There’salittlemoreI’vegottosay，please。
　　Asifitweren’tbadenoughtodowhatyou’redoing_atall_，butyoumustneedstakeitatsuchatimeasthiswhen——whenherhusband_isn’t_
　　doingjustwhatheoughttodo，andweallknowit——it’ssounfairtotakehernow，andtryto——
　　towin——Andyouaren’tevenfairwithhim，’
　　sheprotestedtremulously。Youpretendtobehisfriend。Yougowithhimeverywhere。It’sjustasifyouwere_helping_to——topullhimdown。
　　You’reonewiththewholebunch。’ThebloodsuddenlyrecededfromArkwright’sface，leavingitverywhite；butifAlicesawit，shepaidnoheed。Everybodysaysyouare。Thentocomeherelikethis，onthesly，whenyouknowhecan’tbehere，I——Oh，can’tyouseewhatyou’redoing？’
　　Therewasamoment’spause，thenArkwrightspoke。Adeeppainlookedfromhiseyes。Hewasstillverypale，andhismouthhadsettledintosadlines。
　　Ithink，perhaps，itmaybejustaswellifI
　　tellyouwhatI_am_doing——or，rather，tryingtodo，’hesaidquietly。
　　Thenhetoldher。
　　Andsoyousee，’headded，whenhehadfinishedthetale，Ihaven’treallyaccomplishedmuch，afterall，anditseemsthelittleIhaveaccomplishedhasonlyledtomybeingmisjudgedbyyou，mybestfriend。’
　　Alicegaveasobbingcry。Herfacewasscarlet。
　　Horror，shame，andreliefstruggledformasteryinhercountenance。
　　Oh，butIdidn’tknow，Ididn’tknow，’shemoaned，twistingherhandsnervously。Andnow，whenyou’vebeensobrave，sotrue——formetoaccuseyouof——Oh，canyou_ever_forgiveme？Butyousee，knowingthatyou_did_careforher，itdidlook——’Shechokedintosilence，andturnedawayherhead。
　　Heglancedathertenderly，mournfully。
　　Yes，’hesaid，afteraminute，inalowvoice。
　　Icanseehowitdidlook；andsoI’mgoingtotellyounowsomethingIhadmeantnevertotellyou。Therereallycouldn’thavebeenanythinginthat，yousee，forIfoundoutlongagothatitwasgone——whateverlovetherehadbeenfor——
　　Billy。’
　　Butyour——tigerskin!’
　　Oh，yes，Ithoughtitwasalive，’smiledArkwright，sadly，whenIaskedyoutohelpmefightit。Butoneday，verysuddenly，Idiscoveredthatitwasnothingbutadeadskinofdreamsandmemories。ButImadeanotherdiscovery，too。Ifoundthatjustbeyondlayanotherone，andthatwasverymuchalive。’
　　Anotherone？’Aliceturnedtohiminwonder。Butyouneveraskedmetohelpyoufight——thatone!’
　　Heshookhishead。
　　No；Icouldn’t，yousee。Youcouldn’thavehelpedme。You’donlyhavehinderedme。’
　　Hinderedyou？’
　　Yes。Yousee，itwasmylovefor——you，thatIwasfighting——then。’
　　Alicegavealowcryandflushedvividly；butArkwrighthurriedon，hiseyesturnedaway。
　　Oh，Iunderstand。Iknow。I’mnotaskingfor——anything。IheardsometimeagoofyourengagementtoCalderwell。I’vetriedmanytimestosaytheproper，expectedprettyspeeches，but——Icouldn’t。Iwillnow，though。Ido。
　　Youhaveallmytenderestbestwishesforyourhappiness——dear。IflongagoIhadn’tbeensuchablindfoolasnottoknowmyownheart——’
　　But——butthere’ssomemistake，’interposedAlice，palpitatingly，withhanginghead。
　　I——I’mnotengagedtoMr。Calderwell。’
　　Arkwrightturnedandsentakeenglanceintoherface。
　　You’re——not？’
　　No。’
　　ButIheardthatCalderwell——’Hestoppedhelplessly。
　　YouheardthatMr。Calderwellwasengaged，verylikely。But——itsohappensheisn’tengaged——
　　tome，’murmuredAlice，faintly。
　　But，longagoyousaid——’Arkwrightpaused，hiseyesstillkeenlysearchingherface。
　　NevermindwhatIsaid——longago，’laughedAlice，tryingunsuccessfullytomeethisgaze。
　　Onesayslotsofthings，attimes，youknow。’
　　IntoArkwright’seyescameanewlight，alightthatplainlyneededbutabreathtofanitintoquickfire。
　　Alice，’hesaidsoftly，doyoumeanthatmaybenow——Ineedn’ttrytofight——thatothertigerskin？’
　　Therewasnoanswer。
　　Arkwrightreachedoutapleadinghand。
　　Alice，dear，I’velovedyousolong，’hebeggedunsteadily。Don’tyouthinkthatsometime，ifIwasvery，verypatient，youcouldjust_begin_——
