第19章

"ThenIwillstayheretillyourmothercomes，andaskherwhatitis。"

"AskHER？"

"Yes！DoyouthinkIwillgiveyouuptillIknowwhyImust？"

"Youforcemetoit！WillyougoifItellyou，andneverletanyhumancreatureknowwhatyouhavesaidtome？"

"Notunlessyougivemeleave。"

"Thatwillbenever。Well，then————"Shestopped，andmadetwoorthreeineffectualeffortstobeginagain。

"No，no！Ican’t。Youmustgo！"

"Iwillnotgo！"

"Yousaidyou——lovedme。Ifyoudo，youwillgo。"

Hedroppedthehandshehadstretchedtowardsher，andshehidherfaceinherown。

"There！"shesaid，turningitsuddenlyuponhim。

"Sitdownthere。Andwillyoupromiseme——onyourhonour——

nottospeak——nottotrytopersuademe——notto——touchme？Youwon’ttouchme？"

"Iwillobeyyou，Penelope。"

"Asifyouwerenevertoseemeagain？AsifIweredying？"

"Iwilldowhatyousay。ButIshallseeyouagain；

anddon’ttalkofdying。Thisisthebeginningoflife————"

"No。It’stheend，"saidthegirl，resumingatlastsomethingofthehoarsedrawlwhichthetumultofherfeelinghadbrokenintothosehalf—articulateappeals。Shesatdowntoo，andliftedherfacetowardshim。"It’stheendoflifeforme，becauseIknownowthatImusthavebeenplayingfalsefromthebeginning。Youdon’tknowwhatImean，andIcannevertellyou。Itisn’tmysecret——it’ssomeoneelse’s。You——youmustnevercomehereagain。

Ican’ttellyouwhy，andyoumustnevertrytoknow。

Doyoupromise？"

"Youcanforbidme。Imustdowhatyousay。"

"Idoforbidyou，then。AndyoushallnotthinkIamcruel————

"HowcouldIthinkthat？"

"Oh，howhardyoumakeit！"

Coreylaughedforverydespair。"CanImakeiteasierbydisobeyingyou？"

"IknowIamtalkingcrazily。ButI’mnotcrazy。"

"No，no，"hesaid，withsomewildnotionofcomfortingher；

"buttrytotellmethistrouble！Thereisnothingunderheaven——nocalamity，nosorrow——thatIwouldn’tgladlysharewithyou，ortakealluponmyselfifIcould！"

"Iknow！Butthisyoucan’t。Oh，my————"

"Dearest！Wait！Think！Letmeaskyourmother——yourfather————"

Shegaveacry。

"No！Ifyoudothat，youwillmakemehateyou！Willyou————"

Therattlingofalatch—keywasheardintheouterdoor。

"Promise！"criedPenelope。

"Oh，Ipromise！"

"Good—bye！"Shesuddenlyflungherarmsroundhisneck，and，pressinghercheektightagainsthis，flashedoutoftheroombyonedoorasherfatherentereditbyanother。

Coreyturnedtohiminadaze。"I——Icalledtospeakwithyou——aboutamatter————Butit’ssolatenow。

I’ll——I’llseeyouto—morrow。"

"Notimelikethepresent，"saidLapham，withafiercenessthatdidnotseemreferabletoCorey。Hehadhishatstillon，andheglaredattheyoungmanoutofhisblueeyeswithafirethatsomethingelsemusthavekindledthere。

"Ireallycan’tnow，"saidCoreyweakly。"Itwilldoquiteaswellto—morrow。Goodnight，sir。"

"Goodnight，"answeredLaphamabruptly，followinghimtothedoor，andshuttingitafterhim。"Ithinkthedevilmusthavegotintoprettymucheverybodyto—night，"hemuttered，comingbacktotheroom，whereheputdownhishat。

Thenhewenttothekitchen—stairsandcalleddown，"Hello，Alice！Iwantsomethingtoeat！

XVII。

"WHAT’sthereasonthegirlsnevergetdowntobreakfastanymore？"askedLapham，whenhemethiswifeatthetableinthemorning。Hehadbeenupanhourandahalf，andhespokewiththeseverityofahungryman。

"Itseemstometheydon’tamounttoANYthing。HereIam，atmytimeoflife，upthefirstoneinthehouse。Iringthebellforthecookatquarter—pastsixeverymorning，andthebreakfastisonthetableathalf—pastsevenrightalong，likeclockwork，butIneverseeanybodybutyoutillIgototheoffice。"

