第14章

andthenhesaidwhathehadtosayonthesubjectofRoscoeandSibyl,hisopinionmeeting,asheexpected,awarmlyhostilereception。ButtheresultofthisconversationwasthatbytelephoniccommandRoscoeawaitedhisfather,anhourlater,inthelibraryattheNewHouse。

"Gurneysaysyourwife\'sabletotravel,"Sheridansaidbrusquely,ashecamein。

"Yes。"Roscoeoccupiedadeepchairandsatinthedejectedattitudewhichhadbecomehishabit。"Yes,sheis。"

"Edithhadtoleavetown,andsoSibylthinksshe\'llhaveto,too！"

"Oh,Iwouldn\'tputitthatway,"Roscoeprotested,drearily。

"No,IhearYOUwouldn\'t！"Therewasabittergibeinthefather\'svoice,andheadded:"It\'sagoodthingshe\'sgoin\'abroad——ifshe\'llstaythere。I

shouldn\'tthinkanyofuswantherhereanymore——youleastofall！"

"It\'snouseyourtalkingthatway,"saidRoscoe。"Youwon\'tdoanygood。"

"Well,whenareyoucomin\'backtoyouroffice？"Sheridanusedabrisker,kindertone。"Threeweekssinceyoushowedupthereatall。Whenyougoin\'

tobereadytocutoutwhiskeyandalltheresto\'thefoolishnessandstartinagain？Yououghttobeabletomakeupforaloto\'losttimeandaloto\'

spiltmilkwhenthatwomantakesherselfouto\'thewayandletsyouandalltherestofusalone。"

"It\'snouse,father,Itellyou。IknowwhatGurneywasgoingtosaytoyou。

I\'mnotgoingbacktotheoffice。I\'mDONE！"

"Waitaminutebeforeyoutalkthatway！"Sheridanbeganhissentry—goupanddowntheroom。"Isupposeyouknowit\'stakentwoprettygoodmenaboutsixteenhoursadaytosetthingsstraightandget\'emrunnin\'rightagain,downinyouroffice？"

"Theymustbegoodmen。"Roscoenoddedindifferently。"IthoughtIwasdoingabouteightmen\'swork。I\'mgladyoufoundtwothatcouldhandleit。"

"Lookhere！IfIworkedyouitwasforyourowngood。Thereareplentymendriveharder\'nIdo,and——"

"Yes。Therearesomethatbreakdownalltheothermenthatworkwith\'em。

Theyeitherdie,orgocrazy,orhavetoquit,andarenousetherestoftheirlives。Thelast\'smycase,Iguess——\'complicatedbydomesticdifficulties\'！"

"Yousetthereandtellmeyougiveup？"Sheridan\'svoiceshook,andsodidthegesticulatinghandwhichheextendedappealinglytowardthedespondentfigure。"Don\'tdoit,Roscoe！Don\'tsayit！Sayyou\'llcomedownthereagainandbeaman！Thiswomanain\'tgoin\'totroubleyouanymore。Theworkain\'tgoin\'tohurtyouifyouhaven\'tgothertoworryyou,andyoucangetshuto\'thisnastywhiskey—guzzlin\';itain\'tfastenedonyouyet。Don\'tsay——"

"It\'snouseonearth,"Roscoemumbled。"Nouseonearth。"

"Lookhere！Ifyouwantanothermonth\'svacation——"

"IknowGurneytoldyou,sowhat\'stheusetalkingabout\'vacations\'？"

"Gurney！"Sheridanvociferatedthenamesavagely。"It\'sGurney,Gurney,Gurney！AlwaysGurney！Idon\'tknowwhattheworld\'scomin\'towitheverybodyrunnin\'aroundsquealin\',\'Thedoctorsaysthis,\'and,\'Thedoctorsaysthat\'！Itmakesmesick！How\'sthiscountryexpecttogetitsWorkdoneifGurneyandalltheotheroldnanny—goatskeepupthisblattin\'——\'Oh,oh！

