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CHAPTERI
Thoughtherewasnothingvisiblygracefulabout
MichaelComber,heapparentlyhadtheartofgiving
gracefully.HehadalreadytoldhiscousinFrancis,who
satonthearmofthesofabyhistable,thattherewas
noearthlyexcuseforhishavingrunintodebt;butnow
whenthemomentcameforgiving,hewrotethe
chequequicklyandeagerly,asifthoroughlyenjoying
it,andpasseditovertohimwithasmilethatwas
extraordinarilypleasant.
Thereyouare,then,Francis,”hesaid;andItake
itfromyouthatthatwillputyouperfectlysquare
again.You’vegottowritetome,remember,intwo
days’time,sayingthatyouhavepaidthosebills.And
fortherest,I’mdelightedthatyoutoldmeaboutit.
Infact,Ishouldhavebeenratherhurtifyouhadn’t.”
Francisapparentlyhadtheartofaccepting
gracefully,whichismoredifficultthanthefeatwhich
Michaelhadsosuccessfullyaccomplished.
Mike,you’reabrick,”hesaid.Butthenyoualways
areabrick.Thanksawfully.”
Michaelgotup,andshuffledratherthanwalked
acrosstheroomtothebellbythefireplace.Aslong
ashewassittingdownhisbigarmsandbroad
shouldersgavetheimpressionofstrength,andyou
wouldhaveexpectedtofindwhenhegotupthat
hewastallandlargelymade.Butwhenherosethe
extremeshortnessofhislegsmanifesteditself,and
heappearedalmostdeformed.Hishandshungnearly
tohisknees;hewasheavy,short,lumpish.
Butit’smoreblessedtogivethantoreceive,
Francis,”hesaid.Ihavethebestofyouthere.”
Well,it’sprettyblessedtoreceivewhenyouare
inatightplace,asIwas,”hesaid,laughing.And
Iamsograteful.”
Yes,Iknowyouare.Andit’sthatwhichmakes
mefeelrathercheap,becauseIdon’tmisswhatI’ve
givenyou.Butthat’sdistinctlynotareasonforyour
