“But it is.”
“No. The success was to come first. You remember we said so that day.”
“Well, what’s wrong with tonight’s success?—and you’re walking home alone.”
“Yes, tonight he has found himself.”
“And left you behind.”
“I don’t want to say that. I beg you not to say things like that. They hurt so.”
In an instant he was all sympathy.
“Why, my dear, don’t heed me. You understand the boy, and I’m only an onlooker who gets a glimpse here and there. That’s how it seemed to me at a snapshot glance—but I may be wrong. I don’t know what I’m talking about half the time. I love that husband of yours, he has such a splendid pluck.”
“Yes, he’s been so splendid, Uncle Clem—you must believe that. Never for an instant has he spared himself. He’s worked—worked—worked. That’s why he came out so finely tonight.”
“I know. But though a man does not spare himself he must always spare others—that’s the great science of life. Haven’t you worked too?”