第13章

Thewordswereindefinite,butthevoicewasnot。Neitherwastheviciousgestureofthebandagedhand,whichconcludeditsorbitinthedirectionofthedoorinamannersufficientfortheswiftdispersalofGeorgeandJacksonandseveralfemaleservantswhohoveredbehindMrs。Sheridan。Theyfledlightly。

"Papa,papa！"wailedMrs。Sheridan。"Lookatyourhand！You"doughtn"ttobeensoroughwithEdie;youhurtyourhandonhershoulder。Look！"

Therewas,infact,aspreadingredstainuponthebandagesatthetipsofthefingers,andSheridanputhishandbackinthesling。"Nowthen！"herepeated。"Yougoin"toleavemyhouse？"

"HewillNOT！"sobbedEdith。"Don"tyouDAREorderhimout！"

"Don"tyoubother,dear,"saidLamhorn,quietly。"Hedoesn"tunderstand。YOU

mustn"tbetroubled。"Pallorwasbecomingtohim;helookedveryhandsome,andashelefttheroomheseemedinthegirl"sdistraughteyesapersecutednoble,indifferenttotherabbleyawpinginsultathisheels——therabblebeingenactedbyherfather。

"Don"tcomeback,either！"said,Sheridan,realisticinthisimpersonation。

"Keepoffthepremises！"hecalledsavagelyintothehall。"Thisfamily"sthroughwithyou！"

"ItisNOT！"Edithcried,breakingfromhermother。"You"llSEEaboutthat！

You"llfindout！You"llfindoutwhat"llhappen！What"sHEdone？IguessifIcanstandit,it"snoneofYOURbusiness,isit？What"sHEdone,I"dliketoknow？Youdon"tknowanythingaboutit。Don"tyous"posehetoldME？Shewascrazyabouthimsoonashebegangoingthere,andheflirtedwithheralittle。That"severythinghedid,anditwasbeforehemetME！Afterthathewouldn"t,anditwasn"tanything,anyway——heneverwasseriousaminuteaboutit。SHEwantedittobeserious,andshewasboundshewouldn"tgivehimup。

Hetoldherlongagohecaredaboutme,butshekeptpersecutinghimand——"

"Yes,"saidSheridan,sternly;"that"sHISsideofit！That"lldo！Hedoesn"tcomeinthishouseagain！"

"Youlookout！"Edithcried。

"Yes,I"lllookout！I"d"a"toldyouto—dayhewasn"ttobeallowedonthepremises,butIhadotherthingsonmymind。IhadAbercrombielookupthisyoungmanprivately,andhe"sno"count。He"sno"countonearth！He"snogood！He"sNOTHIN"！Butitwouldn"tmatterifhewasGeorgeWashington,afterwhat"shappenedandwhatI"veheardto—night！"

"But,papa,"Mrs。Sheridanbegan,"ifEdiesaysitwasallSibyl"sfault,makin"uptohim,andheneverencouragedhermuch,nor——"

""Senough！"heroared。"Hekeepsoffthesepremises！Andifanyofyousomuchaseverspeakhisnametomeagain——"

ButEdithscreamed,clappingherhandsoverherearstoshutoutthesoundofhisvoice,andranup—stairs,sobbingloudly,followedbyhermother。However,Mrs。Sheridandescendedafewminuteslaterandjoinedherhusbandinthelibrary。Bibbs,stillsittinginhisgoldchair,sawherpass,rousedhimselffromreverie,andstrolledinafterher。

"Shelockedherdoor,"saidMrs。Sheridan,shakingherheadwoefully。"Shewouldn"tevenanswerme。Theywasn"tasoundfromherroom。"

"Well,"saidherhusband,"shecansettlehermindtoit。Sheneverspeakstothatfellowagain,andifhetriestotelephoneherto—morrow——Here！Youtellthehelpifhecallsuptoringoffandsayit"smyorders。No,youneedn"t。I"lltell"emmyself。"

"Betternot,"saidBibbs,gently。

Hisfatherglaredathim。

"It"snogood,"saidBibbs。"Mother,whenyouwereinlovewithfather——"

"Mygoodness！"shecried。"Youain"ta—goin"tocompareyourfathertothat——"

"Edithfeelsabouthimjustwhatyoudidaboutfather,"saidBibbs。"AndifYOURfatherhadtoldyou——"

