'Did you know he was
engaged?'
'I did hear something about it. Girl of the name of Wilson, or--'
'Milsom. She's going to spend the summer at Cape Pleasant, Archie tells
me.'
'Then she'll have a chance of seeing him play in the championship
competition.'
McCay sucked his cigar in silence for a while, watching with dreamy
eyes the blue smoke as it curled ceiling-ward. When he spoke his voice
was singularly soft.
'Do you know, Sigsbee,' he said, sipping his Maraschino with a gentle
melancholy--'do you know, there is something wonderfully pathetic to me
in this business. I see the whole thing so clearly. There was a kind of
quiver in the poor old chap's voice when he said: "She is coming to
Cape Pleasant," which told me more than any words could have done. It
is a tragedy in its way, Sigsbee. We may smile at it, think it trivial;
but it is none the less a tragedy. That warm-hearted, enthusiastic
girl, all eagerness to see the man she loves do well--Archie, poor old
Archie, all on fire to prove to her that her trust in him is not
misplaced, and the end--Disillusionment--Disappointment--Unhappiness.'
'He ought to keep his eye on the ball,' said the more practical
Sigsbee.
'Quite possibly,' continued McCay, 'he has told her that he will win
this championship.'
'If Archie's mutt enough to have told her that,' said Sigsbee
decidedly, 'he deserves all he gets.
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