discuss, no matter how short the parting had been, were hours of
exquisite delight. And as Julia's beauty and charm were praised on all
sides, Jim beamed like a proud boy. As for Julia, every day brought to
her notice something new to admire in this wonderful lover of hers: his
scowl as he fixed his engine, the smile that always met hers, the
instant soberness and attention with which he answered any question as
to his work from the older doctor--all this was delightful to her. And
when he took her to luncheon, his careless big fingers on the ready gold
pieces and his easy nod to the waiter were not lost upon Julia. She had
loved him for himself, but it was additionally endearing to learn that
other people loved him, too, to be stopped by elderly women who smiled
and praised him, to have young people affectionately interested in his
plans.

"You know you are nothing but a small boy, Jim," Julia said one day,
"just a sweet, happy kid! You were a spoiled and pitied little boy, with
your big eyes and your velvet suits and your patent leathers; you loved
every one--every one loved you; you had your allowance, you were born to
be a surgeon, and chance made your guardian a doctor--"

"I fell down on my exams," Jim submitted meekly. "And there was a fellow
at college who said I bored him!"

"Oh, dearest," Julia said, beginning to laugh at his rueful face, "and
are those the worst things that ever happened to you?"

"About," said Jim, enjoying the consolatory little kiss she gave him.

"And your youngness baffles me," pursued Julia thoughtfully. "You're ten
years older than I am, you've been able to do a thousand things I never
did, you're a rising young surgeon, and yet--and yet sometimes there's a
sort of level--level isn't the word!--a sort of _positive_ youth about you
that makes me feel eighty! It's just as if you had been born everything
you are, ready made! When you have to straighten a child's hip, you push
your hair back like a nice little kid, and say to yourself, 'Sure--I
can do that!' You seem as pleased and surprised as any one else when
everything comes out right!"

"Well, gosh! I never can put on any lugs!" said James, rumpling his hair
in penitential enjoyment.

"I have to learn things so _hard_," Julia mused, "they dig down right into
the very soul of me--"

"You're implying that I'm shallow," said the doctor sternly. "You think
I'm a pampered child of luxury, but I'm not! I just think I'm a pretty
or