第15章

"AndhereIam！"shelaughed,completelyunderstanding。"Ithinkwe\'relikethosetwoinTheCloisterandtheHearth。I\'mjusttheroughBurgundiancross—bowman,Denys,whofollowedthatgentleGerardandtoldeverybodythatthedevilwasdead。"

"Heisn\'t,though,"saidBibbs,asahoarselittlebellinthenextroombeganaseriesofsnappingswhichprovedtobeten,uponcount。"HegetsintotheclockwheneverI\'mwithyou。"And,sighingdeeply,herosetogo。

"You\'realwaysverypromptaboutleavingme。"

"I——Itrytobe,"hesaid。"Itisn\'teasytobecarefulnottoriskeverythingbygivingmyselfalittlemoreatatime。IfIeversawyoulooktired——"

"Haveyouever？"

"Notyet。Youalwayslook——youalwayslook——"

"How？"

"Care—free。That\'sit。Exceptwhenyoufeelsorryformeaboutsomething,youalwayshavethatsplendidlook。Itputscourageintopeopletoseeit。

IfIhadastruggletofaceI\'dkeeprememberingthatlook——andI\'dnevergiveup！It\'sabravelook,too,asthoughgaietymightbeakindofgallantryonyourpart,andyetIdon\'tquiteunderstandwhyitshouldbe,either。"Hesmiledquizzically,lookingdownuponher。"Mary,youhaven\'ta\'secretsorrow,\'haveyou？"

Foranswersheonlylaughed。

"No,"hesaid;"Ican\'timagineyouwithacareintheworld。Ithinkthat\'swhyyouweresokindtome——youhavenothingbuthappinessinyourownlife,andsoyoucouldsparetimetomakemytroublesturntohappiness,too。Butthere\'sonelittletimeinthetwenty—fourhourswhenI\'mnothappy。It\'snow,whenIhavetosaygoodnight。Ifeeldismaleverytimeitcomes——andthen,whenI\'veleftthehouse,there\'sabadlittleblankness,ablackvoid,asthoughIweretemporarilydead;anditlastsuntilIgetitestablishedinmymindthatI\'mreallybeginninganotherdaythat\'stoendwithYOUagain。

ThenIcheerup。Butnow\'sthebadtime——andImustgothroughit,andso——goodnight。"Andheaddedwithapungentvehemenceofwhichhewaslittleaware,"Ihateit！"

"Doyou？"shesaid,risingtogotothedoorwithhim。Buthestoodmotionless,gazingatherwonderingly。

"Mary！Youreyesareso——"Hestopped。

"Yes？"Butshelookedquicklyaway。

"Idon\'tknow,"hesaid。"Ithoughtjustthen——"

"Whatdidyouthink？"

"Idon\'tknow——itseemedtomethattherewassomethingIoughttounderstand——anddidn\'t。"

Shelaughedandmethiswonderinggazeagainfrankly。"Myeyesarepleased,"

shesaid。"I\'mgladthatyoumissmealittleafteryougo。"

"Butto—morrow\'scomingfasterthanotherdaysifyou\'llletit,"hesaid。

Sheinclinedherhead。"Yes。I\'ll——\'letit\'！"

"Goingtochurch,"saidBibbs。"ItISgoingtochurchwhenIgowithyou！"

Shewenttothefrontdoorwithhim;shealwayswentthatfar。Theyhadformedalittlecodeofleave—taking,byhabit,neitherofthemeverspeakingofit;butitwasalwaysthesame。Shealwaysstoodinthedoorwayuntilhereachedthesidewalk,andtherehealwaysturnedandlookedback,andshewavedherhandtohim。Thenhewenton,halfwaytotheNewHouse,andlookedbackagain,andMarywasnotinthedoorway,butthedoorwasopenandthelightshone。Itwasasifshemeanttotellhimthatshewouldnevershuthimout;hecouldalwaysseethatfriendlylightoftheopendoorway——asifitwereopenforhimtocomeback,ifhewould。HecouldseeituntilawingoftheNewHousecamebetween,whenhewentupthepath。Theopendoorwayseemedtohimthebeautifulsymbolofherfriendship——ofherthoughtofhim;asymbolofherselfandofherineffablekindness。

