\"Always，\"answeredMountDunstan。
Thefactthatheaddednothingelseandmetarapidsideglancewithunmovingred—browneyesgazingoutfromunderruggedbrows，perhapsirritatedAnstruthers。Hehadbeenratherenjoyinghimself，buthehadnotenjoyedhimselfenough。
Therewasnodenyingthathisplaythinghadnotopenlyflinched。Plainlyhewasnotgoodatflinching。Anstrutherswonderedhowfaramanmightgo。Hetriedagain。
\"Shelikestheplace，thoughshehasanaturaldisdainforitscondition。ThatispracticalAmerican。Thingswhicharegoingtopiecesbecausemoneyisnotspentuponthem——meremoney，ofwhichallthepeoplewhocountforanythinghavesomuch——areinevitablyratherdisdained。Theyare`outofit。’Butshelikestheestate。\"AshewatchedMountDunstanhefeltsurehehadgotitatlast——therightthing。\"Ifyouwereadukewithfiftythousandayear，\"withadistinctlynasty，amicablyhumorous，faintlaugh，\"shewould——bytheLord，Ibelieve，shewouldtakeitover——andyouwithit。\"
MountDunstangotup。Inhisroughwalkingtweedshelookedover—big——andheavy——andperilous。FortwosecondsNigelAnstrutherswouldnothavebeensurprisedifhehadwithoutwarningslappedhisface，orknockedhimover，orwhirledhimoutofhischairandkickedhim。Hewouldnothavelikedit，but——fortwoseconds——itwouldhavebeennosurprise。Infact，heinstinctivelybracedhisnottoofirmmuscles。Butnothingofthesortoccurred。Duringthetwoseconds——perhapsthree——MountDunstanstoodstillandlookeddownathim。Thebriefspaceatanend，hewalkedovertothehearthandstoodwithhisbacktothebigfireplace。
\"Youdon’tlikeher，\"hesaid，andhismannerwasthatofamandealingwithamatteroffact。\"Whydoyoutalkabouther？\"
Hehadgotawayagain——quiteaway。
AnuglyflushshotoverAnstruthers’face。Therewasonemorethingtosay——whetheritwasidiotictosayitornot。
Thingscanalwaysbedeniedafterwards，shoulddenialappearnecessary——andforthemomenthisspecialdevilpossessedhim。
\"Idonotlikeher！\"Andhismouthtwisted。\"DoInot？
Iamnotanoldwoman。Iamaman——likeothers。Ichancetolikeher——toomuch。\"
Therewasashortsilence。MountDunstanbrokeit。
\"Then，\"heremarked，\"youhadbetteremigratetosomecountrywithaclimatewhichsuitsyou。IshouldsaythatEngland——forthepresent——doesnot。\"
\"IshallstaywhereIam，\"answeredAnstruthers，withaslighthoarsenessofvoice，whichmadeitnecessaryforhimtoclearhisthroat。\"Ishallstaywheresheis。Iwillhavethatsatisfaction，atleast。Shedoesnotmind。Iamonlyaracketty，middle—agedbrother—in—law，andshecantakecareofherself。AsItoldyou，shehasthespiritofthehuntress。\"
\"Lookhere，\"saidMountDunstan，quitewithouthaste，andwithanironcivility。\"Iamgoingtotakethelibertyofsuggestingsomething。Ifthisthingistrue，itwouldbeaswellnottotalkaboutit。\"
\"Aswellforme——orforher？\"andtherewasaserenesignificanceinthequery。
MountDunstanthoughtafewseconds。
\"Iconfess，\"hesaidslowly，andheplantedhisfineblowbetweentheeyeswellandwithdirectness。\"Iconfessthatitwouldnothaveoccurredtometoaskyoutodoanythingorrefrainfromdoingitforhersake。\"
\"Thankyou。Perhapsyouareright。Onelearnsthatonemustprotectone’sself。Ishallnottalk——neitherwillyou。I
knowthat。Iwasafooltoletitout。Thestormisover。
Imustridehome。\"Herosefromhisseatandstoodsmiling。
