第11章

Hefeltverylonely,andthiswas,daily,hishardesthour。ForalongtimeheandJimhadlunchedtogetherhabitually。Roscoepreferredaclubluncheon,butJimandhisfatheralmostalwayswenttoasmallrestaurantneartheSheridanBuilding,wheretheyspenttwentyminutesintheconsumptionoffood,andtwentyintalk,withcigars。Jimcameforhisfathereveryday,atfiveminutesaftertwelve,andSheridanwasagaininhisofficeatfiveminutesbeforeone。ButnowthatJimnolongercame,Sheridanremainedaloneinhisoffice;hehadnotgoneouttolunchsinceJim\'sdeath,nordidhehaveanythingsenttohim——hefasteduntilevening。

ItwasthetimehemissedJimpersonallythemost——thevoiceandeyesandhandshake,allbriskandalert,allbusiness—like。ButthesethingswerenotthekeenestinSheridan\'sgrief;hissenseoflosswentfardeeper。Roscoewasdependable,asteadyoldwheel—horse,andthatwasagreatcomfort;butitwasinJimthatSheridanhadmosthappilyperceivedhisownlikeness。Jimwastheonewhowouldhavebeensuresttokeepthegreatpropertygrowinggreater,yearbyyear。Sheridanhadfallenasleep,nightafternight,picturingwhatthegrowthwouldbeunderJim。HehadbelievedthatJimwasabsolutelycertaintobeoneofthebiggestmeninthecountry。Well,itwasalluptoRoscoenow！

ThatremindedhimofaquestionhehadinmindtoaskRoscoe。ItwasaquestionSheridanconsideredofnopresentimportance,buthiswifehadsuggestedit——thoughvaguely——andhehadmeanttospeaktoRoscoeaboutit。

However,Roscoehadnotcomeintohisfather\'sofficeforseveraldays,andwhenSheridanhadseenhissonathometherehadbeennoopportunity。

Hewaiteduntilthegreaterpartofhisday\'sworkwasover,towardfouro\'clock,andthenwentdowntoRoscoe\'soffice,whichwasonalowerfloor。

HefoundseveralmenwaitingforbusinessinterviewsinanouterroomoftheseriesRoscoeoccupied;andhesupposedthathewouldfindhissonbusywithothers,andthathisquestionwouldhavetobepostponed,butwhenheenteredthedoormarked"R。C。Sheridan。Private,"Roscoewastherealone。

Hewassittingwithhisbacktothedoor,hisfeetonawindow—sill,andhedidnotturnashisfatheropenedthedoor。

"Someprettygoodmenouttherewaitin\'toseeyou,myboy,"saidSheridan。

"What\'sthematter？"

"Nothing,"Roscoeansweredindistinctly,notmoving。

"Well,Iguessthat\'sallright,too。Ilet\'emwaitsometimesmyself！I

justwantedtoaskyouaquestion,butIexpectit\'llkeep,ifyou\'reworkin\'

somethingoutinyourmind！"

Roscoemadenoreply;andhisfather,whohadturnedtothedoor,pausedwithhishandontheknob,staringcuriouslyatthemotionlessfigureinthechair。

Usuallythesonseemedpleasedandeagerwhenhecametotheoffice。"You\'reallright,ain\'tyou？"saidSheridan。"Notsick,areyou？"

"No。"

Sheridanwaspuzzled;then,abruptly,hedecidedtoaskhisquestion。"I

wantedtotalktoyouaboutthatyoungLamhorn,"hesaid。"Iguessyourmotherthinkshe\'scomin\'toseeEdithprettyoften,andyouknownhimlonger\'nanyofus,so——"

"Iwon\'t,"saidRoscoe,thickly——"Iwon\'tsayadam\'thingabouthim！"

Sheridanutteredanexclamationandwalkedquicklytoapositionnearthewindowwherehecouldseehisson\'sface。Roscoe\'seyeswerebloodshotandvacuous;hishairwasdisordered,hismouthwasdistorted,andhewasdeathlypale。Thefatherstoodaghast。

"ByGeorge！"hemuttered。"ROSCOE！"

"Myname,"saidRoscoe。"Can\'helpthat。"

