I've had a rotten life all through, and it
hasn't made me very pliable." He paused, looking at her under his black
brows as if debating with himself as to how far he would take her into
his confidence. "I've been cheated of the best from the very outset," he
said, "cheated and thwarted at every turn. That sort of treatment may
suit some people, but it hasn't made an archangel of me." He fell to
pacing up and down the room, staring moodily at the floor, his hands
behind him. "Life is such an infernal gamble at the best," he said; "but
I never had a chance. It's been one damn thing after another. I've
tripped at every hurdle. I suppose you never came a cropper in your
life--don't know what it means."
"I think I do know what it means," Juliet said slowly. "I've looked on,
you know. I've seen--a good many things."
"Just as you're looking on now, eh?" said the squire, grimly smiling.
"Well, you profit by my experience--if you can! And if love ever comes
your way, hang on to it, hang on to it for all you're worth, even if you
drop everything else to do it! It's the gift of the gods, my dear, and if
you throw it away once it'll never come your way again.
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