butCharliealludedtoitoneveryoccasion，alwaysasastoryfromwhichmoneywastobemade。
“IthinkIdeservetwenty-fivepercent。，don’tI，atleast。”besaid，withbeautifulfrankness“Isuppliedalltheideas，didn’tI？”
ThisgreedinessforsilverwasanewsideinhisnatureIassumedthatithadbeendevelopedintheCity，whereCharliewaspickingupthecuriousnasaldrawloftheunderbredCityman。
“Whenthething’sdonewe’lltalkaboutitIcan’tmakeanythingofitatpresentRed-hairedorblack-hairedheroareequallydifficult。”
Hewassittingbythefirestaringattheredcoals“Ican’tunderstandwhatyoufindsodifficultIt’sallascleanasmudtome。”herepliedAjetofgaspuffedoutbetweenthebars，tooklightandwhistledsoftly“Supposewetakethered-hairedhero’sadventuresfirst，fromthetimethathecamesouthtomygalleyandcaptureditandsailedtotheBeaches。”
IknewbetternowthantointerruptCharlieIwasoutofreachofpenandpaper，anddarednotmovetogetthemlestIshouldbreakthecurrentThegas-jetpuffedandwhinnied，Charlie’svoicedroppedalmosttoawhisper，andhetoldataleofthesailmgofanopengalleytoFurdurstrandi，ofsunsetsontheopensea，seenunderthecurveoftheonesaileveningafteteveningwhenthegalley’sbeakwasnotchedintothecentreofthesinkingdisc，and“wesailedbythatforwehadnootherguide。”quothCharlieHespokeofalandingonanislandandexplorationsinitswoods，wherethecrewkilledthreemenwhomtheyfoundasleepunderthepinesTheirghosts，Charliesaid，followedthegalley，swimmingandchokinginthewater，andthecrewcastlotsandthrewoneoftheirnumberoverboardasasacrificetothestrangegodswhomtheybadoffendedThentheyatesea-weedwhentheirprovisionsfailed，andtheirlegsswelled，andtheirleader，thered-hairedman，killedtworowerswhomutinied，andafterayearspentamongthewoodstheysetsailfortheirowncountry，andawindthatneverfailedcarriedthembacksosafelythattheyallsleptatnightThisandmuchmoreCharlietoldSometimesthevoicefellsolowthatIcouldnotcatchthewords，thougheverynervewasonthestrainHespokeoftheirleader，thered-hairedman，asapaganspeaksofhisGod；foritwashewhocheeredthemandslewthemimpartiallyashethoughtbestfortheirneeds；anditwashewhosteeredthemforthreedaysamongfloatingice，eachfloecrowdedwithstrangebeaststhat“triedtosailwithus，’saidCharlie，“andwebeatthembackwiththehandlesoftheoars。”
Thegas-jetwentout，aburnedcoalgaveway，andthefiresettleddownwithatinycrashtothebottomofthegrateCharlieceasedspeaking，andIsaidnoword。
“ByJove！”hesaid，atlast，shakinghishead“I’vebeenstaringatthefiretillI’mdizzyWhatwasIgoingtosay。
“Somethingaboutthegalley。”
“IremembernowIt’s25percentoftheprofits，isn’tit？”
“It’sanythingyoulikewhenI’vedonethetale。”
“IwantedtobesureofthatImustgonowI’ve，I’veanappointment。”Andheleftme。
HadmyeyesnotbeenheldImighthaveknowthatthatbrokenmutteringoverthefirewastheswan-songofCharlieMearsButI
thoughtitthepreludetofullerrevelationAtlastandatlastI
shouldcheattheLordsofLifeandDeath！
WhennextCharliecametomeIreceivedhimwithraptureHewasnervousandembarrassed，buthiseyeswereveryfulloflight，andhislipsalittleparted。
“I’vedoneapoem。”hesaid；andthenquickly：“it’sthebestI’veeverdoneReadit。”Hethrustitintomyhandandretreatedtothewindow。
