Nobodyis。\"Herepeatedtheloveliestphrase。\"Howdoesshemanageit,Landry?You’veworkedwithher。\"
Landrydrewcherishinglyonthelastcigarettehemeanttopermithimselfbeforesinging。\"Oh,it’saquestionofabigpersonality——andallthatgoeswithit。Brains,ofcourse。Imagination,ofcourse。Buttheimportantthingisthatshewasbornfullofcolor,witharichpersonality。
That’sagiftofthegods,likeafinenose。Youhaveit,oryouhaven’t。Againstit,intelligenceandmusicianshipandhabitsofindustrydon’tcountatall。Singersareaconventionalrace。WhenTheawasstudyinginBerlintheothergirlsweremortallyafraidofher。Shehasapretty
roughhandwithwomen,dullones,andshecouldberude,too!ThegirlsusedtocallherDIEWOLFIN。\"
Fredthrusthishandsintohispocketsandleanedbackagainstthepiano。\"Ofcourse,evenastupidwomancouldgeteffectswithsuchmachinery:suchavoiceandbodyandface。Buttheycouldn’tpossiblybelongtoastupidwoman,couldthey?\"
Landryshookhishead。\"It’spersonality;that’sasnearasyoucancometoit。That’swhatconstitutesrealequip—
ment。Whatshedoesisinterestingbecauseshedoesit。
Eventhethingsshediscardsaresuggestive。Iregretsomeofthem。Herconceptionsarecoloredinsomanydifferentways。You’veheardherELIZABETH?Wonderful,isn’tit?
Shewasworkingonthatpartyearsagowhenhermotherwasill。Icouldseeheranxietyandgriefgettingmoreandmoreintothepart。Thelastactisheart—breaking。
It’sashomelyasacountryprayermeeting:mightbeanylonelywomangettingreadytodie。It’sfullofthethingeveryplaincreaturefindsoutforhimself,butthatnevergetswrittendown。It’sunconsciousmemory,maybe;
inheritedmemory,likefolk—music。Icallitpersonality。\"
Fredlaughed,andturningtothepianobegancoaxingtheFRICKAmusicagain。\"Callitanythingyoulike,myboy。Ihaveanameforitmyself,butIshan’ttellyou。\"
HelookedoverhisshoulderatLandry,stretchedoutbythefire。\"Youhaveagreattimewatchingher,don’tyou?\"
\"Oh,yes!\"repliedLandrysimply。\"I’mnotinterestedinmuchthatgoesoninNewYork。Now,ifyou’llexcuseme,I’llhavetodress。\"Herosewithareluctantsigh。
\"CanIgetyouanything?Somewhiskey?\"
\"Thankyou,no。I’llamusemyselfhere。Idon’toftengetachanceatagoodpianowhenI’mawayfromhome。
Youhaven’thadthisonelong,haveyou?Action’sabitstiff。Isay,\"hestoppedLandryinthedoorway,\"hasTheaeverbeendownhere?\"
Landryturnedback。\"Yes。ShecameseveraltimeswhenIhaderysipelas。Iwasanicemess,withtwonurses。Shebroughtdownsomeinsidewindow—boxes,plantedwithcrocusesandthings。Verycheering,onlyI
couldn’tseethemorher。\"
\"Didn’tshelikeyourplace?\"
\"Shethoughtshedid,butIfancyitwasagooddealclutteredupforhertaste。Icouldhearherpacingaboutlikesomethinginacage。Shepushedthepianobackagainstthewallandthechairsintocorners,andshebrokemyamberelephant。\"Landrytookayellowobjectsomefourincheshighfromoneofhislowbookcases。\"Youcanseewherehislegisgluedon,——asouvenir。Yes,he’slemonamber,veryfine。\"
LandrydisappearedbehindthecurtainsandinamomentFredheardthewheezeofanatomizer。Heputtheamberelephantonthepianobesidehimandseemedtogetagreatdealofamusementoutofthebeast。
IX
WHENArchieandOttenburgdinedwithTheaonSaturdayevening,theywereserveddownstairsinthehoteldining—room,buttheyweretohavetheircoffeeinherownapartment。Astheyweregoingupintheele—
vatorafterdinner,FredturnedsuddenlytoThea。\"Andwhy,please,didyoubreakLandry’samberelephant?\"
