第6章

\"Suchthingswehavetokeepsecret——thingsthatgoonrightbeforeYOUReyes!\" \"Whydon\'tsomeofyoutellus？\"heasked。 \"Wecan\'ttellyou。\" \"Toomuchhonour？\" \"No。Noteventoomuchhonouramongthieves，Mr。Russell。Wedon\'ttellyouaboutourtricksagainstoneanotherbecauseweknowitwouldn\'tmakeanyimpressiononyou。Thetricksaren\'tplayedagainstyou，andyouhaveasoftsideforcatswithlovelymanners!\" \"Whataboutyourtricksagainstus？\" \"Oh，those!\"Alicelaughed。\"Wethinkthey\'rerathercute!\" \"Bravo!\"hecried，andhammeredtheferruleofhisstickuponthepavement。 \"What\'stheapplausefor？\" \"Foryou。Whatyousaidwaslikerunninguptheblackflagtothemasthead。\" \"Oh，no。Itwasjustamodestlittlesigninaprettyflower-bed:\'Gentlemen，beware!\'\" \"IseeImust，\"hesaid，gallantly。 \"Thanks!ButImean，bewareofthewholebloomin\'garden!\"Then，pickingupathreadthathadalmostdisappeared:\"Youneedn\'tthinkyou\'lleverfindoutwhetherI\'mrightaboutMildred\'snotbeinganexceptionbyaskingher，\"shesaid。\"Shewon\'ttellyou:she\'snotthesortthatevermakesaconfession。\" ButRussellhadnotfollowedhershifttotheformertopic。 \"\'Mildred\'snotbeinganexception？\'\"hesaid，vaguely。\"I don\'t——\" \"Anexceptionaboutthinkingshecouldbewonderfulthingonthestageifsheonlycaredto。IfyouaskedherI\'mprettysureshe\'dsay，\'Whatnonsense!\'Mildred\'sthedearest，finestthinganywhere，butyouwon\'tfindoutmanythingsaboutherbyaskingher。\" Russell\'sexpressionbecamemoreserious，asitdidwheneverhiscousinwasmadetheirtopic。\"Youthinknot？\"hesaid。\"Youthinkshe\'s——\" \"No。Butit\'snotbecausesheisn\'tsincereexactly。It\'sonlybecauseshehassuchalottoliveupto。Shehastoliveuptobeingagirlonthegrandstyletoherself，Imean，ofcourse。\" AndwithoutpausingAlicerippledon，\"YououghttohaveseenME whenIhadthestage-fever!Iusedtoplay\'Juliet\'allaloneinmyroom。\'Sheliftedherarmsingracefulentreaty，pleadingmusically，\"O，swearnotbythemoon，theinconstantmoon，Thatmonthlychangesinhercircledorb，Lestthyloveprove——\" Shebrokeoffabruptlywithalittleflourish，snappingthumbandfingerofeachoutstretchedhand，thenlaughedandsaid，\"Papausedtomakesuchfunofme!Thankheaven，Iwasonlyfifteen；I wasalloveritbythenextyear。\" \"Nowonderyouhadthefever，\"Russellobserved。\"Youdoitbeautifully。Whydidn\'tyoufinishtheline？\" \"Whichone？\'Lestthyloveprovelikewisevariable\'？JulietwassayingittoaMAN，youknow。Sheseemstohavebeenreadytoworryabouthisconstancyprettyearlyintheiraffair!\" Hercompanionwasagainthoughtful。\"Yes，\"hesaid，seemingtoberatherirksomelyimpressedwithAlice\'ssuggestion。\"Yes；itdoesappearso。\" Aliceglancedathisseriousface，andyieldedtoanaudacioustemptation。\"Youmustn\'ttakeitsohard，\"shesaid，flippantly。 \"Itisn\'taboutyou:it\'sonlyaboutRomeoandJuliet。\" \"Seehere!\"heexclaimed。\"Youaren\'tatyourmind-readingagain，areyou？Therearetimeswhenitwon\'tdo，youknow!\" Sheleanedtowardhimalittle，asifcompanionably:theywerewalkingslowly，andthisgenialityofhersbroughthershoulderinlightcontactwithhisforamoment。\"Doyoudislikemymind-reading？\"sheasked，and，acrosstheirtwojusttouchingshoulders，gavehimhersuddenlookofsmilingwistfulness。