"Ohyes，youdo，Si，"saidhiswifesoothingly。

"Thegirlsarenearlyalwaysdown。Butthey’reyoung，andittiresthemmorethanitdoesustogetupearly。"

"Theycanrestafterwards。Theydon’tdoanythingaftertheyAREup，"grumbledLapham。

"Well，that’syourfault，ain’tit？"Yououghtn’ttohavemadesomuchmoney，andthenthey’dhavehadtowork。"

ShelaughedatLapham’sSpartanmood，andwentontoexcusetheyoungpeople。"Irene’sbeenuptwonightshandrunning，andPenelopesayssheain’twell。Whatmakesyousocrossaboutthegirls？Beendoingsomethingyou’reashamedof？"

"I’lltellyouwhenI’vebeendoinganythingtobeashamedof，"growledLapham。

"Ohno，youwon’t！"saidhiswifejollily。"You’llonlybehardontherestofus。Comenow，Si；whatisit？"

Laphamfrownedintohiscoffeewithsulkydignity，andsaid，withoutlookingup，"Iwonderwhatthatfellowwantedherelastnight？""Whatfellow？"

"Corey。IfoundhimherewhenIcamehome，andhesaidhewantedtoseeme；buthewouldn’tstop。"

"Wherewashe？"

"Inthesitting—room。"

"WasPenthere？"

"Ididn’tseeher。"

Mrs。Laphampaused，withherhandonthecream—jug。"Why，whatinthelanddidhewant？Didhesayhewantedyou？"

"That’swhathesaid。"

"Andthenhewouldn’tstay？"

"Well，then，I’lltellyoujustwhatitis，SilasLapham。

Hecamehere"——shelookedabouttheroomandloweredhervoice——"toseeyouaboutIrene，andthenhehadn’tthecourage。"

"Iguesshe’sgotcourageenoughtodoprettymuchwhathewantsto，"saidLaphamglumly。"AllIknowis，hewashere。YoubetteraskPenaboutit，ifsheevergetsdown。"

"IguessIshan’twaitforher，"saidMrs。Lapham；

and，asherhusbandclosedthefrontdoorafterhim，sheopenedthatofherdaughter’sroomandenteredabruptly。

Thegirlsatatthewindow，fullydressed，andasifshehadbeensittingtherealongtime。Withoutrising，sheturnedherfacetowardshermother。Itmerelyshowedblackagainstthelight，andrevealednothingtillhermothercameclosetoherwithsuccessivequestions。

"Why，howlonghaveyoubeenup，Pen？Whydon’tyoucometoyourbreakfast？DidyouseeMr。Coreywhenhecalledlastnight？Why，what’sthematterwithyou？Whathaveyoubeencryingabout？

"HaveIbeencrying？"

"Yes！Yourcheeksareallwet！"

"Ithoughttheywereonfire。Well，I’lltellyouwhat’shappened。"Sherose，andthenfellbackinherchair。

"Lockthedoor！"sheordered，andhermothermechanicallyobeyed。"Idon’twantIreneinhere。There’snothingthematter。Only，Mr。Coreyofferedhimselftomelastnight。"

Hermotherremainedlookingather，helpless，notsomuchwithamaze，perhaps，asdismay。"Oh，I’mnotaghost！I

wishIwas！Youhadbettersitdown，mother。Youhavegottoknowallaboutit。"

Mrs。Laphamdroppednervelesslyintothechairattheotherwindow，andwhilethegirlwentslowlybutbrieflyon，touchingonlythevitalpointsofthestory，andbreakingattimesintoabitterdrollery，shesatasifwithoutthepowertospeakorstir。

"Well，that’sall，mother。IshouldsayIhaddreamt，it，ifIhadsleptanylastnight；butIguessitreallyhappened。"

Themotherglancedroundatthebed，andsaid，gladtooccupyherselfdelayinglywiththeminorcare："Why，youhavebeensittingupallnight！Youwillkillyourself。"

"Idon’tknowaboutkillingmyself，butI’vebeensittingupallnight，"answeredthegirl。Then，seeingthathermotherremainedblanklysilentagain，shedemanded，"Whydon’tyoublameme，mother？"Whydon’tyousaythatIledhimon，andtriedtogethimawayfromher？

