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Show S.lllc:a 1U~c:t Gllll lRose anll Stlller But Allison had gone oo, happily, along the chosen path, with never a question or doubt of his ultimate success. Just now, the Colonel was deeply grateful to Francesca, for the years abroad had been pleasant ones, and would have been wholly impossible had Allison been working in an office. With a sigh, he began to pace back and forth through the hall, his hands in his pockets, and his grey head bowed. Before him was his own portrait, in uniform, his hand upon his sword. The sword itself, hanging in a corner of the hall, was dull and lifeless now. He had a curious sense that his work was done. The tiny stream, rising from some cool pool among the mountains, is not unlike man's own beginning, for, at ftrst, it gives no hint of its boundless possibilities. Grown to a river, taking to itself the water from a thousand secret channels, it leaps down the mountain, heedless of rocky barriers, with all the joy of lusty youth. The river itself portrays humanity precisely, wtth tts tortuous windings, its accumulation of driftwood, its unsuspected depths, and its crystalline shallows, singing in the Summer sun. Barriers may be built across its path, but they bnng ~nly power, as the conquering of an obstacle 1s always sure to do. Sometimes when the rocks and stone-clad hills loom large ahead, and eternity itself would be needed to carve a J'atber anll Son passage, there is an easy way around. The discovery of it makes the river sing with gladness and turns the murmurous deeps to living water, bright with ripples and foam. Ultimately, too, in spite of rocks and driftwood, of endless seeking for a path, of tempestuous nights and days of ice and snow, man and the river reach the eternal sea, to be merged forever with the Everlasting. Upstairs the music ceased. A door opened, then closed, and presently Allison came down, rubbing his hands. "l t 's a little cool up there," he said, "and yet, by the calendar, it's Spring. l wish this climate could be averaged up." "Even then, we wouldn't be satisfied," the Colonel returned. "Who wants all his days to be alike?" "Nobody. Still, it's a bit trying to freeze your nose one day and be obliged to keep all the windows open the next." There was a long pause. The Colonel tapped his fingers restlessly upon the library table. Allison went over to the open fire and stood with his back to it, clasping his hands behind him. "What have you been doing all the morning, Dad ? '' "Nothing. Just sitting here, thinking." ''Pretty hopeless occupation unless you have something in particular to think about." 91 Just 'ltbfnJIIng |