"ROSCOE！"BlankastonishmentwasSheridan\'sfirstsensation。ProbablynothingintheworldcouldhavemoreamazedhisthantofindRoscoe——thesteadyoldwheel—horse——inthiscondition。"How\'dyouGETthisway？"hedemanded。"Youcaughtcoldandtooktoomuchforit？"

ForreplyRoscoelaughedhoarsely。"Yeuh！Cold！Ibeendrinkunalltime,lately。Firs\'younoticeit？"

"ByGeorge！"criedSheridan。"ITHOUGHTI\'dsmeltitonyouagooddeallately,butIwouldn\'t\'a\'believedyou\'dtakemore\'nwasgoodforyou。Boh！

Toseeyoulikeacommonhog！"

Roscoechuckledandthrewouthisrightarminameaninglessgensture。"Hog！"

herepeated,chuckling。

"Yes,ahog！"saidSheridan,angrily。"Inbusinesshours！Idon\'tobjecttoanybody\'stakin\'adrinkifyouwantsto,outo\'businesshours;nor,ifamankeepshisworkrightuptothescratch,Iwouldn\'tbetheonetobastehimifhegotgoodan\'drunkonceintwo,threeyears,maybe。Itain\'tMYway。I

letitalone,butIneverbelievedinforcin\'mywayonagrown—upsoninmoralmatters。IguessIwaswrong！Youthinkthemmenouttherearewaitin\'

totalkbusinesswithadrunkard？Youthinkyoucancometoyourofficeanddobusinessdrunk？ByGeorge！Iwonderhowoftenthishasbeenhappeningandmenotontoit！I\'llhavealookoveryourbooksto—morrow,andI\'ll——"

Roscoestumbledtohisfeet,laughingwildly,andstoodswaying,contrivingtoholdhimselfinpositionbyclutchingthebackoftheheavychairinwhichhehadbeensitting。

"Hoo——hoorah！"hecried。"\'Smyprinciples,too。Bedrunkardallyouwantto——outsidebusinesshours。Don\'forGossakele\'n\'thinginnerferebusinesshours！Business！Thassit！You\'reright,father。Drink！Die！L\'everythinggotohell,butDON\'letinnerferebusiness！"

SheridanhadseizedthetelephoneuponRoscoe\'sdesk,andwascallinghisownoffice,overhead。"Abercrombie？ComedowntomysonRoscoe\'ssuiteandgetridofsomegentlementhatarewaitin\'theretoseehiminroomtwo—fourteen。

There\'sMaplesandSchirmerandacoupleo\'fellowsontheKinseybusiness。

Tell\'emsomething\'scomeupIhavetogooverwithRoscoe,andtell\'emtocomebackdayafterto—morrowattwo。Youneedn\'tcomeintoletmeknowthey\'regone;wedon\'twanttobedisturbed。TellPaulytocallmyhouseandsendClausdownherewithaclosedcar。Wemayhavetogoout。Tellhimtohustle,andcallmeatRoscoe\'sroomassoonasthecargetshere。\'T\'sall！"

Roscoehadlaughedbitterlythroughoutthismonologue。"Drunkinbusinesshours！Thassawf\'l！Mus\'n\'dosuchthing！Mus\'n\'getdrunk,mus\'n\'gamble,mus\'n\'kill\'nybody——notinbusinesshours！Allrightanyothertime。Kill\'nybodyyouwantto——\'slong\'tain\'tinbusinesshours！Fine！Mus\'n\'haveanytrouble\'t\'llinnerferebusiness。Keepyourtrouble\'thome。Don\'bringittoth\'office。Mightinnerferebusiness！HavefuneralsonSunday——mightinnerferebusiness！Don\'letyourwifeinnerferebusiness！Keepall,all,ALL

yourtroublean\'yourmeanness,an\'yourtrad——yourtradegy——keep\'emALLforhomeuse！Ifyougotdie,goondie\'thome——don\'dieroundth\'office！

Mightinnerferebusiness！"

SheridanpickedupanewspaperfromRoscoe\'sdesk,andsatdownwithhisbacktohisson,affectingtoread。Roscoeseemedtobeunawareofhisfather\'ssignificantposture。