Andshekeptthedooropen——evento—night,thoughthesleetandfinesnowsweptinuponherbarethroatandarms,andherbrownhairwasstrewnwithtinywhitestars。Hisheartleapedasheturnedandsawthatshewasthere,wavingherhandtohim,asifshedidnotknowthatthestormtouchedher。

Whenhehadgoneon,Marydidasshealwaysdid——shewentintoanunlitroomacrossthehallfromthatinwhichtheyhadspenttheevening,and,lookingfromthewindow,watchedhimuntilhewasoutofsight。Thestormmadethatdifficultto—night,butshecaughtaglimpseofhimunderthestreet—lampthatstoodbetweenthetwohouses,andsawthatheturnedtolookbackagain。

Then,andnotbefore,shelookedattheupperwindowsofRoscoe\'shouseacrossthestreet。Theyweredark。Marywaited,butafteralittlewhilesheclosedthefrontdoorandreturnedtoherwindow。AmomentlatertwooftheupperwindowsofRoscoe\'shouseflashedintolightandahandloweredtheshadeofoneofthem。Maryfeltthecoldthen——itwasthethirdnightshehadseenthosewindowslightedandtheshadelowered,justafterBibbshadgone。

ButBibbshadnoglancetospareforRoscoe\'swindows。Hestoppedforhislastlookbackattheopendoor,and,withathinmantleofwhitealreadyuponhisshoulders,madehisway,gaspinginthewind,totheleeoftheshelteringwingoftheNewHouse。

AstrickenGeorge,mutteringhoarsely,admittedhim,andBibbsbecameawareofaparoxysmwithinthehouse。Terriblesoundscamefromthelibrary:Sheridancursingasneverbefore;hiswifesobbing,hervoicerisingtoanagonizedsquealofprotestuponeachofaseriesofmuffleddetonations——theoutrageousthumpingofabandagedhanduponwood;thenGurney,sharplyimperious,"Keepyourhandinthatsling！Keepyourhandinthatsling,I

say！"

"LOOK！"Georgegasped,delightedtoplayheraldforsoimportantatragedy;

andhereneweduponhisfacetheghastlyexpressionwithwhichhehadfirstbeheldtheruinshiscalamitousgesturelaidbeforetheeyesofBibbs。"Lookat\'atlamidalstatue！"

Gazingdownthehall,Bibbssawheroicwreckage,seeminglyByzantine——paintedcolossalfragmentsoftheshatteredtorso,appallinglyhuman;andgildedandsilveredheapsofmagnificencestrewnamongruinouspalmslikethespoilofabarbarians\'battle。Therehadbeenamassacreintheoasis——theMoorhadbeenhurledheadlongfromhispedestal。

"Hehit\'atolelamidalstatue,"saidGeorge。"POW！"

"Myfather？"

"YESshu！POW！hehit\'er！An\'you\'maruntellmegitdoctuhquick\'sIkintelefoam——shesho\'you\'pagoin\'bus\'ablood—vessel。Heain\'ttakin\'on\'tallNOW。Heain\'tnothin\'\'talltowhathewas\'whileago。Youdonemiss\'

it,Mist\'Bibbs。Doctuhgothimallquiet\'down,towhathewas。POW！hehit\'er！Yessuh！"HetookBibbs\'scoatandprofferedacrumpledtelegraphform。

"Herewhatcome,"hesaid。"Ipick\'erupwhenhedonestompin\'on\'er。Youread\'er,Mist\'Bibbs——you\'matellmetuhn\'erovuhtoyousoon\'syoucomein。"

