Mrs。Vertrees"satup"forherdaughter,Mr。Vertreeshavingretiredafterarestlessevening,notmuchsoothedbythesocietyofhisLandseers。Maryhadtakenakey,insistingthatheshouldnotcomeforherandseemingconfidentthatshewouldnotlackforescort;nordidthesequelproveherconfidenceunwarranted。ButMrs。Vertreeshadalongvigilofit。
　　Shewasnotthewomantomakeherselfeasy——noservanthadeverseenherinawrapper——andwithherhairanddressandhershoesjustwhattheyhadbeenwhenshereturnedfromtheafternoon'scall,shesatthroughtheslownighthoursinastifflittlechairunderthegaslightinherownroom,whichwasdirectlyoverthe"fronthall。"There,bookinhand,sheemployedthetimeinherownreminiscences,thoughitwasherbeliefthatshewasreadingMadamedeRemusat's。
　　Herthoughtswentbackwardintoherlifeandintoherhusband's;andthedeeperintothepasttheywent,thebrighterthepicturestheybroughther——
　　andthereistragedy。Likeherhusband,shethoughtbackwardbecauseshedidnotdarethinkforwarddefinitely。Whatthinkingforwardthistroubledcoupleventuredtooktheformofaslenderhopewhichneitherofthemcouldhavebornetohearputinwords,andyettheyhadtalkeditover,dayafterday,fromtheveryhourwhentheyheardSheridanwastobuildhisNewHousenextdoor。For——soquicklydoesanyidealofhumanbehaviorbecomeanantique——theiryouthwasoftheinnocentolddays,sodead！of"breeding"and"gentility,"andnocrafthadbeenmorestraitlytraineduponthemthanthatoftalkingaboutthingswithoutmentioningthem。HereinwasmarkedthemostvitaldifferencebetweenMr。andMrs。Vertreesandtheirbignewneighbor。
　　Sheridan,thoughhisyouthwasofthesameepoch,knewnothingofsuchmatters。Hehadbeenchoppingwoodforthemorningfireinthecountrygrocerywhiletheywerestilldancing。
　　Itwasafteroneo'clockwhenMrs。Vertreesheardstepsandthedelicateclinkingofthekeyinthelock,andthen,withtheopeningofthedoor,Mary'slaugh,and"Yes——ifyouaren'tafraid——to—morrow！"
　　Thedoorclosed,andsherushedup—stairs,bringingwithherabreathofcoldandbracingairintohermother'sroom。"Yes,"shesaid,beforeMrs。Vertreescouldspeak,"hebroughtmehome！"
　　Shelethercloakfalluponthebed,and,drawinganoldred—velvetrocking—chairforward,satbesidehermotheraftergivingheralightpatupontheshoulderandaheartykissuponthecheek。
　　"Mamma！"Maryexclaimed,whenMrs。Vertreeshadexpressedahopethatshehadenjoyedtheeveningandhadnotcaughtcold。"Whydon'tyouaskme？"
　　Thisinquiryobviouslymadehermotheruncomfortable。"Idon't——"shefaltered。"Askyouwhat,Mary？"
　　"HowIgotalongandwhathe'slike。"
　　"Mary！"
　　"Oh,itisn'tdistressing！"saidMary。"AndIgotalongsofast——"Shebrokeofftolaugh;continuingthen,"Butthat'sthewayIwentatit,ofcourse。
　　WeAREinahurry,aren'twe？"
　　"Idon'tknowwhatyoumean,"Mrs。Vertreesinsisted,shakingherheadplaintively。
　　"Yes,"saidMary,"I'mgoingoutinhiscarwithhimto—morrowafternoon,andtothetheaterthenextnight——butIstoppeditthere。Yousee,afteryougivethefirstpush,youmustleaveittothemwhileYOUpretendtorunaway！"
　　"Mydear,Idon'tknowwhatto——"
