第31章

Octoberprovedtobeunusuallymild，andaboutthemiddleofthemonth，Bertram，aftermuchunselfishurgingonthepartofBilly，wenttoafriend’scampintheAdirondacksforaweek’sstay。Hecamebackwithanangry，lugubriousface——andabrokenarm。

Oh，Bertram!Andyourrightone，too——

thesameoneyoubrokebefore!’mournedBilly，tearfully。

Ofcourse，’retortedBertram，tryinginvaintogiveanairofjauntinesstohisreply。Didn’twanttobetoochangeable，youknow!’

Buthowdidyoudoit，dear？’

Fellintoasillylittleholecoveredwithunderbrush。But——oh，Billy，what’stheuse？I

didit，andIcan’tundoit——more’sthepity!’

Ofcourseyoucan’t，youpoorboy，’

sympathizedBilly；andyousha’n’tbetormentedwithquestions。We’lljustbethankful’twasnoworse。

Youcan’tpaintforawhile，ofcourse；butwewon’tmindthat。It’lljustgiveBabyandmeachancetohaveyoualltoourselvesforatime，andwe’lllovethat!’

Yes，ofcourse，’sighedBertram，soabstractedlythatBillybridledwithprettyresentment。

Well，Ilikeyourenthusiasm，sir，’shefrowned。

I’mafraidyoudon’tappreciatetheblessingsyoudohave，youngman!DidyourealizewhatIsaid？Iremarkedthatyoucouldbewith_Baby_

and_me_，’sheemphasized。

Bertramlaughed，andgavehiswifeanaffectionatekiss。

IndeedIdoappreciatemyblessings，dear——

whenthoseblessingsaresuchtreasuresasyouandBaby，but——’Onlyhisdolefuleyesfixedonhisinjuredarmfinishedhissentence。

Iknow，dear，ofcourse，andIunderstand，’

murmuredBilly，alltendernessatonce。

TheywerenoteasyforBertram——thosefollowingdays。Onceagainhewasobligedtoacceptthelittleintimatepersonalservicesthathesodisliked。Onceagainhecoulddonothingbutread，orwanderdisconsolatelyintohisstudioandgazeathishalf-finishedFaceofaGirl。’

Occasionally，itistrue，drivennearlytodesperationbythehauntingvisioninhismind’seye，hepickedupabrushandattemptedtomakehislefthandservehiswill；butabarehalf-dozenirritating，ineffectualstrokeswereusuallyenoughtomakehimthrowdownhisbrushindisgust。

Henevercoulddoanythingwithhislefthand，hetoldhimselfdejectedly。

Manyofhishours，ofcourse，hespentwithBillyandhisson，andtheywerehappyhours，too；buttheyalwayscametoberestlessonesbeforethedaywashalfover。Billywasalwaysdevotionitselftohim——whenshewasnotattendingtothebaby；hehadnofaulttofindwithBilly。Andthebabywasdelightful——hecouldfindnofaultwiththebaby。Butthebaby_was_

fretful——hewasteething，Billysaid——andheneededagreatdealofattention；so，naturally，Bertramdriftedoutofthenursery，afteratime，andwentdownintohisstudio，wherewerehisdear，emptypalette，hisorderlybrushes，andhistantalizingFaceofaGirl。’Fromthestudio，generally，Bertramwentoutontothestreet。

Sometimeshedroppedintoafellow-artist’sstudio。Sometimeshestrolledintoacluborcafwhereheknewhewouldbelikelytofindsomefriendwhowouldhelphimwhileawayatiresomehour。Bertram’sfriendsquiteviedwitheachotherinrenderingthissortofaid，somuchso，indeed，that——naturally，perhaps——Bertramcametocallontheirservicesmoreandmorefrequently。

Particularlywasthisthecasewhen，afterthesplintswereremoved，Bertramfound，asthedayspassed，thathisarmwasnotimprovingasitshouldimprove。Thisnotonlydisappointedandannoyedhim，butworriedhim。Herememberedsundrydisquietingwarningsgivenbythephysicianatthetimeoftheformerbreak——warningsconcerningtheprobableseriousnessofarepetitionoftheinjury。ToBilly，ofcourse，Bertramsaidnothingofallthis；butjustbeforeChristmashewenttoseeanotedspecialist。

Anhourlater，almostinfrontofthelearnedsurgeon’sdoor，BertrammetBobSeaver。

GreatScott，Bert

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