\"AndhereIam！\"shelaughed,completelyunderstanding。\"Ithinkwe\'relikethosetwoinTheCloisterandtheHearth。I\'mjusttheroughBurgundiancross—bowman,Denys,whofollowedthatgentleGerardandtoldeverybodythatthedevilwasdead。\"
\"Heisn\'t,though,\"saidBibbs,asahoarselittlebellinthenextroombeganaseriesofsnappingswhichprovedtobeten,uponcount。\"HegetsintotheclockwheneverI\'mwithyou。\"And,sighingdeeply,herosetogo。
\"You\'realwaysverypromptaboutleavingme。\"
\"I——Itrytobe,\"hesaid。\"Itisn\'teasytobecarefulnottoriskeverythingbygivingmyselfalittlemoreatatime。IfIeversawyoulooktired——\"
\"Haveyouever？\"
\"Notyet。Youalwayslook——youalwayslook——\"
\"How？\"
\"Care—free。That\'sit。Exceptwhenyoufeelsorryformeaboutsomething,youalwayshavethatsplendidlook。Itputscourageintopeopletoseeit。
IfIhadastruggletofaceI\'dkeeprememberingthatlook——andI\'dnevergiveup！It\'sabravelook,too,asthoughgaietymightbeakindofgallantryonyourpart,andyetIdon\'tquiteunderstandwhyitshouldbe,either。\"Hesmiledquizzically,lookingdownuponher。\"Mary,youhaven\'ta\'secretsorrow,\'haveyou？\"
Foranswersheonlylaughed。
\"No,\"hesaid;\"Ican\'timagineyouwithacareintheworld。Ithinkthat\'swhyyouweresokindtome——youhavenothingbuthappinessinyourownlife,andsoyoucouldsparetimetomakemytroublesturntohappiness,too。Butthere\'sonelittletimeinthetwenty—fourhourswhenI\'mnothappy。It\'snow,whenIhavetosaygoodnight。Ifeeldismaleverytimeitcomes——andthen,whenI\'veleftthehouse,there\'sabadlittleblankness,ablackvoid,asthoughIweretemporarilydead;anditlastsuntilIgetitestablishedinmymindthatI\'mreallybeginninganotherdaythat\'stoendwithYOUagain。
ThenIcheerup。Butnow\'sthebadtime——andImustgothroughit,andso——goodnight。\"Andheaddedwithapungentvehemenceofwhichhewaslittleaware,\"Ihateit！\"
\"Doyou？\"shesaid,risingtogotothedoorwithhim。Buthestoodmotionless,gazingatherwonderingly。
\"Mary！Youreyesareso——\"Hestopped。
\"Yes？\"Butshelookedquicklyaway。
\"Idon\'tknow,\"hesaid。\"Ithoughtjustthen——\"
\"Whatdidyouthink？\"
\"Idon\'tknow——itseemedtomethattherewassomethingIoughttounderstand——anddidn\'t。\"
Shelaughedandmethiswonderinggazeagainfrankly。\"Myeyesarepleased,\"
shesaid。\"I\'mgladthatyoumissmealittleafteryougo。\"
\"Butto—morrow\'scomingfasterthanotherdaysifyou\'llletit,\"hesaid。
Sheinclinedherhead。\"Yes。I\'ll——\'letit\'！\"
\"Goingtochurch,\"saidBibbs。\"ItISgoingtochurchwhenIgowithyou！\"
Shewenttothefrontdoorwithhim;shealwayswentthatfar。Theyhadformedalittlecodeofleave—taking,byhabit,neitherofthemeverspeakingofit;butitwasalwaysthesame。Shealwaysstoodinthedoorwayuntilhereachedthesidewalk,andtherehealwaysturnedandlookedback,andshewavedherhandtohim。Thenhewenton,halfwaytotheNewHouse,andlookedbackagain,andMarywasnotinthedoorway,butthedoorwasopenandthelightshone。Itwasasifshemeanttotellhimthatshewouldnevershuthimout;hecouldalwaysseethatfriendlylightoftheopendoorway——asifitwereopenforhimtocomeback,ifhewould。HecouldseeituntilawingoftheNewHousecamebetween,whenhewentupthepath。Theopendoorwayseemedtohimthebeautifulsymbolofherfriendship——ofherthoughtofhim;asymbolofherselfandofherineffablekindness。
