第6章

"Suchthingswehavetokeepsecret——thingsthatgoonrightbeforeYOUReyes!"

"Whydon"tsomeofyoutellus？"heasked。

"Wecan"ttellyou。"

"Toomuchhonour？"

"No。Noteventoomuchhonouramongthieves，Mr。Russell。Wedon"ttellyouaboutourtricksagainstoneanotherbecauseweknowitwouldn"tmakeanyimpressiononyou。Thetricksaren"tplayedagainstyou，andyouhaveasoftsideforcatswithlovelymanners!"

"Whataboutyourtricksagainstus？"

"Oh，those!"Alicelaughed。"Wethinkthey"rerathercute!"

"Bravo!"hecried，andhammeredtheferruleofhisstickuponthepavement。

"What"stheapplausefor？"

"Foryou。Whatyousaidwaslikerunninguptheblackflagtothemasthead。"

"Oh，no。Itwasjustamodestlittlesigninaprettyflower-bed:"Gentlemen，beware!""

"IseeImust，"hesaid，gallantly。

"Thanks!ButImean，bewareofthewholebloomin"garden!"Then，pickingupathreadthathadalmostdisappeared:"Youneedn"tthinkyou"lleverfindoutwhetherI"mrightaboutMildred"snotbeinganexceptionbyaskingher，"shesaid。"Shewon"ttellyou:she"snotthesortthatevermakesaconfession。"

ButRussellhadnotfollowedhershifttotheformertopic。

""Mildred"snotbeinganexception？""hesaid，vaguely。"I

don"t——"

"Anexceptionaboutthinkingshecouldbewonderfulthingonthestageifsheonlycaredto。IfyouaskedherI"mprettysureshe"dsay，"Whatnonsense!"Mildred"sthedearest，finestthinganywhere，butyouwon"tfindoutmanythingsaboutherbyaskingher。"

Russell"sexpressionbecamemoreserious，asitdidwheneverhiscousinwasmadetheirtopic。"Youthinknot？"hesaid。"Youthinkshe"s——"

"No。Butit"snotbecausesheisn"tsincereexactly。It"sonlybecauseshehassuchalottoliveupto。Shehastoliveuptobeingagirlonthegrandstyletoherself，Imean，ofcourse。"

AndwithoutpausingAlicerippledon，"YououghttohaveseenME

whenIhadthestage-fever!Iusedtoplay"Juliet"allaloneinmyroom。"Sheliftedherarmsingracefulentreaty，pleadingmusically，"O，swearnotbythemoon，theinconstantmoon，Thatmonthlychangesinhercircledorb，Lestthyloveprove——"

Shebrokeoffabruptlywithalittleflourish，snappingthumbandfingerofeachoutstretchedhand，thenlaughedandsaid，"Papausedtomakesuchfunofme!Thankheaven，Iwasonlyfifteen；I

wasalloveritbythenextyear。"

"Nowonderyouhadthefever，"Russellobserved。"Youdoitbeautifully。Whydidn"tyoufinishtheline？"

"Whichone？"Lestthyloveprovelikewisevariable"？JulietwassayingittoaMAN，youknow。Sheseemstohavebeenreadytoworryabouthisconstancyprettyearlyintheiraffair!"

Hercompanionwasagainthoughtful。"Yes，"hesaid，seemingtoberatherirksomelyimpressedwithAlice"ssuggestion。"Yes；itdoesappearso。"

Aliceglancedathisseriousface，andyieldedtoanaudacioustemptation。"Youmustn"ttakeitsohard，"shesaid，flippantly。

"Itisn"taboutyou:it"sonlyaboutRomeoandJuliet。"

"Seehere!"heexclaimed。"Youaren"tatyourmind-readingagain，areyou？Therearetimeswhenitwon"tdo，youknow!"

