The Argosy — page 46: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

My Saturdays. 33 writers now, if our leaders had accepted failure? A man who accepts failure is one who deserves to fail.” I was afraid Rhoda would be dreadfully hurt, but she was not applying the hard words to her husband at all. Her eyes brightened, and her cheeks flushed ; she was simply inspirited by the stimulus, as by a rough splash of cold water. “You are quite right, Mr. Rintoul,” she exclaimed; “it is base to despair. If there were anything I could do, I would do it, except worry my husband any more. But you see there is not even any definite proposal to put before him.” ‘And I cannot make one in the dark. If I could get a sight of the manuscript: could you manage that?” Rhoda shook her head. “There is not a rough copy of any part of it? Even one chapter would be a specimen from which I could form some idea of the rest.” “‘ Ves,” cried Rhoda, ‘‘I kept all the rough notes, but you could never read them: some of them are in Edwin’s worst scrawl, and some in mine, and corrected and altered over and over again by both of us. I could copy them for you, though. Oh, would not that do?” She clasped her hands excitedly. Archibald was scarcely less excited. “Of course it would do; the problem 1s solved. But don’t begin at the beginning, and toil onto the end. Make out a list of the subjects of the different chapters, and I will tell you which to copy. If you send it to my aunt as soon as it is ready, she will forward it to me, and so no time will be lost. Or you had better send it direct ; here is my card. I1 shall be down again next Saturday, and by that time we shall begin to see where we are.” “Thank you, thank you a thousand times. I felt as if a door had opened before me yesterday, and then it shut so closely again ; it was worse than if it had never opened. You men don’t know how dreadful it is to sit still and watch other people ot doing things, and not be able to lift a finger.” Rhoda had spoken more of her heart in those last words than she had at all intended, and took leave hurriedly, rather frightened at herself. Archibald remarked, meditatively : ‘““That’s a sweet little woman, but I am an everlasting fool. If the book turns out rubbish, what a mess I have got into !” IIT, I saw and heard nothing more of the Lingards until Wednesday, when Rhoda came in at afternoon tea-time, looking tired, but bright. | ‘Sit down, dear,” I said, “‘and drink a cup of tea before you begin to tell me how you come to have such pale cheeks.” VOL. XXXIV. D EORNIClOOKS (GO An