Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

mana MIN tne Sneel, dpOlOSlZe LOT having
read it, and walk away without saying
anything, leaving Gather to accuse him
SELF But this appealed neither to his
chivalry nor to his common sense. Gather
would suffer out of all proportion for
sins that were almost equal. 1t would be
a melodramatc excuse for cruel deed.
He himself would suffer nothing but the
temporary humiliation of a confession.
Gather would have to live along in the
consciousness of what he knew to be
grave offense in Langley's eyes-either
that or he would have to go away. And,
now that he faced it, Langley knew what
he had not previously taken the trouble
to ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS he did not want
Gather to go away. He was too kind
hearted to endure the thought of sending
Gather out into world which he was pitt
fully unable to face, and, more than that,
he had to confess that he would be very
lonely without him.
Gather was not the companion he
would have chosen, but he was the only
companion he had. He never made any
trouble. He never talked too much. He
was gentle and self-effacing. And Lang
ley had lived too many years all alone not
to know the comfort of having some one
around for an odd moments chat. He
rather liked to hear Gather fumbling
around the library, and enjoyed the pic
turesqueness of his queer, gaunt figure
huddled over book. But, most of all, it
was entirely against his instincts to upset
the ruling order of things.
Thus, with rush of his natural good
nature, Langley saw the thing in a milder
light 1t was really an absurd little pee
cadillo, after all. Most men would have
made rude joke of it; for the idea of
Gather riding to hounds was so ludicrous
that, even in this moment, Langley could
not avoid smiling. To judge Gather by
other mems standards was futile. He
just didn't know any better. Langley
came of race which had one code for gen.
tlemen and another for all other men.
His father had been fine old bigot who
had patronized everybody except land
holders, and Langley himself had faint
traces of this in his makeup. Every one
knew Gather for poor unfortunate, and,
after ALL what more could one expect?
Langley reached for the sheet of paper,
tore it to bits, and resolved to forget the
whole matter.
SUCH matters, however, do not allow
'" themselves to be so easily forgotten.
Gather himself had evidently forgotten
the sheet or thought he had lost it. 1t
might have been that he thought he had
mailed it.
1t was several days before Langley's
imagination had encompassed the phases
that would have occurred at once to a
more analytical man. The day following
the discovery the matter of honor began
to fade out of sight and the thing became
rather laughable; but, after that, slowly
grew another aspect-the pathos of the
thing. For that was the side of the case
which overwhelmed everything else as
soon as the anger faded.
Here was the wistful, pathetic man who
had failed-failed after great promise.
Conscious of his failure, he was dependent
on one who had stood far below him, one
of the undeserving butterflies of their
college life. He lived on the outskirts of
a gay, dashing life, life which he saw
constantly but in which he had no part.
And yet somewhere there was one woman