andthenhesaidwhathehadtosayonthesubjectofRoscoeandSibyl,hisopinionmeeting,asheexpected,awarmlyhostilereception。ButtheresultofthisconversationwasthatbytelephoniccommandRoscoeawaitedhisfather,anhourlater,inthelibraryattheNewHouse。
\"Gurneysaysyourwife\'sabletotravel,\"Sheridansaidbrusquely,ashecamein。
\"Yes。\"Roscoeoccupiedadeepchairandsatinthedejectedattitudewhichhadbecomehishabit。\"Yes,sheis。\"
\"Edithhadtoleavetown,andsoSibylthinksshe\'llhaveto,too！\"
\"Oh,Iwouldn\'tputitthatway,\"Roscoeprotested,drearily。
\"No,IhearYOUwouldn\'t！\"Therewasabittergibeinthefather\'svoice,andheadded:\"It\'sagoodthingshe\'sgoin\'abroad——ifshe\'llstaythere。I
shouldn\'tthinkanyofuswantherhereanymore——youleastofall！\"
\"It\'snouseyourtalkingthatway,\"saidRoscoe。\"Youwon\'tdoanygood。\"
\"Well,whenareyoucomin\'backtoyouroffice？\"Sheridanusedabrisker,kindertone。\"Threeweekssinceyoushowedupthereatall。Whenyougoin\'
tobereadytocutoutwhiskeyandalltheresto\'thefoolishnessandstartinagain？Yououghttobeabletomakeupforaloto\'losttimeandaloto\'
spiltmilkwhenthatwomantakesherselfouto\'thewayandletsyouandalltherestofusalone。\"
\"It\'snouse,father,Itellyou。IknowwhatGurneywasgoingtosaytoyou。
I\'mnotgoingbacktotheoffice。I\'mDONE！\"
\"Waitaminutebeforeyoutalkthatway！\"Sheridanbeganhissentry—goupanddowntheroom。\"Isupposeyouknowit\'stakentwoprettygoodmenaboutsixteenhoursadaytosetthingsstraightandget\'emrunnin\'rightagain,downinyouroffice？\"
\"Theymustbegoodmen。\"Roscoenoddedindifferently。\"IthoughtIwasdoingabouteightmen\'swork。I\'mgladyoufoundtwothatcouldhandleit。\"
\"Lookhere！IfIworkedyouitwasforyourowngood。Thereareplentymendriveharder\'nIdo,and——\"
\"Yes。Therearesomethatbreakdownalltheothermenthatworkwith\'em。
Theyeitherdie,orgocrazy,orhavetoquit,andarenousetherestoftheirlives。Thelast\'smycase,Iguess——\'complicatedbydomesticdifficulties\'！\"
\"Yousetthereandtellmeyougiveup？\"Sheridan\'svoiceshook,andsodidthegesticulatinghandwhichheextendedappealinglytowardthedespondentfigure。\"Don\'tdoit,Roscoe！Don\'tsayit！Sayyou\'llcomedownthereagainandbeaman！Thiswomanain\'tgoin\'totroubleyouanymore。Theworkain\'tgoin\'tohurtyouifyouhaven\'tgothertoworryyou,andyoucangetshuto\'thisnastywhiskey—guzzlin\';itain\'tfastenedonyouyet。Don\'tsay——\"
\"It\'snouseonearth,\"Roscoemumbled。\"Nouseonearth。\"
\"Lookhere！Ifyouwantanothermonth\'svacation——\"
\"IknowGurneytoldyou,sowhat\'stheusetalkingabout\'vacations\'？\"
\"Gurney！\"Sheridanvociferatedthenamesavagely。\"It\'sGurney,Gurney,Gurney！AlwaysGurney！Idon\'tknowwhattheworld\'scomin\'towitheverybodyrunnin\'aroundsquealin\',\'Thedoctorsaysthis,\'and,\'Thedoctorsaysthat\'！Itmakesmesick！How\'sthiscountryexpecttogetitsWorkdoneifGurneyandalltheotheroldnanny—goatskeepupthisblattin\'——\'Oh,oh！
