ThenextmorningtheMarchfamilybreakfastedlateafteraneveningprolongedbeyondmidnightinspiteofhalf-hourlyagreementsthatnowtheymustreallyallgotobed。Thechildrenhadbothtorecognizeagainandagainhowwelltheirparentswerelooking；Tomhadtotellhisfatherabouttheconditionof’EveryOtherWeek’；Bellahadtoexplaintohermotherhowsorryherhusbandwasthathecouldnotcomeontomeetthemwithher，butwascomingaweeklatertotakeherhome，andthenshewouldknowthereasonwhytheycouldnotall，gobacktoChicagowithhim：itwasjusttheplaceforherfathertolive，foreverybodytolive。
Atbreakfastsherenewedthereasoningwithwhichshehadmaintainedherpositionthenightbefore；thetravellersenteredintoafullexpressionoftheirjoyatbeinghomeagain；Marchaskedwhathadbecomeofthatstrayparrotwhichtheyhadleftinthetree-topthemorningtheystarted；andMrs。MarchdeclaredthatthiswasthelastSilverWeddingJourneysheeverwishedtotake，andtriedtoconvincethemallthatshehadbeenonthevergeofnervouscollapsewhenshereachedtheship。
Theysatattabletillshediscoveredthatitwasverynearlyeleveno’clock，andsaiditwasdisgraceful。
Beforetheyrose，therewasaringatthedoor，andacardwasbroughtintoTom。Heglancedatit，andsaidtohisfather，“Oh，yes！Thismanhasbeenhauntingtheofficeforthelastthreedays。He’sgottoleaveto-day，andasitseemedtoberatheracaseoflifeanddeathwithhim，Isaidhe’dprobablyfindyouherethismorning。Butifyoudon’twanttoseehim，Icanputhimofftillafternoon，Isuppose。”
Hetossedthecardtohisfather，wholookedatitquietly，andthengaveittohiswife。“PerhapsI’daswellseehim？”