第10章

mean——they\'llSAYsomething——\" \"Whatiftheydo？\" Shemovedhershouldersinalittleapprehensiveshiver。\"It\'llchangeyou，\"shesaid。\"I\'mjustsuresomethingspiteful\'sgoingtohappentome。You\'llfeeldifferentlyabout——things。\" \"Now，isn\'tthatanidea!\"heexclaimed。 \"Itwill，\"sheinsisted。\"Iknowsomethingspiteful\'sgoingtohappen!\" \"Youseempossessedbyanotionnotabitflatteringtome，\"heremarked。 \"Oh，butisn\'tit？That\'sjustwhatitis!Whyisn\'tit？\" \"BecauseitimpliesthatI\'mmadeofsuchsoftmaterialtheslightestbreezewillmessmeallup。I\'mnotsolikethatasI evidentlyappear；andifit\'struethatwe\'reafraidotherpeoplewilldothethingswe\'dbemostlikelytodoourselves，itseemstomethatIoughttobetheonetobeafraid。IoughttobeafraidthatsomebodymaysaysomethingaboutmetoyouthatwillmakeyoubelieveI\'maprofessionalforger。\" \"No。Webothknowtheywon\'t，\"shesaid。\"Webothknowyou\'rethesortofpersoneverybodyintheworldsaysnicethingsabout。\"Sheliftedherhandtosilencehimashelaughedatthis。\"Oh，ofcourseyouare!Ithinkperhapsyou\'realittleflirtatious——mostquietmenhavethatoneslywaywith\'em——oh，yes，theydo!Butyouhappentobethekindofmaneverybodylovestopraise。Andifyouweren\'t，_I_shouldn\'thearanythingterribleaboutyou。ItoldyouIwasunpopular:Idon\'tseeanybodyatallanymore。Theonlymanexceptyouwho\'sbeentoseemeinamonthisthatfearfullittlefatFrankDowling，andI sentwordtoHIMIwasn\'thome。Nobody\'dtellmeofyourwickedness，yousee。\" \"Thenletmebreaksomenewstoyou，\"Russellsaid。\"Nobodywouldtellmeofyours，either。Nobody\'sevenmentionedyoutome。\" Sheburlesquedacryofanguish。\"ThatISobscurity!IsupposeI\'mtooapttoforgetthattheysaythepopulation\'sabouthalfamillionnowadays。ThereAREotherpeopletotalkabout，youfeel，then？\" \"NonethatIwantto，\"hesaid。\"ButIshouldthinkthesizeoftheplacemightrelieveyourmindofwhatseemstoinsistonburdeningit。Besides，I\'dratheryouthoughtmeabettermanthanyoudo。\" \"WhatkindofamandoIthinkyouare？\" \"Thekindaffectedbywhat\'ssaidaboutpeopleinsteadofbywhattheydothemselves。\" \"Aren\'tyou？\" \"No，I\'mnot，\"hesaid。\"Ifyouwantoursummereveningstobeoveryou\'llhavetodrivemeawayyourself。\" \"Nobodyelsecould？\" \"No。\" Shewassilent，leaningforward，withherelbowsonherkneesandherclaspedhandsagainstherlips。Then，notmoving，shesaidsoftly: \"Well——Iwon\'t!\" Shewassilentagain，andhesaidnothing，butlookedather，seemingtobecontentwithlooking。Herattitudewasoneonlyagracefulpersonshouldassume，butshewasgraceful；and，inthewanlight，whichmadeaprettilyshapedmistofher，shehadbeauty。Perhapsitwasbeautyofthehour，andofthelovescenealmostmadeintoformbywhattheyhadbothjustsaid，butshehadit；andthoughbeautyofthehourpasses，hewhoseesitwilllongrememberitandthehourwhenitcame。 \"Whatareyouthinkingof？\"heasked。 Sheleanedbackinherchairanddidnotansweratonce。Thenshesaid: \"Idon\'tknow；IdoubtifIwasthinkingofanything。ItseemstomeIwasn\'t。IthinkIwasjustbeingsortofsadlyhappyjustthen。\" \"Wereyou？Wasit\'sadly，\'too？\" \"Don\'tyouknow？\"shesaid。\"Itseemstomethatonlylittlechildrencanbejusthappilyhappy。IthinkwhenwegetolderourhappiestmomentsareliketheoneIhadjustthen:it\'sasifweheardstrainsofminormusicrunningthroughthem——oh，sosweet，butoh，sosad!\" \"ButwhatmakesitsadforYOU？\" \"Idon\'tknow，\"shesaid，inalightertone。\"Perhapsit\'sakindofuselessforebodingIseemtohaveprettyoften。Itmaybethat——oritmaybepoorpapa。\" \"YouAREafunny，delightfulgirl，though!\"Russelllaughed。 \"Whenyourfather\'ssowellagainthathegoesoutwalkingintheevenings!\" \"Hedoestoomuchwalking，\"Alicesaid。\"Toomuchaltogether，overathisnewplant。Butthereisn\'tanystoppinghim。\"Shelaughedandshookherhead。\"Whenamangetsanambitiontobeamulti-millionairehisfamilydon\'tappeartohavemuchweightwithhim。He\'llwalkallhewantsto，inspiteofthem。\" \"Isupposeso，\"Russellsaid，absently；thenheleanedforward。 \"IwishIcouldunderstandbetterwhyyouwere\'sadly\'happy。