\"Doyouhateit？\" Heshookhishead。\"No，Idon\'t，\"hesaid，gravely。\"It\'squitepleasant。ButIthinkitsays，\'Gentlemen，beware!\'\" Sheinstantlymovedawayfromhim，withthelawlessandfranklaughofonewhoisdelightedtobecaughtinapieceofhypocrisy。\"Howlovely!\"shecried。Thenshepointedahead。 \"Ourwalkisnearlyover。We\'recomingtothefoolishlittlehousewhereIlive。It\'saqueerlittleplace，butmyfather\'ssoattachedtoitthefamilyhaveaboutgivenuphopeofgettinghimtobuildarealhousefartherout。Hedoesn\'tmindourbeingextravagantaboutanythingelse，buthewon\'tletusalteronesinglethingabouthispreciouslittleoldhouse。Well!\"Shehalted，andgavehimherhand。\"Adieu!\" \"Icouldn\'t，\"hebegan；hesitated，thenasked:\"Icouldn\'tcomeinwithyouforalittlewhile？\" \"Notnow，\"shesaid，quickly。\"Youcancome——\"Shepaused。 \"When？\" \"Almostanytime。\"Sheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthepath，buthewaited。\"Youcancomeintheeveningifyoulike，\"shecalledbacktohimoverhershoulder。 \"Soon？\" \"Assoonasyoulike!\"Shewavedherhand；thenranindoorsandwatchedhimfromawindowashewentupthestreet。Hewalkedrapidly，afine，easyfigure，swinginghisstickinawaythatsuggestedexhilaration。Alice，staringafterhimthroughtheirregularaperturesofalacecurtain，showednosimilarbuoyancy。Upontheinstantsheclosedthedoorallsparklelefther:shehadbecomeatoncethesimpleandsometimestroubledgirlherfamilyknew。 \"Whatisgoingonoutthere？\"hermotherasked，approachingfromthedining-room。 \"Oh，nothing，\"Alicesaid，indifferently，assheturnedaway。 \"ThatMr。Russellmetmedowntownandwalkedupwithme。\" \"Mr。Russell？Oh，theonethat\'sengagedtoMildred？\" \"Well——Idon\'tknowforcertain。Hedidn\'tseemsomuchlikeanengagedmantome。\"Andsheadded，inthetoneofthoughtfulpreoccupation:\"Anyhow——notsoterribly!\" Thensheranupstairs，gaveherfatherhistobacco，filledhispipeforhim，andpettedhimashelightedit。 CHAPTERXI Afterthat，shewenttoherroomandsatdownbeforeherthree-leavedmirror。Therewaswhereshenearlyalwayssatwhenshecameintoherroom，ifshehadnothinginmindtodo。Shewenttothatchairasnaturallyasadoggoestohiscorner。 Sheleanedforward，observingherprofile；gravityseemedtobehermood。Butafteralong，almostmotionlessscrutiny，shebegantoproducedramaticsketchesuponthatever-readystage，hercountenance:sheshowedgaiety，satire，doubt，gentleness，appreciationofacompanionandlove-in-hiding——allstudiedinprofilefirst，thenrepeatedfora\"three-quarterview。\" Subsequentlysheranthroughthem，facingherselfinfull。 InthismannersheoutlinedaplayfulscenarioforhernextinterviewwithArthurRussell；butgrewsolemnagain，thinkingoftheimpressionshehadalreadysoughttogivehim。Shehadnotwingesforanyunderminingsofher\"mostintimatefriend\"——infact，shefeltthatherworkonanewportraitofMildredforMr。 Russellhadbeenhonestandaccurate。ButwhyhaditbeenherinstincttoshowhimanAliceAdamswhodidn\'texist？ Almosteverythingshehadsaidtohimwasuponspontaneousimpulse，springingtoherlipsontheinstant；yetitallseemedtohavebeenfoundeduponacarefuldesign，asifsomehiddenselfkeptsuchdesignsinstockandhandedthemuptoher，ready-made，tobeusedforitsownpurpose。