Excerpt: She remembered that sudden stab at her heart at the old lady's broken words, He will be going away, lassie, and her cheek flamed hot again. It is all nonsense, she repeated angrily, and there being no one to contradict her, she said it again with even greater emphasis. But suddenly she sat down, and before long she found herself smiling at the memory of the old lady's proud cry, Could not? Ay, he could."

Rev. Dr. Charles William Gordon, or Ralph Connor, (September 13, 1860 October 31, 1937) was a Canadian novelist, using the Connor pen name while maintaining his status as a Church leader, first in the Presbyterian and later the United Church in Canada. (Wikipedia)