\"Suchthingswehavetokeepsecret——thingsthatgoonrightbeforeYOUReyes!\"
\"Whydon\'tsomeofyoutellus？\"heasked。
\"Wecan\'ttellyou。\"
\"Toomuchhonour？\"
\"No。Noteventoomuchhonouramongthieves，Mr。Russell。Wedon\'ttellyouaboutourtricksagainstoneanotherbecauseweknowitwouldn\'tmakeanyimpressiononyou。Thetricksaren\'tplayedagainstyou，andyouhaveasoftsideforcatswithlovelymanners!\"
\"Whataboutyourtricksagainstus？\"
\"Oh，those!\"Alicelaughed。\"Wethinkthey\'rerathercute!\"
\"Bravo!\"hecried，andhammeredtheferruleofhisstickuponthepavement。
\"What\'stheapplausefor？\"
\"Foryou。Whatyousaidwaslikerunninguptheblackflagtothemasthead。\"
\"Oh，no。Itwasjustamodestlittlesigninaprettyflower-bed:\'Gentlemen，beware!\'\"
\"IseeImust，\"hesaid，gallantly。
\"Thanks!ButImean，bewareofthewholebloomin\'garden!\"Then，pickingupathreadthathadalmostdisappeared:\"Youneedn\'tthinkyou\'lleverfindoutwhetherI\'mrightaboutMildred\'snotbeinganexceptionbyaskingher，\"shesaid。\"Shewon\'ttellyou:she\'snotthesortthatevermakesaconfession。\"
ButRussellhadnotfollowedhershifttotheformertopic。
\"\'Mildred\'snotbeinganexception？\'\"hesaid，vaguely。\"I
don\'t——\"
\"Anexceptionaboutthinkingshecouldbewonderfulthingonthestageifsheonlycaredto。IfyouaskedherI\'mprettysureshe\'dsay，\'Whatnonsense!\'Mildred\'sthedearest，finestthinganywhere，butyouwon\'tfindoutmanythingsaboutherbyaskingher。\"
Russell\'sexpressionbecamemoreserious，asitdidwheneverhiscousinwasmadetheirtopic。\"Youthinknot？\"hesaid。\"Youthinkshe\'s——\"
\"No。Butit\'snotbecausesheisn\'tsincereexactly。It\'sonlybecauseshehassuchalottoliveupto。Shehastoliveuptobeingagirlonthegrandstyletoherself，Imean，ofcourse。\"
AndwithoutpausingAlicerippledon，\"YououghttohaveseenME
whenIhadthestage-fever!Iusedtoplay\'Juliet\'allaloneinmyroom。\'Sheliftedherarmsingracefulentreaty，pleadingmusically，\"O，swearnotbythemoon，theinconstantmoon，Thatmonthlychangesinhercircledorb，Lestthyloveprove——\"
Shebrokeoffabruptlywithalittleflourish，snappingthumbandfingerofeachoutstretchedhand，thenlaughedandsaid，\"Papausedtomakesuchfunofme!Thankheaven，Iwasonlyfifteen；I
wasalloveritbythenextyear。\"
\"Nowonderyouhadthefever，\"Russellobserved。\"Youdoitbeautifully。Whydidn\'tyoufinishtheline？\"
\"Whichone？\'Lestthyloveprovelikewisevariable\'？JulietwassayingittoaMAN，youknow。Sheseemstohavebeenreadytoworryabouthisconstancyprettyearlyintheiraffair!\"
Hercompanionwasagainthoughtful。\"Yes，\"hesaid，seemingtoberatherirksomelyimpressedwithAlice\'ssuggestion。\"Yes；itdoesappearso。\"
Aliceglancedathisseriousface，andyieldedtoanaudacioustemptation。\"Youmustn\'ttakeitsohard，\"shesaid，flippantly。
\"Itisn\'taboutyou:it\'sonlyaboutRomeoandJuliet。\"
\"Seehere!\"heexclaimed。\"Youaren\'tatyourmind-readingagain，areyou？Therearetimeswhenitwon\'tdo，youknow!\"
Sheleanedtowardhimalittle，asifcompanionably:theywerewalkingslowly，andthisgenialityofhersbroughthershoulderinlightcontactwithhisforamoment。\"Doyoudislikemymind-reading？\"sheasked，and，acrosstheirtwojusttouchingshoulders，gavehimhersuddenlookofsmilingwistfulness。\"Doyouhateit？\"
Heshookhishead。\"No，Idon\'t，\"hesaid，gravely。\"It\'squitepleasant。ButIthinkitsays，\'Gentlemen，beware!\'\"
