Hefeltverylonely,andthiswas,daily,hishardesthour。ForalongtimeheandJimhadlunchedtogetherhabitually。Roscoepreferredaclubluncheon,butJimandhisfatheralmostalwayswenttoasmallrestaurantneartheSheridanBuilding,wheretheyspenttwentyminutesintheconsumptionoffood,andtwentyintalk,withcigars。Jimcameforhisfathereveryday,atfiveminutesaftertwelve,andSheridanwasagaininhisofficeatfiveminutesbeforeone。ButnowthatJimnolongercame,Sheridanremainedaloneinhisoffice;hehadnotgoneouttolunchsinceJim'sdeath,nordidhehaveanythingsenttohim——hefasteduntilevening。
　　ItwasthetimehemissedJimpersonallythemost——thevoiceandeyesandhandshake,allbriskandalert,allbusiness—like。ButthesethingswerenotthekeenestinSheridan'sgrief;hissenseoflosswentfardeeper。Roscoewasdependable,asteadyoldwheel—horse,andthatwasagreatcomfort;butitwasinJimthatSheridanhadmosthappilyperceivedhisownlikeness。Jimwastheonewhowouldhavebeensuresttokeepthegreatpropertygrowinggreater,yearbyyear。Sheridanhadfallenasleep,nightafternight,picturingwhatthegrowthwouldbeunderJim。HehadbelievedthatJimwasabsolutelycertaintobeoneofthebiggestmeninthecountry。Well,itwasalluptoRoscoenow！
　　ThatremindedhimofaquestionhehadinmindtoaskRoscoe。ItwasaquestionSheridanconsideredofnopresentimportance,buthiswifehadsuggestedit——thoughvaguely——andhehadmeanttospeaktoRoscoeaboutit。
　　However,Roscoehadnotcomeintohisfather'sofficeforseveraldays,andwhenSheridanhadseenhissonathometherehadbeennoopportunity。
　　Hewaiteduntilthegreaterpartofhisday'sworkwasover,towardfouro'clock,andthenwentdowntoRoscoe'soffice,whichwasonalowerfloor。
　　HefoundseveralmenwaitingforbusinessinterviewsinanouterroomoftheseriesRoscoeoccupied;andhesupposedthathewouldfindhissonbusywithothers,andthathisquestionwouldhavetobepostponed,butwhenheenteredthedoormarked"R。C。Sheridan。Private,"Roscoewastherealone。
　　Hewassittingwithhisbacktothedoor,hisfeetonawindow—sill,andhedidnotturnashisfatheropenedthedoor。
　　"Someprettygoodmenouttherewaitin'toseeyou,myboy,"saidSheridan。
　　"What'sthematter？"
　　"Nothing,"Roscoeansweredindistinctly,notmoving。
　　"Well,Iguessthat'sallright,too。Ilet'emwaitsometimesmyself！I
　　justwantedtoaskyouaquestion,butIexpectit'llkeep,ifyou'reworkin'
　　somethingoutinyourmind！"
　　Roscoemadenoreply;andhisfather,whohadturnedtothedoor,pausedwithhishandontheknob,staringcuriouslyatthemotionlessfigureinthechair。
　　Usuallythesonseemedpleasedandeagerwhenhecametotheoffice。"You'reallright,ain'tyou？"saidSheridan。"Notsick,areyou？"
　　"No。"
　　Sheridanwaspuzzled;then,abruptly,hedecidedtoaskhisquestion。"I
　　wantedtotalktoyouaboutthatyoungLamhorn,"hesaid。"Iguessyourmotherthinkshe'scomin'toseeEdithprettyoften,andyouknownhimlonger'nanyofus,so——"
　　"Iwon't,"saidRoscoe,thickly——"Iwon'tsayadam'thingabouthim！"
　　Sheridanutteredanexclamationandwalkedquicklytoapositionnearthewindowwherehecouldseehisson'sface。Roscoe'seyeswerebloodshotandvacuous;hishairwasdisordered,hismouthwasdistorted,andhewasdeathlypale。Thefatherstoodaghast。
　　"ByGeorge！"hemuttered。"ROSCOE！"
