St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-02-04
Ctonnnd II in time.V

"Oh!' she said, slightly disappointed.
Then her lips began to twitch, and she
went off into a fit of hysterical laugh
ter.
"Forgive me-" she said humbly, "but
YOU speak as if it had been fever"
"Fever is nothing to it," | said sol
pmnlv. at was a near thing"
At which she went off again. l was
glad to see her laugh. 1t gave me time
to recover my equilibrium, and 1t re-
lieved her intense emotional strain. So
] ratified on some nonsense about Craig
and myself till l saw she was giving
no heed, but thinking her own thoughts
and what these were it was not hard to
guess.
Suddenly she broke in upon my talk;
'He will tell me that | must go from
him."
81 hope he is no such fool" said
emphatically and somewhat rudely,
fear, for | confess l was impatient
with the very possibility Of separation
Tor these TWO, TO Wnom love meant so
much. Some people take this sort OF
thing easily and some not so easily,
but love for a woman like this comes
once only to a man, and then he car
ries it with him through the length Of
his life and warns his heart with it in
death. And when a man smiles or
sneers at such love as this | pity him
and say no word, for my speech would
be in an unknown tongue. So my
heart was sore as | sat looking up at
mis- woman who stood before me, over
flowing with the joy of her new love,
and duly conscious Of the coming
pain. But l soon found it was vain to
urge my opinion that she should re-
main and share the work and life of
the man she loved. She only answer
ed:
"You will help him all you can, for 1t
will hurt him to have me 60"
The culver in her voice took out all
the anger from my heart, and before ]
knew | had pledged myself to do all ]
could to help him.
But when l came upon him that
night, sitting in the light of his fire, |
saw he must be let alone. Some bat
ties we fight side by side, with COM
rades cheering us and being cheered to
victory, but there are fights we may
not share, and these are deadly fights
where lives are lost and won. SO
could only lay my hand upon his Shout
der without a word. He looked up
quickly, read my face and said with
grOan:
"You know"
81 could not help it. But why
groan?"
"She will think it right to CO." he
said desperately.
"Then you must think for her. You
must bring some common sense to bear
upon the question"
81 cannot see clearly yet" he said.
"The light will come"
MAY l show you how l see it?" /
asked.
GO on" he said.
For an hour | talked, eloquently, even
vehemently, urging the reason and
right of my opinion. She would be do
ing no more than every woman does, no
more than she did before. Her moth
er-in-law had comfortable home, all
that wealth could procure, good serv-
ants and friends. The estates could be
managed without her personal super
vision. After a few years work here
they would go east for little Marjorie's
education. Why should two lives be
broken? And so | went on.
He listened carefully, even eagerly.
'You make a good case" he said,
with slight smile. 81 will take time.
Perhaps you are right. The light will
come. Surely it will come. But" and
here he sprang up and stretched his
arms to full length above his head, Il
am not sorry. Whatever comes l am
not sorry. 1t is great to have her love,
but greater to love her as l do. Thank
God, nothing can take that away. | am
willing, glad, to suffer for the joy of
loving her."
Next morning before | was awake he
was gone, leaving a note for me:
My Dear Connor-I am due at the Land
ing. When l see you again, | think my
way will be clear. Now all is dark. At
times ] am a coward and often, as you
sometimes kindly inform me, an ass, but
! hope | may never become a mule.
l am willing to be led, or want to be at
any rate. l must do the best, not second
best for her. for me. The best only is
Gods will. What else would you have?
Be good to her these days, dear old fellow
Yours, CRAIG.
How often those words have braced
me he will never know, but I am a bet
ter man for them; '"The best only is
Gods will What else would you
have" | resolved | would rage and
fret no more and that l would worry
Mrs Mayor with no more argument or
eXpostulation, but, as my friend had
asked, "be good to her."
CHAPTER XII.