The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1914-04-11

dom he spoke OF the speculations which
often filed his scholarly mind; today II
seemed easy to talk of everything. JOY
had set wide all the doors of his be-
ing. Alike opened her eyes in aston
ishment.
"Pietro! You are-talking like a
book! But 1t is true; something of
that sort has come to me, too-which
proves 1t to be true. / have felt al
which are not on our pianos" Pietro
smiled, looking at her.
And yet, Alike, you do not love
Francois, with all these gifts and all
his power over hearts-but only com.
monplace me?"
Alike Strengthened against his arm.
Monsieur the Marquis Zappl, the gen.
tleman I-care for, is not common.
place. / thank you not to say It," she
shot at him, and then, melting to a
sudden intensity, she put a hand on
each side of his dark face and spoke
earnestly. "Pietro, dear, listen. be-
lieve | always cared for you. When
was little 1t hurt me to have Francois
forever the one to do the daring things.
Do you remember how | used to scold
at you because you would not fight
him." Pietro smiled again. Then he
was captain of the school and you only
a private, and cried about that when
was alone at night. And when you
went off to Italy so quietly. with never
a word said about the danger, did not
know that you we're doing a fine deed
i thought II commonplace that you
should go back to your country, till
Francois opened my eyes,"
"Francois?" Pietro asked.
Yes. The day before he went to
join you we were riding together and
he told me what 1t meant to be a
patriot in Italy under the Austrians.
That day / realized how unbearable 1t
would be If anything happened to you.
But thought l cared for Francois; II
he had spoken that day | should have
told him that cared for him. But he
did not; he went-and was in prison
Ave years"
"And all that time l believed you
loved him, and were mourning for
him." Pietro said gently.
81 half believed it too" Alike an
swered. yet all the time / was
Jealous for you, Pietro, for it was still
Francois who was the hero-not you.
Then when there came a question Of
his rescue was mad with the desire
to have you do it-and you did it."
Her voice dropped. She laid her
hand against his shoulder and spoke,
in a quick cautious way.
but all that is immaterial. just
love you-thats the point" A mo-
ment later she spoke again. II want
to finish telling you-and then we need
never speak Of 1t again. ! did think
you were-commonplace. And yet l
knew in my heart you were not, for
l resented your seeming so. So l
urged you into danger. wanted you
to be a hero. had that echo OF a
schoolgirls romance about Francois
in my mind, and chung, all along, to
the idea that loved him and that per-
haps he secretly loved me but would
not say 1t because he was poor and a
peasant; that he was waiting till his
future was made. Then, one day, only
the other day, he told me that he had
asked three wishes of life-'of the
good fairies he said. One was to make
Prince Louis Emperor. one was to be
Marshal OF France; the third" she
stopped.
"What?" Pietro demanded. his
mouth bit rigid.
Alike flushed and smiled and took
Pietro's big hand and covered her eyes
with It. "That l should've you.
Monsieur He said he had wished that
all his life"
May heaven grant him his wish"
said Pietro fervently, and then. reflect
ing. at seems a strange wish for Fran
COTS. You are sure, Alixe?"
Eyes, he said So" Alike insisted.
sour dear Francois" she went on soft.
iy, and the blue intensity OF her eyes
grew misty. Dear Francois" she re.
peated. 1T Is only he who could have
had those three wishes. The single
| one that waa for himself was not be-