Yet for long over
three years all had gone well. There was another year. Would he last
out the course?
At first the thought of the great stake for which she was playing in
terms of currency, with the head of Jim's father on every note, was much
with her. The amazing nature of the offer of five millions of dollars
stimulated her imagination, roused her; gold coins are counters in the
game of success, signs and tokens. Money alone could not have lured her;
but rather what it represented--power, width of action, freedom to help
when the heart prompted, machinery for carrying out large plans, ability
to surround with advantage those whom we love. So, at first, while yet
the memories of Washington were much with her, the appeal of the millions
was strong. The gallant nature of the contest and the great stake braced
her; she felt the blood quicken in her pulse.
But, all through, the other thing really mastered her: the fixed idea
that Jim must be saved. As it deepened, the other life that she had
lived became like the sports in which we shared when children, full of
vivacious memory, shining with impulse and the stir of life, but not to
be repeated--days and deeds outgrown.
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