\"Itwouldsmashupthingsnicelyifthenewbeauty’sappearanceinthegreatworldwereprecededbychatteroftheunseemlyaffectionofsomeadorerofillrepute。Unfairlyenoughitisalwaysthewomanwhoishurt。\"
\"Unless，\"saidMountDunstancivilly，\"thereshouldarisethepoor，primevalbrute，inhisneolithicwrath，toseizeonthemantoblame，andbreakeveryboneandsinewinhisdamnedbody。\"
\"Thenewspaperswouldenjoythatmorethanshewould，\"
answeredSirNigel。\"Shedoesnotlikethenewspapers。
Theyaretooreadytodisparagethemulti—millionaire，andcackleaboutmembersofhisfamily。\"
Theunhiddenhatredwhichstillprofessedtohideitselfinthedepthsoftheirpupils，astheyregardedeachother，haditsbirthinapassionaselementalasthequakingsoftheearth，ortherageoftwolionsinadesert，lashingtheirflanksintheblazingsun。Itwaswellthatatthismomenttheyshouldpartways。
SirNigel’shorsebeingbrought，hewentonthewaywhichwashis。
\"ItwasamistaketosaywhatIdid，\"hesaidbeforegoing。
\"Ioughttohaveheldmytongue。ButIamunderthesameroofwithher。Atanyrate，thatisaprivilegenoothermanshareswithme。\"
Herodeoffsmartly，hishorse’shoofssplashingintherainpoolsleftintheavenueafterthestorm。Hewasnotsosureafterallthathehadmadeamistake，andforthemomenthewasnotinthemoodtocarewhetherhehadmadeoneornot。
Hisagreeablesmileshoweditselfashethoughtoftheobstinate，proudbrutehehadleftbehind，sittingaloneamonghisshutdoorsandclosedcorridors。Theyhadnotshakenhandseitheratmeetingorparting。Queerthingitwas——thekindofenmityamancouldfeelforanotherwhenhewasupsetbyawoman。Itwasamusingenoughthatitshouldbeshewhowasupsettinghimafteralltheseyears——impudentlittleBetty，withtheferociousmanner。
CHAPTERXXXVIII
ATSHANDY’S
Onalate—summereveninginNewYorktheatmospheresurroundingacertaincornertableatShandy’scheaprestaurantinFourteenthStreetwasstirredbyasenseofexcitement。
ThecornertableinquestionwasthefavouritemeetingplaceofagroupofyoungmenoftheG。Seldentype，whousuallytookpossessionofitatdinnertime——havingdecidedthatShandy’ssuppliedmoredecentfoodforfiftycents，orevenfortwenty—five，thanwastobefoundatotherplacesofitsorder。
Shandy’swas\"aboutallright，\"theysaidtoeachother，andpatroniseditaccordingly，threeorfourofthemgenerallydiningtogether，withafriendlyandadroitmanipulationof\"portions\"
and\"halfportions\"whichenabledthemtoaddvarietytotheirbilloffare。
Thestreetoutsidewaslighted，thetideofpassers—bywaslessfullandmoreleisurelyinitsmovementsthanitwasduringtheseething，workinghoursofdaylight，buttheelectriccarsswungpasteachotherwithwhizandclangofbellalmostunceasingly，theirsoundbeingswelled，atshortintervals，bytheroarandrumblingrattleofthetrainsdashingbyontheelevatedrailroad。This，however，tothefrequentersofShandy’s，wastheusualaccompanimentofevery—dayNewYorklifeandwasregardedasarathercheerfulsortofthing。
Thiseveningthefourclaimantsofthefavouritecornertablehadmettogetherearlierthanusual。JemBelter，who\"hammered\"atypewriteratSchwab’sBrewery，TomWetherbee，whowas\"inadowntownoffice，\"BertJohnson，whowas\"outfortheDelkoff，\"andNickBaumgarten，whohavingforsometime\"beaten\"certainstreetsasassistantsalesmanforthesameillustriousmachine，hadbeenrecentlyelevatedtoa\"territory\"ofhisown，andwasthereforeinhighspirits。