Bibbsreadthetelegramquickly。ItwasfromNewYorkandaddressedtoMrs。

Sheridan。

SureyouwillallapprovestephavetakenaswassowretchedmyhealthwouldprobablysufferedseverelyRobertandIweremarriedthisafternoonthoughtbesthavequietweddingabsolutelysureyouwillunderstandwisdomofstepwhenyouknowRobertbetteramhappiestwomaninworldareleavingforFloridawillwireaddresswhensettledwillremaintillspringlovetoallfatherwilllikehimtoowhenknowshimlikeIdoheisjustideal。

EdithLamhorn。

Georgedeparted,andBibbswasleftgazinguponchaosandlisteningtothunder。Hecouldnotreachthestairwaywithoutpassingtheopendoorsofthelibrary,andhewasconvincedthatthemereglimpseofhim,justthen,wouldprovenothinglessthaninsufferableforhisfather。Forthatreasonhewasabouttomakehisescapeintothegold—and—brocaderoom,intendingtokeepoutofsight,whenheheardSheridanvociferouslydemandinghispresence。

"Tellhimtocomeinhere！He\'soutthere。IheardGeorgejustlethimin。

Nowyou\'llSEE！"Andtear—stainedMrs。Sheridan,lookingoutintothehall,beckonedtoherson。

Bibbswentasfarasthedoorway。Gurneysatwindingastripofwhitecotton,hisblackbagopenuponachairnearby;andSheridanwasstridingupanddown,hishandsoheavilywrappedinfreshbandagesthatheseemedtobewearingasmallboxing—glove。Hiseyeswerebloodshot;hisforeheadwasheavilybedewed;onesideofhiscollarhadbrokenloose,andtherewereblood—stainsuponhisrightcuff。

"THERE\'Sourlittlesunshine！"hecried,asBibbsappeared。"THERE\'Sthehopeo\'thefamily——mylifelongprideandjoy！Iwant——"

"Keepyouhandinthatsling,"saidGurney,sharply。

Sheridanturneduponhim,utteringasoundlikeahowl。"ForGod\'ssake,singanothertune！"hecried。"Yousaidyou\'cameasadoctorbutstayasafriend,\'andinthatcapacityyouundertaketositupandcriticizeME——"

"Oh,talksense,"saidthedoctor,andyawnedintentionally。"WhatdoyouwantBibbstosay？"

"Youweresittin\'uptheretellin\'meIgot\'hysterical\'——\'hysterical,\'ohLord！YousatupthereandtoldmeIgot\'hysterical\'overnothin\'！Yousatuptheretellin\'meIdidn\'thaveasheavyburdensasmanyanothermanyouknew。IjustwantyoutohearTHIS。Nowlisten！"Heswungtowardthequietfigurewaitinginthedoorway。"Bibbs,willyoucomedown—townwithmeMondaymorningandletmestartyouwithtwovice—presidencies,adirectorship,stock,andsalaries？Iaskyou。"

"No,father,"saidBibbs,gently。

SheridanlookedatGurneyandthenfacedhissononcemore。

"Bibbs,youwanttostayintheshop,doyou,atninedollarsaweek,insteadoftakin\'upmyoffer？"

"Yes,sir。"

"AndI\'dlikethedoctortohear:What\'llyoudoifIdecideyou\'retoohigh—pricedaworkin\'—maneithertoliveinmyhouseorworkinmyshop？"

"Findotherwork,"saidBibbs。

"There！Youhearhimforyourself！"Sheridancried。"Youhearwhat——"

"Keepyouhandinthatsling！Yes,Ihearhim。"

SheridanleanedoverGurneyandshouted,inavoicethatcrackedandbroke,pipingintofalsetto:"Hethinksofbein\'aPLUMBER！HewantstobeaPLUMBER！Hetoldmehecouldn\'tTHINKifhewentintobusiness——hewantstobeaplumbersohecanTHINK！"

Hefellbackastep,wipinghisforheadwiththebackofhislefthand。

"There！That\'smyson！That\'stheonlysonIgotnow！That\'smychancetolive,"hecried,withabitternessthatseemedtoleaveashesinhisthroat。