Don\'tliftthatsticko\'wood;you\'llruinyourNERVES！\'Sohesaysyougot\'nervousexhaustioninducedbyoverworkandemotionalstrain。\'TheyalwaysgottosticktheWorkiniftheyseeachance！Ireckonyoudidhavethe\'emotionalstrain,\'andthat\'sall\'sthematterwithyou。You\'llbeoveritsoon\'sthiswoman\'sgone,andWork\'stheverythingtomakeyouquitfrettin\'
abouther。\"
\"DidGurneytellyouIwasfittowork？\"
\"Shutup！\"Sheridanbellowed。\"I\'msosicko\'thatman\'snameIfeellikeshootin\'anybodythatsaysittome！\"Hefumedandchafed,swearingindistinctly,thencameandstoodbeforehisson。\"Lookhere;doyouthinkyou\'redoin\'thesquarethingbyme？Doyou？Howmuchyouworth？\"
\"I\'vegotbetweensevenandeightthousandayearclear,ofmyown,outsidethesalary。ThatmuchisminewhetherIworkornot。\"
\"Itis？Youcould\'apulleditoutwithoutme,Isupposeyouthink,atyourage？\"
\"No。Butit\'smine,andit\'senough。\"
\"MyLord！It\'saboutwhataCongressmangets,andyouwanttoquitthere！I
supposeyouthinkyou\'llgettherestwhenIkickthebucket,andallyouhavetodoislaybackandwait！Youletmetellyourighthere,you\'llneverseeonecentofit。Yougoouto\'businessnow,andwhatwouldyouknowabouthandlin\'itfiveortenortwentyyearsfromnow？BecauseIintendtoSTAY
herealittlewhileyet,myboy！They\'deithergetitawayfromyouoryou\'dsellforanickelandletitbesplitupand——\"Hewhirledabout,marchedtotheotherendoftheroom,andstoodsilentamoment。Thenhesaid,solomnly:
\"Listen。Ifyougooutnow,youleavemeinthelurch,withnothin\'onGod\'sgreenearthtodependonbutyourbrother——andyouknowwhatheis。I\'vedependedonyouforitALLsinceJimdied。Nowyou\'velistenedtothatdam\'
doctor,andhesaysmaybeyouwon\'teverbeasgoodamanasyouwere,andthatcertainlyyouwon\'tbeforayearorso——probablymore。Now,that\'sallalie。Mendon\'tbreakdownthatwayatyourage。LookatME！AndItellyou,youcanshakethisthingoff。AllyouneedisalittleGET—upandalittlegumption。Mendon\'tgoawayforYEARSandthencomebackintoMOVING
businesseslikeours——theylosethestrings。Andifyoucould,Iwon\'tletyou——ifyoulaydownonmenow,Iwon\'t——andthat\'sbecauseifyoulaydownyouproveyouain\'tthemanIthoughtyouwere。\"Heclearedhisthroatandfinishedquietly:\"Roscoe,willyoutakeamonth\'svacationandcomebackandgotoit？\"
\"No,\"saidRoscoe,listlessly。\"I\'mthrough。\"
\"Allright,\"saidSheridan。Hepickeduptheeveningpaperfromatable,wenttoachairbythefireandsatdown,hisbacktohisson。\"Good—by。\"
Roscoerose,hisheadhanging,buttherewasadullreliefinhiseyes。\"BestIcando,\"hemuttered,seemingabouttodepart,yetlingering。\"Ifigureitoutagooddeallikethis,\"hesaid。\"Ididn\'tKNOWmyjobwasanystrain,andImanagedallright,butfromwhatGur——fromwhatIhear,Iwasjustuptothelimitofmynervesfromoverwork,andthe——thetroubleathomewastheextrastrainthat\'sfixedmethewayIam。Itriedtobrace,soIcouldstandtheworkandthetroubletoo,onwhiskey——andthatputthefinishtome！
I——I\'mnothittingitashardasIwasforawhile,andIreckonprettysoon,ifIcangettofeelingalittlemoreenergy,Ibettertrytoquitentirely——I
