and that he would be all the better when the reaction came he heard from the colonel that made his appearance regularly at his residence and often remained to supper spend s ing the evening in the sole company of the colonel had also noticed that did not seem in his usual health but ascribed it to physical causes it is nothing lasting he said a wedding journey would cure him young men are often struck that way i wish he would take the wedding journey replied john with a clouded brow i have talked with him and he says he cannot think of marrying until he can support his wife and himself he is proud and stubborn too in his quiet way the only method is to let him alone till he comes to his senses it is nearly the time he has set to return to is it not asked the colonel yes but the firm he is reading with are willing to give him all the he needs i don t want him to hurry when does go she concluded not to go at all was the reply she says it would be there without and i have let her do as she pleased she ll keep on with her music at home and have a french teacher come to the house cliff came to for a short visit and was more shocked at the condition in which he found than any of the rest not having seen him since they parted in the early summer when the bloom of health and the flush of happiness was on his cheek look here old boy was his first greeting you are looking like the devil i m not quite as well as i have been admitted but it will be all right in a little tom all right r echoed cliff all wrong you mean j why there ll be a funeral at your house in another month if you don t mend what is it something about our two friends eh i suspected as much tell me have you found which of them it is looked at the handsome face of his companion and groaned there is no change cliff he answered they make me the happiest and the most miserable fellow in the world as they used it has steadily grown worse to bear and i have had no one to confide in it does me good to see you for you at least understand my trouble little by little got out of him the situation of affairs as they drove to mr s house and when they were comfortably seated on the they continued the conversation for a the fathers of both of them became said they could not conceal their certainty that i was in each case destined for the position of their son in law they came with offers of financial assistance both to myself and father till it seemed as if i could stand it no longer i had rather have become a tramp and begged my dinners on the road than have endured it another month finally came to the as i have told you and bought the place saving us from being turned into the street and that gave him as he considered a first not only on the farm but on me thereupon got angry and ceased to bow when we met so i was relieved of that nuisance at least but the assurance of the other one has been doubled to make up for it between they were killing me now the r of the on s ft remaining is about as great as their combined weight before heard this with gravity did not know that your father was in any e of this sort he said if i had i should have offered to aid you myself i could have done it just as well as not that would if possible have been worse than the present said turn which way i could there was nothing but obligation to some one or what is called ruin i deliberately chose the latter as far as i was concerned i never asked the colonel to come over and buy the place nor did any one else he heard of the and drove there of his own notion it was very noble of him i think mused though considering you in the light of a future son in law it was a perfectly natural thing but he has no business to consider me as any of the kind broke out hotly caught eagerly at the straw of comfort then you no longer consider yourself a probable candidate for the hand of the fair miss drew a breath of despair i don t know if they would all let me alone for twenty four hours i might tell what i intend and what i don t it is a simple question after all said gravely do you love her no doubt of it then that replied the other a strange look does it i don t see it that way likes me thi like her it is not so easy as you think to part us rose and began to pace the room see here he said presently i think a great deal of you but this thing is getting where there must be something done to bring you to reason after what you have told me it is clear that you are going to marry miss all the logic of events points in that direction it forms a solution of all your troubles that being the case it is nothing less than wicked for you to lead miss to think otherwise if she cares for you it is all the more reason why she should know the truth as early as possible know what truth exclaimed that i can hardly live out of her sight that is the only truth 