Andshekeptthedooropen——evento—night,thoughthesleetandfinesnowsweptinuponherbarethroatandarms,andherbrownhairwasstrewnwithtinywhitestars。Hisheartleapedasheturnedandsawthatshewasthere,wavingherhandtohim,asifshedidnotknowthatthestormtouchedher。
Whenhehadgoneon,Marydidasshealwaysdid——shewentintoanunlitroomacrossthehallfromthatinwhichtheyhadspenttheevening,and,lookingfromthewindow,watchedhimuntilhewasoutofsight。Thestormmadethatdifficultto—night,butshecaughtaglimpseofhimunderthestreet—lampthatstoodbetweenthetwohouses,andsawthatheturnedtolookbackagain。
Then,andnotbefore,shelookedattheupperwindowsofRoscoe\'shouseacrossthestreet。Theyweredark。Marywaited,butafteralittlewhilesheclosedthefrontdoorandreturnedtoherwindow。AmomentlatertwooftheupperwindowsofRoscoe\'shouseflashedintolightandahandloweredtheshadeofoneofthem。Maryfeltthecoldthen——itwasthethirdnightshehadseenthosewindowslightedandtheshadelowered,justafterBibbshadgone。
ButBibbshadnoglancetospareforRoscoe\'swindows。Hestoppedforhislastlookbackattheopendoor,and,withathinmantleofwhitealreadyuponhisshoulders,madehisway,gaspinginthewind,totheleeoftheshelteringwingoftheNewHouse。
AstrickenGeorge,mutteringhoarsely,admittedhim,andBibbsbecameawareofaparoxysmwithinthehouse。Terriblesoundscamefromthelibrary:Sheridancursingasneverbefore;hiswifesobbing,hervoicerisingtoanagonizedsquealofprotestuponeachofaseriesofmuffleddetonations——theoutrageousthumpingofabandagedhanduponwood;thenGurney,sharplyimperious,\"Keepyourhandinthatsling！Keepyourhandinthatsling,I
say！\"
\"LOOK！\"Georgegasped,delightedtoplayheraldforsoimportantatragedy;
andhereneweduponhisfacetheghastlyexpressionwithwhichhehadfirstbeheldtheruinshiscalamitousgesturelaidbeforetheeyesofBibbs。\"Lookat\'atlamidalstatue！\"
Gazingdownthehall,Bibbssawheroicwreckage,seeminglyByzantine——paintedcolossalfragmentsoftheshatteredtorso,appallinglyhuman;andgildedandsilveredheapsofmagnificencestrewnamongruinouspalmslikethespoilofabarbarians\'battle。Therehadbeenamassacreintheoasis——theMoorhadbeenhurledheadlongfromhispedestal。
\"Hehit\'atolelamidalstatue,\"saidGeorge。\"POW！\"
\"Myfather？\"
\"YESshu！POW！hehit\'er！An\'you\'maruntellmegitdoctuhquick\'sIkintelefoam——shesho\'you\'pagoin\'bus\'ablood—vessel。Heain\'ttakin\'on\'tallNOW。Heain\'tnothin\'\'talltowhathewas\'whileago。Youdonemiss\'
it,Mist\'Bibbs。Doctuhgothimallquiet\'down,towhathewas。POW！hehit\'er！Yessuh！\"HetookBibbs\'scoatandprofferedacrumpledtelegraphform。
\"Herewhatcome,\"hesaid。\"Ipick\'erupwhenhedonestompin\'on\'er。Youread\'er,Mist\'Bibbs——you\'matellmetuhn\'erovuhtoyousoon\'syoucomein。\"
Bibbsreadthetelegramquickly。ItwasfromNewYorkandaddressedtoMrs。
