第20章

"Hedidnotevencomehomeforsupper，"shesaid。"StayedovertoNellie’sprobably。You’llmostlikelyfindhimthere。"

ButIwasprettycertainhewasnotattheDeans’，forasIpassedtheirhouse，Inoticedthewindowsweredark，indicatingthatthefamily，likemostofrespectableDenboro，hadalreadyretired。I

walkedontotheCorners。Eldredge’sstorewasclosed，butthebilliardroomwasradiantandnoisy。IcouldhearTimHallet’svoiceurgingsomeonetotakeanewcue，"’causethatoneain’tpocketedmanyballsyet。"

Ilookedacrossatthebank。Thefrontportionofitwasblackenough，butthewindowofthedirectors’roomwasalight。Ihadlocatedtheobjectofmysearch；thecashierwasthere，workingovertime，ashedidsooftennowadays。

IhadmykeyinmypocketandIunlockedthebigdoorandenteredquietly。Thedoorofthedirectors’roomwasopenalittlewayandItiptoedoverandpeepedinthroughthecrack。Taylorwasseatedinachairbesidethebigtable，hiselbowsuponthetableandhisheadinhishands。AsIstoodthere，watchinghim，hetookhishandsawayandIsawhisface。Uponitwasanexpressionofabjectmiseryandutterdespair。Iopenedthedoorandentered。

Heheardthesoundoftheopeningdoorandleapedtohisfeet。Hischairfellbackwardonthefloorwithaclatter，buthepaidnoattentiontoit。

"GoodGod！"hecried，wildly。"Who’sthat？"

Hewasdeathlypaleandtremblingviolently。Hisappearancestartledandalarmedme。

"It’sallright，"Isaid，hastily。"ItisI——Paine。Isawthelightandknewyoumustbehere。Whatailsyou？WhatISthematter？"

Foramomenthestoodtherestaring。Thenheturnedandpickedupthefallenchair。

"Oh，it’syou，Ros，isit？"hefaltered。"I——I——Lord，howyouscaredme！I——I——"

"George！whatISthematterwithyou？Forheaven’ssake！standup，man！"HewasswayingandIthoughthewasgoingtofaint。

"George！GeorgeTaylor！Areyouill？Iamgoingforthedoctor。"

"No，no！Staywhereyouare。Iain’tsick。I’llbeallrightinaminute。You——youscaredme，creepinginthatway。Sitdown，sitdown。"

Hesteadiedhimselfwithonehandonthetableandwiththeotherreachedtoshutadrawerwhichhadbeenopenbesidehim。Thedrawerwasalmostfullofpapers，and，lyinguponthosepapers，wasarevolver。

CHAPTERXVI

BeforehecouldclosethedrawercompletelyIcaughthisarmandheldit。

"George，"Icried，"George，whatisthematter？Tellme；youmusttellme。"

Hetriedtopullhisarmfree。FindingthatIwouldnotlethimdothishegaveuptheattemptand，withapoorattemptatalaugh，answered，"Matter？Why，nothingisthematter。Iamtiredandnervous，sameasI’vetoldyouI’vebeenforthelasttwoorthreemonths，andyouscaredme，tiptoeinginlikeasneakthief，thistimeofnight。"

"Timeofnight！Itisbutalittleafternine。Whatisthematterwithyou？"

"Nothingisthematter，Itellyou。Letgoofmyarm，Ros。Whatdoyoumeanbyholdingontomelikethis？"

"WhatdoYOUmean，George？WhatdoesTHATmean？"

Ipointedtothedrawer。Helookedand，withasuddeneffort，jerkedhisarmfreeandclosedthedrawer。

"That？"withaforcedlaugh。"Oh，that’snothing。ItwaslateandIwasalonehere，so——"

"Iknowbetter。George，you’refrighteningusall。Don’tyousupposewecanseethatsomethingiswrongwithyou？IhaveseeniteversinceIcameheretowork。Youareworryingyourfriends。

Youworryme。Giveusachancetohelpyou。GiveMEachance。

Youowemethat。TellmeyourtroubleandI’llpullyououtofit；

seeifIdon’t。"

