第4章

GladandPollyoccupiedthemselveswiththeirownfood。

AntonyDartgazedatthefire。

Herehesatwarminghimselfinaloftwithabeggar，athief，andahelplessthingofthestreet。Hehadcomeouttobuyapistol——itsweightstillhunginhisovercoatpocket——

andhehadreachedthisplaceofwhoseexistencehehadanhouragonotdreamed。Eachstepwhichhadledhimhadseemedasimple，inevitablething，forwhichhehadapparentlybeenresponsible，butwhichheknew——yes，somehowheKNEW——hehadofhisownvolitionneitherplannednormeant。Yetherehesat——apartofthelivesofthebeggar，thethief，andthepoorthingofthestreet。Whatdiditmean？

"Tellme，"hesaidtothethief，"howyoucamehere。"

Bythistimetheyoungfellowhadfedhimselfandlookedlesslikeawolf。Itwastobeseennowthathehadblue—grayeyeswhichweredreamyandyoung。

"Ihavealwaysbeeninventingthings，"hesaidalittlehuskily。"I

diditwhenIwasachild。Ialwaysseemedtoseetheremightbeawayofdoingathingbetter——gettingmorepower。WhenotherboyswereplayinggamesIwassittingincornerstryingtobuildmodelsoutofwireandstring，andoldboxesandtincans。IoftenthoughtIsawthewaytothings，butIwasalwaystoopoortogetwhatwasneededtoworkthemout。TwiceIheardofmenmakinggreatnamesandfortunesbecausetheyhadbeenabletofinishwhatIcouldhavefinishedifI

hadhadafewpounds。Itusedtodrivememadandbreakmyheart。"

Hishandsclenchedthemselvesandhishuskinessgrewthicker。"Therewasaman，"catchinghisbreath，"wholeapedtothetopoftheladderandsetthewholeworldtalkingandwriting——andIhaddonethethingFIRST——IswearIhad！Itwasallclearinmybrain，andIwashalfmadwithjoyoverit，butIcouldnotaffordtoworkitout。Hecould，sototheendoftimeitwillbeHIS。"Hestruckhisfistuponhisknee。

"Aw！"ThedeeplittledrawlwasagroanfromGlad。

"Igotaplaceinanofficeatlast。

Iworkedhard，andtheybegantotrustme。I——hadanewidea。Itwasabigone。Ineededmoneytoworkitout。I——Irememberedwhathadhappenedbefore。Ifeltlikeapoorfellowrunningaraceforhislife。IKNEWIcouldpaybacktentimes——ahundredtimes——whatItook。"

"Youtookmoney？"saidDart。

Thethief’sheaddropped。

"No。IwascaughtwhenIwastakingit。Iwasn’tsharpenough。

Someonecameinandsawme，andtherewasacrazyrow。Iwassenttoprison。Therewasnomoretryingafterthat。It’snearlytwoyearssince，andI’vebeenhangingaboutthestreetsandfallinglowerandlower。I’verunmilespantingaftercabswithluggageinthemandnothadstrengthtocarryintheboxeswhentheystopped。I’vestarvedandsleptoutofdoors。ButthethingIwantedtoworkoutisinmymindallthetime——likesomemachinetearinground。Itwantstobefinished。Itneverwillbe。

That’sall。"

Gladwasleaningforwardstaringathim，herroughenedhandswiththesmearedcracksonthemclaspedroundherknees。

"Things’AStobefinished，"shesaid。"Theyfinishtheirselves。"

"Howdoyouknow？"Dartturnedonher。

"Dunno’OWIknow——butIdo。

Whenthingsbegintheyfinish。It’slikeawheelrollin’downan’ill。"

HersharpeyesfixedthemselvesonDart’s。"Allofus’llfinishsomethin’——

’coswe’vebegun。Youwill——Pollywill——’ewill——Iwill。"

Shestoppedwithasuddensheepishchuckleanddroppedherforeheadonherknees，giggling。"DunnowotI’mtalkingabout，"shesaid，"butit’strue。"

Dartbegantounderstandthatitwas。Andhealsosawthatthisraggedthingwhoknewnothingwhatever，lookedoutontheworldwiththeeyesofaseer，thoughshewasignorantofthemeaningofherownknowledge。Itwasaweirdthing。HeturnedtothegirlPolly。

