The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-04-11
(oopyrigh, islA The Bobbs- Merrill oompaA'
CHAPTER xxv-continued.

the key to his pr~eoccupation. They
had turned into the park at Slxty-sixth
street, and we're halfway over to he
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-when
we might have been out here, being
alive! But II 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
blindly %opinionated fool In the world !"
She caught her breath, then said
very quietly, with n warm little laugh
In her voice: That's not how ! re-
member you, Roddy."
She declined 10 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 grny brick en-
trance to the building where Roses
apartment was, II was ut the end of a
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 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 a
glance 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 ne began speaking. She
went rather limp at the sound of his
voice and dropped down or an otto
man In front OF the fireplace. and
squeezed her hands together between
her knees.
II don't know how much you viii
have understood" he began; prob
ably q good deal. What I hope yor
will have guessed Is that I wouldn't
have come except that I'd something tc
tell you-somethlng I felt you were en-
titled to be told. But I felt-this 1.
what you won't have UNDERSTOOD fell
that I hadn't any right to speak to 20,
at all, about anything vital. until II
given you some sort Of guaranty unit
I'd shown you that I was n person 1
was possible TO deal reasonably with.
She smiled, then pressed her hand
suddenly to her eyes. II understood,
she said.
"Well then . :" But he didn'
at once go on. Stood there q Will
longer at the window. then crosse
the o and brought up before he
b~ookshelves. staring blindly at the Il
ties. He hadn't looked at her even a
he crossed the room.
"Oh. It's a presumptuous thing to tr
10 say" he broke out at last, "a pitifuI
ly unnecessary thing 10 say, becaus
you must know 1t without my tellln
you. But when you went away you sal
you said It was because you hadn
my-friendship! You said that was III
thing you wanted, and that you wei
going to try "a d earn II. And you tol
me that I'd never be able TO see thu
the thing you were doing there was
fine thing, worth doing, entitled to m
respect. But what I've come down hei
10 say isis that now, at last-I
see IT,"
She would hive spoken then II 81
could have commanded her voice, ar
as II was. the sound she made co
veyed her intention to him. for
turned upon her quickly as II TO int
rupt the ~unspoken words, and went
with an almost savag bitterness:
"Oh. I'm under no illusions about
had my chance to see, when seeil
would have meant something to you
helped you. When anyone but I
blIndest sort Of fool would have see
! didn't. Now. when the thing Is pi
ent for the world TO see-now IN
you've won your fight without n
help from me . Without any hel
In spite OF every hlndrance that
tdiOcy could put IN your why M
after all-I come and tell you Il
you've earned the thing you've set {
to get"
There was a little silence after III
She got up and took the post he b
abandoned at the window.
why did sou do II, Roddyf"
asked. II mean, why did you want
come and tell mel"
why. In the first place" he 81
IL wanted to get back a little Of
self-respect. couldn't get that u
I'd told you"
This time the silence was lonI
what else did you wantf'
asked. "what-in the second plac
e" want TO earn your friendsI
It's the biggest thing ] can h
for. But I've no idea that you
hand II out to me ready-made. ]
lleve you'd do II II you could.
you said once. yourself, that II wa
thug that could be given. It WI