."
"Very good, very good, that's quite right," said Captain Ichabod hurriedly; "but before they come, I want to say--that is, I would like you to know--that I have sold my ship. I am not a pirate any longer, I am a sugar-planter, bedad. Beg your pardon! That is, I intend to be one. You remember that you once talked to me about sugar-planting in Barbadoes, and so I am here. I want to find a good sugar plantation, to buy it, and live on it; I heard that you were stopping on this side of the river, and so I came here."