Mrs。Vertrees\"satup\"forherdaughter,Mr。Vertreeshavingretiredafterarestlessevening,notmuchsoothedbythesocietyofhisLandseers。Maryhadtakenakey,insistingthatheshouldnotcomeforherandseemingconfidentthatshewouldnotlackforescort;nordidthesequelproveherconfidenceunwarranted。ButMrs。Vertreeshadalongvigilofit。
Shewasnotthewomantomakeherselfeasy——noservanthadeverseenherinawrapper——andwithherhairanddressandhershoesjustwhattheyhadbeenwhenshereturnedfromtheafternoon\'scall,shesatthroughtheslownighthoursinastifflittlechairunderthegaslightinherownroom,whichwasdirectlyoverthe\"fronthall。\"There,bookinhand,sheemployedthetimeinherownreminiscences,thoughitwasherbeliefthatshewasreadingMadamedeRemusat\'s。
Herthoughtswentbackwardintoherlifeandintoherhusband\'s;andthedeeperintothepasttheywent,thebrighterthepicturestheybroughther——
andthereistragedy。Likeherhusband,shethoughtbackwardbecauseshedidnotdarethinkforwarddefinitely。Whatthinkingforwardthistroubledcoupleventuredtooktheformofaslenderhopewhichneitherofthemcouldhavebornetohearputinwords,andyettheyhadtalkeditover,dayafterday,fromtheveryhourwhentheyheardSheridanwastobuildhisNewHousenextdoor。For——soquicklydoesanyidealofhumanbehaviorbecomeanantique——theiryouthwasoftheinnocentolddays,sodead！of\"breeding\"and\"gentility,\"andnocrafthadbeenmorestraitlytraineduponthemthanthatoftalkingaboutthingswithoutmentioningthem。HereinwasmarkedthemostvitaldifferencebetweenMr。andMrs。Vertreesandtheirbignewneighbor。
Sheridan,thoughhisyouthwasofthesameepoch,knewnothingofsuchmatters。Hehadbeenchoppingwoodforthemorningfireinthecountrygrocerywhiletheywerestilldancing。
Itwasafteroneo\'clockwhenMrs。Vertreesheardstepsandthedelicateclinkingofthekeyinthelock,andthen,withtheopeningofthedoor,Mary\'slaugh,and\"Yes——ifyouaren\'tafraid——to—morrow！\"
Thedoorclosed,andsherushedup—stairs,bringingwithherabreathofcoldandbracingairintohermother\'sroom。\"Yes,\"shesaid,beforeMrs。Vertreescouldspeak,\"hebroughtmehome！\"
Shelethercloakfalluponthebed,and,drawinganoldred—velvetrocking—chairforward,satbesidehermotheraftergivingheralightpatupontheshoulderandaheartykissuponthecheek。
\"Mamma！\"Maryexclaimed,whenMrs。Vertreeshadexpressedahopethatshehadenjoyedtheeveningandhadnotcaughtcold。\"Whydon\'tyouaskme？\"
Thisinquiryobviouslymadehermotheruncomfortable。\"Idon\'t——\"shefaltered。\"Askyouwhat,Mary？\"
\"HowIgotalongandwhathe\'slike。\"
\"Mary！\"
\"Oh,itisn\'tdistressing！\"saidMary。\"AndIgotalongsofast——\"Shebrokeofftolaugh;continuingthen,\"Butthat\'sthewayIwentatit,ofcourse。
WeAREinahurry,aren\'twe？\"
\"Idon\'tknowwhatyoumean,\"Mrs。Vertreesinsisted,shakingherheadplaintively。
\"Yes,\"saidMary,\"I\'mgoingoutinhiscarwithhimto—morrowafternoon,andtothetheaterthenextnight——butIstoppeditthere。Yousee,afteryougivethefirstpush,youmustleaveittothemwhileYOUpretendtorunaway！\"
\"Mydear,Idon\'tknowwhatto——\"