Don\'tliftthatsticko\'wood;you\'llruinyourNERVES！\'Sohesaysyougot\'nervousexhaustioninducedbyoverworkandemotionalstrain。\'TheyalwaysgottosticktheWorkiniftheyseeachance！Ireckonyoudidhavethe\'emotionalstrain,\'andthat\'sall\'sthematterwithyou。You\'llbeoveritsoon\'sthiswoman\'sgone,andWork\'stheverythingtomakeyouquitfrettin\'

abouther。"

"DidGurneytellyouIwasfittowork？"

"Shutup！"Sheridanbellowed。"I\'msosicko\'thatman\'snameIfeellikeshootin\'anybodythatsaysittome！"Hefumedandchafed,swearingindistinctly,thencameandstoodbeforehisson。"Lookhere;doyouthinkyou\'redoin\'thesquarethingbyme？Doyou？Howmuchyouworth？"

"I\'vegotbetweensevenandeightthousandayearclear,ofmyown,outsidethesalary。ThatmuchisminewhetherIworkornot。"

"Itis？Youcould\'apulleditoutwithoutme,Isupposeyouthink,atyourage？"

"No。Butit\'smine,andit\'senough。"

"MyLord！It\'saboutwhataCongressmangets,andyouwanttoquitthere！I

supposeyouthinkyou\'llgettherestwhenIkickthebucket,andallyouhavetodoislaybackandwait！Youletmetellyourighthere,you\'llneverseeonecentofit。Yougoouto\'businessnow,andwhatwouldyouknowabouthandlin\'itfiveortenortwentyyearsfromnow？BecauseIintendtoSTAY

herealittlewhileyet,myboy！They\'deithergetitawayfromyouoryou\'dsellforanickelandletitbesplitupand——"Hewhirledabout,marchedtotheotherendoftheroom,andstoodsilentamoment。Thenhesaid,solomnly:

"Listen。Ifyougooutnow,youleavemeinthelurch,withnothin\'onGod\'sgreenearthtodependonbutyourbrother——andyouknowwhatheis。I\'vedependedonyouforitALLsinceJimdied。Nowyou\'velistenedtothatdam\'

doctor,andhesaysmaybeyouwon\'teverbeasgoodamanasyouwere,andthatcertainlyyouwon\'tbeforayearorso——probablymore。Now,that\'sallalie。Mendon\'tbreakdownthatwayatyourage。LookatME！AndItellyou,youcanshakethisthingoff。AllyouneedisalittleGET—upandalittlegumption。Mendon\'tgoawayforYEARSandthencomebackintoMOVING

businesseslikeours——theylosethestrings。Andifyoucould,Iwon\'tletyou——ifyoulaydownonmenow,Iwon\'t——andthat\'sbecauseifyoulaydownyouproveyouain\'tthemanIthoughtyouwere。"Heclearedhisthroatandfinishedquietly:"Roscoe,willyoutakeamonth\'svacationandcomebackandgotoit？"

"No,"saidRoscoe,listlessly。"I\'mthrough。"

"Allright,"saidSheridan。Hepickeduptheeveningpaperfromatable,wenttoachairbythefireandsatdown,hisbacktohisson。"Good—by。"

Roscoerose,hisheadhanging,buttherewasadullreliefinhiseyes。"BestIcando,"hemuttered,seemingabouttodepart,yetlingering。"Ifigureitoutagooddeallikethis,"hesaid。"Ididn\'tKNOWmyjobwasanystrain,andImanagedallright,butfromwhatGur——fromwhatIhear,Iwasjustuptothelimitofmynervesfromoverwork,andthe——thetroubleathomewastheextrastrainthat\'sfixedmethewayIam。Itriedtobrace,soIcouldstandtheworkandthetroubletoo,onwhiskey——andthatputthefinishtome！