　　"Whattomakeofanything！"Maryfinishedforher。"Sothat'sallright！NowI'lltellyouallaboutit。Itwasgorgeousanddeafeningandtee—total。Wecouldhavelivedayearonit。I'mnotgoodatfigures,butIcalculatedthatifwelivedsixmonthsonpooroldCharlieandNedandthestation—wagonandtheVictoria,wecouldmanageatleasttwiceaslongonthecostofthe'house—warming。'Ithinktheorchidsalonewouldhavelastedusacoupleofmonths。Theretheywere,beforeme,butIcouldn'tsteal'emandsell'em,andso——well,soIdidwhatIcould！"
　　Sheleanedbackandlaughedreassuringlytohertroubledmother。"Itseemedtobeasuccess——whatIcould,"shesaid,claspingherhandsbehindherneckandstirringtherockertomotionasarhythmicaccompanimenttohernarrative。"ThegirlEdithandhersister—in—law,Mrs。RoscoeSheridan,weretooanxiousabouttheeffectofthingsonme。Thefather'sworthabushelofbothofthem,iftheyknewit。He'swhatheis。Ilikehim。"Shepausedreflectively,continuing,"Edith's'interested'inthatLamhornboy;he'sgood—lookingandnotstupid,butIthinkhe's——"Sheinterruptedherselfwithacheeryoutcry:"Oh！Imustn'tbecallinghimnames！Ifhe'stryingtomakeEdithlikehim,Ioughttorespecthimasacolleague。"
　　"Idon'tunderstandathingyou'retalkingabout,"Mrs。Vertreescomplained。
　　"Allthebetter！Well,he'sabadlot,thatLamhornboy;everybody'salwaysknownthat,buttheSheridansdon'tknowtheeverybodiesthatknow。HesatbetweenEdithandMrs。RoscoeSheridan。SHE'Slikethosepeopleyouwonderedaboutatthetheater,thelasttimewewent——dressedinball—gowns;boundtoshowtheirclothesandjewelsSOMEwhere！Sheflattersthefather,andsodidI,forthatmatter——butnotthatway。Itreatedhimoutrageously！"
　　"Mary！"
　　"That'swhatflatteredhim。Afterdinnerhemadethewholeregimentofusfollowhimalloverthehouse,whilehelecturedlikeaguideonthePalatine。
　　Hegavedimensionsandcosts,andthewholeb'ilin'of'emlistenedasiftheythoughtheintendedtomakethemapresentofthehouse。WhathewasproudestofwastheplumbingandthatBayofNaplespanoramainthehall。Hemadeuslookatalltheplumbing——bath—roomsandeverywhereelse——andthenhemadeuslookattheBayofNaples。Hesaiditwasahundredandelevenfeetlong,butIthinkit'smore。Andheledusallintotheready—madelibrarytoseeapoemEdithhadtakenaprizewithatschool。They'dhaditprintedingoldlettersandframedinmother—of—pearl。Butthepoemitselfwasrathersimpleandwistfulandnice——hereadittous,thoughEdithtriedtostophim。Shewasmodestaboutit,andsaidshe'dneverwrittenanythingelse。Andthen,afterawhile,Mrs。RoscoeSheridanaskedmetocomeacrossthestreettoherhousewiththem——herhusbandandEdithandMr。LamhornandJimSheridan——"
　　Mrs。Vertreeswasshocked。"'Jim'！"sheexclaimed。"Mary,PLEASE——"
　　"Ofcourse,"saidMary。"I'llmakeitaseasyforyouasIcan,mamma。Mr。
　　JamesSheridan,Junior。Wewentoverthere,andMrs。Roscoeexplainedthat'themenwerealldyingforadrink,'thoughInoticedthatMr。Lamhornwastheonlyoneneardeath'sdooronthataccount。EdithandMrs。RoscoesaidtheyknewI'dbeenboredatthedinner。Theywereobjectionablyapologeticaboutit,andtheyseemedtothinkNOWweweregoingtohavea'goodtime'tomakeupforit。ButIhadn'tbeenboredatthedinner,I'dbeenamused;andthe'goodtime'atMrs。Roscoe'swashorribly,horriblystupid。"
　　"But,Mary,"hermotherbegan,"is——is——"Andsheseemedunabletocompletethequestion。
　　"Nevermind,mamma。I'llsayit。IsMr。JamesSheridan,Junior,stupid？I'msurehe'snotatallstupidaboutbusiness。Otherwise——Oh,whatrighthaveI