don\'tknow。I\'mallin——andthedoctorsaysso。IthoughtIwasrunningalongfineuptoafewmonthsago,butallthetimeIwasreadytobust,anddidn\'tknowit。Now,then,Idon\'twantyoutoblameSibyl,andifIwereyouIwouldn\'tspeakofheras\'thatwoman,\'becauseshe\'syourdaughter—in—lawandgoingtostaythatway。Shedidn\'tdoanythingwicked。Itwasashocktome,andIdon\'tdenyit,tofindwhatshehaddone——encouragingthatfellowtohangaroundherafterhebegantryingtoflirtwithher,andlosingherheadoverhimthewayshedid。Idon\'tdenyitwasashockandthatit\'llalwaysbeahurtinsideofmeI\'llnevergetover。Butitwasmyfault;Ididn\'tunderstandawoman\'snature。\"PoorRoscoespokeinthemostprofoundanddesolateearnest。\"Awomancravessociety,andgaiety,andmeetingattractivepeople,andtraveling。Well,Ican\'tgivehertheotherthings,butIcangiveherthetraveling——realtraveling,notjustgoingtoAtlanticCityorNewOrleans,thewayshehas,two,threetimes。Awomanhastohavesomethinginherlifebesidesabusinessman。Andthat\'sALLIwas。IneverunderstoodtillIheardhertalkingwhenshewassosick,andIbelieveifyou\'dheardherthenyouwouldn\'tspeaksohard—heartedlyabouther;IbelieveyoumighthaveforgivenherlikeIhave。That\'sall。Inevercaredanythingforanygirlbutherinmylife,butIwassobusywithbusinessIputitaheadofher。IneverTHOUGHTabouther,Iwassobusythinkingbusiness。Well,thisiswhereit\'sbroughtusto——andnowwhenyoutalkabout\'business\'tomeI
feelthewayyoudowhenanybodytalksaboutGurneytoyou。Theword\'business\'makesmedizzy——itmakesmehonestlysickatthestomach。I
believeifIhadtogodown—townandstepinsidethatofficedoorI\'dfalldownonthefloor,deathlysick。Youtalkabouta\'month\'svacation\'——andI
getjustassick。I\'mrattled——Ican\'tplan——Ihaven\'tgotanyplans——can\'tmakeany,excepttotakemygirlandgetjustasfarawayfromthatofficeasIcan——andstay。We\'regoingtoJapanfirst,andifwe——\"
Hisfatherrustledthepaper。\"Isaidgood—by,Roscoe。\"
\"Good—by,\"saidRoscoe,listlessly。
Sheridanwaiteduntilheheardthesoundoftheouterdoorclosing;thenheroseandpushedatinydisksetinthewall。Jacksonappeared。
\"HasBibbsgothomefromwork？\"
\"Mist\'Bibbs？No,suh。\"
\"TellhimIwanttoseehim,soonashecomes。\"
\"Yessuh。\"
Sheridanreturnedtohischairandfixedhisattentionfiercelyuponthenewspaper。Hefounditdifficulttopursuetheitemsbeyondtheirexplanatoryrubrics——therewasnothingunusualorstartlingtoconcentratehisattention:
\"MotormanPutsBlameonBrakes。ThreeKilledwhenCarSlides。\"
\"BurglarsMakeBigHaul。\"\"BoardWorksApproveBigCar—lineExtension。\"\"Hold—upMenInjureTwo。ManFoundinAlley,SkullFractured。\"\"SickeningStoryToldinDivorceCourt。\"\"PlanNewEighteen—storyStructure。\"\"School—girlMeetsDeathunderAutomobile。\"\"NegroCutsThree。OneDead。\"\"LifeCrushedOut。
ThirdElevatorAccidentinSameBuildingCausesActionbyCoroner。\"\"DeclareMilitiawillbeMenace。PolishSocietiesProtesttoGovernorinChurchRiotingCase。\"\"Short$3,500inAccounts,TrustedManKillsSelfwithDrug。\"\"FoundFrozen。