I——I\'mnothittingitashardasIwasforawhile,andIreckonprettysoon,ifIcangettofeelingalittlemoreenergy,Ibettertrytoquitentirely——I

don\'tknow。I\'mallin——andthedoctorsaysso。IthoughtIwasrunningalongfineuptoafewmonthsago,butallthetimeIwasreadytobust,anddidn\'tknowit。Now,then,Idon\'twantyoutoblameSibyl,andifIwereyouIwouldn\'tspeakofheras\'thatwoman,\'becauseshe\'syourdaughter—in—lawandgoingtostaythatway。Shedidn\'tdoanythingwicked。Itwasashocktome,andIdon\'tdenyit,tofindwhatshehaddone——encouragingthatfellowtohangaroundherafterhebegantryingtoflirtwithher,andlosingherheadoverhimthewayshedid。Idon\'tdenyitwasashockandthatit\'llalwaysbeahurtinsideofmeI\'llnevergetover。Butitwasmyfault;Ididn\'tunderstandawoman\'snature。"PoorRoscoespokeinthemostprofoundanddesolateearnest。"Awomancravessociety,andgaiety,andmeetingattractivepeople,andtraveling。Well,Ican\'tgivehertheotherthings,butIcangiveherthetraveling——realtraveling,notjustgoingtoAtlanticCityorNewOrleans,thewayshehas,two,threetimes。Awomanhastohavesomethinginherlifebesidesabusinessman。Andthat\'sALLIwas。IneverunderstoodtillIheardhertalkingwhenshewassosick,andIbelieveifyou\'dheardherthenyouwouldn\'tspeaksohard—heartedlyabouther;IbelieveyoumighthaveforgivenherlikeIhave。That\'sall。Inevercaredanythingforanygirlbutherinmylife,butIwassobusywithbusinessIputitaheadofher。IneverTHOUGHTabouther,Iwassobusythinkingbusiness。Well,thisiswhereit\'sbroughtusto——andnowwhenyoutalkabout\'business\'tomeI

feelthewayyoudowhenanybodytalksaboutGurneytoyou。Theword\'business\'makesmedizzy——itmakesmehonestlysickatthestomach。I

believeifIhadtogodown—townandstepinsidethatofficedoorI\'dfalldownonthefloor,deathlysick。Youtalkabouta\'month\'svacation\'——andI

getjustassick。I\'mrattled——Ican\'tplan——Ihaven\'tgotanyplans——can\'tmakeany,excepttotakemygirlandgetjustasfarawayfromthatofficeasIcan——andstay。We\'regoingtoJapanfirst,andifwe——"

Hisfatherrustledthepaper。"Isaidgood—by,Roscoe。"

"Good—by,"saidRoscoe,listlessly。

Sheridanwaiteduntilheheardthesoundoftheouterdoorclosing;thenheroseandpushedatinydisksetinthewall。Jacksonappeared。

"HasBibbsgothomefromwork？"

"Mist\'Bibbs？No,suh。"

"TellhimIwanttoseehim,soonashecomes。"

"Yessuh。"

Sheridanreturnedtohischairandfixedhisattentionfiercelyuponthenewspaper。Hefounditdifficulttopursuetheitemsbeyondtheirexplanatoryrubrics——therewasnothingunusualorstartlingtoconcentratehisattention:

"MotormanPutsBlameonBrakes。ThreeKilledwhenCarSlides。"

"BurglarsMakeBigHaul。""BoardWorksApproveBigCar—lineExtension。""Hold—upMenInjureTwo。ManFoundinAlley,SkullFractured。""SickeningStoryToldinDivorceCourt。""PlanNewEighteen—storyStructure。""School—girlMeetsDeathunderAutomobile。""NegroCutsThree。OneDead。""LifeCrushedOut。

ThirdElevatorAccidentinSameBuildingCausesActionbyCoroner。""DeclareMilitiawillbeMenace。PolishSocietiesProtesttoGovernorinChurchRiotingCase。""Short$3,500inAccounts,TrustedManKillsSelfwithDrug。""FoundFrozen。