Shelookedguiltyandbegantolaugh。\"Hasn’thegotoverthatyet?Ididn’treallymeantobreakit。Iwasper—
hapscareless。Histhingsaresoover—pettedthatIwastemptedtobecarelesswithalotofthem。\"
\"Howcanyoubesoheartless,whenthey’reallhehasintheworld?\"
\"Hehasme。I’magreatdealofdiversionforhim;allheneeds。There,\"shesaidassheopenedthedoorintoherownhall,\"Ishouldn’thavesaidthatbeforetheelevatorboy。\"
\"Evenanelevatorboycouldn’tmakeascandalaboutOliver。He’ssuchacatnipman。\"
Dr。Archielaughed,butThea,whoseemedsuddenlytohavethoughtofsomethingannoying,repeatedblankly,\"Catnipman?\"
\"Yes,helivesoncatnip,andrumtea。Buthe’snottheonlyone。YouarelikeaneccentricoldwomanIknowinBoston,whogoesaboutinthespringfeedingcatniptostreetcats。Youdispenseittoalotoffellows。Yourpullseemstobemorewithmenthanwithwomen,youknow;
withseasonedmen,aboutmyage,orolder。EvenonFri—
dayafternoonIkeptrunningintothem,oldboysIhadn’tseenforyears,thinatthepartandthickatthegirth,untilIstoodstillinthedraftandheldmyhairon。They’real—
waysthere;Ihearthemtalkingaboutyouinthesmoking—
room。Probablywedon’tgettothepointofapprehendinganythinggooduntilwe’reaboutforty。Then,inthelightofwhatisgoing,andofwhat,Godhelpus!iscoming,wearriveatunderstanding。\"
\"Idon’tseewhypeoplegototheopera,anyway,——seri—
ouspeople。\"Shespokediscontentedly。\"Isupposetheygetsomething,orthinktheydo。Here’sthecoffee。There,please,\"shedirectedthewaiter。Goingtothetableshebe—
gantopourthecoffee,standing。Sheworeawhitedresstrimmedwithcrystalswhichhadrattledagooddealdur—
ingdinner,asallhermovementshadbeenimpatientandnervous,andshehadtwistedthedarkvelvetroseathergirdleuntilitlookedrumpledandweary。Shepouredthecoffeeasifitwereaceremonyinwhichshedidnotbelieve。
\"CanyoumakeanythingofFred’snonsense,Dr。Archie?\"
sheasked,ashecametotakehiscup。
Fredapproachedher。\"Mynonsenseisallright。Thesamebrandhasgonewithyoubefore。It’syouwhowon’tbejollied。What’sthematter?Youhavesomethingonyourmind。\"
\"I’veagooddeal。Toomuchtobeanagreeablehos—
tess。\"Sheturnedquicklyawayfromthecoffeeandsatdownonthepianobench,facingthetwomen。\"Foronething,there’sachangeinthecastforFridayafternoon。
They’regoingtoletmesingSIEGLINDE。\"Herfrowndidnotconcealthepleasurewithwhichshemadethisannounce—
ment。
\"Areyougoingtokeepusdanglingabouthereforever,Thea?ArchieandIaresupposedtohaveotherthingstodo。\"Fredlookedatherwithanexcitementquiteasap—
parentasherown。
\"HereI’vebeenreadytosingSIEGLINDEfortwoyears,keptintorment,andnowitcomesoffwithintwoweeks,justwhenIwanttobeseeingsomethingofDr。Archie。I
don’tknowwhattheirplansaredownthere。AfterFridaytheymayletmecoolforseveralweeks,andtheymayrush
me。IsupposeitdependssomewhatonhowthingsgoFri—
dayafternoon。\"
\"Oh,they’llgofastenough!That’sbettersuitedtoyourvoicethananythingyou’vesunghere。ThatgivesyoueveryopportunityI’vewaitedfor。\"Ottenburgcrossedtheroomandstandingbesideherbegantoplay\"DUBISTDERLENZ。\"
WithaviolentmovementTheacaughthiswristsandpushedhishandsawayfromthekeys。
\"Fred,can’tyoubeserious?AthousandthingsmayhappenbetweenthisandFridaytoputmeout。Some—
thingwillhappen。Ifthatpartweresungwell,aswellasitoughttobe,itwouldbeoneofthemostbeautifulthingsintheworld。That’swhyitneverissungright,andneverwillbe。\"Sheclenchedherhandsandopenedthemde—
spairingly,lookingoutoftheopenwindow。\"It’sinac—