\" Meanwhile，asAliceshedwhatfurtherlightshecouldonthispoint，themanambitioustobea\"multi-millionaire\"wasindeedwalkingtoomuchforhisowngood。Hehadgonetobed，hopingtosleepwellandriseearlyforalongday\'swork，buthecouldnotrest，andnow，inhisnightgownandslippers，hewaspacingthefloorofhisroom。 \"IwishIDIDknow，\"hethought，overandover。\"IDOwishI knewhowhefeelsaboutit。\" CHAPTERXVIII Thatwasathoughtalmostcontinuouslyinhismind，evenwhenhewashardestatwork；and，asthedayswentonandhecouldnotfreehimself，hebecamequerulousaboutit。\"IguessI\'mthebiggestdangfoolalive，\"hetoldhiswifeastheysattogetheroneevening。\"Igotplentyelsetobotherme，withoutworryingmyheadoffaboutwhatHEthinks。Ican\'thelpwhathethinks； it\'stoolateforthat。SowhyshouldIkeeppesteringmyselfaboutit？\" \"It\'llwearoff，Virgil，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，reassuringly。Shewasgentleandsympatheticwithhim，andforthefirsttimeinmanyyearshewouldcometositwithherandtalk，whenhehadfinishedhisday\'swork。Hehadtoldher，evadinghereye，\"Oh，Idon\'tblameyou。Youdidn\'tgetaftermetodothisonyourownaccount；youcouldn\'thelpit。\" \"Yes；butitdon\'twearoff，\"hecomplained。\"ThisafternoonI wasshowingthemenhowIwantedmyvatstogo，andIcaughtmyfoolselfstandingtheresayingtomyfoolself，\'It\'sfunnyI don\'thearhowhefeelsaboutitfromSOMEbody。\'Iwassayingitaloud，almost——anditISfunnyIdon\'thearanything!\" \"Well，youseewhatitmeans，don\'tyou，Virgil？Itonlymeanshehasn\'tsaidanythingtoanybodyaboutit。Don\'tyouthinkyou\'regettingkindofmorbidoverit？\" \"Maybe，maybe，\"hemuttered。 \"Why，yes，\"shesaid，briskly。\"Youdon\'trealizewhatalittlebitofathingallthisistohim。It\'sbeenalong，longwhilesincethelasttimeyouevenmentionedgluetohim，andhe\'sprobablyforgotteneverythingaboutit。\" \"You\'reoffyourbase；itisn\'tlikehimtoforgetthings，\"Adamsreturned，peevishly。\"Hemayseemtoforget\'em，buthedon\'t。\" \"Buthe\'snotthinkingaboutthis，oryou\'dhaveheardfromhimbeforenow。\" Herhusbandshookhishead。\"Ah，that\'sjustit!\"hesaid。\"WhyHAVEN\'TIheardfromhim？\" \"It\'sallyourmorbidness，Virgil。LookatWalter:ifMr。Lambheldthisupagainstyou，wouldhestillletWalterstaythere？ Wouldn\'thehavedischargedWalterifhefeltangrywithyou？\" \"Thatdangboy!\"Adamssaid。\"IfheWANTEDtocomewithmenow，Iwouldn\'thardlylethim，Whatdoyousupposemakeshimsobull-headed？\" \"Buthasn\'thearighttochooseforhimself？\"sheasked。\"I supposehefeelsheoughttosticktowhathethinksissurepay。 Assoonasheseesthatyou\'regoingtosucceedwiththeglue-workshe\'llwanttobewithyouquickenough。\" \"Well，hebettergetalittlesenseinhishead，\"Adamsreturned，crossly。\"Hewantedmetopayhimathree-hundred-dollarbonusinadvance，whenanybodywithagrainofcommonsenseknowsI needeverypennyIcanlaymyhandson!\" \"Nevermind，\"shesaid。\"He\'llcomearoundlaterandbegladofthechance。\" \"He\'llhavetobegforitthen!_I_won\'taskhimagain。\" \"Oh，Walterwillcomeoutallright；youneedn\'tworry。Anddon\'tyouseethatMr。Lamb\'snotdischarginghimmeansthere\'snohardfeelingagainstyou，Virgil？\" \"Ican\'tmakeitoutatall，\"hesaid，frowning。\"TheonlythingIcanTHINKitmeansisthatJ。A。Lambissofair-minded——andofcourseheISoneofthefair-mindedestmenaliveIsupposethat\'sthereasonhehasn\'tfiredWalter。Hemayknow，\"Adamsconcluded，morosely——\"hemayknowthat\'sjustanotherthingtomakemefeelallthemeaner:keepingmyboythereonasalaryafterI\'vedonehimaninjury。\" \"Now，now!\"shesaid，tryingtocomforthim。\"Youcouldn\'tdoanybodyaninjurytosaveyourlife，andeverybodyknowsit。\" \"Well，anybodyoughttoknowIwouldn\'tWANTtodoaninjury，butthisworldisn\'tbuiltso\'twecandojustwhatwewant。\"Hepaused，reflecting。\"OfcoursetheremaybeoneexplanationofwhyWalter\'sstillthere:J。A。maybehasn\'tnoticedthatheIS there。There\'ssomanyIexpecthehardlyknowshimbysight。\" \"Well，justdoquitthinkingaboutit，\"sheurgedhim。\"Itonlybothersyouwithoutdoinganygood。