Sheridan。
SureyouwillallapprovestephavetakenaswassowretchedmyhealthwouldprobablysufferedseverelyRobertandIweremarriedthisafternoonthoughtbesthavequietweddingabsolutelysureyouwillunderstandwisdomofstepwhenyouknowRobertbetteramhappiestwomaninworldareleavingforFloridawillwireaddresswhensettledwillremaintillspringlovetoallfatherwilllikehimtoowhenknowshimlikeIdoheisjustideal。
EdithLamhorn。
Georgedeparted,andBibbswasleftgazinguponchaosandlisteningtothunder。Hecouldnotreachthestairwaywithoutpassingtheopendoorsofthelibrary,andhewasconvincedthatthemereglimpseofhim,justthen,wouldprovenothinglessthaninsufferableforhisfather。Forthatreasonhewasabouttomakehisescapeintothegold—and—brocaderoom,intendingtokeepoutofsight,whenheheardSheridanvociferouslydemandinghispresence。
\"Tellhimtocomeinhere！He\'soutthere。IheardGeorgejustlethimin。
Nowyou\'llSEE！\"Andtear—stainedMrs。Sheridan,lookingoutintothehall,beckonedtoherson。
Bibbswentasfarasthedoorway。Gurneysatwindingastripofwhitecotton,hisblackbagopenuponachairnearby;andSheridanwasstridingupanddown,hishandsoheavilywrappedinfreshbandagesthatheseemedtobewearingasmallboxing—glove。Hiseyeswerebloodshot;hisforeheadwasheavilybedewed;onesideofhiscollarhadbrokenloose,andtherewereblood—stainsuponhisrightcuff。
\"THERE\'Sourlittlesunshine！\"hecried,asBibbsappeared。\"THERE\'Sthehopeo\'thefamily——mylifelongprideandjoy！Iwant——\"
\"Keepyouhandinthatsling,\"saidGurney,sharply。
Sheridanturneduponhim,utteringasoundlikeahowl。\"ForGod\'ssake,singanothertune！\"hecried。\"Yousaidyou\'cameasadoctorbutstayasafriend,\'andinthatcapacityyouundertaketositupandcriticizeME——\"
\"Oh,talksense,\"saidthedoctor,andyawnedintentionally。\"WhatdoyouwantBibbstosay？\"
\"Youweresittin\'uptheretellin\'meIgot\'hysterical\'——\'hysterical,\'ohLord！YousatupthereandtoldmeIgot\'hysterical\'overnothin\'！Yousatuptheretellin\'meIdidn\'thaveasheavyburdensasmanyanothermanyouknew。IjustwantyoutohearTHIS。Nowlisten！\"Heswungtowardthequietfigurewaitinginthedoorway。\"Bibbs,willyoucomedown—townwithmeMondaymorningandletmestartyouwithtwovice—presidencies,adirectorship,stock,andsalaries？Iaskyou。\"
\"No,father,\"saidBibbs,gently。
SheridanlookedatGurneyandthenfacedhissononcemore。
\"Bibbs,youwanttostayintheshop,doyou,atninedollarsaweek,insteadoftakin\'upmyoffer？\"
\"Yes,sir。\"
\"AndI\'dlikethedoctortohear:What\'llyoudoifIdecideyou\'retoohigh—pricedaworkin\'—maneithertoliveinmyhouseorworkinmyshop？\"
\"Findotherwork,\"saidBibbs。
\"There！Youhearhimforyourself！\"Sheridancried。\"Youhearwhat——\"
\"Keepyouhandinthatsling！Yes,Ihearhim。\"
SheridanleanedoverGurneyandshouted,inavoicethatcrackedandbroke,pipingintofalsetto:\"Hethinksofbein\'aPLUMBER！HewantstobeaPLUMBER！Hetoldmehecouldn\'tTHINKifhewentintobusiness——hewantstobeaplumbersohecanTHINK！\"
Hefellbackastep,wipinghisforheadwiththebackofhislefthand。