"Youknowwh\'Ithink？"hewenton。"IthinkBibbsonlyonethefam\'lyany\'telligenceatall。Won\'work,an\'di\'n\'getmarried。Jimworked,an\'hegotkilled。Iworked,an\'Igotmarried。Lookatme！Jus\'lookatme,Iaskyou。Fine\'dustrissyoungbusinessman。Lookwhasshappen\'tome！Fine！"

Heliftedhishandfromthesustainingchairinadeplorablegesture,and,immediatelylosinghisbalance,fellacrossthechairandcaromedtothefloorwithacrash,remainingprostrateforseveralminutes,duringwhichSheridandidnotrelaxhisapparentattentiontothenewspaper。HedidnotevenlookroundatthesoundofRoscoe\'sfall。

Roscoeslowlyclimbedtoanuprightposition,pullinghimselfupbyholdingtothechair。Hewasslightlysoberedoutwardly,havingprogressedintheprostrateintervaltoastateofbefuddlementlessvolatile。Herubbedhisdazedeyeswiththebackofhislefthand。

"What——whatyouaskmewhileago？"hesaid。

"Nothin\'。"

"Yes,youdid。What——whatwasit？"

"Nothin\'。Youbettersitdown。"

"Youask\'mewhatIthoughtaboutLamhorn。Youdidaskmethat。Well,I

won\'ttellyou。Iwon\'tsaydam\'word\'bouthim！"

Thetelephone—belltinkled。Sheridanplacedthereceivertohisearandsaid,"Rightdown。"ThenhegotRoscoe\'scoatandhatfromaclosetandbroughtthemtohisson。"Getintothiscoat,"hesaid。"You\'regoin\'home。"

"Allri\',"Roscoemurmured,obediently。

Theywentoutintothemainhallbyasidedoor,notpassingthroughtheouteroffice;andSheridanwaitedforanemptyelevator,stoppedit,andtoldtheoperatortotakeonnomorepassengersuntiltheyreachedthegroundfloor。

Roscoewalkedoutofthebuildingandgotintotheautomobilewithoutlurching,andtwentyminuteslaterwalkedintohisownhouseinthesamemanner,neitherhenorhisfatherhavingspokenawordintheinterval。

Sheridandidnotgoinwithhim;hewenthome,andtohisownroomwithoutmeetinganyofhisfamily。ButashepassedBibbs\'sdoorherheardfromwithinthesoundofacheerfulyoungvoicehummingjubilantfragmentsofsong:

WHOlooksamustangintheeye？……WithaleapfromthegroundTothesaddleinabound。Andaway——andaway！Hi—yay！

ItwasthefirsttimeinSheridan\'slifethathehadeverdetectedanymusicalsymptomwhateverinBibbs——hehadneverevenheardhimwhistle——anditseemedthelasttouchofironythattheuselessfoolshouldbemerryto—day。

ToSheridanitwasTomo\'Bedlamsingingwhilethehouseburned;andhedidnottarrytoenjoythemelody,butwentintohisownroomandlockedthedoor。

Heemergedonlyuponasecondsummonstodinner,twohourslater,andcametothetablesowhiteandsilentthathiswifemadeheranxietymanifestandwasbutpartiallyreassuredbyhisexplanationthathislunchhad"disagreed"withhimalittle。

Presently,however,hespokeeffectively。Bibbs,whoseappetitehadbecomehearty,washelpinghimselftoasecondbreastofcaponfromwhite—jacket\'ssalver。"Here\'sanotherdifferencebetweenMidasandchicken,"Sheridanremarked,grimly。"Midascaneatrooster,butroostercan\'teatMidas。I

reckonyouoverlookedthat。Midaslookstomelikehehadtheadvantagethere。"

Bibbsretainedenoughpresenceofmindtotransferthecaponbreasttohisplatewithoutdroppingitandtorespond,"Yes——hecrowsoverit。"

Havingreturnedhisantagonists\'sfireinthisfashion,heblushed——forhecouldblushdistinctlynow——andhismotherlookeduponhimwithpleasure,thoughtthereferencetoMidasandroosterswasofcoursejargontoher。"Didyoueverseeanybodyimprovethewaythatchildhas！"sheexclaimed。"I

declare,Bibbs,sometimeslatelyyoulookrighthandsome！"