Sheleanedtowardhimalittle，asifcompanionably:theywerewalkingslowly，andthisgenialityofhersbroughthershoulderinlightcontactwithhisforamoment。"Doyoudislikemymind-reading？"sheasked，and，acrosstheirtwojusttouchingshoulders，gavehimhersuddenlookofsmilingwistfulness。"Doyouhateit？"

Heshookhishead。"No，Idon"t，"hesaid，gravely。"It"squitepleasant。ButIthinkitsays，"Gentlemen，beware!""

Sheinstantlymovedawayfromhim，withthelawlessandfranklaughofonewhoisdelightedtobecaughtinapieceofhypocrisy。"Howlovely!"shecried。Thenshepointedahead。

"Ourwalkisnearlyover。We"recomingtothefoolishlittlehousewhereIlive。It"saqueerlittleplace，butmyfather"ssoattachedtoitthefamilyhaveaboutgivenuphopeofgettinghimtobuildarealhousefartherout。Hedoesn"tmindourbeingextravagantaboutanythingelse，buthewon"tletusalteronesinglethingabouthispreciouslittleoldhouse。Well!"Shehalted，andgavehimherhand。"Adieu!"

"Icouldn"t，"hebegan；hesitated，thenasked:"Icouldn"tcomeinwithyouforalittlewhile？"

"Notnow，"shesaid，quickly。"Youcancome——"Shepaused。

"When？"

"Almostanytime。"Sheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthepath，buthewaited。"Youcancomeintheeveningifyoulike，"shecalledbacktohimoverhershoulder。

"Soon？"

"Assoonasyoulike!"Shewavedherhand；thenranindoorsandwatchedhimfromawindowashewentupthestreet。Hewalkedrapidly，afine，easyfigure，swinginghisstickinawaythatsuggestedexhilaration。Alice，staringafterhimthroughtheirregularaperturesofalacecurtain，showednosimilarbuoyancy。Upontheinstantsheclosedthedoorallsparklelefther:shehadbecomeatoncethesimpleandsometimestroubledgirlherfamilyknew。

"Whatisgoingonoutthere？"hermotherasked，approachingfromthedining-room。

"Oh，nothing，"Alicesaid，indifferently，assheturnedaway。

"ThatMr。Russellmetmedowntownandwalkedupwithme。"

"Mr。Russell？Oh，theonethat"sengagedtoMildred？"

"Well——Idon"tknowforcertain。Hedidn"tseemsomuchlikeanengagedmantome。"Andsheadded，inthetoneofthoughtfulpreoccupation:"Anyhow——notsoterribly!"

Thensheranupstairs，gaveherfatherhistobacco，filledhispipeforhim，andpettedhimashelightedit。

CHAPTERXI

Afterthat，shewenttoherroomandsatdownbeforeherthree-leavedmirror。Therewaswhereshenearlyalwayssatwhenshecameintoherroom，ifshehadnothinginmindtodo。Shewenttothatchairasnaturallyasadoggoestohiscorner。

Sheleanedforward，observingherprofile；gravityseemedtobehermood。Butafteralong，almostmotionlessscrutiny，shebegantoproducedramaticsketchesuponthatever-readystage，hercountenance:sheshowedgaiety，satire，doubt，gentleness，appreciationofacompanionandlove-in-hiding——allstudiedinprofilefirst，thenrepeatedfora"three-quarterview。"

Subsequentlysheranthroughthem，facingherselfinfull。

InthismannersheoutlinedaplayfulscenarioforhernextinterviewwithArthurRussell；butgrewsolemnagain，thinkingoftheimpressionshehadalreadysoughttogivehim。Shehadnotwingesforanyunderminingsofher"mostintimatefriend"——infact，shefeltthatherworkonanewportraitofMildredforMr。

Russellhadbeenhonestandaccurate。ButwhyhaditbeenherinstincttoshowhimanAliceAdamswhodidn"texist？

Almosteverythingshehadsaidtohimwasuponspontaneousimpulse，springingtoherlipsontheinstant；yetitallseemedtohavebeenfoundeduponacarefuldesign，asifsomehiddenselfkeptsuchdesignsinstockandhandedthemuptoher，ready-made，tobeusedforitsownpurpose。Whatappearedtobethedesiredresultwasafalse-colouredimageinRussell"smind；

butifhelikedthatimagehewouldn"tbelikingAliceAdams；norwouldanythinghethoughtabouttheimagebeathoughtabouther。

