The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-11-30

down the hill to join Hope and her father
at dinner on the yacht.
Are You not coming. too?" she asked.
L wish 1 could" Clay answered. king
asked me, but n steamer-load of new ma.
chinery arrived to-day. and have to see II
through the Customhouse."
Miss Langham gave an impatient little
laugh and shook her head. You might
wait until We were gone before you bother
with your machinery"
when you are gone / won't be in a state
OF mind to attend to machinery or anything
else" Clay answered.
Miss Langham seemed so far encouraged
by this speech that she seated herself in
the boathouse at the end of the wharf.
She pushed her mantilla back from her face
ana looked up at him. smiling brightly.
The time has come, the walrus saiu.' -
she quoted. Ito talk of many things"
Clay laughed and dropped down beside
her. "Well?' he sail.
You have been rather unkind to me this
last week" the girl began, with her eyes
fixed steadily on his. And that day at the
mines. when l counted on you so. you acted
abominably."
Gays face showed so plainly his surprise
at this charge, which he thought he only
had the right to make. that Miss Langham
stopped.
IT don't understand" said Clay. quietly.
Ne Ct WV
He had taken her so seriously that Miss
Langham dropped her lighter tone and
spoke in one more kindly:
II went out there to see your work
at its best. I was only interested
in going because 1t was your work.
and because it was you who had done 1t all.
and I expected that you would try to ex-
plain it to me and help me to understand,
but you didn't. You treated me as
though I had no interest in the mat
ter at all, as though 1 was not capable of
understanding it You did not seem to care
whether l was interested or not. In fact.
you forgot me altogether"
Clay exhibited no evidence of a reproving
conscience. Il am sorry you had a stupid
time." he said. ~gravely.
81 did not mean that, and you know l
didn't mean that" the girl answered. 81
wanted to hear about it from you, because
you did it. 1 wasn't interested SO much
in what had been done as 1 was in the man
who had accomplished it."
Clay shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
and looked across at Miss Langham with
a troubled smile.
But that's just what I don't want" he
said. Can't you see? These mines and
other mines like them are all / have in the
world. They are my only excuse for having
lived IN Il so long. I want to feel that
I've done something outside Of myself, and
when you say that you like me persoraiiy,
it's as little satisfaction to me as it must
be to a woman to be congratulated on her
beauty or on her fine voice. That is moth.
ing she has done herself. 1 should like
you to value what / nave done, not what
l happier to be-"
Miss Langham turned her eyes to the har-
Dor. and it was some short time before she
answered.
You are a very difficult person to please"
she said, "and most exacting. As a rule.
men are satisfied to be liked for any rea-
son. I confess frankly, since you insist
upon 1t, that ! do not rise to the point
of approaching your work as the others do.
an air that plainly said that she considered
1t, on the contrary, something of a virtue.
And If l knew more about 1t technically, l
might see more in 1t to admire. But I am
looking farther on for better things from
you. Thu friends who help us the most are
not always those who consider us perfect,
are they?" she asked, with a kindly smile.
She raised her eyes to the great ore-pier
that stretched out across the water, the
one ugly blot in the scene of natural beauty
about them. Il think that Is all very WE'LL
she said; but l certainly expect you to do
more than that. l have met many re-
markable men in all parts of the world.
and I know what a strong man is, and
you have one of the strongest personalities
l have known. But you can't mean that
you are content to stop with this. You
should be something bigger and more wide
reaching and more lasting. Indeed, 1t hurts
me to see you wasting your time here over
my fathers interests. You should exert
that same energy on a broader map. You
could make yourself anything you chose.
AT home you would be your party's leader
In politics. or you could be a great GEN
eral. or a great fnancier. l say this be-
cause l know there are better things in you,
and because l want you to make the most
of your talents. l am anxious to see you
put your powers to something worth WHILE
Miss Langham's voice carried with it
such a tone of sincerity that she almost
succeeded in deceiving herself. And yet she
would have hardly cared to explain Just
why she had reproached the man before
her after this fashion. For she knew that
when she spoke as she had done. she was
beating about to find some reason that
would justify her in not caring for him, as
she knew she could care-as sne would not
allow herself to care. TIL man at her side
had won her interest from the first. and
later had occupied her thoughts SO entirely.
that 1t troubled her peace OF mind. Yet
she would not let her feeling for him wax
and grow stronger. but kept it down. And
she was trying now to persuade herself that
she did this because there was something
lacking in him and not in her,
She was almost angry with him for being
SO much to her and for not being more
acceptable in little things, like the other
men she knew. So she found this fault
with him in order that she might Justify
her own lack of feeling.
But Clay. who only heard the words and
could not go back of them to find the
motive. could not know this. He sat per-
fectly still when she had finished and looked