Don’tyoubelieveIdid？"

Hermothermadehernoanswer，asiftheseravingsofself—accusalneedednone。"Doyouthink，"sheaskedsimply，"thathegottheideayoucaredforhim？"

"Heknewit！HowcouldIkeepitfromhim？IsaidI

didn’t——atfirst！"

"Itwasnouse，"sighedthemother。"Youmightaswellsaidyoudid。Itcouldn’thelpIreneany，ifyoudidn’t。"

"Ialwaystriedtohelpherwithhim，evenwhenI————"

"Yes，Iknow。Butsheneverwasequaltohim。Isawthatfromthestart；butItriedtoblindmyselftoit。

Andwhenhekeptcoming————"

"Youneverthoughtofme！"criedthegirl，withabitternessthatreachedhermother’sheart。"Iwasnobody！Icouldn’tfeel！Noonecouldcareforme！"Theturmoilofdespair，oftriumph，ofremorseandresentment，whichfilledhersoul，triedtoexpressitselfinthewords。

"No，"saidthemotherhumbly。"Ididn’tthinkofyou。

OrIdidn’tthinkofyouenough。Itdidcomeacrossmesometimesthatmaybe————Butitdidn’tseemasif————AndyourgoingonsoforIrene————"

"Youletmegoon。Youmademealwaysgoandtalkwithhimforher，andyoudidn’tthinkIwouldtalktohimformyself。Well，Ididn’t！"

"I’mpunishedforit。Whendidyou——begintocareforhim！"

"HowdoIknow？Whatdifferencedoesitmake？It’sallovernow，nomatterwhenitbegan。Hewon’tcomehereanymore，unlessIlethim。"Shecouldnothelpbetrayingherprideinthisauthorityofhers，butshewentonanxiouslyenough，"WhatwillyousaytoIrene？She’ssafeasfarasI’mconcerned；butifhedon’tcareforher，whatwillyoudo？"

"Idon’tknowwhattodo，"saidMrs。Lapham。Shesatinanapathyfromwhichsheapparentlycouldnotrouseherself。

"Idon’tseeasanythingcanbedone。"

Penelopelaughedinapityingderision。

"Well，letthingsgoonthen。Buttheywon’tgoon。"

"No，theywon’tgoon，"echoedhermother。"She’sprettyenough，andshe’scapable；andyourfather’sgotthemoney——I

don’tknowwhatI’msaying！Sheain’tequaltohim，andsheneverwas。Ikeptfeelingitallthetime，andyetIkeptblindingmyself。"

"Ifhehadevercaredforher，"saidPenelope，"itwouldn’thavematteredwhethershewasequaltohimornot。

I’Mnotequaltohimeither。"

Hermotherwenton："Imighthavethoughtitwasyou；

butIhadgotset————Well！Icanseeitallclearenough，nowit’stoolate。Idon’tknowwhattodo。"

"Andwhatdoyouexpectmetodo？"demandedthegirl。

"DoyouwantMEtogotoIreneandtellherthatI’vegothimawayfromher？"

"OgoodLord！"criedMrs。Lapham。"WhatshallIdo？WhatdoyouwantIshoulddo，Pen？"

"Nothingforme，"saidPenelope。"I’vehaditoutwithmyself。NowdothebestyoucanforIrene。"

"Icouldn’tsayyouhaddonewrong，ifyouwastomarryhimto—day。"

"Mother！"

"No，Icouldn’t。Icouldn’tsaybutwhatyouhadbeengoodandfaithfullallthrough，andyouhadaperfectrighttodoit。Thereain’tanyonetoblame。He’sbehavedlikeagentleman，andIcanseenowthatheneverthoughtofher，andthatitwasyouallthewhile。Well，marryhim，then！He’sgottheright，andsohaveyou。"

"WhataboutIrene？Idon’twantyoutotalkaboutme。

Icantakecareofmyself"

"She’snothingbutachild。It’sonlyafancywithher。

She’llgetoverit。Shehain’treallygotherheartsetonhim。"

"She’sgotherheartsetonhim，mother。She’sgotherwholelifesetonhim。Youknowthat。"

"Yes，that’sso，"saidthemother，aspromptlyasifshehadbeenarguingtothatratherthanthecontraryeffect。