Nevertheless，sheknewshewouldgoonwithherfalse，fancycolouringsofthisnothingassoonasshesawhimagain；shehadjustbeenpracticingthem。"What"stheidea？"shewondered。

"Whatmakesmetellsuchlies？Whyshouldn"tIbejustmyself？"

Andthenshethought，"Butwhichoneismyself？"

Hereyesdweltonthesolemneyesinthemirror；andherlips，disquietedbyadeepeningwonder，partedtowhisper:

"Whointheworldareyou？"

Theapparitionbeforeherhadobeyedherlikeanalertslave，butnow，asshesubsidedtoacompletestillness，thataspectchangedtotheoldmockerywithwhichmirrorsavengetheirwrongs。Thenucleusofsomequeerthingseemedtogatherandshapeitselfbehindthenothingnessofthereflectedeyesuntilitbecamealmostanactualstrangepresence。Ifitcouldbeidentified，perhapsthepresencewasthatofthehiddendesignerwhohandedupthefalse，ready-madepictures，and，forunknownpurposes，madeAliceexhibitthem；butwhateveritwas，shesuddenlyfounditmonkey-likeandterrifying。Inafluttershejumpedupandwenttoanotherpartoftheroom。

Amomentortwolatershewaswhistlingsoftlyasshehungherlightcoatoverawoodentriangleinhercloset，andhermusingnowwasquainterthantheexperiencethatledtoit；forwhatshethoughtwasthis，"Icertainlyamaqueergirl!"Shetookalittleprideinsomuchoriginality，believingherselfprobablytheonlypersonintheworldtohavesuchthoughtsashadbeenherssincesheenteredtheroom，andthefirsttobedisturbedbyastrangepresenceinthemirror。Infact，theeffectofthetinyepisodebecameapparentinthatlookofpreoccupiedcomplacencytobeseenforatimeuponanygirlwhohasfoundreasontosuspectthatsheisabeingwithoutcounterpart。

Thisslightglow，stillfaintlyradiant，wasobservedacrossthedinner-tablebyWalter，buthemisinterpretedit。"WhatYOU

lookin"soself-satisfiedabout？"heinquired，andaddedinhisknowingway，"Isawyou，allright，cutie!"

"Where"dyouseeme？"

"Down-town。"

"Thisafternoon，youmean，Walter？"

"Yes，"thisafternoon，Imean，Walter，""hereturned，burlesquinghervoiceatleasthappilyenoughtopleasehimself；

forhelaughedapplausively。"Oh，youneversawme!Ipassedyoucloseenoughtopullatooth，butyouwereawfulbusy。I

neverdidseeanybodyasbusyasyouget，Alice，whenyou"retowin"abarge。My，butyoukeepyourhandsgoin"!Lookedliketheairwasfullof"em!That"swhyI"montowhyyoulooksotickledthisevening；Isawyouwiththatbigfish。"

Mrs。Adamslaughedbenevolently；shewasnotdispleasedwiththisrallying。"Well，whatofit，Walter？"sheasked。"Ifyouhappentoseeyoursisteronthestreetwhensomeniceyoungmanisbeingattentivetoher——"

Walterbarkedandthencackled。"Whoa，Sal!"hesaid。"Yougotthepartsmixed。It"slittleAlicethatwas"beingattentive。"I

knowthebigfishshewasattentiveto，allright，too。"

"Yes，"hissisterretorted，quietly。"Ishouldthinkyoumighthaverecognizedhim，Walter。"

Walterlookedannoyed。"Stillharpin"onTHAT!"hecomplained。

"ThekindofwomenIlike，iftheygetsoretheyjusthityousomewhereonthefaceandthenthey"rethrough。Bytheway，I

heardthisRussellwassupposedtobeyourdear，old，sweetfriendMildred"ssteady。Whatyoudoin"walkin"asclosetohimasallthat？"

Mrs。Adamsaddressedhersoningentlereproof，"WhyWalter!"