"Tellmehowyoucamehere，"

hesaid。

Hespokeinalowvoiceandgently。Hedidnotwanttofrightenher，buthewantedtoknowhowSHE

hadbegun。Whensheliftedherchildisheyestohis，herchinbegantoshake。Forsomereasonshedidnotquestionhisrighttoaskwhathewould。Sheansweredhimmeekly，asherfingersfumbledwiththestuffofherdress。

"Ilivedinthecountrywithmymother，"shesaid。"Wewasveryhappytogether。Inthespringtherewasprimrosesand——andlambs。I

——can’tabidetolookatthesheepintheparkthesedays。Theyremindmeso。Therewasagirlinthevillagegotaplaceintownandcamebackandtoldusallaboutit。

Itmademesilly。Iwantedtocomehere，too。I——Icame——"

Sheputherarmoverherfaceandbegantosob。

"Shecan’ttellyou，"saidGlad。

"Therewasaswellinthe’ousemadelovetoher。Sheusedtocarryupcoalsto’isparloran’’etalkedto’er。’E’adawyewith’im——"

Pollybrokeintoasmotheredwail。

"Oh，Ididlovehimso——Idid！"

shecried。"I’dhavelethimwalkoverme。I’dhavelethimkillme。"

"’Enearlydidit，"saidGlad。

"’Ewentawaysuddenan’she’snever’eardwordof’imsince。"

FromunderPolly’sface—hidingarmcamebrokenwords。

"Icouldn’ttellmymother。I

didnotknowhow。Iwastoofrightenedandashamed。Nowit’stoolate。Ishallneverseemymotheragain，anditseemsasifallthelambsandprimrosesintheworldwasdead。

Oh，they’redead——they’redead——

andIwishIwas，too！"

Glad’seyeswinkedrapidlyandshegaveahoarselittlecoughtoclearherthroat。Herarmsstillclaspingherknees，shehitchedherselfclosertothegirlandgaveheranudgewithherelbow。

"Buckup，Polly，"shesaid，"weain’tnoneofusfinishedyet。Lookatusnow——sittin’byourownfirewithbreadandpuddin’insideus——

an’thinkwotwewasthismornin’。

Whoknowswotwe’ll’avethistimeto—morrer。"

ThenshestoppedandlookedwithawidegrinatAntonyDart。

"OwdidIcome’ere？"shesaid。

"Yes，"heanswered，"howdidyoucomehere？"

"Idunno，"shesaid;"Iwas’erefirstthingIremember。Ilivedwithaoldwomaninanother’ouseinthecourt。Onemornin’whenIwokeupshewasdead。SometimesI’vebeggedan’soldmatches。SometimesI’vetookcareofwomen’schildrenor’elped’emwhenthey’adtolieup。

I’veseenalot——butIliketoseealot。’OpeI’llseealotmoreaforeI’mdone。I’musedtobein’’ungryan’cold，an’allthat，but——butI

allersliketoseewhat’scomin’to—

morrer。There’sallerssomethin’

elseto—morrer。That’sallaboutME，"andshechuckledagain。

Dartpickedupsomefreshsticksandthrewthemonthefire。Therewassomefinecracklingandanewflameleapedup。

"Ifyoucoulddowhatyouliked，"

hesaid，"whatwouldyouliketodo？"

Herchucklebecameanoutrightlaugh。

"IfI’adtenpounds？"sheasked，evidentlypreparedtoadjustherselfinimaginationtoanyformofun—

looked—forgoodluck。

"Ifyouhadmore？"

Histonemadethethieflifthisheadtolookathim。

"IfI’adawandliketheoneJemtoldmewasinthepantermine？"

"Yes，"heanswered。

Shesatandstaredatthefireafewmoments，andthenbegantospeakinalowluxuriatingvoice。

"I’dgetabetterroom，"shesaid，revelling。"There’soneinthenext’ouse。I’d’aveafewstickso’

furnisherinit——abedan’achairortwo。I’dgetsomewarmpetticutsan’ashawlan’a’at——withaostrichfeatherinit。Pollyan’

me’dlivetogether。We’d’avefirean’grubeveryday。I’dgetdrunkenBet’sbibyputinan’ome。

I’d’elpthewomenwhenthey’adtolieup。I’d——I’d’elp’IMabit，"

withajerkofherelbowtowardthethief。"If’ewaskeptfedp’r’aps’ecouldworkoutthatthingin’is’ead。