　　"Myname,"saidRoscoe。"Can'helpthat。"
　　"ROSCOE！"BlankastonishmentwasSheridan'sfirstsensation。ProbablynothingintheworldcouldhavemoreamazedhisthantofindRoscoe——thesteadyoldwheel—horse——inthiscondition。"How'dyouGETthisway？"hedemanded。"Youcaughtcoldandtooktoomuchforit？"
　　ForreplyRoscoelaughedhoarsely。"Yeuh！Cold！Ibeendrinkunalltime,lately。Firs'younoticeit？"
　　"ByGeorge！"criedSheridan。"ITHOUGHTI'dsmeltitonyouagooddeallately,butIwouldn't'a'believedyou'dtakemore'nwasgoodforyou。Boh！
　　Toseeyoulikeacommonhog！"
　　Roscoechuckledandthrewouthisrightarminameaninglessgensture。"Hog！"
　　herepeated,chuckling。
　　"Yes,ahog！"saidSheridan,angrily。"Inbusinesshours！Idon'tobjecttoanybody'stakin'adrinkifyouwantsto,outo'businesshours;nor,ifamankeepshisworkrightuptothescratch,Iwouldn'tbetheonetobastehimifhegotgoodan'drunkonceintwo,threeyears,maybe。Itain'tMYway。I
　　letitalone,butIneverbelievedinforcin'mywayonagrown—upsoninmoralmatters。IguessIwaswrong！Youthinkthemmenouttherearewaitin'
　　totalkbusinesswithadrunkard？Youthinkyoucancometoyourofficeanddobusinessdrunk？ByGeorge！Iwonderhowoftenthishasbeenhappeningandmenotontoit！I'llhavealookoveryourbooksto—morrow,andI'll——"
　　Roscoestumbledtohisfeet,laughingwildly,andstoodswaying,contrivingtoholdhimselfinpositionbyclutchingthebackoftheheavychairinwhichhehadbeensitting。
　　"Hoo——hoorah！"hecried。"'Smyprinciples,too。Bedrunkardallyouwantto——outsidebusinesshours。Don'forGossakele'n'thinginnerferebusinesshours！Business！Thassit！You'reright,father。Drink！Die！L'everythinggotohell,butDON'letinnerferebusiness！"
　　SheridanhadseizedthetelephoneuponRoscoe'sdesk,andwascallinghisownoffice,overhead。"Abercrombie？ComedowntomysonRoscoe'ssuiteandgetridofsomegentlementhatarewaitin'theretoseehiminroomtwo—fourteen。
　　There'sMaplesandSchirmerandacoupleo'fellowsontheKinseybusiness。
　　Tell'emsomething'scomeupIhavetogooverwithRoscoe,andtell'emtocomebackdayafterto—morrowattwo。Youneedn'tcomeintoletmeknowthey'regone;wedon'twanttobedisturbed。TellPaulytocallmyhouseandsendClausdownherewithaclosedcar。Wemayhavetogoout。Tellhimtohustle,andcallmeatRoscoe'sroomassoonasthecargetshere。'T'sall！"
　　Roscoehadlaughedbitterlythroughoutthismonologue。"Drunkinbusinesshours！Thassawf'l！Mus'n'dosuchthing！Mus'n'getdrunk,mus'n'gamble,mus'n'kill'nybody——notinbusinesshours！Allrightanyothertime。Kill'nybodyyouwantto——'slong'tain'tinbusinesshours！Fine！Mus'n'haveanytrouble't'llinnerferebusiness。Keepyourtrouble'thome。Don'bringittoth'office。Mightinnerferebusiness！HavefuneralsonSunday——mightinnerferebusiness！Don'letyourwifeinnerferebusiness！Keepall,all,ALL
　　yourtroublean'yourmeanness,an'yourtrad——yourtradegy——keep'emALLforhomeuse！Ifyougotdie,goondie'thome——don'dieroundth'office！
　　Mightinnerferebusiness！"
　　SheridanpickedupanewspaperfromRoscoe'sdesk,andsatdownwithhisbacktohisson,affectingtoread。Roscoeseemedtobeunawareofhisfather'ssignificantposture。
