“But you have a climb before you,” he added, glancing a little pitifully at the girl; “and it must be a steady one,—no spurts, you know; and—well, the view from the mountain top may not be so very inspiring after all. What do you say?”
“I say, that I can’t breathe in the valley!” Bridget replied.
The Professor looked at her a moment in silence.
“Well, try it,” he said. “At least you will be better able to ‘possess your soul;’ that is something.”
“It is everything,” she returned eagerly.
The Professor smiled.
“Leave to possess your soul will seem a very tame affair in a year or two, I fear,” he said, his smile fading a little sadly. “But, who knows? Don’t let the writing go to the wall.”
Bridget gave a little low, excited laugh.
“No, no. How can I, now? If Mr. Stevens is only right!—but I can’t depend on that, of course. I must learn to earn my living in some other way, in case—” She paused, as though unwilling to finish the sentence.