FamilyWithoutFoodorFuel。BabyDeadwhenParentsReturnHomefromSeekingWork。""MinisterReturnedfromTripAbroadLecturesonBigFutureofOurCity。SeesBigImprovementduringShortAbsence。SaysNoEuropeanCityHoldsCandle。"

（Sheridannoddedapprovinglyhere。）

Bibbscamethroughthehallwhistling,andenteredtheroombriskly。"Well,father,didyouwantme？"

"Yes。Sitdown。"Sheridangotup,andBibbstookaseatbythefire,holdingouthishandstothecracklingblaze,foritwascoldoutdoors。

"Icamewithinsevenoftheshoprecordto—day,"hesaid。"Ihandledmorestripsthandanyotherworkmanhasanydaythismonth。Thenearesttomeissixteenbehind。"

"There！"exclaimedhisfather,greatlypleased。"What\'dItellyou？I\'dliketohearGurneyhintagainthatIwasn\'trightinsendingyouthere——Iwouldjustliketohearhim！Andyou——ain\'tyouashamedofmakin\'suchafussaboutit？Ain\'tyou？"

"Ididn\'tgoatitintherightspirittheothertime,"Bibbssaid,smilingbrightly,hisfaceruddyinthecheerfulfirelight。"Ididn\'tknowthedifferenceitmeanttolikeathing。"

"Well,IguessI\'veprettythoroughlyvindicatedmyjudgement。IguessI

HAVE！Isaidtheshop\'dbegoodforyou,anditwas。Isaiditwouldn\'thurtyou,andithasn\'t。It\'sbeenjustexactlywhatIsaiditwouldbe。

Ain\'tthatso？"

"Lookslikeit！"Bibbsagreed,gaily。

"Well,I\'dliketoknowanyplaceIbeenwrong,firstandlast！Insteado\'

hurtingyou,it\'sbeenthemakin\'ofyou——physically。You\'reagoodinchtaller\'nwhatIam,andyou\'dbeabiggermanthanwhatIamifyou\'dgetsomefleshonyourbones;andyouAREgettin\'alittle。Physically,it\'sstartedyououttobethehuskiestoneo\'thewholefamily。Now,then,mentally——that\'sdifferent。Idon\'tsayitunkindly,Bibbs,butyougottodosomethingforyourselfmentally,justlikewhat\'sbegunphysically。AndI\'mgoin\'tohelpyou。"

Sheridandecidedtositdownagain。Hebroughthischairclosetohisson\'s,and,leaningover,tappedBibbs\'skneeconfidentially。"Igotplansforyou,Bibbs,"hesaid。

Bibbsinstantlylookedthoroughlyalarmed。Hedrewback。"I——I\'mallrightnow,father。"

"Listen。"Sheridansettledhimselfinhischair,andspokeinthetoneofareasonablemanreasoning。"Listenhere,Bibbs。Ihadanotherblowto—day,anditwasahardoneandrightintheface,thoughIHAVEbeenexpectin\'itsomelittletimeback。Well,it\'sgottobemet。NowI\'llbefrankwithyou。

AsIsaidaminuteago,mentallyIcouldn\'tevercalledyouexactlystrong。

Youbeenalittleweakbothways,mostofyourlife。NotbutwhatIthinkyouGOTamentality,ifyou\'dlearntouseit。Yougotwill—power,I\'llsaythatforyou。Ineverknewboyormanthatcouldbestubborner——neveroneinmylife！Now,then,you\'veshowedyoucouldlearntorunthatmachinebestofanymanintheshop,innotimeatall。Thatlookstomelikeyoucouldlearntodootherthings。Idon\'tdenybutwhatit\'sanencouragin\'sign。Idon\'tdenythat,atall。Well,thathelpsmetothinkthecaseain\'tsohopelessasitlooks。You\'reallIgottomeetthisblowwith,butmaybeyouain\'taspoormaterialasIthought。Yourtellin\'meaboutcomin\'withinsevenstripsoftheshop\'srecordto—daylookstomelikeencouragin\'informationbroughtinatjustabouttherighttime。Now,then,I\'mgoin\'togiveyouaraise。I