"IfIcouldgivehimtoher，Iwould。Butheisn’tminetogive。"Sheaddedinaburstofdespair，"Heisn’tminetokeep！"

"Well，"saidMrs。Lapham，"shehasgottobearit。

Idon’tknowwhat’stocomeofitall。Butshe’sgottobearhershareofit。"Sheroseandwenttowardthedoor。

Peneloperanafterherinasortofterror。"You’renotgoingtotellIrene？"shegasped，seizinghermotherbyeithershoulder。

"Yes，Iam，"saidMrs。Lapham。"Ifshe’sawomangrown，shecanbearawoman’sburden。"

"Ican’tletyoutellIrene，"saidthegirl，lettingfallherfaceonhermother’sneck。"NotIrene，"shemoaned。

"I’mafraidtoletyou。HowcanIeverlookatheragain？"

"Why，youhaven’tdoneanything，Pen，"saidhermothersoothingly。

"Iwantedto！Yes，Imusthavedonesomething。

HowcouldIhelpit？Ididcareforhimfromthefirst，andImusthavetriedtomakehimlikeme。DoyouthinkIdid？No，no！Youmustn’ttellIrene！Not——

not——yet！Mother！Yes！Ididtrytogethimfromher！"

shecried，liftingherhead，andsuddenlylookinghermotherinthefacewiththoselargedimeyesofhers。

"Whatdoyouthink？Evenlastnight！ItwasthefirsttimeIeverhadhimalltomyself，formyself，andIknownowthatItriedtomakehimthinkthatIwasprettyand——funny。AndIdidn’ttrytomakehimthinkofher。

IknewthatIpleasedhim，andItriedtopleasehimmore。

PerhapsIcouldhavekepthimfromsayingthathecaredforme；

butwhenIsawhedid——Imusthaveseenit——Icouldn’t。

Ihadneverhadhimtomyself，andformyselfbefore。

Ineedn’thaveseenhimatall，butIwantedtoseehim；

andwhenIwassittingtherealonewithhim，howdoIknowwhatIdidtolethimfeelthatIcaredforhim？Now，willyoutellIrene？Ineverthoughthedidcareforme，andneverexpectedhimto。ButIlikedhim。Yes——Ididlikehim！Tellherthat！OrelseIwill。"

"Ifitwastotellherhewasdead，"beganMrs。Laphamabsently。

"Howeasyitwouldbe！"criedthegirlinself—mockery。

"Buthe’sworsethandeadtoher；andsoamI。I’veturneditoveramillionways，mother；I’velookedatitineverylightyoucanputitin，andIcan’tmakeanythingbutmiseryoutofit。Youcanseethemiseryatthefirstglance，andyoucan’tseemoreorlessifyouspendyourlifelookingatit。"Shelaughedagain，asifthehopelessnessofthethingamusedher。Thensheflewtotheextremeofself—assertion。"Well，IHAVEarighttohim，andhehasarighttome。Ifhe’sneverdoneanythingtomakeherthinkhecaredforher，——andIknowhehasn’t；

it’sallbeenourdoing，thenhe’sfreeandI’mfree。

Wecan’tmakeherhappywhateverwedo；andwhyshouldn’tI————No，thatwon’tdo！Ireachedthatpointbefore！"

Shebrokeagainintoherdesperatelaugh。"Youmaytrynow，mother！"

"I’dbestspeaktoyourfatherfirst————"

Penelopesmiledalittlemoreforlornlythanshehadlaughed。

"Well，yes；theColonelwillhavetoknow。Itisn’tatroublethatIcankeeptomyselfexactly。Itseemstobelongtotoomanyotherpeople。"

Hermothertookacrazyencouragementfromherreturntoheroldwayofsayingthings。"Perhapshecanthinkofsomething。"

"Oh，Idon’tdoubtbuttheColonelwillknowjustwhattodo！"

"Youmustn’tbetoodown—heartedaboutit。It——it’llallcomeright————"

"YoutellIrenethat，mother。"

Mrs。Laphamhadputherhandonthedoor—key；shedroppedit，andlookedatthegirlwithasortofbeseechingappealforthecomfortshecouldnotimagineherself。

"Don’tlookatme，mother，"saidPenelope，shakingherhead。

"YouknowthatifIreneweretodiewithoutknowingit，itwouldn’tcomerightforme。"

"Pen！"