FamilyWithoutFoodorFuel。BabyDeadwhenParentsReturnHomefromSeekingWork。\"\"MinisterReturnedfromTripAbroadLecturesonBigFutureofOurCity。SeesBigImprovementduringShortAbsence。SaysNoEuropeanCityHoldsCandle。\"
（Sheridannoddedapprovinglyhere。）
Bibbscamethroughthehallwhistling,andenteredtheroombriskly。\"Well,father,didyouwantme？\"
\"Yes。Sitdown。\"Sheridangotup,andBibbstookaseatbythefire,holdingouthishandstothecracklingblaze,foritwascoldoutdoors。
\"Icamewithinsevenoftheshoprecordto—day,\"hesaid。\"Ihandledmorestripsthandanyotherworkmanhasanydaythismonth。Thenearesttomeissixteenbehind。\"
\"There！\"exclaimedhisfather,greatlypleased。\"What\'dItellyou？I\'dliketohearGurneyhintagainthatIwasn\'trightinsendingyouthere——Iwouldjustliketohearhim！Andyou——ain\'tyouashamedofmakin\'suchafussaboutit？Ain\'tyou？\"
\"Ididn\'tgoatitintherightspirittheothertime,\"Bibbssaid,smilingbrightly,hisfaceruddyinthecheerfulfirelight。\"Ididn\'tknowthedifferenceitmeanttolikeathing。\"
\"Well,IguessI\'veprettythoroughlyvindicatedmyjudgement。IguessI
HAVE！Isaidtheshop\'dbegoodforyou,anditwas。Isaiditwouldn\'thurtyou,andithasn\'t。It\'sbeenjustexactlywhatIsaiditwouldbe。
Ain\'tthatso？\"
\"Lookslikeit！\"Bibbsagreed,gaily。
\"Well,I\'dliketoknowanyplaceIbeenwrong,firstandlast！Insteado\'
hurtingyou,it\'sbeenthemakin\'ofyou——physically。You\'reagoodinchtaller\'nwhatIam,andyou\'dbeabiggermanthanwhatIamifyou\'dgetsomefleshonyourbones;andyouAREgettin\'alittle。Physically,it\'sstartedyououttobethehuskiestoneo\'thewholefamily。Now,then,mentally——that\'sdifferent。Idon\'tsayitunkindly,Bibbs,butyougottodosomethingforyourselfmentally,justlikewhat\'sbegunphysically。AndI\'mgoin\'tohelpyou。\"
Sheridandecidedtositdownagain。Hebroughthischairclosetohisson\'s,and,leaningover,tappedBibbs\'skneeconfidentially。\"Igotplansforyou,Bibbs,\"hesaid。
Bibbsinstantlylookedthoroughlyalarmed。Hedrewback。\"I——I\'mallrightnow,father。\"
\"Listen。\"Sheridansettledhimselfinhischair,andspokeinthetoneofareasonablemanreasoning。\"Listenhere,Bibbs。Ihadanotherblowto—day,anditwasahardoneandrightintheface,thoughIHAVEbeenexpectin\'itsomelittletimeback。Well,it\'sgottobemet。NowI\'llbefrankwithyou。
AsIsaidaminuteago,mentallyIcouldn\'tevercalledyouexactlystrong。
Youbeenalittleweakbothways,mostofyourlife。NotbutwhatIthinkyouGOTamentality,ifyou\'dlearntouseit。Yougotwill—power,I\'llsaythatforyou。Ineverknewboyormanthatcouldbestubborner——neveroneinmylife！Now,then,you\'veshowedyoucouldlearntorunthatmachinebestofanymanintheshop,innotimeatall。Thatlookstomelikeyoucouldlearntodootherthings。Idon\'tdenybutwhatit\'sanencouragin\'sign。Idon\'tdenythat,atall。Well,thathelpsmetothinkthecaseain\'tsohopelessasitlooks。You\'reallIgottomeetthisblowwith,butmaybeyouain\'taspoormaterialasIthought。Yourtellin\'meaboutcomin\'withinsevenstripsoftheshop\'srecordto—daylookstomelikeencouragin\'informationbroughtinatjustabouttherighttime。Now,then,I\'mgoin\'togiveyouaraise。I