Don\'tyouknowthat？\" \"Don\'tI，though!\"helaughed，feebly。\"Iknowitbetter\'nanybody!Howfunnythatis:whenyouknowthinkingaboutathingonlypestersyouwithouthelpinganythingatall，andyetyoukeeprightonpesteringyourselfwithit!\" \"ButWHY？\"shesaid。\"What\'stheusewhenyouknowyouhaven\'tdoneanythingwrong，Virgil？Yousaidyourselfyouweregoingtoimprovetheprocesssomuchitwouldbedifferentfromtheoldone，andyou\'dREALLYhavearighttoit。\" Adamshadpersuadedhimselfofthiswhenheyielded；hehadfounditnecessarytopersuadehimselfofit——thoughtherewasapartofhim，ofcourse，thatremainedunpersuaded；andthisdiscomfitingpartofhimwaswhatmadehispresenttrouble。 \"Yes，Iknow，\"hesaid。\"That\'strue，butIcan\'tquiteseemtogetawayfromthefactthattheprincipleoftheprocessisagooddealthesame——well，it\'smore\'nthat；it\'sjustaboutthesameastheonehehiredCampbellandmetoworkoutforhim。 Truthis，nobodycouldtellthedifference，andIdon\'tknowasthereISanydifferenceexceptintheseimprovementsI\'mmaking。 Ofcourse，theimprovementsdogivemeprettynearaperfectrighttoit，asapersonmightsay；andthat\'soneofthethingsIthoughtofputtinginmylettertohim；butIwasafraidhe\'djustthinkIwastryingtomakeupexcuses，soIleftitout。I kindofworriedallthetimeIwaswritingthatletter，becauseifhethoughtIWASjustmakingupexcuses，why，itmightsethimjustsomuchmoreagainstme。\" EversinceMrs。Adamshadfoundthatshewastohaveherway，thedepthsofhereyeshadbeentroubledbyacontinuousuneasiness；and，althoughsheknewitwasthere，andsometimesveileditbykeepingtherevealingeyesavertedfromherhusbandandchildren，shecouldnotalwayscoveritunderthatassumptionofabsent-mindedness。Theuneasylookbecamevivid，andhervoicewasslightlytremulousnow，asshesaid，\"ButwhatifheSHOULDbeagainstyou——althoughIdon\'tbelieveheis，ofcourse——youtoldmehecouldn\'tDOanythingtoyou，Virgil。\" \"No，\"hesaid，slowly。\"Ican\'tseehowhecoulddoanything。 Itwasjustasecret，notapatent；thethingain\'tpatentable。 I\'vetriedtothinkwhathecoulddo——supposinghewastowantto——butIcan\'tfigureoutanythingatallthatwouldbeanyharmtome。Thereisn\'tanywayintheworlditcouldbemadeaquestionoflaw。Onlythinghecoulddo\'dbetoTELLpeoplehissideofit，andset\'emagainstme。Ibeenkindofwaitingforthattohappen，allalong。\" Shelookedsomewhatrelieved。\"SodidIexpectit，\"shesaid。 \"IwasdreadingitmostonAlice\'saccount:itmighthave——well，youngmenaresoeasilyinfluencedandall。Butsofarasthebusinessisconcerned，whatifMr。Lambdidtalk？Thatwouldn\'tamounttomuch。Itwouldn\'taffectthebusiness；nottohurt。 And，besides，heisn\'tevendoingthat。\" \"No；anyhownotyet，itseems。\"AndAdamssighedagain，wistfully。\"ButIWOULDgiveagooddealtoknowwhathethinks!\" Beforehissurrenderhehadalwayssupposedthatifhedidsuchanunthinkablethingastoseizeupontheglueprocessforhimself，whathewouldfeelmustbeanoverpoweringshame。Butshameistherarestthingintheworld:whathefeltwasthisunremittentcuriosityabouthisoldemployer\'sthoughts。Itwasanobsession，yethedidnotwanttohearwhatLamb\"thought\" fromLambhimself，forAdamshadasecondobsession，andthiswashisdreadofmeetingtheoldmanfacetoface。Suchanencountercouldhappenonlybychanceandunexpectedly；sinceAdamswouldhaveavoidedanydeliberatemeeting，solongashislegshadstrengthtocarryhim，evenifLambcametothehousetoseehim。 Butpeopledomeetunexpectedly；andwhenAdamshadtobedown-townhekeptawayfromthe\"wholesaledistrict。\"OnedayhedidseeLamb，asthelatterwentbyinhiscar，impassive，goinghometolunch；andAdams，inthecrowdatacorner，knewthattheoldmanhadnotseenhim。Nevertheless，inastreetcar，onthewaybacktohissheds，anhourlater，hewasstillsubjecttolittleshiveringseizuresofhorror。 Heworkedunceasingly，seemingtokeepatiteveninhissleep，forhealwayswokeinthemidstofaplanningandestimatingthatmusthavebeengoingoninhismindbeforeconsciousnessofhimselfreturned。Moreover，thework，thusurged，wentrapidly，inspiteofthehighwageshehadtopayhislabourersfortheirshorthours。