Sheinstantlymovedawayfromhim，withthelawlessandfranklaughofonewhoisdelightedtobecaughtinapieceofhypocrisy。\"Howlovely!\"shecried。Thenshepointedahead。
\"Ourwalkisnearlyover。We\'recomingtothefoolishlittlehousewhereIlive。It\'saqueerlittleplace，butmyfather\'ssoattachedtoitthefamilyhaveaboutgivenuphopeofgettinghimtobuildarealhousefartherout。Hedoesn\'tmindourbeingextravagantaboutanythingelse，buthewon\'tletusalteronesinglethingabouthispreciouslittleoldhouse。Well!\"Shehalted，andgavehimherhand。\"Adieu!\"
\"Icouldn\'t，\"hebegan；hesitated，thenasked:\"Icouldn\'tcomeinwithyouforalittlewhile？\"
\"Notnow，\"shesaid，quickly。\"Youcancome——\"Shepaused。
\"When？\"
\"Almostanytime。\"Sheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthepath，buthewaited。\"Youcancomeintheeveningifyoulike，\"shecalledbacktohimoverhershoulder。
\"Soon？\"
\"Assoonasyoulike!\"Shewavedherhand；thenranindoorsandwatchedhimfromawindowashewentupthestreet。Hewalkedrapidly，afine，easyfigure，swinginghisstickinawaythatsuggestedexhilaration。Alice，staringafterhimthroughtheirregularaperturesofalacecurtain，showednosimilarbuoyancy。Upontheinstantsheclosedthedoorallsparklelefther:shehadbecomeatoncethesimpleandsometimestroubledgirlherfamilyknew。
\"Whatisgoingonoutthere？\"hermotherasked，approachingfromthedining-room。
\"Oh，nothing，\"Alicesaid，indifferently，assheturnedaway。
\"ThatMr。Russellmetmedowntownandwalkedupwithme。\"
\"Mr。Russell？Oh，theonethat\'sengagedtoMildred？\"
\"Well——Idon\'tknowforcertain。Hedidn\'tseemsomuchlikeanengagedmantome。\"Andsheadded，inthetoneofthoughtfulpreoccupation:\"Anyhow——notsoterribly!\"
Thensheranupstairs，gaveherfatherhistobacco，filledhispipeforhim，andpettedhimashelightedit。
CHAPTERXI
Afterthat，shewenttoherroomandsatdownbeforeherthree-leavedmirror。Therewaswhereshenearlyalwayssatwhenshecameintoherroom，ifshehadnothinginmindtodo。Shewenttothatchairasnaturallyasadoggoestohiscorner。
Sheleanedforward，observingherprofile；gravityseemedtobehermood。Butafteralong，almostmotionlessscrutiny，shebegantoproducedramaticsketchesuponthatever-readystage，hercountenance:sheshowedgaiety，satire，doubt，gentleness，appreciationofacompanionandlove-in-hiding——allstudiedinprofilefirst，thenrepeatedfora\"three-quarterview。\"
Subsequentlysheranthroughthem，facingherselfinfull。
InthismannersheoutlinedaplayfulscenarioforhernextinterviewwithArthurRussell；butgrewsolemnagain，thinkingoftheimpressionshehadalreadysoughttogivehim。Shehadnotwingesforanyunderminingsofher\"mostintimatefriend\"——infact，shefeltthatherworkonanewportraitofMildredforMr。
Russellhadbeenhonestandaccurate。ButwhyhaditbeenherinstincttoshowhimanAliceAdamswhodidn\'texist？
Almosteverythingshehadsaidtohimwasuponspontaneousimpulse，springingtoherlipsontheinstant；yetitallseemedtohavebeenfoundeduponacarefuldesign，asifsomehiddenselfkeptsuchdesignsinstockandhandedthemuptoher，ready-made，tobeusedforitsownpurpose。Whatappearedtobethedesiredresultwasafalse-colouredimageinRussell\'smind；
butifhelikedthatimagehewouldn\'tbelikingAliceAdams；norwouldanythinghethoughtabouttheimagebeathoughtabouther。
Nevertheless，sheknewshewouldgoonwithherfalse，fancycolouringsofthisnothingassoonasshesawhimagain；shehadjustbeenpracticingthem。\"What\'stheidea？\"shewondered。
\"Whatmakesmetellsuchlies？Whyshouldn\'tIbejustmyself？\"