Whatappearedtobethedesiredresultwasafalse-colouredimageinRussell\'smind； butifhelikedthatimagehewouldn\'tbelikingAliceAdams；norwouldanythinghethoughtabouttheimagebeathoughtabouther。 Nevertheless，sheknewshewouldgoonwithherfalse，fancycolouringsofthisnothingassoonasshesawhimagain；shehadjustbeenpracticingthem。\"What\'stheidea？\"shewondered。 \"Whatmakesmetellsuchlies？Whyshouldn\'tIbejustmyself？\" Andthenshethought，\"Butwhichoneismyself？\" Hereyesdweltonthesolemneyesinthemirror；andherlips，disquietedbyadeepeningwonder，partedtowhisper: \"Whointheworldareyou？\" Theapparitionbeforeherhadobeyedherlikeanalertslave，butnow，asshesubsidedtoacompletestillness，thataspectchangedtotheoldmockerywithwhichmirrorsavengetheirwrongs。Thenucleusofsomequeerthingseemedtogatherandshapeitselfbehindthenothingnessofthereflectedeyesuntilitbecamealmostanactualstrangepresence。Ifitcouldbeidentified，perhapsthepresencewasthatofthehiddendesignerwhohandedupthefalse，ready-madepictures，and，forunknownpurposes，madeAliceexhibitthem；butwhateveritwas，shesuddenlyfounditmonkey-likeandterrifying。Inafluttershejumpedupandwenttoanotherpartoftheroom。 Amomentortwolatershewaswhistlingsoftlyasshehungherlightcoatoverawoodentriangleinhercloset，andhermusingnowwasquainterthantheexperiencethatledtoit；forwhatshethoughtwasthis，\"Icertainlyamaqueergirl!\"Shetookalittleprideinsomuchoriginality，believingherselfprobablytheonlypersonintheworldtohavesuchthoughtsashadbeenherssincesheenteredtheroom，andthefirsttobedisturbedbyastrangepresenceinthemirror。Infact，theeffectofthetinyepisodebecameapparentinthatlookofpreoccupiedcomplacencytobeseenforatimeuponanygirlwhohasfoundreasontosuspectthatsheisabeingwithoutcounterpart。 Thisslightglow，stillfaintlyradiant，wasobservedacrossthedinner-tablebyWalter，buthemisinterpretedit。\"WhatYOU lookin\'soself-satisfiedabout？\"heinquired，andaddedinhisknowingway，\"Isawyou，allright，cutie!\" \"Where\'dyouseeme？\" \"Down-town。\" \"Thisafternoon，youmean，Walter？\" \"Yes，\'thisafternoon，Imean，Walter，\'\"hereturned，burlesquinghervoiceatleasthappilyenoughtopleasehimself； forhelaughedapplausively。\"Oh，youneversawme!Ipassedyoucloseenoughtopullatooth，butyouwereawfulbusy。I neverdidseeanybodyasbusyasyouget，Alice，whenyou\'retowin\'abarge。My，butyoukeepyourhandsgoin\'!Lookedliketheairwasfullof\'em!That\'swhyI\'montowhyyoulooksotickledthisevening；Isawyouwiththatbigfish。\" Mrs。Adamslaughedbenevolently；shewasnotdispleasedwiththisrallying。\"Well，whatofit，Walter？\"sheasked。\"Ifyouhappentoseeyoursisteronthestreetwhensomeniceyoungmanisbeingattentivetoher——\" Walterbarkedandthencackled。\"Whoa，Sal!\"hesaid。\"Yougotthepartsmixed。It\'slittleAlicethatwas\'beingattentive。\'I knowthebigfishshewasattentiveto，allright，too。\" \"Yes，\"hissisterretorted，quietly。\"Ishouldthinkyoumighthaverecognizedhim，Walter。\" Walterlookedannoyed。\"Stillharpin\'onTHAT!\"hecomplained。 \"ThekindofwomenIlike，iftheygetsoretheyjusthityousomewhereonthefaceandthenthey\'rethrough。Bytheway，I heardthisRussellwassupposedtobeyourdear，old，sweetfriendMildred\'ssteady。