"Iwon"tLISTENtosuchsillytalk！"shedeclared,angrily。

"Soyou"rehandin"outyouradvice,areyou,Bibbs？"saidSheridan。"Whatisit？"

"Letherseehimallshewants。"

"You"rea——"Sheridangaveitup。"Idon"tknowwhattocallyou！"

"Letherseehimallshewants,"Bibbsrepeated,thoughtfully。"You"reupagainstsomethingtoostrongforyou。IfEdithwereaweaklingyou"dhaveachancethisway,butsheisn"t。She"sgotalotofyourdetermination,father,andwithwhat"sgoingoninsideofhershe"llbeatyou。Youcan"tkeepherfromseeinghim,aslongasshefeelsabouthimthewayshedoesnow。

Youcan"tmakeherthinklessofhim,either。Nobodycan。Youronlychanceisthatshe"lldoitforherself,andifyougivehertimeandgoeasysheprobablywill。Marriagewoulddoitforherquickest,butthat"sjustwhatyoudon"twant,andasyouDON"Twantit,you"dbetter——"

"Ican"tstandanymore！"Sheridanburstout。"Ifit"scometoBIBBSadvisin"

mehowtorunthishouseIbetterresign。Mamma,where"sthatniggerGeorge？

MaybeHE"SgotsomeplanhowIbettermanagemyfamily。Bibbs,forGod"ssakegoandlaydown！"Letherseehimallshewants"！Oh,Lord！here"swisdom;

here"s——"

"Bibbs,"saidMrs。Sheridan,"ifyouhaven"tgotanythingtodo,youmightstepoverandtakeSibyl"swrapshome——sheleft"eminthehall。Idon"tthinkyouseemtoquietyourpoorfatherverymuchjustnow。"

"Allright。"AndBibbsboreSibyl"swrapsacrossthestreetanddeliveredthemtoRoscoe,whomethimatthedoor。Bibbssaidonly,"Forgotthese,"

and,"Goodnight,Roscoe,"cordiallyandcheerfully,andreturnedtotheNewHouse。Hismotherandfatherwerestilltalkinginthelibrary,butwithdiscretionhepassedrapidlyonandupwardtohisownroom,andthereheproceededtowriteinhisnote—book。

ThereseemstobeanothercuriousthingaboutLove[Bibbswrote]。

Loveisblindwhileitlivesandonlyopensitseyesandbecomesverywideawakewhenitdies。Letitaloneuntilthen。

Youcannotreasonwithloveorwithanyotherpassion。Thewisewillnotwishforlove——norforambition。Thesearepassionsandbringothersintheirtrain——hatredsandjealousies——allblind。Friendshipandaquietheartforthewise。

Whataturbulenceislove！Itisdangerousforablindthingtobeturbulent;thereareprecipicesinlife。Onewouldnotcrossamountain—passwithathickclothoverhiseyes。Loversdo。Friendshipwalksgentlyandwithopeneyes。

Towalktochurchwithafriend！Tositbesideherthere！Torisewhensherises,andtotouchwithone"sthumbandfingerstheotherhalfofthehymn—bookthatsheholds！Whatlover,withhisfierceways,couldknowthistranscendenthappiness？

Friendshipbringseverythingthatheavencouldbring。Thereisnolaborthatcannotbecomealivingraptureifyouknowthatafriendisthinkingofyouasyoulabor。Soyousingatyourwork。

Fortheworkispartofthethoughtsofyourfriend;soyouloveit！

Loveisdemandingandclaimingandinsistent。Friendshipisallkindness——itmakestheworldgloriouswithkindness。Whatcoloryouseewhenyouwalkwithafriend！Youseethatthegrayskyisbrilliantandshimmering;youseethatthesmokehaswarmbrownsandismarvelouslysculptured——theairbecomesiridescent。Youseethegoldinbrownhair。Lightfloodseverything。

Whenyouwalktochurchwithafriendyouknowthatlifecangiveyounothingricher。Youpraythattherewillbenochangeinanythingforever。

Whatanadorablethingitistodiscoveralittlefoibleinyourfriend,abitofvanitythatgivesyouonethingmoreabouthertoadore！Onacoldmorningshewillperhapswalktochurchwithyouwithoutherfurs,andshewillblushandreturnanevasiveanswerwhenyouaskherwhyshedoesnotwearthem。Youwillsaynomore,becauseyouunderstand。Shelooksbeautifulinherfurs;

youlovetheirdarknessagainsthercheek;butyoucomprehendthattheyconcealthelovelinessofherthroatandthefinelineofherchin,andthatshealsohascomprehendedthis,and,wishingtolookstillmorebewitching,discardsherfursattheriskoftakingcold。Soyouholdyourpeace,andtrytolookasifyouhadnotthoughtitout。