\"Iteatsmoney，\"hecomplained，and，infact，bythetimehisvatsandboilerswereinplaceithadeatenalmostallhecouldsupply；butinadditiontohisequipmenthenowownedastockof\"rawmaterial，\"rawindeed；andwhenoperationsshouldbealittlefurtheralonghewasconfidenthisbankerwouldbewillingto\"carry\"him。 Sixweeksfromthedayhehadobtainedhisleasehebeganhisglue-making。Theterriblesmellscameoutoftheshedsandwentwrithinglikesnakesallthroughthatquarterofthetown。A smilingman，strollingandbreathingtheairwithsatisfaction，wouldturnacornerandsmilenomore，buthurry。However，colouredpeoplehadalmostallthedwellingsofthisoldsectiontothemselves；andalthougheventheyweretroubled，therewasrecompenseforthem。Beingphilosophicaboutwhatappearedtothemasintheorderofnature，theysoughtneitherescapenorredress，andsoonlearnedtobearwhatthewindbroughtthem。 Theyevenmadeuseofittoenrichthosefiguresofspeechwithwhichthenativeimpulsesofcolouredpeopledecoratetheircommunications:theyflavouredmetaphor，simile，andinvectivewithit；andthusmaybesaidtohaveenjoyedit。Butthemanwhoproducedittookahotbathassoonashereachedhishometheeveningofthatfirstdaywhenhismanufacturingbegan。Thenheputonfreshclothes；butafterdinnerheseemedtobehaunted，andaskedhiswifeifshe\"noticedanything。\" Shelaughedandinquiredwhathemeant。 \"Seemstomeasifthatglue-workssmellhadn\'tquithangingtome，\"heexplained。\"Don\'tyounoticeit？\" \"No!Whatanidea!\" Helaughed，too，butuneasily；andtoldherhewassure\"thedanggluesmell\"wassomehowstickingtohim。Later，hewentoutdoorsandwalkedupanddownthesmallyardinthedusk；butnowandthenhestoodstill，withhisheadlifted，andsniffedtheairsuspiciously。\"CanYOUsmellit？\"hecalledtoAlice，whosatupontheveranda，prettilydressedandwaitinginareverie。 \"Smellwhat，papa？\" \"Thatdangglue-works。\" Shedidthesamethinghermotherhaddone:laughed，andsaid，\"No!Howfoolish!Why，papa，it\'sovertwomilesfromhere!\" \"Youdon\'tgetitatall？\"heinsisted。 \"Theidea!Theairislovelyto-night，papa。\" Theairdidnotseemlovelytohim，forhewaspositivethathedetectedthetaint。Hewonderedhowfaritcarried，andifJ。 A。Lambwouldsmellit，too，outonhisownlawnamiletothenorth；andifhedid，wouldheguesswhatitwas？ThenAdamslaughedathimselfforsuchnonsense；butcouldnotridhisnostrilsoftheirdisgust。Tohimthewholetownseemedtosmellofhisglue-works。 Nevertheless，thegluewasmaking，andhisshedswerebusy。 \"Guesswe\'restirrin\'upthisoleneighbourhoodwithmorethanthesmell，\"hisforemanremarkedonemorning。 \"How\'sthat？\"Adamsinquired。 \"Thatgreatbig，enormousoledeadbutterinefactoryacrossthestreetfromourlot，\"themansaid。\"Nothin\'likesettin\'anexampletobringrealestatetolife。Thatplaceisfullo\' carpentersstartin\'intomakearegularbuildin\'ofitagain。 Guessyououghttohavethecreditofit，becauseyouwasthefirstmanintenyearstoseeanypossibilitiesinthisneighbourhood。\" Adamswaspleased，and，goingouttoseeforhimself，heardagreathammeringandsawingfromwithinthebuilding；whilecarpenterswerejustemerginggingerlyuponthedangerousroof。 Hewalkedoutoverthedriedmudofhisdeeplot，crossedthestreet，andspokegeniallytoaworkmanwhowasremovingthebrokenglassofawindowonthegroundfloor。 \"Here!What\'sallthishowdy-dooverhere？\" \"Goin\'tofixherallup，Iguess，\"theworkmansaid。\"Bigjobitis，too。\" \"Sh\'thinkitwouldbe。\" \"Yes，sir；aprettybigjob——aprettybigjob。Gotmenatitonallfourfloorsandontheroof。They\'redoin\'itRIGHT。\" \"Who\'sdoingit？\" \"Lord!Id\'know。Someo\'theseherebigmanufacturingcorporations，Iguess。\" \"What\'sitgoingtobe？\" \"TheytellME，\"theworkmananswered——\"theytellMEshe\'sgoin\' tobeabutterinefactoryagain。Anyways，Ihopeshewon\'tbeanythingtosmelllikethatglue-worksyougotovertherenotwhileI\'mworkin\'aroundher，anyways!\" \"Thatsmell\'sallright，\"Adamssaid。\"Yousoongetusedtoit。\" \"Youdo？\"Themanappearedincredulous。\"Listen!IwasoverinFrance:it\'sagoodthingthemDutchmenneverthoughtofit；we\'dofhadtoquit!