"He\'sgottobesuchagadabout,"Edithgiggled。

"Ifoundsomethingofhisonthefloorup—stairsthismorning,beforeanybodywasup,"saidSheridan。"Ireckonifpeoplelosethingsinthishouseandexpecttoget\'emback,theybettergetupassoonasIdo。"

"Whatwasithelost？"askedEdith。

"Heknows！"herfatherreturned。"SeemstomelikeIforgottobringithomewithme。Ilookeditover——thoughtprobablyitwassomethingprettyimportant,belongin\'toabusymanlikehim。"Heaffectedtosearchhispockets。"WhatDIDIdowithit,now？Ohyes！SeemstomelikeIrememberleavin\'itdownattheoffice——inthewaste—basket。"

"Goodplaceforit,"Bibbsmurmured,stillred。

Sheridangavehimagrin。"Perhapsprettysoonyou\'llbegettin\'upearlyenoughtofinethingsbeforeIdo！"

Itwasathreat,andBibbsrepeatedthesubstanceofit,laterintheevening,toMaryVertrees——theyhadcometoknoweachotherthatwell。

"Mytime\'shereatlast,"hesaid,astheysattogetherinthemelancholygas—lightoftheroomwhichhadbeendenudedofitspiano。ThatremovalhadleftanemptinesssodistressingtoMr。andMrs。Vertreesthatneitherofthemhadcrossedthethresholdsincethedarkday;butthegas—light,thoughfromasinglejet,shednomelancholyuponBibbs,norcouldanyroomseembarethatknewtheglowingpresenceofMary。Hespokelightly,notsadly。

"Yes,it\'scome。I\'veshirkedandputoff,butIcan\'tshirkandputoffanylonger。It\'sreallymyparttogotohim——atleastitwouldsavemyface。Hemeanswhathesays,andthetime\'scometoservemysentence。Hardlaborforlife,Ithink。"

Maryshookherhead。"Idon\'tthinkso。He\'stookind。"

"Youthinkmyfather\'sKIND？"AndBibbsstaredather。

"Yes。I\'msureofit。I\'vefeltthathehasagreat,braveheart。It\'sonlythathehastobekindinhisownway——becausehecan\'tunderstandanyotherway。"

"Ahyes,"saidBibbs。"Ifthat\'swhatyoumeanby\'kind\'！"

Shelookedathimgravely,earnestconcerninherfriendlyeyes。"It\'sgoingtobeprettyhardforyou,isn\'tit？"

"Oh——self—pity！"hereturned,smiling。"Thishasbeenjustthelastflickerofrevolt。Nobodymindsworkifhelikesthekindofwork。There\'dbenoloafersintheworldifeachmanfoundthethingthathecoulddobest;buttheonlyworkIhappentowanttodoisuseless——soIhavetogiveitup。

To—morrowI\'llbeaday—laborer。"

"Whatisitlike——exactly？"

"Igetupatsix,"hesaid。"Ihavealunch—baskettocarrywithme,whichisaristocraticandnoadvantage。Theotherworkmenhavetinbuckets,andtinbucketsarebetter。Ileavethehouseatsix—thirty,andI\'matworkinmyoverallsatseven。Ihaveanhouroffatnoon,andworkagainfromonetillfive。"

"Buttheworkitself？"

"Itwasn\'tmuscularlyexhausting——notatall。Theycouldn\'tgivemeaheavierjobbecauseIwasn\'tgoodenough。"

"Butwhatwillyoudo？Iwanttoknow。"

"WhenIleft,"saidBibbs,"Iwas\'on\'whattheycallovertherea\'clipping—machine,\'inoneofthe\'by—products\'departments,andthat\'swhatI\'llbesentbackto。"

"Butwhatisit？"sheinsisted。

Bibbsexplained。"It\'sverysimpleandveryeasy。Ifeedlongstripsofzincintoapairofsteeljaws,andthejawsbitethezincintolittlecircles。

AllIhavetodoistoseethatthestripgoesintothejawsatacertainangle——andyetIwasaverybadhandatit。"

Hehadkepthisvoicecheerfulashespoke,buthehadgrownashadepaler,andtherewasalatentanguishdeepinhiseyes。Hemayhaveknownitandwishedhernottoseeit,forheturnedaway。