"That\'smyonechancetolive——thatthingyouseeinthedoorwayyonder！"

Dr。Gurneythoughtfullyregardedthebandagestriphehadbeenwinding,andtosseditintotheopenbag。"What\'sthematterwithgivingBibbsachancetolive？"hesaid,coolly。"IwouldifIwereyou。You\'vehadTWOthatwentintobusiness。"

Sheridan\'smouthmovedgrotesquelybeforehecouldspeak。"JoeGurney,"hesaid,whenhecouldcommandhimselfsofar,"areyouaccusin\'meoftheresponsibilityforthedeathofmysonJames？"

"Iaccuseyouofnothing,"saidthedoctor。"ButjustonceI\'dliketohaveitoutwithyouonthequestionofBibbs——andwhilehe\'shere,too。"Hegotup,walkedtothefire,andstoodwarminghishandsbehindhisbackandsmiling。"Lookhere,oldfellow,let\'sbereasonable,"hesaid。"YouwereboundBibbsshouldgototheshopagain,andIgaveyouandhim,both,tounderstandprettyplainlythatifhewentitwasattheriskofhislife。

Well,whatdidhedo？Hesaidhewantedtogo。Andhedidgo,andhe\'smadegoodthere。Now,see:Isn\'tthatenough？Can\'tyoulethimoffnow？Hewantstowrite,andhowdoyouknowthathecouldn\'tdoitifyougavehimachance？Howdoyouknowhehasn\'tsomemessage——somethingtosaythatmightmaketheworldjustalittlebithappierorwiser？HeMIGHT——intime——it\'sapossibilitynottobedenied。Nowhecan\'tdeliveranymessageifhegoesdowntherewithyou,andhewon\'tHAVEanytodeliver。Idon\'tsaygoingdownwithyouislikelytoinjurehishealth,asIthoughttheshopwould,andastheshopdid,thefirsttime。I\'mnotspeakingasdoctornow,anyhow。ButI

tellyouonethingIknow:ifyoutakehimdownthereyou\'llkillsomethingthatIfeelisinhim,andit\'sfiner,Ithink,thanhisphysicalbody,andyou\'llkillitdeaderthanadoor—nail！Andsowhynotletitlive？You\'veaboutcometotheendofyourstring,oldfellow。WhynotstopthisperpetualdevilishfightingandgiveBibbshischance？"

Sheridanstoodlookingathimfixedly。"What\'fighting？\'"

"Yours——withnature。"Gurneysustainedthedauntinggazeofhisfierceantagonistequably。"Youdon\'tseemtounderstandthatyou\'vebeenstrugglingagainstactuallaw。"

"Whatlaw？"

"Naturallaw,"saidGurney。"WhatdoyouthinkbeatyouwithEdith？DidEdith,herself,beatyou？Didn\'tsheobeywithoutquestionsomethingpowerfulthatwasagainstyou？EDITHwasn\'tagainstyou,andyouweren\'tagainstHER,butyousetyourselfagainstthepowerthathadherinitsgrip,anditshotoutaspurtofflame——andwoninawalk！What\'stakenRoscoefromyou？

Timbersbearjustsomuchstrain,oldman;butYOUwantedtosendtheloadacrossthebrokenbridge,andyouthoughtyoucouldbullyorcoaxthecrackedthingintostanding。Well,youcouldn\'t！Nowhere\'sBibbs。Therearethousandsofmenfitforthelifeyouwanthimtolead——andsoishe。Itwouldn\'ttakehalfofBibbs\'sbrainstobetwiceasgoodabusinessmanasJimandRoscoeputtogether。"