cessiblybeautiful!\"shebroughtoutsharply。
FredandDr。Archiewatchedher。Inamomentsheturnedbacktothem。\"It’simpossibletosingapartlikethatwellforthefirsttime,exceptforthesortwhowillneversingitanybetter。Everythinghangsonthatfirstnight,andthat’sboundtobebad。Thereyouare,\"sheshruggedimpatiently。\"Foronething,theychangethecastattheeleventhhourandthenrehearsethelifeoutofme。\"
Ottenburgputdownhiscupwithexaggeratedcare。
\"Still,youreallywanttodoit,youknow。\"
\"Wantto?\"sherepeatedindignantly;\"ofcourseIwantto!IfthiswereonlynextThursdaynight——ButbetweennowandFridayI’lldonothingbutfretawaymystrength。
Oh,I’mnotsayingIdon’tneedtherehearsals!ButI
don’tneedthemstrungoutthroughaweek。Thatsys—
tem’swellenoughforphlegmaticsingers;itonlydrainsme。Everysinglefeatureofoperaticroutineisdetri—
mentaltome。Iusuallygoonlikeahorsethat’sbeenfixedtolosearace。Ihavetoworkhardtodomyworst,
letalonemybest。Iwishyoucouldhearmesingwell,once,\"sheturnedtoFreddefiantly;\"Ihave,afewtimesinmylife,whentherewasnothingtogainbyit。\"
Fredapproachedheragainandheldouthishand。\"I
recallmyinstructions,andnowI’llleaveyoutofightitoutwithArchie。Hecan’tpossiblyrepresentmanagerialstu—
piditytoyouasIseemtohaveagiftfordoing。\"
Ashesmileddownather,hisgoodhumor,hisgoodwishes,hisunderstanding,embarrassedherandrecalledhertoherself。Shekeptherseat,stillholdinghishand。
\"Allthesame,Fred,isn’tittoobad,thattherearesomanythings——\"Shebrokeoffwithashakeofthehead。
\"Mydeargirl,ifIcouldbridgeovertheagonybetweennowandFridayforyou——Butyouknowtherulesofthegame;whytormentyourself?Yousawtheothernightthatyouhadthepartunderyourthumb。Nowwalk,sleep,playwithArchie,keepyourtigerhungry,andshe’llspringallrightonFriday。I’llbetheretoseeher,andthere’llbemorethanI,Isuspect。Harsanyi’sontheWilhelmderGrosse;getsinonThursday。\"
\"Harsanyi?\"Thea’seyelighted。\"Ihaven’tseenhimforyears。Wealwaysmisseachother。\"Shepaused,hesi—
tating。\"Yes,Ishouldlikethat。Buthe’llbebusy,may—
be?\"
\"HegiveshisfirstconcertatCarnegieHall,weekafternext。Bettersendhimaboxifyoucan。\"
\"Yes,I’llmanageit。\"Theatookhishandagain。\"Oh,Ishouldlikethat,Fred!\"sheaddedimpulsively。\"EvenifIwereputout,he’dgettheidea,\"——shethrewbackherhead,——\"forthereisanidea!\"
\"Whichwon’tpenetratehere,\"hetappedhisbrowandbegantolaugh。\"Youareanungratefulhuzzy,COMMELES
AUTRES!\"
Theadetainedhimasheturnedaway。Shepulledafloweroutofabouquetonthepianoandabsentlydrewthestemthroughthelapelofhiscoat。\"Ishallbewalking
intheParkto—morrowafternoon,onthereservoirpath,betweenfourandfive,ifyoucaretojoinme。YouknowthatafterHarsanyiI’dratherpleaseyouthananyoneelse。
Youknowalot,butheknowsevenmorethanyou。\"
\"Thankyou。Don’ttrytoanalyzeit。SCHLAFENSIE
WOHL!\"hekissedherfingersandwavedfromthedoor,closingitbehindhim。
\"He’stherightsort,Thea。\"Dr。Archielookedwarmlyafterhisdisappearingfriend。\"I’vealwayshopedyou’dmakeitupwithFred。\"
\"Well,haven’tI?Oh,marryhim,youmean!Perhapsitmaycomeabout,someday。Justatpresenthe’snotinthemarriagemarketanymorethanIam,ishe?\"
\"No,Isupposenot。It’sadamnedshamethatamanlikeOttenburgshouldbetiedupasheis,wastingallthebestyearsofhislife。Awomanwithgeneralparesisoughttobelegallydead。\"
\"Don’tletustalkaboutFred’swife,please。Hehadnobusinesstogetintosuchamess,andhehadnobusinesstostayinit。He’salwaysbeenasoftywherewomenwereconcerned。\"