Whatyoudoin\'walkin\'asclosetohimasallthat？\" Mrs。Adamsaddressedhersoningentlereproof，\"WhyWalter!\" \"Oh，nevermind，mama，\"Alicesaid。\"Tothehorridallthingsarehorrid。\" \"Getout!\"Walterprotested，carelessly。\"IheardallaboutthisRusselldownattheshop。YoungJoeLamb\'ssuchatalkerI wonderhedon\'truinhisgrandfather\'sbusiness；hekeepsalluscheaphelpstandin\'roundlisteningtohimnine-tenthsofourtime。Well，JoetoldmethisRussell\'ssomekinorothertothePalmerfamily，andhe\'sgotsomelittlemoneyofhisown，andhe\'sputtin\'itintoolePalmer\'strustcompanyandPalmer\'sgoin\'tomakehimavice-presidentofthecompany。Sortofakeep-the-money-in-the-familyarrangement，JoeLambsays。\" Mrs。Adamslookedthoughtful。\"Idon\'tsee——\"shebegan。 \"Why，thisRussell\'ssupposedtobetieduptoMildred，\"hersonexplained。\"WhenolePalmerdiesthisRussellwillbehisson-in-law，andallhe\'llhaf\'todo\'llbetobarelylifthisfeetandstepintotheoleman\'sshoes。It\'scertainlyamightyfathand-me-outforthisRussell!Youbetterlayoffo\'there，Alice。Picksomebodythat\'sgotlesstoloseandyou\'llmakebettershowing。\" Mrs。Adams\'sairofthoughtfulnesshadnotdeparted。\"ButyousaythisMr。Russelliswelloffonhisownaccount，Walter。\" \"Oh，JoeLambsayshe\'sgotsomelittleofhisown。Didn\'tknowhowmuch。\" \"Well，then——\" Walterlaughedhislaugh。\"Cutitout，\"hebadeher。\"Alicewouldn\'truninfourthplace。\" Alicehadbeenlookingathiminadetachedway，asthoughestimatingthevalueofaspecimeninacollectionnotherown。 \"Yes，\"shesaid，indifferently。\"YouREALLYarevulgar，Walter。\" Hehadfinishedhismeal；and，rising，hecameroundthetabletoherandpattedhergood-naturedlyontheshoulder。\"GoodoleAllie!\"hesaid。\"HONEST，youwouldn\'truninfourthplace。IfIwasyouI\'dneverevenstartintheclass。Thatfrozen-face； gangwillruleyouoffthetracksoonastheyseeyourcolours。\" \"Walter!\"hismothersaidagain。 \"Well，ain\'tIherbrother？\"hereturned，seemingtobeentirelyseriousanddirect，forthemoment，atleast。\"_I_liketheolegirlallright。Factis，sometimesI\'mkindofsorryforher。\" \"Butwhat\'sitallABOUT？\"Alicecried。\"Simplybecauseyoumetmedown-townwithamanIneversawbutoncebeforeandjustbarelyknow!Whyallthispalaver？\" \"\'Why？\'\"herepeated，grinning。\"Well，I\'veseenyoustartbefore，youknow!\"Hewenttothedoor，andpaused。\"Igotnodateto-night。Takeyoutothemovies，youcaretogo。\" Shedeclinedcrisply。\"No，thanks!\" \"Comeon，\"hesaid，aspleasantlyasheknewhow。 \"Givemeachancetoshowyouabettertimethanwehadupatthatfrozen-facejoint。I\'llgetyousomechopsueyafterward。\" \"No，thanks!\" \"Allright，\"herespondedandwavedaflippantadieu。\"Asthebarbersays，\'Thebettertheadvice，theworseit\'swasted!\' Good-night!\" Aliceshruggedhershoulders；butamomentortwolater，asthejarofthecarelesslyslammedfrontdoorwentthroughthehouse，sheshookherhead，reconsidering。\"PerhapsIoughttohavegonewithhim。Itmighthavekepthimawayfromwhateverdreadfulpeoplearehisfriends——atleastforonenight。\" \"Oh，I\'msureWalter\'saGOODboy，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，soothingly； andthiswaswhatshealmostalwayssaidwheneitherherhusbandorAliceexpressedsuchmisgivings。