\"There！That\'smyson！That\'stheonlysonIgotnow！That\'smychancetolive,\"hecried,withabitternessthatseemedtoleaveashesinhisthroat。
\"That\'smyonechancetolive——thatthingyouseeinthedoorwayyonder！\"
Dr。Gurneythoughtfullyregardedthebandagestriphehadbeenwinding,andtosseditintotheopenbag。\"What\'sthematterwithgivingBibbsachancetolive？\"hesaid,coolly。\"IwouldifIwereyou。You\'vehadTWOthatwentintobusiness。\"
Sheridan\'smouthmovedgrotesquelybeforehecouldspeak。\"JoeGurney,\"hesaid,whenhecouldcommandhimselfsofar,\"areyouaccusin\'meoftheresponsibilityforthedeathofmysonJames？\"
\"Iaccuseyouofnothing,\"saidthedoctor。\"ButjustonceI\'dliketohaveitoutwithyouonthequestionofBibbs——andwhilehe\'shere,too。\"Hegotup,walkedtothefire,andstoodwarminghishandsbehindhisbackandsmiling。\"Lookhere,oldfellow,let\'sbereasonable,\"hesaid。\"YouwereboundBibbsshouldgototheshopagain,andIgaveyouandhim,both,tounderstandprettyplainlythatifhewentitwasattheriskofhislife。
Well,whatdidhedo？Hesaidhewantedtogo。Andhedidgo,andhe\'smadegoodthere。Now,see:Isn\'tthatenough？Can\'tyoulethimoffnow？Hewantstowrite,andhowdoyouknowthathecouldn\'tdoitifyougavehimachance？Howdoyouknowhehasn\'tsomemessage——somethingtosaythatmightmaketheworldjustalittlebithappierorwiser？HeMIGHT——intime——it\'sapossibilitynottobedenied。Nowhecan\'tdeliveranymessageifhegoesdowntherewithyou,andhewon\'tHAVEanytodeliver。Idon\'tsaygoingdownwithyouislikelytoinjurehishealth,asIthoughttheshopwould,andastheshopdid,thefirsttime。I\'mnotspeakingasdoctornow,anyhow。ButI
tellyouonethingIknow:ifyoutakehimdownthereyou\'llkillsomethingthatIfeelisinhim,andit\'sfiner,Ithink,thanhisphysicalbody,andyou\'llkillitdeaderthanadoor—nail！Andsowhynotletitlive？You\'veaboutcometotheendofyourstring,oldfellow。WhynotstopthisperpetualdevilishfightingandgiveBibbshischance？\"
Sheridanstoodlookingathimfixedly。\"What\'fighting？\'\"
\"Yours——withnature。\"Gurneysustainedthedauntinggazeofhisfierceantagonistequably。\"Youdon\'tseemtounderstandthatyou\'vebeenstrugglingagainstactuallaw。\"
\"Whatlaw？\"
\"Naturallaw,\"saidGurney。\"WhatdoyouthinkbeatyouwithEdith？DidEdith,herself,beatyou？Didn\'tsheobeywithoutquestionsomethingpowerfulthatwasagainstyou？EDITHwasn\'tagainstyou,andyouweren\'tagainstHER,butyousetyourselfagainstthepowerthathadherinitsgrip,anditshotoutaspurtofflame——andwoninawalk！What\'stakenRoscoefromyou？
Timbersbearjustsomuchstrain,oldman;butYOUwantedtosendtheloadacrossthebrokenbridge,andyouthoughtyoucouldbullyorcoaxthecrackedthingintostanding。Well,youcouldn\'t！Nowhere\'sBibbs。Therearethousandsofmenfitforthelifeyouwanthimtolead——andsoishe。Itwouldn\'ttakehalfofBibbs\'sbrainstobetwiceasgoodabusinessmanasJimandRoscoeputtogether。\"
\"WHAT！\"Sheridangoggledathimlikeazany。