Thistheoryissatisfactoryexceptthatitdoesnotaccountfortheabsenceofthemuff。Ah,well,theremustalwaysbeamysterysomewhere！Mysteryisapartofenchantment。

Manuallaborisbest。Yourheartcansingandyourmindcandreamwhileyourhandsareworking。Youcouldnothaveasingingheartandadreamingmindalldayifyouhadtoschemeoutdollars,orifyouhadtoaddcolumnsoffigures。Thosethingstakeyourattention。Youcannotbethinkingofyourfriendwhileyouwritelettersbeginning"Yoursofthe17thinst。rec"dandcontentsdulynoted。"Buttoworkwithyourhandsallday,thinkingandsinging,andthen,afternightfall,toheartheineffablekindnessofyourfriend"sgreeting——alwaysthere——foryou！Whowouldwakefromsuchadreamasthis？

Dawnandthesea——musicinmoonlitgardens——nightingalesserenadingthroughalmond—grovesinbloom——whatcouldbringsuchthingsintothecity"sturmoil？Yettheyarehere,androsesblossominthesoot。Thatiswhatitmeansnottobealone！Thatiswhatafriendgivesyou！

Havingthusdemonstratedthathewasabouttwenty—fiveandhadformedasomewhatindefinitedefinitionoffriendship,butoneentirelyhisown（andperhapsMary"s）Bibbswenttobed,andwastheonlySheridantosleepsoundlythroughthenightandtowakeatdawnwithalightheart。

Hischeerfulnesswasvaguelydiminishedbythetroublousstateofaffairsofhisfamily。Hehadrecognizedhisconditionwhenhewrote,"Whowouldwakefromsuchadreamasthis？"Bibbswasasympatheticperson,easilytouched,buthewasindeedlivinginadream,andallthingsoutsideofitwereveiledandremote——forthatisthewayofyouthinadream。AndBibbs,whohadneverbeforebeenofanyage,eitheroldoryoung,hadcometohisyouthatlast。

Hewentwhistlingfromthehousebeforeevenhisfatherhadcomedown—stairs。

Therewasafogoutdoors,saturatedwithafinepowderofsoot,andthoughBibbsnoticedabsentlythedimshapeofanautomobileatthecurbbeforeRoscoe"shouse,hedidnotrecognizeitasDr。Gurney"s,butwentcheerilyonhiswaythroughthedingymist。Andwhenhewasoncemoreinstalledbesidehisfaithfulzinc—eaterhewhistledandsangtoit,asotherworkmendidtotheirownmachinessometimes,whenthingswentwell。Hiscomradesintheshopglancedathimamusedlynowandthen。Theylikedhim,andheatehislunchatnoonwithagroupofSocialistswhoapprovedofhisideasandtalkedofelectinghimtotheirassociation。

Theshortdaysoftheyearhadcome,anditwasdarkbeforethewhistlesblew。

Whenthesignalcame,Bibbswenttotheoffice,wherehedivestedhimselfofhisoveralls——hissingledivergencefromtheroutineofhisfellow—workmen——andafterthatheusedsoapandwatercopiously。Thiswashistransformationscene:hepassedintotheofficearatherfrailyoungworking—mannoticeablybegrimed,andpassedoutofittothepavementacheerfullypre—occupiedsampleofgentry,fastidioustothepointofelegance。

Thesidewalkwascrowdedwiththebearersofdinner—pails,menandboysandwomenandgirlsfromthework—roomsthatclosedatfive。Manyhurriedandsomeloitered;theywentbotheastandwest,jostlingoneanother,andBibbs,turninghisfacehomeward,wasforcedtogoslowly。

Comingtowardhim,asslowly,throughthecrowd,atallgirlcaughtsightofhislong,thinfigureandstoodstilluntilhehadalmostpassedher,forinthethickcrowdandthethickergloomhedidnotrecognizeher,thoughhisshoulderactuallytouchedhers。Hewouldhavegoneby,butshelaugheddelightedly;andhestoppedshort,startled。Twoboys,onechasingtheother,sweptbetweenthem,andBibbsstoodstill,peeringabouthimindeepperplexity。Sheleanedtowardhim。

