knees at my side,
and her mouth touched my cheek. "I knew it wasn't the worst, Ben,--I
knew you'd rather give up the money than give up me. Ah, can't you
see--can't you see, that the worst can't come to us while we are still
together?"

Leaning over her, I gathered her to me with a hunger for comfort,
kissing her eyes, her mouth, her throat, and the loosened braid on her
bosom.

"Oh, you witch, you've almost made me happy!" I said.

"I am happy, Ben."

"Happy? The horses must go, and the carriage and the furniture even.
We'll have to move into some cheap place. I'll get a position of some
kind with the railroad, and then we'll have to scrimp and save for an
eternity, until we pay off this damned burden of debt."

She laughed softly, her mouth at my ear. "I'm happy, Ben."

"We shan't be able to keep servants. You'll have to wear old clothes,
and I'll go so shabby that you'll be ashamed of me. We'll forget what a
bottle of wine looks like, and if we were ever to see a decent dinner,
we shouldn't recognise it."

Again she laughed, "I'm still happy, Ben."

"We'll live in some God-forsaken, out-of-the-way little hole, and never
even dare ask a person in to a meal for fear there wouldn't be enough
potatoes to go around. It will be a daily uphill grind until I've
managed to pay off honestly every cent I owe."

Her arms tightened about my neck, "Oh, Ben, I'm so happy."

"Then you are a perfectly abandoned creature," I returned, lifting her
from the rug until she nestled against my heart. "I've given up trying
to make you as miserable as a self-respecting female ought to be. If you
won't be proper and wretched, I can't help it, for I've done my best.
And the most ridiculous part of it is, darling, that I actually believe
I'm happy, too!"

She laughed like a child between her kisses. "Then, you see, it isn't
really the thing, but the way you take it that matters."

"I'm not sure about the logic of that--but I'm inclined to think just
now that the only thing I've ever taken is you."

"If you'll try to remember that, you'll be always happy."

"But I must remember also that I've brought you to poverty--I, who had
only money to give you."

"Do you dare to tell me to my face that I married you for money?"

"You couldn't very well have married me without it."

"I don't know about the 'very well,' but I know that I'd have done it."

"Do you think that, Sally?"

Turning in my arms, she lifted her head, and looked