There’salittlemoreI’vegottosay，please。
Asifitweren’tbadenoughtodowhatyou’redoing_atall_，butyoumustneedstakeitatsuchatimeasthiswhen——whenherhusband_isn’t_
doingjustwhatheoughttodo，andweallknowit——it’ssounfairtotakehernow，andtryto——
towin——Andyouaren’tevenfairwithhim，’
sheprotestedtremulously。Youpretendtobehisfriend。Yougowithhimeverywhere。It’sjustasifyouwere_helping_to——topullhimdown。
You’reonewiththewholebunch。’ThebloodsuddenlyrecededfromArkwright’sface，leavingitverywhite；butifAlicesawit，shepaidnoheed。Everybodysaysyouare。Thentocomeherelikethis，onthesly，whenyouknowhecan’tbehere，I——Oh，can’tyouseewhatyou’redoing？’
Therewasamoment’spause，thenArkwrightspoke。Adeeppainlookedfromhiseyes。Hewasstillverypale，andhismouthhadsettledintosadlines。
Ithink，perhaps，itmaybejustaswellifI
tellyouwhatI_am_doing——or，rather，tryingtodo，’hesaidquietly。
Thenhetoldher。
Andsoyousee，’headded，whenhehadfinishedthetale，Ihaven’treallyaccomplishedmuch，afterall，anditseemsthelittleIhaveaccomplishedhasonlyledtomybeingmisjudgedbyyou，mybestfriend。’
Alicegaveasobbingcry。Herfacewasscarlet。
Horror，shame，andreliefstruggledformasteryinhercountenance。
Oh，butIdidn’tknow，Ididn’tknow，’shemoaned，twistingherhandsnervously。Andnow，whenyou’vebeensobrave，sotrue——formetoaccuseyouof——Oh，canyou_ever_forgiveme？Butyousee，knowingthatyou_did_careforher，itdidlook——’Shechokedintosilence，andturnedawayherhead。
Heglancedathertenderly，mournfully。
Yes，’hesaid，afteraminute，inalowvoice。
Icanseehowitdidlook；andsoI’mgoingtotellyounowsomethingIhadmeantnevertotellyou。Therereallycouldn’thavebeenanythinginthat，yousee，forIfoundoutlongagothatitwasgone——whateverlovetherehadbeenfor——
Billy。’
Butyour——tigerskin!’
Oh，yes，Ithoughtitwasalive，’smiledArkwright，sadly，whenIaskedyoutohelpmefightit。Butoneday，verysuddenly，Idiscoveredthatitwasnothingbutadeadskinofdreamsandmemories。ButImadeanotherdiscovery，too。Ifoundthatjustbeyondlayanotherone，andthatwasverymuchalive。’
Anotherone？’Aliceturnedtohiminwonder。Butyouneveraskedmetohelpyoufight——thatone!’
Heshookhishead。
No；Icouldn’t，yousee。Youcouldn’thavehelpedme。You’donlyhavehinderedme。’
Hinderedyou？’
Yes。Yousee，itwasmylovefor——you，thatIwasfighting——then。’
Alicegavealowcryandflushedvividly；butArkwrighthurriedon，hiseyesturnedaway。
Oh，Iunderstand。Iknow。I’mnotaskingfor——anything。IheardsometimeagoofyourengagementtoCalderwell。I’vetriedmanytimestosaytheproper，expectedprettyspeeches，but——Icouldn’t。Iwillnow，though。Ido。
Youhaveallmytenderestbestwishesforyourhappiness——dear。IflongagoIhadn’tbeensuchablindfoolasnottoknowmyownheart——’
But——butthere’ssomemistake，’interposedAlice，palpitatingly，withhanginghead。
I——I’mnotengagedtoMr。Calderwell。’
Arkwrightturnedandsentakeenglanceintoherface。
You’re——not？’
No。’
ButIheardthatCalderwell——’Hestoppedhelplessly。
YouheardthatMr。Calderwellwasengaged，verylikely。But——itsohappensheisn’tengaged——
tome，’murmuredAlice，faintly。
But，longagoyousaid——’Arkwrightpaused，hiseyesstillkeenlysearchingherface。
NevermindwhatIsaid——longago，’laughedAlice，tryingunsuccessfullytomeethisgaze。
Onesayslotsofthings，attimes，youknow。’
IntoArkwright’seyescameanewlight，alightthatplainlyneededbutabreathtofanitintoquickfire。
Alice，’hesaidsoftly，doyoumeanthatmaybenow——Ineedn’ttrytofight——thatothertigerskin？’
Therewasnoanswer。
Arkwrightreachedoutapleadinghand。
Alice，dear，I’velovedyousolong，’hebeggedunsteadily。Don’tyouthinkthatsometime，ifIwasvery，verypatient，youcouldjust_begin_——