Myconfidencewas，ofcourse，onlypretence，butmyearnestnesshadsomeeffect。Helookedatmewistfully，andshookhishead。

"Nobodycanpullmeout，"hesaid。"You’reagoodfellowtowanttohelp，butyoucan’t。Thereain’tanytrouble。I’mjustnervous——"

"Iknowbetter。You’relying，George。Yes，youare；you’relying。"

"Humph！You’reprettyplainspoken，RosPaine。Thereain’tmanypeopleI’dtakethatfrom。"

"You’lltakeitfromme，becauseyoucan’thelpitandbecauseyouknowitistrue。Come，George；come。Youhavebeenafriendtome；theonlyrealfriendIhavehadinyears。Ihavebeenlookingforachancetogetevenforwhatyouhavedoneforme。Maybehereisthechance。Letmehelpyou。Iwill。"

Hewaswavering；Icouldseeit。Butagainheshookhishead。

"Nobodycanhelpme，"hesaid。

"George，formysake——well，then，ifnotformysakeoryourown，thenforNellie’s，givemeachance。Youaren’ttreatingherright，George。Youshouldthinkofher。You——"

"Stop！Damnyou，RosPaine！whatrighthaveyouto——"

"Therightofafriend，herfriendandyours。You’refrighteningthepoorgirltodeath。Sheisbeginningtobeafraidyoudon’tcareforher。"

"I？Idon’tcareforHER？Idon’t——Oh，myGod！"

Tomyutteramazementhebegantolaugh。Andthen，allatonce，hislaughterceased，heswayed，choked，and，suddenlycollapsinginthechair，droppedhisheaduponhisarmsonthetableandsobbed，sobsthatshookhimfromheadtoheel。

Foronestrong，healthy，normalmantoseeanothercryisadisconcertinganduncomfortableexperience。MasculinetearsdonotfloweasilyandpoorGeorge，onthevergeofhysterics，wasapitifulanddistressingspectacle。Iwasalmostascompletelydisorganizedashe。Ifeltashamedforhimandashamedofmyselfforhavingseenhiminsuchacondition。IwanteddesperatelytohelphimandIdidnotknowwhattodo，sobeyondpattinghimonthebackandbegginghimrepeatedlytobraceupandnotbehavelikethat，Ididnothing。Atlasthissobsceasedandhewassilent。I

hadrisenfrommychairandnowIstoodtherewithahandonhisshoulder；thetickingoftheancienteight—sidedclockonthewallsoundedloudintheroom。

Suddenlyhesatupandthrewoffmyhand。

"Well，"hesaid，bitterly，"I’mafinespecimenofaman，ain’tI。

Ain’tyouproudofme？"

"Iammightysorryforyou，"Ianswered。"AndImeantohelpyou。"

"Youcan’t。"

"Howdoyouknow？"

"BecauseIdoknow，Ros，"heturnedandlookedmestraightintheeye。"Iamgoingtogiveyousomegoodadvice。Takeit，foryourownsake。Clearoutofhereandleaveme。Don’thaveanythingmoretodowithme。Clearout。"

Ididnotmove。

"AreyougoingtodoasItellyou？"hedemanded。"Mind，I’mtellingyouthisforyourowngood。Willyouclearoutandleaveme？"

Ismiled。"Ofcoursenot，"Ianswered。

"Don’tbeafool。Youcan’taffordtobemyfriend。Clearoutandleaveme，doyouhear？"

"Ihear。Now，George，whatisit？"

Hisfingerstappedthetable。Icouldseehewasmakinguphismind。

"Youwanttoknow？"hesaid。"Youwon’tbesatisfieduntilyoudo？"

"Ihavemadethatfairlyplain，Ihope。AtleastI’vetriedto。"

Hisfistclenchedandhestruckthetable。

"Then，bytheAlmighty，I’lltellyou！"hecried，fiercely。"It’llbealloverthecountyinaweek。Youmightaswellknowitnow。

I’macrook。I’mathief。I’vestolenmoneyfromthisbankandI

can’tpayitbackbecauseIhaven’tgotitandcan’tgetit。I’macrook，Itellyou，andinaweekorsoit’llbethecountyjailformine。Unless——unless，"withasignificantglanceatthedrawer，"somethingelsehappenstomeinthemeantime。There；nowyouknow。Areyousatisfied？Areyouhappybecauseyou’vefoundout？"

