第10章

"Shearrangedwiththe——withthepurchaserthatthemenwillcomeforitabouthalfafterfiveintheafternoon。Thedaysaresoshortnowit\'sreallyquitewinter。"

"Oh,yes,"heagreed,moodily。"Sofarasthatgoespeoplehavearighttomoveapieceoffurniturewithoutstirringuptheneighbors,Isuppose,evenbydaylight。Idon\'tsupposeOURneighborsarepayingmuchattentionjustnow,thoughIhearSheridanwasbackinhisofficeearlythemorningafterthefuneral。"

Mrs。Vertreesmadealittlesoundofcommiseration。"Idon\'tbelievethatwasbecausehewasn\'tsuffering,though。I\'msureitwasonlybecausehefelthisbusinesswassoimportant。Marytoldmeheseemedwrappedupinhisson\'ssucceeding;andthatwaswhathebraggedaboutmost。Heisn\'tvulgarinhisboasting,Iunderstand;hedoesn\'ttalkagreatdealabouthis——hisactualmoney——thoughtherewassomethingaboutbladesofgrassthatIdidn\'tcomprehend。Ithinkhemeantsomethingabouthisenergy——butperhapsnot。

No,hisbraggingusuallyseemedtobenotsomuchapersonalvaingloryasabouthisfamilyandthegreatnessofthiscity。"

"\'Greatnessofthiscity\'！"Mr。Vertreesechoed,withdullbitterness。"It\'snothingbutacoal—hole！Isupposeitlooks\'great\'tothemanwhohasthelucktomakeitworkforhim。Isupposeitlooks\'great\'toanyYOUNGman,too,startingouttomakehisfortuneoutofit。Thefellowsthatgetwhattheywantoutofitsayit\'s\'great,\'andeverybodyelsegetsthehabit。Butyouhaveadifferentpointofviewifit\'sthecitythatgotwhatitwantedoutofyou！OfcourseSheridansaysit\'s\'great\'。"

Mrs。Vertreesseemedunawareofthisunusualoutburst。"Ibelieve,"shebegan,timidly,"hedoesn\'tboastof——thatis,Iunderstandhehasneverseemedsointerestedinthe——theotherone。"

Herhusband\'sfacewasdark,butatthataheaviershadowfelluponit;helookedmorehaggardthanbefore。"\'Theotherone\',"herepeated,avertinghiseyes。"Youmean——youmeanthethirdson——theonethatwasherethisevening？"

"Yes,the——theyoungest,"shereturned,hervoicesofeebleitwasalmostawhisper。

Andthenneitherofthemspokeforseverallongminutes。Nordideitherlookattheotherduringthatsilence。

AtlastMr。Vertreescontrivedtocough,butnotconvincingly。"What——

ah——whatwasitMarysaidabouthimoutinthehall,whenshecameinthisafternoon？Iheardyouaskinghersomethingabouthim,butsheansweredinsuchalowvoiceIdidn\'t——ah——happentocatchit。"

"She——shedidn\'tsaymuch。Allshesaidwasthis:Iaskedherifshehadenjoyedherwalkwithhim,andshesaid,\'He\'sthemostwistfulcreatureI\'veeverknown。\'"

"Well？"

"Thatwasall。HeISwistful—looking;andsofragile——thoughhedoesn\'tseemquitesomuchsolately。IwaswatchingMaryfromthewindowwhenshewentoutto—day,andhejoinedher,andifIhadn\'tknownabouthimI\'dhavethoughthehadquiteaninterestingface。"

"Ifyou\'hadn\'tknownabouthim\'？Knownwhat？"

"Oh,nothing,ofcourse,"shesaid,hurriedly。"Nothingdefinite,thatis。

Marysaiddecidely,longago,thathe\'snotatallinsane,aswethoughtatfirst。It\'sonly——well,ofcourseitISodd,theirattitudeabouthim。I

supposeit\'ssomenervoustroublethatmakeshim——perhapsalittlequeerattimes,sothathecan\'tapplyhimselftoanything——orperhapsdoesoddthings。But,afterall,ofcourse,weonlyhaveanimpressionaboutit。Wedon\'tknow——thatis,positively。I——"Shepaused,thenwenton:"Ididn\'tknowjusthowtoask——thatis——Ididn\'tmentionittoMary。Ididn\'t——I——"

