Shelovedhimso,thatwhenhewentawaytoalittlewarinwhichhiscountrywasinterestedshecouldnotunderstand,norquiteforgive。
Asthecorrespondentofanewspaper,Chestertonhadlookedonatotherwars;whentheyellowracesmet,whentheinfidelTurkspankedtheChristianGreek;andonehehadwatchedfrominsideaBritishsquare,wherehewasgreatlyalarmedlestheshouldbetrampleduponbyterrifiedcamels。Thishadhappenedbeforeheandshehadmet。Aftertheymet,shetoldhimthatwhatchanceshehadchosentotakebeforehecameintoherlifefelloutsideofherjurisdiction。Butnowthathislifebelongedtoher,thistalkofhisstandinguptobeshotatwaswicked。Itwasworsethanwicked;itwasabsurd。
WhentheMainesankinHavanaharborandtheword\"war\"wasappearinghourlyinhystericalextras,MissArmitageexplainedherposition。
\"Youmustn\'tthink,\"shesaid,\"thatIamoneofthosesillygirlswhowouldbegyounottogotowar。\"
Atthemomentofspeakinghercheekhappenedtoberestingagainsthis,andhisarmwasabouther,sohehumblybenthisheadandkissedher,andwhisperedveryproudlyandsoftly,\"No,dearest。\"
Atwhichshewithdrewfromhimfrowning。
\"No!I\'mnotabitlikethosegirls,\"sheproclaimed。\"ImerelytellyouYOUCAN\'TGO!Mygracious!\"shecried,helplessly。Sheknewthewordsfellshortofexpressingherdistress,buthereducationhadnotsuppliedherwithexclamationsofgreaterviolence。
\"Mygoodness!\"shecried。\"Howcanyoufrightenmeso?It\'snotlikeyou,\"shereproachedhim。\"Youaresounselfish,sonoble。
Youarealwaysthinkingofotherpeople。Howcanyoutalkofgoingtowar——tobekilled——tome?Andnow,nowthatyouhavemademeloveyouso?\"
Thehands,thatwhenshetalkedseemedtohimlikeswallowsdartingandflashinginthesunlight,clutchedhissleeve。Thefingers,thathewouldratherkissthanthelipsofanyotherwomanthateverlived,clungtohisarm。Theirclaspremindedhimofthatofadrowningchildhehadonceliftedfromthesurf。
\"Ifyoushoulddie,\"whisperedMissArmitage。\"WhatwouldIdo。
WhatwouldIdo!\"
\"Butmydearest,\"criedtheyoungman。\"MydearestONE!I\'veGOT
togo。It\'sourownwar。Everybodyelsewillgo,\"hepleaded。
\"Everymanyouknow,andthey\'regoingtofight,too。I\'mgoingonlytolookon。That\'sbadenough,isn\'tit,withoutsittingathome?YoushouldbesorryI\'mnotgoingtofight。\"
\"Sorry!\"exclaimedthegirl。\"Ifyouloveme——\"
\"IfIloveyou,\"shoutedtheyoungman。Hisvoicesuggestedthathewasabouttoshakeher。\"Howdareyou?\"
Sheabandonedthatpositionandattackedfromonemorelogical。
\"Butwhypunishme?\"sheprotested。\"DoIwantthewar?DoIwanttofreeCuba?No!IwantYOU,andifyougo,youaretheonewhoissuretobekilled。Youaresobig——andsobrave,andyouwillberushinginwhereverthefightingis,andthen——thenyouwilldie。\"Sheraisedhereyesandlookedathimasthoughseeinghimfromagreatdistance。\"And,\"sheaddedfatefully,\"Iwilldie,too,ormaybeIwillhavetolive,tolivewithoutyouforyears,formanymiserableyears。\"
Fearfully,withgreatcaution,asthoughinhisjoyinherhemightcrushherinhishands,theyoungmandrewhertohimandheldherclose。Afterasilencehewhispered。\"But,youknowthatnothingcanhappentome。Notnow,thatGodhasletmeloveyou。Hecouldnotbesocruel。Hewouldnothavegivenmesuchhappinesstotakeitfromme。Amanwholovesyou,asIloveyou,cannotcometoanyharm。AndthemanYOUloveisimmortal,immune。Heholdsacharmedlife。Solongasyoulovehim,hemustlive。\"
Theeyesofthegirlsmiledupathimthroughhertears。Sheliftedherlipstohis。\"Thenyouwillneverdie!\"shesaid。
Sheheldhimawayfromher。\"Listen!\"shewhispered。\"Whatyousayistrue。Itmustbetrue,becauseyouarealwaysright。I
loveyousothatnothingcanharmyou。Mylovewillbeacharm。
Itwillhangaroundyourneckandprotectyou,andkeepyou,andbringyoubacktome。Whenyouareindangermylovewillsaveyou。For,whileitlives,Ilive。Whenitdies——\"
Chestertonkissedherquickly。
\"Whathappensthen,\"hesaid,\"doesn\'tmatter。\"
Thewargamehadrunitshappy-go-luckycoursebrieflyandbrilliantly,with\"gloryenoughforall,\"evenforChesterton。
For,innopreviouscampaignhadgoodfortunesopersistentlystoodsmilingathiselbow。Ateachmomentofthewarthatwascritical,picturesque,dramatic,bysomeluckyaccidenthefoundhimselfamongthosepresent。Hecouldnotlose。EvenwhenhispressboatbrokedownatCardenas,aYankeecruiserandtwoSpanishgun-boats,apparentlyforhissolebenefit,engagedinanimpromptuduelwithinrangeofhismegaphone。Whenhishorsewentlame,thecolumnwithwhichhehadwishedtoadvance,passedforwardtothefrontunmolested,whiletherearguard,towhichhehadbeenforcedtojoinhisfortune,foughtitswaythroughthestiflingunderbrush。
Betweenhisnewsdespatches,whenhewasnotsingingthepraisesofhisfellow-countrymen,orcopyinglistsoftheirkilledandwounded,hewrotetoMissArmitage。Hisletterswerescrawledonyellowcopypaperandconsistedofrepetitionsofthethreewords,\"Iloveyou,\"rearranged,illuminated,andintensified。
Eachletterbeganmuchinthesameway。\"Thewarisstillgoingon。Youcanreadaboutitinthepapers。WhatIwantyoutoknowisthatIloveyouasnomanever——\"Andsoonformanypages。
Fromheronlyoneofthelettersshewrotereachedhim。ItwaspickedupinthesandatSiboneyafterthemedicalcorps,inanefforttowipeouttheyellow-fever,hadsetfiretothepost-
officetent。
ShehadwrittenitsomeweeksbeforefromhersummerhomeatNewport,andinitshesaid:\"Whenyouwenttothefront,IthoughtnowomancouldlovemorethanIdidthen。But,nowIknow。AtleastIknowonegirlwhocan。Shecannotwriteit。Shecannevertellyou。Youmustjustbelieve。
\"EachdayIhearfromyou,forassoonasthepapercomes,Itakeitdowntotherocksandreadyourcables,andIlooksouthacrosstheoceantoCuba,andtrytoseeyouinallthatfightingandheatandfever。ButIamnotafraid。ForeachmorningIwaketofindI
loveyoumore;thatithasgrownstronger,morewonderful,morehardtobear。AndIknowthecharmIgaveyougrowswithit,andismorepowerful,andthatitwillbringyoubacktomewearingnewhonors,\'bearingyoursheaveswithyou。\'