wantedtosendyoustraightonupthroughtheshops——ayearortwo,maybe——
butIcan\'tdoit。IlostJim,andnowI\'velostRoscoe。He\'squit。He\'slaiddownonme。Ifheevercomesbackatall,he\'llbealongtimepickin\'
upthestrings,and,anyway,heain\'tthemanIthoughthewas。Ican\'tcountonhim。IgottohaveSOMEBODYIKNOWIcancounton。AndI\'mdowntothis:
you\'remylastchance。Bibbs,Igottolearnyoutousewhatbrainsyougotandseeifwecan\'tdevelop\'emalittle。Whoknows？AndI\'mgoin\'toputmytimeinonit。I\'mgoin\'totakeyourightdown—townwithME,andIwon\'tbehardonyouifyou\'realittleslowatfirst。AndI\'mgoin\'todothebigthingforyou。I\'mgoin\'tomakeyoufeelyougottodothebigthingforme,inreturn。I\'vevindicatedmypolicywithyouabouttheshop,andnowI\'mgoin\'toturnrightaroundandswingyou\'wayoveraheadofwheretheotherboysstarted,andI\'mgoin\'tomakeanappealtoyourambitionthat\'llmakeyoudizzy！\"Hetappedhissononthekneeagain。\"Bibbs,I\'mgoin\'tostartyouoffthisway:I\'mgoin\'tomakeyouadirectorinthePumpWorksCompany;
I\'mgoin\'tomakeyouvice—presidentoftheRealtyCompanyandavice—presidentoftheTrustCompany！\"
Bibbsjumpedtohisfeet,blanched。\"Ohno！\"hecried。
Sheridantookhisdismaytobetheexcitementofsuddenjoy。\"Yes,sir！Andthere\'ssomeprettyfatlittlesalariesgoeswiththosevice—presidencies,andapincho\'stockinthePumpCompanywiththedirectorship。YouthoughtIwasprettymeanabouttheshop——oh,Iknowyoudid！——butyouseetheoldmancanplayitbothways。Andsorightnow,theminuteyou\'vebeguntomakegoodthewayIwantedyouto,Idealfromthenewdeck。AndI\'llkeeponhandin\'itoutbiggerandbiggereverytimeyoushowmeyou\'rebigenoughtoplaythehandIdealyou。I\'mstartin\'youwithaprettybigone,myboy！\"
\"ButIdon\'t——Idon\'t——Idon\'twantit！\"Bibbsstammered。
\"What\'dyousay？\"Sheridanthoughthehadnotheardaright。
\"Idon\'twantit,father。Ithankyou——Idothankyou——\"
Sheridanlookedperplexed。\"What\'sthematterwithyou？Didn\'tyouunderstandwhatIwastellin\'you？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Yousure？Ireckonyoudidn\'t。Ioffered——\"
\"Iknow,Iknow！ButIcan\'ttakeit。\"
\"What\'sthematterwithyou？\"Sheridanwashalfamazed,halfsuspicious。
\"Yourheadfeelfunny？\"
\"I\'veneverbeenquitesosaneinmylife,\"saidBibbs,\"asIhavelately。AndI\'vegotjustwhatIwant。I\'mlivingexactlytherightlife。I\'mearningmydailybread,andI\'mhappyindoingit。Mywagesareenough。Idon\'twantanymoremoney,andIdon\'tdeserveany——\"
\"Damnation！\"Sheridansprangup。\"You\'veturnedSocialist！Youbeenlisteningtothosefellowsdownthere,andyou——\"
\"No,sir。Ithinkthere\'sagreatdealinwhattheysay,butthatisn\'tit。\"
Sheridantriedtorestrainhisgrowingfury,andsucceededpartially。\"Thenwhatisit？What\'sthematter？\"
\"Nothing,\"hesonreturned,nervously。\"Nothing——exceptthatI\'mcontent。I
don\'twanttochangeanything。\"