Thepoorladyflounderedpitifully,concludingwithamumble。"Sosoonafter——afterthe——theshock。"

"Idon\'tthinkI\'vecaughtmorethanaglimpseofhim,"saidMr。Vertrees。

"Iwouldn\'tknowhimifIsawhim,butyourimpressionofhimis——"Hebrokeoffsuddenly,springingtohisfeetinagitation。"Ican\'timageher——oh,NO！"hegasped。Andhebegantopacethefloor。"Ahalf—wittedepileptic！"

"No,no！"shecried。"Hemaybeallright。We——"

"Oh,it\'shorrible！Ican\'t——"Hethrewhimselfbackintohischairagain,sweepinghishandsacrosshisface,thenlettingthemfalllimplyathissides。

Mrs。Vertreeswastremulous。"Youmustn\'tgivewayso,"shesaid,inspiredforoncealmosttodirectdiscourse。"WhateverMarymightthinkofdoing,itwouldn\'tbeonherownaccount;itwouldbeonours。ButifWE

should——shouldconsiderit,thatwouldn\'tbeonOURownaccount。Itisn\'tbecausewethinkofourselves。"

"OhGod,no！"hegroaned。"Notforus！Wecangotothepoorhouse,butMarycan\'tbeastenographer！"

Sighing,Mrs。Vertreesresumedherobliqueness。"Ofcourse,"shemurmured,"itallseemsverypremature,speculatingaboutsuchthings,butIhadaqueersortoffeelingthatsheseemedquiteinterestedinthis——"Shehadalmostsaid"inthisone,"butcheckedherself。"Inthisyoungman。It\'snatural,ofcourse;sheisalwayssostrongandwell,andheis——heseemstobe,thatis——ratherappealingtothe——thesympathies。"

"Yes！"heagreed,bitterly。"Precisely。Thesympathies！"

"Perhaps,"shefaltered——"perhapsyoumightfeeleasierifIcouldhavealittletalkwithsomeone？"

"Withwhom？"

"Ihadthoughtof——notgoingaboutittoobrusquely,ofcourse,butperhapsjustwaitingforhisnametobementioned,ifIhappenedtobetalkingwithsomebodythatknewthefamily——andthenImightfindachancetosaythatI

wassorrytohearhe\'dbeenillsomuch,and——Somethingofthatkindperhaps？"

"Youdon\'tknowanybodythatknowsthefamily。"

"Yes。Thatis——well,inaway,ofcourse,oneOFthefamily。ThatMrs。

RoscoeSheridanisnota——thatis,she\'sratherapleasant—facedlittlewoman,Ithink,andofcourseratherordinary。Ithinksheisinterestedabout——thatis,ofcourse,she\'dbeanxioustobemoreintimatewithMary,naturally。She\'salwayslookingoverherefromherhouse;shewaslookingoutthewindowthisafternoonwhenMarywentout,Inoticed——thoughIdon\'tthinkMarysawher。I\'msureshewouldn\'tthinkitoutofplaceto——tobefrankaboutmatters。Shecalledtheotherday,andMarymustratherlikeher——shesaidthateveningthatthecallhaddonehergood。Don\'tyouthinkitmightbewise？"

"Wise？Idon\'tknow。Ifeelthewholematterisimpossible。"

"Yes,sodoI,"shereturned,promptly。"Itisn\'treallyathingweshouldbeconsideringseriously,ofcourse。Still——"

"Ishouldsaynot！Butpossibly——"

Thustheyskirmishedupanddownthefield,butbeforetheyturnedthelightsoutandwentup—stairsitwasthoroughlyunderstoodbetweenthemthatMrs。

VertreesshouldseektheearliestopportunitytoobtaindefiniteinformationfromSibylSheridanconcerningthementalandphysicalstatusofBibbs。Andifheweresubjecttoattacksoflunacy,theunhappypairdecidedtopreventthesacrificetheysupposedtheirdaughterintendedtomakeofherself。

Altogether,iftherewerespitefulghostsintheoldhousethatnight,eavesdroppinguponthewoefulcomedy,theymusthavediedanewoflaughter！

Mrs。Vertrees\'sopportunityoccurredtheverynextafternoon。Darknesshadfallen,andthepiano—movershadcome。Theywerecarryingthepianodownthefrontsteps,andMrs。Vertreeswasstandingintheopendoorwaybehindthem,preparingtowithdraw,whensheheardasharpexclamation;andMrs。RoscoeSheridan,bareheaded,emergedfromtheshadowintothelightofthedoorway。