\"Mostofusare,I’mafraid,\"Dr。Archieadmittedmeekly。
\"Toomuchlightinhere,isn’tthere?Tiresone’seyes。
Thestagelightsarehardonmine。\"Theabeganturningthemout。\"We’llleavethelittleone,overthepiano。\"
ShesankdownbyArchieonthedeepsofa。\"Wetwohavesomuchtotalkaboutthatwekeepawayfromitaltogether;
haveyounoticed?Wedon’tevennibbletheedges。IwishwehadLandryhereto—nighttoplayforus。He’sverycomforting。\"
\"I’mafraidyoudon’thaveenoughpersonallife,outsideyourwork,Thea。\"Thedoctorlookedatheranxiously。
Shesmiledathimwithhereyeshalfclosed。\"Mydeardoctor,Idon’thaveany。Yourworkbecomesyourper—
sonallife。Youarenotmuchgooduntilitdoes。It’slike
beingwovenintoabigweb。Youcan’tpullaway,becauseallyourlittletendrilsarewovenintothepicture。Ittakesyouup,andusesyou,andspinsyouout;andthatisyourlife。Notmuchelsecanhappentoyou。\"
\"Didn’tyouthinkofmarrying,severalyearsago?\"
\"YoumeanNordquist?Yes;butIchangedmymind。
Wehadbeensingingagooddealtogether。He’sasplendidcreature。\"
\"Wereyoumuchinlovewithhim,Thea?\"thedoctoraskedhopefully。
Shesmiledagain。\"Idon’tthinkIknowjustwhatthatexpressionmeans。I’veneverbeenabletofindout。I
thinkIwasinlovewithyouwhenIwaslittle,butnotwithanyonesincethen。Thereareagreatmanywaysofcaringforpeople。It’snot,afterall,asimplestate,likemeaslesortonsilitis。Nordquistisatakingsortofman。
HeandIwereoutinarowboatonceinaterriblestorm。
Thelakewasfedbyglaciers,——icewater,——andwecouldn’thaveswumastrokeiftheboathadfilled。Ifwehadn’tbothbeenstrongandkeptourheads,we’dhavegonedown。Wepulledforeveryouncetherewasinus,andwejustgotoffwithourlives。Wewerealwaysbeingthrowntogetherlikethat,undersomekindofpressure。
Yes,forawhileIthoughthewouldmakeeverythingright。\"Shepausedandsankback,restingherheadonacushion,pressinghereyelidsdownwithherfingers。\"Yousee,\"shewentonabruptly,\"hehadawifeandtwochil—
dren。Hehadn’tlivedwithherforseveralyears,butwhensheheardthathewantedtomarryagain,shebegantomaketrouble。Heearnedagooddealofmoney,buthewascarelessandalwayswretchedlyindebt。Hecametomeonedayandtoldmehethoughthiswifewouldsettleforahundredthousandmarksandconsenttoadivorce。
Igotveryangryandsenthimaway。Nextdayhecamebackandsaidhethoughtshe’dtakefiftythousand。\"
Dr。Archiedrewawayfromher,totheendofthesofa。
\"GoodGod,Thea,\"——Heranhishandkerchiefoverhisforehead。\"Whatsortofpeople——\"Hestoppedandshookhishead。
Thearoseandstoodbesidehim,herhandonhisshoul—
der。\"That’sexactlyhowitstruckme,\"shesaidquietly。
\"Oh,wehavethingsincommon,thingsthatgoawayback,undereverything。Youunderstand,ofcourse。Nordquistdidn’t。HethoughtIwasn’twillingtopartwiththemoney。Icouldn’tletmyselfbuyhimfromFruNord—
quist,andhecouldn’tseewhy。HehadalwaysthoughtI
wascloseaboutmoney,soheattributedittothat。Iamcareful,\"——sheranherarmthroughArchie’sandwhenherosebegantowalkabouttheroomwithhim。\"I
can’tbecarelesswithmoney。Ibegantheworldonsixhundreddollars,anditwasthepriceofaman’slife。RayKennedyhadworkedhardandbeensoberanddeniedhim—
self,andwhenhediedhehadsixhundreddollarstoshowforit。Ialwaysmeasurethingsbythatsixhundreddol—
lars,justasImeasurehighbuildingsbytheMoonstonestandpipe。Therearestandardswecan’tgetawayfrom。\"