　　tobecallingpeople'stupid'becausethey'renotexactlymykind？Onthebigdinner—tabletheyhadenormousicingmodelsoftheSheridanBuilding——"
　　"Oh,no！"Mrs。Vertreescried。"Surelynot！"
　　"Yes,andtwootherthingsofthatkind——Idon'tknowwhat。But,afterall,I
　　wonderediftheyweresobad。IfI'dbeenatadinneratapalaceinItaly,andarelieforinscriptionononeoftheoldsilverpeiceshadreferredtosomegreatdeedorachievementofthefamily,Ishouldn'thavefeltsuperior;
　　I'dhavethoughtitpicturesqueandstately——I'dhavebeenimpressed。Andwhat'stherealdifference？Theicingistemporary,andthat'smuchmoremodest,isn'tit？Andwhyisitvulgartofeelimportantmoreonaccountofsomethingyou'vedoneyourselfthanbecauseofsomethingoneofyourancestorsdid？Besides,ifwegobackafewgenerations,we'veallgotsuchhundredsofancestorsitseemsidiotictogopickingoutoneortwotobeproudofourselvesabout。Well,then,mamma,ImanagednottofeelsuperiortoMr。
　　JamesSheridan,Junior,becausehedidn'tseeanythingoutofplaceintheSheridanBuildinginsugar。"
　　Mrs。Vertrees'sexpressionhadlostnoneofitsanxietypendingtheconclusionofthislivelybitofanalysis,andsheshookherheadgravely。"Mydear,dearchild,"shesaid,"itseemstome——Itlooks——I'mafraid——"
　　"Sayasmuchofitasyoucan,mamma,"saidMary,encouragingly。"Icangetit,ifyou'lljustgivemeonekey—word。"
　　"Everythingyousay,"Mrs。Vertreesbegan,timidly,"seemstohavetheairof——Itisasifyouwereseekingto——tomakeyourself——"
　　"Oh,Isee！YoumeanIsoundasifIweretryingtoforcemyselftolikehim。"
　　"Notexactly,Mary。Thatwasn'tquitewhatImeant,"saidMrs。Vertrees,speakingdirectuntruthwithperfectunconsciousness。"Butyousaidthat——
　　thatyoufoundthelatterpartoftheeveningatyoungMrs。Sheridan'sunentertaining——"
　　"AndasMr。JamesSheridanwasthere,andIsawmoreofhimthanatdinner,andhadahorriblystupidtimeinspiteofthat,youthinkI——"AndthenitwasMarywholeftthedeductionunfinished。
　　Mrs。Vertreesnodded;andthoughboththemotherandthedaughterunderstood,Maryfeltitbettertomaketheunderstandingdefinite。
　　"Well,"sheasked,gravely,"isthereanythingelseIcando？Youandpapadon'twantmetodoanythingthatdistressesme,andso,asthisistheonlythingtobedone,itseemsit'suptomenottoletitdistressme。That'sallthereisaboutit。isn'tit？"
　　"ButnothingMUSTdistressyou！"themothercried。
　　"That'swhatIsay！"saidMary,cheerfully。"Andsoitdoesn't。It'sallright。"Sheroseandtookhercloakoverherarm,asiftogotoherownroom。Butonthewaytothedoorshestopped,andstoodleaningagainstthefootofthebed,contemplatingathreadbarerugatherfeet。"Mother,you'vetoldmeathousandtimesthatitdoesn'treallymatterwhomagirlmarries。"
　　"No,no！"Mrs。Vertreesprotested。"Ineversaidsucha——"
　　"No,notinwords;ImeanwhatyouMEANT。It'strue,isn'tit,thatmarriagereallyis'notabedofroses,butafieldofbattle'？Togetrightdowntoit,agirlcouldfightitoutwithanybody,couldn'tshe？Onemanaswellasanother？"
　　"Oh,mydear！I'msureyourfatherandI——"
　　"Yes,yes,"saidMary,indulgently。"Idon'tmeanyouandpapa。Butisn'titpropinquitythatmakesmarriages？Somanypeoplesayso,theremustbesomethinginit。"
　　"Mary,Ican'tbearforyoutotalklikethat。"AndMrs。Vertreesliftedpleadingeyestoherdaughter——eyesthatbeggedtobespared。"Itsounds——almostreckless！"