"WHAT！"Sheridangoggledathimlikeazany。

"YoursonBibbs,"saidthedoctor,composedly,"BibbsSheridanhasthekindandquantityof\'graymatter\'thatwillmakehimasuccessinanything——ifheeverwakesup！PersonallyIshouldpreferhimtoremainasleep。Ilikehimthatway。Butthethousandsofmenfitforthelifeyouwanthimtoleadaren\'tfittodomuchwiththelifeheOUGHTtolead。Blindly,he\'sbeenfightingforthechancetoleadit——he\'sobeyingsomethingthatbegstostayalivewithinhim;and,blindly,heknowsyou\'llcrushitout。You\'vesetyourwilltodoit。Letmetellyousomethingmore。Youdon\'tknowwhatyou\'vebecomesinceJim\'sgoingthwartedyou——andthat\'swhatwasuppermost,abafflementstrongerthanyournormalgrief。You\'rehalfmadwithaconsumingfuryagainsttheveryselfofthelaw——foritwastheveryselfofthelawthattookJimfromyou。Thatwasalawconcerningthecohesionofmolecules。

TheveryselfofthelawtookRoscoefromyouandgaveEdiththecertaintyofbeatingyou;andtheveryselfofthelawmakesBibbsdenyyouto—night。TheLAWbeatsyou。Haven\'tyoubeenwhippedenough？Butyouwanttowhipthelaw——you\'vesetyourselfagainstit,tobendittoyourownends,towielditandtwistit——"

ThevoicebrokefromSheridan\'sheavingchestinashout。"Yes！AndbyGod,Iwill！"

"SoAjaxdefiedthelightning,"saidGurney。

"I\'veheardthatdam\'—foolstory,too,"Sheridanretorted,fiercely。"That\'sforchuldernandniggers。Itain\'ttwentiethcentury,letmetellyou！

"Defiedthelighning,\'didhe,thejackass！Ifhe\'dbeenhalfamanhe\'d\'a\'

gotawaywithit。WEdon\'tgoshowin\'offdefyin\'thelightning——wehitchitupandmakeitworkforuslikeablack—steer！Amannowadayswouldjustassoonthinko\'defyin\'awood—shed！"

"Well,whataboutBibbs？"saidGurney。"Willyoubeareallybigmannowand——"

"Gurney,youknowalotaboutbigness！"Sheridanbegantowalktoandfroagain,andthedoctorreturnedgloomilytohischair。Hehadshothisboltthemomenthejudgeditschancetostrikecenterwasbest,butthetargetseemedunawareofthemarksman。

"I\'mtryin\'tomakeabigmanouto\'thatpoortruckyonder,"Sheridanwenton,"andyoustepin,beggin\'metolethimbeLordknowswhat——Idon\'t！I

supposeyoufigureitoutthatnowIgotaSON—IN—LAW,Imightn\'tneedason！

Yes,Igotason—in—lawnow——aspender！"

"Oh,putyourhandback！"saidGurney,wearily。

Therewasabronzeinkstanduponthetable。Sheridanputhisrighthandinthesling,butwithhisleftheswepttheinkstandfromthetableandhalf—wayacrosstheroom——acometwithadestroyingblacktail。Mrs。Sheridanshriekedandsprangtowardit。

"Letitlay！"heshouted,fiercely。"Letitlay！"And,weeping,sheobeyed。

"Yes,sir,"hewenton,inavoicethemoreominousforthesuddenhushheputuponit。"Igotaspenderforason—in—law！It\'swonderfulwherepropertygoes,sometimes。TherewasolemanTracy——yourememberhim,Doc——J。R。Tracy,solidbanker。Hewentintothebankasmessenger,seventeenyearsold;hewaspresidentatforty—three,andhebuiltthatbankwithhislifeforfortyyearsmore。Hewasdowntherefromnineinthemorninguntilfourintheafternoonthedaybeforehedied——overeighty！Giltedge,thatbank？Itwasdiamondedge！Heusedtoeatabago\'peanutsandandappleforlunch;buthewasn\'tstingy——hewasjustlivin\'inhisbusiness。Hedidn\'tcareforpieorautomobiles——hehadhisbank。Itwasaninstitution,anditcomeprettynearbein\'thebeatin\'hearto\'thistowninitstime。Well,thatolemanusedtopassoneo\'thesehereturned—up—noseandturned—up—pantscigaretteboysonthestreets。Neverspoketohim,Tracydidn\'t。Speaktohim？God！hewouldn\'t\'a\'coughedonhim！Hewouldn\'t\'a\'lethimcleanthecuspidorsatthebank！Why,ifhe\'d\'a\'justseenhimstandin\'inFRONTthebankhe\'d\'a\'