I’dgoroundthecourtan’’elpthemwith’usbandsthatknocks’emabout。

I’d——I’dputastoptotheknockin’

about，"aqueerfixedlookshowingitselfinhereyes。"IfI’admoneyIcoulddoit。’Owmuch，"withsuddenprudence，"couldabody’ave——withoneo’themwands？"

"Morethanenoughtodoallyouhavespokenof，"answeredDart。

"It’sashimeabodycouldn’t’aveit。AppleBlossomCourt’dbeadifferentthing。It’dbethesimeasMissMontaubynsaysit’sgoin’tobe。"Shelaughedagain，thistimeasifrememberingsomethingfantastic，butnotdespicable。

"WhoisMissMontaubyn？"

"She’sa’oldwomanaslivesnextfloorbelow。Whenshewasyoungshewasprettyan’usedtodanceinthe’alls。DrunkenBetsaysshewasoneo’thewust。Whenshegotolditmade’ermadan’shegotwusser。

Shewasreadytoteargalseyesout，an’whenshe’dgettookformakin’

arowshe’dfightlikeatigercat。

Aboutayearagoshetumbleddownstairswhenshe’d’adtoomuchan’

shebrokeboth’erlegs。Youremember，Polly？"

Pollyhidherfaceinherhands。

"Oh，whentheytookherawaytothehospital！"sheshuddered。"Oh，whentheyliftedheruptocarryher！"

"IthoughtPolly’d’aveafitwhenshe’eard’erscreamin’an’swearin’。

My！itwaslangwich！Butitwasthe’orspitledidit。"

"Didwhat？"

"Dunno，"withanuncertain，evenslightlyawedlaugh。"Dunnowotitdid——neitherdoesnobodyelse，butsomethin’’appened。Itwasalongofalidyascomeinonedayan’talkedto’erwhenshewaslyin’

there。Myeye，"chuckling，"itwasqueertalk！ButIlikedit。P’rapsitwaslies，butitwascheerfleliesthat’elpsyer。WhatIsesis——ifTHINGSain’tcheerfle，PEOPLE’Sgottobe——tofightitout。Thewomeninthe’ouselarftfittokilltheirselveswhenshefustcome’omelimpin’an’

talkedto’emaboutwhatthelidytold’er。Butarterabittheylikedto’ear’er——justalongo’thecheerfleness。Saiditwaslikeapantermine。DrunkenBetsaysifshecouldget’old’fitan’believeitsimeasJinnyMontaubyndoesit’dbeascheerin’asdrinkan’lastlonger。"

"Isitakindofreligion？"Dartasked，havingavaguememoryofrumorsoffantasticnewtheoriesandhalf—bornbeliefswhichhadseemedtohimweirdvisionsfloatingthroughfaggedbrainsweariedbyolddoubtsandargumentsandfailures。Theworldwastired——thewholeearthwassad——centurieshadwroughtonlytotheendofthistwentiethcentury’sdespair。Wasthestrugglewakingevenhere——inthisbackwaterofthehugecity’shumantide？

hewonderedwithdullinterest。

"Isitakindofreligion？"hesaid。

"It’scheerfler。"Gladthrustouthersharpchinuncertainlyagain。

"There’sno’ellfireinit。An’

thereain’tnoblimelaidonGodamighty。"（ThewordassheuttereditseemedtohavenoconnectionwhateverwithherusualcolloquialinvocationoftheDeity。）"WhenadrayrunoverlittleBillyan’crushed’iminterarag，an’’ismotherwasscreamin’an’draggin’’er’airdown，thecurick’eses，`It’sGawd’swill，’

’eses——an’’eain’tnobadsortneither，an’’isficewaswhitean’wetwithsweat——`Gawddoneit，’’eses。

An’me，I’dnussedthechildan’I

clawedme’airsimeasifIwas’ismotheran’Iscreamedout，`Thendamn’im！’An’thecurick’edroppedsittin’downonthecurb—

stonean’’id’isficein’is’ands。"

Darthidhisownfaceafterthemannerofthewretchedcurate。

"Nowonder，"hegroaned。Hisbloodturnedcold。

"But，"saidGlad，"MissMontaubyn’slidyshesaysGodamightyneverdoneitnorneverintendedit，an’ifwekep’sayin’an’believin’’e’sclosetousan’notmillyunso’milesaway，we’dbetookcareofwhilstwewasalivean’not’avetowaittillwewasdead。"