\"YoursonBibbs,\"saidthedoctor,composedly,\"BibbsSheridanhasthekindandquantityof\'graymatter\'thatwillmakehimasuccessinanything——ifheeverwakesup！PersonallyIshouldpreferhimtoremainasleep。Ilikehimthatway。Butthethousandsofmenfitforthelifeyouwanthimtoleadaren\'tfittodomuchwiththelifeheOUGHTtolead。Blindly,he\'sbeenfightingforthechancetoleadit——he\'sobeyingsomethingthatbegstostayalivewithinhim;and,blindly,heknowsyou\'llcrushitout。You\'vesetyourwilltodoit。Letmetellyousomethingmore。Youdon\'tknowwhatyou\'vebecomesinceJim\'sgoingthwartedyou——andthat\'swhatwasuppermost,abafflementstrongerthanyournormalgrief。You\'rehalfmadwithaconsumingfuryagainsttheveryselfofthelaw——foritwastheveryselfofthelawthattookJimfromyou。Thatwasalawconcerningthecohesionofmolecules。
TheveryselfofthelawtookRoscoefromyouandgaveEdiththecertaintyofbeatingyou;andtheveryselfofthelawmakesBibbsdenyyouto—night。TheLAWbeatsyou。Haven\'tyoubeenwhippedenough？Butyouwanttowhipthelaw——you\'vesetyourselfagainstit,tobendittoyourownends,towielditandtwistit——\"
ThevoicebrokefromSheridan\'sheavingchestinashout。\"Yes！AndbyGod,Iwill！\"
\"SoAjaxdefiedthelightning,\"saidGurney。
\"I\'veheardthatdam\'—foolstory,too,\"Sheridanretorted,fiercely。\"That\'sforchuldernandniggers。Itain\'ttwentiethcentury,letmetellyou！
\"Defiedthelighning,\'didhe,thejackass！Ifhe\'dbeenhalfamanhe\'d\'a\'
gotawaywithit。WEdon\'tgoshowin\'offdefyin\'thelightning——wehitchitupandmakeitworkforuslikeablack—steer！Amannowadayswouldjustassoonthinko\'defyin\'awood—shed！\"
\"Well,whataboutBibbs？\"saidGurney。\"Willyoubeareallybigmannowand——\"
\"Gurney,youknowalotaboutbigness！\"Sheridanbegantowalktoandfroagain,andthedoctorreturnedgloomilytohischair。Hehadshothisboltthemomenthejudgeditschancetostrikecenterwasbest,butthetargetseemedunawareofthemarksman。
\"I\'mtryin\'tomakeabigmanouto\'thatpoortruckyonder,\"Sheridanwenton,\"andyoustepin,beggin\'metolethimbeLordknowswhat——Idon\'t！I
supposeyoufigureitoutthatnowIgotaSON—IN—LAW,Imightn\'tneedason！
Yes,Igotason—in—lawnow——aspender！\"
\"Oh,putyourhandback！\"saidGurney,wearily。
Therewasabronzeinkstanduponthetable。Sheridanputhisrighthandinthesling,butwithhisleftheswepttheinkstandfromthetableandhalf—wayacrosstheroom——acometwithadestroyingblacktail。Mrs。Sheridanshriekedandsprangtowardit。
\"Letitlay！\"heshouted,fiercely。\"Letitlay！\"And,weeping,sheobeyed。
\"Yes,sir,\"hewenton,inavoicethemoreominousforthesuddenhushheputuponit。\"Igotaspenderforason—in—law！It\'swonderfulwherepropertygoes,sometimes。TherewasolemanTracy——yourememberhim,Doc——J。R。Tracy,solidbanker。Hewentintothebankasmessenger,seventeenyearsold;hewaspresidentatforty—three,andhebuiltthatbankwithhislifeforfortyyearsmore。Hewasdowntherefromnineinthemorninguntilfourintheafternoonthedaybeforehedied——overeighty！Giltedge,thatbank？Itwasdiamondedge！Heusedtoeatabago\'peanutsandandappleforlunch;buthewasn\'tstingy——hewasjustlivin\'inhisbusiness。Hedidn\'tcareforpieorautomobiles——hehadhisbank。Itwasaninstitution,anditcomeprettynearbein\'thebeatin\'hearto\'thistowninitstime。Well,thatolemanusedtopassoneo\'thesehereturned—up—noseandturned—up—pantscigaretteboysonthestreets。Neverspoketohim,Tracydidn\'t。Speaktohim？God！hewouldn\'t\'a\'coughedonhim！Hewouldn\'t\'a\'lethimcleanthecuspidorsatthebank！Why,ifhe\'d\'a\'justseenhimstandin\'inFRONTthebankhe\'d\'a\'
