Caught In The Net | Page 4

and more contemptuous. "And I tell you that
something must be done at once, some means discovered, I care not
what, to relieve us from our present miserable state."
Paul tore off his overcoat, and held it toward her.
"Take it, and pawn it," exclaimed he; but the girl made no move.
"Is that all that you have to propose?" asked she, in the same glacial
tone.
"They will lend you three francs upon it, and with that we can get bread
and fuel."
"And after that is gone?"
"After that--oh, we will think of our next step, and shall have time to hit
upon some plan. Time, a little time, is all that I require, Rose, to break
asunder the bonds which seem to fetter me. Some day success must
crown my efforts; and with success, Rose, dear, will come affluence,
but in the meantime we must learn to wait."
"And where are the means to enable us to wait?"
"No matter; they will come. Only do what I tell you, and who can say
what to-morrow----"
Paul was still too much absorbed in his own thoughts to notice the
expression upon the young girl's face; for had he done so, he would at

once have perceived that she was not in the humor to permit the matter
to be shelved in this manner.
"To-morrow!" she broke in sarcastically. "To-morrow,--always the
same pitiful cry. For months past we seem to have lived upon the word.
Look you here, Paul, you are no longer a child, and ought to be able to
look things straight in the face. What can I get on that threadbare coat
of yours? Perhaps three francs at the outside. How many days will that
last us? We will say three. And then, what then? Besides, can you not
understand that your dress is too shabby for you to make an impression
on the people you go to see? Well-dressed applicants only have
attention, and to obtain money, you must appear not to need it; and,
pray, what will people think of you if you have no overcoat? Without
one you will look ridiculous, and can hardly venture into the streets."
"Hush!" cried Paul, "for pity's sake, hush! for your words only prove to
me more plainly that you are like the rest of the world, and that want of
success is a pernicious crime in your eyes. You once had confidence in
me, and then you spoke in a very different strain."
"Once indeed! but then I did not know--"
"No, Rose, it was not what you were then ignorant of; but it was that in
those days you loved me."
"Great heavens! I ask you, have I left one stone unturned? Have I not
gone from publisher to publisher to sell those songs of my own
composing--those songs that you sing so well? I have endeavored to get
pupils. What fresh efforts can I try? What would /you/ do, were you in
my place? Tell me, I beg you."
And as Paul spoke, he grew more and more excited, while Rose still
maintained her manner of exasperating coolness.
"I know not," she replied, after a brief pause; "but if I were a man, I do
not think I would permit the woman, for whom I pretended that I had
the most sincere affection, to be in want of the actual necessities of life.
I would strain every effort to obtain them."

"I have no trade; I am no mechanic," broke in Paul passionately.
"Then I would learn one. Pray how much does a man earn who climbs
the ladder with a bricklayer's hod upon his shoulders? It may be hard
work, I know, but surely the business is not difficult to learn. You have,
or say you have, great musical talents. I say nothing about them; but
had I any vocal powers and if there was not a morsel to eat in the house,
I would go and sing in the taverns or even in the public streets, and
would earn money, and care little for the means by which I made it."
"When you say those things, you seem to forget that I am an honest
man."
"One would really suppose that I had suggested some questionable act
to you. Your reply, Paul, plainly proves to me that you are one of those
who, for want of determination, fall, helpless, by the wayside in the
journey of life. They flaunt their rags and tatters in the eyes of the
world, and with saddened hearts and empty stomachs utter the boast, 'I
am an honest man.' Do you think that, in order to be rich, you must
perforce be a rogue? This is simple imbecility."
She uttered this tirade in clear and vibrant accents, and her