　　"Youknowwh'Ithink？"hewenton。"IthinkBibbsonlyonethefam'lyany'telligenceatall。Won'work,an'di'n'getmarried。Jimworked,an'hegotkilled。Iworked,an'Igotmarried。Lookatme！Jus'lookatme,Iaskyou。Fine'dustrissyoungbusinessman。Lookwhasshappen'tome！Fine！"
　　Heliftedhishandfromthesustainingchairinadeplorablegesture,and,immediatelylosinghisbalance,fellacrossthechairandcaromedtothefloorwithacrash,remainingprostrateforseveralminutes,duringwhichSheridandidnotrelaxhisapparentattentiontothenewspaper。HedidnotevenlookroundatthesoundofRoscoe'sfall。
　　Roscoeslowlyclimbedtoanuprightposition,pullinghimselfupbyholdingtothechair。Hewasslightlysoberedoutwardly,havingprogressedintheprostrateintervaltoastateofbefuddlementlessvolatile。Herubbedhisdazedeyeswiththebackofhislefthand。
　　"What——whatyouaskmewhileago？"hesaid。
　　"Nothin'。"
　　"Yes,youdid。What——whatwasit？"
　　"Nothin'。Youbettersitdown。"
　　"Youask'mewhatIthoughtaboutLamhorn。Youdidaskmethat。Well,I
　　won'ttellyou。Iwon'tsaydam'word'bouthim！"
　　Thetelephone—belltinkled。Sheridanplacedthereceivertohisearandsaid,"Rightdown。"ThenhegotRoscoe'scoatandhatfromaclosetandbroughtthemtohisson。"Getintothiscoat,"hesaid。"You'regoin'home。"
　　"Allri',"Roscoemurmured,obediently。
　　Theywentoutintothemainhallbyasidedoor,notpassingthroughtheouteroffice;andSheridanwaitedforanemptyelevator,stoppedit,andtoldtheoperatortotakeonnomorepassengersuntiltheyreachedthegroundfloor。
　　Roscoewalkedoutofthebuildingandgotintotheautomobilewithoutlurching,andtwentyminuteslaterwalkedintohisownhouseinthesamemanner,neitherhenorhisfatherhavingspokenawordintheinterval。
　　Sheridandidnotgoinwithhim;hewenthome,andtohisownroomwithoutmeetinganyofhisfamily。ButashepassedBibbs'sdoorherheardfromwithinthesoundofacheerfulyoungvoicehummingjubilantfragmentsofsong:
　　WHOlooksamustangintheeye？……WithaleapfromthegroundTothesaddleinabound。Andaway——andaway！Hi—yay！
　　ItwasthefirsttimeinSheridan'slifethathehadeverdetectedanymusicalsymptomwhateverinBibbs——hehadneverevenheardhimwhistle——anditseemedthelasttouchofironythattheuselessfoolshouldbemerryto—day。
　　ToSheridanitwasTomo'Bedlamsingingwhilethehouseburned;andhedidnottarrytoenjoythemelody,butwentintohisownroomandlockedthedoor。
　　Heemergedonlyuponasecondsummonstodinner,twohourslater,andcametothetablesowhiteandsilentthathiswifemadeheranxietymanifestandwasbutpartiallyreassuredbyhisexplanationthathislunchhad"disagreed"withhimalittle。
　　Presently,however,hespokeeffectively。Bibbs,whoseappetitehadbecomehearty,washelpinghimselftoasecondbreastofcaponfromwhite—jacket'ssalver。"Here'sanotherdifferencebetweenMidasandchicken,"Sheridanremarked,grimly。"Midascaneatrooster,butroostercan'teatMidas。I
　　reckonyouoverlookedthat。Midaslookstomelikehehadtheadvantagethere。"
　　Bibbsretainedenoughpresenceofmindtotransferthecaponbreasttohisplatewithoutdroppingitandtorespond,"Yes——hecrowsoverit。"
　　Havingreturnedhisantagonists'sfireinthisfashion,heblushed——forhecouldblushdistinctlynow——andhismotherlookeduponhimwithpleasure,thoughtthereferencetoMidasandroosterswasofcoursejargontoher。"Didyoueverseeanybodyimprovethewaythatchildhas！"sheexclaimed。"I