"IknewYOU！"shesaid。

"Goodheavens！"criedBibbs。"Ithouhgtitwasyourvoicecomingoutofastar！"

"There"sonlysmokeoverhead,"saidMary,andlaughedagain。"Therearen"tanystars。"

"Ohyes,therewere——whenyoulaughed！"

Shetookhisarm,andtheywenton。"I"vecometowalkhomewithyou,Bibbs。

Iwantedto。"

"Butwereyouhereinthe——"

"Inthedark？Yes！Waiting？Yes！"

Bibbswasradiant;hefeltsuffocatedwithhappiness。Hebegantoscoldher。

"Butit"snotsafe,andI"mnotworthit。Youshouldn"thave——Yououghttoknowbetter。Whatdid——"

"Ionlywaitedabouttwelveseconds,"shelaughed。"I"djustgothere。"

"Buttocomeallthiswayandtothispartoftowninthedark,you——"

"Iwasinthispartoftownalready,"shesaid。"Atleast,Iwasonlysevenoreightblocksaway,anditwasdarkwhenIcameout,andI"dhavehadtogohomealone——andIpreferredgoinghomewithyou。"

"It"sprettybeautifulforme,"saidBibbs,withadeepbreath。"You"llneverknowwhatitwastohearyourlaughinthedarkness——andthento——toseeyoustandingthere！Oh,itwaskike——itwaslike——HowcanITELLyouwhatitwaslike？"Theyhadpassedbeyondthecrowdnow,andacrossing—lampshoneuponthem,whichrevealedthefactthatagainshewaswithoutherfurs。Herewasapuzzle。WhydidthatadorablelittlevanityofhersbringheroutwithoutthemintheDARK？Butofcourseshehadgoneoutlongbeforedark。Forundefinablereasonsthisexplanationwasnotquitesatisfactory;however,allowingittostand,hissolicitudeforhertookanotherturn。"Ithinkyououghttohaveacar,"hesaid,"especiallywhenyouwanttobeoutafterdark。

Youneedoneinwinter,anyhow。Haveyoueveraskedyourfatherforone？"

"No,"saidMary。"Idon"tthinkI"dcareforoneparticularly。"

"Iwishyouwould。"Bibbs"stonewasearnestandtroubled。"Ithinkinwinteryou——"

"No,no,"sheinterrupted,lightly。"Idon"tneed——"

"Butmymothertriedtoinsistonsendingoneoverhereeveryafternoonforme。Iwouldn"tlether,becauseIlikethewalk,butagirl——"

"Agirllikestowalk,too,"saidMary。"LetmetellyouwhereI"vebeenthisafternoonandhowIhappenedtobenearenoughttomakeyoutakemehome。

I"vebeentoseealittleoldmanwhomakespicturesofthesmoke。Hehasasortofwarehouseforastudio,andhelivestherewithhismotherandhiswifeandtheirsevenchildren,andhe"sgloriouslyhappy。I"dseenoneofhispicturesatanexhibition,andIwantedtoseemoreofthem,soheshowedthemtome。Hehasalmosteverthingheeverpainted;Idon"tsupposehe"ssoldmorethanfourorfivepicturesinhislife。Hegivesdrawing—lessonstokeepalive。"

"Howdoyoumeanhepaintsthesmoke？"Bibbsasked。

"Literally。Hepaintsfromhisstudiowindowandfromthestreet——anywhere。

Hejustpaintswhat"saroundhim——andit"sbeautiful。"

"Thesmoke？"

"Wonderful！Heseestheskythroughit,somehow。Hedoestheuglyroofsofcheaphousesthroughahazeofsmoke,andhedoessmokysunsetsandsmokysunrises,andhehasotherthingswiththeheavy,solid,slowcolumnsofsmokegoingfaroutandgrowingmoreetherealandmixingwiththehazylightinthedistance;andhehasotherswiththebrokensky—lineofdown—town,allmistedwiththesmokeandpuffsandjetsofvaporthathavecolorslikeanorchardinmid—April。I"mgoingtotakeyoutheresomeSundayafternoon,Bibbs。"

"You"reshowingmethetown,"hesaid。"Ididn"tknowwhatwasinitatall。"

"Thereareworkersinbeautyhere,"shetoldhim,gently。"Thereareotherpaintersmoreprosperousthanmyfriend。Thereareallsortsofthings。"

