He
addressed the bottle, and Dannie, as the Sovereign Alchemist by
turns, and "transmuted the leaden metal of life into pure gold" of
a glorious drunk, until his craving was satisfied. Then he came
back to work and reason one morning, and by the time Mary was about
enough to notice him, he was Jimmy at his level best, and doing
more than he had in years to try to interest and please her.
Mary had fully recovered, and appeared as strong as she ever had
been, but there was a noticeable change in her. She talked and
laughed with a gayety that seemed forced, and in the midst of it
her tongue turned bitter, and Jimmy and Dannie fled before it.
The gray hairs multiplied on Dannie's head with rapidity. He had
gone to the doctor, and to Mary's sister, and learned nothing more
than the nurse could tell him. Dannie was willing to undertake
anything in the world for Mary, but just how to furnish the "vital
spark," to an unborn babe, was too big a problem for him. And Jimmy
Malone was growing to be another. Heretofore, Dannie had borne the
brunt of the work, and all of the worry. He had let Jimmy feel that
his was the guiding hand. Jimmy's plans were followed whenever it
was possible, and when it was not, Dannie started Jimmy's way, and
gradually worked around to his own. But, there never had been a
time between them, when things really came to a crisis, and Dannie
took the lead, and said matters must go a certain way, that Jimmy
had not acceded. In reality, Dannie always had been master.
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