Andthenshethought，\"Butwhichoneismyself？\"
Hereyesdweltonthesolemneyesinthemirror；andherlips，disquietedbyadeepeningwonder，partedtowhisper:
\"Whointheworldareyou？\"
Theapparitionbeforeherhadobeyedherlikeanalertslave，butnow，asshesubsidedtoacompletestillness，thataspectchangedtotheoldmockerywithwhichmirrorsavengetheirwrongs。Thenucleusofsomequeerthingseemedtogatherandshapeitselfbehindthenothingnessofthereflectedeyesuntilitbecamealmostanactualstrangepresence。Ifitcouldbeidentified，perhapsthepresencewasthatofthehiddendesignerwhohandedupthefalse，ready-madepictures，and，forunknownpurposes，madeAliceexhibitthem；butwhateveritwas，shesuddenlyfounditmonkey-likeandterrifying。Inafluttershejumpedupandwenttoanotherpartoftheroom。
Amomentortwolatershewaswhistlingsoftlyasshehungherlightcoatoverawoodentriangleinhercloset，andhermusingnowwasquainterthantheexperiencethatledtoit；forwhatshethoughtwasthis，\"Icertainlyamaqueergirl!\"Shetookalittleprideinsomuchoriginality，believingherselfprobablytheonlypersonintheworldtohavesuchthoughtsashadbeenherssincesheenteredtheroom，andthefirsttobedisturbedbyastrangepresenceinthemirror。Infact，theeffectofthetinyepisodebecameapparentinthatlookofpreoccupiedcomplacencytobeseenforatimeuponanygirlwhohasfoundreasontosuspectthatsheisabeingwithoutcounterpart。
Thisslightglow，stillfaintlyradiant，wasobservedacrossthedinner-tablebyWalter，buthemisinterpretedit。\"WhatYOU
lookin\'soself-satisfiedabout？\"heinquired，andaddedinhisknowingway，\"Isawyou，allright，cutie!\"
\"Where\'dyouseeme？\"
\"Down-town。\"
\"Thisafternoon，youmean，Walter？\"
\"Yes，\'thisafternoon，Imean，Walter，\'\"hereturned，burlesquinghervoiceatleasthappilyenoughtopleasehimself；
forhelaughedapplausively。\"Oh，youneversawme!Ipassedyoucloseenoughtopullatooth，butyouwereawfulbusy。I
neverdidseeanybodyasbusyasyouget，Alice，whenyou\'retowin\'abarge。My，butyoukeepyourhandsgoin\'!Lookedliketheairwasfullof\'em!That\'swhyI\'montowhyyoulooksotickledthisevening；Isawyouwiththatbigfish。\"
Mrs。Adamslaughedbenevolently；shewasnotdispleasedwiththisrallying。\"Well，whatofit，Walter？\"sheasked。\"Ifyouhappentoseeyoursisteronthestreetwhensomeniceyoungmanisbeingattentivetoher——\"
Walterbarkedandthencackled。\"Whoa，Sal!\"hesaid。\"Yougotthepartsmixed。It\'slittleAlicethatwas\'beingattentive。\'I
knowthebigfishshewasattentiveto，allright，too。\"
\"Yes，\"hissisterretorted，quietly。\"Ishouldthinkyoumighthaverecognizedhim，Walter。\"
Walterlookedannoyed。\"Stillharpin\'onTHAT!\"hecomplained。
\"ThekindofwomenIlike，iftheygetsoretheyjusthityousomewhereonthefaceandthenthey\'rethrough。Bytheway，I
heardthisRussellwassupposedtobeyourdear，old，sweetfriendMildred\'ssteady。Whatyoudoin\'walkin\'asclosetohimasallthat？\"
Mrs。Adamsaddressedhersoningentlereproof，\"WhyWalter!\"
\"Oh，nevermind，mama，\"Alicesaid。\"Tothehorridallthingsarehorrid。\"
\"Getout!\"Walterprotested，carelessly。\"IheardallaboutthisRusselldownattheshop。YoungJoeLamb\'ssuchatalkerI
wonderhedon\'truinhisgrandfather\'sbusiness；hekeepsalluscheaphelpstandin\'roundlisteningtohimnine-tenthsofourtime。Well，JoetoldmethisRussell\'ssomekinorothertothePalmerfamily，andhe\'sgotsomelittlemoneyofhisown，andhe\'sputtin\'itintoolePalmer\'strustcompanyandPalmer\'sgoin\'tomakehimavice-presidentofthecompany。Sortofakeep-the-money-in-the-familyarrangement，JoeLambsays。\"