\"He\'sodd，andhe\'spickeduprightqueermanners；butthat\'sonlybecausewehaven\'tgivenhimadvantagesliketheotheryoungmen。ButI\'msurehe\'saGOODboy。\" Sherevertedtothesubjectalittlelater，whileshewashedthedishesandAlicewipedthem。\"OfcourseWaltercouldtakehisplacewiththeotherniceboysofthetownevenyet，\"shesaid。 \"Imean，ifwecouldaffordtohelphimfinancially。Theyallbelongtothecountryclubsandhavecarsand——\" \"Let\'sdon\'tgointothatanymore，mama，\"thedaughterbeggedher。\"What\'stheuse？\" \"ItCOULDbeofuse，\"Mrs。Adamsinsisted。\"Itcouldifyourfather——\" \"ButpapaCAN\'T。\" \"Yes，hecan。\" \"Buthowcanhe？HetoldmeamanofhisageCAN\'Tgiveupabusinesshe\'sbeeninpracticallyallhislife，andjustgogropingaboutforsomethingthatmightneverturnupatall。I thinkhe\'srightaboutit，too，ofcourse!\" Mrs。Adamssplashedamongtheplateswithanewvigourheightenedbyanoldbitterness。\"Oh，yes，\"shesaid。\"Hetalksthatway；butheknowsbetter。\" \"Howcouldhe\'knowbetter，\'mama？\" \"HEknowshow!\" \"Butwhatdoesheknow？\" Mrs。Adamstossedherhead。\"Youdon\'tsupposeI\'msuchafoolI\'dbeurginghimtogiveupsomethingfornothing，doyou，Alice？DoyousupposeI\'dwanthimtojustgo\'gropingaround\' likehewastellingyou？Thatwouldbecrazy，ofcourse。LittleashisworkatLamb\'sbringsin，Iwouldn\'tbesosillyastoaskhimtogiveitupjustonaCHANCEhecouldfindsomethingelse。 Goodgracious，Alice，youmustgivemecreditforalittleintelligenceonceinawhile!\" Alicewaspuzzled。\"Butwhatelsecouldtherebeexceptachance？Idon\'tsee——\" \"Well，Ido，\"hermotherinterrupted，decisively。\"Thatmancouldmakeusallwelloffrightnowifhewantedto。Wecouldhavebeenrichlongagoifhe\'deverreallyfeltasheoughttoabouthisfamily。\" \"What!Why，howcould——\" \"YouknowhowaswellasIdo，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，crossly。\"I guessyouhaven\'tforgottenhowhetreatedmeaboutittheSundaybeforehegotsick。\" Shewentonwithherwork，puttingintoitasuddenviolenceinspiredbytherecollection；butAlice，enlightened，gaveutterancetoalaughoflugubriousderision。\"Oh，theGLUE factoryagain!\"shecried。\"Howsilly!\"Andsherenewedherlaughter。 Sooftendothegreatprojectsofparentsappearignominioustotheirchildren。Mrs。Adams\'sconceptionofagluefactoryasafairygodmotherofthisfamilywasanabsurdoldstorywhichAlicehadnevertakenseriously。SherememberedthatwhenshewasaboutfifteenhermotherbegannowandthentosaysomethingtoAdamsabouta\"gluefactory，\"rathertimidly，andasavaguesuggestion，butneverwithoutirritatinghim。Then，foryears，thepreposteroussubjecthadnotbeenmentioned；possiblybecauseofsomeexplosiononthepartofAdams，whenhisdaughterhadnotbeenpresent。ButduringthelastyearMrs。Adamshadquietlygonebacktotheseoldhints，revivingthematintervalsandalsorevivingherhusband\'sirritation。Alice\'sboredimpressionwasthathermotherwantedhimtofound，orbuy，ordosomething，orother，aboutagluefactory；andthatheconsideredtheproposalsoimpracticableastobeinsulting。TheparentalconversationstookplacewhenneitherAlicenorWalterwasathand，butsometimesAlicehadcomeinupontheconclusionofone，tofindherfatherinashoutingmood，andshockingtheairbehindhimwithprofanemonosyllablesashedeparted。