Where’sBilly？’hehadaskedabruptly。
Mariesaysshehasn’tseenherfortwoweeks。
Marie’safraidshe’ssick。ShesaysBillydidn’tlookwellabit，whenshedidseeher。’
Calderwellhadcappedtheclimax。Hehadsaid：
GreatScott，Henshaw，wherehaveyoubeenkeepingyourself？Andwhere’syourwife？Notoneofushascaughtmorethanaglimpseofherforweeks。Shehasn’tsungwithus，norplayedforus，norletustakeheranywhereforamonthofSundays。EvenMissGreggorysays_she_hasn’tseenmuchofher，andthatBillyalwayssaysshe’stoobusytogoanywhere。ButMissGreggorysaysshelookspaleandthin，andthat_she_
thinksshe’sworryingtoomuchoverrunningthehouse。Ihopesheisn’tsick!’
Why，no，Billyisn’tsick。Billy’sallright，’
Bertramhadanswered。Hehadspokenlightly，nonchalantly，withanelaborateairofcarelessness；
butafterhehadleftCalderwell，hehadturnedhisstepsabruptlyandalittlehastilytowardhome。
AndhehadnotfoundBilly——atleast，notatonce。Hehadgonefirstdownintothekitchenanddining-room。Herememberedthen，uneasily，thathehadalwayslookedforBillyinthekitchenanddining-room，oflate。To-day，however，shewasnotthere。
OnthekitchentableBertramdidseeabookwideopen，and，mechanically，hepickeditup。
Itwasamuch-thumbedcookbook，anditwasopenwheretwoonce-blankpagesborehiswife’shandwriting。Onthefirstpage，undertheprintedheadingThingstoRemember，’hereadthesesentences：
Thatriceswellstilleverydishinthehouseisfull，andthatspinachshrinkstillyoucan’tfindit。
Thatbeetsboildryifyoulookoutthewindow。
Thatbiscuitswhichlookasifthey’dbeenmixedupwitharustystovepokerhaven’treallybeenso，buthaveonlygottoomuchundissolvedsodainthem。’
Therewereothersentences，butBertram’seyeschancedtofallontheoppositepagewheretheThingstoRemember’hadbeenchangedtoThingstoForget’；andhereBillyhadwrittenjustfourwords：Burns，’cuts，’andyesterday’sfailures。’
Bertramdroppedthebookthenwithaspasmodicclearingofhisthroat，andhurriedlyresumedhissearch。Whenhedidfindhiswife，atlast，hegaveacryofdismay——shewasonherownbed，huddledinalittleheap，andshakingwithsobs。
Billy!Why，Billy!’hegasped，stridingtothebedside。
Billysatupatonce，andhastilywipedhereyes。
Oh，isityou，B-Bertram？Ididn’thearyoucomein。You——yous-saidyouweren’tcomingtillsixo’clock!’shechoked。
Billy，whatisthemeaningofthis？’
N-nothing。I——IguessI’mjusttired。’
Whathaveyoubeendoing？’Bertramspokesternly，almostsharply。Hewaswonderingwhyhehadnotnoticedbeforethelittlehollowsinhiswife’scheeks。Billy，whathaveyoubeendoing？’
Why，n-nothingextra，onlysomesweeping，andcleaningouttherefrigerator。’
Sweeping!Cleaning!_You!_IthoughtMrs。
Durgindidthat。’
Shedoes。Imeanshedid。Butshecouldn’tcome。Shebrokeherleg——felloffthestepladderwhereshewasthreedaysago。SoI_had_todoit。
Andto-day，someway，everythingwentwrong。
Iburnedme，andIcutme，andIusedtwosodaswithnotanycreamoftartar，andIshouldthinkIdidn’tknowanything，notanything!’AnddownwentBilly’sheadintothepillowsagaininanotherburstofsobs。
Withgentleyetuncompromisingdetermination，Bertramgatheredhiswifeintohisarmsandcarriedhertothebigchair。There，forafewminutes，hesoothedandpettedherasifshewereatiredchild——which，indeed，shewas。
Billy，thisthinghasgottostop，’hesaidthen。
Therewasaveryinexorableringofdecisioninhisvoice。
Whatthing？’
Thishouseworkbusiness。’
Billysatupwithajerk。
But，Bertram，itisn’tfair。Youcan’t——youmustn’t——justbecauseofto-day!I_can_doit。
Ihavedoneit。I’vedoneitdaysanddays，andit’sgonebeautifully——eveniftheydidsayI
couldn’t!’