hadhimrunoffthestreet。AndyetallTracywasdoin\'everydayofhislifewasworkin\'forthatcigaretteboy！Tracythoughtitwasforthebank;
hethoughthewasgivin\'hislifeandhislife—bloodandthebloodofhisbrainforthebank,buthewasn\'t。Itwaseverybit——fromthetimehewentinatseventeentillhediedinharnessateighty—three——itwaseverylastlickofitjustslavin\'forthatturned—up—nose,turned—up—pantscigaretteboy。
ANDTRACYDIDN\'TEVENKNOWHISNAME！Hedied,noteverhavin\'heardit,thoughhechasedhimoffthefrontstepsofhishouseonce。ThedayafterTracydiedhisold—maiddaughtermarriedthecigarette——andthereAIN\'TanyTracybankanymore！Andnow\"——hisvoiceroseagain——\"andnowIgotacigaretteson—in—law！\"
Gurneypointedtotheflourishingrighthandwithoutspeaking,andSheridanoncemorereturnedittothesling。
\"Myson—in—lawlikesFloridathiswinter,\"Sheridanwenton。\"That\'sgood,andmyson—in—lawbetterenjoyit,becauseIdon\'tthinkhe\'llbetherenextwinter。Theygottwelve—thousanddollarstospend,andIhearitcanbedoneinFloridabyrichsons—in—law。WhenRoscoe\'swomangotmetospendthatmuchonaporchfortheirnewhouse,Edithwouldn\'tgivemeaminute\'sresttillI
turnedoverthesametoher。Andshe\'sgotit,besideswhatIgavehertogoEaston。It\'llbegonelongbeforethistimenextyear,andwhenshecomeshomeandleavesthecigarettebehind——forgood——she\'llgetsomemore。MY
nameain\'tTracy,andthereain\'tgoin\'tobeanyTracybusinessintheSheridanfamily。Andthereain\'tgoin\'tobeanycollegefoundin\'andendowin\'andtrusteein\',norGod—knows—whattokeepmypropertyalivewhenI\'mgone！Edith\'llbeback,andshe\'llgetagirl\'ssharewhenshe\'sthroughwiththatcigarette,but——\"
\"Bytheway,\"interposedGurney,\"didn\'tMrs。SheridantellmethatBibbswarnedyouEdithwouldmarryLamhorninNewYork？\"
Sheridanwentcompletelytopieces:heswore,whilehiswifescreamedandstoppedherears。Andashesworehepoundedthetablewithhiswoundedhand,andwhenthedoctor,afterstormingathimineffectively,sprangtocatchandprotectthathand,Sheridanwrencheditaway,tearingthebandage。Hehammeredthetabletillitleaped。
\"Fool！\"hepanted,choking。\"Ifhe\'sshowngumptionenoughtoguessrightthefirsttimeinhislife,it\'senoughformetobeginlearnin\'himon！\"And,strugglingwiththedoctor,heleanedtowardBibbs,thrustingforwardhisconvulsedface,whichwasdeathlypale。\"Mynameain\'tTracy,Itellyou！\"hescreamed,hoarsely。\"Yougivein,youstubbornfool！I\'vehadmywaywithyoubefore,andI\'llhavemywaywithyounow！\"
Bibbs\'sfacewasaswhiteashisfather\'s,buthekeptrememberingthat\"splendidlook\"ofMary\'swhichhehadtoldherwouldgivehimcourageinastruggle,sothathewould\"nevergiveup。\"