"I’vereadofcaseswhereagirlgivesupthemanthatloveshersoastomakesomeothergirlhappythatthemandoesn’tlove。Thatmightbedone。"

"Yourfatherwouldthinkyouwereafool，"saidMrs。Lapham，findingasortofrefugeinherstrongdisgustforthepseudoheroism。"No！Ifthere’stobeanygivingup，letitbebytheonethatshan’tmakeanybodybutherselfsuffer。There’stroubleandsorrowenoughintheworld，withoutMAKINGitonpurpose！"

Sheunlockedthedoor，butPenelopeslippedroundandsetherselfagainstit。"Ireneshallnotgiveup！"

"Iwillseeyourfatheraboutit，"saidthemother。

"Letmeoutnow————"

"Don’tletIrenecomehere！"

"No。Iwilltellherthatyouhaven’tslept。Gotobednow，andtrytogetsomerest。Sheisn’tupherselfyet。

Youmusthavesomebreakfast。"

"No；letmesleepifIcan。IcangetsomethingwhenI

wakeup。I’llcomedownifIcan’tsleep。Lifehasgottogoon。Itdoeswhenthere’sadeathinthehouse，andthisisonlyalittleworse。"

"Don’tyoutalknonsense！"criedMrs。Lapham，withangryauthority。

"Well，alittlebetter，then，"saidPenelope，withmeekconcession。

Mrs。Laphamattemptedtosaysomething，andcouldnot。

ShewentoutandopenedIrene’sdoor。Thegirlliftedherheaddrowsilyfromherpillow"Don’tdisturbyoursisterwhenyougetup，Irene。Shehasn’tsleptwell———

—"

"PLEASEdon’ttalk！I’malmostDEADwithsleep！"

returnedIrene。"Dogo，mamma！Ishan’tdisturbher。"

Sheturnedherfacedowninthepillow，andpulledthecoveringupoverherears。

Themotherslowlyclosedthedoorandwentdownstairs，feelingbewilderedandbaffledalmostbeyondthepowertomove。Thetimehadbeenwhenshewouldhavetriedtofindoutwhythisjudgmenthadbeensentuponher。

Butnowshecouldnotfeelthattheinnocentsufferingofotherswasinflictedforherfault；

sheshrankinstinctivelyfromthatcruelandegotisticmisinterpretationofthemysteryofpainandloss。

Shesawhertwochildren，equallyifdifferentlydeartoher，destinedtotroublethatnothingcouldavert，andshecouldnotblameeitherofthem；shecouldnotblamethemeansofthismiserytothem；hewasasinnocentasthey，andthoughherheartwassoreagainsthiminthisfirstmoment，shecouldstillbejusttohiminit。

Shewasawomanwhohadbeenusedtoseekthelightbystriving；shehadhithertoliterallyworkedtoit。

Butitisthecurseofprosperitythatittakesworkawayfromus，andshutsthatdoortohopeandhealthofspirit。

Inthishouse，whereeverythinghadcometobedoneforher，shehadnotaskstointerposebetweenherandherdespair。Shesatdowninherownroomandletherhandsfallinherlap，——thehandsthathadoncebeensohelpfulandbusy，——andtriedtothinkitallout。

Shehadneverheardofthefatethatwasoncesupposedtoappointthesorrowsofmenirrespectiveoftheirblamelessnessorblame，beforethetimewhenitcametobebelievedthatsorrowswerepenalties；butinhersimplewaysherecognisedsomethinglikethatmythicpowerwhensherosefromherstrugglewiththeproblem，andsaidaloudtoherself，"Well，thewitchisinit。"

Turnwhichwayshewould，shesawnoescapefromthemiserytocome——themiserywhichhadcomealreadytoPenelopeandherself，andthatmustcometoIreneandherfather。

Shestartedwhenshedefinitelythoughtofherhusband，andthoughtwithwhatviolenceitwouldworkineveryfibreofhisrudestrength。Shefearedthat，andshefearedsomethingworse——theeffectwhichhisprideandambitionmightseektogiveit；anditwaswithterrorofthis，aswellasthenaturaltrustwithwhichawomanmustturntoherhusbandinanyanxietyatlast，thatshefeltshecouldnotwaitforeveningtotakecounselwithhim。

Whensheconsideredhowwronglyhemighttakeitall，itseemedasifitwerealreadyknowntohim，andshewasimpatienttopreventhiserror。