"Goodgracious！"shecried。"Itdidgivemeafright！"

"It\'sMrs。Sheridan,isn\'tit？"Mrs。Vertreeswasperplexedbythisinformalappearance,butshereflectedthatitmightbeprovidential。"Won\'tyoucomein？"

"No。Ohno,thankyou！"Sibylpanted,pressingherhandtoherside。"Youdon\'tknowwhatafrightyou\'vegivenme！Anditwasnothingbutyourpiano！"Shelaughedshrilly。"Youknow,sinceourtragedycomingsosuddenlytheotherday,youhavenoideahowupsetI\'vebeen——almosthysterical！AndIjustglancedoutofthewindow,aminuteorsoago,andsawyourdoorwideopenandblackfiguresofmenagainstthelight,carryingsomethingheavy,andIalmostfainted。Yousee,itwasjustthewayitlookedwhenIsawthembringingmypoorbrother—in—lawin,nextdoor,onlysuchafewshortdaysago。AndIthoughtI\'dseenyourdaughterstartforadrivewithBibbsSheridaninacaraboutthreeo\'clock——and——Theyaren\'tbackyet,arethey？"

"No。Goodheavens！"

"AndtheonlythingIcouldthinkofwasthatsomethingmusthavehappenedtothem,andIjustdashedover——anditwasonlyyourPIANO！"Shebrokeintolaughteragain。"Isupposeyou\'rejustsendingitsomewheretoberepaired,aren\'tyou？"

"It\'s——it\'sbeingtakendown—town,"saidMrs。Vertrees。"Won\'tyoucomeinandmakemealittlevisit。IwasSOsorry,theotherday,thatIwas——ah——"

Shestoppedinconsequently,thenrepeatedherinvitation。"Won\'tyoucomein？I\'dreally——"

"Thankyou,butImustberunningback。Myhusbandusuallygetshomeaboutthistime,andImakealittlepointofitalwaystobethere。"

"That\'sverysweet。"Mrs。VertreesdescendedthestepsandwalkedtowardthestreetwithSibyl。"It\'squitebalmyforsolateinNovember,isn\'tit？

AlmostlikeaMayevening。"

"I\'mafraidMissVertreeswillmissherpiano,"saidSibyl,watchingtheinstrumentdisappearintothebigvanatthecurb。"Sheplayswonderfully,Mrs。Kittersbytellsme。"

"Yes,sheplaysverywell。Oneofyourrelativescametohearheryesterday,afterdinner,andIthinksheplayedalleveningforhim。"

"YoumeanBibbs？"askedSibyl。

"The——theyoungestMr。Sheridan。Yes。He\'sverymusical,isn\'the？"

"Ineverheardofit。ButIshouldn\'tthinkitwouldmattermuchwhetherhewasornot,ifhecouldgetMissVertreestoplaytohim。Doesyourdaughterexpectthepianobacksoon？"

"I——Ibelievenotimmediately。Mr。Sheridancamelasteveningtohearherplaybecauseshehadarrangedwiththe——thatis,itwastoberemovedthisafternoon。Heseemsalmostwellagain。"

"Yes。"Sibylnodded。"Hisfather\'sgoingtotrytostarthimtowork。"

"Heseemsverydelicate,"saidMrs。Vertrees。"Ishouldn\'tthinkhewouldbeabletostandagreatdeal,eitherphysicallyor——"Shepausedandthenadded,glowingwiththesenseofherownadroitness——"ormentally。"

"Oh,mentallyBibbsisallright,"saidSibyl,inanoddvoice。

"Entirely？"Mrs。Vertreesasked,breathlessly。

"Yes,entirely。"

"ButhasheALWAYSbeen？"Thisquestioncamewiththesameanxiouseagerness。

"Certainly。Hehadalongsiegeofnervousdyspepsia,buthe\'soverit。"

"Andyouthink——"

"Bibbsisallright。Youneedn\'twor——"Sibylchoked,andpressedherhandkerchieftohermouth。"Goodnight,Mrs。Vertrees,"shesaid,hurriedly,asthehead—lightsofanautomobileswungroundthecornerabove,sendingabrighteningglaretowardtheedgeofthepavementwherethetwoladieswerestanding。