"Oh，nevermind，mama，"Alicesaid。"Tothehorridallthingsarehorrid。"

"Getout!"Walterprotested，carelessly。"IheardallaboutthisRusselldownattheshop。YoungJoeLamb"ssuchatalkerI

wonderhedon"truinhisgrandfather"sbusiness；hekeepsalluscheaphelpstandin"roundlisteningtohimnine-tenthsofourtime。Well，JoetoldmethisRussell"ssomekinorothertothePalmerfamily，andhe"sgotsomelittlemoneyofhisown，andhe"sputtin"itintoolePalmer"strustcompanyandPalmer"sgoin"tomakehimavice-presidentofthecompany。Sortofakeep-the-money-in-the-familyarrangement，JoeLambsays。"

Mrs。Adamslookedthoughtful。"Idon"tsee——"shebegan。

"Why，thisRussell"ssupposedtobetieduptoMildred，"hersonexplained。"WhenolePalmerdiesthisRussellwillbehisson-in-law，andallhe"llhaf"todo"llbetobarelylifthisfeetandstepintotheoleman"sshoes。It"scertainlyamightyfathand-me-outforthisRussell!Youbetterlayoffo"there，Alice。Picksomebodythat"sgotlesstoloseandyou"llmakebettershowing。"

Mrs。Adams"sairofthoughtfulnesshadnotdeparted。"ButyousaythisMr。Russelliswelloffonhisownaccount，Walter。"

"Oh，JoeLambsayshe"sgotsomelittleofhisown。Didn"tknowhowmuch。"

"Well，then——"

Walterlaughedhislaugh。"Cutitout，"hebadeher。"Alicewouldn"truninfourthplace。"

Alicehadbeenlookingathiminadetachedway，asthoughestimatingthevalueofaspecimeninacollectionnotherown。

"Yes，"shesaid，indifferently。"YouREALLYarevulgar，Walter。"

Hehadfinishedhismeal；and，rising，hecameroundthetabletoherandpattedhergood-naturedlyontheshoulder。"GoodoleAllie!"hesaid。"HONEST，youwouldn"truninfourthplace。IfIwasyouI"dneverevenstartintheclass。Thatfrozen-face；

gangwillruleyouoffthetracksoonastheyseeyourcolours。"

"Walter!"hismothersaidagain。

"Well，ain"tIherbrother？"hereturned，seemingtobeentirelyseriousanddirect，forthemoment，atleast。"_I_liketheolegirlallright。Factis，sometimesI"mkindofsorryforher。"

"Butwhat"sitallABOUT？"Alicecried。"Simplybecauseyoumetmedown-townwithamanIneversawbutoncebeforeandjustbarelyknow!Whyallthispalaver？"

""Why？""herepeated，grinning。"Well，I"veseenyoustartbefore，youknow!"Hewenttothedoor，andpaused。"Igotnodateto-night。Takeyoutothemovies，youcaretogo。"

Shedeclinedcrisply。"No，thanks!"

"Comeon，"hesaid，aspleasantlyasheknewhow。

"Givemeachancetoshowyouabettertimethanwehadupatthatfrozen-facejoint。I"llgetyousomechopsueyafterward。"

"No，thanks!"

"Allright，"herespondedandwavedaflippantadieu。"Asthebarbersays，"Thebettertheadvice，theworseit"swasted!"

Good-night!"

Aliceshruggedhershoulders；butamomentortwolater，asthejarofthecarelesslyslammedfrontdoorwentthroughthehouse，sheshookherhead，reconsidering。"PerhapsIoughttohavegonewithhim。Itmighthavekepthimawayfromwhateverdreadfulpeoplearehisfriends——atleastforonenight。"

"Oh，I"msureWalter"saGOODboy，"Mrs。Adamssaid，soothingly；

andthiswaswhatshealmostalwayssaidwheneitherherhusbandorAliceexpressedsuchmisgivings。"He"sodd，andhe"spickeduprightqueermanners；butthat"sonlybecausewehaven"tgivenhimadvantagesliketheotheryoungmen。ButI"msurehe"saGOODboy。"