wantedtosendyoustraightonupthroughtheshops——ayearortwo,maybe——

butIcan\'tdoit。IlostJim,andnowI\'velostRoscoe。He\'squit。He\'slaiddownonme。Ifheevercomesbackatall,he\'llbealongtimepickin\'

upthestrings,and,anyway,heain\'tthemanIthoughthewas。Ican\'tcountonhim。IgottohaveSOMEBODYIKNOWIcancounton。AndI\'mdowntothis:

you\'remylastchance。Bibbs,Igottolearnyoutousewhatbrainsyougotandseeifwecan\'tdevelop\'emalittle。Whoknows？AndI\'mgoin\'toputmytimeinonit。I\'mgoin\'totakeyourightdown—townwithME,andIwon\'tbehardonyouifyou\'realittleslowatfirst。AndI\'mgoin\'todothebigthingforyou。I\'mgoin\'tomakeyoufeelyougottodothebigthingforme,inreturn。I\'vevindicatedmypolicywithyouabouttheshop,andnowI\'mgoin\'toturnrightaroundandswingyou\'wayoveraheadofwheretheotherboysstarted,andI\'mgoin\'tomakeanappealtoyourambitionthat\'llmakeyoudizzy！"Hetappedhissononthekneeagain。"Bibbs,I\'mgoin\'tostartyouoffthisway:I\'mgoin\'tomakeyouadirectorinthePumpWorksCompany;

I\'mgoin\'tomakeyouvice—presidentoftheRealtyCompanyandavice—presidentoftheTrustCompany！"

Bibbsjumpedtohisfeet,blanched。"Ohno！"hecried。

Sheridantookhisdismaytobetheexcitementofsuddenjoy。"Yes,sir！Andthere\'ssomeprettyfatlittlesalariesgoeswiththosevice—presidencies,andapincho\'stockinthePumpCompanywiththedirectorship。YouthoughtIwasprettymeanabouttheshop——oh,Iknowyoudid！——butyouseetheoldmancanplayitbothways。Andsorightnow,theminuteyou\'vebeguntomakegoodthewayIwantedyouto,Idealfromthenewdeck。AndI\'llkeeponhandin\'itoutbiggerandbiggereverytimeyoushowmeyou\'rebigenoughtoplaythehandIdealyou。I\'mstartin\'youwithaprettybigone,myboy！"

"ButIdon\'t——Idon\'t——Idon\'twantit！"Bibbsstammered。

"What\'dyousay？"Sheridanthoughthehadnotheardaright。

"Idon\'twantit,father。Ithankyou——Idothankyou——"

Sheridanlookedperplexed。"What\'sthematterwithyou？Didn\'tyouunderstandwhatIwastellin\'you？"

"Yes。"

"Yousure？Ireckonyoudidn\'t。Ioffered——"

"Iknow,Iknow！ButIcan\'ttakeit。"

"What\'sthematterwithyou？"Sheridanwashalfamazed,halfsuspicious。

"Yourheadfeelfunny？"

"I\'veneverbeenquitesosaneinmylife,"saidBibbs,"asIhavelately。AndI\'vegotjustwhatIwant。I\'mlivingexactlytherightlife。I\'mearningmydailybread,andI\'mhappyindoingit。Mywagesareenough。Idon\'twantanymoremoney,andIdon\'tdeserveany——"

"Damnation！"Sheridansprangup。"You\'veturnedSocialist！Youbeenlisteningtothosefellowsdownthere,andyou——"

"No,sir。Ithinkthere\'sagreatdealinwhattheysay,butthatisn\'tit。"