　　Marycaughttheappeal,cametoher,andkissedhergaily。"Neverfret,dear！
　　I'mnotlikelytodoanythingIdon'twanttodo——I'vealwaysbeentoothorough—goingalittlepig！AndifitISpropinquitythatdoesourchoosingforus,well,atleastnogirlintheworldcouldaskformorethanTHAT！Howcouldtherebeanymorepropinquitythantheveryhousenextdoor？"
　　Shegavehermotherafinalkissandwentgailyallthewaytothedoorthistime,pausingforherpostscriptwithherhandontheknob。"Oh,theonethatcaughtmelookinginthewindow,mamma,theyoungestone——"
　　"Didhespeakofit？"Mrs。Vertreesasked,apprehensively。
　　"No。Hedidn'tspeakatall,thatIsaw,toanyone。Ididn'tmeethim。Butheisn'tinsane,I'msure;orifheis,hehaslongintervalswhenhe'snot。
　　Mr。JamesSheridanmentionedthathelivedathomewhenhewas'wellenough';
　　anditmaybehe'sonlyaninvalid。Helooksdreadfullyill,buthehaspleasanteyes,anditstruckmethatif——ifonewereintheSheridanfamily"——shelaughedalittleruefully——"hemightbeinterestingtotalktosometimes,whentherewastoomuchstocksandbonds。Ididn'tseehimafterdinner。"
　　"Theremustbesomethingwrongwithhim,"saidMrs。Vertrees。"They'dhaveintroducedhimiftherewasn't。"
　　"Idon'tknow。He'sbeenillsomuchandawaysomuch——sometimespeoplelikethatjustdon'tseemto'count'inafamily。Hisfatherspokeofsendinghimbacktoamachine—shoporsomesort;Isupposehemeantwhenthepoorthinggetsbetter。Iglancedathimjustthen,whenMr。Sheridanmentionedhim,andhehappenedtobelookingstraightatme;andhewaspathetic—lookingenoughbeforethat,butthemosttragicchangecameoverhim。Heseemedjusttodie,rightthereatthetable！"
　　"Youmeanwhenhisfatherspokeofsendinghimtotheshopplace？"
　　"Yes。"
　　"Mr。Sheridanmustbeveryunfeeling。"
　　"No,"saidMary,thoughtfully,"Idon'tthinkheis;buthemightbeuncomprehending,andcertainlyhe'sthekindofmantodoanythingheoncesetsouttodo。ButIwishIhadn'tbeenlookingatthatpoorboyjustthen！
　　I'mafraidI'llkeepremembering——"
　　"Iwouldn't。"Mrs。Vertreessmiledfaintly,andinhersmiletherewastheremotestghostofagenteelroguishness。"I'dkeepmymindonpleasanterthings,Mary。"
　　Marylaughedandnodded。"Yes,indeed！Plentypleasantenough,andprobably,ifallwereknown,toogood——evenforme！"
　　AndwhenshehadgoneMrs。Vertreesdrewalongbreath,asifaburdenwereoffhermind,and,smiling,begantoundressinagentlereverie。
　　Edith,glancingcasuallyintothe"ready—made"library,stoppedabruptly,seeingBibbstherealone。Hewasstandingbeforethepearl—framedandgolden—
　　letteredpoem,musinglyinspectingit。Hereadit:
　　FugitiveIwillforgetthethingsthatsting:
　　Thelashinglook,thebarbedword。
　　IknowtheveryhandsthatflingThestonesatmehadneverstirredToangerbutfortheirownscars。
　　They'vesufferedso,that'swhytheystrike。
　　I'llkeepmyheartamongthestarsWherenoneshallhuntitout。Oh,likeThesewoundedonesImustnotbe,For,wounded,Imightstrikeinturn！
　　So,noneshallhurtme。FarandfreeWheremyheartfliesnooneshalllearn。
　　"Bibbs！"Edith'svoicewasangry,andhercolordeepenedsuddenlyasshecameintotheroom,precededbyascentofvioletsmuchmorepowerfulthanthatwarrantedbytheactualbunchofthemuponthelapelofhercoat。
