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