"Youdothatalldaylong？"sheasked,andashenodded,"Itseemsincredible！"sheexclaimed。"YOUfeedingastripofzincintoamachineninehoursaday！Nowonder——"Shebrokeoff,andthen,afterakeenglanceathisface,shesaid:"IshouldthinkyouWOULDhavebeena\'badhandatit\'！"

Helaughedruefully。"Ithinkit\'sthenoise,thoughI\'mashamedtosayit。

Yousee,it\'saverypowerfulmachine,andthere\'sasortofrhythmicalcrashing——acrasheverytimethejawsbiteoffacircle。"

"Howoftenisthat？"

"Thethingshouldmakeaboutsixty—eightdisksaminute——alittlemorethanoneasecond。"

"Andyou\'reclosetoit？"

"Oh,theworkmanhastositinitslap,"hesaid,turningtohermoregaily。

"Theothersdon\'tmind。Yousee,it\'ssomethingwrongwithme。Ihaveanidioticwayofflinchingfromtheconfoundedthing——Iflinchandduckalittleeverytimethecrashcomes,andIcouldn\'tgetoverit。Iwasatreattotheotherworkmeninthatroom;they\'llbegladtoseemeback。Theyusedtolaughatmealldaylong。"

Mary\'sgazewasavertedfromBibbsnow;shesatwithherelbowrestingonthearmofthechair,herliftedhandpressedagainsthercheek。Shewasstaringatthewall,andhereyeshadaburningbrightnessinthem。

"Itdoesn\'tseempossibleanyonecoulddothattoyou,"shesaid,inalowvoice。"No。He\'snotkind。Heoughttobeproudtohelpyoutotheleisuretowritebooks;itshouldbehisgreatestprivilegetohavethempublishedforyou——"

"Can\'tyouSEEhim？"Bibbsinterrupted,afaintrippleofhilarityinhisvoice。"Ifhecouldunderstandwhatyou\'resaying——andifyoucanimaginehistakingsuchanotion,he\'shavehadR。T。Blossputuppostersalloverthecountry:\'ReadB。Sheridan。ReadthePoetwithaPunch！\'No。It\'sjustaswellhenevergotthe——Butwhat\'stheuse？I\'veneverwrittenanythingworthprinting,andInevershall。"

"Youcould！"shesaid。

"That\'sbecauseyou\'veneverseenthepoorlittlethingsI\'vetriedtodo。"

"Youwouldn\'tletme,butIKNOWyoucould！Ah,it\'sapity！"

"Itisn\'t,"saidBIBBS,honestly。"Inevercould——butyou\'rethekindestladyinthisworld,MissVertrees。"

Shegavehimaflashingglance,anditwasaskindashesaidshewas。"Thatsoundswrong,"shesaid,impulsively。"Imean\'MissVertrees。\'I\'vethoughtofyoubyyourfirstnameeversinceImetyou。Wouldn\'tyourathercallme\'Mary\'？"

Bibbswasdazzled;hedrewalong,deepbreathanddidnotspeak。

"Wouldn\'tyou？"sheasked,withoutatraceofcoquetry。

"IfICAN！"hesaid,inalowvoice。

"Ah,that\'sverypretty！"shelaughed。"You\'resuchanhonestperson,it\'spleasanttohaveyougallantsometimes,bywayofvariety。"Shebecamegraveagainimmediately。"Ihearmyselflaughingasifitweresomeoneelse。Itsoundslikelaughterontheeveofagreatcalamity。"Shegotuprestlessly,crossedtheroomandleanedagainstthewall,facinghim。"You\'veGOTtogobacktothatplace？"

Henodded。

"Andtheothertimeyoudidit——"

"Justoverit,"saidBibbs。"Twoyears。ButIdon\'tmindtheprospectofarepetitionsomuchas——"

"Somuchaswhat？"sheprompted,ashestopped。

Bibbslookedupathershyly。"Iwanttosayit,but——butIcometoadeadbalkwhenItry。I——"

"Goon。Sayit,whateveritis,"shebadehim。"Youwouldn\'tknowhowtosayanythingIshouldn\'tlike。"

