\"Hedidnotevencomehomeforsupper，\"shesaid。\"StayedovertoNellie’sprobably。You’llmostlikelyfindhimthere。\"
ButIwasprettycertainhewasnotattheDeans’，forasIpassedtheirhouse，Inoticedthewindowsweredark，indicatingthatthefamily，likemostofrespectableDenboro，hadalreadyretired。I
walkedontotheCorners。Eldredge’sstorewasclosed，butthebilliardroomwasradiantandnoisy。IcouldhearTimHallet’svoiceurgingsomeonetotakeanewcue，\"’causethatoneain’tpocketedmanyballsyet。\"
Ilookedacrossatthebank。Thefrontportionofitwasblackenough，butthewindowofthedirectors’roomwasalight。Ihadlocatedtheobjectofmysearch；thecashierwasthere，workingovertime，ashedidsooftennowadays。
IhadmykeyinmypocketandIunlockedthebigdoorandenteredquietly。Thedoorofthedirectors’roomwasopenalittlewayandItiptoedoverandpeepedinthroughthecrack。Taylorwasseatedinachairbesidethebigtable，hiselbowsuponthetableandhisheadinhishands。AsIstoodthere，watchinghim，hetookhishandsawayandIsawhisface。Uponitwasanexpressionofabjectmiseryandutterdespair。Iopenedthedoorandentered。
Heheardthesoundoftheopeningdoorandleapedtohisfeet。Hischairfellbackwardonthefloorwithaclatter，buthepaidnoattentiontoit。
\"GoodGod！\"hecried，wildly。\"Who’sthat？\"
Hewasdeathlypaleandtremblingviolently。Hisappearancestartledandalarmedme。
\"It’sallright，\"Isaid，hastily。\"ItisI——Paine。Isawthelightandknewyoumustbehere。Whatailsyou？WhatISthematter？\"
Foramomenthestoodtherestaring。Thenheturnedandpickedupthefallenchair。
\"Oh，it’syou，Ros，isit？\"hefaltered。\"I——I——Lord，howyouscaredme！I——I——\"
\"George！whatISthematterwithyou？Forheaven’ssake！standup，man！\"HewasswayingandIthoughthewasgoingtofaint。
\"George！GeorgeTaylor！Areyouill？Iamgoingforthedoctor。\"
\"No，no！Staywhereyouare。Iain’tsick。I’llbeallrightinaminute。You——youscaredme，creepinginthatway。Sitdown，sitdown。\"
Hesteadiedhimselfwithonehandonthetableandwiththeotherreachedtoshutadrawerwhichhadbeenopenbesidehim。Thedrawerwasalmostfullofpapers，and，lyinguponthosepapers，wasarevolver。
CHAPTERXVI
BeforehecouldclosethedrawercompletelyIcaughthisarmandheldit。
\"George，\"Icried，\"George，whatisthematter？Tellme；youmusttellme。\"
Hetriedtopullhisarmfree。FindingthatIwouldnotlethimdothishegaveuptheattemptand，withapoorattemptatalaugh，answered，\"Matter？Why，nothingisthematter。Iamtiredandnervous，sameasI’vetoldyouI’vebeenforthelasttwoorthreemonths，andyouscaredme，tiptoeinginlikeasneakthief，thistimeofnight。\"
\"Timeofnight！Itisbutalittleafternine。Whatisthematterwithyou？\"
\"Nothingisthematter，Itellyou。Letgoofmyarm，Ros。Whatdoyoumeanbyholdingontomelikethis？\"
\"WhatdoYOUmean，George？WhatdoesTHATmean？\"
Ipointedtothedrawer。Helookedand，withasuddeneffort，jerkedhisarmfreeandclosedthedrawer。
\"That？\"withaforcedlaugh。\"Oh，that’snothing。ItwaslateandIwasalonehere，so——\"
\"Iknowbetter。George，you’refrighteningusall。Don’tyousupposewecanseethatsomethingiswrongwithyou？IhaveseeniteversinceIcameheretowork。Youareworryingyourfriends。
Youworryme。Giveusachancetohelpyou。GiveMEachance。
Youowemethat。TellmeyourtroubleandI’llpullyououtofit；