Sherevertedtothesubjectalittlelater，whileshewashedthedishesandAlicewipedthem。"OfcourseWaltercouldtakehisplacewiththeotherniceboysofthetownevenyet，"shesaid。

"Imean，ifwecouldaffordtohelphimfinancially。Theyallbelongtothecountryclubsandhavecarsand——"

"Let"sdon"tgointothatanymore，mama，"thedaughterbeggedher。"What"stheuse？"

"ItCOULDbeofuse，"Mrs。Adamsinsisted。"Itcouldifyourfather——"

"ButpapaCAN"T。"

"Yes，hecan。"

"Buthowcanhe？HetoldmeamanofhisageCAN"Tgiveupabusinesshe"sbeeninpracticallyallhislife，andjustgogropingaboutforsomethingthatmightneverturnupatall。I

thinkhe"srightaboutit，too，ofcourse!"

Mrs。Adamssplashedamongtheplateswithanewvigourheightenedbyanoldbitterness。"Oh，yes，"shesaid。"Hetalksthatway；butheknowsbetter。"

"Howcouldhe"knowbetter，"mama？"

"HEknowshow!"

"Butwhatdoesheknow？"

Mrs。Adamstossedherhead。"Youdon"tsupposeI"msuchafoolI"dbeurginghimtogiveupsomethingfornothing，doyou，Alice？DoyousupposeI"dwanthimtojustgo"gropingaround"

likehewastellingyou？Thatwouldbecrazy，ofcourse。LittleashisworkatLamb"sbringsin，Iwouldn"tbesosillyastoaskhimtogiveitupjustonaCHANCEhecouldfindsomethingelse。

Goodgracious，Alice，youmustgivemecreditforalittleintelligenceonceinawhile!"

Alicewaspuzzled。"Butwhatelsecouldtherebeexceptachance？Idon"tsee——"

"Well，Ido，"hermotherinterrupted，decisively。"Thatmancouldmakeusallwelloffrightnowifhewantedto。Wecouldhavebeenrichlongagoifhe"deverreallyfeltasheoughttoabouthisfamily。"

"What!Why，howcould——"

"YouknowhowaswellasIdo，"Mrs。Adamssaid，crossly。"I

guessyouhaven"tforgottenhowhetreatedmeaboutittheSundaybeforehegotsick。"

Shewentonwithherwork，puttingintoitasuddenviolenceinspiredbytherecollection；butAlice，enlightened，gaveutterancetoalaughoflugubriousderision。"Oh，theGLUE

factoryagain!"shecried。"Howsilly!"Andsherenewedherlaughter。

Sooftendothegreatprojectsofparentsappearignominioustotheirchildren。Mrs。Adams"sconceptionofagluefactoryasafairygodmotherofthisfamilywasanabsurdoldstorywhichAlicehadnevertakenseriously。SherememberedthatwhenshewasaboutfifteenhermotherbegannowandthentosaysomethingtoAdamsabouta"gluefactory，"rathertimidly，andasavaguesuggestion，butneverwithoutirritatinghim。Then，foryears，thepreposteroussubjecthadnotbeenmentioned；possiblybecauseofsomeexplosiononthepartofAdams，whenhisdaughterhadnotbeenpresent。ButduringthelastyearMrs。Adamshadquietlygonebacktotheseoldhints，revivingthematintervalsandalsorevivingherhusband"sirritation。Alice"sboredimpressionwasthathermotherwantedhimtofound，orbuy，ordosomething，orother，aboutagluefactory；andthatheconsideredtheproposalsoimpracticableastobeinsulting。TheparentalconversationstookplacewhenneitherAlicenorWalterwasathand，butsometimesAlicehadcomeinupontheconclusionofone，tofindherfatherinashoutingmood，andshockingtheairbehindhimwithprofanemonosyllablesashedeparted。Mrs。Adamswouldbeleftquietandtroubled；andwhenAlice，sympathizingwiththegoadedman，inquiredofhermotherwhythesetiresomebickeringshadbeenrenewed，shealwaysgotthebroodingandcrypticanswer，"HeCOULDdoit——ifhewantedto。"Alicefailedtocomprehendthedesirabilityofagluefactory——tohermindafatherengagedinagluefactorylackedimpressiveness；hadnoadvantageoverafatheremployedbyLambandCompany；andshesupposedthatAdamsknewbetterthanhermotherwhethersuchanenterprisewouldbeprofitableornot。Emphatically，hethoughtitwouldnot，forshehadheardhimshoutingattheendofoneofthesepainfulinterviews，"YoucankeepupyourdangtalktillYOUdieand_I_