Ididnotanswer。TotellthetruthIwasnotentirelyovercomebysurpriseatthedisclosure。Ihadbeguntosuspectsomethingofthesort。Yet，nowthatmysuspicionswereconfirmed，Iwastoogreatlyshockedandhorrifiedtospeakatonce。

"Well？"hesneered。"Nowwillyouclearoutandletmesettlethismyownway？"

Ipulledmychairforwardandsatdown。

"Tellmeallaboutit，George，"Isaid，ascalmlyasIcould。"Howmuchisit？"

Hestaredatmeaghast。"Youwon’tgo？"hecried。"You——youaregoingtostickbymeeven——even——"

"There！there！pullyourselftogether，oldfellow。Wewon’tgiveuptheshipyet。Howmuchisit？Itcan’tbeagreatsum。"

"Itain’t。But，Ros——you——youcan’t——youmustn’tbemixedupinthis。Ishan’tletyou。Don’tyousee？"

Iarguedandpleadedandreasonedwithhimforwhatseemedalongtimebeforehewouldconsenttotellmethewholestory。Andwhenitwastoldtherewasnothingnewornovelinit。Theoldtaleofanhonestmanwhohadnotmeanttogowrong，but，temptedbyoneofthosewilesofthedevil，an"insidetip"onthestockmarket，hadboughtheavilyonmargins，expectingtoclearahandsomeprofitinashorttime。ThestockwasLouisvilleandTranscontinentalandthestruggleforitscontrolbycertainbiginterestshadmadecopyforfinancialwritersfornearlyayear。Georgehadboughtatatimewhenonesyndicatehad，soitbelieved，securedthecontrol。

Thensomethingwentwronginthedealandthesharesbegantodeclineinvalue。Heputupmoremarginsandstillmore，butitcontinuedtodecline。Finallyunderthespurofanother"tip，"thelastofhisownsavingshavinggonetotheinsatiatebrokers，hesent，tobolsterhisaccountandtosavehimfromutterruin，somebondsbelongingtothebank。

"Notmuch，"hedeclared，"onlyaboutthirty—fivehundreddollars’

worth，that’sall。Ineverwouldhavedoneit，Ros，butIwaswild，desperate，yousee。HereIwas，gettingreadytobemarried；

NellieandCap’nJedandtherestbelievingmetobecomfortablyfixed。It’seasyenoughnowtosaythatIoughttohavegonetoherandtoldher。IfIhadn’tbeencertainthatthemarketwouldturnandI’dbeallrightinaweek，I’dhavedoneit。ButIwassureI’dbeallrightandIcouldn’ttakethechance。Iknewwhatherfatherwouldsayabouthermarryingapauper，andIjustcouldn’ttaketheriskoflosingher；Icouldn’t。Shemeansmoretomethan——than——oh，waituntilyourtimecomes！Waituntilthegirlcomesalongthatyoucareformorethanthewholeworld。Andthenseewhatyou’ddo。Seewhatitwouldmeantogiveherup！

Justwait——waitandsee！"

"Yes，yes，"Iputin，hastily。"Iunderstand，George。Butthestock，LouisvilleandTranscontinental，howisitnow？"

"Justthesame。Itisdead，practicallyspeaking。Ithasn’tmovedhalfapointforsixweeks。I’vebeenexpectingitwould，butithasn’t。It’sallright；thevalueisthere；Iknowit。IfIcouldonlyhangonandwaitIcouldgetmymoneyback，partofit，anyhow。ButIcan’t。Ican’twait。Andthebrokerpeoplehavegotthosebonds。Ros，I’vebeenfightingthisthingforweeksandweeks。Iain’tsleptanightforyears，orsoitseems。Andnextweek——nextWEEKIwastobemarried。MyGod！thinkofit！"

"Here，here！Don’tdothat，"Iurged。"Braceup。YouandImustworkthisout。Wasn’tthereanyoneyoucouldgoto？Anyoneyoucouldborrowthemoneyof？Thirty—fivehundredisn’tsuchalot。"