seeifIdon’t。\"
Myconfidencewas，ofcourse，onlypretence，butmyearnestnesshadsomeeffect。Helookedatmewistfully，andshookhishead。
\"Nobodycanpullmeout，\"hesaid。\"You’reagoodfellowtowanttohelp，butyoucan’t。Thereain’tanytrouble。I’mjustnervous——\"
\"Iknowbetter。You’relying，George。Yes，youare；you’relying。\"
\"Humph！You’reprettyplainspoken，RosPaine。Thereain’tmanypeopleI’dtakethatfrom。\"
\"You’lltakeitfromme，becauseyoucan’thelpitandbecauseyouknowitistrue。Come，George；come。Youhavebeenafriendtome；theonlyrealfriendIhavehadinyears。Ihavebeenlookingforachancetogetevenforwhatyouhavedoneforme。Maybehereisthechance。Letmehelpyou。Iwill。\"
Hewaswavering；Icouldseeit。Butagainheshookhishead。
\"Nobodycanhelpme，\"hesaid。
\"George，formysake——well，then，ifnotformysakeoryourown，thenforNellie’s，givemeachance。Youaren’ttreatingherright，George。Youshouldthinkofher。You——\"
\"Stop！Damnyou，RosPaine！whatrighthaveyouto——\"
\"Therightofafriend，herfriendandyours。You’refrighteningthepoorgirltodeath。Sheisbeginningtobeafraidyoudon’tcareforher。\"
\"I？Idon’tcareforHER？Idon’t——Oh，myGod！\"
Tomyutteramazementhebegantolaugh。Andthen，allatonce，hislaughterceased，heswayed，choked，and，suddenlycollapsinginthechair，droppedhisheaduponhisarmsonthetableandsobbed，sobsthatshookhimfromheadtoheel。
Foronestrong，healthy，normalmantoseeanothercryisadisconcertinganduncomfortableexperience。MasculinetearsdonotfloweasilyandpoorGeorge，onthevergeofhysterics，wasapitifulanddistressingspectacle。Iwasalmostascompletelydisorganizedashe。Ifeltashamedforhimandashamedofmyselfforhavingseenhiminsuchacondition。IwanteddesperatelytohelphimandIdidnotknowwhattodo，sobeyondpattinghimonthebackandbegginghimrepeatedlytobraceupandnotbehavelikethat，Ididnothing。Atlasthissobsceasedandhewassilent。I
hadrisenfrommychairandnowIstoodtherewithahandonhisshoulder；thetickingoftheancienteight—sidedclockonthewallsoundedloudintheroom。
Suddenlyhesatupandthrewoffmyhand。
\"Well，\"hesaid，bitterly，\"I’mafinespecimenofaman，ain’tI。
Ain’tyouproudofme？\"
\"Iammightysorryforyou，\"Ianswered。\"AndImeantohelpyou。\"
\"Youcan’t。\"
\"Howdoyouknow？\"
\"BecauseIdoknow，Ros，\"heturnedandlookedmestraightintheeye。\"Iamgoingtogiveyousomegoodadvice。Takeit，foryourownsake。Clearoutofhereandleaveme。Don’thaveanythingmoretodowithme。Clearout。\"
Ididnotmove。
\"AreyougoingtodoasItellyou？\"hedemanded。\"Mind，I’mtellingyouthisforyourowngood。Willyouclearoutandleaveme？\"
Ismiled。\"Ofcoursenot，\"Ianswered。
\"Don’tbeafool。Youcan’taffordtobemyfriend。Clearoutandleaveme，doyouhear？\"
\"Ihear。Now，George，whatisit？\"
Hisfingerstappedthetable。Icouldseehewasmakinguphismind。
\"Youwanttoknow？\"hesaid。\"Youwon’tbesatisfieduntilyoudo？\"
\"Ihavemadethatfairlyplain，Ihope。AtleastI’vetriedto。\"
Hisfistclenchedandhestruckthetable。
\"Then，bytheAlmighty，I’lltellyou！\"hecried，fiercely。\"It’llbealloverthecountyinaweek。Youmightaswellknowitnow。
I’macrook。I’mathief。I’vestolenmoneyfromthisbankandI
