第2章
Aswiftvisionofabright-faced，cheery-voicedsoldier，feelinghiswayaroundadarkenedroomintheAmoryhome，leapedtoSidney’smindandoverwhelmedhimwithpityandself-reproach。
“DearMissFrances，willyouforgiveme？Ihadn’tquitegotontothething。Iunderstandthegamebetternow。“
“Now，Idon’twanttopoisonyourmind。Ishouldn’thavesaidthat——abouttheflatfeet，Imean。HegoestotheRectory，youknow。Iwanttobefair——“
“Pleasedon’tworry。Weknowallaboutthatsortathome，“saidSidney，touchingherhandforamoment。“Myword，thatwasahotone！Theflat-footedJohnnieisobviouslybewildered。Thelastgamewassheermassacre，eh，what？“
IfMaitlandwasnotinformtherewasnosignofitinhisworkonthecourt。Therewaslittleofcourtesy，lessoffunandnothingatallofmercyinhisplay。Fromfirsttolastandwithoutreprievehedrovehisgameruthlesslytoafinish。Soterrific，soresistlesswerehisattacks，socoldlyrelentlessthespiritheshowed，ignoringutterlyallattemptsatfriendlyexchangeofcourtesy，thattheunhappyandenragedStillwell，becomingutterlydemoralized，losthisnerve，losthiscontrolandhopelesslylosteverychanceheeverpossessedofwinningasinglegameofthesetwhichclosedwiththescoresixtonothing。
AttheconclusionofthesetStillwell，withnopretenseofexplanationorapology，leftthecourtstohisenemywhostoodwaitinghisappearanceinasilencesooppressivethatitseemedtorestlikeapalluponthesidelines。SooverwhelmingwasStillwell’sdefeat，sohumiliatinghisexhibitionoftotalcollapseofmoralethatthecompanyreceivedtheresultwithbutslightmanifestationoffeeling。Withoutanyshowofsympathyevenhisfriendsslippedaway，asifunwillingtoaddtohishumiliationbytheircommiseration。Ontheotherside，thecongratulationsofferedMaitlandwereforthemostpartlackinginthespontaneitythatissupposedtobepropertosuchasmashingvictory。Someofhisfriendsseemedtofeelasiftheyhadbeencalledupontowitnessanunworthything。Notso，however，witheitherFrancesAmoryorSidneyTempleton。BothgreetedCaptainJackwithenthusiasmandwarmth，openlyandfreelyrejoicinginhisvictory。
“ByJove，Maitland，thatwastremendous，appalling，eh，what？“
“Imeantittobeso，“saidMaitlandgrimly，“elseIshouldnothaveplayedwithhim。“
“Itwascomingtohim，“saidFrances。“Iamsimplycompletelydelighted。“
“CanIgiveyoualifthome，Frances？“saidMaitland。“Letusgetaway。You，too，Templeton，“headdedtoSidney，whowaslingeringneartheyoungladyinobviousunwillingnesstoleaveherside。
“Oh，thanks！Sureyouhaveroom？“hesaid。“Allright。Youknowmycousinleftmeinyourcare。“
“Oh，indeed！Well，comealongthen，sinceourheroissogood。
Really，Iamupliftedtoquiteanunusualheightofgloriousexultation。“
“Don’trubitin，Frank，“saidJackgloomily。“Imadeanassofmyself，Iknowquitewell。“
“Whatrot，Jack。Everyoneofyourfriendswastickledtodeath。“
“Adrien，forinstance，eh？“saidJackwithabitterlittlelaugh，takinghisplaceatthewheel。
“Oh，Adrien！“repliedFrances。“Well，youknowAdrien！Sheis——
justAdrien。“
Asheturnedintothestreettherewasasoundofrushingfeet。
“Hello，CaptainJack！Oh，CaptainJack！Waitforme！Youhaveroom，haven’tyou？“
Awhirlwindofflashinglegsandwindblownmassesofgold-redhair，whichrealiseditselfintoayounggirlofaboutsixteen，boredownonthecar。ItwasAdrien’syoungersister，Patricia，andatonceherprideandherterror。
“Why，Patsy，whereonearthdidyoucomefrom？Ofcourse！Getin！
Gladtohaveyou，oldchap。“
“Oh，CaptainJack，whatagame！Whatawonderfulgame！AndRuperthasbeenplayingallsummerandawfullywell！Andyouhavehardlyplayedagame！Iwasawfullypleased——“