Mrs。Adamslookedthoughtful。\"Idon\'tsee——\"shebegan。
\"Why，thisRussell\'ssupposedtobetieduptoMildred，\"hersonexplained。\"WhenolePalmerdiesthisRussellwillbehisson-in-law，andallhe\'llhaf\'todo\'llbetobarelylifthisfeetandstepintotheoleman\'sshoes。It\'scertainlyamightyfathand-me-outforthisRussell!Youbetterlayoffo\'there，Alice。Picksomebodythat\'sgotlesstoloseandyou\'llmakebettershowing。\"
Mrs。Adams\'sairofthoughtfulnesshadnotdeparted。\"ButyousaythisMr。Russelliswelloffonhisownaccount，Walter。\"
\"Oh，JoeLambsayshe\'sgotsomelittleofhisown。Didn\'tknowhowmuch。\"
\"Well，then——\"
Walterlaughedhislaugh。\"Cutitout，\"hebadeher。\"Alicewouldn\'truninfourthplace。\"
Alicehadbeenlookingathiminadetachedway，asthoughestimatingthevalueofaspecimeninacollectionnotherown。
\"Yes，\"shesaid，indifferently。\"YouREALLYarevulgar，Walter。\"
Hehadfinishedhismeal；and，rising，hecameroundthetabletoherandpattedhergood-naturedlyontheshoulder。\"GoodoleAllie!\"hesaid。\"HONEST，youwouldn\'truninfourthplace。IfIwasyouI\'dneverevenstartintheclass。Thatfrozen-face；
gangwillruleyouoffthetracksoonastheyseeyourcolours。\"
\"Walter!\"hismothersaidagain。
\"Well，ain\'tIherbrother？\"hereturned，seemingtobeentirelyseriousanddirect，forthemoment，atleast。\"_I_liketheolegirlallright。Factis，sometimesI\'mkindofsorryforher。\"
\"Butwhat\'sitallABOUT？\"Alicecried。\"Simplybecauseyoumetmedown-townwithamanIneversawbutoncebeforeandjustbarelyknow!Whyallthispalaver？\"
\"\'Why？\'\"herepeated，grinning。\"Well，I\'veseenyoustartbefore，youknow!\"Hewenttothedoor，andpaused。\"Igotnodateto-night。Takeyoutothemovies，youcaretogo。\"
Shedeclinedcrisply。\"No，thanks!\"
\"Comeon，\"hesaid，aspleasantlyasheknewhow。
\"Givemeachancetoshowyouabettertimethanwehadupatthatfrozen-facejoint。I\'llgetyousomechopsueyafterward。\"
\"No，thanks!\"
\"Allright，\"herespondedandwavedaflippantadieu。\"Asthebarbersays，\'Thebettertheadvice，theworseit\'swasted!\'
Good-night!\"
Aliceshruggedhershoulders；butamomentortwolater，asthejarofthecarelesslyslammedfrontdoorwentthroughthehouse，sheshookherhead，reconsidering。\"PerhapsIoughttohavegonewithhim。Itmighthavekepthimawayfromwhateverdreadfulpeoplearehisfriends——atleastforonenight。\"
\"Oh，I\'msureWalter\'saGOODboy，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，soothingly；
andthiswaswhatshealmostalwayssaidwheneitherherhusbandorAliceexpressedsuchmisgivings。\"He\'sodd，andhe\'spickeduprightqueermanners；butthat\'sonlybecausewehaven\'tgivenhimadvantagesliketheotheryoungmen。ButI\'msurehe\'saGOODboy。\"
Sherevertedtothesubjectalittlelater，whileshewashedthedishesandAlicewipedthem。\"OfcourseWaltercouldtakehisplacewiththeotherniceboysofthetownevenyet，\"shesaid。
\"Imean，ifwecouldaffordtohelphimfinancially。Theyallbelongtothecountryclubsandhavecarsand——\"
\"Let\'sdon\'tgointothatanymore，mama，\"thedaughterbeggedher。\"What\'stheuse？\"
\"ItCOULDbeofuse，\"Mrs。Adamsinsisted。\"Itcouldifyourfather——\"
\"ButpapaCAN\'T。\"
\"Yes，hecan。\"
\"Buthowcanhe？HetoldmeamanofhisageCAN\'Tgiveupabusinesshe\'sbeeninpracticallyallhislife，andjustgogropingaboutforsomethingthatmightneverturnupatall。I
thinkhe\'srightaboutit，too，ofcourse!\"