　　Bibbsdidnotturnhishead,butwaggeditsolemnly,seemingdepressedbythepoem。"Prettyyoung,isn'tit？"hesaid。"Theremusthavebeensomethingaboutyourlooksthatgottheprize,Edith;Ican'tbelievethepoemdidit。"
　　Sheglancedhurriedlyoverhershoulderandspokesharply,butinalowvoice:
　　"Idon'tthinkit'sveryniceofyoutobringitupatall,Bibbs。I'dlikeachancetoforgetthewholesillybusiness。Ididn'twantthemtoframeit,andIwishtogoodnesspapa'dquittalkingaboutit;buthere,thatnight,afterthedinner,didn'thegoandreaditaloudtothewholecrowdof'em！
　　AndthentheyallwantedtoknowwhatotherpoemsI'dwrittenandwhyIdidn'tkeepitupandwritesomemore,andifIdidn't,whydidn'tI,andwhythisandwhythat,tillIthoughtI'ddieofshame！"
　　"Youcouldtell'emyouhadwriter'scramp,"Bibbssuggested。
　　"Icouldn'ttell'emanything！Ijustchokewithmortificationeverytimeanybodyspeaksofthething。"
　　Bibbslookedgrieved。"Thepoemisn'tTHATbad,Edith。Yousee,youwereonlyseventeenwhenyouwroteit。"
　　"Oh,hushup！"shesnapped。"IwishithadburntmyfingersthefirsttimeI
　　touchedit。ThenImighthavehadsenseenoughtoleaveitwhereitwas。I
　　hadnobusinesstotakeit,andI'vebeenashamed——"
　　"No,no,"hesaid,comfortingly。"Itwastheverymostflatteringthingeverhappentome。ItwasalmostmylastflightbeforeIwenttothemachine—shop,andit'spleasanttothinksomebodylikeditenoughto——"
　　"ButIDON'Tlikeit！"sheexclaimed。"Idon'tevenunderstandit——andpapamadesomuchfussoveritsgettingtheprize,Ijusthateit！ThetruthisI
　　neverdreamedit'dgettheprize。"
　　"Maybetheyexpectedfathertoendowtheschool,"Bibbsmurmered。
　　"Well,Ihadtohavesomethingtoturnin,andIcouldn'twriteaLINE！I
　　hatepoetry,anyhow;andBobbyLamhorn'salwaysteasingmeabouthowI'keepmyheartamongthestars。'Hemakesitseemsuchamushykindofthing,thewayhesaysit。Ihateit！"
　　"You'llhavetoliveitdown,Edith。Perhapsabroadandunderanothernameyoumightfind——"
　　"Oh,hushup！I'llhiresomeonetostealitandburnitthefirstchanceI
　　get。"Sheturnedawaypetulantly,movingtothedoor。"I'dliketothinkI
　　couldhopetohearthelastofitbeforeIdie！"
　　"Edith！"hecalled,asshewentintothehall。
　　"What'sthematter？"
　　"Iwanttoaskyou:DoIreallylookbetter,orhaveyoujustgotusedtome？"
　　"Whatonearthdoyoumean？"shesaid,comingbackasfarasthethreshold。
　　"WhenIfirstcameyoucouldn'tlookatme,"Bibbsexplained,inhisimpersonalway。"ButI'venoticedyoulookatmelately。IwonderedifI'd——"
　　"It'sbecauseyoulooksomuchbetter,"shetoldhim,cheerfully。"Thismonthyou'vebeenhere'sdoneyounoendofgood。It'sthechange。"
　　"Yes,that'swhattheysaidatthesanitarium——thechange。"
　　"Youlookworsethan'mostanybodyIeversaw,"saidEdith,withsupremecandor。"ButIdon'tknowmuchaboutit。I'veneverseenacorpseinmylife,andI'veneverevenseenanybodythatwasterriblysick,soyoumustn'tjudgebyme。Ionlyknowyoudolookbetter,I'mgladtosay。Butyou'rerightaboutmynotbeingabletolookatyouatfirst。Youhadakindofwhitenessthat——Well,you'realmostasthin,Isuppose,butyou'vegotmorejustordinarilypale;notthatghastlylook。Anybodycouldlookatyounow,Bibbs,andno——notget——"
　　"Sick？"
　　"Well——almostthat！"shelaughed。"Andyou'regettingabettercoloreveryday,Bibbs;youreallyare。You'regettingalongsplendidly。"