hadhimrunoffthestreet。AndyetallTracywasdoin\'everydayofhislifewasworkin\'forthatcigaretteboy！Tracythoughtitwasforthebank;

hethoughthewasgivin\'hislifeandhislife—bloodandthebloodofhisbrainforthebank,buthewasn\'t。Itwaseverybit——fromthetimehewentinatseventeentillhediedinharnessateighty—three——itwaseverylastlickofitjustslavin\'forthatturned—up—nose,turned—up—pantscigaretteboy。

ANDTRACYDIDN\'TEVENKNOWHISNAME！Hedied,noteverhavin\'heardit,thoughhechasedhimoffthefrontstepsofhishouseonce。ThedayafterTracydiedhisold—maiddaughtermarriedthecigarette——andthereAIN\'TanyTracybankanymore！Andnow"——hisvoiceroseagain——"andnowIgotacigaretteson—in—law！"

Gurneypointedtotheflourishingrighthandwithoutspeaking,andSheridanoncemorereturnedittothesling。

"Myson—in—lawlikesFloridathiswinter,"Sheridanwenton。"That\'sgood,andmyson—in—lawbetterenjoyit,becauseIdon\'tthinkhe\'llbetherenextwinter。Theygottwelve—thousanddollarstospend,andIhearitcanbedoneinFloridabyrichsons—in—law。WhenRoscoe\'swomangotmetospendthatmuchonaporchfortheirnewhouse,Edithwouldn\'tgivemeaminute\'sresttillI

turnedoverthesametoher。Andshe\'sgotit,besideswhatIgavehertogoEaston。It\'llbegonelongbeforethistimenextyear,andwhenshecomeshomeandleavesthecigarettebehind——forgood——she\'llgetsomemore。MY

nameain\'tTracy,andthereain\'tgoin\'tobeanyTracybusinessintheSheridanfamily。Andthereain\'tgoin\'tobeanycollegefoundin\'andendowin\'andtrusteein\',norGod—knows—whattokeepmypropertyalivewhenI\'mgone！Edith\'llbeback,andshe\'llgetagirl\'ssharewhenshe\'sthroughwiththatcigarette,but——"

"Bytheway,"interposedGurney,"didn\'tMrs。SheridantellmethatBibbswarnedyouEdithwouldmarryLamhorninNewYork？"

Sheridanwentcompletelytopieces:heswore,whilehiswifescreamedandstoppedherears。Andashesworehepoundedthetablewithhiswoundedhand,andwhenthedoctor,afterstormingathimineffectively,sprangtocatchandprotectthathand,Sheridanwrencheditaway,tearingthebandage。Hehammeredthetabletillitleaped。

"Fool！"hepanted,choking。"Ifhe\'sshowngumptionenoughtoguessrightthefirsttimeinhislife,it\'senoughformetobeginlearnin\'himon！"And,strugglingwiththedoctor,heleanedtowardBibbs,thrustingforwardhisconvulsedface,whichwasdeathlypale。"Mynameain\'tTracy,Itellyou！"hescreamed,hoarsely。"Yougivein,youstubbornfool！I\'vehadmywaywithyoubefore,andI\'llhavemywaywithyounow！"

Bibbs\'sfacewasaswhiteashisfather\'s,buthekeptrememberingthat"splendidlook"ofMary\'swhichhehadtoldherwouldgivehimcourageinastruggle,sothathewould"nevergiveup。"

"No。Youcan\'thaveyourway,"hesaid。Andthen,obeyingasignificantmotionofGurney\'shead,hewentoutquickly,leavingthemstruggling。