Mrs。Adamswouldbeleftquietandtroubled；andwhenAlice，sympathizingwiththegoadedman，inquiredofhermotherwhythesetiresomebickeringshadbeenrenewed，shealwaysgotthebroodingandcrypticanswer，\"HeCOULDdoit——ifhewantedto。\"Alicefailedtocomprehendthedesirabilityofagluefactory——tohermindafatherengagedinagluefactorylackedimpressiveness；hadnoadvantageoverafatheremployedbyLambandCompany；andshesupposedthatAdamsknewbetterthanhermotherwhethersuchanenterprisewouldbeprofitableornot。Emphatically，hethoughtitwouldnot，forshehadheardhimshoutingattheendofoneofthesepainfulinterviews，\"YoucankeepupyourdangtalktillYOUdieand_I_ die，butI\'llnevermakeoneGod\'scentthatway!\" Therehadbeenaculmination。ReturningfromchurchontheSundayprecedingthecollapsewithwhichAdams\'sillnesshadbegun，Alicefoundhermotherdownstairs，weepingandintimidated，whileherfather\'sstampingfootstepswereloudlyaudibleashestrodeupanddownhisroomoverhead。Sowerehisendlessrepetitionsofinvectiveloudlyaudible:\"Thatwoman! Oh，thatwoman；Oh，thatdangedwoman!\" Mrs。Adamsadmittedtoherdaughterthatitwas\"theoldgluefactory\"andthatherhusband\'swildnesshadfrightenedherintoa\"solemnpromise\"nevertomentionthesubjectagainsolongasshehadbreath。Alicelaughed。The\"gluefactory\"ideawasnotonlyabore，butridiculous，andhermother\'sevidentseriousnessaboutitoneofthoseinexplicablevagarieswesometimesdiscoverinthepeopleweknowbest。ButthisSundayrampageappearedtobetheendofit，andwhenAdamscamedowntodinner，anhourlater，hewasunusuallycheerful。Alicewasgladhehadgonewildenoughtosettlethegluefactoryonceandforall；andshehadceasedtothinkoftheepisodelongbeforeFridayofthatweek，whenAdamswasbroughthomeinthemiddleoftheafternoonbyhisoldemployer，the\"greatJ。A。Lamb，\"inthelatter\'scar。 Duringthelongillnessthe\"gluefactory\"wascompletelyforgotten，byAliceatleast；andherlaughwasruefulaswellasderisivenow，inthekitchen，whensherealizedthathermother\'smindagaindweltuponthisabandonednuisance。\"Ithoughtyou\'dgotoverallthatnonsense，mama，\"shesaid。 Mrs。Adamssmiled，pathetically。\"Ofcourseyouthinkit\'snonsense，dearie。Youngpeoplethinkeverything\'snonsensethattheydon\'tknowanythingabout。\" \"Goodgracious!\"Alicecried。\"IshouldthinkIusedtohearenoughaboutthathorribleoldgluefactorytoknowsomethingaboutit!\" \"No，\"hermotherreturnedpatiently。\"You\'veneverheardanythingaboutitatall。\" \"Ihaven\'t？\" \"No。YourfatherandIdidn\'tdiscussitbeforeyouchildren。 Allyoueverheardwaswhenhe\'dgetinsucharage，afterwe\'dbeenspeakingofit，thathecouldn\'tcontrolhimselfwhenyoucamein。Wasn\'t_I_alwaysquiet？Did_I_evergoontalkingaboutit？\" \"No；perhapsnot。Butyou\'retalkingaboutitnow，mama，afteryoupromisednevertomentionitagain。\" \"Ipromisednottomentionittoyourfather，\"saidMrs。Adams，gently。\"Ihaven\'tmentionedittohim，haveI？\" \"Ah，butifyoumentionittomeI\'mafraidyouWILLmentionittohim。Youalwaysdospeakofthingsthatyouhaveonyourmind，andyoumightgetpapaallstirredupagainabout——\"Alicepaused，alightofdivinationflickeringinhereyes。\"Oh!\"shecried。\"ISEE!\" \"Whatdoyousee？