Tombstone epitaph., 1917-12-16

had turned into the park at Sixty-siNth street. and were halfway over to the Fifth avenue corner at Fifty-ninth be- fore he spoke out.
 "on a day like this" he said, ''tO have sat there for two or three mortal hours arguing about stale ideas-whcn we might have been out here, being alive! But il must have seemed nat ural to you to hear me going on like that" And then with a burst. before she could speak:
 You must remember me as the most blnily opinionated fool in the world."
 She caught her breath. then said very quietly. with warm little laugh in her voice: That's not how I re- member you. Roddy."
 She declined to help him when he tried to scramble back to the safe shores of conventional conversation. That sort of thing had lasted long enough. And when they stopped and faced each other in the gray brick en- trance to the building where Roses apartment was it was at the end of mile or more of absolutely unbroken silence. And facing each other there. all that was said between them was her:
 You'll come in. won't you?" and his Yes
 But the gravity with which shed uttered the invitation and the tense ness of his acceptance of 1t. the square took that passed between them. marked an end of something and the begin ming of something new.
 She left him in her sitting room while she went into her room to take of her hat and jacket and take glance into her mirror. When she came hack she found him standing aJ her window, looking out. He didn't turn when she came in. but almost immediately he began speaking. She went rather limp at the sound of his voice and dropped down on an otto man in front of the fireplace and squeezed her hands together between her knees
 T don't know how much you will have understood" he began: prob ally q good deal. What I hopC you win have guessed is that 1 wouldn't have come except that I'd something tO tell you-somethinG I felt you were en- titled to he told But l felt-thiS is what you won't have undersroOd-I felt that I hadn't any right to speak to you at all about anything vital. until I'd given you some sort of guaranty until I'd shown you that I was a person it was possible to deal reasonably with"
 She smiled. then pressed her hands suddenly to her eyes. T understood" she said.
 Well then ." But he didn't at once go on. Stood there while longer at the window. then crossed the room and brought up before her bOokshelves. staring blindly at the ti ties. He hadn't looked at her even as he crossed the room.
 oh, it's q presumptuous thing to try 10 say" he broke out at last. "a pitiful- ly unnecessary thing to say. because you must know it without my telling yoU. But when you went away you said you said il was because you hadn't my-friendship You said that was the thing you wanted, and that you were going to try and earn it. And you told me that I'd never be able to see that the thing you were doing there was line thing worth doing. entitled to my respect. But what I've come down here 10 say is-is that now, at last-I do see it.
 She would have spoken then if she could have commanded her voice, and as it was. the sound she made con veyed her intention to him, for he turned upon her quickly as if to inter rupt the unspoken words. and went on with an almost savage bitterness:
 oh, I'm under no illusions about it. had my chance to see. when seeing would have meant something to you helped yOu. When anyone but the biiudest sort of fool would have seen. l didn't. Now, when the thing is pat eni for the world 10 see-nOw that you've won your fight without any help from me .. Without any help! In spite of every bindrance that my fdiocy could put in your way. Now, after aIl-I come and tell you that you've earned the thing you've set out 10 get"
 There was q little silence after that. She got up and took the post he had abandoned at the window.
 Why did you do it. Roddy?" she asked. Il mean. why did you want to come and tell meT'
 Why, in the first place." he said, "I wanted to get back little of my seIf-respect. I couldn't get that until I'd told you"
 This time the silence was longer.
 What else did you wantT" she asked "What-in the second placer
 T want to earn your friendship. It's the biggest thing l can hope for. But I've no Idea that you can hand it out to me ready-made. be- lieve you'd do 1t if you could. But sou said once, yourself, that # wasn't . thing that could oe given. It was .