"Won\'tyoucomein？"urgedMrs。Vertrees,cordially,hearingthesoundofacheerfulvoiceoutofthedarknessbeyondtheapproachingglare。"Do！

There\'sMarynow,andshe——"

ButSibylwashalf—wayacrossthestreet。"No,thanks,"shecalled。"I

hopeshewon\'tmissherpiano！"Andsheranintoherownhouseandplungedheadlonguponaleatherdivaninthehall,holdingherhandkerchiefoverhermouth。

Thenoiseofhertumultuousentrancewasevidentlystartlinginthequiethouse,foruponthebangofthedoortherefollowedthecrashofadecanter,droppeduponthefloorofthedining—roomattheendofthehall;and,afterarumbleofindistinctprofanity,Roscoecameforth,holdingadrippingnapkininhishand。

"What\'syourexcitement？"hedemanded。"Whatdoyoufindtogointohystericsover？Anotherdeathinthefamily？"

"Oh,it\'sfunny！shegasped。"Thoseoldfrost—bittenpeople！IguessTHEY\'REgettingtheircome—upance！"Lyingprone,sheelevatedherfeetintheair,clappedherheelstogetherrepeatedly,inanecstasy。

"Comethrough,comethrough！"saidherhusband,crossly。"Whatyoubeenupto？"

"Me？"shecried,droppingherfeetandswingingaroundtofacehim。

"Nothing。It\'sthem！ThoseVertreeses！"Shewipedhereyes。"They\'vehadtoselltheirpiano！"

"Well,whatofit？"

"ThatMrs。Kittersbytoldmeallabout\'emaweekago,"saidSibyl。"They\'vebeenhardupforalongtime,andshesaysaslongagoaslastwintersheknewthatgirlgotapairofwalking—shoesre—soledandpatched,becauseshegotitdonethesameplaceMrs。Kittersby\'scookhadHERS！Andthenightofthehouse—warmingIkindofgotsuspicious,myself。Shedidn\'thaveonesinglepieceofanykindofrealjewelry,andyoucouldseeherdresswasanoldonedoneover。Mencan\'ttellthosethings,andyouallmadeabigfussoverher,butIthoughtshelookedasight,myself！Ofcourse,EDITHwascrazytohaveher,and——"

"Well,well？"heurged,impatiently。

"Well,I\'mTELLINGyou！Mrs。Kittersbysaystheyhaven\'tgotaTHING！JustabsolutelyNOTHING——andtheydon\'tknowanywheretoturn！Thefamily\'salldiedoutbutthem,andalltherelativestheygotareverydistant,andliveEastandscarcelyknow\'em。Shesaysthewholetown\'sbeenwonderingwhatWOULDbecomeof\'em。Thegirlhadplentychancestomarryuptoayearorsoago,butshewassoindifferentshescaredthemenoff,andtheonesthathadwantedtowentandmarriedothergirls。Gracious！theywerelucky！MarryHER？ThemanthatfoundhimselftieduptoTHATgirl——"

"Terriblefunny,terriblefunny！"saidRoscoe,withsarcasm。"It\'ssofunnyIbrokeacut—glassdecanterandspilledaquartof——"

"Wait！"shebegged。"You\'llsee。Iwassittingbythewindowalittlewhileago,andIsawabigwagondriveupacrossthestreetandsomemengointothehouse。Itwastoodarktomakeoutmuch,andforaminuteIgottheideatheyweremovingout——thehousehasbeenforeclosedon,Mrs。Kittersbysays。

Itseemedfunny,too,becauseIknewthatgirlwasoutridingwithBibbs。

Well,IthoughtI\'dsee,soIslippedover——anditwastheirPIANO！They\'dsolditandweretryingtosneakitoutafterdark,sonobody\'dcatchon！"

Againshegavewaytoherenjoyment,butresumed,asherhusbandseemedabouttointerruptthenarrative。"Waitaminute,can\'tyou？Theoldladywassuperintending,andshegaveitallaway。Isizedherupforoneofthoseoldchurchypeoplethattellallkindsofliesexceptwhenitcomestosomanywords,andthentheycan\'t。Shemightjustaswelltoldmeoutright！

Yes,they\'dsoldit;andIhopethey\'llpaysomeoftheirdebts。Theyoweeverybody,andlastweekacoal—dealermadeanawfulfussatthedoorwithMr。Vertrees。Theircooktoldourupstairsgirl,andshesaidshedidn\'tknowWHENshe\'dseenanymoney,herself！DidyoueverhearofsuchacaseasthatgirlinyouLIFE？"