\" \"YouHAVEbeenathimaboutit!\" \"Notonesingleword!\" \"No!\"Alicecried。\"NotaWORD，butthat\'swhatyou\'vemeantallalong!Youhaven\'tspokenthewordstohim，butallthisurginghimtochange，to\'findsomethingbettertogointo\'——it\'sallbeenaboutnothingonearthbutyourfoolisholdgluefactorythatyouknowupsetshim，andyougaveyoursolemnwordnevertospeaktohimaboutagain!Youdidn\'tsayit，butyoumeantit——andheKNOWSthat\'swhatyoumeant!Oh，mama!\" Mrs。Adams，withherhandsstillautomaticallyatworkinthefloodeddishpan，turnedtofaceherdaughter。\"Alice，\"shesaid，tremulously，\"whatdoIaskformyself？\" \"What？\" \"Isay，WhatdoIaskformyself？Doyousuppose_I_wantanything？Don\'tyouknowI\'dbeperfectlycontentonyourfather\'spresentincomeifIweretheonlypersontobeconsidered？WhatdoIcareaboutanypleasureformyself？I\'dbewillingnevertohaveamaidagain；_I_don\'tminddoingthework。Ifwedidn\'thaveanychildrenI\'dbegladtodoyourfather\'scookingandthehouseworkandthewashingandironing，too，fortherestofmylife。Iwouldn\'tcare。I\'mapoorcookandapoorhousekeeper；Idon\'tdoanythingwell；butitwouldbegoodenoughforjusthimandme。Iwouldn\'teverutteronewordofcom——\" \"Oh，goodness!\"Alicelamented。\"WhatISitallabout？\" \"It\'saboutthis，\"saidMrs。Adams，swallowing。\"YouandWalterareanewgenerationandyououghttohavethesameastherestofthenewgenerationget。PoorWalter——askingyoutogotothemoviesandaChineserestaurant:thebesthehadtooffer!Don\'tyousuppose_I_seehowthepoorboyisdeteriorating？Don\'tyousupposeIknowwhatYOUhavetogothrough，Alice？AndwhenI thinkofthatmanupstairs——\"Theagitatedvoicegrewlouder。 \"WhenIthinkofhimandknowthatnothingintheworldbuthisSTUBBORNNESSkeepsmychildrenfromhavingalltheywantandwhattheyOUGHTtohave，doyousupposeI\'mgoingtoholdmyselfboundtokeeptotheabsoluteletterofasillypromisehegotfrommebybehavinglikeacrazyman？Ican\'t!Ican\'tdoit!Nomothercouldsitbyandseehimlockupahornofplentylikethatinhisclosetwhenthechildrenwerestarving!\" \"Oh，goodness，goodnessme!\"Aliceprotested。\"Wearen\'tprecisely\'starving，\'arewe？\" Mrs。Adamsbegantoweep。\"It\'sjustthesame。Didn\'tIseehowflushedandprettyyoulooked，thisafternoon，afteryou\'dbeenwalkingwiththisyoungmanthat\'scomehere？Doyousupposehe\'dLOOKatagirllikeMildredPalmerifyouhadwhatyououghttohave？Doyousupposehe\'dbegoingintobusinesswithherfatherifYOURfather——\" \"Goodheavens，mama；you\'reworsethanWalter:Ijustbarelyknowtheman!DON\'Tbesoabsurd!\" \"Yes，I\'malways\'absurd，\'\"Mrs。Adamsmoaned。\"AllIcandoiscry，whileyourfathersitsupstairs，andhishornofplenty——\" ButAliceinterruptedwithapealofdesperatelaughter。\"Oh，that\'hornofplenty!\'Docomedowntoearth，mama。HowcanyoucallaGLUEfactory，thatdoesn\'texistexceptinyourmind，a\'hornofplenty\'？Dolet\'sbealittlerational!\" \"ItCOULDbeahornofplenty，\"thetearfulMrs，Adamsinsisted。 \"Itcould!Youdon\'tunderstandathingaboutit。\" \"Well，I\'mwilling，\"Alicesaid，withtiredskepticism。\"Makemeunderstand，then。Where\'dyouevergettheidea？\" Mrs。Adamswithdrewherhandsfromthewater，driedthemonatowel，andthenwipedhereyeswithahandkerchief。\"Yourfathercouldmakeafortuneifhewantedto，\"shesaid，quietly。