Mrs。Sheridan,inawrapper,noiselesslyopenedthedoorofherhusband\'sroomatdaybreakthenextmorning,andpeeredwithinthedarkenedchamber。Atthe"old"housetheyhadsharedaroom,butthearchitecthadchosentoseparatethemattheNew,andtheyhadnotknownhowtoformulateanobjection,althoughtobothofthemsomethingseemedvaguelyreprehensibleinthenewarrangement。

Sheridandidnotstir,andshewaswithdrawingherheadfromtheaperturewhenhespoke。

"Oh,I\'m,AWAKE！Comein,ifyouwantto,andshutthedoor。"

Shecameandsatbythebed。"Iwokeupthinkin\'aboutit,"sheexplained。

"AndthemoreIthoughtaboutitthesurerIgotImustberight,andIknewyou\'dbetormentin\'yourselfifyouwasawake,so——well,yougotplentyothertroubles,butI\'mjustsureyouain\'tgoin\'tohavetheworrywithBibbsitlookslike。"

"YouBETIain\'t！"hegrunted。

"Lookhowbiddablehewasaboutgoin\'backtotheWorks,"shecontinued。"He\'sarightgood—heartedboy,really,andsometimesIhonestlyhavetosayheseemsrightsmart,too。Nowandthenhe\'llsaysomethingsoundsrightbright。

\'Course,mostalwaysitdoesn\'t,andagooddealofthetime,whenhesaysthings,why,Ihavetofeelgladwehaven\'tgotcompany,becausethey\'dthinkhedidn\'thaveanygumptionatall。Yet,lookatthewayhedidwhenJim——whenJimgothurt。Hetookrightholdo\'things。\'Coursehe\'dbeensickhimselfsomuchandall——andtherestofusneverhad,much,andwewerekindo\'greenaboutwhattodointhatkindo\'trouble——still,hedidtakehold,andeverythingwentoffallright;you\'llhavetosaythatmuch,papa。AndDr。

Gurneysayshe\'sgotbrains,andyoucan\'tdenybutwhatthedoctor\'srightconsiderableofaman。Heactssleepy,butthat\'sonlybecausehe\'sgotsuchalargepractice——he\'saprettywide—awakekindofamansomeways。Well,whathesayslastnightaboutBibbshimselfbein\'asleep,andhowmuchhe\'damounttoifheeverwokeup——that\'swhatIgottothinkin\'about。Youheardhim,papa;hesays,\'Bibbs\'llbeabiggerbusinessmanthanwhatJimandRoscoewasputtogether——ifheeverwakesup,\'hesays。Wasn\'tthatexactlywhathesays？"

"Isupposeso,"saidSheridan,withoutexhibitinganyinterest。"Gurney\'scrazier\'nBibbs,butifhewasn\'t——ifwhathesayswastrue——whatofit？"

"Listen,papa。JustsupposeBibbstookitintohismindtogetmarried。Youknowwherehegoesallthetime——"

"Oh,Lord,yes！"Sheridanturnedoverinthebed,hisfacetothewall,leavingvisibleofhimselfonlythethickgrizzleofhishair。"Youbettergobacktosleep。Herunsoverthere——everyminuteshe\'lllethim,Isuppose。

Gobacktobed。There\'snothin\'init。"

"WHYain\'tthere？"sheurged。"Iknowbetter——thereis,too！Youwaitandsee。There\'sjustonethingintheworldthat\'llwakethesleepiestyoungmanaliveup——yes,andmakehimJUMPup——andIdon\'tcarewhoheisorhowsoundasleepitlookslikeheis。That\'swhenhetakesitintohisheadtopickoutsomegirlandsettledownandhaveahomeandchuldernofhisown。

