Complete Project Gutenberg Will

ch," which I like because I can always be sure of it, my unknown friends came strolling our way. The man looked bewildered and bored, with something of desperation in hi

es under correction of my wife's fears of them. I own it was base of me; but I had begun to feel myself that it might be t

s they did after an involuntary faltering in front of us, and were keeping on down the path, l

he persons o

y and bring them back here, poor t

ttle too idyllic? Aren't

atrocious. Go on your knees to them if they refuse! Th

e coming and going in the path, and the nursemaids pushing their perambulators in either direction. Hat in hand I delivered my message. I co

"I'm afraid we'll crowd you." And she looked wist

you,"-in fact, I saw her putting her arm out along the bench, and explaining to a coupl

nimated all my interest in her and in her friend. She said, with a sort of shy, ins

and I shook the hand of Mr.

ent on, in presentation of me to the you

ld have wished her to be of sympathetic and intelligent. She did not overdo it by shaking hands, but she made places for the ladies, smiling cordially; and Mrs

re: we could keep the ladies in plain sight, and I could not mistake "Washington Post" when the band came to it. Mr. Deering sank into one of the chairs with a sigh of satisfaction which seemed to complete itself when he discover

t his hand on the one next to us with a

e else so tall and slim. It doesn't seem the effect of crowding either. It's as if there was some c

ive the trees plenty of room; don't plant 'em too thick if you want to get all the good out of 'em." As if he saw a question in my eye, he went on: "We do a forest-tree business exclusively; these shade-trees, and walnuts, hick

with a sort of homesick fondness. He told me that he had his nurseries at De Witt Point, up on the

now," he said finally, clicking his knif

nd I don't want the trees to stay a minute

themselves away from the gaieties of Sa

at this is a philosophical attitude with some people, and I was prepared by it for some thoughtful generalising from my companion. "Women would be willing to stay on in a place for a year to see

the pine boughs, and I

e like them if we had

expectation of someth

making things hap

ne the grass; he ended by taking a blade of it between his teeth before he spoke again, with his head still down. "I don't want to hurry

, in one way. Saratoga is a perp

ng on, and my wife and me w

I ventured, with a smile

od time right away. I don't know; my wife had the idea when they cooked it up amongst 'em that she was to come with us. But I SWEAR I don't know how to go about it. I can't seem to make up my mouth to speak to

on, I would not have had their suffering in the past one pang the less; but the simple frankness of his confession fixed me in the wish that the future mi

he races since I've been here. That's my name in full,"-and I gave him my card,-"and I'm in

nd at your place this morning trying to get rooms, and the clerk told me all about you from my

thought I should be stronger with Mrs. March if I did

l I tried, and I was more than h

antage I had. "It would have been very pleasant to have you there. Pe

use anyway." His remark betrayed a point in his thinking which had not perhaps been reached in his talk with the ladies. "It's a quiet place,

rather, and I thought it afforded me an opening to f

markably fine-lo

wife. I don't know as I like her style exac

magnificent,

don't care who they are. Then there's three opinions. She's a nice girl, and a good girl, and she don't put herself forward. But when you've got a young lady on

ntelligen

hrough what I have been through the last week! You understand how it is. 'Tain't as if she said anything; I wish she would; but you feel all the while that it ain't what she expected it to be, and you feel as if it was you that was to blame for the failure. By George! if any man was to come along and make an offer for my contract I would sell out cheap. It's worse because my wife asked her to come, and thought she was doin' her all kinds of a favour to let her. They've always been together, and when we talked of coming to Saratoga this summer, nothing would do my wife but Julia must come with us. Her and her father usually take a trip off somewhere in the hot weather, but this time he couldn't leave; pr

and just then the b

ngton

's that?"

t,'" I said, pro

goes right to a fell

new marc

bond which had formed itself between us through the confidences he had made me