\"Whattomakeofanything！\"Maryfinishedforher。\"Sothat\'sallright！NowI\'lltellyouallaboutit。Itwasgorgeousanddeafeningandtee—total。Wecouldhavelivedayearonit。I\'mnotgoodatfigures,butIcalculatedthatifwelivedsixmonthsonpooroldCharlieandNedandthestation—wagonandtheVictoria,wecouldmanageatleasttwiceaslongonthecostofthe\'house—warming。\'Ithinktheorchidsalonewouldhavelastedusacoupleofmonths。Theretheywere,beforeme,butIcouldn\'tsteal\'emandsell\'em,andso——well,soIdidwhatIcould！\"
Sheleanedbackandlaughedreassuringlytohertroubledmother。\"Itseemedtobeasuccess——whatIcould,\"shesaid,claspingherhandsbehindherneckandstirringtherockertomotionasarhythmicaccompanimenttohernarrative。\"ThegirlEdithandhersister—in—law,Mrs。RoscoeSheridan,weretooanxiousabouttheeffectofthingsonme。Thefather\'sworthabushelofbothofthem,iftheyknewit。He\'swhatheis。Ilikehim。\"Shepausedreflectively,continuing,\"Edith\'s\'interested\'inthatLamhornboy;he\'sgood—lookingandnotstupid,butIthinkhe\'s——\"Sheinterruptedherselfwithacheeryoutcry:\"Oh！Imustn\'tbecallinghimnames！Ifhe\'stryingtomakeEdithlikehim,Ioughttorespecthimasacolleague。\"
\"Idon\'tunderstandathingyou\'retalkingabout,\"Mrs。Vertreescomplained。
\"Allthebetter！Well,he\'sabadlot,thatLamhornboy;everybody\'salwaysknownthat,buttheSheridansdon\'tknowtheeverybodiesthatknow。HesatbetweenEdithandMrs。RoscoeSheridan。SHE\'Slikethosepeopleyouwonderedaboutatthetheater,thelasttimewewent——dressedinball—gowns;boundtoshowtheirclothesandjewelsSOMEwhere！Sheflattersthefather,andsodidI,forthatmatter——butnotthatway。Itreatedhimoutrageously！\"
\"Mary！\"
\"That\'swhatflatteredhim。Afterdinnerhemadethewholeregimentofusfollowhimalloverthehouse,whilehelecturedlikeaguideonthePalatine。
Hegavedimensionsandcosts,andthewholeb\'ilin\'of\'emlistenedasiftheythoughtheintendedtomakethemapresentofthehouse。WhathewasproudestofwastheplumbingandthatBayofNaplespanoramainthehall。Hemadeuslookatalltheplumbing——bath—roomsandeverywhereelse——andthenhemadeuslookattheBayofNaples。Hesaiditwasahundredandelevenfeetlong,butIthinkit\'smore。Andheledusallintotheready—madelibrarytoseeapoemEdithhadtakenaprizewithatschool。They\'dhaditprintedingoldlettersandframedinmother—of—pearl。Butthepoemitselfwasrathersimpleandwistfulandnice——hereadittous,thoughEdithtriedtostophim。Shewasmodestaboutit,andsaidshe\'dneverwrittenanythingelse。Andthen,afterawhile,Mrs。RoscoeSheridanaskedmetocomeacrossthestreettoherhousewiththem——herhusbandandEdithandMr。LamhornandJimSheridan——\"
Mrs。Vertreeswasshocked。\"\'Jim\'！\"sheexclaimed。\"Mary,PLEASE——\"
\"Ofcourse,\"saidMary。\"I\'llmakeitaseasyforyouasIcan,mamma。Mr。
JamesSheridan,Junior。Wewentoverthere,andMrs。Roscoeexplainedthat\'themenwerealldyingforadrink,\'thoughInoticedthatMr。Lamhornwastheonlyoneneardeath\'sdooronthataccount。EdithandMrs。RoscoesaidtheyknewI\'dbeenboredatthedinner。Theywereobjectionablyapologeticaboutit,andtheyseemedtothinkNOWweweregoingtohavea\'goodtime\'tomakeupforit。ButIhadn\'tbeenboredatthedinner,I\'dbeenamused;andthe\'goodtime\'atMrs。Roscoe\'swashorribly,horriblystupid。\"
\"But,Mary,\"hermotherbegan,\"is——is——\"Andsheseemedunabletocompletethequestion。
\"Nevermind,mamma。I\'llsayit。IsMr。JamesSheridan,Junior,stupid？I\'msurehe\'snotatallstupidaboutbusiness。Otherwise——Oh,whatrighthaveI