"WhomcouldIgoto？Itried。LordknowsItried！IdidborrowathousandofCap’nElishaWarren；trumpedupsomeexcuseorotherandgotthat。Butthatwasallhecouldletmehave。AndIknowhethoughtmyaskingforthatwasqueer。"

"DidyouconsidergoingstraighttoCap’nDeanand——"

"Dean？Cap’nJed？Herfather？Oh，Ros，don’tbeafoolaltogether！

Ibegyourpardon，oldman！Idon’tmeanit。Youmustn’tmind。I

ain’tresponsibleforwhatIsayjustnow。ButIcouldn’tgotoCap’nJed。Youknowhim。He’sasstraightandsquareandhonestasheisobstinateandcranky。IfIwenttohimIcouldn’ttellhimthetruth。AndifIliedhe’dsuspectandwanttoknowwhyIneededtoborrowmoney。AndNellie——don’tyousee？There’stherealawfulnessofthewholething。Icouldn’tgotoherandtellherI

wasathief。Icouldn’tseeherfacewhenItoldher。Andyetshe’sgottoknowit。She’sgottoknowit！"

"Butwhy？Thestockmaygoupanydayandthenyoucouldwithdrawpartofyourmargin。"

Hestruckthetablewithanotherblow。"Thestockain’tmovedforsixweeks，Itellyou，"hedeclared。"And，Ros，"heleanedforward，hishaggardfaceworkingwithemotion，"thosebondsain’tinoursafehere，wheretheyshouldbe，andthebankexaminerisdueherewithinthenextfourdays。He’satMiddleboronow。I

’phonedBearse，thecashierthere，thisveryforenoononamatterofbusiness，andhehappenedtomentionthattheexaminerwasinhisbankandworkinghiswaydowntheCape。It’sallupwithme！

Allup！AndNellie！poorgirl；Ican’tbeherewhenshefindsitout。IknowyouthinkI’mapoorspecimenofaman，Ros，butI

can’tfacethemusic。No，"desperately，"andIwon’t。"

Hewasgivingwayagain，butIseizedhisshoulderandshookhim。

"Stopit！"Icommanded。"Stopit，George！Letmethink。Bequietnowandletmethink。Theremustbeawayoutsomewhere。Letmethink。"

Heleanedbackinhischair。"Allright，"hesaid，hopelessly；

"think，ifyouwantto。ThoughwhyyoushouldwanttothinkaboutathinglikemeIdon’tsee。AndIusedtodespiseacrookasmuchasanyone！andacowardstillmore！AndnowI’mbothacrookandacoward。"

IknewhiscowardicewasmerelyonNellie’saccount。GeorgeTaylorwasnocowardintheordinarysenseoftheword，norwasheacrook。Iroseandpacedupanddowntheroom。Hewatchedmelistlessly；itwasplainthathefeltnoconfidencewhateverinmybeingabletohelphim。Afteratimehespoke。

"It’snouse，Ros，"hesaid。"Don’tworryyourheadaboutme；I

ain’tworthit。Iftherewasanywayout，anywayatall，I’dhavesighteditlongago。Thereain’t。Takemyadviceandleaveme。

Youdon’twanttobemixedupwithanembezzler。"

Iturnedonhim，impatiently。"Ihavebeenmixedup，asyoucallit，withonebefore，"Isaid，sharply。"IsmyownfamilyrecordsocleanthatIneedtopretend——there，George！don’tbeanidiot。

Letmethink。"

Theclockchimedten。Istoppedinmywalkandturnedtohim。

"George，"Isaid，"tellmethis：Ifyouhadthemoneytobuybackthesebondsbelongingtothebankyouwouldbeallright，wouldn’tyou？Ifyouhaditinyourhandsbyto—morrowmorning，Imean。"

"Yes；IFIhadit——butIhaven’t。"

"Youcouldsendthemoneytothebrokersand——"

"Send！Iwouldn’tsend；I’dgomyselfandfetchthebondsbackwithme。OnceIhadtheminthatsafeagainI——"

"Andyouwouldnottakeanymorerisks，evenifthemarketdroppedandtheyhadtoselloutyouraccount？Evenifyoulosteverycentofyourinvestment？"