　　declare,Bibbs,sometimeslatelyyoulookrighthandsome！"
　　"He'sgottobesuchagadabout,"Edithgiggled。
　　"Ifoundsomethingofhisonthefloorup—stairsthismorning,beforeanybodywasup,"saidSheridan。"Ireckonifpeoplelosethingsinthishouseandexpecttoget'emback,theybettergetupassoonasIdo。"
　　"Whatwasithelost？"askedEdith。
　　"Heknows！"herfatherreturned。"SeemstomelikeIforgottobringithomewithme。Ilookeditover——thoughtprobablyitwassomethingprettyimportant,belongin'toabusymanlikehim。"Heaffectedtosearchhispockets。"WhatDIDIdowithit,now？Ohyes！SeemstomelikeIrememberleavin'itdownattheoffice——inthewaste—basket。"
　　"Goodplaceforit,"Bibbsmurmured,stillred。
　　Sheridangavehimagrin。"Perhapsprettysoonyou'llbegettin'upearlyenoughtofinethingsbeforeIdo！"
　　Itwasathreat,andBibbsrepeatedthesubstanceofit,laterintheevening,toMaryVertrees——theyhadcometoknoweachotherthatwell。
　　"Mytime'shereatlast,"hesaid,astheysattogetherinthemelancholygas—lightoftheroomwhichhadbeendenudedofitspiano。ThatremovalhadleftanemptinesssodistressingtoMr。andMrs。Vertreesthatneitherofthemhadcrossedthethresholdsincethedarkday;butthegas—light,thoughfromasinglejet,shednomelancholyuponBibbs,norcouldanyroomseembarethatknewtheglowingpresenceofMary。Hespokelightly,notsadly。
　　"Yes,it'scome。I'veshirkedandputoff,butIcan'tshirkandputoffanylonger。It'sreallymyparttogotohim——atleastitwouldsavemyface。Hemeanswhathesays,andthetime'scometoservemysentence。Hardlaborforlife,Ithink。"
　　Maryshookherhead。"Idon'tthinkso。He'stookind。"
　　"Youthinkmyfather'sKIND？"AndBibbsstaredather。
　　"Yes。I'msureofit。I'vefeltthathehasagreat,braveheart。It'sonlythathehastobekindinhisownway——becausehecan'tunderstandanyotherway。"
　　"Ahyes,"saidBibbs。"Ifthat'swhatyoumeanby'kind'！"
　　Shelookedathimgravely,earnestconcerninherfriendlyeyes。"It'sgoingtobeprettyhardforyou,isn'tit？"
　　"Oh——self—pity！"hereturned,smiling。"Thishasbeenjustthelastflickerofrevolt。Nobodymindsworkifhelikesthekindofwork。There'dbenoloafersintheworldifeachmanfoundthethingthathecoulddobest;buttheonlyworkIhappentowanttodoisuseless——soIhavetogiveitup。
　　To—morrowI'llbeaday—laborer。"
　　"Whatisitlike——exactly？"
　　"Igetupatsix,"hesaid。"Ihavealunch—baskettocarrywithme,whichisaristocraticandnoadvantage。Theotherworkmenhavetinbuckets,andtinbucketsarebetter。Ileavethehouseatsix—thirty,andI'matworkinmyoverallsatseven。Ihaveanhouroffatnoon,andworkagainfromonetillfive。"
　　"Buttheworkitself？"
　　"Itwasn'tmuscularlyexhausting——notatall。Theycouldn'tgivemeaheavierjobbecauseIwasn'tgoodenough。"
　　"Butwhatwillyoudo？Iwanttoknow。"
　　"WhenIleft,"saidBibbs,"Iwas'on'whattheycallovertherea'clipping—machine,'inoneofthe'by—products'departments,andthat'swhatI'llbesentbackto。"
　　"Butwhatisit？"sheinsisted。
　　Bibbsexplained。"It'sverysimpleandveryeasy。Ifeedlongstripsofzincintoapairofsteeljaws,andthejawsbitethezincintolittlecircles。
　　AllIhavetodoistoseethatthestripgoesintothejawsatacertainangle——andyetIwasaverybadhandatit。"