\"Whynot？\"
Bibbshadtheincrediblefollytotrytoexplain。\"I\'lltellyou,father,ifIcan。Iknowitmaybehardtounderstand——\"
\"Yes,Ithinkitmaybe,\"saidSheridan,grimly。\"WhatyousayusuallyisaLITTLEthatway。Goon！\"
Perturbedanddistressed,Bibbsroseinstinctively;hefelthimselfateverypossibledisadvantage。Hewasasleeperclingingtoadream——aroughhandstretchedtoshakehimandwakenhim。Hewenttoatableandmadevaguedrawingsuponitwithafinger,andashespokehekepthiseyeslowered。
\"Youweren\'taltogetherrightabouttheshop——thatis,inonewayyouweren\'t,father。\"Heglancedupapprehensively。Sheridanstoodfacinghim,expressionless,andmadenoattempttointerrupt。\"That\'sdifficulttoexplain,\"Bibbscontinued,loweringhiseyesagain,tofollowthetracingsofhisfinger。\"I——IbelievetheshopmighthavedoneformethistimeifI
hadn\'t——ifsomethinghadn\'thelpedmeto——oh,notonlytobearit,buttobehappyinit。Well,IAMhappyinit。IwanttogoonjustasIam。AndofallthingsonearththatIdon\'twant,Idon\'twanttoliveabusinesslife——I
don\'twanttobedrawnintoit。Idon\'tthinkitISliving——andnowIAM
living。Ihavethehealthfultoil——andIcanthink。InbusinessasimportantasyoursIcouldn\'tthinkanythingbutbusiness。Idon\'t——Idon\'tthinkmakingmoneyisworthwhile。\"
\"Goon,\"saidSheridan,curtly,asBibbspausedtimidly。
\"Ithasn\'tseemedtogetanywhere,thatIcansee,\"saidBibbs。\"Youthinkthiscityisrichandpowerful——butwhat\'stheuseofitsbeingrichandpowerful？Theydon\'tteachthechildrenanymoreintheschoolsbecausethecityisrichandpowerful。Theyteachthemmorethantheyusedtobecausesomepeople——notrichandpowerfulpeople——havethoughtthethoughtstoteachthechildren。Andyetwhenyou\'vebeenreadingthepaperI\'veheardyouobjectingtothechildrenbeingtaughtanythingexceptwhatwouldhelpthemtomakemoney。Yousaiditwaswastingthetaxes。Youwantthemtaughttomakealiving,butnottolive。WhenIwasalittleboythiswasn\'tanuglytown;
nowit\'shideous。What\'stheuseofbeingbigjusttobehideous？ImeanI
don\'tthinkallthishasmeantreallygoingahead——it\'sjustbeengettingbiggeranddirtierandnoisier。Wasn\'tthewholecountryhappierandinmanywayswiserwhenitwassmallerandcleanerandquieterandkinder？IknowyouthinkI\'manutterfool,father,but,afterall,though,aren\'tbusinessandpoliticsjustthehousekeepingpartoflife？Andwouldn\'tyoudespiseawomanthatnotonlymadeherhousekeepingherambition,butdiditsonoisilyanddirtilythatthewholeneighborhoodwasinacontinualturmoiloverit？Andsupposedshetalkedandthoughtaboutherhousekeepingallthetime,andwasalwayshavingadditionsbuilttoherhousewhenshecouldn\'tkeepcleanwhatshealreadyhad;andsuppose,withitall,shemadethehousealtogetherunpeacefulandunlivable——\"
\"Justoneminute！\"Sheridaninterrupted,adding,withterriblecourtesy,\"Ifyouwillpermitme？Haveyoueverbeenrightaboutanything？\"
\"Idon\'tquite——\"
\"Iaskthesimplequestion:Haveyoueverbeenrightaboutanythingwhateverinthecourseofyourlife？Haveyoueverbeenrightuponanysubjectorquestionyou\'vethoughtaboutandtalkedabout？Canyoumentiononesingletimewhenyouwereprovedtoberight？\"