"Ididn"tknow。"

"No。Sincethetownbegangrowingsogreatthatitcalleditself"greater,"

onecouldlivehereallone"slifeandknowonlythesideofitthatshows。"

"Thebeauty—workersseemburiedverydeep,"saidBibbs。"AndIimaginethatyourfriendwhomakesthesmokebeautifulmustbeburieddeepestofall。Myfatherlovesthesmoke,butIcan"timaginehisbuyingoneofyourfriend"spictures。He"dbuythe"BayofNaples,"buthewouldn"tgetoneofthose。

He"dthinksmokeinapicturewashorrible——unlesshecoulduseitforanadvertisement。"

"Yes,"shesaid,thoughtfully。"Andreallyhe"sthetown。TheyAREburiedprettydeep,itseems,sometimes,Bibbs。"

"Andyetit"sallwonderful,"hesaid。"It"swonderfultome。"

"Youmeanthetowniswonderfultoyou？"

"Yes,becauseeverythingis,sinceyoucalledmeyourfriend。Thecityisonlyarumbleonthehorizonforme。Itcan"tcomeanycloserthanthehorizonsolongasyouletmeseeyoustandingbymyoldzinc—eateralldaylong,helpingme。Mary——"Hestoppedwithagasp。"That"sthefirsttimeI"vecalledyou"Mary"！"

"Yes。"Shelaughed,alittletremuously。"ThoughIwantedyouto！"

"Isaiditwithoutthinking。Itmustbebecauseyoucametheretowalkhomewithme。Thatmustbeit。""Womenliketohavethingssaid,"Maryinformedhim,hertremulouslaughtercontinuing。"WereyougladIcameforyou？"

"No——not"glad。"IfeltasifIwerebeingcarriedstraightupandupandup——overtheclouds。Ifeellikethatstill。IthinkI"mthatwaymostofthetime。IwonderwhatIwaslikebeforeIknewyou。ThepersonIwasthenseemstohavebeensomebodyelse,notBibbsSheridanatall。Itseemslong,longago。Iwasgloomyandsickly——somebodyelse——somebodyIdon"tunderstandnow,acowardafraidofshadows——afraidofthingsthatdidn"texist——afraidofmyoldzinc—eater！AndnowI"monlyafraidofwhatmightchangeanything。"

Shewassilentamoment,andthen,"You"rehappy,Bibbs？"sheasked。

"Ah,don"tyousee？"hecried。"Iwantittolastforathousand,thousandyears,justasitis！You"vemademesorich,I"mamiser。Iwouldn"thaveonethingdifferent——nothing,nothing！"

"DearBibbs！"shesaid,andlaughedhappily。

Bibbscontinuedtoliveintheshelterofhisdream。HehadtoldEdith,afterhisineffectiveefforttobeusefulinheraffairs,thathehaddecidedthathewas"amemberofthefamily";butheappearedtohaverelapsedtotheretiredlistafterthatoneattemptatparticipancy——hewasfarenoughdetachedfrommembershipnow。ThesewereturbulentdaysintheNewHouse,butBibbshadnopartwhateverintheturbulence——heseemedanabsent—mindedstranger,presentbyaccidentandnotwhollyawarethathewaspresent。Hewouldsit,faintlysmilingoverpleasantimaginingsanddearreminiscencesofhisown,whilebattleragedbetweenEdithandherfather,orwhileSheridanunloosedjeremiadsuponthesullenRoscoe,whodrankheavilytoendurethem。

Thehappydreamerwanderedintostorm—areaslikeasomnambulist,andwanderedoutagainunawakened。HewassorryforhisfatherandforRoscoe,andforEdithandforSibyl,buttheirsufferingsandoutcriesseemedfaraway。

SibylwasunderGurney"scare。RoscoehadsentforhimonSundaynight,notlongafterBibbsreturnedtheabandonedwraps;andduringthefirstdaysofSibyl"sillnessthedoctorfounditnecessarytobewithherfrequently,andtoinstallamuscularnurse。Andwhetherhewouldorno,Gurneyreceivedfromhishystericalpatientavarietyofpungentinformationwhichwouldhavestaggeredanybodybutafamilyphysician。AmongotherthingshewasgiventocomprehendthechangeinBibbs,andwhythezinc—eaterwasnotputtingalumpintheoperator"sgizzardasofyore。