\" Adamslaughed，andwentbacktohissheds。\"Iguessmyforemanwasright，\"hetoldhiswife，thatevening，withalittlesatisfaction。\"Assoonasonemanshowsenterpriseenoughtofoundanindustryinabroken-downneighbourhood，somebodyelseissuretofollow。Ikindoflikethelookofit:it\'llhelpmakeourplaceseemsortofmorebusyandprosperouswhenitcomestogettingaloanfromthebank——andIgottogetonemightysoon，too。Ididthinksomethatifthingsgoaswellasthere\'severyreasontothinktheyOUGHTto，Imightwanttospreadoutandmaybegetholdofthatoldfactorymyself；butI hardlyexpectedtobeabletohandleapropositionofthatsizebeforetwoorthreeyearsfromnow，andanyhowthere\'sroomenoughonthelotIgot，ifweneedmorebuildingssomeday。 ThingsaregoingaboutasfineasIcouldask:Ihiredsomegirlsto-daytodothebottling——colouredgirlsalongaboutsixteentotwentyyearsold。Afterwhile，Iexpecttogetamachinetoputthestuffinthelittlebottles，whenwebegintogetgoodreturns；buthalfadozenofthesecolouredgirlscandoitallrightnow，byhand。We\'regettingtohavereallyquitealittleplantoverthere:yes，sir，quitearegularlittleplant!\" Hechuckled，andatthischeerfulsound，ofakindhiswifehadalmostforgottenhewascapableofproducing，sheventuredtoputherhanduponhisarm。Theyhadgoneoutdoors，afterdinner，takingtwochairswiththem，andweresittingthroughthelatetwilighttogether，keepingwellawayfromthe\"frontporch，\" whichwasnotyetoccupied，howeverAlicewasinherroomchangingherdress。 \"Well，honey，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，takingconfidencenotonlytoputherhanduponhisarm，buttorevivethisdisusedendearment；——\"it\'sgrandtohaveyousooptimistic。Maybesometimeyou\'lladmitIwasright，afterall。Everything\'sgoingsowell，itseemsapityyoudidn\'ttakethis——thisstep——longago。 Don\'tyouthinkmaybeso，Virgil？\" \"Well——ifIwasevergoingto，Idon\'tknowbutImightaswellof。Igottoadmitthepropositionbeginstolookprettygood:I knowthestuff\'llsell，andIcan\'tseeathingintheworldtostopit。Itdoeslookgood，andif——if——\"Hepaused。 \"Ifwhat？\"shesaid，suddenlyanxious。 Helaughedplaintively，asifconfessingasuperstition。\"It\'sfunny——well，it\'smightyfunnyaboutthatsmell。I\'vegotsousedtoitattheplantIneverseemtonoticeitatalloverthere。It\'sonlywhenIgetaway。Honestly，can\'tyounotice——？\" \"Virgil!\"Sheliftedherhandtostrikehisarmchidingly。\"Doquitharpingonthatnonsense!\" \"Oh，ofcourseitdon\'tamounttoanything，\"hesaid。\"Apersoncanstandagooddealofjustsmell。Itdon\'tWORRYmeany。\" \"Ishouldthinknotespeciallyasthereisn\'tany。\" \"Well，\"hesaid，\"Ifeelprettyfairoverthewholething——alotbetter\'nIeverexpectedto，anyhow。Idon\'tknowasthere\'sanyreasonIshouldn\'ttellyouso。\" Shewasdeeplypleasedwiththisacknowledgment，andhervoicehadtendernessinitassheresponded:\"There，honey!Didn\'tI alwayssayyou\'dbegladifyoudidit？\" Embarrassed，hecoughedloudly，thenfilledhispipeandlitit。 \"Well，\"hesaid，slowly，\"it\'sapuzzle。Yes，sir，it\'sapuzzle。\" \"Whatis？\" \"Prettymucheverything，Iguess。\" Ashespoke，asongcametothemfromalightedwindowovertheirheads。Thenthewindowdarkenedabruptly，butthesongcontinuedasAlicewentdownthroughthehousetowaitonthelittleveranda。\"MichiamoMimi，\"shesang，andinhervoicethrobbedsomethingalmoststartlinginitssweetness。Herfatherandmotherlistened，notspeakinguntilthesongstoppedwiththeclickofthewirescreenatthefrontdoorasAlicecameout。 \"My!\"saidherfather。\"Howsweetshedoessing!Idon\'tknowasIeverheardhervoicesoundnicerthanitdidjustthen。\" \"There\'ssomethingthatmakesitsoundthatway，\"hiswifetoldhim。 \"Isupposeso，\"hesaid，sighing。\"Isupposeso。Youthink——\" \"She\'sjustterriblyinlovewithhim!\" \"Iexpectthat\'sthewayitoughttobe，\"hesaid，thendrewuponhispipeforreflection，andbecamemurmurouswiththesymptomsofmelancholylaughter。\"Itdon\'tmakethingslessofapuzzle，though，doesit？\" \"Inwhatway，Virgil？\" \"Why，here，\"hesaid——\"herewegothroughallthismuckandmoiltohelpfixthingsnicerforherathome，andwhat\'sitallamountto？