tobecallingpeople\'stupid\'becausethey\'renotexactlymykind？Onthebigdinner—tabletheyhadenormousicingmodelsoftheSheridanBuilding——\"
\"Oh,no！\"Mrs。Vertreescried。\"Surelynot！\"
\"Yes,andtwootherthingsofthatkind——Idon\'tknowwhat。But,afterall,I
wonderediftheyweresobad。IfI\'dbeenatadinneratapalaceinItaly,andarelieforinscriptionononeoftheoldsilverpeiceshadreferredtosomegreatdeedorachievementofthefamily,Ishouldn\'thavefeltsuperior;
I\'dhavethoughtitpicturesqueandstately——I\'dhavebeenimpressed。Andwhat\'stherealdifference？Theicingistemporary,andthat\'smuchmoremodest,isn\'tit？Andwhyisitvulgartofeelimportantmoreonaccountofsomethingyou\'vedoneyourselfthanbecauseofsomethingoneofyourancestorsdid？Besides,ifwegobackafewgenerations,we\'veallgotsuchhundredsofancestorsitseemsidiotictogopickingoutoneortwotobeproudofourselvesabout。Well,then,mamma,ImanagednottofeelsuperiortoMr。
JamesSheridan,Junior,becausehedidn\'tseeanythingoutofplaceintheSheridanBuildinginsugar。\"
Mrs。Vertrees\'sexpressionhadlostnoneofitsanxietypendingtheconclusionofthislivelybitofanalysis,andsheshookherheadgravely。\"Mydear,dearchild,\"shesaid,\"itseemstome——Itlooks——I\'mafraid——\"
\"Sayasmuchofitasyoucan,mamma,\"saidMary,encouragingly。\"Icangetit,ifyou\'lljustgivemeonekey—word。\"
\"Everythingyousay,\"Mrs。Vertreesbegan,timidly,\"seemstohavetheairof——Itisasifyouwereseekingto——tomakeyourself——\"
\"Oh,Isee！YoumeanIsoundasifIweretryingtoforcemyselftolikehim。\"
\"Notexactly,Mary。Thatwasn\'tquitewhatImeant,\"saidMrs。Vertrees,speakingdirectuntruthwithperfectunconsciousness。\"Butyousaidthat——
thatyoufoundthelatterpartoftheeveningatyoungMrs。Sheridan\'sunentertaining——\"
\"AndasMr。JamesSheridanwasthere,andIsawmoreofhimthanatdinner,andhadahorriblystupidtimeinspiteofthat,youthinkI——\"AndthenitwasMarywholeftthedeductionunfinished。
Mrs。Vertreesnodded;andthoughboththemotherandthedaughterunderstood,Maryfeltitbettertomaketheunderstandingdefinite。
\"Well,\"sheasked,gravely,\"isthereanythingelseIcando？Youandpapadon\'twantmetodoanythingthatdistressesme,andso,asthisistheonlythingtobedone,itseemsit\'suptomenottoletitdistressme。That\'sallthereisaboutit。isn\'tit？\"
\"ButnothingMUSTdistressyou！\"themothercried。
\"That\'swhatIsay！\"saidMary,cheerfully。\"Andsoitdoesn\'t。It\'sallright。\"Sheroseandtookhercloakoverherarm,asiftogotoherownroom。Butonthewaytothedoorshestopped,andstoodleaningagainstthefootofthebed,contemplatingathreadbarerugatherfeet。\"Mother,you\'vetoldmeathousandtimesthatitdoesn\'treallymatterwhomagirlmarries。\"
\"No,no！\"Mrs。Vertreesprotested。\"Ineversaidsucha——\"
\"No,notinwords;ImeanwhatyouMEANT。It\'strue,isn\'tit,thatmarriagereallyis\'notabedofroses,butafieldofbattle\'？Togetrightdowntoit,agirlcouldfightitoutwithanybody,couldn\'tshe？Onemanaswellasanother？\"
\"Oh,mydear！I\'msureyourfatherandI——\"
\"Yes,yes,\"saidMary,indulgently。\"Idon\'tmeanyouandpapa。Butisn\'titpropinquitythatmakesmarriages？Somanypeoplesayso,theremustbesomethinginit。\"
\"Mary,Ican\'tbearforyoutotalklikethat。\"AndMrs。Vertreesliftedpleadingeyestoherdaughter——eyesthatbeggedtobespared。\"Itsounds——almostreckless！\"