can’tpayitbackbecauseIhaven’tgotitandcan’tgetit。I’macrook，Itellyou，andinaweekorsoit’llbethecountyjailformine。Unless——unless，\"withasignificantglanceatthedrawer，\"somethingelsehappenstomeinthemeantime。There；nowyouknow。Areyousatisfied？Areyouhappybecauseyou’vefoundout？\"
Ididnotanswer。TotellthetruthIwasnotentirelyovercomebysurpriseatthedisclosure。Ihadbeguntosuspectsomethingofthesort。Yet，nowthatmysuspicionswereconfirmed，Iwastoogreatlyshockedandhorrifiedtospeakatonce。
\"Well？\"hesneered。\"Nowwillyouclearoutandletmesettlethismyownway？\"
Ipulledmychairforwardandsatdown。
\"Tellmeallaboutit，George，\"Isaid，ascalmlyasIcould。\"Howmuchisit？\"
Hestaredatmeaghast。\"Youwon’tgo？\"hecried。\"You——youaregoingtostickbymeeven——even——\"
\"There！there！pullyourselftogether，oldfellow。Wewon’tgiveuptheshipyet。Howmuchisit？Itcan’tbeagreatsum。\"
\"Itain’t。But，Ros——you——youcan’t——youmustn’tbemixedupinthis。Ishan’tletyou。Don’tyousee？\"
Iarguedandpleadedandreasonedwithhimforwhatseemedalongtimebeforehewouldconsenttotellmethewholestory。Andwhenitwastoldtherewasnothingnewornovelinit。Theoldtaleofanhonestmanwhohadnotmeanttogowrong，but，temptedbyoneofthosewilesofthedevil，an\"insidetip\"onthestockmarket，hadboughtheavilyonmargins，expectingtoclearahandsomeprofitinashorttime。ThestockwasLouisvilleandTranscontinentalandthestruggleforitscontrolbycertainbiginterestshadmadecopyforfinancialwritersfornearlyayear。Georgehadboughtatatimewhenonesyndicatehad，soitbelieved，securedthecontrol。
Thensomethingwentwronginthedealandthesharesbegantodeclineinvalue。Heputupmoremarginsandstillmore，butitcontinuedtodecline。Finallyunderthespurofanother\"tip，\"thelastofhisownsavingshavinggonetotheinsatiatebrokers，hesent，tobolsterhisaccountandtosavehimfromutterruin，somebondsbelongingtothebank。
\"Notmuch，\"hedeclared，\"onlyaboutthirty—fivehundreddollars’
worth，that’sall。Ineverwouldhavedoneit，Ros，butIwaswild，desperate，yousee。HereIwas，gettingreadytobemarried；
NellieandCap’nJedandtherestbelievingmetobecomfortablyfixed。It’seasyenoughnowtosaythatIoughttohavegonetoherandtoldher。IfIhadn’tbeencertainthatthemarketwouldturnandI’dbeallrightinaweek，I’dhavedoneit。ButIwassureI’dbeallrightandIcouldn’ttakethechance。Iknewwhatherfatherwouldsayabouthermarryingapauper，andIjustcouldn’ttaketheriskoflosingher；Icouldn’t。Shemeansmoretomethan——than——oh，waituntilyourtimecomes！Waituntilthegirlcomesalongthatyoucareformorethanthewholeworld。Andthenseewhatyou’ddo。Seewhatitwouldmeantogiveherup！
Justwait——waitandsee！\"
\"Yes，yes，\"Iputin，hastily。\"Iunderstand，George。Butthestock，LouisvilleandTranscontinental，howisitnow？\"
\"Justthesame。Itisdead，practicallyspeaking。Ithasn’tmovedhalfapointforsixweeks。I’vebeenexpectingitwould，butithasn’t。It’sallright；thevalueisthere；Iknowit。IfIcouldonlyhangonandwaitIcouldgetmymoneyback，partofit，anyhow。ButIcan’t。Ican’twait。Andthebrokerpeoplehavegotthosebonds。Ros，I’vebeenfightingthisthingforweeksandweeks。Iain’tsleptanightforyears，orsoitseems。Andnextweek——nextWEEKIwastobemarried。MyGod！thinkofit！\"
