are of her and fight
for her when he's gone, her old father won't stand in the way. Lucina
always did have what she wanted, and she always shall."

Chapter XXVI

For three weeks after that Jerome never saw Lucina at all. He avoided
the sight of her in every way in his power. He went to Dale and
returned after dark; he stayed away from meeting. He also strove hard
to drive, even the thought of her, from his mind. He got out his
algebra and Latin books again; every minute during which he was not
at work, and even during his work, he tried to keep his mind so full
that Lucina's image could not enter. But sometimes he had a
despairing feeling, that her image was so incorporated with his very
soul, that he might as well strive to drive away a part of himself.

He had no longer any jealousy of Lawrence Prescott. One day Lawrence
had come to the shop when he was at work, and asked to speak to him a
moment outside. He told him how matters stood between himself and
Elmira. "I like your sister," Lawrence had said, soberly and
manfully. "I don't see my way clear to marrying her yet, and I told
her so. I want you to understand it and know just what I mean. I've
got my way to make first. I don't suppose--I can count on much
encouragement from father in this. You know it's no disparagement to
Elmira, Jerome. You know father."

"Does your father know about it?" asked Jerome.

"I told mother," Lawrence answered, "and she advised me to say
nothing about it to father yet. Mother thought I had better go on and
study medicine, and get ready to practice, and perhaps then father
might think better of it. She says we are both young enough to wait
two or three years."

Jerome, in his leather apron, with his grimy hands, and face even,
darkened with the tan of the leather, looked half suspiciously and
bitterly at this other young man in his fine cloth and linen, with
his white hands that had never done a day's labor. "You know what you
are about?" he said, almost roughly. "You know what you are, you know
what she is, and what we all are. You know you can't separate her
from anything."

"I don't want to," cried Lawrence, with a great blush of fervor.
"I'll be honest with you, Jerome. I didn't know what to do at first.
I knew how much I thought of your sister, and I hoped she thought
something of me, but I knew how father would feel, and I was
dependent on him. I knew there was no sense in my marrying Elmira, or
any other girl,