"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