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Allen, James Lane, 1849-1925

"The Choir Invisible"

"
She glanced up at him with a mournful smile, and taking the knitting which
had lain forgotten in her lap leaned over again and measured the stitches
upon his wrist.
"When do you start?" she asked, seeing a terrible trouble gathering in his
face and resolved to draw his thoughts to other things.
"Next week."
The knitting fell again.
"And you have allowed all this time to go by without coming to see us! You
are to come everyday till you go: promise!"
He had been repeating that he would not trust himself to come at all again,
except to say good-bye.
"I can't promise that."
"But we want you so much! The major wants you, I want you more than the
major. Why should meeting Amy be so hard? Remember how long it will be
before you get back. When will you be back?"
He was thinking it were better never.
"It is uncertain," he said.
"I shall begin to look for you as soon as you are gone. I can hear your
horse's feet now, rustling in the leaves of October. But what will become of
me till then? Ah, you don't begin to realize how much you are to me!"
"Oh!"
He stretched his arms out into vacancy and folded them again quickly.


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