IgroanedinwardlyItwouldbetheworkofhalfanhourtocriticise-thatistosaypraise-thepoemsufficientlytopleaseCharlieThenIhadgoodreasontogroan，forCharlie，discardinghisfavoritecentipedemetres，hadlaunchedintoshorterandchoppierverse，andversewithamotiveatthebackofitThisiswhatIread：
“Thedayismostfair，thecheerywindHalloosbehindthehill，Wherebebendsthewoodasseemethgood，Andthesaplingtohiswill！
RiotOwind；thereisthatinmybloodThatwouldnothavetheestill！
“Shegavemeherself，OEarth，OSky：
Greysea，sheisminealoneI
Letthesullenbouldersbearmycry，Andrejoicetho’theybebutstone！
’Mine！IhavewonherOgoodbrownearth，Makemerry！’TisbardonSpring；
Makemerry；myloveisdoublyworthAllworshipyourfieldscanbring！
LetthebindtbattillsyoufeelmymirthAttheearlyharrowing。”
“Yes，it’stheearlyharrowing，pastadoubt。”Isaid，withadreadatmyheartCharliesmiled，butdidnotanswer。
“Redcloudofthesunset，tellitabroad；
IamvictorGreetmeOSun，DominantmasterandabsolutelordOverthesoulofone！”
“Well？”saidCharlie，lookingovermyshoulder。
Ithoughtitfarfromwell，andveryevilindeed，whenhesilentlylaidaphotographonthepaper-thephotographofagirlwithacurlyhead，andafoolishslackmouth。
“Isn’tit-isn’titwonderful？”hewhispered，pinktothetipsofhisears，wrappedintherosymysteryoffirstlove“Ididn’tknow；I
didn’tthink-itcamelikeathunderclap。”
“YesItcomeslikeathunderclapAreyouveryhappy，Charlie？”
“MyGod-she-shelovesmel“HesatdownrepeatingthelastwordstohimselfIlookedatthehairlessface，thenarrowshouldersalreadybowedbydesk-work，andwonderedwhen，where，andbowhehadlovedinhispastlives。
“Whatwillyourmothersay？”Iasked，cheerfully。
“Idon’tcareadamnwhatshesays。”
Attwentythethingsforwhichonedoesnotcareadamnshould，properly，bemany，butonemustnotincludemothersinthelistI
toldhimthisgently；andhedescribedHer，evenasAdammusthavedescribedtothenewlynamedbeaststhegloryandtendernessandbeautyofEveIncidentallyIlearnedthatShewasatobacconist’sassistantwithaweaknessforprettydress，andhadtoldhimfourorfivetimesalreadythatShehadneverbeenkissedbyamanbefore。
Charliespokeon，andon，andon；whileI，separatedfromhimbythousandsofyears，wasconsideringthebeginningsofthingsNowIunderstoodwhytheLordsofLifeandDeathshutthedoorssocarefullybehindusItisthatwemaynotrememberourfirstwooingsWereitnotso，ourworldwouldbewithoutinhabitantsinahundredyears。
“Now，aboutthatgalley-story。”1said，stillmorecheerfully，inapauseintherushofthespeech。
Charlielookedupasthoughhehadbeenhit“Thegalley-whatgalley？Goodheavens，don’tjoke，man！Thisisserious！Youdon’tknowhowseriousitis！”
GrishChunderwasrightCharliehadtastedtheloveofwomanthatkillsremembrance，andthefineststory’intheworldwouldneverbewritten。
VOLUMEIVUNDERTHEDEODARS
THEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
I
Inthepleasantorchard-closes“Godblessallourgains。”saywe；
Put“~1ayGodblessallourlosses。”
Bettersuitswithourdegree-
TheLostBower。
THISisthehistoryofafailure；butthewomanwhofailedsaidthatitmightbeaninstructivetaletoputintoprintforthebenefitoftheyoungergenerationTheyoungergenerationdoesnotwantinstruction，beingperfectlywillingtoinstructifanyonewilllistentoitNonetheless，herebeginsthestorywhereeveryright-mindedstoryshouldbegin，thatistosayatSimla，whereallthingsbeginandmanycometoanevilend。