　　tocarealittleforme？’
　　Stilltherewasnoanswer。Then，slowly，Aliceshookherhead。Herfacewasturnedquiteaway——whichwasapity，forifArkwrightcouldhaveseenthesuddentendermischiefinhereyes，hisownwouldnothavebecomesosomber。
　　Notevenalittlebit？’
　　Icouldn’tever——begin，’answeredahalf-
　　smotheredvoice。
　　Alice!’criedtheman，heart-brokenly。
　　Aliceturnednow，andforafleetinginstantlethimseehereyes，glowingwiththelovesolongkeptinrelentlessexile。
　　Icouldn’t，because，yousee-Ibegan——
　　longago，’shewhispered。
　　Alice!’Itwasthesamesingleword，butspokenwithaworldofdifference，forintoitnowwascrowdedallthegloryandthewonderofagreatlove。Alice!’breathedthemanagain；
　　andthistimethewordwas，oh，sotenderlywhisperedintothelittlepinkandwhiteearofthegirlinhisarms。
　　Igotdelayed，’beganBilly，inthedoorway。
　　Oh-h!’shebrokeoff，beatingahushed，butprecipitate，retreat。
　　Fullythirtyminuteslater，Billycametothedooragain。Thistimeherapproachwasheraldedbyasnatchofsong。
　　Ihopeyou’llexcusemybeinggonesolong，’
　　shesmiled，assheenteredtheroomwherehertwoguestssatdecorouslyfacetofaceatthechess-
　　table。
　　Well，youknowyousaidyou’dbegonetenminutes，’Arkwrightremindedher，politely。
　　Yes，IknowIdid。’AndBilly，tohercredit，didnotevensmileatthemanwhodidnotknowtenminutesfromfifty。
　　Afterall，itwasthebaby’shandthatdidit，aswasproper，andperhapstobeexpected；forsurely，wasitnotBertram，Jr。’splacetoshowhisparentsthathewas，indeed，noWedge，butadearandpreciousTiebindingtwoloving，loyalheartsmoreandmorecloselytogether？Itwouldseem，indeed，thatBertram，Jr。，thoughtso，perhaps，andverybravelyhesetaboutit；
　　though，tocarryouthispurpose，hehadtoturnhisstepsintoanunfamiliarway——awayofpain，andweariness，anddanger。
　　ItwasArkwrightwhotoldBertramthatthebabywasverysick，andthatBillywantedhim。
　　Bertramwenthomeatoncetofindadistracted，white-facedBilly，andatwisted，pain-rackedlittlecreature，whoitwasalmostimpossibletobelievewasthehappy，laughingbabyboyhehadleftthatmorning。
　　ForthenexttwoweeksnothingwasthoughtofinthesilentoldBeaconStreethousebutthetinylittlelifehoveringsonearDeath’sdoorthattwiceitappearedtohaveslippedquiteacrossthethreshold。AllthroughthoseterribleweeksitseemedasifBillyneitheratenorslept；andalwaysatherside，comforting，cheering，andhelpingwhereverpossiblewasBertram，tender，loving，andmarvelouslythoughtful。
　　Thencametheturningpointwhentheuniverseitselfappearedtohanguponababy’sbreath。Gradually，almostimperceptibly，cametheflutteringbackofthetinyspiritintothelongingarmsstretchedsofar，farouttomeetandholdit。Andthefatherandthemother，lookingintoeachother’ssleepless，dark-ringedeyes，knewthattheirsonwasoncemoretheirstoloveandcherish。
　　WhentwohavegonetogetherwithadearonedownintotheValleyoftheShadowofDeath，andhavecomeback，eithermourningorrejoicing，theyfindadifferentworldfromtheonetheyhadleft。Thingsthatweregreatbeforeseemsmall，andsomethingsthatweresmallseemgreat。AtleastBertramandBillyfoundtheirworldthuschangedwhentogethertheycamebackbringingtheirsonwiththem。
　　Inthelongweeksofconvalescence，whenthehealthyrosinessstolebitbybitintothebaby’swaxenface，andthelightofrecognitionandunderstandingcreptdaybydayintothebaby’seyes，therewasmanyaquiethourforheart-to-
　　hearttalksbetweenthetwowhosoanxiouslyandjoyouslyhailedeveryrosytintandfleetingsparkle。Andtherewassomuchtotell，somuchtohear，somuchtotalkabout!Andalways，runningthrougheverything，wasthatgoldenthreadofjoy，besidewhichallelsepaled——thattheyhadBabyandeachother。Asifanythingelsemattered!