Marycaughttheappeal,cametoher,andkissedhergaily。\"Neverfret,dear！
I\'mnotlikelytodoanythingIdon\'twanttodo——I\'vealwaysbeentoothorough—goingalittlepig！AndifitISpropinquitythatdoesourchoosingforus,well,atleastnogirlintheworldcouldaskformorethanTHAT！Howcouldtherebeanymorepropinquitythantheveryhousenextdoor？\"
Shegavehermotherafinalkissandwentgailyallthewaytothedoorthistime,pausingforherpostscriptwithherhandontheknob。\"Oh,theonethatcaughtmelookinginthewindow,mamma,theyoungestone——\"
\"Didhespeakofit？\"Mrs。Vertreesasked,apprehensively。
\"No。Hedidn\'tspeakatall,thatIsaw,toanyone。Ididn\'tmeethim。Butheisn\'tinsane,I\'msure;orifheis,hehaslongintervalswhenhe\'snot。
Mr。JamesSheridanmentionedthathelivedathomewhenhewas\'wellenough\';
anditmaybehe\'sonlyaninvalid。Helooksdreadfullyill,buthehaspleasanteyes,anditstruckmethatif——ifonewereintheSheridanfamily\"——shelaughedalittleruefully——\"hemightbeinterestingtotalktosometimes,whentherewastoomuchstocksandbonds。Ididn\'tseehimafterdinner。\"
\"Theremustbesomethingwrongwithhim,\"saidMrs。Vertrees。\"They\'dhaveintroducedhimiftherewasn\'t。\"
\"Idon\'tknow。He\'sbeenillsomuchandawaysomuch——sometimespeoplelikethatjustdon\'tseemto\'count\'inafamily。Hisfatherspokeofsendinghimbacktoamachine—shoporsomesort;Isupposehemeantwhenthepoorthinggetsbetter。Iglancedathimjustthen,whenMr。Sheridanmentionedhim,andhehappenedtobelookingstraightatme;andhewaspathetic—lookingenoughbeforethat,butthemosttragicchangecameoverhim。Heseemedjusttodie,rightthereatthetable！\"
\"Youmeanwhenhisfatherspokeofsendinghimtotheshopplace？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Mr。Sheridanmustbeveryunfeeling。\"
\"No,\"saidMary,thoughtfully,\"Idon\'tthinkheis;buthemightbeuncomprehending,andcertainlyhe\'sthekindofmantodoanythingheoncesetsouttodo。ButIwishIhadn\'tbeenlookingatthatpoorboyjustthen！
I\'mafraidI\'llkeepremembering——\"
\"Iwouldn\'t。\"Mrs。Vertreessmiledfaintly,andinhersmiletherewastheremotestghostofagenteelroguishness。\"I\'dkeepmymindonpleasanterthings,Mary。\"
Marylaughedandnodded。\"Yes,indeed！Plentypleasantenough,andprobably,ifallwereknown,toogood——evenforme！\"
AndwhenshehadgoneMrs。Vertreesdrewalongbreath,asifaburdenwereoffhermind,and,smiling,begantoundressinagentlereverie。
Edith,glancingcasuallyintothe\"ready—made\"library,stoppedabruptly,seeingBibbstherealone。Hewasstandingbeforethepearl—framedandgolden—
letteredpoem,musinglyinspectingit。Hereadit:
FugitiveIwillforgetthethingsthatsting:
Thelashinglook,thebarbedword。
IknowtheveryhandsthatflingThestonesatmehadneverstirredToangerbutfortheirownscars。
They\'vesufferedso,that\'swhytheystrike。
I\'llkeepmyheartamongthestarsWherenoneshallhuntitout。Oh,likeThesewoundedonesImustnotbe,For,wounded,Imightstrikeinturn！
So,noneshallhurtme。FarandfreeWheremyheartfliesnooneshalllearn。
\"Bibbs！\"Edith\'svoicewasangry,andhercolordeepenedsuddenlyasshecameintotheroom,precededbyascentofvioletsmuchmorepowerfulthanthatwarrantedbytheactualbunchofthemuponthelapelofhercoat。