Sibylwasnotdelirious——shewasathinlittleegowrithingandshriekinginpain。Lifehadhurther,andhaddrivenherintohurtingherself;herconditionwasonlytheadult"sterribleexaggerationofthatofachildafterabadbruise——theremustbescreamingandtellingmotherallaboutthehurtandhowithappened。SibylbabbledherselfhoarsewhenGurneywithheldmorphine。Shewentfromthebeginningtotheendinabreath。Noproteststoppedher;nothingstoppedher。

"Yououghttoletmedie！"shewailed。"It"scruelnottoletmedie！WhatharmhaveIeverdonetoanybodythatyouwanttokeepmealive？Justlookatmylife！IonlymarriedRoscoetogetawayfromhome,andlookwhatthatgotmeinto！——lookwhereIamnow！Hebroughtmetothistown,andwhatdidI

haveinmylifebuthisFAMILY？Andtheydidn"tevenknowtherightcrowd！

Iftheyhad,itmighthavebeenSOMETHING！Ihadnothing——nothing——nothingintheworld！Iwantedtohaveagoodtime——andhowcouldI？Where"sanygoodtimeamongtheseSheridans？Theyneverevenhadwineonthetable！IthoughtIwasmarryingintoarichfamilywhereI"dmeetattractivepeopleI"dreadabout,andtravel,andgotodances——and,oh,myLord！allIgotwastheseSheridans！IdidthebestIcould;Idid,indeed！Oh,IDID！Ijusttriedtolive。Everywoman"sgotarighttolive,sometimeinherlife,Iguess！

Thingswerejustbeginningtolookbrighter——we"dmoveduphere,andthatfrozencrowdacrossthestreetwereafterJimfortheirdaughter,andthey"dhavestarteduswiththerightpeople——andthenIsawhowEdithwasgettinghimawayfromme。Shedidit,too！Shegothim！Agirlwithmoneycandothattoamarriedwoman——yes,shecan,everytime！AndwhatcouldIdo？Whatcananywomandoinmyfix？Icouldn"tdoANYTHINGbuttrytostandit——andI

couldn"tstandit！Iwenttothaticicle——thatVertreesgirl——andshecouldhavehelpedmealittle,anditwouldn"thavehurther。Itwouldn"thavedoneheranyharmtohelpmeTHATlittle！ShetreatedmeasifI"dbeendirtthatshewouldn"teventakethetroubletosweepoutofherhouse！LetherWAIT！"

Sibyl"svoice,hoarsefrombabbling,becamenomorethanahuskywhisper,thoughshestrovetomakeitlouder。Shestruggledhalfupright,andthenurserestrainedher。"I"dgetupoutofthisbedtoshowhershecan"tdosuchthingsotme！Iwasabsolutelyladylike,andshewalkedoutandleftmetherealone！She"llSEE！ShestartedafterBibbsbeforeJim"scasketwasfairlyunderground,andshethinksshe"slandedthatpoorloon——butshe"llsee！She"llsee！IfI"meverabletowalkacrossthestreetagainI"llshowherhowtotreatawomanintroublethatcomestoherforhelp！Itwouldn"thavehurtherany——itwouldn"t——itwouldn"t。AndEdithneedn"thavetoldwhatshetoldRoscoe——itwouldn"thavehurthertoletmealone。AndHEtoldherI

boredhim——telephoninghimIwantedtoseehim。Heneedn"thavedoneit！Heneedn"t——needn"t——"Hervoicegrewfainter,forthatwhile,withexhaustion,thoughshewouldgooveritallagainassoonasherstrengthreturned。Shelaypanting。Then,seeingherhusbandstandingdisheveledinthedoorway,"Don"tcomein,Roscoe,"shemurmured。"Idon"twanttoseeyou。"Andasheturnedawaysheadded,"I"mkindofsorryforyou,Roscoe。"

Herantagonist,Edith,wasnotmorecoherentinherownwailings,andshehadtheadvantageofamotherforlistener。Shehadalsothedisadvantageofamotherforduenna,andMrs。Sheridan,underherhusband"ssharptutelage,provedaneffectiveone。EdithwasreducedtotelephoningLamhornfromshopswhenevershecouldjugglehermotherintoamomentarydistractionoveracounter。

EdithwasincomparablymoreinlovethanbeforeLamhorn"sexpulsion。Herwholebeingwasnothingbutthedeterminationtohurdleeverythingthatseparatedherfromhim。Shewasinastatethatcouldbealteredbyonlythelightestandmostdelicatediplomacyofsuggestion,butSheridan,likelegionsofotherparents,intensifiedherpassionandfedithourlyfuelbyopposingtoitanintolerableforce。Hesworesheshouldcool,andthussetheronfire。