Mrs。Adamssplashedamongtheplateswithanewvigourheightenedbyanoldbitterness。\"Oh，yes，\"shesaid。\"Hetalksthatway；butheknowsbetter。\"
\"Howcouldhe\'knowbetter，\'mama？\"
\"HEknowshow!\"
\"Butwhatdoesheknow？\"
Mrs。Adamstossedherhead。\"Youdon\'tsupposeI\'msuchafoolI\'dbeurginghimtogiveupsomethingfornothing，doyou，Alice？DoyousupposeI\'dwanthimtojustgo\'gropingaround\'
likehewastellingyou？Thatwouldbecrazy，ofcourse。LittleashisworkatLamb\'sbringsin，Iwouldn\'tbesosillyastoaskhimtogiveitupjustonaCHANCEhecouldfindsomethingelse。
Goodgracious，Alice，youmustgivemecreditforalittleintelligenceonceinawhile!\"
Alicewaspuzzled。\"Butwhatelsecouldtherebeexceptachance？Idon\'tsee——\"
\"Well，Ido，\"hermotherinterrupted，decisively。\"Thatmancouldmakeusallwelloffrightnowifhewantedto。Wecouldhavebeenrichlongagoifhe\'deverreallyfeltasheoughttoabouthisfamily。\"
\"What!Why，howcould——\"
\"YouknowhowaswellasIdo，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，crossly。\"I
guessyouhaven\'tforgottenhowhetreatedmeaboutittheSundaybeforehegotsick。\"
Shewentonwithherwork，puttingintoitasuddenviolenceinspiredbytherecollection；butAlice，enlightened，gaveutterancetoalaughoflugubriousderision。\"Oh，theGLUE
factoryagain!\"shecried。\"Howsilly!\"Andsherenewedherlaughter。
Sooftendothegreatprojectsofparentsappearignominioustotheirchildren。Mrs。Adams\'sconceptionofagluefactoryasafairygodmotherofthisfamilywasanabsurdoldstorywhichAlicehadnevertakenseriously。SherememberedthatwhenshewasaboutfifteenhermotherbegannowandthentosaysomethingtoAdamsabouta\"gluefactory，\"rathertimidly，andasavaguesuggestion，butneverwithoutirritatinghim。Then，foryears，thepreposteroussubjecthadnotbeenmentioned；possiblybecauseofsomeexplosiononthepartofAdams，whenhisdaughterhadnotbeenpresent。ButduringthelastyearMrs。Adamshadquietlygonebacktotheseoldhints，revivingthematintervalsandalsorevivingherhusband\'sirritation。Alice\'sboredimpressionwasthathermotherwantedhimtofound，orbuy，ordosomething，orother，aboutagluefactory；andthatheconsideredtheproposalsoimpracticableastobeinsulting。TheparentalconversationstookplacewhenneitherAlicenorWalterwasathand，butsometimesAlicehadcomeinupontheconclusionofone，tofindherfatherinashoutingmood，andshockingtheairbehindhimwithprofanemonosyllablesashedeparted。Mrs。Adamswouldbeleftquietandtroubled；andwhenAlice，sympathizingwiththegoadedman，inquiredofhermotherwhythesetiresomebickeringshadbeenrenewed，shealwaysgotthebroodingandcrypticanswer，\"HeCOULDdoit——ifhewantedto。\"Alicefailedtocomprehendthedesirabilityofagluefactory——tohermindafatherengagedinagluefactorylackedimpressiveness；hadnoadvantageoverafatheremployedbyLambandCompany；andshesupposedthatAdamsknewbetterthanhermotherwhethersuchanenterprisewouldbeprofitableornot。Emphatically，hethoughtitwouldnot，forshehadheardhimshoutingattheendofoneofthesepainfulinterviews，\"YoucankeepupyourdangtalktillYOUdieand_I_
die，butI\'llnevermakeoneGod\'scentthatway!\"
Therehadbeenaculmination。ReturningfromchurchontheSundayprecedingthecollapsewithwhichAdams\'sillnesshadbegun，Alicefoundhermotherdownstairs，weepingandintimidated，whileherfather\'sstampingfootstepswereloudlyaudibleashestrodeupanddownhisroomoverhead。Sowerehisendlessrepetitionsofinvectiveloudlyaudible:\"Thatwoman!