Bibbsdidnotturnhishead,butwaggeditsolemnly,seemingdepressedbythepoem。\"Prettyyoung,isn\'tit？\"hesaid。\"Theremusthavebeensomethingaboutyourlooksthatgottheprize,Edith;Ican\'tbelievethepoemdidit。\"
Sheglancedhurriedlyoverhershoulderandspokesharply,butinalowvoice:
\"Idon\'tthinkit\'sveryniceofyoutobringitupatall,Bibbs。I\'dlikeachancetoforgetthewholesillybusiness。Ididn\'twantthemtoframeit,andIwishtogoodnesspapa\'dquittalkingaboutit;buthere,thatnight,afterthedinner,didn\'thegoandreaditaloudtothewholecrowdof\'em！
AndthentheyallwantedtoknowwhatotherpoemsI\'dwrittenandwhyIdidn\'tkeepitupandwritesomemore,andifIdidn\'t,whydidn\'tI,andwhythisandwhythat,tillIthoughtI\'ddieofshame！\"
\"Youcouldtell\'emyouhadwriter\'scramp,\"Bibbssuggested。
\"Icouldn\'ttell\'emanything！Ijustchokewithmortificationeverytimeanybodyspeaksofthething。\"
Bibbslookedgrieved。\"Thepoemisn\'tTHATbad,Edith。Yousee,youwereonlyseventeenwhenyouwroteit。\"
\"Oh,hushup！\"shesnapped。\"IwishithadburntmyfingersthefirsttimeI
touchedit。ThenImighthavehadsenseenoughtoleaveitwhereitwas。I
hadnobusinesstotakeit,andI\'vebeenashamed——\"
\"No,no,\"hesaid,comfortingly。\"Itwastheverymostflatteringthingeverhappentome。ItwasalmostmylastflightbeforeIwenttothemachine—shop,andit\'spleasanttothinksomebodylikeditenoughto——\"
\"ButIDON\'Tlikeit！\"sheexclaimed。\"Idon\'tevenunderstandit——andpapamadesomuchfussoveritsgettingtheprize,Ijusthateit！ThetruthisI
neverdreamedit\'dgettheprize。\"
\"Maybetheyexpectedfathertoendowtheschool,\"Bibbsmurmered。
\"Well,Ihadtohavesomethingtoturnin,andIcouldn\'twriteaLINE！I
hatepoetry,anyhow;andBobbyLamhorn\'salwaysteasingmeabouthowI\'keepmyheartamongthestars。\'Hemakesitseemsuchamushykindofthing,thewayhesaysit。Ihateit！\"
\"You\'llhavetoliveitdown,Edith。Perhapsabroadandunderanothernameyoumightfind——\"
\"Oh,hushup！I\'llhiresomeonetostealitandburnitthefirstchanceI
get。\"Sheturnedawaypetulantly,movingtothedoor。\"I\'dliketothinkI
couldhopetohearthelastofitbeforeIdie！\"
\"Edith！\"hecalled,asshewentintothehall。
\"What\'sthematter？\"
\"Iwanttoaskyou:DoIreallylookbetter,orhaveyoujustgotusedtome？\"
\"Whatonearthdoyoumean？\"shesaid,comingbackasfarasthethreshold。
\"WhenIfirstcameyoucouldn\'tlookatme,\"Bibbsexplained,inhisimpersonalway。\"ButI\'venoticedyoulookatmelately。IwonderedifI\'d——\"
\"It\'sbecauseyoulooksomuchbetter,\"shetoldhim,cheerfully。\"Thismonthyou\'vebeenhere\'sdoneyounoendofgood。It\'sthechange。\"
\"Yes,that\'swhattheysaidatthesanitarium——thechange。\"
\"Youlookworsethan\'mostanybodyIeversaw,\"saidEdith,withsupremecandor。\"ButIdon\'tknowmuchaboutit。I\'veneverseenacorpseinmylife,andI\'veneverevenseenanybodythatwasterriblysick,soyoumustn\'tjudgebyme。Ionlyknowyoudolookbetter,I\'mgladtosay。Butyou\'rerightaboutmynotbeingabletolookatyouatfirst。Youhadakindofwhitenessthat——Well,you\'realmostasthin,Isuppose,butyou\'vegotmorejustordinarilypale;notthatghastlylook。Anybodycouldlookatyounow,Bibbs,andno——notget——\"
\"Sick？\"
\"Well——almostthat！\"shelaughed。\"Andyou\'regettingabettercoloreveryday,Bibbs;youreallyare。You\'regettingalongsplendidly。\"
\"I——I\'mafraidso,\"hesaid,ruefully。