　　Hehadkepthisvoicecheerfulashespoke,buthehadgrownashadepaler,andtherewasalatentanguishdeepinhiseyes。Hemayhaveknownitandwishedhernottoseeit,forheturnedaway。
　　"Youdothatalldaylong？"sheasked,andashenodded,"Itseemsincredible！"sheexclaimed。"YOUfeedingastripofzincintoamachineninehoursaday！Nowonder——"Shebrokeoff,andthen,afterakeenglanceathisface,shesaid:"IshouldthinkyouWOULDhavebeena'badhandatit'！"
　　Helaughedruefully。"Ithinkit'sthenoise,thoughI'mashamedtosayit。
　　Yousee,it'saverypowerfulmachine,andthere'sasortofrhythmicalcrashing——acrasheverytimethejawsbiteoffacircle。"
　　"Howoftenisthat？"
　　"Thethingshouldmakeaboutsixty—eightdisksaminute——alittlemorethanoneasecond。"
　　"Andyou'reclosetoit？"
　　"Oh,theworkmanhastositinitslap,"hesaid,turningtohermoregaily。
　　"Theothersdon'tmind。Yousee,it'ssomethingwrongwithme。Ihaveanidioticwayofflinchingfromtheconfoundedthing——Iflinchandduckalittleeverytimethecrashcomes,andIcouldn'tgetoverit。Iwasatreattotheotherworkmeninthatroom;they'llbegladtoseemeback。Theyusedtolaughatmealldaylong。"
　　Mary'sgazewasavertedfromBibbsnow;shesatwithherelbowrestingonthearmofthechair,herliftedhandpressedagainsthercheek。Shewasstaringatthewall,andhereyeshadaburningbrightnessinthem。
　　"Itdoesn'tseempossibleanyonecoulddothattoyou,"shesaid,inalowvoice。"No。He'snotkind。Heoughttobeproudtohelpyoutotheleisuretowritebooks;itshouldbehisgreatestprivilegetohavethempublishedforyou——"
　　"Can'tyouSEEhim？"Bibbsinterrupted,afaintrippleofhilarityinhisvoice。"Ifhecouldunderstandwhatyou'resaying——andifyoucanimaginehistakingsuchanotion,he'shavehadR。T。Blossputuppostersalloverthecountry:'ReadB。Sheridan。ReadthePoetwithaPunch！'No。It'sjustaswellhenevergotthe——Butwhat'stheuse？I'veneverwrittenanythingworthprinting,andInevershall。"
　　"Youcould！"shesaid。
　　"That'sbecauseyou'veneverseenthepoorlittlethingsI'vetriedtodo。"
　　"Youwouldn'tletme,butIKNOWyoucould！Ah,it'sapity！"
　　"Itisn't,"saidBIBBS,honestly。"Inevercould——butyou'rethekindestladyinthisworld,MissVertrees。"
　　Shegavehimaflashingglance,anditwasaskindashesaidshewas。"Thatsoundswrong,"shesaid,impulsively。"Imean'MissVertrees。'I'vethoughtofyoubyyourfirstnameeversinceImetyou。Wouldn'tyourathercallme'Mary'？"
　　Bibbswasdazzled;hedrewalong,deepbreathanddidnotspeak。
　　"Wouldn'tyou？"sheasked,withoutatraceofcoquetry。
　　"IfICAN！"hesaid,inalowvoice。
　　"Ah,that'sverypretty！"shelaughed。"You'resuchanhonestperson,it'spleasanttohaveyougallantsometimes,bywayofvariety。"Shebecamegraveagainimmediately。"Ihearmyselflaughingasifitweresomeoneelse。Itsoundslikelaughterontheeveofagreatcalamity。"Shegotuprestlessly,crossedtheroomandleanedagainstthewall,facinghim。"You'veGOTtogobacktothatplace？"
　　Henodded。
　　"Andtheothertimeyoudidit——"
　　"Justoverit,"saidBibbs。"Twoyears。ButIdon'tmindtheprospectofarepetitionsomuchas——"
　　"Somuchaswhat？"sheprompted,ashestopped。
　　Bibbslookedupathershyly。"Iwanttosayit,but——butIcometoadeadbalkwhenItry。I——"
　　"Goon。Sayit,whateveritis,"shebadehim。"Youwouldn'tknowhowtosayanythingIshouldn'tlike。"