Couldn’twhat？’
Beane-efficienthousekeeper。’
Whosaidyoucouldn’t？’
AuntHannahandK-Kate。’
Bertramsaidasavagewordunderhisbreath。
Holysmoke，Billy!Ididn’tmarryyouforacookorascrub-lady。Ifyou_had_todoit，thatwouldbeanothermatter，ofcourse；andifwedidhavetodoit，wewouldn’thaveabighouselikethisforyoutodoitin。ButIdidn’tmarryforacook，andIknewIwasn’tgettingonewhenI
marriedyou。’
Billybridledintoinstantwrath。
Well，Ilikethat，BertramHenshaw!Can’tIcook？Haven’tIprovedthatIcancook？’
Bertramlaughed，andkissedtheindignantlipstilltheyquiveredintoanunwillingsmile。
Blessyourspunkylittleheart，ofcourseyouhave!Butthatdoesn’tmeanthatIwantyoutodoit。Yousee，itsohappensthatyoucandootherthings，too；andI’dratheryoudidthose。
Billy，youhaven’tplayedtomeforaweek，norsungtomeforamonth。You’retootiredeverynighttotalk，orreadtogether，orgoanywherewithme。Imarriedforcompanionship——notcookingandsweeping!’
Billyshookherheadstubbornly。Hermouthsettledintodeterminedlines。
That’sallverywelltosay。Youaren’thungrynow，Bertram。Butit’sdifferentwhenyouare，andtheysaid’twouldbe。’
Humph!`They’areAuntHannahandKate，Isuppose。’
Yes——andthe`TalktoYoungWives。’’
Thew-what？’
Billychokedalittle。ShehadforgottenthatBertramdidnotknowabouttheTalktoYoungWives。’Shewishedthatshehadnotmentionedthebook，butnowthatshehad，shewouldmakethebestofit。Shedrewherselfupwithdignity。
It’sabook；averynicebook。Itsayslotsofthings——thathavecometrue。’
Whereisthatbook？Letmeseeit，please。’
WithvisiblereluctanceBillygotdownfromherperchonBertram’sknee，wenttoherdeskandbroughtbackthebook。
Bertramregardeditfrowningly，sofrowninglythatBillyhastenedtoitsdefense。
Andit’strue——whatitsaysinthere，andwhatAuntHannahandKatesaid。It_is_differentwhenthey’rehungry!YousaidyourselfifI’dtendtomyhusbandandmyhomealittlemore，and——’
Bertramlookedupwithunfeignedamazement。
Isaidwhat？’hedemanded。
Inavoiceshakenwithemotion，Billyrepeatedthefatefulwords。
Inever——whendidIsaythat？’
ThenightUncleWilliamandIcamehomefrom——Pete’s。’
ForamomentBertramstareddumbly；thenashamedredswepttohisforehead。
Billy，_did_Isaythat？IoughttobeshotifIdid。But，Billy，yousaidyou’dforgivenme!’
Idid，dear——trulyIdid；but，don’tyousee？——
itwastrue。I_hadn’t_tendedtothings。SoI’vebeendoingitsince。’
AsuddencomprehensionilluminatedBertram’sface。
Heavens，Billy!Andisthatwhyyouhaven’tbeenanywhere，ordoneanything？IsthatwhyCalderwellsaidto-daythatyouhadn’tbeenwiththemanywhere，andthat——GreatScott，Billy!