ThemistakewasduetoaverycleverwomanmakingablunderandnotretrievingitMenarelicensedtostumble，butacleverwoman’smistakeisoutsidetheregularcourseofNatureandProvidence；sinceallgoodpeopleknowthatawomanistheonlyinfalliblethinginthisworld，exceptGovernmentPaperofthe’70issue，bearinginterestatfourandahalfpercentYet，wehavetorememberthatsixconsecutivedaysofrebearsingtheleadingpartofTheFeilenA’~ge~，attheNewGaietyTheatrewheretheplasterisnotyetproperlydry，mighthavebroughtaboutanunhingementofspiritswhich，again，mighthaveledtoeccentricities。
MrsHauksbeecameto“TheFoundry“totiffinwithMrs。
Mallowe，her13“
onebosomfriend，forshewasinnnsense“awoman’swoman。”
Anditwasawoman’stiffin，thedoorshuttoalltheworld；andtheybothtalkedchiflons，whichisFrenchforMysteries。
“I’veenjoyedanintervalofsanity。”MrsFlauksbeeannounced，aftertiffinwasoverandthetwowerecomfortablysettledinthelittlewriting-roomthatopenedoutofMrsMallowe’sbedroom。
“Mydeargirl，whathashedone？”saidMrsMallowe，sweetlyItisnoticeablethatladiesofacertainagecalleachother“deargirl。”justascommissionersoftwenty-eightyears’standingaddresstheirequalsintheCivilListas“myboy。”
“There’snoheinthecaseWhoamIthatanimaginarymanshouldbealwayscreditedtome？
AmIanApache？’1
“No，dear，butsomebody’sscalpisgenerallydryingatyourwigwam-doorSoaking，rather。”
ThiswasanallusiontotheHawleyBoy，whowasinthehabitofridingallacrossSimlaintheRains，tocallonMrsHauksbeeThatladylaughed。
“Formysins，theAideatTyrconnellastnighttoldmeofftoTheMussuckHsh！Don’tlaugh。
OneofmymostdevotedadmirersWhentheduffcame-someonereallyoughttoteachthemtomakepuddingatTyrconnel-TheMussuckwasatlibertytoattendtome。”
“Sweetsoul！Iknowhisappetite。”saidMrsMallowe“Didhe，ohdidhe，beginhiswooing？”
“ByaspecialmercyofProvidence，noHeexplainedhisimportanceasaPillaroftheEmpireI
didn’tlaugh。”
“Lucy，Idon’tbelieveyou。”
“AskCaptainSangar；hewasontheothersideWell，asIwassaying，TheMussuckdilated。”
“IthinkIcanseehimdoingit。”saidMrsMallowe，pensively，scratchingherfox-terrier’sears。
“IwasproperlyimpressedMostproperlyIyawnedopenly。
’Strictsupervision，andplaythemoffoneagainsttheother，’saidTheMussuck，shovelingdownhisicebytureen/uls，Iassureyou。
’That，MrsHauksbee，isthesecretofourGovernment。’“
MrsMallowelaughedlongandmerrily“Andwhatdidyousay？”
“Didyoueverknowmeatlossforanansweryet？Isaid：’SoIhaveobservedinmydealingswithyou。’TheMussuckswelledwithprideHeiscomingtocallonmeto-morrowTheHawleyBoyiscomingtoo。”
“’StrictsupervisionandplaythemoffoneagainsttheotherThat，MrsHauksbee，isthesecretofourGovernment。’AndIdaresayifwecouldgettoTheMussuck’sheart，weshouldfindthatheconsidershimselfamanoftheworld。”
“AsheisoftheothertwothingsIlikeTheMussuck，andIwon’thaveyoucallhimnamesHeamusesme。”
“Hehasreformedyou，too，bywhatappearsExplaintheintervalofsanity，andhitTimonthenosewiththepaper-cutter，pleaseThatdogistoofondofsugar。
Doyoutakemilkinyours？”
“No，thanksFolly，I’mweariedofthislifeIt’shollow。”
“Turnreligious，thenIalwayssaidthatRomewouldbeyourfate。”
“Onlyexchanginghalfadozenattach~inredforoneandinblack，andifIfasted，thewrinkleswouldcome，andnever，nevergoHasiteverstruckyou，dear，thatI’mgettingold？”
“ThanksforyourcourtesyI’llreturnitYe-eswearebothnotexactly-howshallIputit？”
“Whatwehavebeen’Ifeelitinmyhones，’asMrsCrossleysays。
Polly，I’vewastedmylife。”
“Ashow？”