\"Say！\"hesaid。\"Let’sgivehimafinedinner。Wecanmakeitbetweenus。Beefsteakandmushrooms，andpotatoeshashedbrown。Helikesthem。GoodoldG。S。Ishallberightgladtoseehim。Hopeforeigntravelhasnotgivenhimtheswellhead。\"
\"Don’tbelieveit’shurthimabit。Hisletterdidn’tsoundlikeit。LittleGeorgieain’tafool，\"saidJemBelter。
TomWetherbeewaslookingovertheletterreferredto。
Ithadbeenwrittentothefourconjointly，towardstheterminationofSelden’svisittoMr。Penzance。Theyoungmanwasnotanardentorfluentcorrespondent；butTomWetherbeewaschucklingashereadtheepistle。
\"Say，boys，\"hesaid，\"thisbigthinghe’skeepingbacktotelluswhenheseesusisallright，butwhattakesmeisoldGeorgepayingavisittoaparson。Heain’tnoYoungMen’sChristianAssociation。\"
BertJohnsonleanedforward，andlookedattheaddressontheletterpaper。
\"MountDunstanVicarage，\"hereadaloud。\"Thatlooksprettyswell，doesn’tit？\"withalaugh。\"Say，fellows，youknowJepsonattheoffice，thechapthatprideshimselfonreadingsuchalot？HesaiditremindedhimofthenamesofplacesinEnglishnovels。ThatJohnny’sthebiggestsnobyoueversetyourtoothinto。WhenItoldhimaboutthelordfellowthatownsthecastle，andthatGeorgeseemedtohaveseenhim，henearlyfelloverhimself。NeverhadanyuseforGeorgebefore，butjustyouwatchhimmakeuptohimwhenheseeshimnext。\"
Peopleweredroppinginandtakingseatsatthetables。
Theywereallofoneclass。Youngmenwholivedinhallbedrooms。Youngwomenwhoworkedinshopsoroffices，acouplehereandthere，who，livingfaruptown，hadcometoShandy’stodinner，thattheymightgotocheapseatsinsometheatreafterwards。Inthelattercase，thegirlsworetheirbesthats，hadbrighteyes，andcheekslightlyflushedbytheirsenseoffestivity。Twoorthreewereveryprettyintheirthinsummerdressesandfloweredorfeatheredheadgear，tiltedatpicturesqueanglesovertheirthickhair。Wheneachoneenteredtheeyesoftheyoungmenatthecornertablefollowedherwithcuriosityandinterest，buttheglancesatherescortwerealwaysofadisparagingnature。
\"There’sabeaut！\"saidNickBaumgarten。\"Getontothatpinkstuffonherhat，willyou。Shedoneitbecauseit’sjustthecolourofhercheeks。\"
Theyalllooked，andthegirlwasawareofit，andbegantolaughandtalkcoquettishlytotheyoungmanwhowashercompanion。
\"IwonderwhereshegotClarence？\"saidJemBelterinsarcasticallusiontoherescort。\"ThethingsthoselookershavefastenedontothemgetsME。\"
\"IfitwasoneofUS，now，\"saidBertJohnson。Uponwhichtheybrokeintosimultaneousgood—naturedlaughter。
\"It’squeer，isn’tit，\"youngBaumgartenputin，\"howafellowalwaysfeelssorewhenheseesanotherfellowwithapeachlikethat？It’sjuststraighthumannature，Iguess。\"
Thedoorswungopentoadmitanewcomer，atthesightofwhomJemBelterexclaimedjoyously：\"GoodoldGeorgie！
Hereheis，fellows！Getontohisgladrags。\"
\"Gladrags\"issupposedtobuoyantlydescribesuchattireas，byitsfreshnessoreleganceofstyle，isrenderedasuitableadornmentforfestiveoccasionsorloftierleisuremoments。
\"Gladrags\"maymeaneveningdress，whenayounggentleman’swardrobecanaspiretosplendoursomarked，butitalsoappliestoone’sbestandlatest—purchasedgarb，incontradistinctiontothelessornamentalhabilimentsworneveryday，anddesignatedas\"officeclothes。\"