Sheridantriedtorestrainhisgrowingfury,andsucceededpartially。"Thenwhatisit？What\'sthematter？"

"Nothing,"hesonreturned,nervously。"Nothing——exceptthatI\'mcontent。I

don\'twanttochangeanything。"

"Whynot？"

Bibbshadtheincrediblefollytotrytoexplain。"I\'lltellyou,father,ifIcan。Iknowitmaybehardtounderstand——"

"Yes,Ithinkitmaybe,"saidSheridan,grimly。"WhatyousayusuallyisaLITTLEthatway。Goon！"

Perturbedanddistressed,Bibbsroseinstinctively;hefelthimselfateverypossibledisadvantage。Hewasasleeperclingingtoadream——aroughhandstretchedtoshakehimandwakenhim。Hewenttoatableandmadevaguedrawingsuponitwithafinger,andashespokehekepthiseyeslowered。

"Youweren\'taltogetherrightabouttheshop——thatis,inonewayyouweren\'t,father。"Heglancedupapprehensively。Sheridanstoodfacinghim,expressionless,andmadenoattempttointerrupt。"That\'sdifficulttoexplain,"Bibbscontinued,loweringhiseyesagain,tofollowthetracingsofhisfinger。"I——IbelievetheshopmighthavedoneformethistimeifI

hadn\'t——ifsomethinghadn\'thelpedmeto——oh,notonlytobearit,buttobehappyinit。Well,IAMhappyinit。IwanttogoonjustasIam。AndofallthingsonearththatIdon\'twant,Idon\'twanttoliveabusinesslife——I

don\'twanttobedrawnintoit。Idon\'tthinkitISliving——andnowIAM

living。Ihavethehealthfultoil——andIcanthink。InbusinessasimportantasyoursIcouldn\'tthinkanythingbutbusiness。Idon\'t——Idon\'tthinkmakingmoneyisworthwhile。"

"Goon,"saidSheridan,curtly,asBibbspausedtimidly。

"Ithasn\'tseemedtogetanywhere,thatIcansee,"saidBibbs。"Youthinkthiscityisrichandpowerful——butwhat\'stheuseofitsbeingrichandpowerful？Theydon\'tteachthechildrenanymoreintheschoolsbecausethecityisrichandpowerful。Theyteachthemmorethantheyusedtobecausesomepeople——notrichandpowerfulpeople——havethoughtthethoughtstoteachthechildren。Andyetwhenyou\'vebeenreadingthepaperI\'veheardyouobjectingtothechildrenbeingtaughtanythingexceptwhatwouldhelpthemtomakemoney。Yousaiditwaswastingthetaxes。Youwantthemtaughttomakealiving,butnottolive。WhenIwasalittleboythiswasn\'tanuglytown;

nowit\'shideous。What\'stheuseofbeingbigjusttobehideous？ImeanI

don\'tthinkallthishasmeantreallygoingahead——it\'sjustbeengettingbiggeranddirtierandnoisier。Wasn\'tthewholecountryhappierandinmanywayswiserwhenitwassmallerandcleanerandquieterandkinder？IknowyouthinkI\'manutterfool,father,but,afterall,though,aren\'tbusinessandpoliticsjustthehousekeepingpartoflife？Andwouldn\'tyoudespiseawomanthatnotonlymadeherhousekeepingherambition,butdiditsonoisilyanddirtilythatthewholeneighborhoodwasinacontinualturmoiloverit？Andsupposedshetalkedandthoughtaboutherhousekeepingallthetime,andwasalwayshavingadditionsbuilttoherhousewhenshecouldn\'tkeepcleanwhatshealreadyhad;andsuppose,withitall,shemadethehousealtogetherunpeacefulandunlivable——"

"Justoneminute！"Sheridaninterrupted,adding,withterriblecourtesy,"Ifyouwillpermitme？Haveyoueverbeenrightaboutanything？"

"Idon\'tquite——"