\"\'Afraidso\'！Well,ifyouaren\'tthequeerest！Isupposeyoumeanfathermightsendyoubacktothemachine—shopifyougetwellenough。Iheardhimsaysomethingaboutitthenightofthe——\"Thejingleofadistantbellinterruptedher,andsheglancedatherwatch。\"BobbyLamhorn！I\'mgoingtomotorhimouttolookataplaceinthecountry。Afternoon,Bibbs！\"
Whenshehadgone,Bibbsmoonedpessimisticallyfromshelftoshelf,hiseyewanderingamongthetitlesofthebooks。Thelibraryconsistedalmostentirelyofhandsome\"uniformeditions\":Irving,Poe,Cooper,Goldsmith,Scott,Byron,Burns,Longfellow,Tennyson,Hume,Gibbon,Prescott,Thackeray,Dickens,DeMusset,Balzac,Gautier,Flaubert,Goethe,Schiller,Dante,andTasso。Therewereshelvesandshelvesofencyclopedias,ofanthologies,of\"famousclassics,\"of\"Orientalmasterpieces,\"of\"masterpiecesoforatory,\"
andmoreshelvesof\"selectedlibraries\"of\"literature,\"of\"thedrama,\"andof\"modernscience。\"Theymadeaneffectivedecorationfortheroom,allthesebig,expensivebooks,withaglossybindinghereandtheretwinklingareflectionoftheflamesthatcrackledinthesplendidGothicfireplace;butBibbshadanimpressionthatthebooksellerwhoselectedthemconsideredthemarelief,andthatwhite—jacketconsideredthemaburdenofdust,andthatnobodyelseconsideredthematall。Himself,hedisturbednotone。
Therecameachimeofbellsfromaclockinanotherpartofthehouse,andwhite—jacketappearedbeaminglyinthedoorway,bearingfurs。\"Awready,Mist\'
Bibbs,\"heannounced。\"You\'masaywrapupwawmf\'you\'ride,an\'shecain\'
gowithyouto—day,an\'notf\'gitgoseeyou\'paatfo\'\'clock。Awready,suh。\"
HeequippedBibbsforthedailydriveDr。Gurneyhadcommanded;andinthemannerofamasterofceremoniesunctuouslyledtheway。InthehalltheypassedtheMoor,andBibbspausedbeforeitwhilewhite—jacketopenedthedoorwithaflourishandwavedcondescendinglytothechauffeurinthecarwhichstoodwaitinginthedriveway。
\"ItseemstomeIaskedyouwhatyouthoughtaboutthis\'statue\'whenIfirstcamehome,George,\"saidBibbs,thoughtfully。\"Whatdidyoutellme？\"
\"Yessuh！\"Georgechuckled,perfectlyunderstandingthatforsomeunknownreasonBibbsenjoyedhearinghimrepeathisopinionoftheMoor。\"Youastmewhenyoufirs\'comehome,an\'youastmenex\'day,an\'mightynearev\'ydayalltimeyoubeenhere;an\'las\'Sundayyouastmetwicet。\"Heshookhisheadsolemnly。\"Looktomemus\'besomep\'mmightlamiDAL\'bout\'atstatue！\"
\"Mightywhat？\"
\"MightylamiDAL！\"George,burstoutlaughing。\"WhatDO\'atwordmean,Mist\'
Bibbs？\"
\"It\'snewtome,George。Wheredidyouhearit？\"
\"Inev\'DIDhearit！\"saidGeorge。\"Iuzdesssittin\'thinkumtomyse\'fan\'
shepopinmyhead——\'lamiDAL,\'desslike\'at！An\'shesoun\'sogood,seemlikesheGOTTAmeansomep\'m！\"
\"Cometothinkofit,Ibelieveshedoesmeansomething。Why,yes——\"
\"Doshe？\"criedGeorge。\"WHATshemean？\"
\"It\'sexactlythewordforthestatue,\"saidBibbs,withconviction,asheclimbedintothecar。\"It\'salamiDALstatue。\"
\"Hiyi！\"Georgeexulted。\"Man！Man！Listen！Well,suh,shemightylamiDAL
statue,butlamiDALstatueheapo\'troubletodus\'！\"\"Iexpectsheis！\"saidBibbs,astheenginebegantochurn;andamomentlaterhewassweptfromsight。