\"Here，here！Don’tdothat，\"Iurged。\"Braceup。YouandImustworkthisout。Wasn’tthereanyoneyoucouldgoto？Anyoneyoucouldborrowthemoneyof？Thirty—fivehundredisn’tsuchalot。\"
\"WhomcouldIgoto？Itried。LordknowsItried！IdidborrowathousandofCap’nElishaWarren；trumpedupsomeexcuseorotherandgotthat。Butthatwasallhecouldletmehave。AndIknowhethoughtmyaskingforthatwasqueer。\"
\"DidyouconsidergoingstraighttoCap’nDeanand——\"
\"Dean？Cap’nJed？Herfather？Oh，Ros，don’tbeafoolaltogether！
Ibegyourpardon，oldman！Idon’tmeanit。Youmustn’tmind。I
ain’tresponsibleforwhatIsayjustnow。ButIcouldn’tgotoCap’nJed。Youknowhim。He’sasstraightandsquareandhonestasheisobstinateandcranky。IfIwenttohimIcouldn’ttellhimthetruth。AndifIliedhe’dsuspectandwanttoknowwhyIneededtoborrowmoney。AndNellie——don’tyousee？There’stherealawfulnessofthewholething。Icouldn’tgotoherandtellherI
wasathief。Icouldn’tseeherfacewhenItoldher。Andyetshe’sgottoknowit。She’sgottoknowit！\"
\"Butwhy？Thestockmaygoupanydayandthenyoucouldwithdrawpartofyourmargin。\"
Hestruckthetablewithanotherblow。\"Thestockain’tmovedforsixweeks，Itellyou，\"hedeclared。\"And，Ros，\"heleanedforward，hishaggardfaceworkingwithemotion，\"thosebondsain’tinoursafehere，wheretheyshouldbe，andthebankexaminerisdueherewithinthenextfourdays。He’satMiddleboronow。I
’phonedBearse，thecashierthere，thisveryforenoononamatterofbusiness，andhehappenedtomentionthattheexaminerwasinhisbankandworkinghiswaydowntheCape。It’sallupwithme！
Allup！AndNellie！poorgirl；Ican’tbeherewhenshefindsitout。IknowyouthinkI’mapoorspecimenofaman，Ros，butI
can’tfacethemusic。No，\"desperately，\"andIwon’t。\"
Hewasgivingwayagain，butIseizedhisshoulderandshookhim。
\"Stopit！\"Icommanded。\"Stopit，George！Letmethink。Bequietnowandletmethink。Theremustbeawayoutsomewhere。Letmethink。\"
Heleanedbackinhischair。\"Allright，\"hesaid，hopelessly；
\"think，ifyouwantto。ThoughwhyyoushouldwanttothinkaboutathinglikemeIdon’tsee。AndIusedtodespiseacrookasmuchasanyone！andacowardstillmore！AndnowI’mbothacrookandacoward。\"
IknewhiscowardicewasmerelyonNellie’saccount。GeorgeTaylorwasnocowardintheordinarysenseoftheword，norwasheacrook。Iroseandpacedupanddowntheroom。Hewatchedmelistlessly；itwasplainthathefeltnoconfidencewhateverinmybeingabletohelphim。Afteratimehespoke。
\"It’snouse，Ros，\"hesaid。\"Don’tworryyourheadaboutme；I
ain’tworthit。Iftherewasanywayout，anywayatall，I’dhavesighteditlongago。Thereain’t。Takemyadviceandleaveme。
Youdon’twanttobemixedupwithanembezzler。\"
Iturnedonhim，impatiently。\"Ihavebeenmixedup，asyoucallit，withonebefore，\"Isaid，sharply。\"IsmyownfamilyrecordsocleanthatIneedtopretend——there，George！don’tbeanidiot。
Letmethink。\"
Theclockchimedten。Istoppedinmywalkandturnedtohim。
\"George，\"Isaid，\"tellmethis：Ifyouhadthemoneytobuybackthesebondsbelongingtothebankyouwouldbeallright，wouldn’tyou？Ifyouhaditinyourhandsbyto—morrowmorning，Imean。\"
\"Yes；IFIhadit——butIhaven’t。\"
\"Youcouldsendthemoneytothebrokersand——\"
\"Send！Iwouldn’tsend；I’dgomyselfandfetchthebondsbackwithme。OnceIhadtheminthatsafeagainI——\"