Oh，thatwoman；Oh，thatdangedwoman!\"
Mrs。Adamsadmittedtoherdaughterthatitwas\"theoldgluefactory\"andthatherhusband\'swildnesshadfrightenedherintoa\"solemnpromise\"nevertomentionthesubjectagainsolongasshehadbreath。Alicelaughed。The\"gluefactory\"ideawasnotonlyabore，butridiculous，andhermother\'sevidentseriousnessaboutitoneofthoseinexplicablevagarieswesometimesdiscoverinthepeopleweknowbest。ButthisSundayrampageappearedtobetheendofit，andwhenAdamscamedowntodinner，anhourlater，hewasunusuallycheerful。Alicewasgladhehadgonewildenoughtosettlethegluefactoryonceandforall；andshehadceasedtothinkoftheepisodelongbeforeFridayofthatweek，whenAdamswasbroughthomeinthemiddleoftheafternoonbyhisoldemployer，the\"greatJ。A。Lamb，\"inthelatter\'scar。
Duringthelongillnessthe\"gluefactory\"wascompletelyforgotten，byAliceatleast；andherlaughwasruefulaswellasderisivenow，inthekitchen，whensherealizedthathermother\'smindagaindweltuponthisabandonednuisance。\"Ithoughtyou\'dgotoverallthatnonsense，mama，\"shesaid。
Mrs。Adamssmiled，pathetically。\"Ofcourseyouthinkit\'snonsense，dearie。Youngpeoplethinkeverything\'snonsensethattheydon\'tknowanythingabout。\"
\"Goodgracious!\"Alicecried。\"IshouldthinkIusedtohearenoughaboutthathorribleoldgluefactorytoknowsomethingaboutit!\"
\"No，\"hermotherreturnedpatiently。\"You\'veneverheardanythingaboutitatall。\"
\"Ihaven\'t？\"
\"No。YourfatherandIdidn\'tdiscussitbeforeyouchildren。
Allyoueverheardwaswhenhe\'dgetinsucharage，afterwe\'dbeenspeakingofit，thathecouldn\'tcontrolhimselfwhenyoucamein。Wasn\'t_I_alwaysquiet？Did_I_evergoontalkingaboutit？\"
\"No；perhapsnot。Butyou\'retalkingaboutitnow，mama，afteryoupromisednevertomentionitagain。\"
\"Ipromisednottomentionittoyourfather，\"saidMrs。Adams，gently。\"Ihaven\'tmentionedittohim，haveI？\"
\"Ah，butifyoumentionittomeI\'mafraidyouWILLmentionittohim。Youalwaysdospeakofthingsthatyouhaveonyourmind，andyoumightgetpapaallstirredupagainabout——\"Alicepaused，alightofdivinationflickeringinhereyes。\"Oh!\"shecried。\"ISEE!\"
\"Whatdoyousee？\"
\"YouHAVEbeenathimaboutit!\"
\"Notonesingleword!\"
\"No!\"Alicecried。\"NotaWORD，butthat\'swhatyou\'vemeantallalong!Youhaven\'tspokenthewordstohim，butallthisurginghimtochange，to\'findsomethingbettertogointo\'——it\'sallbeenaboutnothingonearthbutyourfoolisholdgluefactorythatyouknowupsetshim，andyougaveyoursolemnwordnevertospeaktohimaboutagain!Youdidn\'tsayit，butyoumeantit——andheKNOWSthat\'swhatyoumeant!Oh，mama!\"
Mrs。Adams，withherhandsstillautomaticallyatworkinthefloodeddishpan，turnedtofaceherdaughter。\"Alice，\"shesaid，tremulously，\"whatdoIaskformyself？\"
\"What？\"
