The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1917-09-06
toOpJrisht 1919, Tho BObbs. Merrill Company,
CHAPTER xxv-continued.

n was a good while before Rose got
She key to his preoccupatlon. They
had turned into the park at Slxty-slxth
street. and were halfway over to the
Fifth avenue corner at Flfty-ninth, be-
lore he spoke out.
"On day like this" he said, "to
laye sat there for two or three mortal
aours arguing about stale ideas-when
We might have been out here, being
aiivel But 1t must have seemed nat
7rai to you to hear me going on like
mat" And then with a burst, before
She could speak:
-YOu must remember me as the most
hindly opinionated fool in the world ~
She caught her breath, then said
very quietly, with a warm little laugh
In her voice: "That's not how l 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
saced each other in the gray brick en-
trance TO the building where Roses
apartment was, 1t was at the end Of a
nile or more Of absolutely unbroken
silence. And facing each other there,
all that was said between them was
her:
"YOu1l come in, won't your and his
YES"
But the gravity with which she'd
uttered the invitation and the tense
ness OF his acceptance Of ii, the square
look 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 n
ginnce into her mirror. When she
came back she found him standing
.at her window, looking out. He didn't
turn when she came in, but almost
Immediately he began speaking. She
went rather limp Mt the sound Of his
voice and dropped down on an otto
man in front of the fireplace, and
squeezed her hands together between
Der knees.
u Al don't know how much you will
have understood" he began; prob
ably good deal. What | hope you
win have guessed is that | wouldn't
have come except that I'd something to
tell you-somethlng felt you were en-
Titled to be told. But l felt-this Is
what you won't have understood-I felt
that 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 ! was person II
vas possible to deal reasonably with"
She smiled, then pressed her hands
suddenly TO her eyes. 81 understood
she said.
well then :" But he didn't
at once 20 on. Stood there while
longer at the window, then crossed
the room and brought up before hei
bookshelves staring blindly ut the Il
aes. lie hadn't looked at her even as
Ae crossed the room.
"Oh, it's presumptuous thing to try
70 say" he broke out at last, "a pitiful
Iy unnecessary thing to say because
you must know it without my telling
you. But when you went away you sale
you said it was because you hadn'
my-frlendship You said that was th'
thing you wanted, and that you wer,
going to try and earn IT, And you tolC
me that I'd never be able to see tina
the thing you were doing there was
hne thing, worth doing, entitled to m,
respect. But what I've come down her
to say isis that now, at last-l d.
see it"
She would have spoken then If sh
could have commanded her voice, an
rs II was, the sound she made cor
Teyed her intention to him, for h
turned upon her quickly as if to inter
rupt the unspoken words, and went o
Eith an almost savage bitterness:
"Oh, I'm under no illusions about /
l had my chance to see, when seein
would have meant something to you
helped you. When anyone but II
Blindest sort of fool would have seel
1 didn't. Now, when the thing is pa
.,nt for the world to see-n0w thi
you've won your fight without an
help from me Without any hell
In spite of every hindrance that n
ldiocy could put in your way! Nov
after ALL come and tell you tn
you've earned the thing you've set Of
20 get"
There was little silence after tina
She got up and took the post he hi
abandoned at the window.
"Why did you do it, Roddy?" 81
asked 81 mean, why did you want
come and tell me?"
"why, in the first place." he sal
q wanted to get back little Of n
self-respect. ! couldn't get that un
I'd told you"
This time the silence was long'
what else did you want?" S
asked. "What-in the second place
II want to earn your friendshi
It's the biggest thing l can no
for. But I've no idea that you c.
aand 1t out to me ready-made.
Neye you'd do 1t If you could. b
you said once, yourself, that 1t wasl
n thing that could be given. 1t was
ching that had to be earned. And y
were right about that, as you we
about so many other things. We
I'm going to try to earn It."
as that--all you want?" she ask'
and then. hearing the little gasp