\"Atleast，Idon\'tsayafortune，butanyhowagreatdealmorethanhedoesmake。\" \"Yes，I\'veheardthatbefore，mama，andyouthinkhecouldmakeitoutofagluefactory。WhatI\'maskingis:How？\" \"How？Why，bymakingglueandsellingit。Don\'tyouknowhowbadmostglueiswhenyoutrytomendanything？Agoodglueisoneoftherarestthingsthereis；anditwouldjustsellitself，onceitgotstarted。Well，yourfatherknowshowtomakeasgoodaglueasthereisintheworld。\" Alicewasnotinterested。\"Whatofit？Isupposeprobablyanybodycouldmakeitiftheywantedto。\" \"ISAIDyoudidn\'tknowanythingaboutit。Nobodyelsecouldmakeit。Yourfatherknowsaformulaformakingit。\" \"Whatofthat？\" \"It\'sasecretformula。Itisn\'tevendownonpaper。It\'sworthanyamountofmoney。\" \"\'Anyamount？\'\"Alicesaid，remainingincredulous。\"Whyhasn\'tpapasolditthen？\" \"Justbecausehe\'stoostubborntodoanythingwithitatall!\" \"Howdidpapagetit？\" \"Hegotitbeforeyouwereborn，justafterweweremarried。I didn\'tthinkmuchaboutitthen:itwasn\'ttillyouweregrowingupandIsawhowmuchweneededmoneythatI——\" \"Yes，buthowdidpapagetit？\"Alicebegantofeelalittlemorecuriousaboutthispossibleburiedtreasure。\"Didheinventit？\" \"Partly，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，lookingsomewhatpreoccupied。\"Heandanothermaninventedit。\" \"Thenmaybetheotherman——\" \"He\'sdead。\" \"Thenhisfamily——\" \"Idon\'tthinkheleftanyfamily，\"Mrs。Adamssaid。\"Anyhow，itbelongstoyourfather。Atleastitbelongstohimasmuchasitdoestoanyoneelse。He\'sgotanabsolutelyperfectrighttodoanythinghewantstowithit，anditwouldmakeusallcomfortableifhe\'ddowhatIwanthimto——andheKNOWSitwould，too!\" Aliceshookherheadpityingly。\"Poormama!\"shesaid。\"Ofcourseheknowsitwouldn\'tdoanythingofthekind，orelsehe\'dhavedoneitlongago。\" \"Hewould，yousay？\"hermothercried。\"Thatonlyshowshowlittleyouknowhim!\" \"Poormama!\"Alicesaidagain，soothingly。\"Ifpapawerelikewhatyousayheis，he\'dbe——why，he\'dbecrazy!\" Mrs。Adamsagreedwithavehemencenearpassion。\"You\'rerightabouthimforonce:that\'sjustwhatheis!Hesitsupthereinhisstubbornnessandletsusslavehereinthekitchenwhenifhewantedto——ifhe\'dsomuchaslifthislittlefinger——\" \"Oh，come，now!\"Alicelaughed。\"Youcan\'tbuildevenagluefactorywithjustonelittlefinger。\" Mrs。Adamsseemedabouttoreplythatfindingfaultwithafigureofspeechwasbesidethepoint；butaringingofthefrontdoorbellforestalledtheretort。\"Now，whodoyousupposethatis？\"shewonderedaloud，thenherfacebrightened。\"Ah——didMr。 Russellaskifhecould——\" \"No，hewouldn\'tbecomingthisevening，\"Alicesaid。\"Probablyit\'sthegreatJ。A。Lamb:heusuallystopsforaminuteonThursdaystoaskhowpapa\'sgettingalong。I\'llgo。\" Shetossedherapronoff，andasshewentthroughthehouseherexpressionwasthoughtful。Shewasthinkingvaguelyaboutthegluefactoryandwonderingiftheremightbe\"somethinginit\" afterall。IfhermotherwasrightabouttherichpossibilitiesofAdams\'ssecret——butthatwasasfarasAlice\'sspeculationsuponthematterwentatthistime:theywerechecked，partlybythethoughtthatherfatherprobablyhadn\'tenoughmoneyforsuchanenterprise，andpartlybythefactthatshehadarrivedatthefrontdoor。 CHAPTERXII