G。Selden’seconomieshadnotenabledhimtogivehimselfintothehandsofaBondStreettailor，butacarefulstudyofcutandmaterial，asspreadbeforetheeyeinelegantcolouredillustrationsinthewindowsofrespectableshopsinlessambitiousquarters，hadresultedinthepurchaseofawell—madesuitofsmartEnglishcut。Hehadaniceyoungfigure，andlookedextremelyneatandtremendouslynewandclean，somuchso，indeed，thatseveralpersonsglancedathimalittleadmiringlyashewasmethalfwaytothecornertablebyhisfriends。
\"Hello，oldchap！Gladtoseeyou。Whatsortofavoyage？Howdidyouleavetheroyalfamily？Gladtogetback？\"
Theyallgreetedhimatonce，shakinghandsandslappinghimontheback，astheyhustledhimgleefullybacktothecornertableandmadehimsitdown。
\"Say，garsong，\"saidNickBaumgartentotheirfavouritewaiter，whocameatonceinanswertohissummons，\"let’shaveaporterhousesteak，halfthesizeofthistable，andwithplentyofmushroomsandpotatoeshashedbrown。Here’sMr。
SeldenjustreturnedfromvisitingatWindsorCastle，andifwedon’ttreathimwell，he’lllookdownonus。\"
G。Seldengrinned。\"Howhaveyoubeengettingon，Sam？\"hesaid，noddingcheerfullytotheman。Theywereoldandtriedfriends。SamknewallaboutthedayswhenafellowcouldnotcomeintoShandy’satall，ormustsatisfyhisstrongyounghungerwithabowlofsoup，orcoffeeandaroll。Samdidhisbestfortheminthematterofthesizeofportions，andtheydidtheirgood—naturedutmostforhimintheaffairofthepooledtip。
\"Beengettingonaswellascanbeexpected，\"Samgrinnedback。\"Hopeyouhadafinetime，Mr。Selden？\"
\"Fine！Ishouldsmile！Finewasn’tinit，\"answeredSelden。\"ButI’mlookingforwardtoaShandyporterhousesteak，allthesame。\"
\"DidtheygiveyouabetteroneintheStrawnd？\"askedBaumgarten，inwhathebelievedtobeacorrectCockneyaccent。
\"Youbettheydidn’t，\"saidSelden。\"Shandy’stakesalotofbeating。\"ThatlastisEnglish。
Thepeopleattheothertablescastinvoluntaryglancesatthem。Theireager，heartyyoungpleasureinthefestivityoftheoccasionwasahealthythingtosee。Astheysatroundthecornertable，theyproducedtheeffectofgatheringcloseaboutG。Selden。Theyconcentratedtheircombinedattentionuponhim，BelterandJohnsonleaningforwardontheirfoldedarms，towatchhimashetalked。
\"BillyPagecamebackinAugust，lookingprettybum，\"
NickBaumgartenbegan。\"He’dbeenpaintinggayPareebrickred，andhe’dspentmoremoneythanhe’dmeantto，andthatwasn’thalfenough。Landeddeadbroke。Hesaidhe’dhadagreattime，buthe’dcomehomewithratheradarkbrowntasteinhismouth，thathe’dliketogetridof。\"
\"Hethoughtyouwereafooltogooffcyclingintothecountry，\"putinWetherbee，\"butItoldhimIguessedthatwaswherehewas’wayoff。Ibelievedyou’dhadthebesttimeofthetwoofyou。\"
\"Boys，\"saidSelden，\"Ihadthetimeofmylife。\"Hesaiditalmostsolemnly，andlaidhishandonthetable。\"ItwaslikeoneofthoseyarnsBerttellsus。HalfthetimeI
didn’tbelieveit，andhalfthetimeIwasashamedofmyselftothinkitwasallhappeningtomeandnoneofyourfellowswereinit。\"
\"Oh，well，\"saidJemBelter，\"luckchasessomefellows，anyhow。LookatNick，there。\"
\"Well，\"Seldensummedthewholethingup，\"IjustFELL
intoitwhereitwassodeepthatIhadtostrikeoutallIknewhowtokeepfromdrowning。\"
\"Tellusthewholething，\"NickBaumgartenputin；\"frombeginningtoend。Yourletterdidn’tgiveanythingaway。\"
