There was a touch of sarcasm in his voice which made her pity him.
"Oh, yes; I am very happy to be alive. There is so much to be done. I envy nothing so much as the leisure hours some do not know what to do with. Yes, it is good to live."
"What can you find to employ other people's leisure beside your own?"
She gave one quick, earnest glance into his face, paused a moment, and then answered,—
"I try to make others happy."
She was turning away when he caught her hand, and with a strange twitching around his mouth, said,—
"You seem to be in earnest. I, who doubt every one, find it hard to doubt you. If you mean that you try to help the poor, you will find it a thankless task. It doesn't pay." There was intense bitterness in his tone.
"But, my dear sir, that is because you go to the wrong paymaster. He has promised that even a cup of cold water given for His sake shall receive its reward."
"Poor man! Doubting every one, endured only for the sake of your money; how I pity you," was Marion's reflection, as she drove swiftly with Hepsey beside her. "I wish I could give you a lesson in true happiness. I'll try!"