\"Andyouwouldnottakeanymorerisks，evenifthemarketdroppedandtheyhadtoselloutyouraccount？Evenifyoulosteverycentofyourinvestment？\"
Thefierceearnestnessofhisanswersatisfiedevenme。\"WhatdoyouthinkIam？\"hedemanded。\"Investmentbehanged！It’smynameasanhonestmanthatIcareabout。OnceletmegetthatbackagainandI’llfacethepoorhouse。Yes，andI’lltellNelliethetruth，allexceptthatIwasathief；Ican’ttellherthat。ButI
willtellherthatIhaven’tgotacentexceptmysalary。Thenifshewantstogivemeup，allright。I’llbearitasbestIcan。
Or，ifshedoesn’t，andIlosemyjobhere，I’llgetanotheronesomewhereelse；I’llworkatanything。SheandIcanwaitand……
Butwhatistheuseoftalkinglikethis？I’vebeenovereveryinchofthegroundathousandtimes。Thereain’tarayoflightanywhere。Theexaminerwillbehere，thebondswillbemissing，andI——I’llbeinjail，orinhell，oneortheother。\"
\"No，youwon’t，\"Isaid，firmly。
\"Iwon’t！Whynot？\"
\"BecausethereISarayoflight。Morethanaray。George，yougohomeandgotobed。To—morrowmorningImayhavenewsforyou，goodnews。\"
Thebloodrushedtohisface。Heseizedthearmofhischair。
\"Goodnews！\"hegasped。\"GoodnewsforME！Ros——Ros，fortheLord’ssake，whatdoyoumean？Youdon’tmeanyouseeawayto——\"
\"NevermindwhatImean。ButIshouldliketoknowwhatyoumeanbynotcomingtomebefore？Whatarefriendsfor，ifnottohelpeachother？WhotoldyouthatIwasdeadbroke？\"
\"You？Why，youain’tgot……Haveyou？RosPaine，youain’tgotthirty—fivehundredtospare。Why，youtoldmeyourself——\"
\"Shutup！Getupfromthatchairandcomewithme。Yes，you；andnow，thisminute。Givemethatthingyou’vegotinthedrawerthere。No，I’lltakeitmyself。Yououghttobeashamedofitsbeingthere，George。Iamashamedofyou，and，ifIthoughtyoureallymeanttouseit，Ishouldbestillmoreashamed。Come！
don’tkeepmewaiting。\"
\"But——butRos——\"
\"WillyoudoasItellyou？\"
Idraggedhim，almostliterallydraggedhim，fromthechair。Then，afterextinguishingthelamp，Iledhimtothedoorofthebankandlockedit，puttingthekeyinmypocket。
\"Now，\"saidI，\"Iwantyoutomakemeapromise。Iwantyoutoquitbehavinglikeacoward，becauseyouarenotone，andpromisemethatyouwillgostraighthomeandtobed。I’llseeyouagainthefirstthinginthemorning。Then，Ithink——yes，Ithinkyourtroubles，theworstpartofthem，willbeover。\"
\"But，Ros，PLEASE——Ican’tbelieveit！Won’tyoutellme——\"
\"Notaword。Willyoupromisemetobehavelikeamanandgohome？
OrmustIgowithyou？\"
\"No。I’ll——I’llpromise。I’llgostraighthome。But，ohRos，I
can’tunderstand——\"
\"Goodnight。\"
Ilefthimstandingthere，stammeringincoherentlylikeamanawakeningfromanightmare，andhurriedaway。
IcouldnotdescribemyprogressdownthedarkLowerRoadandalongtheShoreLane。Idonotrememberanyportionofit。IthinkI
ranmostofthewayandifImetanyone——whichisnotlikely，consideringthetime——heorshemusthavethoughtmecrazy。Mythoughtswerecenteredupononefixedpurpose。Ihadmadeupmymindtodoacertainthingand，ifpossible，todoitthatverynight。IfIdidnot，ifIhadtimeinwhichtoreflect，toconsiderconsequences，Imightlosemynerveanditwouldnotbedoneatall。
Itwaswithafeelingofgreatreliefthat，asIcameinsightoftheColtonhouse，Isawlightsintheroomsonthelowerfloor。