\"Aletterwouldhavespoiledit。Ican’twritelettersanyhow。IwantedtowaittillIgotrightherewithyoufellowsroundwhereIcouldanswerquestions。Firstoff，\"withthedeliberationbefittingsuchanopening，\"I’vesoldmachinesenoughtopaymyexpenses，andleavesomeover。\"
\"Youhave？Geewhiz！Say，giveusyourprescription。
GladIknowyou，Georgy！\"
\"Andwhodoyousupposeboughtthefirstthree？\"Atthispoint，itwashewholeanedforwarduponthetable——hisclimaxbeingathingtoconcentrateupon。\"ReubenS。
Vanderpoel’sdaughter——MissBettina！And，boys，shegavemealettertoReubenS。，himself，andhereitis。\"
Heproducedaflatleatherpocketbookandtookanenvelopefromaninnerflap，layingitbeforethemonthetablecloth。
Hisknowledgethattheywouldnothavebelievedhimifhehadnotbroughthisproofwasfoundedoneverydayfacts。
Theywouldnothavedoubtedhisveracity，butthepossibilityofsuchdeliriousgoodfortune。Whattheywouldhavebelievedwouldhavebeenthathewasplayingahilariousjokeonthem。Jokesofthiskind，butnotofthisproportion，werecommonentertainments。
Theirfirstimpulsehadbeentowardsanoutburstoflaughter，butevenbeforeheproducedhisletteracertaintruthfulseriousnessinhislookhadstartledthem。Whenhelaidtheenvelopedowneachmancaughthisbreath。ItcouldnotbedeniedthatJemBelterturnedpalewithemotion。Jemhadneverbeenoneoftheluckyones。
\"Sheletmereadit，\"saidG。Selden，takingtheletterfromitsenvelopewithgreatcare。\"AndIsaidtoher：`MissVanderpoel，wouldyouletmejustshowthattotheboysthefirstnightIgotoShandy’s？’Iknewshe’dtellmeifitwasn’tallrighttodoit。She’dknowI’dwanttobetold。Andshejustlaughedandsaid：`Idon’tmindatall。Ilike\"theboys。\"Hereisamessagetothem。`Goodlucktoyouall。’\"
\"Shesaidthat？\"fromNickBaumgarten。
\"Yes，shedid，andshemeantit。Lookatthis。\"
Thiswastheletter。Itwasquiteshort，andwritteninaclear，definitehand。
\"DEARFATHER：ThiswillbebroughttoyoubyMr。G。
Selden，ofwhomIhavewrittentoyou。Pleasebegoodtohim。
\"Affectionately，\"BETTY。\"
Eachyoungmanreaditinturn。Noneofthemsaidanythingjustatfirst。Akindofawehaddescendeduponthem——
notintheleastaweofVanderpoel，who，withothermulti—
millionaires，wereservedupeachweekwithcheerfulneighbourlycommentorequallyneighbourlydisrespect，inhugeSundaypapersreadthroughouttheland——butaweoftheunearthlyluckwhichhadfallenwithoutwarningtogoodoldG。S。，wholivedliketherestoftheminahallbedroomontenper，earnedbytrampingthestreetsfortheDelkoff。
\"Thatgirl，\"saidG。Seldengravely，\"thatgirlisawinnerfromWinnersville。Itakeoffmyhattoher。Ifit’stheschemethatsomepeople’sgottohavemillions，andothershavegottosellDelkoffs，thatgirl’soneofthosethat’sentitledtothemillions。It’sallrightsheshouldhave’em。
There’snokickcomingfromme。\"
NickBaumgartenwasthefirsttoresumewhollynormalconditionofmind。
\"Well，Iguessafteryou’vetoldusaboutherthere’llbenokickcomingfromanyofus。Ofcoursethere’ssomethingaboutyouthatroyalfamiliescryfor，andtheywon’tbehappytilltheyget。Allofusboysknowsthat。Butwhatwewanttofindoutishowyouworkeditsothattheysawthekindofpearl—studdedhairpinyouwere。\"
\"Workedit！\"Seldenanswered。\"Ididn’tworkit。I’vegotagoodbitofnerve，butInevershouldhavehadenoughtoinventwhathappened——justHAPPENED。Ibrokemylegfallingoffmybike，andfellrightintoawholebunchofthem——earlsandcountessesandviscountsandVanderpoels。AnditwasMissVanderpoelwhosawmefirstlyingontheground。