Seemslikeshe\'sjustgoneaheadthewayshe\'d\'a\' goneanyhow；andnow，Isuppose，gettingreadytoupandleaveus!Ain\'tthatapuzzletoyou？Itistome。\" \"Oh，butthingshaven\'tgonethatfaryet。\" \"Why，youjustsaid——\" Shegavealittlecryofprotest。\"Oh，theyaren\'tENGAGEDyet。 OfcoursetheyWILLbe；he\'sjustasmuchinterestedinherassheisinhim，but——\" \"Well，what\'sthetroublethen？\" \"YouAREasimpleoldfellow!\"hiswifeexclaimed，andthenrosefromherchair。\"Thatremindsme，\"shesaid。 \"Whatof？\"heasked。\"What\'smybeingsimpleremindyouof？\" \"Nothing!\"shelaughed。\"Itwasn\'tyouthatremindedme。Itwasjustsomethingthat\'sbeenonmymind。Idon\'tbelievehe\'sactuallyeverbeeninsideourhouse!\" \"Hasn\'the？\" \"Iactuallydon\'tbelieveheeverhas，\"shesaid。\"Ofcoursewemust——\"Shepaused，debating。 \"Wemustwhat？\" \"IguessIbettertalktoAliceaboutitrightnow，\"shesaid。 \"Hedon\'tusuallycomeforabouthalfanhouryet；IguessI\'vegottime。\"Andwiththatshewalkedaway，leavinghimtohispuzzles。 CHAPTERXIX Alicewassoftlycrooningtoherselfashermotherturnedthecornerofthehouseandapproachedthroughthedusk。 \"Isn\'titthemostBEAUTIFULevening!\"thedaughtersaid。\"WHY can\'tsummerlastallyear？Didyoueverknowaloveliertwilightthanthis，mama？\" Mrs。Adamslaughed，andanswered，\"NotsinceIwasyourage，I expect。\" Alicewaswistfulatonce。\"Don\'ttheystaybeautifulaftermyage？\" \"Well，it\'snotthesamething。\" \"Isn\'tit？Notever？\" \"Youmayhaveadifferentkindfrommine，\"themothersaid，alittlesadly。\"Ithinkyouwill，Alice。Youdeserve——\" \"No，Idon\'t。Idon\'tdeserveanything，andIknowit。ButI\'mgettingagreatdealthesedays——morethanIeverdreamedCOULD cometome。I\'m——I\'mprettyhappy，mama!\" \"Dearie!\"Hermotherwouldhavekissedher，butAlicedrewaway。 \"Oh，Idon\'tmean——\"Shelaughednervously。\"Iwasn\'tmeaningtotellyouI\'mENGAGED，mama。We\'renot。Imean——oh!thingsseemprettybeautifulinspiteofallI\'vedonetospoil\'em。\" \"You？\"Mrs。Adamscried，incredulously。\"Whathaveyoudonetospoilanything？\" \"Littlethings，\"Alicesaid。\"Athousandlittlesilly——oh，what\'stheuse？He\'ssohonestlywhatheis——justsimpleandgoodandintelligent——Ifeelatrickymessbesidehim!Idon\'tseewhyhelikesme；andsometimesI\'mafraidhewouldn\'tifheknewme。\" \"He\'djustworshipyou，\"saidthefondmother。\"Andthemoreheknewyou，themorehe\'dworshipyou。\" Aliceshookherhead。\"He\'snottheworshipingkind。Notlikethatatall。He\'smore——\" ButMrs。Adamswasnotinterestedinthisanalysis，andsheinterruptedbriskly，\"Ofcourseit\'stimeyourfatherandI showedsomeinterestinhim。IwasjustsayingIactuallydon\'tbelievehe\'severbeeninsidethehouse。\" \"No，\"Alicesaid，musingly；\"that\'strue:Idon\'tbelievehehas。 Exceptwhenwe\'vewalkedintheeveningwe\'vealwayssatouthere，eventhosetwotimeswhenitwasdrizzly。It\'ssomuchnicer。\" \"We\'llhavetodoSOMETHINGorother，ofcourse，\"hermothersaid。 \"Whatlike？\" \"Iwasthinking——\"Mrs。Adamspaused。\"Well，ofcoursewecouldhardlyputoffaskinghimtodinner，orsomething，muchlonger。\" Alicewasnotenthusiastic；sofarfromit，indeed，thattherewasamelancholyalarminhervoice。\"Oh，mama，mustwe？Doyouthinkso？\" \"Yes，Ido。Ireallydo。\" \"Couldn\'twe——well，couldn\'twewait？\" \"Itlooksqueer，\"Mrs。Adamssaid。\"Itisn\'tthethingatallforayoungmantocomeasmuchashedoes，andnevermorethanjustbarelymeetyourfatherandmother。No。Weoughttodosomething。\" \"Butadinner!\"Aliceobjected。\"Inthefirstplace，thereisn\'tanybodyIwanttoask。Thereisn\'tanybodyIWOULDask。\" \"Ididn\'tmeantryingtogiveabigdinner，\"hermotherexplained。\"Ijustmeanhavinghimtodinner。Thatmulattowoman，MalenaBurns，goesoutbytheday，andshecouldbringawaitress。Wecangetsomeflowersforthetableandsometoputintheliving-room。Wemightjustaswellgoaheadanddoitto-morrowasanyothertime；becauseyourfather\'sinafinemood，andIsawMalenathisafternoonandtoldherImightwanthersoon。