"Idoubtifyou\'deitherlikeordislikewhatIwanttosay,"hereturned,movinguncomfortablyinhischairandlookingathisfeet——heseemedtofeelawkward,thoroughly。"Yousee,allmylife——untilImetyou——ifIeverfeltlikesayinganything,Iwroteitinstead。Sayingthingsisanewtrickforme,andthis——well,it\'sjustthis:IusedtofeelasifIhadn\'teverhadanysortofalifeatall。I\'dneverbeenofusetoanythingoranybody,andI\'dneverhadanything,myself,exceptakindofhaphazardthinking。Butnowit\'sdifferent——I\'mstillofnousetoanybody,andIdon\'tseeanyprospectofbeinguseful,butIhavehadsomethingformyself。I\'vehadabeautifulandhappyexperience,anditmakesmylifeseemtobe——ImeanI\'mgladI\'velivedit！That\'sall;it\'syourlettingmebenearyousometimes,asyouhave,thisstrange,beautiful,happylittlewhile！"

Hedidnotoncelookup,andreachedsilence,attheendofwhathehadtosay,withhiseyesstillawkwardlyregardinghisfeet。Shedidnotspeak,butasoftrustlingofhergarmentslethimknowthatshehadgonebacktoherchairagain。Thehousewasstill;theshabbyoldroomwassoquietthatthesoundofacreakinginthewallseemedsharpandloud。

Andyet,whenMaryspokeatlast,hervoicewasbarelyaudible。"Ifyouthinkithasbeen——happy——tobefriendswithme——you\'dwantto——tomakeitlast。"

"Yes,"saidBibbs,asfaintly。

"You\'dwanttogoonbeingmyfriendaslongaswelive,wouldn\'tyou？"

"Yes,"hegulped。

"Butyoumakethatkindofspeechtomebecauseyouthinkit\'sover。"

Hetriedtoevadeher。"Oh,aday—laborercan\'tcomeinhisoveralls——"

"No,"sheinterrupted,withasuddensharpness。"Yousaidwhatyoudidbecauseyouthinktheshop\'sgoingtokillyou。"

"No,no！"

"Yes,youdothinkthat！"Sherosetoherfeetagainandcameandstoodbeforehim。"Oryouthinkit\'sgoingtosendyoubacktothesanitarium。

Don\'tdenyit,Bibbs。There！SeehoweasilyIcallyouthat！YouseeI\'mafriend,orIcouldn\'tdoit。Well,ifyoumeantwhatyousaid——andyoudidmeanit,Iknowit！——you\'renotgoingtogobacktothesanitarium。Theshopsha\'n\'thurtyou。Itsha\'n\'t！"

AndnowBibbslookedup。Shestoodbeforehim,straightandtall,splendidingenerousstrength,hereyesshiningandwet。

"IfImeanTHATmuchtoyou,"shecried,"theycan\'tharmyou！Gobacktotheshop——butcometomewhenyourday\'sworkisdone。Letthemachinescrashtheirsixty—eighttimesaminute,butremembereachcrashthatdeafensyouisthatmuchnearertheeveningandme！"

Hestumbledtohisfeet。"Yousay——"hegasped。

"Everyevening,dearBibbs！"

Hecouldonlystare,bewildered。

"EVERYevening。Iwantyou。Theysha\'n\'thurtyouagain！"Andsheheldoutherhandtohim;itwasstrongandwarminhistremulousclasp。"IfIcould,I\'dgoandfeedthestripsofzinctothemachinewithyou,"shesaid。"ButalldaylongI\'llsendmythoughtstoyou。Youmustkeeprememberingthatyourfriendstandsbesideyou。Andwhentheworkisdone——won\'tthenightmakeupfortheday？"

Lightseemedtoglowfromher;hewasblindedbythatradianceofkindness。

Butallhecouldsaywas,huskily,"Tothinkyou\'rethere——withme——standingbesidetheoldzinc—eater——"

Andtheylaughedandlookedateachother,andatlastBibbsfoundwhatitmeantnottobealoneintheworld。Hehadafriend。

WhenhecameintotheNewHouse,afewminuteslater,hefoundhisfathersittingalonebythelibraryfire。Bibbswentinandstoodbeforehim。"I\'mcured,father,"hesaid。"WhendoIgobacktotheshop？I\'mready。"

