"'But a lover and a husband are not the same,' he contended; 'the
situation is entirely different. You run after somebody you want to
overtake; but when you have caught him up, you settle down quietly
and walk beside him; you don't continue shouting and waving your
handkerchief after you have gained him.'

"Their mutual friend presented the problem differently."

"'You must hold what you have won,' she said, 'or it will slip away
from you. By a certain course of conduct and behaviour you gained a
sweet girl's regard; show yourself other than you were, how can you
expect her to think the same of you?'

"'You mean,' he inquired, 'that I should talk and act as her husband
exactly as I did when her lover?'

"'Precisely,' said the friend 'why not?'

"'It seems to me a mistake,' he grumbled.

"'Try it and see,' said the friend.

"'All right,' he said, 'I will.' And he went straight home and set
to work."

"Was it too late," asked the Old Maid, "or did they come together
again?"

"For the next mouth," I answered, "they were together twenty-four