Shegotuponherfeetandthrewupherarmswithasuddenjerkandinvoluntarygesture。

"I’malive！I’malive！"shecriedout，"I’vegotterbetookcareofNOW！That’swhyIlikewotshetellsaboutit。Sodoesthewomen。

Weain’tnomorereasonterbesureofwotthecuricksaysthanterbesureo’this。DunnoasI’vegotterchooseeitherway，butifI’ad，I’dchoosethecheerflest。"

Darthadsatstaringather——sohadPolly——sohadthethief。Dartrubbedhisforehead。

"Idonotunderstand，"hesaid。

"’Tain’tunderstanding！It’sbelievin’。Blessyer，SHEdoesn’tunderstand。Isay，let’sgoan’talkto’erabit。Shedon’tmindnothin’，an’

she’llletusin。WecanleavePollyan’’im’ere。Theycanmakesomemoreteaan’drinkit。"

Itendedintheirgoingoutoftheroomtogetheragainandstumblingoncemoredownthestairway’scrookedness。AtthebottomofthefirstshortflighttheystoppedinthedarknessandGladknockedatadoorwithasummonsmanifestlyexpectantofcheerfulwelcome。Sheusedtheformulashehadusedbefore。

"’Son’yme，MissMontaubyn，"

shecriedout。"’Son’yGlad。"

Thedooropenedinwidewelcome，andconfrontingthemasshehelditshandlestoodasmalloldwomanwithanastonishingface。Itwasastonishingbecausewhileitwaswitheredandwrinkledwithmarksofpastyearswhichhadoncestampedtheirrecklessunsavorinessuponitseveryline，somestrangeredeemingthinghadhappenedtoitanditsexpressionwasthatofacreaturetowhomtheopeningofadoorcouldonlymeantheentrance——thetumblinginasitwere——ofhopesrealized。

Itssurfacewassweptcleanofeventhevaguestanticipationofanythingnottobedesired。Smilingasitdidthroughtheblackdoorwayintotheunrelievedshadowofthepassage，itstruckAntonyDartatoncethatitactuallyimpliedthis——

andthatinthisplace——andindeedinanyplace——nothingcouldhavebeenmoreastonishing。Whatcould，indeed？

"Well，well，"shesaid，"comein，Glad，blessyer。"

"I’vebroughtagentto’earyertalkabit，"Gladexplainedinformally。

Thesmalloldwomanraisedhertwinklingoldfacetolookathim。

"Ah！"shesaid，asifsummingupwhatwasbeforeher。"’Ethinksit’sworsethanitis，doesn’t’e，now？

Comein，sir，do。"

ThistimeitstruckDartthatherlookseemedactuallytoanticipatetheevolvingofsomewonderfulanddesirablethingfromhimself。Asifevenhisgloomcarriedwithittreasureasyetundisplayed。Assheknewnothingofthetensovereigns，hewonderedwhat，inGod’sname，shesaw。

Thepovertyofthelittlesquareroomhadanoddcheerinit。MuchscrubbinghadremovedfromittheobjectionsmanifestinGlad’sroomabove。Therewasasmallredfireinthegrate，astripofold，butgaycarpetbeforeit，twochairsandatablewerecoveredwithaharlequinpatchworkmadeofbrightoddsandendsofallsizesandshapes。Thefoginallitsmurkyvolumecouldnotquiteobscurethebrightnessoftheoftenrubbedwindowanditsharlequincurtaindrawnacrossuponastring。

"Blessyer，"saidMissMontaubyn，"sitdown。"

Dartsatandthankedher。GladdroppeduponthefloorandgirdledherkneescomfortablywhileMissMontaubyntookthesecondchair，whichwasclosetothetable，andsnuffedthecandlewhichstoodnearabasketofcoloredscrapssuchas，withoutdoubt，hadmadetheharlequincurtain。

"Yerwon’tmindmegoin’onwithmebito’work？"shechirped。

"Tell’imwotitis，"Gladsuggested。

"Theycomefromadressmakerasisinasmallway，"designatingthescrapsbyagesture。"Icleanupfor’eran’

sheletsme’ave’em。Imake’emupintoanythinkIcan——pin—cushionsan’

bagsan’curtingsan’balls。Nobody’dthinkwottheyruntosometimes。

Nowan’thenIsellsomeof’em。

WotIcan’tsellIgiveaway。"

"DrunkenBet’sbibyplayswith’erballallday，"saidGlad。

"Ah！"saidMissMontaubyn，drawingoutalongneedlefulofthread，"Bet，SHEthinksitworsethanitis。"