Thefamily，notbeingnativebornDenboroites，hadnotretiredeventhoughitwaswellafterten。Ihastenedupthelongdrive，andstoodbeforethebigdoor，myhandupraisedtotheknocker。Andthen，justforamoment，Ihesitated。
IfIliftedthatknockerandletitfall；ifIsummonedtheservantandannouncedthatIwishedtospeakwithMr。Colton；ifIdidwhatIhadcometheretodo，itwouldbealloverwithmeinthevillage。Mynewbornpopularity，therespectwhichCap’nWarrenandCap’nJedandtherestofthetownspeoplehadshowntowardmeoflate，thecordialrecognitionwhichhadbeenmineduringthepastfewweeksandwhich，inspiteofpretendedindifference，Ihadcometoexpectandenjoy，allthesewouldbelostifIpersistedinmypurpose。MyfutureinDenborodependeduponwhetherornotI
knockedatthatdoor。Anditwasnottoolatetobackout，evenyet。IhadonlytoturnquietlyawayandtellGeorge，whenIsawhiminthemorning，thatIcouldnothelphimasIhadhoped。AndthenIthoughtofhisfaceasIsawitwhenIenteredthebank——andofNellie’slettertome。
Iseizedtheknockerandrappedsharply。
Forafewmomentsmyknockwasunanswered。ThenIheardfootstepsandthedoorwasopened。Johnson，thebutler，openedit，andhisclericalcountenanceassumedamostastonishedexpressionwhenhesawmestandingbeforehim。
\"IsMr。Coltonin？\"Iasked。
\"What？What——sir？\"stammeredJohnson。The\"sir\"wasaddedunderprotest。Hedidnotwishtoshowmorerespectthanwasabsolutelynecessarytoacountryman，buthescarcelydaredspeakasdisrespectfullyashefelt。Thereforehecompromisedbyvoicingtherespectandlookingtheotherway。
\"IsMr。Coltonin？\"Irepeated。
\"Idon’tknow。I——Idon’tthinkso——sir。\"
Thewindowsatmyleftwere，Iknew，thoseofthelibrary，theroomwhere\"BigJim\"andIhadhadourfirstlivelydiscussionoftheShoreLanematter。Iglancedatthem。
\"Ithinkheis，\"Isaid。\"InfactIknowit；thereishisshadowonthecurtain。TellhimMr。Painewishestospeakwithhim。\"
Johnsonlookedasinsolentashedared，andstillhesitated。
\"Itisverylate，\"hesaid。\"Mr。Coltonisnotinthe’abitofreceivingcallersatthistimeofnightand——\"
Hewasinterrupted。Thedoorbehindhim，thedoorleadingfromthelibrarytothehall，openedandColtonhimselfappeared。
\"Whatisit，Johnson？\"heasked。\"Anythingwrong？\"
Thebutlerhastenedtoexplain。
\"Nosir，\"hesaid；\"nothingwrongexactly，sir。Thereisaperson’eretoseeyou，sir，and——\"
\"Toseeme，eh？Whoisit？Why，hello，Paine！isthatyou？\"
\"Mr。Colton，\"saidI，\"Iamsorrytodisturbyouatsuchalatehour，but——\"
\"Comein，comein，\"heinterrupted。\"Whatareyoustandingouttherefor？Johnson，whydidn’tyouaskMr。Painein？Whatdoyoumeanbykeepinghimoutthere？\"
Mr。Johnsonlookedtroubled。
\"Itwassolate，sir，\"hestammered，\"Ithought——\"
\"Youthought！IfIhadwantedanyonetothinkInevershouldhavehiredyou。Comein，Paine。Comeintothelibrary。\"
HeledthewaytothelibraryandIfollowedhim。Itwasmysecondvisittothebig，handsomelyfurnishedroomandagain，asonthefirstoccasion，thesightofthebooksandalltheotherrefinementsandluxurieswhichmoneybringstoitspossessorgavemeapangofenvyandresentment。Itaddedincreasedbitternesstothehumiliationofmyerrand。Ihadleftthatroomdefiantlyexpressingmyindependence。Ihadcomebacktoit——\"
\"Sitdown，\"orderedColton，pullingforwardthebig，leather—
coveredchair。\"Haveacigar？\"
\"Nothankyou。\"
