THE KISS 189 



in the air to-day which raised to an acute stage the 

 chronic disease he had been suffering from for 

 months. He had seen a lot of his companion 

 during the last ten weeks or so, but he had played 

 the game like a man. Not a word had he said of 

 his mortal malady to the author of it. But there 

 are hmits to endurance. This would not go on 

 any longer, yet how was he to end it? French 

 had said nothing since that interview in the Shel- 

 bourne Hotel, and a subject like that, once dropped 

 between two men, is horribly difficult to take up 

 again. What did French propose to do? Was 

 he waiting till Garryowen won or lost the City and 

 Suburban before he " asked " Miss Grimshaw? 

 No time hmit had been imposed. " I'm giving you 

 a fair field and no favour," JVIr French had said. 

 " If she hkes you better than me, well and good. 

 If she Hkes me better than you, all the better for 

 me." That was all very well, but which did she like 

 best? This question was now calHng imperatively 

 for an answer. Miss Grimshaw alone could answer 

 it, but who was to ask her? No third person 

 could put the proposition before her. Only one 

 of the two rivals could do so, and to do so would 

 be to propose, and to propose would be dishonest. 



Of course, a seemingly easy solution of the 

 difficulty would be to go to French and say, 

 " See here, I canS} stand this any longer. I'm 

 so much in love with this girl I must speak. 

 What do you propose to do? " 



Seemingly easy, yet most immensely difficult. 



