"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;