　　"Idoubtifyou'deitherlikeordislikewhatIwanttosay,"hereturned,movinguncomfortablyinhischairandlookingathisfeet——heseemedtofeelawkward,thoroughly。"Yousee,allmylife——untilImetyou——ifIeverfeltlikesayinganything,Iwroteitinstead。Sayingthingsisanewtrickforme,andthis——well,it'sjustthis:IusedtofeelasifIhadn'teverhadanysortofalifeatall。I'dneverbeenofusetoanythingoranybody,andI'dneverhadanything,myself,exceptakindofhaphazardthinking。Butnowit'sdifferent——I'mstillofnousetoanybody,andIdon'tseeanyprospectofbeinguseful,butIhavehadsomethingformyself。I'vehadabeautifulandhappyexperience,anditmakesmylifeseemtobe——ImeanI'mgladI'velivedit！That'sall;it'syourlettingmebenearyousometimes,asyouhave,thisstrange,beautiful,happylittlewhile！"
　　Hedidnotoncelookup,andreachedsilence,attheendofwhathehadtosay,withhiseyesstillawkwardlyregardinghisfeet。Shedidnotspeak,butasoftrustlingofhergarmentslethimknowthatshehadgonebacktoherchairagain。Thehousewasstill;theshabbyoldroomwassoquietthatthesoundofacreakinginthewallseemedsharpandloud。
　　Andyet,whenMaryspokeatlast,hervoicewasbarelyaudible。"Ifyouthinkithasbeen——happy——tobefriendswithme——you'dwantto——tomakeitlast。"
　　"Yes,"saidBibbs,asfaintly。
　　"You'dwanttogoonbeingmyfriendaslongaswelive,wouldn'tyou？"
　　"Yes,"hegulped。
　　"Butyoumakethatkindofspeechtomebecauseyouthinkit'sover。"
　　Hetriedtoevadeher。"Oh,aday—laborercan'tcomeinhisoveralls——"
　　"No,"sheinterrupted,withasuddensharpness。"Yousaidwhatyoudidbecauseyouthinktheshop'sgoingtokillyou。"
　　"No,no！"
　　"Yes,youdothinkthat！"Sherosetoherfeetagainandcameandstoodbeforehim。"Oryouthinkit'sgoingtosendyoubacktothesanitarium。
　　Don'tdenyit,Bibbs。There！SeehoweasilyIcallyouthat！YouseeI'mafriend,orIcouldn'tdoit。Well,ifyoumeantwhatyousaid——andyoudidmeanit,Iknowit！——you'renotgoingtogobacktothesanitarium。Theshopsha'n'thurtyou。Itsha'n't！"
　　AndnowBibbslookedup。Shestoodbeforehim,straightandtall,splendidingenerousstrength,hereyesshiningandwet。
　　"IfImeanTHATmuchtoyou,"shecried,"theycan'tharmyou！Gobacktotheshop——butcometomewhenyourday'sworkisdone。Letthemachinescrashtheirsixty—eighttimesaminute,butremembereachcrashthatdeafensyouisthatmuchnearertheeveningandme！"
　　Hestumbledtohisfeet。"Yousay——"hegasped。
　　"Everyevening,dearBibbs！"
　　Hecouldonlystare,bewildered。
　　"EVERYevening。Iwantyou。Theysha'n'thurtyouagain！"Andsheheldoutherhandtohim;itwasstrongandwarminhistremulousclasp。"IfIcould,I'dgoandfeedthestripsofzinctothemachinewithyou,"shesaid。"ButalldaylongI'llsendmythoughtstoyou。Youmustkeeprememberingthatyourfriendstandsbesideyou。Andwhentheworkisdone——won'tthenightmakeupfortheday？"
　　Lightseemedtoglowfromher;hewasblindedbythatradianceofkindness。
　　Butallhecouldsaywas,huskily,"Tothinkyou'rethere——withme——standingbesidetheoldzinc—eater——"
　　Andtheylaughedandlookedateachother,andatlastBibbsfoundwhatitmeantnottobealoneintheworld。Hehadafriend。
　　WhenhecameintotheNewHouse,afewminuteslater,hefoundhisfathersittingalonebythelibraryfire。Bibbswentinandstoodbeforehim。"I'mcured,father,"hesaid。"WhendoIgobacktotheshop？I'mready。"