Thefierceearnestnessofhisanswersatisfiedevenme。"WhatdoyouthinkIam？"hedemanded。"Investmentbehanged！It’smynameasanhonestmanthatIcareabout。OnceletmegetthatbackagainandI’llfacethepoorhouse。Yes，andI’lltellNelliethetruth，allexceptthatIwasathief；Ican’ttellherthat。ButI

willtellherthatIhaven’tgotacentexceptmysalary。Thenifshewantstogivemeup，allright。I’llbearitasbestIcan。

Or，ifshedoesn’t，andIlosemyjobhere，I’llgetanotheronesomewhereelse；I’llworkatanything。SheandIcanwaitand……

Butwhatistheuseoftalkinglikethis？I’vebeenovereveryinchofthegroundathousandtimes。Thereain’tarayoflightanywhere。Theexaminerwillbehere，thebondswillbemissing，andI——I’llbeinjail，orinhell，oneortheother。"

"No，youwon’t，"Isaid，firmly。

"Iwon’t！Whynot？"

"BecausethereISarayoflight。Morethanaray。George，yougohomeandgotobed。To—morrowmorningImayhavenewsforyou，goodnews。"

Thebloodrushedtohisface。Heseizedthearmofhischair。

"Goodnews！"hegasped。"GoodnewsforME！Ros——Ros，fortheLord’ssake，whatdoyoumean？Youdon’tmeanyouseeawayto——"

"NevermindwhatImean。ButIshouldliketoknowwhatyoumeanbynotcomingtomebefore？Whatarefriendsfor，ifnottohelpeachother？WhotoldyouthatIwasdeadbroke？"

"You？Why，youain’tgot……Haveyou？RosPaine，youain’tgotthirty—fivehundredtospare。Why，youtoldmeyourself——"

"Shutup！Getupfromthatchairandcomewithme。Yes，you；andnow，thisminute。Givemethatthingyou’vegotinthedrawerthere。No，I’lltakeitmyself。Yououghttobeashamedofitsbeingthere，George。Iamashamedofyou，and，ifIthoughtyoureallymeanttouseit，Ishouldbestillmoreashamed。Come！

don’tkeepmewaiting。"

"But——butRos——"

"WillyoudoasItellyou？"

Idraggedhim，almostliterallydraggedhim，fromthechair。Then，afterextinguishingthelamp，Iledhimtothedoorofthebankandlockedit，puttingthekeyinmypocket。

"Now，"saidI，"Iwantyoutomakemeapromise。Iwantyoutoquitbehavinglikeacoward，becauseyouarenotone，andpromisemethatyouwillgostraighthomeandtobed。I’llseeyouagainthefirstthinginthemorning。Then，Ithink——yes，Ithinkyourtroubles，theworstpartofthem，willbeover。"

"But，Ros，PLEASE——Ican’tbelieveit！Won’tyoutellme——"

"Notaword。Willyoupromisemetobehavelikeamanandgohome？

OrmustIgowithyou？"

"No。I’ll——I’llpromise。I’llgostraighthome。But，ohRos，I

can’tunderstand——"

"Goodnight。"

Ilefthimstandingthere，stammeringincoherentlylikeamanawakeningfromanightmare，andhurriedaway。

IcouldnotdescribemyprogressdownthedarkLowerRoadandalongtheShoreLane。Idonotrememberanyportionofit。IthinkI

ranmostofthewayandifImetanyone——whichisnotlikely，consideringthetime——heorshemusthavethoughtmecrazy。Mythoughtswerecenteredupononefixedpurpose。Ihadmadeupmymindtodoacertainthingand，ifpossible，todoitthatverynight。IfIdidnot，ifIhadtimeinwhichtoreflect，toconsiderconsequences，Imightlosemynerveanditwouldnotbedoneatall。

Itwaswithafeelingofgreatreliefthat，asIcameinsightoftheColtonhouse，Isawlightsintheroomsonthelowerfloor。

Thefamily，notbeingnativebornDenboroites，hadnotretiredeventhoughitwaswellafterten。Ihastenedupthelongdrive，andstoodbeforethebigdoor，myhandupraisedtotheknocker。Andthen，justforamoment，Ihesitated。