\"Humph！That’swhatyousaidwhenyouwereherebefore。You’reyoung，Paine。WhenyougettobeasoldasIamyou’llneverrefuseagoodcigar，oranythingelsethatisgood，whenitisofferedyou。Well，you’restillstanding。Aren’tgoingtorefusetositdown，areyou？\"
ThatwasexactlywhatIwasgoingtodo。Iwouldnotsitdowninthathouse。Iwouldnotaccepttheslightestcourtesyfromthismanoranyofhispeople。IwouldgetridoftheunpleasanttaskI
hadcometodoandthengoaway，nevertoreturn。Theymightmakethemostofthetriumphwhichwastobetheirs，butIwouldcompelthemtounderstandthatIwasnotseekingtheirfavor。Iwouldnotaccepttheirpatronageandtheyshouldknowit。This，asIlookbackatitnow，seemssillyandchildishenough，butIwasnotmyselfthatnight。
\"Mr。Colton，\"saidI，ignoringtheprofferedchair，\"Ihavecometoseeyouonamatterofbusiness。\"
\"Business，eh？Umph！Ithoughtprobablyyouweregoingtoaskmetogofishingwithyouagain。I’mallreadyforanothertusslewiththose——whatdoyoucall’em——squid——squit——goodLord！whatanameforadecentfish！ButIdon’tcareacontinentalwhatyoucall’em。I’mreadytogetat’emwhenyousaytheword。\"
\"Mybusinesswillnotdetaineitherofuslong。I——\"
\"Sitdown，man，sitdown。Youmakemenervousstandingthere。\"
\"No。Iwon’tsit。\"
Helookedatme。
\"Whatisthematterwithyou？\"heasked。\"Youhaven’tgotabalkydigestion，haveyou？I’vebeenfightingoneforthelastweek。
ThatfoolofacountrydoctortellsmeifI’mnotcarefulwhatI
eatI’llkeeloverprettysoon。ItoldhimI’deatenwhatIdashedpleaseeversinceI’dhadteethandIwasn’tgoingtoquitnow。
ButIdofeellikethedevil。Lookit，don’tI？\"
Hedidlookill，thatwasafact，thoughIhadnotnoticeditbeforeandwasfarfromfeelingpityforhimthen。InfactIwasrathergladtoknowthathewasuncomfortable。Iwantedhimtobe。
\"Whatisthematterwithyou？\"hedemanded。\"Youlookasifyouhadseenyourgrandmother’sghost。\"
Iignoredthequestion。\"Mr。Colton，\"Ibeganagain。\"Youmadeanoffernotlongago。\"
Ihadcaughthisattentionatlast。Heleanedbackinhischair。
\"Idid，\"hesaid。\"Ye—es，Idid。Doyoumeanyouaregoingtoacceptit？\"
\"Inaway——yes。\"
\"Inaway？Whatdoyoumeanbythat？Itellyoufrankly，Paine，ifyougotoworkformetheremustbeno’ifs’or’buts’aboutit。
You’llentermyofficeandyou’lldoasI，orthemenunderme，tellyoutodo。\"
Iwasgladhesaidthat，gladthathemisunderstoodme。Itgavemeanopportunitytoexpressmyfeelingstowardhim——asIwasfeelingthen。
\"Don’tletthattroubleyou，\"Isaid，sarcastically。\"Therewillbeno’ifs’and’buts’sofarasthatisconcerned。Ihavenodesiretoworkforyou，Mr。Colton，andIdon’tintenddoingso。
ThatwasnottheofferImeant。\"
Hewassurprised，Iamsure，buthedidnotexpressastonishment。
Hebentforwardandlookedatmemorekeenlythanever。
\"TherewasonlyoneotherofferthatIremembermakingyou，\"hesaid，slowly。\"Thatwasforthatlandofyours。Iofferedyoufivethousanddollarsforit。Doyoumeanyouacceptthatoffer？\"
\"Notexactly。\"
\"Humph！Paine，we’rewastingalotoftimehere，itseemstome。
Mytimeismoreorlessvaluable，andmydigestionis，asItoldyou，prettybad。Come！getitover。Whatdoyoumean？Areyougoingtosellmethatland？\"
\"Yes。\"
Hepuffeddeliberatelyathiscigar。Hisgazedidnotleavemyface。
\"Why？\"heasked，afteramoment。
\"Thatismyownaffair。Iwillsellyoutheland，butnotforfivethousanddollars。\"