AndIwasinStornhamCourtwhereLadyAnstrutherslives——andsheusedtobeMissRosalieVanderpoel。\"
\"Boys，\"saidBertJohnson，withfriendlydisgust，\"he’sbeenuptohisneckin’em。\"
\"Cheerup。Theworstisyettocome，\"chaffedTomWetherbee。
Neverhadsuchadinnertakenplaceatthecornertable，or，infact，atanyothertableatShandy’s。Sambroughtbeefsteaks，whichwereprincely，mushrooms，andhashedbrownpotatoesinportionswhosegenerosityreachedtheheart。SamwasongoodtermswithShandy’scarver，andhadworkeduponhisnoblerfeelings。Steinsoflagerbeerwereventuredupon。Therewasheartysatisfyingoffinehungers。Twoofthepartyhadeatennothingbutone\"QuickLunch\"throughouttheday，oneofthembecausehewasshortoftime，theotherforeconomy’ssake，becausehewasshortofmoney。
Themealwasasplendidthing。Thetellingofthestorycouldnotbewhollycheckedbytheeatingoffood。Itadvancedbetweenmouthfuls，questionsbeingaskedanddetailsgiveninanswers。Shandy’sbecamemorecrowded，asthehouradvanced。Peopleallovertheroomcastinterestedlooksatthepartyatthecornertable，enjoyingitselfsohugely。
Groupssittingatthetablesnearesttoitfoundthemselvesexcitedbythethingstheyheard。
\"ThatyoungfellowinthenewsuithasjustcomebackfromEurope，\"saidamantohiswifeanddaughter。\"Heseemstohavehadagoodtime。\"
\"Papa，\"thedaughterleanedforward，andspokeinalowvoice，\"Iheardhimsay`LordMountDunstansaidLadyAnstruthersandMissVanderpoelwereatthegardenparty。’
Whodoyousupposeheis？\"
\"Well，he’saniceyoungfellow，andhehasEnglishclotheson，buthedoesn’tlooklikeoneoftheFourHundred。Willyouhavepieorvanillaicecream，Bessy？\"
Bessy——whochosevanillaicecream——lostallknowledgeofitsflavourinherabsorptionintheconversationatthenexttable，whichshecouldnothaveavoidedhearing，evenifshehadwished。
\"Shebentoverthebedandlaughed——justlikeanyothernicegirl——andshesaid，`YouareatStornhamCourt，whichbelongstoSirNigelAnstruthers。LadyAnstruthersismysister。IamMissVanderpoel。’And，boys，sheusedtocomeandtalktomeeveryday。\"
\"George，\"saidNickBaumgarten，\"youtakeaboutseventy—
fivebottlesofWarner’sSafeCure，andrubyourselfalloverwithSt。Jacob’sOil。Lucklikethatain’tHEALTHY！\"……
Mr。Vanderpoel，sittinginhisstudy，woretheinterestedlygravelookofamanthinkingofabsorbingthings。Hehadjustgivenordersthatayoungmanwhowouldcallinthecourseoftheeveningshouldbebroughttohimatonce，andhewasincidentallyconsideringthisyoungman，ashereflecteduponmattersrecalledtohismindbyhisimpendingarrival。
Theyweremattershehadthoughtofwithgraduallyincreasingseriousnessforsomemonths，andtheyhad，atfirst，beentheresultofthelettersfromStornham，whicheach\"steamerday\"brought。Theyhadbeenofimmenseinteresttohim——
theseletters。Hewouldhavefoundthemabsorbingasastudy，evenifhehadnotdeeplylovedBetty。Hereadinthemthingsshedidnotstateinwords，andtheysethimthinking。
Hewasnotsuspectedbymenlikehimselfofconcealinganimaginationbeneaththetrainedsteadinessofhisexterior，buthepossessedmorethantheworldknew，anditsingularlycombineditselfwithpowersoflogicaldeduction。
