I have missed at the first trial, and that is no reason why I should
not miss at the second, too."
"You are disappointed and unhappy now," said Joe, gently. "It is very
natural indeed. Anybody would feel like that. But you must not believe in
yourself any less than your friends believe in you."
"I fancy my friends do not all think alike," answered John. "But I am
grateful to you for what you say."
He was indeed grateful, and the soothing sound of her gentle voice was the
best refreshment for his troubled spirit. He thought for a moment how
brave a man could be with such a woman by his side; and the thought
pleased him, the more because he knew that it could not be realized. They
sat in silence for a while, contented to be together, and in sympathy. But
before long the anxiety for the future and the sense of his peculiar
position came over John again.
"Do you know," he said, "there are times when I regret it all very much? I
never told any one so before--perhaps I was never so sure of it as I have
been since this affair.
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