Thedesolateandgrimoldmandidnotrelax。"Iwassittin\'uptogiveyoualastchancetosaysomethinglikethat。Ireckonit\'sabouttime！Ijustwantedtoseeifyou\'dhavemanhoodenoughnottomakemetakeyouovertherebythecollar。LastnightImadeupmymindI\'dgiveyoujustonemoreday。

Well,yougottoitbeforeIdid——prettyclosetotheeleventhhour！Allright。Startinto—morrow。It\'sthefirsto\'themonth。Thinkyoucangetupintime？"

"Sixo\'clock,"Bibbsresponded,briskly。"AndIwanttotellyou——I\'mgoingina\'cheerfulspirit。\'Asyousaid,I\'llgoandI\'ll\'likeit\'！"

"That\'sYOURlookout！"hisfathergrunted。"They\'llputyoubackontheclippin\'—machine。Yougetninedollarsaweek。"

"MorethanI\'mworth,too,"saidBibbs,cheerily。"Thatremindsme,Ididn\'tmeanYOUby\'Midas\'inthatnonsenseI\'dbeenwriting。Imeant——"

"Makesahellofaloto\'differencewhatyoumeant！"

"Ijustwantedyoutoknow。Goodnight,father。"

"G\'night！"

Thesoundoftheyoungman\'sfootstepsascendingthestairsbecameinaudible,andthehousewasquiet。Butpresently,asSheridansatstaringangrilyatthefire,theshufflingofapairofsliperscouldbehearddescending,andMrs。Sheridanmadeherappearance,herobliqueexpressionandthestateofhertoilettebeingthoseofapersonwho,aftertryingunsuccessfullytosleepononeside,hasgotuptolookforburglars。

"Papa！"sheexclaimed,drowsily。"Why\'n\'tyougotobed？Itmustbegoin\'on\'leveno\'clock！"

Sheyawned,andseatedherselfnearhim,stretchingoutherhandstothefire。

"What\'sthematter？"sheasked,sleepandanxietystrivingsluggishlywitheachotherinhervoice。"Iknewyouwereworriedalldinner—time。YougotsomethingnewonyourmindbesidesJim\'sbein\'takenawaylikehewas。What\'sworryin\'younow,papa？"

"Nothin\'。"

Shejeeredfeebly。"N\'tellMEthat！YousatuptoseeBibbs,didn\'tyou？"

"Hestartsinattheshopagainto—morrowmorning,"saidSheridan。

"Justthesameashedidbefore？"

"Justpre—CISELY！"

"How——howlongyougoin\'tokeephimatit,papa？"sheasked,timidly。

"UntilheKNOWSsomething！"Theunhappymanstruckhispalmstogether,thengottohisfeetandbegantopacetheroom,aswashiswontwhenhetalked。

"He\'llgobacktothemachinehecouldn\'tlearntotendproperlyinthesixmonthshewasthere,andhe\'llsticktoittillheDOESlearnit！DoyousupposethatlummixeveraskedhimselfWHYIwanthimtolearnit？No！AndI

ain\'ta—goin\'totellhim,either！WhenhewentthereIhad\'emsethimonthesimplestmachinewegot——andhestuckthere！Howmuchprospectwouldtherebeofhislearnin\'torunthewholebusinessifhecan\'truntheeasiestmachineinit？IsenthimtheretomakehimTHOROUGH。Andwhathappened？Hedidn\'tLIKEit！Thatboy\'swholelife,there\'sbeenasettin\'upo\'somethingmulishthat\'sagainsteverythingIwanthimtodo。Idon\'tknowwhatitis,butit\'sgottobeworkedoutofhim。Now,laborain\'tanymoreasimplequestionthanwhatitwaswhenwewereyoung。Myideaisthat,outsideo\'

uniontroubles,themanthatcanmanageworkin\'—inmenisthemanthat\'sbeenonehimself。Well,IsetBibbstolearnthemenandtolearnthebusiness,andHEsethimselftobalkonthefirstjob！That\'swhathedid,andthebalk\'slastedcloseontothreeyears。IfhebalksagainI\'mjustdonewithhim！SometimesIfeellikeIwasprettyneardonewitheverything,anyhow！"