"Iaskthesimplequestion:Haveyoueverbeenrightaboutanythingwhateverinthecourseofyourlife？Haveyoueverbeenrightuponanysubjectorquestionyou\'vethoughtaboutandtalkedabout？Canyoumentiononesingletimewhenyouwereprovedtoberight？"

Hewasflourishingthebandagedhandashespoke,butBibbssaidonly,"IfI\'vealwaysbeenwrongbefore,surelythere\'smorechancethatI\'mrightaboutthis。Itseemsreasonabletosupposesomethingwouldbeduetobringupmyaverage。"

"Yes,Ithoughtyouwouldn\'tseethepoint。Andthere\'sanotheryouprobablycouldn\'tsee,butI\'lltakethelibertytomentionit。Youbeenbalkin\'allyourlife。PrettymucheverythingIeverwantedyoutodo,you\'dletoutSOME

kindofaholler,likeyouarenow——andyetIcan\'tseemtorememberoncewhenyoudidn\'thavetolaydownanddowhatIsaid。Butgoonwithyourremarksaboutourcityandthebusinessofthiscountry。Goon！"

"Idon\'twanttobeapartofit,"saidBibbs,withunwonteddecision。"I

wanttokeeptomyself,andI\'mdoingitnow。Icouldn\'t,ifIwentdowntherewithyou。I\'dbeswallowedintoit。Idon\'tcareformoneyenoughtto——"

"No,"hisfatherinterrupted,stilldangerouslyquiet。"You\'veneverhadtoearnaliving。Anybodycouldtellthatbywhatyousay。Now,letmeremindyou:you\'resleepin\'inaprettygoodbed;you\'reeatin\'prettyfairfood;

you\'rewearin\'prettyfineclothes。Justsupposeoneo\'thesenoisyhousekeepers——me,forinstance——decidedtoletyoudoyourownhousekeepin\'。

MayIaskwhatyourpropositionwouldbe？"

"I\'mearningninedollarsaweek,"saidBibbs,sturdily。"It\'senough。I

shouldn\'tmindatall。"

"Who\'spayin\'youthatninedollarsaweek？"

"Mywork！"Bibbsanswered。"AndI\'vedonesowellonthatclipping—machineI

believeIcouldworkuptofifteenoreventwentyaweekatanotherjob。I

couldbeafairplumberinafewmonths,I\'msure。I\'dratherhaveatradethanbeinbusiness——Ishould,infinitely！"

"Youbettersetaboutlearnin\'oneprettydam\'quick！"ButSheridanstruggledwithhistemperandagainwaspartiallysuccessfulincontrollingit。"YoubetterlearnatradeoverSunday,becauseyou\'reeithergoin\'downwithmetomyofficeMondaymorning——or——youcangotoplumbing！"

"Allright,"saidBibbs,gently。"Icangetalong。"

Sheridanraisedhishandssardonically,asinprayer。"OGod,"hesaid,"thisboywascrazyenoughbeforehebegantoearnhisninedollarsaweek,andnowhismoney\'sgonetohishead！Can\'tYoudonothin\'forhim？"Thenheflunghishandsapart,palmsoutward,inafuriousgestureofdismissal。"Getouto\'thisroom！Yougotaskullthat\'sthicker\'nawhale\'sthigh—bone,butit\'scrackedspangallthewayacross！Youhatedthemachine—shopsobadwhenI

sentyouthere,youwentandstayedsickforovertwoyears——andnow,whenI

offertotakeyououtofitandgiveyouthemint,youhollerfortheshoplikeacalfforitsmammy！You\'recracked！Oh,butIgotafinelayouthere！