Dr。Archietookherhand。\"Idon’tbelieveweshouldbeanyhappierifwedidgetawayfromthem。Ithinkitgivesyousomeofyourpoise,havingthatanchor。Youlook,\"glancingdownatherheadandshoulders,\"some—
timessolikeyourmother。\"
\"Thankyou。Youcouldn’tsayanythingnicertomethanthat。OnFridayafternoon,didn’tyouthink?\"
\"Yes,butatothertimes,too。Ilovetoseeit。DoyouknowwhatIthoughtaboutthatfirstnightwhenIheardyousing?IkeptrememberingthenightItookcareofyouwhenyouhadpneumonia,whenyouweretenyearsold。
Youwereaterriblysickchild,andIwasacountrydoctorwithoutmuchexperience。Therewerenooxygentanksaboutthen。Youprettynearlyslippedawayfromme。
Ifyouhad——\"
Theadroppedherheadonhisshoulder。\"I’dhave
savedmyselfandyoualotoftrouble,wouldn’tI?DearDr。Archie!\"shemurmured。
\"Asforme,lifewouldhavebeenaprettybleakstretch,withyouleftout。\"Thedoctortookoneofthecrystalpendantsthathungfromhershoulderandlookedintoitthoughtfully。\"IguessI’maromanticoldfellow,under—
neath。Andyou’vealwaysbeenmyromance。Thoseyearswhenyouweregrowingupweremyhappiest。WhenIdreamaboutyou,Ialwaysseeyouasalittlegirl。\"
Theypausedbytheopenwindow。\"Doyou?Nearlyallmydreams,exceptthoseaboutbreakingdownonthestageormissingtrains,areaboutMoonstone。Youtellmetheoldhousehasbeenpulleddown,butitstandsinmymind,everystickandtimber。InmysleepIgoallaboutit,andlookintherightdrawersandcupboardsforeverything。IoftendreamthatI’mhuntingformyrub—
bersinthatpileofovershoesthatwasalwaysunderthehatrackinthehall。Ipickupeveryovershoeandknowwhoseitis,butIcan’tfindmyown。ThentheschoolbellbeginstoringandIbegintocry。That’sthehouseIrestinwhenI’mtired。Alltheoldfurnitureandthewornspotsinthecarpet——itrestsmymindtogooverthem。\"
Theywerelookingoutofthewindow。Theakepthisarm。Downontheriverfourbattleshipswereanchoredinline,brilliantlylighted,andlauncheswerecomingandgoing,bringingthemenashore。Asearchlightfromoneoftheironcladswasplayingonthegreatheadlanduptheriver,whereitmakesitsfirstresoluteturn。Overheadthenight—blueskywasintenseandclear。
\"There’ssomuchthatIwanttotellyou,\"shesaidatlast,\"andit’shardtoexplain。Mylifeisfullofjealousiesanddisappointments,youknow。Yougettohatingpeoplewhodocontemptibleworkandwhogetonjustaswellasyoudo。Therearemanydisappointmentsinmyprofession,andbitter,bittercontempts!\"Herfacehardened,andlookedmucholder。\"Ifyoulovethegoodthingvitally,enoughto
giveupforitallthatonemustgiveupforit,thenyoumusthatethecheapthingjustashard。Itellyou,thereissuchathingascreativehate!Acontemptthatdrivesyouthroughfire,makesyouriskeverythingandloseeverything,makesyoualongsightbetterthanyoueverknewyoucouldbe。\"AssheglancedatDr。Archie’sface,Theastoppedshortandturnedherownfaceaway。Hereyesfollowedthepathofthesearchlightuptheriverandrestedupontheilluminedheadland。
\"Yousee,\"shewentonmorecalmly,\"voicesareacci—
dentalthings。Youfindplentyofgoodvoicesincommonwomen,withcommonmindsandcommonhearts。LookatthatwomanwhosangORTRUDEwithmelastweek。She’snewhereandthepeoplearewildabouther。`Suchabeau—
tifulvolumeoftone!’theysay。Igiveyoumywordshe’sasstupidasanowlandascoarseasapig,andanyonewhoknowsanythingaboutsingingwouldseethatinaninstant。Yetshe’squiteaspopularasNecker,who’sagreatartist。HowcanIgetmuchsatisfactionoutoftheenthusiasmofahousethatlikesheratrociouslybadper—
formanceatthesametimethatitpretendstolikemine?