tocarealittleforme？’
Stilltherewasnoanswer。Then，slowly，Aliceshookherhead。Herfacewasturnedquiteaway——whichwasapity，forifArkwrightcouldhaveseenthesuddentendermischiefinhereyes，hisownwouldnothavebecomesosomber。
Notevenalittlebit？’
Icouldn’tever——begin，’answeredahalf-
smotheredvoice。
Alice!’criedtheman，heart-brokenly。
Aliceturnednow，andforafleetinginstantlethimseehereyes，glowingwiththelovesolongkeptinrelentlessexile。
Icouldn’t，because，yousee-Ibegan——
longago，’shewhispered。
Alice!’Itwasthesamesingleword，butspokenwithaworldofdifference，forintoitnowwascrowdedallthegloryandthewonderofagreatlove。Alice!’breathedthemanagain；
andthistimethewordwas，oh，sotenderlywhisperedintothelittlepinkandwhiteearofthegirlinhisarms。
Igotdelayed，’beganBilly，inthedoorway。
Oh-h!’shebrokeoff，beatingahushed，butprecipitate，retreat。
Fullythirtyminuteslater，Billycametothedooragain。Thistimeherapproachwasheraldedbyasnatchofsong。
Ihopeyou’llexcusemybeinggonesolong，’
shesmiled，assheenteredtheroomwherehertwoguestssatdecorouslyfacetofaceatthechess-
table。
Well，youknowyousaidyou’dbegonetenminutes，’Arkwrightremindedher，politely。
Yes，IknowIdid。’AndBilly，tohercredit，didnotevensmileatthemanwhodidnotknowtenminutesfromfifty。
Afterall，itwasthebaby’shandthatdidit，aswasproper，andperhapstobeexpected；forsurely，wasitnotBertram，Jr。’splacetoshowhisparentsthathewas，indeed，noWedge，butadearandpreciousTiebindingtwoloving，loyalheartsmoreandmorecloselytogether？Itwouldseem，indeed，thatBertram，Jr。，thoughtso，perhaps，andverybravelyhesetaboutit；
though，tocarryouthispurpose，hehadtoturnhisstepsintoanunfamiliarway——awayofpain，andweariness，anddanger。
ItwasArkwrightwhotoldBertramthatthebabywasverysick，andthatBillywantedhim。
Bertramwenthomeatoncetofindadistracted，white-facedBilly，andatwisted，pain-rackedlittlecreature，whoitwasalmostimpossibletobelievewasthehappy，laughingbabyboyhehadleftthatmorning。
ForthenexttwoweeksnothingwasthoughtofinthesilentoldBeaconStreethousebutthetinylittlelifehoveringsonearDeath’sdoorthattwiceitappearedtohaveslippedquiteacrossthethreshold。AllthroughthoseterribleweeksitseemedasifBillyneitheratenorslept；andalwaysatherside，comforting，cheering，andhelpingwhereverpossiblewasBertram，tender，loving，andmarvelouslythoughtful。
Thencametheturningpointwhentheuniverseitselfappearedtohanguponababy’sbreath。Gradually，almostimperceptibly，cametheflutteringbackofthetinyspiritintothelongingarmsstretchedsofar，farouttomeetandholdit。Andthefatherandthemother，lookingintoeachother’ssleepless，dark-ringedeyes，knewthattheirsonwasoncemoretheirstoloveandcherish。
WhentwohavegonetogetherwithadearonedownintotheValleyoftheShadowofDeath，andhavecomeback，eithermourningorrejoicing，theyfindadifferentworldfromtheonetheyhadleft。Thingsthatweregreatbeforeseemsmall，andsomethingsthatweresmallseemgreat。AtleastBertramandBillyfoundtheirworldthuschangedwhentogethertheycamebackbringingtheirsonwiththem。
Inthelongweeksofconvalescence，whenthehealthyrosinessstolebitbybitintothebaby’swaxenface，andthelightofrecognitionandunderstandingcreptdaybydayintothebaby’seyes，therewasmanyaquiethourforheart-to-
hearttalksbetweenthetwowhosoanxiouslyandjoyouslyhailedeveryrosytintandfleetingsparkle。Andtherewassomuchtotell，somuchtohear，somuchtotalkabout!Andalways，runningthrougheverything，wasthatgoldenthreadofjoy，besidewhichallelsepaled——thattheyhadBabyandeachother。Asifanythingelsemattered!