Hewasflourishingthebandagedhandashespoke,butBibbssaidonly,\"IfI\'vealwaysbeenwrongbefore,surelythere\'smorechancethatI\'mrightaboutthis。Itseemsreasonabletosupposesomethingwouldbeduetobringupmyaverage。\"
\"Yes,Ithoughtyouwouldn\'tseethepoint。Andthere\'sanotheryouprobablycouldn\'tsee,butI\'lltakethelibertytomentionit。Youbeenbalkin\'allyourlife。PrettymucheverythingIeverwantedyoutodo,you\'dletoutSOME
kindofaholler,likeyouarenow——andyetIcan\'tseemtorememberoncewhenyoudidn\'thavetolaydownanddowhatIsaid。Butgoonwithyourremarksaboutourcityandthebusinessofthiscountry。Goon！\"
\"Idon\'twanttobeapartofit,\"saidBibbs,withunwonteddecision。\"I
wanttokeeptomyself,andI\'mdoingitnow。Icouldn\'t,ifIwentdowntherewithyou。I\'dbeswallowedintoit。Idon\'tcareformoneyenoughtto——\"
\"No,\"hisfatherinterrupted,stilldangerouslyquiet。\"You\'veneverhadtoearnaliving。Anybodycouldtellthatbywhatyousay。Now,letmeremindyou:you\'resleepin\'inaprettygoodbed;you\'reeatin\'prettyfairfood;
you\'rewearin\'prettyfineclothes。Justsupposeoneo\'thesenoisyhousekeepers——me,forinstance——decidedtoletyoudoyourownhousekeepin\'。
MayIaskwhatyourpropositionwouldbe？\"
\"I\'mearningninedollarsaweek,\"saidBibbs,sturdily。\"It\'senough。I
shouldn\'tmindatall。\"
\"Who\'spayin\'youthatninedollarsaweek？\"
\"Mywork！\"Bibbsanswered。\"AndI\'vedonesowellonthatclipping—machineI
believeIcouldworkuptofifteenoreventwentyaweekatanotherjob。I
couldbeafairplumberinafewmonths,I\'msure。I\'dratherhaveatradethanbeinbusiness——Ishould,infinitely！\"
\"Youbettersetaboutlearnin\'oneprettydam\'quick！\"ButSheridanstruggledwithhistemperandagainwaspartiallysuccessfulincontrollingit。\"YoubetterlearnatradeoverSunday,becauseyou\'reeithergoin\'downwithmetomyofficeMondaymorning——or——youcangotoplumbing！\"
\"Allright,\"saidBibbs,gently。\"Icangetalong。\"
Sheridanraisedhishandssardonically,asinprayer。\"OGod,\"hesaid,\"thisboywascrazyenoughbeforehebegantoearnhisninedollarsaweek,andnowhismoney\'sgonetohishead！Can\'tYoudonothin\'forhim？\"Thenheflunghishandsapart,palmsoutward,inafuriousgestureofdismissal。\"Getouto\'thisroom！Yougotaskullthat\'sthicker\'nawhale\'sthigh—bone,butit\'scrackedspangallthewayacross！Youhatedthemachine—shopsobadwhenI
sentyouthere,youwentandstayedsickforovertwoyears——andnow,whenI
offertotakeyououtofitandgiveyouthemint,youhollerfortheshoplikeacalfforitsmammy！You\'recracked！Oh,butIgotafinelayouthere！
Onesondied,onequit,andone\'saloon！Theloon\'sallIgotleft！H。P。
