“He did not say that; and he had not the least idea how much it mattered to me. But I was angry with you for sending me such a short letter, and I thought you were enjoying yourself, and very likely didn’t care; so I tore up the long, loving letter I had written, and sent you a short one saying nothing, like yours.”
“Oh, you little spiteful creature! I wrote that note four times before I got one fit to send you; I was so afraid you would be offended if I told you what I was going to do. I thought I would wait until I had got on, and then come to you and show you that I could be just as fond of you as if I had never been in a stable in my life. And, at any rate, I thought, if I succeeded, you would think it was better than idling.”
“Better than idling! Oh, Harry, it is better than anything for you to be successful and happy and—and fond of me!” After a pause, she continued, “When he came the second time, he said you were not getting on as fast as you wished.”
“That was true; I was in low spirits about it. Well?”
“Then he said it was very hard for a man without money to get on. He said that himself, not that you had said it. And I was afraid you were perhaps in serious difficulty for want of money, and I begged him to take some that I had put away and didn’t want.”
“And he took it?”
“Wait. He refused for a long time, and said you would not think of accepting my money, so at last I pushed it into his hand, and told him not to say it came from me. He was very reluctant to the last; I expect he was afraid to give it you and afraid to give it back to me.”
“Was that the only time he took your money?”
“No; I gave him some two or three times—not much, of course—and it made no difference to me, for it was money I had put aside.”
“And what was that you said about jewelry? Come, Annie, you mustn’t keep back anything! It isn’t fair to tell only half.”