"Whatgirl？Theircook？"

"ThatVertreesgirl！Don\'tyouseetheylookedonourcomingupintothisneighborhoodastheirlastchance？Theywerejustgoingdownandout,andherebobsupthegreen,richSheridanfamily！Sotheydollthegirlupinheroldthings,madeover,andsendherouttogetaSheridan——she\'sGOTtogetone！Andshejustgoesinblind;andshetriesitonfirstwithYOU。

Youremember,shejustplainTOLDyoushewasgoingtomashyou,andthenshefoundoutyouwerethemarriedone,andturnedrightsquarearoundtoJimandcarriedhimoffhisfeet。Oh,Jimwaslanded——there\'snodoubtaboutTHAT！

ButJimwaslucky;hedidn\'tlivetoSTAYlanded,andit\'sagoodthingforhim！"Sibyl\'smirthhadvanished,andshespokewithvirulentrapidity。

"Well,shecouldn\'tgetyou,becauseyouweremarried,andshecouldn\'tgetJim,becauseJimdied。Andtheretheywere,deadbroke！Doyouknowwhatshedid？Doyouknowwhatshe\'sDOING？"

"No,Idon\'t,"saidRoscoe,gruffly。

Sibyl\'svoiceroseandculminatedinascreamofrenewedhilarity。"BIBBS！

Shewaitedinthegrave—yard,anddrovehomewithhimfromJIM\'SFUNERAL！

Neverspoketohimbefore！Jimwasn\'tCOLD！"

Sherockedherselfbackandforthuponthedivan。"Bibbs！"sheshrieked。

"Bibbs！Roscoe,THINKofit！BIBBS！"

Hestaredunsympathetically,buthermirthwasunabatedforallthat。"Andyesterday,"shecontinued,betweenparoxysms——"yesterdayshecameoutofthehouse——justashewaspassing。Shemusthavebeenlookingout——waitingforthechance;Isawtheoldladywatchingatthewindow！Andshegothimtherelastnight——to\'PLAY\'tohim;theoldladygavethataway！Andto—dayshemadehimtakeheroutinamachine！Andthecreamofitisthattheydidn\'tevenknowwhetherhewasINSANEornot——theythoughtmaybehewas,butshewentafterhimjustthesame！Theoldladysetherselftopumpmeaboutitto—day。BIBBS！Oh,myLord！BIBBS！"

ButRoscoelookedgrim。"Soit\'sfunnytoyou,isit？Itsoundskindofpitifultome。Ishouldthinkitwouldtoawoman,too。"

"Oh,itmight,"shereturned,sobering。"Itmight,ifthosepeopleweren\'tsuchfrozen—facedsmartAlecks。Ifthey\'dhadthedecencytocomedownofftheperchalittleIprobablywouldn\'tthinkitwasfunny,buttosee\'emsitupontheirpedestalallthetimethey\'reeatingdirt——well,Ithinkit\'sfunny！ThatgirlsitsupasifshewasQueenElizabeth,andexpectspeopletowallowonthegroundbeforeheruntiltheygetnearenoughforhertogive\'emagoodkickwithheroldpatchedshoes——oh,she\'ddoTHAT,allright！——andthenshepowdersupandgoesouttomash——BIBBSSHERIDAN！"

"Lookhere,"saidRoscoe,heavily;"Idon\'tcareaboutthatonewayoranother。Ifyou\'rethrough,IgotsomethingIwanttotalktoyouabout。I

wasgoingto,thatdayjustbeforeweheardaboutJim。"

AtthisSibylstiffenedquickly;hereyesbecameintenselybright。"Whatisit？"

"Well,"hebegan,frowning,"whatIwasgoingtosaythen——"Hebrokeoff,and,becomingconsciousthathewasstillholdingthewetnapkininhishand,threwitpettishlyintoacorner。"IneverexpectedI\'dhavetosayanythinglikethistoanybodyIMARRIED;butIwasgoingtoaskyouwhatwasthematterbetweenyouandLamhorn。"

Sibylutteredasharpmonosyllable。"Well？"

"Ifeltthetimehadcomeformetoknowaboutit,"hewenton。"Younevertoldmeanything——"