\"No。Youcan\'thaveyourway,\"hesaid。Andthen,obeyingasignificantmotionofGurney\'shead,hewentoutquickly,leavingthemstruggling。
Mrs。Sheridan,inawrapper,noiselesslyopenedthedoorofherhusband\'sroomatdaybreakthenextmorning,andpeeredwithinthedarkenedchamber。Atthe\"old\"housetheyhadsharedaroom,butthearchitecthadchosentoseparatethemattheNew,andtheyhadnotknownhowtoformulateanobjection,althoughtobothofthemsomethingseemedvaguelyreprehensibleinthenewarrangement。
Sheridandidnotstir,andshewaswithdrawingherheadfromtheaperturewhenhespoke。
\"Oh,I\'m,AWAKE！Comein,ifyouwantto,andshutthedoor。\"
Shecameandsatbythebed。\"Iwokeupthinkin\'aboutit,\"sheexplained。
\"AndthemoreIthoughtaboutitthesurerIgotImustberight,andIknewyou\'dbetormentin\'yourselfifyouwasawake,so——well,yougotplentyothertroubles,butI\'mjustsureyouain\'tgoin\'tohavetheworrywithBibbsitlookslike。\"
\"YouBETIain\'t！\"hegrunted。
\"Lookhowbiddablehewasaboutgoin\'backtotheWorks,\"shecontinued。\"He\'sarightgood—heartedboy,really,andsometimesIhonestlyhavetosayheseemsrightsmart,too。Nowandthenhe\'llsaysomethingsoundsrightbright。
\'Course,mostalwaysitdoesn\'t,andagooddealofthetime,whenhesaysthings,why,Ihavetofeelgladwehaven\'tgotcompany,becausethey\'dthinkhedidn\'thaveanygumptionatall。Yet,lookatthewayhedidwhenJim——whenJimgothurt。Hetookrightholdo\'things。\'Coursehe\'dbeensickhimselfsomuchandall——andtherestofusneverhad,much,andwewerekindo\'greenaboutwhattodointhatkindo\'trouble——still,hedidtakehold,andeverythingwentoffallright;you\'llhavetosaythatmuch,papa。AndDr。
Gurneysayshe\'sgotbrains,andyoucan\'tdenybutwhatthedoctor\'srightconsiderableofaman。Heactssleepy,butthat\'sonlybecausehe\'sgotsuchalargepractice——he\'saprettywide—awakekindofamansomeways。Well,whathesayslastnightaboutBibbshimselfbein\'asleep,andhowmuchhe\'damounttoifheeverwokeup——that\'swhatIgottothinkin\'about。Youheardhim,papa;hesays,\'Bibbs\'llbeabiggerbusinessmanthanwhatJimandRoscoewasputtogether——ifheeverwakesup,\'hesays。Wasn\'tthatexactlywhathesays？\"
\"Isupposeso,\"saidSheridan,withoutexhibitinganyinterest。\"Gurney\'scrazier\'nBibbs,butifhewasn\'t——ifwhathesayswastrue——whatofit？\"
\"Listen,papa。JustsupposeBibbstookitintohismindtogetmarried。Youknowwherehegoesallthetime——\"
\"Oh,Lord,yes！\"Sheridanturnedoverinthebed,hisfacetothewall,leavingvisibleofhimselfonlythethickgrizzleofhishair。\"Youbettergobacktosleep。Herunsoverthere——everyminuteshe\'lllethim,Isuppose。
Gobacktobed。There\'snothin\'init。\"
\"WHYain\'tthere？\"sheurged。\"Iknowbetter——thereis,too！Youwaitandsee。There\'sjustonethingintheworldthat\'llwakethesleepiestyoungmanaliveup——yes,andmakehimJUMPup——andIdon\'tcarewhoheisorhowsoundasleepitlookslikeheis。That\'swhenhetakesitintohisheadtopickoutsomegirlandsettledownandhaveahomeandchuldernofhisown。
THEN,Iguess,he\'llgooutafterthemoney！You\'llsee。I\'veknowndozenso\'
cases,andso\'veyou——moony,no—\'countyoungmen,allnotionsandtalk,goin\'