die，butI"llnevermakeoneGod"scentthatway!"

Therehadbeenaculmination。ReturningfromchurchontheSundayprecedingthecollapsewithwhichAdams"sillnesshadbegun，Alicefoundhermotherdownstairs，weepingandintimidated，whileherfather"sstampingfootstepswereloudlyaudibleashestrodeupanddownhisroomoverhead。Sowerehisendlessrepetitionsofinvectiveloudlyaudible:"Thatwoman!

Oh，thatwoman；Oh，thatdangedwoman!"

Mrs。Adamsadmittedtoherdaughterthatitwas"theoldgluefactory"andthatherhusband"swildnesshadfrightenedherintoa"solemnpromise"nevertomentionthesubjectagainsolongasshehadbreath。Alicelaughed。The"gluefactory"ideawasnotonlyabore，butridiculous，andhermother"sevidentseriousnessaboutitoneofthoseinexplicablevagarieswesometimesdiscoverinthepeopleweknowbest。ButthisSundayrampageappearedtobetheendofit，andwhenAdamscamedowntodinner，anhourlater，hewasunusuallycheerful。Alicewasgladhehadgonewildenoughtosettlethegluefactoryonceandforall；andshehadceasedtothinkoftheepisodelongbeforeFridayofthatweek，whenAdamswasbroughthomeinthemiddleoftheafternoonbyhisoldemployer，the"greatJ。A。Lamb，"inthelatter"scar。

Duringthelongillnessthe"gluefactory"wascompletelyforgotten，byAliceatleast；andherlaughwasruefulaswellasderisivenow，inthekitchen，whensherealizedthathermother"smindagaindweltuponthisabandonednuisance。"Ithoughtyou"dgotoverallthatnonsense，mama，"shesaid。

Mrs。Adamssmiled，pathetically。"Ofcourseyouthinkit"snonsense，dearie。Youngpeoplethinkeverything"snonsensethattheydon"tknowanythingabout。"

"Goodgracious!"Alicecried。"IshouldthinkIusedtohearenoughaboutthathorribleoldgluefactorytoknowsomethingaboutit!"

"No，"hermotherreturnedpatiently。"You"veneverheardanythingaboutitatall。"

"Ihaven"t？"

"No。YourfatherandIdidn"tdiscussitbeforeyouchildren。

Allyoueverheardwaswhenhe"dgetinsucharage，afterwe"dbeenspeakingofit，thathecouldn"tcontrolhimselfwhenyoucamein。Wasn"t_I_alwaysquiet？Did_I_evergoontalkingaboutit？"

"No；perhapsnot。Butyou"retalkingaboutitnow，mama，afteryoupromisednevertomentionitagain。"

"Ipromisednottomentionittoyourfather，"saidMrs。Adams，gently。"Ihaven"tmentionedittohim，haveI？"

"Ah，butifyoumentionittomeI"mafraidyouWILLmentionittohim。Youalwaysdospeakofthingsthatyouhaveonyourmind，andyoumightgetpapaallstirredupagainabout——"Alicepaused，alightofdivinationflickeringinhereyes。"Oh!"shecried。"ISEE!"

"Whatdoyousee？"

"YouHAVEbeenathimaboutit!"

"Notonesingleword!"