“Wereyou？I’mnotsurethatIwas，“repliedCaptainJack。
“Well，youWEREsavage，youknow。Youlookedasifyouwereinafight。“
“DidI？Thatwasveryrottenofme，wasn’tit？“
“Oh，Idon’tknowexactly。Butitwasawonderfulgame。Ofcourse，onedoesn’tplaytennislikeafight，Isuppose。“
“No！Youarequiteright，Pat，“repliedCaptainJack。“Yousee，I’mafraidIlostmytemperabit，whichishorriblybadformI
know，and——well，Iwantedtofightratherthanplay，andofcourseonecouldn’tfightonthetenniscourtinthepresenceofalotofladies，yousee。“
“Well，I’mgladyoudidn’tfight，CaptainJack。Youhavehadenoughoffighting，haven’tyou？AndRupertisreallyverynice，youknow。Hehasawonderfulcarandheletsmedriveit，andhealwaysbringsaboxofchocolateseverytimehecomes。“
“Hemustbeperfectlylovely，“saidCaptainJack，withagrinather。
ThegirllaughedalaughofsuchinfectiousjollitythatCaptainJackwasforcedtojoinwithher。
“That’soneforyou，CaptainJack，“shecried。“IknowIamapigwherechocsareconcerned，andIdolovetodriveacar。But，really，Rupertisquitenice。Heissofunny。HemakesMammalaugh。Thoughhedoesteasemealot。“
CaptainJackdroveoninsilenceforsomemoments。
“Iwasgladtoseeyouplayingthoughto-day，CaptainJack。“
“Wherewereyou？Ididn’tseeyouanywhere。“
“Notlikely！“Sheglancedbehindherattheothersinthebackseat。Sheneednothavegiventhemathought，theyweretoodeeplyengrossedtoheedher。“DoyouknowwhereIwas？Inthecrutchofthebigelm——youknow！“
“Don’tI！“saidCaptainJack。“Asplendidseat，but——“
“Wouldn’tAdrienbeshocked？“saidthegirl，withadeliciouslymischievoustwinkleinhereye。“Or，atleast，shewouldpretendtobe。Adrienthinksshemusttrainmedownabit，youknow。ShesaysIhavemostawfulmanners。ShewantsMammatosendmeovertoEnglandtoherschool。ButIdon’twanttogo，youbet。Besides，Idon’tthinkDadcanafforditsotheycan’tsendme。Anyway，I
couldhavegoodmannersifIwantedto。IcouldactjustlikeAdrienifIwantedto——Imean，forawhile。Butthatwasarealgame。IfeltsorryforRupert，alittle。Yousee，hedidn’tseemtoknowwhattodoorhowtobegin。Andyoulookedsoterrible！
NowinthegamewithCousinSidneyyouweresodifferent，andyouplayedsoawfullywell，too，butdifferently。Somehow，itwasjustlikegentlemenplaying，youknow——“
“Youhavehitit，Patsy，——aregularbull！“saidCaptainJack。
“Oh，Idon’tmean——“beganthegirlinconfusion，rarewithher。
“Yes，youdo，Pat。Sticktoyourguns。“
“Well，Iwill。Thefirstgameeverybodylovedtowatch。Thesecondgame——somehowitmademewishRuperthadbeenaHun。I’dhaveloveditthen。“
“ByJove，Patsy，you’rerightonthetarget。You’vescoredagain。“
“Oh，I’mnotsayingjustwhatIwant——butIhopeyouknowwhatI
mean。“
“Yourmeaninghitsmerightintheeye。Andyouarequiteright。
Thetenniscourtisnoplaceforafight，eh？And，afterall，RupertStillwellisnoHun。“
“Butyouhaven’tbeenplayingthissummeratall，CaptainJack，“
saidthegirl，changingthesubject。“Whynot？“Thegirl’stonewasquitesevere。“Andyoudon’tdoalotofthingsyouusedtodo，andyoudon’tgotoplaces，andyouaredifferent。“Theblueeyesearnestlysearchedhisface。
“AmIdifferent？“heaskedslowly。“Well，everybodyisdifferent。
Andthen，youknow，Iambusy。Abusinessmanhashishoursandhemuststicktothem。“
“Oh，Idon’tbelieveyouabit。Youdon’tneedtobedownatthemillsallthetime。LookatRupert。Hedoesn’tneedtobeathisfather’soffice。“
“Apparentlynot。“
“Hegetsoffwheneverhewantsto。“
“Lookslikeit。“
“Andwhycan’tyou？“
“Well，yousee，IamnotRupert，“saidCaptainJack，grinningather。
“Nowyouarehorrible。Whydon’tyoudoasyouusedtodo？Youknowyoucouldifyouwantedto。“