Iftheylikeher,thentheyoughttohissmeoffthestage。
Westandforthingsthatareirreconcilable,absolutely。
Youcan’ttrytodothingsrightandnotdespisethepeo—
plewhodothemwrong。HowcanIbeindifferent?Ifthatdoesn’tmatter,thennothingmatters。Well,some—
timesI’vecomehomeasIdidtheothernightwhenyoufirstsawme,sofullofbitternessthatitwasasifmymindwerefullofdaggers。AndI’vegonetosleepandwakenedupintheKohlers’garden,withthepigeonsandthewhiterabbits,sohappy!Andthatsavesme。\"Shesatdownonthepianobench。Archiethoughtshehadforgottenallabouthim,untilshecalledhisname。Hervoicewassoftnow,andwonderfullysweet。Itseemedtocomefromsome—
wheredeepwithinher,thereweresuchstrongvibrationsinit。\"Yousee,Dr。Archie,whatonereallystrivesforin
artisnotthesortofthingyouarelikelytofindwhenyoudropinforaperformanceattheopera。Whatonestrivesforissofaraway,sodeep,sobeautiful\"——sheliftedhershoulderswithalongbreath,foldedherhandsinherlapandsatlookingathimwitharesignationthatmadeherfacenoble,——\"thatthere’snothingonecansayaboutit,Dr。Archie。\"
Withoutknowingverywellwhatitwasallabout,Archiewaspassionatelystirredforher。\"I’vealwaysbe—
lievedinyou,Thea;alwaysbelieved,\"hemuttered。
Shesmiledandclosedhereyes。\"Theysaveme:theoldthings,thingsliketheKohlers’garden。Theyareinevery—
thingIdo。\"
\"Inwhatyousing,youmean?\"
\"Yes。Notinanydirectway,\"——shespokehurriedly,——\"thelight,thecolor,thefeeling。Mostofallthefeeling。
ItcomesinwhenI’mworkingonapart,likethesmellofagardencominginatthewindow。Itryallthenewthings,andthengobacktotheold。Perhapsmyfeelingswerestrongerthen。Achild’sattitudetowardeverythingisanartist’sattitude。Iammoreorlessofanartistnow,butthenIwasnothingelse。WhenIwentwithyoutoChicagothatfirsttime,Icarriedwithmetheessentials,thefoundationofallIdonow。ThepointtowhichIcouldgowasscratchedinmethen。Ihaven’treachedityet,byalongway。\"
Archiehadaswiftflashofmemory。Picturespassedbeforehim。\"Youmean,\"heaskedwonderingly,\"thatyouknewthenthatyouweresogifted?\"
Thealookedupathimandsmiled。\"Oh,Ididn’tknowanything!NotenoughtoaskyouformytrunkwhenI
neededit。Butyousee,whenIsetoutfromMoonstonewithyou,Ihadhadarich,romanticpast。Ihadlivedalong,eventfullife,andanartist’slife,everyhourofit。
Wagnersays,inhismostbeautifulopera,thatartisonlyawayofrememberingyouth。Andtheolderwegrowthe
morepreciousitseemstous,andthemorerichlywecanpresentthatmemory。Whenwe’vegotitallout,——thelast,thefinestthrillofit,thebrightesthopeofit,\"——sheliftedherhandaboveherheadanddroppedit,——\"thenwestop。Wedonothingbutrepeatafterthat。Thestreamhasreachedthelevelofitssource。That’sourmeasure。\"
Therewasalong,warmsilence。Theawaslookinghardatthefloor,asifshewereseeingdownthroughyearsandyears,andheroldfriendstoodwatchingherbenthead。