\"Isay，WhatdoIaskformyself？Doyousuppose_I_wantanything？Don\'tyouknowI\'dbeperfectlycontentonyourfather\'spresentincomeifIweretheonlypersontobeconsidered？WhatdoIcareaboutanypleasureformyself？I\'dbewillingnevertohaveamaidagain；_I_don\'tminddoingthework。Ifwedidn\'thaveanychildrenI\'dbegladtodoyourfather\'scookingandthehouseworkandthewashingandironing，too，fortherestofmylife。Iwouldn\'tcare。I\'mapoorcookandapoorhousekeeper；Idon\'tdoanythingwell；butitwouldbegoodenoughforjusthimandme。Iwouldn\'teverutteronewordofcom——\"
\"Oh，goodness!\"Alicelamented。\"WhatISitallabout？\"
\"It\'saboutthis，\"saidMrs。Adams，swallowing。\"YouandWalterareanewgenerationandyououghttohavethesameastherestofthenewgenerationget。PoorWalter——askingyoutogotothemoviesandaChineserestaurant:thebesthehadtooffer!Don\'tyousuppose_I_seehowthepoorboyisdeteriorating？Don\'tyousupposeIknowwhatYOUhavetogothrough，Alice？AndwhenI
thinkofthatmanupstairs——\"Theagitatedvoicegrewlouder。
\"WhenIthinkofhimandknowthatnothingintheworldbuthisSTUBBORNNESSkeepsmychildrenfromhavingalltheywantandwhattheyOUGHTtohave，doyousupposeI\'mgoingtoholdmyselfboundtokeeptotheabsoluteletterofasillypromisehegotfrommebybehavinglikeacrazyman？Ican\'t!Ican\'tdoit!Nomothercouldsitbyandseehimlockupahornofplentylikethatinhisclosetwhenthechildrenwerestarving!\"
\"Oh，goodness，goodnessme!\"Aliceprotested。\"Wearen\'tprecisely\'starving，\'arewe？\"
Mrs。Adamsbegantoweep。\"It\'sjustthesame。Didn\'tIseehowflushedandprettyyoulooked，thisafternoon，afteryou\'dbeenwalkingwiththisyoungmanthat\'scomehere？Doyousupposehe\'dLOOKatagirllikeMildredPalmerifyouhadwhatyououghttohave？Doyousupposehe\'dbegoingintobusinesswithherfatherifYOURfather——\"
\"Goodheavens，mama；you\'reworsethanWalter:Ijustbarelyknowtheman!DON\'Tbesoabsurd!\"
\"Yes，I\'malways\'absurd，\'\"Mrs。Adamsmoaned。\"AllIcandoiscry，whileyourfathersitsupstairs，andhishornofplenty——\"
ButAliceinterruptedwithapealofdesperatelaughter。\"Oh，that\'hornofplenty!\'Docomedowntoearth，mama。HowcanyoucallaGLUEfactory，thatdoesn\'texistexceptinyourmind，a\'hornofplenty\'？Dolet\'sbealittlerational!\"
\"ItCOULDbeahornofplenty，\"thetearfulMrs，Adamsinsisted。
\"Itcould!Youdon\'tunderstandathingaboutit。\"
\"Well，I\'mwilling，\"Alicesaid，withtiredskepticism。\"Makemeunderstand，then。Where\'dyouevergettheidea？\"
Mrs。Adamswithdrewherhandsfromthewater，driedthemonatowel，andthenwipedhereyeswithahandkerchief。\"Yourfathercouldmakeafortuneifhewantedto，\"shesaid，quietly。\"Atleast，Idon\'tsayafortune，butanyhowagreatdealmorethanhedoesmake。\"
\"Yes，I\'veheardthatbefore，mama，andyouthinkhecouldmakeitoutofagluefactory。WhatI\'maskingis:How？\"
\"How？Why，bymakingglueandsellingit。Don\'tyouknowhowbadmostglueiswhenyoutrytomendanything？Agoodglueisoneoftherarestthingsthereis；anditwouldjustsellitself，onceitgotstarted。Well，yourfatherknowshowtomakeasgoodaglueasthereisintheworld。\"