Shesaidshedidn\'thaveanyengagementsthisweek，andIcanletherknowto-night。Supposewhenhecomesyouaskhimforto-morrow，Alice。Everything\'llbeverynice，I\'msure。 Don\'tworryaboutit。\" \"Well——but——\"Alicewasuncertain。 \"Butdon\'tyousee，itlookssoqueer，nottodoSOMETHING？\"hermotherurged。\"Itlookssokindofpoverty-stricken。Wereallyoughtn\'ttowaitanylonger。\" Aliceassented，thoughnotwithagoodheart。\"Verywell，I\'llaskhim，ifyouthinkwe\'vegotto。\" \"Thatmatter\'ssettledthen，\"Mrs。Adamssaid。\"I\'llgotelephoneMalena，andthenI\'lltellyourfatheraboutit。\" Butwhenshewentbacktoherhusband，shefoundhiminanexcitedstateofmind，andWalterstandingbeforehiminthedarkness。Adamswasalmostshouting，sogreatwashisvehemence。 \"Hush，hush!\"hiswifeimplored，asshecamenearthem。\"They\'llhearyououtonthefrontporch!\" \"Idon\'tcarewhohearsme，\"Adamssaid，harshly，thoughhetemperedhisloudness。\"Doyouwanttoknowwhatthisboy\'saskingmefor？Ithoughthe\'dmaybecometotellmehe\'dgotalittlesenseinhisheadatlast，andalittledecencyaboutwhat\'sduehisfamily!Ithoughthewasgoingtoaskmetotakehimintomyplant。No，ma\'am；THAT\'Snotwhathewants!\" \"No，itisn\'t，\"Waltersaid。Inthedarknesshisfacecouldnotbeseen；hestoodmotionless，inwhatseemedanapatheticattitude；andhespokequietly，\"No，\"herepeated。\"Thatisn\'twhatIwant。\" \"Youstaydownatthatplace，\"Adamswenton，hotly，\"insteadoftryingtobealittleusetoyourfamily；andtheonlyreasonyou\'reALLOWEDtostaythereisbecauseMr。Lamb\'sneverhappenedtonoticeyouAREstillthere!Youjustwait——\" \"You\'reoff，\"Waltersaid，inthesamequietway。\"HeknowsI\'mthere。Hespoketomeyesterday:heaskedmehowIwasgettingalongwithmywork。\" \"Hedid？\"Adamssaid，seemingnottobelievehim。 \"Yes。Hedid。\" \"Whatelsedidhesay，Walter？\"Mrs。Adamsaskedquickly。 \"Nothin\'。Justwalkedon。\" \"Idon\'tbelieveheknewwhoyouwere，\"Adamsdeclared。 \"Thinknot？Hecalledme\'WalterAdams。\'\" AtthisAdamswassilent；andWalter，afterwaitingamoment，said: \"Well，areyougoingtodoanythingaboutme？AboutwhatItoldyouIgottohave？\" \"Whatisit，Walter？\"hismotherasked，sinceAdamsdidnotspeak。 Walterclearedhisthroat，andrepliedinatoneasquietasthathehadusedbefore，thoughwithaslighthuskiness，\"Igottohavethreehundredandfiftydollars。Youbettergethimtogiveittomeifyoucan。\" Adamsfoundhisvoice。\"Yes，\"hesaid，bitterly。\"That\'sallheasks!Hewon\'tdoanythingIaskHIMto，andinreturnheasksmeforthreehundredandfiftydollars!That\'sall!\" \"Whatintheworld!\"Mrs。Adamsexclaimed。\"WhatFOR，Walter？\" \"Igottohaveit，\"Waltersaid。 \"ButwhatFOR？\" Hisquiethuskinessdidnotalter。\"Igottohaveit。\" \"Butcan\'tyoutellus——\" \"Igottohaveit。\" \"That\'sallyoucangetoutofhim，\"Adamssaid。\"Heseemstothinkit\'llbringhiminthreehundredandfiftydollars!\" Afainttremulousnessbecameevidentinthehuskyvoice。 \"Haven\'tyougotit？\" \"NO，Ihaven\'tgotit!\"hisfatheranswered。\"AndI\'vegottogotoabankformorethanmypay-rollnextweek。DoyouthinkI\'mamint？\" \"Idon\'tunderstandwhatyoumean，Walter，\"Mrs。Adamsinterposed，perplexedanddistressed。\"Ifyourfatherhadthemoney，ofcoursehe\'dneedeverycentofit，especiallyjustnow，and，anyhow，youcouldscarcelyexpecthimtogiveittoyou，unlessyoutolduswhatyouwantwithit。Buthehasn\'tgotit。\" \"Allright，\"Waltersaid；andafterstandingamomentmore，insilence，headded，impersonally，\"Idon\'tseeasyoueverdidanythingmuchforme，anyhoweitherofyou。\" Then，asifthiswerehisvaledictory，heturnedhisbackuponthem，walkedawayquickly，andwasatoncelosttotheirsightinthedarkness。 \"There\'safineboyto\'vehadthetroubleofraising!\"Adamsgrumbled。\"Justcrazy，that\'sall。\" \"Whatintheworlddoyousupposehewantsallthatmoneyfor？\" hiswifesaid，wonderingly。\"Ican\'timaginewhathecouldDO withit。Iwonder——\"Shepaused。\"Iwonderifhe——\" \"Ifhewhat？\"Adamspromptedherirritably。 \"IfheCOULDhavebad——associates。\" \"Godknows!\"saidAdams。\"_I_don\'t!ItjustlookstomelikehehadsomethinginhimIdon\'tunderstand。