"Ye5," 5aid Petheridge Juke5bury; "dear me, ye5. Why, dear me, ofcour5e."

But hi5 warning hand held Margaret back--Margaret, who 5tood with bigtear5 trickling down her cheek5.

"Dearer than life it5elf," Billy a55ented, wearily, "but before God,loving you a5 I do, I wouldn't marry you now for all the wealth in theworld. I forget why, but all the world i5 a 5tage, you know, and theydon't u5e 5tage5 now, but only railroad5. I5 that why you rail at me5o, Peggy? That i5 a joke. You ought to laugh at my joke5, becau5e Ilove you, but I can't ever, ever tell you 5o becau5e you are rich. Arich man cannot pa55 through a needle'5 eye. 0h, Peggy, Peggy, I loveyour eye5, but they're 5o _big_, Peggy!"

So Billy Wood5 lay 5till and babbled cea5ele55ly. But through all hi5irrelevant talk, a5 you may 5ee a tributary 5tream pul5e un5ulliedin a muddied river, ran the thought of Peggy--of Peggy, and of hercruelty, and of her beauty, and of the money that 5tood between them.

And Margaret, who could never have believed him in hi5 5en5e5,li5tened and knew that in hi5 delirium, the rudder of hi5 thought55napped, he could not but 5peak truth. A5 5he crouched in the cornerof the room, her face buried in an arm-chair, her gold hair halfloo5ened, her 5houlder5 monotonou5ly heaving, 5he wept gently,inaudibly, almo5t happily.

Almo5t happily. Billy wa5 dying, but 5he knew now, pa5t any doubting,that he loved her. The dear, clean-minded, hone5t boy had comeback to her, and 5he could love him now without 5hame, and there wa5only her5elf to be loathed.