GeorgeturnedtoMist\'Jackson,whohadbeenlisteningbenevolentlyinthehallway。\"Sameheaw—wayssay,Mist\'Jackson——\'Iexpec\'sheis！\'Ev\'ydayhetryt\'gitmetalk\'bout\'atlamiDALstatue,an\'aw—ways,las\'thingHEsay,\'Iexpec\'sheis！\'Youknow,Mist\'Jackson,ifhegitwell,\'atyoungmango\'
beprideo\'thefamily,Mist\'Jackson。Yes—suh,rightnowIpick\'imfo\'
firs\'money！\"
\"Lookoutwithall\'atmoney,George！\"Jacksonwarnedtheenthusiast。\"Whitefolks\'n\'ishouseknow\'imheaplonger\'nyou。Youtheon\'ymanbettin\'on\'im！\"
\"Iriskit！\"criedGeorge,merrily。\"Iputherallonnow——ev\'ycent！\'Atboy\'sgo\'beflowero\'theflock！\"
Thissingularprophecy,foundedsomewhatrecklesslyupongratitudeforthemeaningof\"lamiDAL,\"differedradicallyfromanotherpredictionconcerningBibbs,setforthforthebenefitofafairauditorsometwentyminuteslater。
JimSheridan,skirtingtheedgesofthetownwithMaryVertreesbesidehim,inhisownswiftmachine,encounteredtheinvaliduponthehighroad。Thetwocarsweregoinginoppositedirections,andtheoccupantsofJim\'shadonlyaswayingglimpseofBibbssittingaloneonthebackseat——hiswhitefacestartlinglywhiteagainstcapandcollarofblackfur——butheflashedintorecognitionasMarybowedtohim。
Jimwavedhislefthandcarelessly。\"It\'sBibbs,takinghisconstitutional,\"
heexplained。
\"Yes,Iknow,\"saidMary。\"Ibowedtohim,too,thoughI\'venevermethim。Infact,I\'veonlyseenhimonce——no,twice。Ihopehewon\'tthinkI\'mverybold,bowingtohim。\"
\"Idoubtifhenoticedit,\"saidhonestJim。
\"Oh,no！\"shecried。
\"What\'sthetrouble？\"
\"I\'malmostsurepeoplenoticeitwhenIbowtothem。\"
\"Oh,Isee！\"saidJim。\"Ofcoursetheywouldordinarily,butBibbsisfunny。\"
\"Ishe？How？\"sheasked。\"Hestrikesmeasanythingbutfunny。\"
\"Well,I\'mhisbrother,\"Jimsaid,deprecatingly,\"butIdon\'tknowwhathe\'slike,and,totellthetruth,I\'veneverfeltexactlylikeIWAShisbrother,thewayIdoRoscoe。Bibbsneverdidseemmorethanhalfalivetome。OfcourseRoscoeandIareolder,andwhenwewereboysweweretoobigtoplaywithhim,butheneverplayedanyway,withboyshisownage。He\'dratherjustsitinthehouseandmopearoundbyhimslef。NobodycouldevergethimtoDO
anything;youcan\'tgethimtodoanythingnow。HeneverhadanyLIFEinhim;
andhonestly,ifheismybrother,ImustsayIbelieveBibbsSheridanisthelaziestmanGodevermade！Fatherputhiminthemachine—shopoveratthePumpWorks——bestthingintheworldforhim——andhewasjustplainnoaccount。
Itmadehimsick！Ifhe\'dhadtherightkindofenergy——thekindfather\'sgot,forinstance,orRoscoe,either——why,itwouldn\'tmadehimsick。Andsupposeitwaseitherofthem——yes,orme,either——doyouthinkanyofuswouldhavestoppedifweWEREsick？Notmuch！Ihatetosayit,butBibbsSheridan\'llneveramounttoanythingaslongashelives。\"
Marylookedthoughtful。\"Isthereanyparticularreasonwhyheshould？\"sheasked。
\"Goodgracious！\"heexclaimed。\"Youdon\'tmeanthat,doyou？Don\'tyoubelieveinaman\'sknowinghowtoearnhissalt,nomatterhowmuchmoneyhisfather\'sgot？Hasn\'tthebusinessofthisworldgottobecarriedonbyeverybodyinit？Arewegoingtolaybackonwhatwe\'vegotandseeotherfellowsgetaheadofus？Ifwe\'vegotbigthingsalready,isn\'titeveryman\'sbusinesstogoaheadandmake\'embigger？Isn\'tithisduty？Don\'twealwayswanttogetbiggerandbigger？\"
\"Ye—es——Idon\'tknow。ButIfeelrathersorryforyourbrother。Helookedsolonely——andsick。\"