Edithplannedneatly。Shefoughthard,everyotherevening,withherfather,andkeptherbedbetweentimestolethimseewhathisviolencehaddonetoher。Then,whenthemeresightofhersethimtobreathingfast,shesaidpitiablythatshemightbearhertroublebetterifshewentaway;itwasimpossibletobeinthesametownwithLamhornandnotthinkalwaysofhim。

PerhapsinNewYorkshemightforgetalittle。Shehadwrittentoaschoolfriend,establishedquietlywithanauntinapartments——andamonthorsooftheatersandrestaurantsmightbringpeace。Sheridanshoutedwithrelief;hegaveheracopiouscheque,andsheleftuponaMondaymorning,wearingvioletswithhermourningandhavingkissedeverybodygood—byexceptSibylandBibbs。

ShemighthavekissedBibbs,buthefailedtorealizethatthedayofherdeparturehadarrived,andwassurprised,onreturningfromhiszinc—eater,thatevening,tofindhergone。"Isupposethey"llbemariedther,"hesaid,casually。

Sheridan,seated,warminghisstockingedfeetatthefire,jumpedup,fuming。

"Eitheryougoouto"here,orIwill,Bibbs！"hesnorted。"Idon"twanttobeinthesameroomwiththeparticularkindofidiotyouare！She"sthroughwiththatriff—raff;allsheneededwastobekeptawayfromhimafewweeks,andIKEPTheraway,anditdidthebusiness。ForHeaven"ssake,goonouto"

here！"

Bibbsobeyedthegestureofahandstillbandaged。AndtheblacksilkslingwasstillroundSheridan"sneck,butnotwordofGurney"sandnoexcruciatingtwingeofpaincouldkeepSheridan"shandinthesling。Thewounds,slightenoughoriginally,hadbecomeinfectedthefirsttimehehaddislodgedthebandages,andhealingwaslongdelayed。Sheridanhadthehabitofgesture;hecouldnot"taketimetoremember,"hesaid,thathemustbecareful,andhehadalsoacuriousindignationwithhishurt;herefusedtopayitthecomplimentofadmittingitsexistence。

TheSaturdayfollowingEdith"sdepartureGurneycametotheSheridanBuildingtodressthewoundsandtohaveatalkwithSheridanwhichthedoctorfelthadbecomenecessary。Buthewasalittlebeforetheappointedtimeandwasobligedtowaitafewminutesinananteroom——therewasadirectors"meetingofsomesortinSheridan"soffice。Thedoorwasslightlyajar,leakingcigar—smokeandoratory,thelatterallSheridan"s,andGurneylistened。

"No,sir;no,sir;no,sir！"heheardthebigvoicerumbling,andthen,breakingintothunder,"ItellyouNO！Someo"youmenmakemesick！You"dloseyourconfidenceinAlmightyGodifadoodle—bugflippedhishindlegatyou！Yousaymoney"stightalloverthecountry。Well,whatifitis？

There"snoreasonforittobetight,andit"snotgoin"tokeepOURmoneytight！You"realwaysrunnin"tothewoodshedtohideyournickelsinacrackbecausesomefoolnewspapersaysthemarket"salittleskeery！Youlistentoeverystreet—cornercroakerandthencomeandsethereandtrytoscareMEoutofabigthing！We"reINonthis——understand？ItellyouthereneverWAS

bettertimes。Thesearegoodtimesandbigtimes,andIwon"tstandforanyotherkindo"talk。Thiscountry"sonitsfeetasitneverwasbefore,andthiscity"sonitsfeetandgoin"tostaythere！"AndGurneyheardaseriesofwhacksandthumpsuponthedesk。""Badtimes"！"Sheridanvociferated,withaccompanyingthumps。"Rabbittalk！Thesetimesareglorious,Itellyou！

We"reinthepromisedland,andwe"regoin"toSTAYthere！That"sall,gentlemen。Theloangoes！"

Thedirectorscameforth,flushedandmurmurous,andGurneyhastenedin。Hisguesswascorrect:Sheridanhadbeenthumpingthedeskwithhisrighthand。

Thephysicianscoldedwearily,makinggoodthefreshdamageasbesthemight;