Alicewasnotinterested。\"Whatofit？Isupposeprobablyanybodycouldmakeitiftheywantedto。\"
\"ISAIDyoudidn\'tknowanythingaboutit。Nobodyelsecouldmakeit。Yourfatherknowsaformulaformakingit。\"
\"Whatofthat？\"
\"It\'sasecretformula。Itisn\'tevendownonpaper。It\'sworthanyamountofmoney。\"
\"\'Anyamount？\'\"Alicesaid，remainingincredulous。\"Whyhasn\'tpapasolditthen？\"
\"Justbecausehe\'stoostubborntodoanythingwithitatall!\"
\"Howdidpapagetit？\"
\"Hegotitbeforeyouwereborn，justafterweweremarried。I
didn\'tthinkmuchaboutitthen:itwasn\'ttillyouweregrowingupandIsawhowmuchweneededmoneythatI——\"
\"Yes，buthowdidpapagetit？\"Alicebegantofeelalittlemorecuriousaboutthispossibleburiedtreasure。\"Didheinventit？\"
\"Partly，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，lookingsomewhatpreoccupied。\"Heandanothermaninventedit。\"
\"Thenmaybetheotherman——\"
\"He\'sdead。\"
\"Thenhisfamily——\"
\"Idon\'tthinkheleftanyfamily，\"Mrs。Adamssaid。\"Anyhow，itbelongstoyourfather。Atleastitbelongstohimasmuchasitdoestoanyoneelse。He\'sgotanabsolutelyperfectrighttodoanythinghewantstowithit，anditwouldmakeusallcomfortableifhe\'ddowhatIwanthimto——andheKNOWSitwould，too!\"
Aliceshookherheadpityingly。\"Poormama!\"shesaid。\"Ofcourseheknowsitwouldn\'tdoanythingofthekind，orelsehe\'dhavedoneitlongago。\"
\"Hewould，yousay？\"hermothercried。\"Thatonlyshowshowlittleyouknowhim!\"
\"Poormama!\"Alicesaidagain，soothingly。\"Ifpapawerelikewhatyousayheis，he\'dbe——why，he\'dbecrazy!\"
Mrs。Adamsagreedwithavehemencenearpassion。\"You\'rerightabouthimforonce:that\'sjustwhatheis!Hesitsupthereinhisstubbornnessandletsusslavehereinthekitchenwhenifhewantedto——ifhe\'dsomuchaslifthislittlefinger——\"
\"Oh，come，now!\"Alicelaughed。\"Youcan\'tbuildevenagluefactorywithjustonelittlefinger。\"
Mrs。Adamsseemedabouttoreplythatfindingfaultwithafigureofspeechwasbesidethepoint；butaringingofthefrontdoorbellforestalledtheretort。\"Now，whodoyousupposethatis？\"shewonderedaloud，thenherfacebrightened。\"Ah——didMr。
Russellaskifhecould——\"
\"No，hewouldn\'tbecomingthisevening，\"Alicesaid。\"Probablyit\'sthegreatJ。A。Lamb:heusuallystopsforaminuteonThursdaystoaskhowpapa\'sgettingalong。I\'llgo。\"
Shetossedherapronoff，andasshewentthroughthehouseherexpressionwasthoughtful。Shewasthinkingvaguelyaboutthegluefactoryandwonderingiftheremightbe\"somethinginit\"
afterall。IfhermotherwasrightabouttherichpossibilitiesofAdams\'ssecret——butthatwasasfarasAlice\'sspeculationsuponthematterwentatthistime:theywerechecked，partlybythethoughtthatherfatherprobablyhadn\'tenoughmoneyforsuchanenterprise，andpartlybythefactthatshehadarrivedatthefrontdoor。
CHAPTERXII