and please her.

Mary had fully recovered, and appeared as strong as she ever had been,
but there was a noticeable change in her. She talked and laughed with a
gayety that seemed forced, and in the midst of it her tongue turned
bitter, and Jimmy and Dannie fled before it.

The gray hairs multiplied on Dannie's head with rapidity. He had gone
to the doctor, and to Mary's sister, and learned nothing more than the
nurse could tell him. Dannie was willing to undertake anything in the
world for Mary, but just how to furnish the "vital spark," to an unborn
babe, was too big a problem for him. And Jimmy Malone was growing to be
another. Heretofore, Dannie had borne the brunt of the work, and all of
the worry. He had let Jimmy feel that his was the guiding hand. Jimmy's
plans were followed whenever it was possible, and when it was not,
Dannie started Jimmy's way, and gradually worked around to his own.
But, there never had been a time between them, when things really came
to a crisis, and Dannie took the lead, and said matters must go a
certain way, that Jimmy had not acceded. In reality, Dannie always had
been master.

Now he was not. Where he lost control he did not know. He had tried
several times to return to the subject of how to bring back happiness
to Mary, and Jimmy immediately developed symptoms of another attack of
heart disease, a tendency to start for town, or openly defied him by
walking away. Yet, Jimmy stuck to him closer than he ever had, and
absolutely refused to go anywhere, or to do the smallest piece of work
alone. Sometimes he grew sullen and morose when he was not drinking,
and that was very unlike the gay Jimmy. Sometimes he grew wildly
hilarious, as if he were bound to make such a racket that he could hear
no sound save his own voice. So long as he stayed at home, helped with
the work, and made an effort to please Mary, Dannie hoped for the best,
but his hopes never grew so bright that they shut out an awful fear
that was beginning to loom in the future. But he tried in every way to
encourage Jimmy, and help him in the struggle he did not understand, so
when he saw that Jimmy was disappointed about the fishing, he suggested
that he should go alone.

"I guess not!" said Jimmy. "I'd rather go to confission than to go
alone. What's the fun of fishin' alone? All the fun there is to fishin'
is to watch the other fellow's eyes when you pull in a big one, and try
to hide yours from him when he gets it. I gu