tobeministers,maybeorsomething;andthere\'sjustthisonethingtakesitoutof\'emandbrings\'emrightdowntobusiness。Well,InevercouldmakeoutjustwhatitisBibbswantstobe,really;doesn\'tseemhewantstobeaministerexactly——he\'ssofar—awayyoucan\'ttell,andheneverSAYS——butI
knowthisisgoin\'togethimrightdowntocommonsense。Now,Idon\'tsaythatBibbshasgottheideainhisheadyet——\'relsehewouldn\'tbetalkin\'
thatfool—talkaboutninedollarsaweekbein\'goodenoughforhimtoliveon。
Butit\'sCOMIN\',papa,andhe\'llJUMPforwhateveryouwanttohandhimout。
Hewill！AndIcantellyouthismuch,too:he\'llwantallthesalaryandstockhecangetholdof,andhe\'llhustletokeepgettin\'more。Thatgirl\'sthekindthatayounghusbandjustgoescrazytogivethingsto！She\'sprettyandfine—lookin\',andthingslookniceonher,andIguessshe\'dliketohave\'emaboutaswellasthenext。AndIguesssheisn\'tgettin\'manythesedays,either,andshe\'llbeprettyreadyforthechange。Isawherwithhersleevesrolledupatthekitchenwindowtheotherday,andJacksontoldmeyesterdaytheircooklefttwoweeksago,andtheyhaven\'ttriedtohireanotherone。Hesaysherandhermotherbeendoin\'thehouseworkagoodwhile,andnowthey\'redoin\'thecookin,\'too。\'CourseBibbswouldn\'tknowthatunlessshe\'stoldhim,andIreckonshewouldn\'t;she\'skindo\'stiffish—lookin\',andBibbsistooupinthecloudstonoticeanythinglikethatforhimself。They\'veneveraskedhimtoamealinthehouse,buthewouldn\'tnoticethat,either——he\'skindofinnocent。NowIwasthinkin\'——youknow,Idon\'tsupposewe\'vehardlymentionedthegirl\'snameattablesinceJimwent,butitseemstomemaybeif——\"
Sheridanflungouthisarms,utteringasoundhalf—groan,half—yawn。\"You\'rebarkin\'upthewrongtree！Goonbacktobed,mamma！\"
\"WhyamI？\"shedemanded,crossly。\"WhyamIbarkin\'upthewrongtree？\"
\"Becauseyouare。There\'snothin\'init。\"
\"I\'llbetyou,\"shesaid,rising——\"I\'llbetyouhegoestochurchwithherthismorning。Whatyouwanttobet？\"
\"Gobacktobed,\"hecommanded。\"IKNOWwhatI\'mtalkin\'about;there\'snothin\'init,Itellyou。\"
Sheshookherheadperplexedly。\"Youthinkbecause——becauseJimwasrunnin\'
somuchwithheritwouldn\'tlookright？\"
\"No。Nothin\'todowithit。\"
\"Then——doyouknowsomethingaboutitthatyouain\'ttoldme？\"
\"Yes,Ido,\"hegrunted。\"Nowgoon。MaybeIcangetalittlesleep。I
ain\'thadanyyet！\"
\"Well——\"Shewenttothedoor,herexpressiondowncast。\"Ithoughtmaybe——but——\"Shecoughedprefatorily。\"Oh,papa,somethingelseIwantedtotellyou。Iwastalkin\'toRoscoeoverthe\'phonelastnightwhenthetelegramcame,soIforgottotellyou,but——well,Sibylwantstocomeoverthisafternoon。Roscoesaysshehassomethingshewantstosaytous。It\'llbethefirsttimeshe\'sbeenoutsinceshewasabletositup——andIreckonshewantstotellusshe\'ssorryforwhathappened。Theyexpecttogetoffbytheendo\'theweek,andIreckonshewantstofeelshe\'sdonewhatshecouldtokindo\'makeup。Anyway,that\'swhathesaid。I\'phonedhimagainaboutEdith,andhesaiditwouldn\'tdisturbSibyl,becauseshe\'dbeenexpectin\'it;