Ifhehadbeenwithhisdaughter，hewouldhaveseen，daybyday，whereherthoughtswereleadingher，andinwhatdirectionshewasdeveloping，but，atadistanceofthreethousandmiles，hefoundhimselfaskingquestions，andendeavouringtoreachconclusions。HisaffectionforBettywasthecentralemotionofhisexistence。Hehadnevertoldhimselfthathehadoutgrownthekindandprettycreaturehehadmarriedinhisearlyyouth，andcertainlyhistendercareforherandpleasureinhersimplegoodnesshadneverwavered，butBettyhadgivenhimacompanionshipwhichhadcountedgreatlyinthesumofhishappiness。Becauseimaginationwasnotsuspectedinhim，nooneknewwhatshestoodforinhislife。Hehadnoson；hestoodattheheadofagreathouse，sotospeak——theAmericanparallelofwhatagreathouseisinnon—republicancountries。Thepowerofitcountedforgreatthings，notinAmericaalone，butthroughouttheworld。Asinternationalintimaciesincreased，theinfluenceofsuchhousesmightendinaidinginthemakingofhistory。
Enormousconstantlyincreasingwealthandhugefinancialschemescouldnotconfinetheirinfluence，butmustreachfar。
Themanwhosehandheldthelevercontrollingthemwasdoingwellwhenhethoughtofthemgravely。Suchamanhadtodowithmorethanhisownmerelifeandliving。
Thismanhadconfrontedmanyproblemsastheyearshadpassed。Hehadseenmenlikehimselfdie，leavingbehindthemtheforcetheyhadcontrolled，andhehadseenthisforce——
controllednolonger——letlooseupontheworld，sometimesapowerofevil，sometimesscatteringitselfaimlesslyintonothingnessandfolly，whichwroughtharm。Hewasnotanambitiousman，but——perhapsbecausehewasnotonlyamanofthought，butaVanderpoelofthebloodofthefirstReuben——thesewerethingshedidnotcontemplatewithoutrestlessness。WhenRosyhadgoneawayandseemedlosttothem，hehadbeengladwhenhehadseenBettygrowing，daybyday，intoastrongthing。Femininethoughshewas，shesometimessuggestedtohimthesonwhomighthavebeenhis，butwasnot。Astheclosenessoftheircompanionshipincreasedwithheryears，hisadmirationforhergrewwithhislove。Powerleftinherhandsmustworkfortheadvancementofthings，andwouldnotbeidlydisseminated——ifnoantagonisticinfluencewroughtagainsther。Hehadfoundhimselfreflectingthat，afterallwassaid，themarriageofsuchagirlhadasortofparallelinthatofsomeyoungroyalcreature，whoseunionmightmakeormarthings，whichmustbeconsidered。Themanwhomustinevitablystronglycolourherwholebeing，andvitallymarkherlife，would，inasense，layhishandupontheleveralso。
Ifhebroughtsorrowanddisorderwithhim，theleverwouldnotmovesteadily。Fortunessuchashisgrowrapidly，andhewasarichermanbymillionsthanhehadbeenwhenRosaliehadmarriedNigelAnstruthers。Thememoryofthatmarriagehadbeenapainfulthingtohim，evenbeforehehadknownthewholetruthofitsresults。Themanhadbeenacommonadventurerandscoundrel，despitethefactsofgoodbirthandtheairofdecentbreeding。Ifamanwhowasasmuchascoundrel，butcleverer——itwouldbenecessarythatheshouldbemuchcleverer——madethebestofhimselftoBetty————！Itwasfollytothinkonecouldguesswhatawoman——oraman，either，forthatmatter——wouldlove。HeknewBetty，butnomanknowsthethingwhichcomes，asitwere，inthedarkandclaimsitsown——whetherforgoodorevil。Hehadlivedlongenoughtoseebeautiful，strong—
spiritedcreaturesdostrangethings，followstrangegods，sweptawayintoseasofpainbystrangewaves。