The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-08-02

She rested her chin in her hands and
gazed out into the dusty street.
isn't it Infinitely pathetic to think of
that poor little man and his work?'
going back to Joyce. "Do you know. l
could have cried? And his wife's faith.
it is sublime, even if it is mistaken"
She laughed in a dreary fashion.
"What is to be done for people like
that, whose lives are quite uncompen-
sated"'
They were joined by the doctor, who
had caught part of what Constance
said and OWNED the rest.
you see only the pathos. Joyce is
just as we'll off here as he would be
anywhere else. and perhaps little
better. He makes a decent living with
his pictures" AS he spoke he crossed
the porch and stood at her side. With
his hand resting affectionately on her
shoulder.
81 guess there's larger justice in
the world than we conceive,' said
Oakley.
But not to know, to go on blindly
doing something that is really very
dreadful and never to know!'
She turned to Oakley.
II am afraid rather agree with
your father. He seems happy enough,
and he is doing. work for which there
is a demand"
Would you be content to live here
with no greater opportunity than he
has?'
Oakley laughed and shook his head.
mo, but that's not the same. I'll
pull the Hucklcberry up and make it
pay and then go in for something
bigger
and if you can't make it pay?''
II won't bother with it, them
"But if you had to remain?'
Oakley gave her an incredulous
smile
THAT couldn't be possible. 1 have
done all sorts of things but stick in
what found to he undesirable berths,
but of course business is not at all the
same"
But isn't it? Look at Mr.. Ryder.
He says that he is buried here in the
pine woods, with no hope of ever get
ting back into the world, and am sure
he is able, and journalism is certainly
business, like anything else"
Oakley made no response to this. He
didn't propose to criticise Ryder; but,
all the same, he doubted his ability.
"Griff's frightfully lazy" remarked
1,n fn
to an effortless sort of an existence
rather than make struggle"
Don't you think Mr.. Ryder extreme
" clever, Mr.. Oakley?"
81 know him SO slightly, Miss EN-
DRY, but no doubt he Isl
Mrs. Emory appeared in the door,
way, placid and smiling.
constance, you and Mr.. Oakley
come OH in; dinners ready"
When Dan went home that night he
told himself savagely that he would
never go to the Emorys' again. The
experience had been most unsatisfac-
tory. In spite of Constance's evident
disposition toward tolerance where he
was concerned, she eXasperated him.
Her unconscious condescension was q
bitter memory of which he could not
rid himself. Certainly women must be
petty, small souled creatures if she
was at all representative of her sex.
Yet in spite of his determination to
avoid Constance. even at the risk of
greater strength of will than he pos
sessed to keep away from the Emorys.
He realized in the course of the next
few weeks that a new stage in his de-
velopment had been reached. Inspired
by what he felt was a false but beau
tiful confidence in himself he called Of
ten, and as time wore on the frequency
of these calls steadily increased. All
this While he thought about Miss EN-
DRY great deal and was sorry for her
or admired her, according to his mood.
In Constance's attitude toward him
there was a certain fickleness that he
resented. Sometimes she was friendly
and companionable, and then again
she seemed to revive all her lingering
prejudices and was utterly Indifferent
to him, and her Indifference was the
most complete thing of it's kind he had
ever encountered.
Naturally Dan and Ryder met very
frequently, and when they met they
clashed. 1t was not especially pleas
ant, of course, but Ryder was persist
ent and Oakley was logged Once he
started in pursuit of an object lie never
gave up or owned that he was beaten.
In some form he lad accomplished ev-
erything he set out to do and if the re-
suits had not always been Just what he
had anticipated he had at least had the
satisfaction of bringing circumstances
under his control. He endured the
editors sarcasms and occasionally re-
taliated with vengeance so heavy as
to leave Griff quivering with the smart
of it,
Miss Emory found it difficult to
maintain the peace between them, but
she admired Dams mode of warfare;
it was so conclusive, and he showed
such grim strength in his ability to
look out for himself.
But Dan felt that he must suffer by