　　"I——I'mafraidso,"hesaid,ruefully。
　　"'Afraidso'！Well,ifyouaren'tthequeerest！Isupposeyoumeanfathermightsendyoubacktothemachine—shopifyougetwellenough。Iheardhimsaysomethingaboutitthenightofthe——"Thejingleofadistantbellinterruptedher,andsheglancedatherwatch。"BobbyLamhorn！I'mgoingtomotorhimouttolookataplaceinthecountry。Afternoon,Bibbs！"
　　Whenshehadgone,Bibbsmoonedpessimisticallyfromshelftoshelf,hiseyewanderingamongthetitlesofthebooks。Thelibraryconsistedalmostentirelyofhandsome"uniformeditions":Irving,Poe,Cooper,Goldsmith,Scott,Byron,Burns,Longfellow,Tennyson,Hume,Gibbon,Prescott,Thackeray,Dickens,DeMusset,Balzac,Gautier,Flaubert,Goethe,Schiller,Dante,andTasso。Therewereshelvesandshelvesofencyclopedias,ofanthologies,of"famousclassics,"of"Orientalmasterpieces,"of"masterpiecesoforatory,"
　　andmoreshelvesof"selectedlibraries"of"literature,"of"thedrama,"andof"modernscience。"Theymadeaneffectivedecorationfortheroom,allthesebig,expensivebooks,withaglossybindinghereandtheretwinklingareflectionoftheflamesthatcrackledinthesplendidGothicfireplace;butBibbshadanimpressionthatthebooksellerwhoselectedthemconsideredthemarelief,andthatwhite—jacketconsideredthemaburdenofdust,andthatnobodyelseconsideredthematall。Himself,hedisturbednotone。
　　Therecameachimeofbellsfromaclockinanotherpartofthehouse,andwhite—jacketappearedbeaminglyinthedoorway,bearingfurs。"Awready,Mist'
　　Bibbs,"heannounced。"You'masaywrapupwawmf'you'ride,an'shecain'
　　gowithyouto—day,an'notf'gitgoseeyou'paatfo''clock。Awready,suh。"
　　HeequippedBibbsforthedailydriveDr。Gurneyhadcommanded;andinthemannerofamasterofceremoniesunctuouslyledtheway。InthehalltheypassedtheMoor,andBibbspausedbeforeitwhilewhite—jacketopenedthedoorwithaflourishandwavedcondescendinglytothechauffeurinthecarwhichstoodwaitinginthedriveway。
　　"ItseemstomeIaskedyouwhatyouthoughtaboutthis'statue'whenIfirstcamehome,George,"saidBibbs,thoughtfully。"Whatdidyoutellme？"
　　"Yessuh！"Georgechuckled,perfectlyunderstandingthatforsomeunknownreasonBibbsenjoyedhearinghimrepeathisopinionoftheMoor。"Youastmewhenyoufirs'comehome,an'youastmenex'day,an'mightynearev'ydayalltimeyoubeenhere;an'las'Sundayyouastmetwicet。"Heshookhisheadsolemnly。"Looktomemus'besomep'mmightlamiDAL'bout'atstatue！"
　　"Mightywhat？"
　　"MightylamiDAL！"George,burstoutlaughing。"WhatDO'atwordmean,Mist'
　　Bibbs？"
　　"It'snewtome,George。Wheredidyouhearit？"
　　"Inev'DIDhearit！"saidGeorge。"Iuzdesssittin'thinkumtomyse'fan'
　　shepopinmyhead——'lamiDAL,'desslike'at！An'shesoun'sogood,seemlikesheGOTTAmeansomep'm！"
　　"Cometothinkofit,Ibelieveshedoesmeansomething。Why,yes——"
　　"Doshe？"criedGeorge。"WHATshemean？"
　　"It'sexactlythewordforthestatue,"saidBibbs,withconviction,asheclimbedintothecar。"It'salamiDALstatue。"
　　"Hiyi！"Georgeexulted。"Man！Man！Listen！Well,suh,shemightylamiDAL
　　statue,butlamiDALstatueheapo'troubletodus'！""Iexpectsheis！"saidBibbs,astheenginebegantochurn;andamomentlaterhewassweptfromsight。