DidyouthinkIwassuchaselfishbruteasthat？’
Oh，butwhenIwasgoingwiththemI_was_
followingthebook——Ithought，’quaveredBilly；
andhurriedlysheturnedtheleavestoacarefullymarkedpassage。It’sthere——abouttheoutsideinterests。See？I_was_tryingtobrushupagainstthem，sothatIwouldn’tinterferewithyourArt。Then，whenyouaccusedmeofgallivantingoffwith——’ButBertramsweptherbackintohisarms，andnotforsomeminutescouldBillymakeacoherentspeechagain。
ThenBertramspoke。
Seehere，Billy，’heexploded，alittleshakily，ifIcouldgetyouoffsomewhereonadesertisland，wherethereweren’tanyAuntHannahsorKates，orTalkstoYoungWives，Ithinkthere’dbeachancetomakeyouhappy；but——’
Oh，buttherewastruthinit，’interruptedBilly，sittingerectagain。I_didn’t_knowhowtorunahouse，anditwasperfectlyawfulwhilewewerehavingallthosedreadfulmaids，oneaftertheother；andnowomanshouldbeawifewhodoesn’tknow——’
Allright，allright，dear，’interruptedBertram，inhisturn。We’llconcedethatpoint，ifyoulike。Butyou_do_knownow。You’vegottheefficienthousewiferacketdownpateventothelastcaloryyourhusbandshouldbefed；andI’llwarrantthereisn’taMaryElleninChristendomwhocanfindaspotofignoranceonyouasbigasapinhead!Sowe’llcallthatsettled。Whatyouneednowisagoodrest；andyou’regoingtohaveit，too。I’mgoingtohavesixMaryEllenshereto-morrowmorning。Six!Doyouhear？Andallyou’vegottodoistogetyourgladdestragstogetherforatriptoEuropewithmenextmonth。
Becausewe’regoing。Ishallgettheticketsto-
morrow，_after_IsendthesixMaryEllenspackinguphere。Nowcome，putonyourbonnet。We’regoingdowntowntodinner。’
BILLYTRIESHERHANDATMANAGING’
BertramdidnotengagesixMaryEllensthenextmorning，norevenone，asithappened；forthatevening，Eliza——whohadnotbeenunawareofconditionsattheStrata——telephonedtosaythathermotherwassomuchbetternowshebelievedshecouldbesparedtocometotheStrataforseveralhourseachday，ifMrs。Henshawwouldliketohaveherbegininthatway。
Billyagreedpromptly，anddeclaredherselfasmorethanwillingtoputupwithsuchanarrangement。Bertram，itistrue，whenheheardoftheplan，rebelled，andassertedthatwhatBillyneededwasarest，anentirerestfromcareandlabor。Infact，whathewantedhertodo，hesaid，wastogallivant——togallivantalldaylong。
Nonsense!’Billyhadlaughed，coloringtothetipsofherears。Besides，asforthework，Bertram，withjustyouandmehere，andwithallmyvastexperiencenow，andElizahereforseveralhourseveryday，it’llbenothingbutplayforthislittletimebeforewegoaway。You’llsee!’
Allright，I’ll_see_，then，’Bertramhadnoddedmeaningly。Butjustmakesurethatit_is_playforyou!’
Iwill，’laughedBilly；andtherethematterhadended。
Elizabeganworkthenextday，andBillydidindeedsoonfindherselfplaying’underBertram’swatchfulinsistence。Sheresumedhermusic，andbroughtoutofexiletheunfinishedsong。WithBertramshetookdrivesandwalks；
andeverytwoorthreedaysshewenttoseeAuntHannahandMarie。Shewaspleasantlybusy，too，withplansforhercomingtrip；anditwasnotlongbeforeeventheremorsefulBertramhadtoadmitthatBillywaslookingandappearingquitelikeheroldself。
AttheAnnexBillyfoundCalderwellandArkwright，oneday。Theygreetedherasifshehadjustreturnedfromafarcountry。
Well，ifyouaren’tthestrangerlady，’beganCalderwell，lookingfranklypleasedtoseeher。
We’dthoughtofadvertisinginthedailypresssomewhatafterthisfashion：`Lost，strayed，orstolen，oneBilly；comrade，goodfriend，andkindcheerer-upoflonelyhearts。Anyinformationthankfullyreceivedbyherbereft，sorrowingfriends。’’
Billyjoinedinthelaughthatgreetedthissally，butArkwrightnoticedthatshetriedtochangethesubjectfromherownaffairstoadiscussionofthenewsongonAliceGreggory’spiano。
Calderwell，however，wasnottobesilenced。
ThelastIheardofthiselusiveBilly，’heresumed，withteasingcheerfulness，shewasrunningdownacertainlostcalorythathadslippedawayfromherhusband’sbreakfast，and——’
Billywheeledsharply。