"No!"Alicecried。"NotaWORD，butthat"swhatyou"vemeantallalong!Youhaven"tspokenthewordstohim，butallthisurginghimtochange，to"findsomethingbettertogointo"——it"sallbeenaboutnothingonearthbutyourfoolisholdgluefactorythatyouknowupsetshim，andyougaveyoursolemnwordnevertospeaktohimaboutagain!Youdidn"tsayit，butyoumeantit——andheKNOWSthat"swhatyoumeant!Oh，mama!"

Mrs。Adams，withherhandsstillautomaticallyatworkinthefloodeddishpan，turnedtofaceherdaughter。"Alice，"shesaid，tremulously，"whatdoIaskformyself？"

"What？"

"Isay，WhatdoIaskformyself？Doyousuppose_I_wantanything？Don"tyouknowI"dbeperfectlycontentonyourfather"spresentincomeifIweretheonlypersontobeconsidered？WhatdoIcareaboutanypleasureformyself？I"dbewillingnevertohaveamaidagain；_I_don"tminddoingthework。Ifwedidn"thaveanychildrenI"dbegladtodoyourfather"scookingandthehouseworkandthewashingandironing，too，fortherestofmylife。Iwouldn"tcare。I"mapoorcookandapoorhousekeeper；Idon"tdoanythingwell；butitwouldbegoodenoughforjusthimandme。Iwouldn"teverutteronewordofcom——"

"Oh，goodness!"Alicelamented。"WhatISitallabout？"

"It"saboutthis，"saidMrs。Adams，swallowing。"YouandWalterareanewgenerationandyououghttohavethesameastherestofthenewgenerationget。PoorWalter——askingyoutogotothemoviesandaChineserestaurant:thebesthehadtooffer!Don"tyousuppose_I_seehowthepoorboyisdeteriorating？Don"tyousupposeIknowwhatYOUhavetogothrough，Alice？AndwhenI

thinkofthatmanupstairs——"Theagitatedvoicegrewlouder。

"WhenIthinkofhimandknowthatnothingintheworldbuthisSTUBBORNNESSkeepsmychildrenfromhavingalltheywantandwhattheyOUGHTtohave，doyousupposeI"mgoingtoholdmyselfboundtokeeptotheabsoluteletterofasillypromisehegotfrommebybehavinglikeacrazyman？Ican"t!Ican"tdoit!Nomothercouldsitbyandseehimlockupahornofplentylikethatinhisclosetwhenthechildrenwerestarving!"

"Oh，goodness，goodnessme!"Aliceprotested。"Wearen"tprecisely"starving，"arewe？"

Mrs。Adamsbegantoweep。"It"sjustthesame。Didn"tIseehowflushedandprettyyoulooked，thisafternoon，afteryou"dbeenwalkingwiththisyoungmanthat"scomehere？Doyousupposehe"dLOOKatagirllikeMildredPalmerifyouhadwhatyououghttohave？Doyousupposehe"dbegoingintobusinesswithherfatherifYOURfather——"

"Goodheavens，mama；you"reworsethanWalter:Ijustbarelyknowtheman!DON"Tbesoabsurd!"

"Yes，I"malways"absurd，""Mrs。Adamsmoaned。"AllIcandoiscry，whileyourfathersitsupstairs，andhishornofplenty——"

ButAliceinterruptedwithapealofdesperatelaughter。"Oh，that"hornofplenty!"Docomedowntoearth，mama。HowcanyoucallaGLUEfactory，thatdoesn"texistexceptinyourmind，a"hornofplenty"？Dolet"sbealittlerational!"