　　GeorgeturnedtoMist'Jackson,whohadbeenlisteningbenevolentlyinthehallway。"Sameheaw—wayssay,Mist'Jackson——'Iexpec'sheis！'Ev'ydayhetryt'gitmetalk'bout'atlamiDALstatue,an'aw—ways,las'thingHEsay,'Iexpec'sheis！'Youknow,Mist'Jackson,ifhegitwell,'atyoungmango'
　　beprideo'thefamily,Mist'Jackson。Yes—suh,rightnowIpick'imfo'
　　firs'money！"
　　"Lookoutwithall'atmoney,George！"Jacksonwarnedtheenthusiast。"Whitefolks'n'ishouseknow'imheaplonger'nyou。Youtheon'ymanbettin'on'im！"
　　"Iriskit！"criedGeorge,merrily。"Iputherallonnow——ev'ycent！'Atboy'sgo'beflowero'theflock！"
　　Thissingularprophecy,foundedsomewhatrecklesslyupongratitudeforthemeaningof"lamiDAL,"differedradicallyfromanotherpredictionconcerningBibbs,setforthforthebenefitofafairauditorsometwentyminuteslater。
　　JimSheridan,skirtingtheedgesofthetownwithMaryVertreesbesidehim,inhisownswiftmachine,encounteredtheinvaliduponthehighroad。Thetwocarsweregoinginoppositedirections,andtheoccupantsofJim'shadonlyaswayingglimpseofBibbssittingaloneonthebackseat——hiswhitefacestartlinglywhiteagainstcapandcollarofblackfur——butheflashedintorecognitionasMarybowedtohim。
　　Jimwavedhislefthandcarelessly。"It'sBibbs,takinghisconstitutional,"
　　heexplained。
　　"Yes,Iknow,"saidMary。"Ibowedtohim,too,thoughI'venevermethim。Infact,I'veonlyseenhimonce——no,twice。Ihopehewon'tthinkI'mverybold,bowingtohim。"
　　"Idoubtifhenoticedit,"saidhonestJim。
　　"Oh,no！"shecried。
　　"What'sthetrouble？"
　　"I'malmostsurepeoplenoticeitwhenIbowtothem。"
　　"Oh,Isee！"saidJim。"Ofcoursetheywouldordinarily,butBibbsisfunny。"
　　"Ishe？How？"sheasked。"Hestrikesmeasanythingbutfunny。"
　　"Well,I'mhisbrother,"Jimsaid,deprecatingly,"butIdon'tknowwhathe'slike,and,totellthetruth,I'veneverfeltexactlylikeIWAShisbrother,thewayIdoRoscoe。Bibbsneverdidseemmorethanhalfalivetome。OfcourseRoscoeandIareolder,andwhenwewereboysweweretoobigtoplaywithhim,butheneverplayedanyway,withboyshisownage。He'dratherjustsitinthehouseandmopearoundbyhimslef。NobodycouldevergethimtoDO
　　anything;youcan'tgethimtodoanythingnow。HeneverhadanyLIFEinhim;
　　andhonestly,ifheismybrother,ImustsayIbelieveBibbsSheridanisthelaziestmanGodevermade！Fatherputhiminthemachine—shopoveratthePumpWorks——bestthingintheworldforhim——andhewasjustplainnoaccount。
　　Itmadehimsick！Ifhe'dhadtherightkindofenergy——thekindfather'sgot,forinstance,orRoscoe,either——why,itwouldn'tmadehimsick。Andsupposeitwaseitherofthem——yes,orme,either——doyouthinkanyofuswouldhavestoppedifweWEREsick？Notmuch！Ihatetosayit,butBibbsSheridan'llneveramounttoanythingaslongashelives。"
　　Marylookedthoughtful。"Isthereanyparticularreasonwhyheshould？"sheasked。
　　"Goodgracious！"heexclaimed。"Youdon'tmeanthat,doyou？Don'tyoubelieveinaman'sknowinghowtoearnhissalt,nomatterhowmuchmoneyhisfather'sgot？Hasn'tthebusinessofthisworldgottobecarriedonbyeverybodyinit？Arewegoingtolaybackonwhatwe'vegotandseeotherfellowsgetaheadofus？Ifwe'vegotbigthingsalready,isn'titeveryman'sbusinesstogoaheadandmake'embigger？Isn'tithisduty？Don'twealwayswanttogetbiggerandbigger？"
　　"Ye—es——Idon'tknow。ButIfeelrathersorryforyourbrother。Helookedsolonely——andsick。"