Ellersly\'swifehadacrazybrother,andtheyundertooktokeephimatthehouse。Firstmorninghewastherehewalkedstraightthoughaten—dollarplate—glasswindowoutintotheyard。Hesays,\'Oh,lookattheprettydandelion！\'That\'swhatyou\'redoin\'！Youwanttospendyourlifesayin\',\'Oh,lookattheprettydandelion！\'andyoudon\'tcareatinker\'sdam\'whatyoubust！Well,mister,loonornoloon,crackedandcrazyorwhateveryouare,I\'lltakeyouwithmeMondaymorning,andI\'llworkyouandlearnyou——yes,andI\'lllamyou,ifIgotto——untilI\'vemadesomethingoutofyouthat\'sfittobecalledabusinessman！I\'llkeepatyouwhileI\'mabletostand,andifIhavetolaydowntodieI\'llbewhisperin\'atyoutilltheygettheembalmin\'—fluidintome！Nowgoon,anddon\'tletmehearfromyouagaintillyoucancomeandtellmeyou\'vewakedup,youpoor,pitiful,dandelion—pickin\'SLEEP—WALKER！\"
Bibbsgavehimaqueerlook。Therewassomethinglikereproachinit,foronce;buttherewasmorethanthat——heseemedtobestartledbyhisfather\'slastword。
Therewassleetthatevening,withawhoppingwind,butneitherthisstormnorthatotherwhichsoimminentlythreatenedhimheldplaceintheconsciousnessofBibbsSheridanwhenhecameoncemoretothepresenceofMary。Allwasrightinhisworldhashesatwithher,readingMauriceMaeterlinck\'sAlladineandPalomides。Thesorrowfullightofthegas—jetmighthavebeenMaymorningsunshineflashingamberandrosethroughtheglowingwindowsoftheSainte—Chapelle,itwassobrightforBibbs。Andwhilethezinc—eaterheldouttobringhimsuchgoldennightsasthese,alltheking\'shorsesandalltheking\'smenmightnotservetobreakthespell。
Bibbsreadslowly,butinareasonablemanner,asifheweretalking;andMary,lookingathimsteadilyfrombeneathhercurvedfingers,appearedtodiscovernofault。Ithadgrowntobeherhabittolookathimwhenevertherewasanopportunity。Itmaybesaid,intruth,thatwhiletheyweretogether,anditwaslight,shelookedathimallthetime。
WhenhecametotheendofAlladineandPalomidestheyweresilentalittlewhile,consideringtogether;thenheturnedbackthepagesandsaid:\"There\'ssomethingIwanttoreadover。This:
YouwouldthinkIthrewawindowopenonthedawn……Shehasasoulthatcanbeseenaroundher——thattakesyouinitsarmslikeanailingchildandwithoutsayinganythingtoyouconsolesyouforeverything……Ishallneverunderstanditall。Idonotknowhowitcanallbe,butmykneesbendinspiteofmewhenIspeakofit……
Hestoppedandlookedather。
\"Youboy！\"saidMary,notveryclearly。
\"Ohyes,\"hereturned。\"Butit\'strue——especiallymyknees！\"
\"Youboy！\"shemurmuredagain,blushingcharmingly。\"Youmightreadanotherlineover。ThefirsttimeIeversawyou,Bibbs,youwerelookingintoamirror。Doitagain。Butyouneedn\'treadit——Icangiveittoyou:\"A
littleGreekslavethatcamefromtheheartofArcady！\"
\"I！I\'moneofthehandsatthePumpWorks——andgoingtostayone,unlessI
havetodecidetostudyplumbing。\"
\"No。\"Sheshookherhead。\"Youloveandwantwhat\'sbeautifulanddelicateandserene;it\'sreallyartthatyouwantinyourlife,andhavealwayswanted。Youseemedtome,fromthefirst,themostwistfulpersonIhadeverknown,andthat\'swhatyouwerewistfulfor。\"
Bibbslookeddoubtfulandmorewistfulthanever;butafteramomentortwothematterseemedtoclarifyitselftohim。\"Why,no,\"hesaid;\"Iwantedsomethingelsemorethanthat。Iwantedyou。\"