"'No,'Ianswered。'HewenttoEuropeearlylastmonth。'"
  "'Verylikelyhetookherwithhim。SheisprobablyatMonteCarlo。'"
  "'ScarcelyinAugust,Ifancy。AndI'lltellyouwhat,Ethel。Ihavebeencountingitup。Shehaslosttwenty-fourthousanddollarsintheStandardEggalone。Ittakesagooddealofsurplustostandthat。'"
  "'Serveherright,'saidEthel'AndIwouldsaysotoherface。'"
  "Septemberbroughtfreshnesstothestockmarketbutnottome。Mr。
  Beverly,likethewell-to-domanthathewas,remainedawayinEuropeuntilOctobershouldrequirehispresenceasaguidinghandintheoffice。ThuswasIleftwithouthisbuoyantconsolationinthefaceofmyinvestments。"
  "Petuniaswerebeingadjustedonafourpercentbasis;DutchessandColumbiaTractionwasholdingitsown;IcouldnotcomplainofAmalgamatedElectric,thoughitwasnowlowerthanwhenIhadboughtit,whilehadIsolditonthatWednesdayinMaywhenEthelbeggedme,beforetheincreaseddividendturnedoutamistake,Ishouldhavemademoney。
  ButPhilippiSewerswerethreatened;PasteurisedFeedershadbeennumbsinceJune;PollyopolisHeat,Light,Power,Paving,Pressing,andPackingwasgoingtopassitsquarterlydividend;andStandardEgghadgonedownfrom63to71/8。Mymilliondollarsonpapernowwasworthinrealitylessthanaquarterofthatsum,andalthoughwecouldstillmakebothendsmeetfairlywellinsomeplacewhereyouwouldn'twanttolive,likePhiladelphia,inNewYorkweshoulddropintoapinchedanddwarfedobscurity。"
  "Imustsaynow,andIshallneverforget,thatEthelduringthesegloomyweeksbehavedmuchbetterthanIdid。Thegrayertheoutlookbecame,themorewordsofhopeandsensesheseemedtofindSheremindedmethat,afterallmyUncleGodfrey'slegacyhadbeenathingunlookedfor,somethingoutofmyschemeoflifethatIhadmyyouth,mysalaryandmywriting;andthatshewouldwaittillshewasasoldatMr。Beverly'smother。"
  "ItwasthethoughtofthatladywhichbroughtfromEtheltheonlynoteofcomplaintsheutteredinmypresenceduringthatwholedrearymonth。"
  "WewerespendingSundaywithahousepartyatHydePark;anddrivingtochurch,wepassedanavenuegatewithalodge。'Rockhurst,sir,'saidthecoachman。'Whoseplace?'Iinquired。'TheoldBeverlyplace,sir。'Ethelheardhimtellmethis;andaswewenton,wesawacarriageandpaircomingdowntheavenuetowardthegatewiththatlookwhichhorsesalwaysseemtohavewhentheyaretakingthefamilytochurchonSundaymorning。"
  "'IfIseeher,'saidEtheltomeasweenteredthedoor,'Ishallbeunabletosaymyprayers。'"
  "ButonlyyoungpeoplecameintotheBeverlypew,andEthelsaidherprayersandalsosangthehymnandchantsverysweetly。"
  "Aftertheservice,westrolledtogetherintheoldandlovelygraveyardbeforestartinghomeward。Wehadtoldthemthatweshouldprefertowalkback。Thedaywasbeautiful,andonecouldseealittlebluepieceoftheriver,sparkling。"
  "'Hereiswheretheyareallburied,'saidEthel,andwepausedbeforebrownoldheadstoneswithBeverlyuponthem。'Died1750;died1767,'
  continuedEthel,readingthenamesandinscriptions。'Ithinkonedoesn'tmindtheideaoflyinginsuchaplaceasthis。'"
  "Someoftheyoungpeopleinthepewnowcamealongthepath。'Thegrandchildren,'saidEthel。'Sheisprobablytoooldtocometochurch。
  OrsheisinEurope。'"
  "Theyoungpeoplehadbroughtabasketwithflowersfromtheirplace,andnowlaidthemoverseveralofthegrassymounds。'Givemesomeofyours,'
  saidonetotheother,presently;'I'venotenoughforgrandmother's。'"
  "Etheltookmerathersharplybythearm。'Didyouhearthat?'sheasked。"
  "'Itcan'tbeshe,youknow,'saidI。'HewouldhavecomebackfromEurope。'"
  "Butwefounditoutatlunch。Itwasshe,andshehadbeendeadforfifteenyears。"
  "EthelandItalkeditoverinthetraingoinguptotownonMondaymorning。Wehadbythattimegrowncalmer。'Ifitisnotfalsepretences,'saidshe,'andyoucannotsuehimfordamages,andifitisnotstealingorsomething,andyoucannotputhiminprison,whatareyougoingtodotohim,Richard?'"
  "AsthiswasaquestionwhichIhadfrequentlyaskedmyselfduringthenight,havingfoundnosatisfactoryanswertoit,Isaid:'Whatwouldyoudoinmyplace,Ethel?'ButEthelknew。"
  "'Ishouldfindoutwhenhesails,andmeethissteamerwithacowhide。'"
  "'Thenhewouldsuemefordamages。'"
  "'Thatwouldbenothing,ifyougotafewgoodcutsinonhim。'"
  "'Ethel,'Isaid,'pleasefollowmecarefully。Ishouldlikedearlytocowhidehim。andforthesakeofargumentwewillconsideritdoneThencomesthelawsuit。ThenIgetupandsaythatIbeathimbecausehemademebuyStandardEggat63bytellingmethathismotherhadsome,whenreallytheoldladyhadbeendeadforfifteenyears。WhenIthinkofitinthisway,Idonotfeel'"
  "Iknow,'interruptedEthel,'youareafraidofridicule。Allmenare。'"
  "HadEthelinsisted,IbelievethatIshouldhavecowhidedMr。Beverlyforhersake。Butbeforehisreturnourdestinieswerebrightened。CopperhadbeenfoundnearEthel'swastelandsinMichigan,andthefamilybusinessmanwasabletosellthepropertyforsevenhundredthousanddollars。HedidthissopromptlythatIventuredtoaskhimifdelaymightnothavebroughtagreaterprice。'Well',hesaid,'Idon'tknow。
  Youmustseizethesethings。BlakeandBeverlymighthavegottiredwaiting。"
  "'BlakeandBeverly!'Iexclaimed'Sotheymadethepurchase。ItMr。
  Beverlyback?'"
  "'Justback。TotellthetruthIdon'tbelievethey'refindingsomuchcopperastheyhoped。'"
  "Thisturnedouttobetrue。AndIamnotsurethatthebusinessmanhadnotknownitallthewhile。'WelookedoverthepropertyprettythoroughlyatthetimeoftheTamarackexcitement,'hesaid。Andinafewdaysmore,infact,itwasgenerallyknownthatthislandhadreturnedtoitsoldstateofnotquitepayingthetaxes。"
  "ThenIpaidmyvisittoMr。Beverly,butwithnocowhide。'Mr。Beverly,'
  saidI,'IwanttoannouncetoyoumyengagementtoMissEthelLansing,whoseMichigancopperlandyouhavelatelyacquired。Ihopethatyouboughtsomeforyourmother。'"
  "Those,"concludedMr。RichardField,"arethecircumstancesattendingmyengagementwhichIfeltmightinterestyou。Andnow,Ethel,tellyourstory,ifthey'lllisten。"
  "Richard,"saidEthel,"thatisthestoryIwasgoingtotell。"