Tobesure，therewasBertram’sarm。VeryearlyintheirtalksBillyfoundoutaboutthat。
ButBilly，withBabygettingwell，wasnottobedaunted，evenbythis。
Nonsense，darling——notpaintagain，indeed!Why，Bertram，ofcourseyouwill，’shecriedconfidently。
But，Billy，thedoctorsaid，’beganBertram；
butBillywouldnotevenlisten。
Verywell，whatifhedid，dear？’sheinterrupted。Whatifhedidsayyoucouldn’tuseyourrightarmmuchagain？’Billy’svoicebrokealittle，thenquicklysteadiedintosomethingverymuchliketriumph。You’vegotyourleftone!’
Bertramshookhishead。
Ican’tpaintwiththat。’
Yes，youcan，’insistedBilly，firmly。Why，Bertram，whatdoyousupposeyouweregiventwoarmsforifnottofightwithbothofthem？
AndI’mgoingtobeeversomuchprouderofwhatyoupaintnow，becauseI’llknowhowsplendidlyyouworkedtodoit。Besides，there’sBaby。
Asifyouweren’tevergoingtopaintforBaby!
Why，Bertram，I’mgoingtohaveyoupaintBaby，oneofthesedays。Thinkhowpleasedhe’llbetoseeitwhenhegrowsup!He’snicer，anyhow，thananyold`FaceofaGirl’youeverdid。
Paint？Why，Bertram，darling，ofcourseyou’regoingtopaint，andbetterthanyoueverdidbefore!’
Bertramshookhisheadagain；butthistimehesmiled，andpattedBilly’scheekwiththetipofhisforefinger。
AsifIcould!’hedisclaimed。Butthatafternoonhewentintohislong-desertedstudioandhunteduphislastunfinishedpicture。Forsometimehestoodmotionlessbeforeit；then，withaquickgestureofdetermination，hegotouthispalette，paints，andbrushes。Thistimenotuntilhehadpaintedten，adozen，ascoreofstrokes，didhedrophisbrushwithasighandcarefullyerasethefreshpaintonthecanvas。Thenextdayheworkedlonger，andthistimeheallowedalittle，averylittle，ofwhathehaddonetoremain。
ThethirddayBillyherselffoundhimathiseasel。
Iwonder——doyousupposeIcould？’heaskedfearfully。
Why，dearest，ofcourseyoucan!Haven’tyounoticed？Can’tyouseehowmuchmoreyoucandowithyourlefthandnow？You’ve_had_touseit，yousee。_I’ve_seenyoudoalotofthingswithit，lately，thatyouneverusedtodoatall。
And，ofcourse，themoreyoudowithit，themoreyoucan!’
Iknow；butthatdoesn’tmeanthatIcanpaintwithit，’sighedBertram，ruefullyeyeingthetinybitoffreshcolorhiscanvasshowedforhislongafternoon’swork。
Youwaitandsee，’noddedBilly，withsooverwhelmingacheeryconfidencethatBertram，lookingintoherglowingface，wasconsciousofacuriousthrobofexultation，almostasifalreadythevictorywerehis。
ButitwasnotalwaysofBertram’sbrokenarm，norevenofhisworkthattheytalked。Bertram，hangingoverthebaby’scribtoassurehimselfthattherosinessandthesparklewerereallygrowingmoreapparenteveryday，usedtowondersometimeshoweverintheworldhecouldhavebeenjealousofhisson。HesaidasmuchonedaytoBilly。
ToBillyitwasamostastoundingidea。