"Coulditbeworse？"askedDart。

"Couldanythingbeworsethaneverythingis？"

"Lots，"suggestedGlad;"might’avebrokeyourback，might’aveafever，mightbeinjailforknifin’

someone。’Ewantsto’earyoutalk，MissMontaubyn;tell’imallaboutyerself。"

"Me！"herexpectanteyesonhim。

"’Ewouldn’twantto’earit。I

shouldn’twantto’earitmyself。

Bein’onthe’allswhenyeraprettygirlain’tan’elpfullife;an’bein’

tookupan’droppeddowntillyerdroppedinthegutteran’don’tknow’owtogetout——it’swotyermustn’tletyermindgobackto。"

"That’swotthelidysaid，"calledoutGlad。"Tell’imaboutthelidy。

Shedoesn’tevenknowwhoshewas。"

TheremarkwastossedtoDart。

"Nevereven’eard’ername，"withunabatedcheersaidMissMontaubyn。

"Shecomean’shewentan’metoolowtodoanythingbutliean’lookat’erandlisten。An’`Whichofustwoismad？’Isestomyself。ButI

laythinkin’andthinkin’——an’itwassocheerfleIcouldn’tgetitoutofme’ead——nornever’avesince。"

"Whatdidshesay？"

"Icouldn’trememberthewords——itwasthewaytheytookawaythingsabody’safraidof。Itwasaboutthingsnever’avin’reallybeenlikewotwethoughttheywas。

Godamightynow，thereain’tabitof’armin’im。"

"What？"hesaidwithastart。

"’Eneverdonetheaccidentsandthetrouble。Itwasusaswentoutofthelightintothedark。Ifwe’dkep’inthelightallthetime，an’

thoughtaboutit，an’talkedaboutit，we’dnever’adnothin’else。’Tain’tpunishmentneither。’Tain’tnothin’

butthedark——an’thedarkain’tnothin’butthelightbein’away。

`Keepinthelight，’sheses，`neverthinkofnothin’else，an’thenyou’llbeginan’seethings。Everybody’sbeenafraid。Thereain’tnoneed。

YoubelieveTHAT。’"

"Believe？"saidDartheavily。

Shenodded。

"`Yes，’sesIto’er，`that’swherethetroublecomesin——believin’。’

Andsheanswersascoolascouldbe:`Yes，itis，’sheses，`we’veallbeenthinkin’we’vebeenbelievin’，an’noneofus’as。Ifwe’adwhat’dtherebetobeafraidof？Ifwebelievedakingwasgivin’usourlivin’an’takin’careofuswho’dbeafraidofnot’avin’enoughtoeat？’"

"Who？"groanedDart。Hesathanginghisheadandstaringatthefloor。Thiswasanotherphaseofthedream。

"`Whereis’E？’Ises。`’Imasbreaksoldwomen’slegsan’crushesbabiesunderwheels——soasthey’llberesigned？’An’allofasuddenshecallsoutquiteloud:`Nowhere，’

sheses。`An’neverwas。But’Imasstretchedforththe’eavensan’laidthefoundationsoftheearth，’ImasistheLifean’Loveoftheworld，’E’s’ERE！Stretchoutyer’and，’sheses，’an’callout，"Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth，"an’ye’ll’earan’SEE。

An’neveryoustopsayin’it——letyer’eartbeatitan’yerbreathbreatheit——an’yer’llfindyergoin’aboutlaughin’softtoyerselfan’lovin’

everythin’asifitwasyerownchildatbreast。An’no’armcancometoyer。Tryitwhenyergo’ome。’"

"Didyou？"askedDart。

Gladansweredforherwithatremulous——yesitwasaTREMULOUS——

giggle，aweirdlymovedlittlesound。

"Whenshewakesinthemornin’

shesesto’erself，`Goodthingsisgoin’tocometo—day——cheerflethings。’Whenthere’saknockatthedoorsheses，`Somethin’friendly’scomin’in。’An’whenDrunkenBet’smakin’arowan’ragin’an’tearin’

an’threatenin’to’ave’ereyesoutof’erfice，sheses，`Lor，Bet，yerdon’tmeanawordofit——yerafriendtoeverywomaninthe’ouse。’Whenshedon’tknowwhichwaytoturn，shestandsstillan’ses，`Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth，’an’thenshedoeswotevernextcomesinto’ermind——

an’shesaysit’sallustherightanswer。