"Wh—why have you made me guess, Hugh? Why could you not tell me? You know that—that I—I love you."
*****
"Father, I have decided."
I stood before him dishevelled and weary, for I had been out all night, seeking to ease my heart of its pain by physical fatigue.
He turned and looked at me in surprise—a surprise which changed into a look of grave sorrow as his eyes dwelt upon me.
"Hugh, you have been up all night," he said, reprovingly; "you will be ill!"
I laughed recklessly.
"What matters? Do men die of a broken heart, I wonder? I would that they did."
He came to me and laid his hands upon my shoulders.
"Hugh, my boy, do you want to break mine?"