human
Deterioration, said Judith, almost sharply.
gpt
What did you mean by that?
human
Go on; we are no longer children.
gpt
Oh, it was nothing, or everything, just as you look at it. I made a discovery soon after you went away. I found that when I fell short of the standard you --Crittenden spoke slowly--
human
So you----
gpt
I used the discovery.
human
That was weak.
gpt
It was deliberate.
human
Then it was criminal.
gpt
Both, if you wish; but credit me with at least the strength to confess and the grace to be ashamed. But I'm beginning all over again now--by myself.
human
It's time, he went on, with slow humour.
gpt
So far, I've just missed being what I should have been; doing what I should have done--by a hair's breadth. I did pretty well in college, but thereafter, when things begin to count! Law? I never got over the humiliation of my first ridiculous failure. Business? I made a fortune in six weeks, lost it in a month, and was lucky to get out without having to mortgage a farm. Politics? Wharton won by a dozen votes. I just missed being what my brother is now--I missed winning you--everything! Think of it! I am five feet eleven and three-quarters, when I should have been full six feet. I am the first Crittenden to fall under the line in a century. I have been told --he smiled--