IfIliftedthatknockerandletitfall；ifIsummonedtheservantandannouncedthatIwishedtospeakwithMr。Colton；ifIdidwhatIhadcometheretodo，itwouldbealloverwithmeinthevillage。Mynewbornpopularity，therespectwhichCap’nWarrenandCap’nJedandtherestofthetownspeoplehadshowntowardmeoflate，thecordialrecognitionwhichhadbeenmineduringthepastfewweeksandwhich，inspiteofpretendedindifference，Ihadcometoexpectandenjoy，allthesewouldbelostifIpersistedinmypurpose。MyfutureinDenborodependeduponwhetherornotI

knockedatthatdoor。Anditwasnottoolatetobackout，evenyet。IhadonlytoturnquietlyawayandtellGeorge，whenIsawhiminthemorning，thatIcouldnothelphimasIhadhoped。AndthenIthoughtofhisfaceasIsawitwhenIenteredthebank——andofNellie’slettertome。

Iseizedtheknockerandrappedsharply。

Forafewmomentsmyknockwasunanswered。ThenIheardfootstepsandthedoorwasopened。Johnson，thebutler，openedit，andhisclericalcountenanceassumedamostastonishedexpressionwhenhesawmestandingbeforehim。

"IsMr。Coltonin？"Iasked。

"What？What——sir？"stammeredJohnson。The"sir"wasaddedunderprotest。Hedidnotwishtoshowmorerespectthanwasabsolutelynecessarytoacountryman，buthescarcelydaredspeakasdisrespectfullyashefelt。Thereforehecompromisedbyvoicingtherespectandlookingtheotherway。

"IsMr。Coltonin？"Irepeated。

"Idon’tknow。I——Idon’tthinkso——sir。"

Thewindowsatmyleftwere，Iknew，thoseofthelibrary，theroomwhere"BigJim"andIhadhadourfirstlivelydiscussionoftheShoreLanematter。Iglancedatthem。

"Ithinkheis，"Isaid。"InfactIknowit；thereishisshadowonthecurtain。TellhimMr。Painewishestospeakwithhim。"

Johnsonlookedasinsolentashedared，andstillhesitated。

"Itisverylate，"hesaid。"Mr。Coltonisnotinthe’abitofreceivingcallersatthistimeofnightand——"

Hewasinterrupted。Thedoorbehindhim，thedoorleadingfromthelibrarytothehall，openedandColtonhimselfappeared。

"Whatisit，Johnson？"heasked。"Anythingwrong？"

Thebutlerhastenedtoexplain。

"Nosir，"hesaid；"nothingwrongexactly，sir。Thereisaperson’eretoseeyou，sir，and——"

"Toseeme，eh？Whoisit？Why，hello，Paine！isthatyou？"

"Mr。Colton，"saidI，"Iamsorrytodisturbyouatsuchalatehour，but——"

"Comein，comein，"heinterrupted。"Whatareyoustandingouttherefor？Johnson，whydidn’tyouaskMr。Painein？Whatdoyoumeanbykeepinghimoutthere？"

Mr。Johnsonlookedtroubled。

"Itwassolate，sir，"hestammered，"Ithought——"

"Youthought！IfIhadwantedanyonetothinkInevershouldhavehiredyou。Comein，Paine。Comeintothelibrary。"

HeledthewaytothelibraryandIfollowedhim。Itwasmysecondvisittothebig，handsomelyfurnishedroomandagain，asonthefirstoccasion，thesightofthebooksandalltheotherrefinementsandluxurieswhichmoneybringstoitspossessorgavemeapangofenvyandresentment。Itaddedincreasedbitternesstothehumiliationofmyerrand。Ihadleftthatroomdefiantlyexpressingmyindependence。Ihadcomebacktoit——"

"Sitdown，"orderedColton，pullingforwardthebig，leather—

coveredchair。"Haveacigar？"

"Nothankyou。"