Onesondied,onequit,andone\'saloon！Theloon\'sallIgotleft！H。P。

Ellersly\'swifehadacrazybrother,andtheyundertooktokeephimatthehouse。Firstmorninghewastherehewalkedstraightthoughaten—dollarplate—glasswindowoutintotheyard。Hesays,\'Oh,lookattheprettydandelion！\'That\'swhatyou\'redoin\'！Youwanttospendyourlifesayin\',\'Oh,lookattheprettydandelion！\'andyoudon\'tcareatinker\'sdam\'whatyoubust！Well,mister,loonornoloon,crackedandcrazyorwhateveryouare,I\'lltakeyouwithmeMondaymorning,andI\'llworkyouandlearnyou——yes,andI\'lllamyou,ifIgotto——untilI\'vemadesomethingoutofyouthat\'sfittobecalledabusinessman！I\'llkeepatyouwhileI\'mabletostand,andifIhavetolaydowntodieI\'llbewhisperin\'atyoutilltheygettheembalmin\'—fluidintome！Nowgoon,anddon\'tletmehearfromyouagaintillyoucancomeandtellmeyou\'vewakedup,youpoor,pitiful,dandelion—pickin\'SLEEP—WALKER！"

Bibbsgavehimaqueerlook。Therewassomethinglikereproachinit,foronce;buttherewasmorethanthat——heseemedtobestartledbyhisfather\'slastword。

Therewassleetthatevening,withawhoppingwind,butneitherthisstormnorthatotherwhichsoimminentlythreatenedhimheldplaceintheconsciousnessofBibbsSheridanwhenhecameoncemoretothepresenceofMary。Allwasrightinhisworldhashesatwithher,readingMauriceMaeterlinck\'sAlladineandPalomides。Thesorrowfullightofthegas—jetmighthavebeenMaymorningsunshineflashingamberandrosethroughtheglowingwindowsoftheSainte—Chapelle,itwassobrightforBibbs。Andwhilethezinc—eaterheldouttobringhimsuchgoldennightsasthese,alltheking\'shorsesandalltheking\'smenmightnotservetobreakthespell。

Bibbsreadslowly,butinareasonablemanner,asifheweretalking;andMary,lookingathimsteadilyfrombeneathhercurvedfingers,appearedtodiscovernofault。Ithadgrowntobeherhabittolookathimwhenevertherewasanopportunity。Itmaybesaid,intruth,thatwhiletheyweretogether,anditwaslight,shelookedathimallthetime。

WhenhecametotheendofAlladineandPalomidestheyweresilentalittlewhile,consideringtogether;thenheturnedbackthepagesandsaid:"There\'ssomethingIwanttoreadover。This:

YouwouldthinkIthrewawindowopenonthedawn……Shehasasoulthatcanbeseenaroundher——thattakesyouinitsarmslikeanailingchildandwithoutsayinganythingtoyouconsolesyouforeverything……Ishallneverunderstanditall。Idonotknowhowitcanallbe,butmykneesbendinspiteofmewhenIspeakofit……

Hestoppedandlookedather。

"Youboy！"saidMary,notveryclearly。

"Ohyes,"hereturned。"Butit\'strue——especiallymyknees！"

"Youboy！"shemurmuredagain,blushingcharmingly。"Youmightreadanotherlineover。ThefirsttimeIeversawyou,Bibbs,youwerelookingintoamirror。Doitagain。Butyouneedn\'treadit——Icangiveittoyou:"A

littleGreekslavethatcamefromtheheartofArcady！"

"I！I\'moneofthehandsatthePumpWorks——andgoingtostayone,unlessI

havetodecidetostudyplumbing。"

"No。"Sheshookherhead。"Youloveandwantwhat\'sbeautifulanddelicateandserene;it\'sreallyartthatyouwantinyourlife,andhavealwayswanted。Youseemedtome,fromthefirst,themostwistfulpersonIhadeverknown,andthat\'swhatyouwerewistfulfor。"

Bibbslookeddoubtfulandmorewistfulthanever;butafteramomentortwothematterseemedtoclarifyitselftohim。"Why,no,"hesaid;"Iwantedsomethingelsemorethanthat。Iwantedyou。"