"ItCOULDbeahornofplenty，"thetearfulMrs，Adamsinsisted。

"Itcould!Youdon"tunderstandathingaboutit。"

"Well，I"mwilling，"Alicesaid，withtiredskepticism。"Makemeunderstand，then。Where"dyouevergettheidea？"

Mrs。Adamswithdrewherhandsfromthewater，driedthemonatowel，andthenwipedhereyeswithahandkerchief。"Yourfathercouldmakeafortuneifhewantedto，"shesaid，quietly。"Atleast，Idon"tsayafortune，butanyhowagreatdealmorethanhedoesmake。"

"Yes，I"veheardthatbefore，mama，andyouthinkhecouldmakeitoutofagluefactory。WhatI"maskingis:How？"

"How？Why，bymakingglueandsellingit。Don"tyouknowhowbadmostglueiswhenyoutrytomendanything？Agoodglueisoneoftherarestthingsthereis；anditwouldjustsellitself，onceitgotstarted。Well，yourfatherknowshowtomakeasgoodaglueasthereisintheworld。"

Alicewasnotinterested。"Whatofit？Isupposeprobablyanybodycouldmakeitiftheywantedto。"

"ISAIDyoudidn"tknowanythingaboutit。Nobodyelsecouldmakeit。Yourfatherknowsaformulaformakingit。"

"Whatofthat？"

"It"sasecretformula。Itisn"tevendownonpaper。It"sworthanyamountofmoney。"

""Anyamount？""Alicesaid，remainingincredulous。"Whyhasn"tpapasolditthen？"

"Justbecausehe"stoostubborntodoanythingwithitatall!"

"Howdidpapagetit？"

"Hegotitbeforeyouwereborn，justafterweweremarried。I

didn"tthinkmuchaboutitthen:itwasn"ttillyouweregrowingupandIsawhowmuchweneededmoneythatI——"

"Yes，buthowdidpapagetit？"Alicebegantofeelalittlemorecuriousaboutthispossibleburiedtreasure。"Didheinventit？"

"Partly，"Mrs。Adamssaid，lookingsomewhatpreoccupied。"Heandanothermaninventedit。"

"Thenmaybetheotherman——"

"He"sdead。"

"Thenhisfamily——"

"Idon"tthinkheleftanyfamily，"Mrs。Adamssaid。"Anyhow，itbelongstoyourfather。Atleastitbelongstohimasmuchasitdoestoanyoneelse。He"sgotanabsolutelyperfectrighttodoanythinghewantstowithit，anditwouldmakeusallcomfortableifhe"ddowhatIwanthimto——andheKNOWSitwould，too!"

Aliceshookherheadpityingly。"Poormama!"shesaid。"Ofcourseheknowsitwouldn"tdoanythingofthekind，orelsehe"dhavedoneitlongago。"

"Hewould，yousay？"hermothercried。"Thatonlyshowshowlittleyouknowhim!"

"Poormama!"Alicesaidagain，soothingly。"Ifpapawerelikewhatyousayheis，he"dbe——why，he"dbecrazy!"

Mrs。Adamsagreedwithavehemencenearpassion。"You"rerightabouthimforonce:that"sjustwhatheis!Hesitsupthereinhisstubbornnessandletsusslavehereinthekitchenwhenifhewantedto——ifhe"dsomuchaslifthislittlefinger——"

"Oh，come，now!"Alicelaughed。"Youcan"tbuildevenagluefactorywithjustonelittlefinger。"

Mrs。Adamsseemedabouttoreplythatfindingfaultwithafigureofspeechwasbesidethepoint；butaringingofthefrontdoorbellforestalledtheretort。"Now，whodoyousupposethatis？"shewonderedaloud，thenherfacebrightened。"Ah——didMr。

Russellaskifhecould——"

"No，hewouldn"tbecomingthisevening，"Alicesaid。"Probablyit"sthegreatJ。A。Lamb:heusuallystopsforaminuteonThursdaystoaskhowpapa"sgettingalong。I"llgo。"

Shetossedherapronoff，andasshewentthroughthehouseherexpressionwasthoughtful。Shewasthinkingvaguelyaboutthegluefactoryandwonderingiftheremightbe"somethinginit"

afterall。IfhermotherwasrightabouttherichpossibilitiesofAdams"ssecret——butthatwasasfarasAlice"sspeculationsuponthematterwentatthistime:theywerechecked，partlybythethoughtthatherfatherprobablyhadn"tenoughmoneyforsuchanenterprise，andpartlybythefactthatshehadarrivedatthefrontdoor。

CHAPTERXII