"Humph！That’swhatyousaidwhenyouwereherebefore。You’reyoung，Paine。WhenyougettobeasoldasIamyou’llneverrefuseagoodcigar，oranythingelsethatisgood，whenitisofferedyou。Well，you’restillstanding。Aren’tgoingtorefusetositdown，areyou？"

ThatwasexactlywhatIwasgoingtodo。Iwouldnotsitdowninthathouse。Iwouldnotaccepttheslightestcourtesyfromthismanoranyofhispeople。IwouldgetridoftheunpleasanttaskI

hadcometodoandthengoaway，nevertoreturn。Theymightmakethemostofthetriumphwhichwastobetheirs，butIwouldcompelthemtounderstandthatIwasnotseekingtheirfavor。Iwouldnotaccepttheirpatronageandtheyshouldknowit。This，asIlookbackatitnow，seemssillyandchildishenough，butIwasnotmyselfthatnight。

"Mr。Colton，"saidI，ignoringtheprofferedchair，"Ihavecometoseeyouonamatterofbusiness。"

"Business，eh？Umph！Ithoughtprobablyyouweregoingtoaskmetogofishingwithyouagain。I’mallreadyforanothertusslewiththose——whatdoyoucall’em——squid——squit——goodLord！whatanameforadecentfish！ButIdon’tcareacontinentalwhatyoucall’em。I’mreadytogetat’emwhenyousaytheword。"

"Mybusinesswillnotdetaineitherofuslong。I——"

"Sitdown，man，sitdown。Youmakemenervousstandingthere。"

"No。Iwon’tsit。"

Helookedatme。

"Whatisthematterwithyou？"heasked。"Youhaven’tgotabalkydigestion，haveyou？I’vebeenfightingoneforthelastweek。

ThatfoolofacountrydoctortellsmeifI’mnotcarefulwhatI

eatI’llkeeloverprettysoon。ItoldhimI’deatenwhatIdashedpleaseeversinceI’dhadteethandIwasn’tgoingtoquitnow。

ButIdofeellikethedevil。Lookit，don’tI？"

Hedidlookill，thatwasafact，thoughIhadnotnoticeditbeforeandwasfarfromfeelingpityforhimthen。InfactIwasrathergladtoknowthathewasuncomfortable。Iwantedhimtobe。

"Whatisthematterwithyou？"hedemanded。"Youlookasifyouhadseenyourgrandmother’sghost。"

Iignoredthequestion。"Mr。Colton，"Ibeganagain。"Youmadeanoffernotlongago。"

Ihadcaughthisattentionatlast。Heleanedbackinhischair。

"Idid，"hesaid。"Ye—es，Idid。Doyoumeanyouaregoingtoacceptit？"

"Inaway——yes。"

"Inaway？Whatdoyoumeanbythat？Itellyoufrankly，Paine，ifyougotoworkformetheremustbeno’ifs’or’buts’aboutit。

You’llentermyofficeandyou’lldoasI，orthemenunderme，tellyoutodo。"

Iwasgladhesaidthat，gladthathemisunderstoodme。Itgavemeanopportunitytoexpressmyfeelingstowardhim——asIwasfeelingthen。

"Don’tletthattroubleyou，"Isaid，sarcastically。"Therewillbeno’ifs’and’buts’sofarasthatisconcerned。Ihavenodesiretoworkforyou，Mr。Colton，andIdon’tintenddoingso。

ThatwasnottheofferImeant。"

Hewassurprised，Iamsure，buthedidnotexpressastonishment。

Hebentforwardandlookedatmemorekeenlythanever。

"TherewasonlyoneotherofferthatIremembermakingyou，"hesaid，slowly。"Thatwasforthatlandofyours。Iofferedyoufivethousanddollarsforit。Doyoumeanyouacceptthatoffer？"

"Notexactly。"

"Humph！Paine，we’rewastingalotoftimehere，itseemstome。

Mytimeismoreorlessvaluable，andmydigestionis，asItoldyou，prettybad。Come！getitover。Whatdoyoumean？Areyougoingtosellmethatland？"

"Yes。"

Hepuffeddeliberatelyathiscigar。Hisgazedidnotleavemyface。

"Why？"heasked，afteramoment。

"Thatismyownaffair。Iwillsellyoutheland，butnotforfivethousanddollars。"