"Youneverasked,"sheinterposed,curtly。

"Well,we\'dgotinawayofnottalkingmuch,"saidRoscoe。"Itlookstomenowasifwe\'dprettymuchlosttherunofeachotherthewayagoodmanypeopledo。Idon\'tsayitwasn\'tmyfault。Iwasupearlyanddowntoworkallday,andI\'dcomehometiredatnight,andwanttogotobedsoonasI\'dgotthepaperread——unlesstherewassomegoodmusicalshowintown。Well,youseemedallrightuntilherelately,thelastmonthorso,Ibegantoseesomethingwaswrong。Icouldn\'thelpseeingit。"

"Wrong？"shesaid。"Whatlike？"

"Youchanged;youdidn\'tlookthesame。Youwereallstrungupandexcitedandfidgety;yougottolookingpeakidandrundown。Nowthen,Lamhornhadbeengoingwithusagoodwhile,butInoticedthatnotlongagoyougottopickingonhimabouteverylittlethinghedid;yougottoquarrelingwithhimwhenIwasthereandwhenIwasn\'t。Icouldseeyou\'dbeenquarrelingwheneverIcameinandhewashere。"

"Doyouobjecttothat？"askedSibyl,breathingquickly。

"Yes——whenitinjuresmywife\'shealth！"hereturned,withaquickliftofhiseyestohers。"Youbegantorundownjustaboutthetimeyoubeganfallingoutwithhim。"Hesteppedclosetoher。"Seehere,Sibyl,I\'mgoingtoknowwhatitmeans。"

"Oh,youARE？"shesnapped。

"You\'retrembling,"hesaid,gravely。

"Yes。I\'mangryenoughtodomorethantremble,you\'llfind。Goon！"

"ThatwasallIwasgoingtosaytheotherday,"hesaid。"Iwasgoingtoaskyou——"

"Yes,thatwasallyouweregoingtosayTHEOTHERDAY。Yes。Whatelsehaveyoutosayto—night？"

"To—night,"hereplied,withgrimswiftness,"Iwanttoknowwhyyoukeeptelephoninghimyouwanttoseehimsincehestoppedcominghere。"

Shemadealong,lowsoundofcomprehensionbeforeshesaid,"AndwhatelsedidEdithwantyoutoaskme？"

"IwanttoknowwhatyousayoverthetelephonetoLamhorn,"hesaid,fiercely。

"IsthatallEdithtoldyoutoaskme？Yousawherwhenyoustoppedinthereonyourwayhomethisevening,didn\'tyou？Didn\'tshetellyouthenwhatI

saidoverthetelephonetoMr。Lamhorn？"

"No,shedidn\'t！"hevociferated,hisvoicegrowinglouder。"Shesaid,\'YoutellyourwifetostoptelephoningRobertLamhorntocomeandseeher,becauseheisn\'tgoingtodoit！\'That\'swhatshesaid！AndIwanttoknowwhatitmeans。Iintend——"

Amaidappearedatthelowerendofthehall。"Dinnerisready,"shesaid,and,givingthetroubledpaironeglance,wentdemurelyintothedining—room。

Roscoedisregardedtheinterruption。

"Iintendtoknowexactlywhathasbeengoingon,"hedeclared。"Imeantoknowjustwhat——"

Sibyljumpedup,almosttouchinghim,standingfacetofacewithhim。

"Oh,youDO！"shecried,shrilly。"Youmeantoknowjustwhat\'swhat,doyou？Youlistentoyoursisterinsinuatinguglythingsaboutyourwife,andthenyoucomehomemakingascenebeforetheservantsandhumiliatingmeintheirpresence！DoyousupposethatIrishgirldidn\'theareverywordyousaid？Yougointhereandeatyourdinneralone！Goon！Goandeatyourdinneralone——becauseIwon\'teatwithyou！"

Andshebrokeawayfromthedetaininggrasphesoughttofastenuponher,anddashedupthestairway,panting。Heheardthedoorofherroomslamoverhead,andthesharpclickofthekeyinthelock。