　　Thedesolateandgrimoldmandidnotrelax。"Iwassittin'uptogiveyoualastchancetosaysomethinglikethat。Ireckonit'sabouttime！Ijustwantedtoseeifyou'dhavemanhoodenoughnottomakemetakeyouovertherebythecollar。LastnightImadeupmymindI'dgiveyoujustonemoreday。
　　Well,yougottoitbeforeIdid——prettyclosetotheeleventhhour！Allright。Startinto—morrow。It'sthefirsto'themonth。Thinkyoucangetupintime？"
　　"Sixo'clock,"Bibbsresponded,briskly。"AndIwanttotellyou——I'mgoingina'cheerfulspirit。'Asyousaid,I'llgoandI'll'likeit'！"
　　"That'sYOURlookout！"hisfathergrunted。"They'llputyoubackontheclippin'—machine。Yougetninedollarsaweek。"
　　"MorethanI'mworth,too,"saidBibbs,cheerily。"Thatremindsme,Ididn'tmeanYOUby'Midas'inthatnonsenseI'dbeenwriting。Imeant——"
　　"Makesahellofaloto'differencewhatyoumeant！"
　　"Ijustwantedyoutoknow。Goodnight,father。"
　　"G'night！"
　　Thesoundoftheyoungman'sfootstepsascendingthestairsbecameinaudible,andthehousewasquiet。Butpresently,asSheridansatstaringangrilyatthefire,theshufflingofapairofsliperscouldbehearddescending,andMrs。Sheridanmadeherappearance,herobliqueexpressionandthestateofhertoilettebeingthoseofapersonwho,aftertryingunsuccessfullytosleepononeside,hasgotuptolookforburglars。
　　"Papa！"sheexclaimed,drowsily。"Why'n'tyougotobed？Itmustbegoin'on'leveno'clock！"
　　Sheyawned,andseatedherselfnearhim,stretchingoutherhandstothefire。
　　"What'sthematter？"sheasked,sleepandanxietystrivingsluggishlywitheachotherinhervoice。"Iknewyouwereworriedalldinner—time。YougotsomethingnewonyourmindbesidesJim'sbein'takenawaylikehewas。What'sworryin'younow,papa？"
　　"Nothin'。"
　　Shejeeredfeebly。"N'tellMEthat！YousatuptoseeBibbs,didn'tyou？"
　　"Hestartsinattheshopagainto—morrowmorning,"saidSheridan。
　　"Justthesameashedidbefore？"
　　"Justpre—CISELY！"
　　"How——howlongyougoin'tokeephimatit,papa？"sheasked,timidly。
　　"UntilheKNOWSsomething！"Theunhappymanstruckhispalmstogether,thengottohisfeetandbegantopacetheroom,aswashiswontwhenhetalked。
　　"He'llgobacktothemachinehecouldn'tlearntotendproperlyinthesixmonthshewasthere,andhe'llsticktoittillheDOESlearnit！DoyousupposethatlummixeveraskedhimselfWHYIwanthimtolearnit？No！AndI
　　ain'ta—goin'totellhim,either！WhenhewentthereIhad'emsethimonthesimplestmachinewegot——andhestuckthere！Howmuchprospectwouldtherebeofhislearnin'torunthewholebusinessifhecan'truntheeasiestmachineinit？IsenthimtheretomakehimTHOROUGH。Andwhathappened？Hedidn'tLIKEit！Thatboy'swholelife,there'sbeenasettin'upo'somethingmulishthat'sagainsteverythingIwanthimtodo。Idon'tknowwhatitis,butit'sgottobeworkedoutofhim。Now,laborain'tanymoreasimplequestionthanwhatitwaswhenwewereyoung。Myideaisthat,outsideo'
　　uniontroubles,themanthatcanmanageworkin'—inmenisthemanthat'sbeenonehimself。Well,IsetBibbstolearnthemenandtolearnthebusiness,andHEsethimselftobalkonthefirstjob！That'swhathedid,andthebalk'slastedcloseontothreeyears。IfhebalksagainI'mjustdonewithhim！SometimesIfeellikeIwasprettyneardonewitheverything,anyhow！"