"Best I can do," he muttered, seeming about to depart, yet
lingering. "I figure it out a good deal like this," he said. "I
didn't KNOW my job was any strain, and I managed all right, but from
what Gur--from what I hear, I was just up to the limit of my nerves
from overwork, and the--the trouble at home was the extra strain
that's fixed me the way I am. I tried to brace, so I could stand
the work and the trouble too, on whiskey--and that put the finish
to me! I--I'm not hitting it as hard as I was for a while, and I
reckon pretty soon, if I can get to feeling a little more energy, I
better try to quit entirely--I don't know. I'm all in--and the doctor
says so. I thought I was running along fine up to a few months ago,
but all the time I was ready to bust, and didn't know it. Now, then,
I don't want you to blame Sibyl, and if I were you I wouldn't speak
of her as 'that woman,' because she's your daughter-in-law and going
to stay that way. She didn't do anything wicked. It was a shock to
me, and I don't deny it, to find what she had done--encouraging that
fellow to hang around her after he began trying to flirt with her,
and losing her head over him the way she did.
Pages:
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309