Shesentoutforamessenger，whomshedespatchedwithanotetohisplaceofbusiness："Silas，Ishouldliketoridewithyouthisafternoon。Can’tyoucomehomeearly？Persis。"

AndshewasatdinnerwithIrene，evadingherquestionsaboutPenelope，whenanswercamethathewouldbeatthehousewiththebuggyathalf—pasttwo。Itiseasytoputoffagirlwhohasbutonethinginherhead；butthoughMrs。LaphamcouldescapewithouttellinganythingofPenelope，shecouldnotescapeseeinghowwhollyIrenewasengrossedwithhopesnowturnedsovainandimpossible。Shewasstilltalkingofthatdinner，ofnothingbutthatdinner，andbeggingforflatteryofherselfandpraiseofhim，whichhermotherhadtillnowbeensoreadytogive。

"Seemstomeyoudon’ttakeverymuchinterest，mamma！"

shesaid，laughingandblushingatonepoint。

"Yes，——yes，Ido，"protestedMrs。Lapham，andthenthegirlprattledon。

"IguessIshallgetoneofthosepinsthatNannyCoreyhadinherhair。Ithinkitwouldbecomeme，don’tyou？"

"Yes；butIrene——Idon’tliketohaveyougoonso，till——unlesshe’ssaidsomethingtoshow——Yououghtn’ttogiveyourselfuptothinking————"Butatthisthegirlturnedsowhite，andlookedsuchreproachather，thatsheaddedfrantically："Yes，getthepin。Itisjustthethingforyou！Butdon’tdisturbPenelope。

LetheralonetillIgetback。I’mgoingouttoridewithyourfather。He’llbehereinhalfanhour。

Areyouthrough？Ring，then。Getyourselfthatfanyousawtheotherday。Yourfatherwon’tsayanything；helikestohaveyoulookwell。Icouldseehiseyesonyouhalfthetimetheothernight。"

"IshouldhavelikedtohavePengowithme，"saidIrene，restoredtohernormalstateofinnocentselfishnessbytheseflatteries。"Don’tyousupposeshe’llbeupintime？What’sthematterwithherthatshedidn’tsleep？"

"Idon’tknow。Betterletheralone。"

"Well，"submittedIrene。

XVIII。

MRS。LAPHAMwentawaytoputonherbonnetandcloak，andshewaswaitingatthewindowwhenherhusbanddroveup。

Sheopenedthedoorandrandownthesteps。"Don’tgetout；

Icanhelpmyselfin，"andsheclamberedtohisside，whilehekeptthefidgetingmarestillwithvoiceandtouch。

"WheredoyouwantIshouldgo？"heasked，turningthebuggy。

"Oh，Idon’tcare。OutBrooklineway，Iguess。

Iwishyouhadn’tbroughtthisfoolofahorse，"shegavewaypetulantly。"Iwantedtohaveatalk。"

"WhenIcan’tdrivethismareandtalktoo，I’llselloutaltogether，"saidLapham。"She’llbequietenoughwhenshe’shadherspin。"

"Well，"saidhiswife；andwhiletheyweremakingtheirwayacrossthecitytotheMilldamsheansweredcertainquestionsheaskedaboutsomepointsinthenewhouse。

"Ishouldhavelikedtohaveyoustopthere，"hebegan；

butsheansweredsoquickly，"Notto—day，"thathegaveitupandturnedhishorse’sheadwestwardwhentheystruckBeaconStreet。

Heletthemareout，andhedidnotpullherintillhelefttheBrightonroadandstruckoffunderthelowboughsthatmetaboveoneofthequietstreetsofBrookline，wherethestonecottages，withhereandthereapatchofdeterminedivyontheirnorthernwalls，didwhattheycouldtolookEnglishamidtheglareoftheautumnalfoliage。

Thesmoothearthentrackunderthemare’shoofswasscatteredwithflakesoftheredandyellowgoldthatmadetheairluminousaroundthem，andtheperspectivewasgaywithinnumerabletintsandtones。

"Prettysightly，"saidLapham，withalongsign，lettingthereinslielooseinhisvigilanthand，towhichheseemedtorelegatethewholechargeofthemare。"IwanttotalkwithyouaboutRogers，Persis。He’sbeengettingindeeperanddeeperwithme；andlastnighthepesteredmehalftodeathtogoinwithhiminoneofhisschemes。