“Yes，Isuppose，ifIwantedto，“saidCaptainJack，suddenlygrave。
“Youdon’twantto，“saidthegirl，quicktocatchhismood。
“Well，youknow，Patsydear，thingsaredifferent，andIsupposeI
amtoo。Idon’tcaremuchforalotofthings。“
“Youjustlookasifyoudidn’tcareforanythingoranybodysometimes，CaptainJack，“saidPatriciaquietly。Thenafterafewmomentssheburstforth:“Oh，don’tyourememberyourhockeyteam？
Oh！oh！oh！Iusedtositandjustholdmyheartfromjumping。Itnearlyusedtochokemewhenyouwouldteardowntheicewiththepuck。“
“Thatwaslongago，Patdear。IguessIwas——ah——veryyoungthen，eh？“
“Yes，Iknow，“noddedthegirl。“Ifeelthesameway——Iwasjustakidthen。“
“Ah，yes，“saidCaptainJack，withneverasmile。“Youwerejust——
let’ssee——twelve，wasit？“
“Yes，twelve。AndIfeltjustakid。“
“Andnow？“CaptainJack’svoicewasquitegrave。
“Now？Well，Iamnotexactlyakid。Atleast，notthesamekindofkid。And，asyousay，alotofthingsaredifferent。IthinkI
knowhowyoufeel。Iwaslikethat，too——after——after——Herbert——“
Thegirlpaused，withherlipsquivering。“Itwasalldifferent——
sodifferent。Everythingweusedtodo，Ididn’tfeellikedoing。
AndIsupposethat’sthewaywithyou，CaptainJack，withAndy——andthenyourMother，too。“Sheleanedclosetohimandputherhandtimidlyonhisarm。
CaptainJack，sittingupverystraightandlookingverygrave，feltthethrillofthetimidtouchrunthroughhisveryheart。Arushofwarm，tenderemotionsuchashehadnotallowedhimselfformanymonthssuddenlysurprisedhim，fillinghiseyesandchokinghisthroat。Sincehisreturnfromthewarhehadwithoutknowledgebeenyearningforjustsuchanunderstandingtouchasthischildwithherwomanlyinstincthadgivenhim。Hewithdrewonehandfromthewheelandtookthewarmclingingfingerstightinhisandwaitedinsilencetillhewassureofhimself。Hedrovesomeblocksbeforehewasquitemasterofhisvoice。Then，releasingthefingers，heturnedhisfacetowardthegirl。
“Youarearealpal，aren’tyou，Patsyoldgirl？“hesaidwithaverybrightsmileather。
“Iwanttobe！Oh，Iwouldlovetobe！“shesaid，withaswiftintakeofbreath。“Andafterawhileyouwillbejustasyouwerebeforeyouwentaway。“
“Hardly，Ifear，Patsy。“
“Well，notthesame，butdifferentfromwhatyouarenow。No，I
don’tmeanthatabit，CaptainJack。Butperhapsyouknow——Idowanttoseeyouontheiceagain。Oh，itwouldbewonderful！Ofcourse，theoldteamwouldn’tbethere——HerbertandPhilandAndy。
Why！Youaretheonlyoneleft！AndRupert。“Sheaddedthenamedoubtfully。“ItWOULDbedifferent！oh，sodifferent！Oh！Idon’twonderyoudon’tcare，CaptainJack。Iwon’twonder——“Therewasalittlechokeintheyoungvoice。“Iseeitnow——“
“Ithinkyouunderstand，Patsy，andyouarealittlebrick，“saidCaptainJackinalow，hurriedtone。“AndIamgoingtotry。
Anyway，whateverhappens，wewillbepals。“
Thegirlcaughthisarmtightinherclaspedhandsandinalowvoiceshesaid，“Alwaysandalways，CaptainJack，andevermore。“
AndtilltheydrewupattheRectorydoornomorewassaid。
Maitlanddrovehomewardthroughthemellowautumneveningwithawarmer，kindlierglowinhisheartthanhehadknownthroughallthedrearyweeksthathadfollowedhisreturnfromthewar。Forthewarhadwroughtdesolationforhiminahomeoncerichinthethingsthatmakelifeworthwhile，bytakingfromithismother，whoseraresoulqualitieshadwonandheldthroughherlifethelove，thepassionate，adoringloveofhersons，andhistwinbrother，thecomrade，chum，friendofallhisdays，withwhoselifehisownhadgrownintoacompleteandidealunity，deprivedofwhomhislifewasleftlikeabodyfromwhoserawandquiveringfleshone-halfhadbeentornaway。
Thewarhadlefthislifeotherwisebruisedandmaimedinwaysknownonlytohimself。