Youcan\'tkeepyoureyeonaboyallthetimeinacitythissize，notaboyWalter\'sage。Yougotagirlprettymuchinthehouse，butaboy\'llfollowhisnature。_I_don\'tknowwhattodowithhim!\" Mrs。Adamsbrightenedalittle。\"He\'llcomeoutallright，\"shesaid。\"I\'msurehewill。I\'msurehe\'dneverbeanythingreallybad:andhe\'llcomearoundallrightabouttheglue-works，too； you\'llsee。Ofcourseeveryyoungmanwantsmoney——itdoesn\'tprovehe\'sdoinganythingwrongjustbecauseheasksyouforit。\" \"No。Allitprovestomeisthathehasn\'tgotgoodsenseaskingmeforthreehundredandfiftydollars，whenheknowsaswellasyoudothepositionI\'min!IfIwantedto，Icouldn\'thardlylethimhavethreehundredandfiftycents，letalonedollars!\" \"I\'mafraidyou\'llhavetoletMEhavethatmuch——andmaybealittlemore，\"sheventured，timidly；andshetoldhimofherplansforthemorrow。Heobjectedvehemently。 \"Oh，butAlicehasprobablyaskedhimbythistime，\"Mrs。Adamssaid。\"Itreallymustbedone，Virgil:youdon\'twanthimtothinkshe\'sashamedofus，doyou？\" \"Well，goahead，butjustletmestayaway，\"hebegged。\"OfcourseIexpecttoundergoakindoftalkwithhim，whenhegetsreadytosaysomethingtousaboutAlice，butIdohatetohavetositthroughafashionabledinner。\" \"Why，itisn\'tgoingtobotheryou，\"shesaid；\"justoneyoungmanasaguest。\" \"Yes，Iknow；butyouwanttohaveallthisfancycookin\'；andI seewellenoughyou\'regoingtogetthatolddresssuitoutofthecedarchestintheattic，andtrytomakemeputitonme。\" \"Idothinkyoubetter，Virgil。\" \"Ihopethemothshavegotinit，\"hesaid。\"LasttimeIworeitwastothebanquet，anditwasprettyoldthen。OfcourseI didn\'tmindwearingittothebanquetsomuch，becausethatwaswhatyoumightcallquiteanoccasion。\"Hespokewithsomereminiscentcomplacency；\"thebanquet，\"anaffairnowfiveyearspast，havingprovidedtheonetimeinhislifewhenhehadbeensodistinguishedamonghisfellow-citizensastoreceiveaninvitationtobepresent，withsomesevenhundredothers，attheannualeatingandspeech-makingofthecity\'sChamberofCommerce。\"Anyhow，asyousay，Ithinkitwouldlookfoolishofmetowearadresssuitforjustoneyoungman，\"hewentonprotesting，feebly。\"What\'stheuseofallsomuchhowdy-do，anyway？Youdon\'texpecthimtobelieveweputonallthatstyleeverynight，doyou？Isthatwhatyou\'reafter？\" \"Well，wewanthimtothinkwelivenicely，\"sheadmitted。 \"Sothat\'sit!\"hesaid，querulously。\"Youwanthimtothinkthat\'sourregulargait，doyou？Well，he\'llknowbetteraboutme，nomatterhowyoufixmeup，becausehesawmeinmyregularsuittheeveningsheintroducedmetohim，andhecouldtellanywayI\'mnotoneofthesemoving-picturesporting-menthat\'salwaysgotadresssuiton。Besides，youandAlicecertainlyhavesomeideahe\'llcomeAGAIN，haven\'tyou？Iftheygetthingssettledbetween\'emhe\'llbearoundthehouseandtomealsmostanytime，won\'the？Youdon\'thardlyexpecttoputonstyleallthetime，Iguess。Well，he\'llseethenthatthiskindofthingwasallshow-off，andbluff，won\'the？Whataboutit？\" \"Oh，well，byTHATtime——\"Sheleftthesentenceunfinished，asifabsently。\"Youcouldletushavealittlemoneyforto-morrow，couldn\'tyou，honey？\" \"Oh，Ireckon，Ireckon，\"hemumbled。\"AgirllikeAliceissomecomfort:shedon\'tcomearoundactingasifshe\'dcommitsuicideifshedidn\'tgetthreehundredandfiftydollarsinthenextfiveminutes。IexpectIcansparefiveorsixdollarsforyourshow-offifIgotto。\" However，shefinallyobtainedfifteenbeforehisbedtime；andthenextmorning\"wenttomarket\"afterbreakfast，leavingAlicetomakethebeds。Walterhadnotyetcomedownstairs。\"Youhadbettercallhim，\"Mrs。Adamssaid，asshedepartedwithabigbasketonherarm。\"Iexpecthe\'sprettysleepy；hewasoutsolatelastnightIdidn\'thearhimcomein，thoughIkeptawaketillaftermidnight，listeningforhim。Tellhimhe\'llbelatetoworkifhedoesn\'thurry；andseethathedrinkshiscoffee，evenifhehasn\'ttimeforanythingelse。AndwhenMalenacomes，getherstartedinthekitchen:showherwhereeverythingis。\" Shewavedherhand，asshesetoutforacornerwherethecarsstopped。\"Everything\'llbelovely。Don\'tforgetaboutWalter。\"