Page:Keeping the Peace.pdf/286

 the child was his; but under the pretense that it was really John's and that he could not bear to see it starve, he agreed finally to pay over to Edward two hundred dollars on the first of each and every month. He made these payments regularly for a while, then irregularly, and finally he stopped making them altogether.

The fact that he had upon his hands a young woman of uncertain temper who was not his wife, a child that was not his, and a child of his own on the way did not daunt Edward's spirit. On the contrary he felt rather important and broad-shouldered and self-sufficient. He had agreed to do regular illustrating for a rich and widely circulated magazine, and had no doubt about his financial responsibility. He did wonder a little about when he should find time to paint and pursue art seriously; but he did not worry. The manly thing, he felt, was to support those who were dependent upon him and to think about himself afterward. So he wrote rapturous letters to Anne, and in the midst of the raptures explained about his brother's little boy, whom he would bring back to France with him. He would always let Anne and all the rest of the world believe that the boy was legitimately John's. It couldn't hurt poor old John any, and it would be of advantage to the boy. Edward was going to try very hard to like that boy. But