Atseveno\'clockonthelastmorningofthatmonth,Sheridan,passingthroughtheupperhallonhiswaytodescendthestairsforbreakfast,foundacoupleofscribbledsheetsofnote—paperlyingonthefloor。AwindowhadbeenopeninBibbs\'sroomtheeveningbefore;hehadlefthisnote—bookonthesill——andthesheetswereloose。Thedoorwasopen,andwhenBibbscameinandclosedit,hedidnotnoticethatthetwosheetshadblownoutintothehall。Sheridanrecognizedthehandwritingandputthesheetsinhiscoatpocket,intendingtogivethemtoGeorgeorJacksonforreturntotheowner,butheforgotandcarriedthemdown—townwithhim。Atnoonhefoundhimselfaloneinhisoffice,and,havingalittleleisure,rememberedthebitsofmanuscript,tookthemout,andglancedatthem。Agrancewasenoughtorevealthattheywerenotepistolary。Sheridanwouldnothavereada"privateletter"thatcameintohispossessioninthatway,thoughina"matterofbusiness"hemighthavefeltithisdutytotakeadvantageofanopportunityaffordedinanymannerwhatsoever。HavingsatisfiedhimselfthatBibbs\'sscribblingswereonlyasampleofthekindofwritinghissonpreferredtothemachine—shop,hedecided,innocentlyenough,thathewouldbejustifiedinreadingthem。

Itappearsthataladywillnodpleasantlyuponsomewindygeneralizationofacompanion,andwillwearthemostagreeableexpressionofacceptingitasthelaw,andthen——daysafterward,whenthethingisamummytoitspromulgator——shewillinquireoutofaclearsky:"WHYdidyousaythatthepeopledown—townhavenothinginlifethatachickenhasn\'t？Whatdidyoumean？"Andshemaysayitinamannerthatmakesasensiblereplyverydifficult——youwillbesofullofwonderthatsherememberedsoseriously。

Yet,whatdoestheroosterlack？Hehasfoodandshelter;heiswarminwinter;hiswivesraisenotonefinefamilyforhim,butdozens。Hehasaclearskyoverhim;hebreathessweetair;hewalksinhisAprilorchardunderaroofofflowers。Hemustdie,violentlyperhaps,butquickly。IsMidas\'scancerabetterway？Therooster\'swivesandchildrenmustdie。ArethoseofMidasimmortal？HislifeisshorterthanthelifeofMidas,butMidas\'slifeisonlyasixthaslongasthatoftheGalapagostortoise。

Theworthymoney—workertakeshisvacationsothathemayrefreshhimselfanewforthehardworkofgettingnothingthattheroosterdoesn\'tget。Theoffice—buildinghasanelevator,theroosterfliesuptothebough。Midashasamachinetotakehimtohiswork;theroosterfindshiswormunderfoot。

The"businessman"feelsapressuresometimes,withoutknowingwhy,andsitslateatwineaftertheday\'slabor;nextmorninghecurseshisheadbecauseitinterfereswiththework——heswearsnevertorelievethatpressureagain。

Theroosterhasnopressureandnowine;thisdifferenceisinhisfavor。

Theroosterisadependent;hedependsuponthefarmerandtheweather。

Midasisadependent;hedependsuponthefarmerandtheweather。Theroosterthinksonlyofthemoment;Midasprovidesforto—morrow。Whatdoesheprovideforto—morrow？Nothingthattheroosterwillnothavewithoutproviding。

Theroosterandtheprosperousworker:theyareborn,theygrub,theylove;

theygrubandlovegrubbing;theygrubandtheydie。Neitherknowsbeauty;

neitherknowsknowledge。Andafterall,whenMidasdiesandtheroosterdies,thereisonethingMidashashadandroosterhasnot。Midashashadtheexcitementofaccumulatingwhathehasgrubbed,andthathasbeenhislifeandhisloveandhisgod。Hecannottakethatgodwithhimwhenhedies。Iwonderiftheworthygodsarethosewecantakewithus。

MidasmustteachalltobeasMidas;theyoungmustberaisedinhisreligion——

Themanuscriptendedthere,andSheridanwasnotanxiousformore。Hecrumpledthesheetsintoaball,depositingit（withvigor）inawaste—basketbesidehim;then,rising,heconsultedaCyclopediaofNames,whichabook—agenthadsomehowsoldtohimyearsbefore;avolumenowfirstputtouseforthelocationof"Midas。"Havingreadthelegend,Sheridanwalkedupanddownthespaciousoffice,exhalingthebreathofcontempt。"Dam\'fool！"

hemumbled。Butthiswasnonewthought,norwasthecontrarinessofBibbs\'snotesasurpisetohim;andpresentlyhedismissedthematterfromhismind。