Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-08-02

job of being your big brother; that /
was that quite as genuinely as If l had
been born that way?''
NO" she said; "of course not. Tom.
dear. What put such an idea into your
head?"
He paled a little. n it was a minute
or two before he could m the
words he wanted to his lips. Because
OF my hopes. / suppose" he said, I'M
steadily; because I lac hoped. absurd
ly enough, for the other answer. Yon
asked as a joke a while back if i
meant to disown you. Well I do. from
that neutrality-suspicious. I'm not fit
for b job; because-because-I'we
come to love you in the other way
She looked at him in perfectly blank
astonishment. He would not meet her
eyes, his own, their pupils almost
parallel, gazed out, unseeing. beyond
her.
But. Tom" she cried, you can't
mean "a Oh. yes, I know you mean
IT, but it's only a temporary absrra-
ton; 1t can't be more than that. We've
known each other from the time when
we were quite small kids-yes, l was a
kid as much as you. no potter term
O "A VIC h6 dlN& , kOfCA
each other and played together AMI
spatted and plagued each other and
made up again and relied on each other
TO see US through each others scrapes
and pointed out each others faults and
gloated over each others whippings.
We've got more civilized, OF course,
now that we've grown up, but the reia- .
ton Is really the same. There can
be any romance about it; no mystery
about me for you. You can't possibly
love me like that"
Cant u" he said. Cant 1? VIII
you give me the chance and see il l
can't? Love you? 1 love you. so that
the touch of a stray lock OF your hair
drives me half madl SO that the sound
of your step makes my heart stop
beating; % that the sight of little COM
monplace objects that happen to have
an association with you-things that
don't realize are associated with you
at all until they bring up with them a
picture that has you in it-make a
lump come in my throat. And when
you caress me with your hands," He
flung out his own with an impulsive
gesture that finished the sentence:
and then clutched them tightly to-
6CltlCAB lOi lACy WGIC |fCl1ADl11S-
Slowly her color mounted until she
felt her whole face burning. Il didn't
know" she said. You shouldn't have
let me go on thinking"
II didn't know, myself. until today
he interrupted her stormily; 81 didn't
know 1 knew, that is. But when |
saw you put your hands on that villain
Cayley l wanted to kill him. and in
tAo4 49,. qa-L 7 I~,A~w 49,. 7 ~,-kZ
to-"
Turning suddenly to look at her. he
saw that she had buried her face in
her hands and was crying forlornly.
.Oh. I am a brute" he concluded, TO
have told you about it in this way"
What does the way natter That's
not what makes it hard. It's loving
you so much. the way I do. and having
to hurt o It's having to lose my
brother-the only brother I ever a d
There was a long, miserable silence
after that. Finally he said: Jeanne.
if you do love me as much as that
the a you do, not the way ] love
you. but owe me any way-could you
could you-marry me Just the same.
I'd never have any thought in the
world but of making you happy. And
I'd always be there; o could count
on me, you know"
DON'T" she interrupted curly
Don't talk like that. Tom" She
shivered, and drew away from him
with a little movement somewhere
near akin TO disgust.
He WINGED at 1t. and Redeemed Then.
in a voice that sounded curiously thick
to her. c~uriousiy unlike his own, he
asked a question: If I had told you
all this a month ago-told you how 1
felt toward you. and asked you. loving
me the way you do. to marry me lust
the same, would your oh. ! suppose
you would have refused. But would
you have ~shuddered and shrunlk away
from me-1ike THAR"
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no Ne continuea Tomorross.1