THEN,Iguess,he\'llgooutafterthemoney！You\'llsee。I\'veknowndozenso\'

cases,andso\'veyou——moony,no—\'countyoungmen,allnotionsandtalk,goin\'

tobeministers,maybeorsomething;andthere\'sjustthisonethingtakesitoutof\'emandbrings\'emrightdowntobusiness。Well,InevercouldmakeoutjustwhatitisBibbswantstobe,really;doesn\'tseemhewantstobeaministerexactly——he\'ssofar—awayyoucan\'ttell,andheneverSAYS——butI

knowthisisgoin\'togethimrightdowntocommonsense。Now,Idon\'tsaythatBibbshasgottheideainhisheadyet——\'relsehewouldn\'tbetalkin\'

thatfool—talkaboutninedollarsaweekbein\'goodenoughforhimtoliveon。

Butit\'sCOMIN\',papa,andhe\'llJUMPforwhateveryouwanttohandhimout。

Hewill！AndIcantellyouthismuch,too:he\'llwantallthesalaryandstockhecangetholdof,andhe\'llhustletokeepgettin\'more。Thatgirl\'sthekindthatayounghusbandjustgoescrazytogivethingsto！She\'sprettyandfine—lookin\',andthingslookniceonher,andIguessshe\'dliketohave\'emaboutaswellasthenext。AndIguesssheisn\'tgettin\'manythesedays,either,andshe\'llbeprettyreadyforthechange。Isawherwithhersleevesrolledupatthekitchenwindowtheotherday,andJacksontoldmeyesterdaytheircooklefttwoweeksago,andtheyhaven\'ttriedtohireanotherone。Hesaysherandhermotherbeendoin\'thehouseworkagoodwhile,andnowthey\'redoin\'thecookin,\'too。\'CourseBibbswouldn\'tknowthatunlessshe\'stoldhim,andIreckonshewouldn\'t;she\'skindo\'stiffish—lookin\',andBibbsistooupinthecloudstonoticeanythinglikethatforhimself。They\'veneveraskedhimtoamealinthehouse,buthewouldn\'tnoticethat,either——he\'skindofinnocent。NowIwasthinkin\'——youknow,Idon\'tsupposewe\'vehardlymentionedthegirl\'snameattablesinceJimwent,butitseemstomemaybeif——"

Sheridanflungouthisarms,utteringasoundhalf—groan,half—yawn。"You\'rebarkin\'upthewrongtree！Goonbacktobed,mamma！"

"WhyamI？"shedemanded,crossly。"WhyamIbarkin\'upthewrongtree？"

"Becauseyouare。There\'snothin\'init。"

"I\'llbetyou,"shesaid,rising——"I\'llbetyouhegoestochurchwithherthismorning。Whatyouwanttobet？"

"Gobacktobed,"hecommanded。"IKNOWwhatI\'mtalkin\'about;there\'snothin\'init,Itellyou。"

Sheshookherheadperplexedly。"Youthinkbecause——becauseJimwasrunnin\'

somuchwithheritwouldn\'tlookright？"

"No。Nothin\'todowithit。"

"Then——doyouknowsomethingaboutitthatyouain\'ttoldme？"

"Yes,Ido,"hegrunted。"Nowgoon。MaybeIcangetalittlesleep。I

ain\'thadanyyet！"

"Well——"Shewenttothedoor,herexpressiondowncast。"Ithoughtmaybe——but——"Shecoughedprefatorily。"Oh,papa,somethingelseIwantedtotellyou。Iwastalkin\'toRoscoeoverthe\'phonelastnightwhenthetelegramcame,soIforgottotellyou,but——well,Sibylwantstocomeoverthisafternoon。Roscoesaysshehassomethingshewantstosaytous。It\'llbethefirsttimeshe\'sbeenoutsinceshewasabletositup——andIreckonshewantstotellusshe\'ssorryforwhathappened。Theyexpecttogetoffbytheendo\'theweek,andIreckonshewantstofeelshe\'sdonewhatshecouldtokindo\'makeup。Anyway,that\'swhathesaid。I\'phonedhimagainaboutEdith,andhesaiditwouldn\'tdisturbSibyl,becauseshe\'dbeenexpectin\'it;