　　Tobesure，therewasBertram’sarm。VeryearlyintheirtalksBillyfoundoutaboutthat。
　　ButBilly，withBabygettingwell，wasnottobedaunted，evenbythis。
　　Nonsense，darling——notpaintagain，indeed!Why，Bertram，ofcourseyouwill，’shecriedconfidently。
　　But，Billy，thedoctorsaid，’beganBertram；
　　butBillywouldnotevenlisten。
　　Verywell，whatifhedid，dear？’sheinterrupted。Whatifhedidsayyoucouldn’tuseyourrightarmmuchagain？’Billy’svoicebrokealittle，thenquicklysteadiedintosomethingverymuchliketriumph。You’vegotyourleftone!’
　　Bertramshookhishead。
　　Ican’tpaintwiththat。’
　　Yes，youcan，’insistedBilly，firmly。Why，Bertram，whatdoyousupposeyouweregiventwoarmsforifnottofightwithbothofthem？
　　AndI’mgoingtobeeversomuchprouderofwhatyoupaintnow，becauseI’llknowhowsplendidlyyouworkedtodoit。Besides，there’sBaby。
　　Asifyouweren’tevergoingtopaintforBaby!
　　Why，Bertram，I’mgoingtohaveyoupaintBaby，oneofthesedays。Thinkhowpleasedhe’llbetoseeitwhenhegrowsup!He’snicer，anyhow，thananyold`FaceofaGirl’youeverdid。
　　Paint？Why，Bertram，darling，ofcourseyou’regoingtopaint，andbetterthanyoueverdidbefore!’
　　Bertramshookhisheadagain；butthistimehesmiled，andpattedBilly’scheekwiththetipofhisforefinger。
　　AsifIcould!’hedisclaimed。Butthatafternoonhewentintohislong-desertedstudioandhunteduphislastunfinishedpicture。Forsometimehestoodmotionlessbeforeit；then，withaquickgestureofdetermination，hegotouthispalette，paints，andbrushes。Thistimenotuntilhehadpaintedten，adozen，ascoreofstrokes，didhedrophisbrushwithasighandcarefullyerasethefreshpaintonthecanvas。Thenextdayheworkedlonger，andthistimeheallowedalittle，averylittle，ofwhathehaddonetoremain。
　　ThethirddayBillyherselffoundhimathiseasel。
　　Iwonder——doyousupposeIcould？’heaskedfearfully。
　　Why，dearest，ofcourseyoucan!Haven’tyounoticed？Can’tyouseehowmuchmoreyoucandowithyourlefthandnow？You’ve_had_touseit，yousee。_I’ve_seenyoudoalotofthingswithit，lately，thatyouneverusedtodoatall。
　　And，ofcourse，themoreyoudowithit，themoreyoucan!’
　　Iknow；butthatdoesn’tmeanthatIcanpaintwithit，’sighedBertram，ruefullyeyeingthetinybitoffreshcolorhiscanvasshowedforhislongafternoon’swork。
　　Youwaitandsee，’noddedBilly，withsooverwhelmingacheeryconfidencethatBertram，lookingintoherglowingface，wasconsciousofacuriousthrobofexultation，almostasifalreadythevictorywerehis。
　　ButitwasnotalwaysofBertram’sbrokenarm，norevenofhisworkthattheytalked。Bertram，hangingoverthebaby’scribtoassurehimselfthattherosinessandthesparklewerereallygrowingmoreapparenteveryday，usedtowondersometimeshoweverintheworldhecouldhavebeenjealousofhisson。HesaidasmuchonedaytoBilly。
　　ToBillyitwasamostastoundingidea。