The cab was now rolling along the row.
"A truly great ambition," I admitted. "After all, what greater ambition is there than to marry the woman you love? Philip, I will accept your gift in the spirit it is given, and I'll make use of it in the days to come, when I am old and rusted. I understand your motive. You are happy and wish every one to be."
"That's the idea," said he, leaning back and spreading an arm behind my shoulders.
"But not all the money in the world, nor all the fame for that matter, would make me happy." Gretchen was so far away! "Very well; we'll go to Paris together; that is as far as I go. To follow her you will have to go alone."
"And why can't you go the rest of the way?"
"Work. I must be back in town in three days. You must not forget that
I have had my vacation; there is plenty to be done."
"Now that you are comparatively wealthy, why not give up the grind, as you call it?"
"The truth is, I must work. When a man works he forgets."
"Then you have something to forget?"
"Every man who has reached the age of thirty has something to forget," said I.