"Shearrangedwiththe——withthepurchaserthatthemenwillcomeforitabouthalfafterfiveintheafternoon。Thedaysaresoshortnowit'sreallyquitewinter。"
　　"Oh,yes,"heagreed,moodily。"Sofarasthatgoespeoplehavearighttomoveapieceoffurniturewithoutstirringuptheneighbors,Isuppose,evenbydaylight。Idon'tsupposeOURneighborsarepayingmuchattentionjustnow,thoughIhearSheridanwasbackinhisofficeearlythemorningafterthefuneral。"
　　Mrs。Vertreesmadealittlesoundofcommiseration。"Idon'tbelievethatwasbecausehewasn'tsuffering,though。I'msureitwasonlybecausehefelthisbusinesswassoimportant。Marytoldmeheseemedwrappedupinhisson'ssucceeding;andthatwaswhathebraggedaboutmost。Heisn'tvulgarinhisboasting,Iunderstand;hedoesn'ttalkagreatdealabouthis——hisactualmoney——thoughtherewassomethingaboutbladesofgrassthatIdidn'tcomprehend。Ithinkhemeantsomethingabouthisenergy——butperhapsnot。
　　No,hisbraggingusuallyseemedtobenotsomuchapersonalvaingloryasabouthisfamilyandthegreatnessofthiscity。"
　　"'Greatnessofthiscity'！"Mr。Vertreesechoed,withdullbitterness。"It'snothingbutacoal—hole！Isupposeitlooks'great'tothemanwhohasthelucktomakeitworkforhim。Isupposeitlooks'great'toanyYOUNGman,too,startingouttomakehisfortuneoutofit。Thefellowsthatgetwhattheywantoutofitsayit's'great,'andeverybodyelsegetsthehabit。Butyouhaveadifferentpointofviewifit'sthecitythatgotwhatitwantedoutofyou！OfcourseSheridansaysit's'great'。"
　　Mrs。Vertreesseemedunawareofthisunusualoutburst。"Ibelieve,"shebegan,timidly,"hedoesn'tboastof——thatis,Iunderstandhehasneverseemedsointerestedinthe——theotherone。"
　　Herhusband'sfacewasdark,butatthataheaviershadowfelluponit;helookedmorehaggardthanbefore。"'Theotherone',"herepeated,avertinghiseyes。"Youmean——youmeanthethirdson——theonethatwasherethisevening？"
　　"Yes,the——theyoungest,"shereturned,hervoicesofeebleitwasalmostawhisper。
　　Andthenneitherofthemspokeforseverallongminutes。Nordideitherlookattheotherduringthatsilence。
　　AtlastMr。Vertreescontrivedtocough,butnotconvincingly。"What——
　　ah——whatwasitMarysaidabouthimoutinthehall,whenshecameinthisafternoon？Iheardyouaskinghersomethingabouthim,butsheansweredinsuchalowvoiceIdidn't——ah——happentocatchit。"
　　"She——shedidn'tsaymuch。Allshesaidwasthis:Iaskedherifshehadenjoyedherwalkwithhim,andshesaid,'He'sthemostwistfulcreatureI'veeverknown。'"
　　"Well？"
　　"Thatwasall。HeISwistful—looking;andsofragile——thoughhedoesn'tseemquitesomuchsolately。IwaswatchingMaryfromthewindowwhenshewentoutto—day,andhejoinedher,andifIhadn'tknownabouthimI'dhavethoughthehadquiteaninterestingface。"
　　"Ifyou'hadn'tknownabouthim'？Knownwhat？"
　　"Oh,nothing,ofcourse,"shesaid,hurriedly。"Nothingdefinite,thatis。
　　Marysaiddecidely,longago,thathe'snotatallinsane,aswethoughtatfirst。It'sonly——well,ofcourseitISodd,theirattitudeabouthim。I
　　supposeit'ssomenervoustroublethatmakeshim——perhapsalittlequeerattimes,sothathecan'tapplyhimselftoanything——orperhapsdoesoddthings。But,afterall,ofcourse,weonlyhaveanimpressionaboutit。Wedon'tknow——thatis,positively。I——"Shepaused,thenwenton:"Ididn'tknowjusthowtoask——thatis——Ididn'tmentionittoMary。Ididn't——I——"
　　Thepoorladyflounderedpitifully,concludingwithamumble。"Sosoonafter——afterthe——theshock。"
　　"Idon'tthinkI'vecaughtmorethanaglimpseofhim,"saidMr。Vertrees。
　　"Iwouldn'tknowhimifIsawhim,butyourimpressionofhimis——"Hebrokeoffsuddenly,springingtohisfeetinagitation。"Ican'timageher——oh,NO！"hegasped。Andhebegantopacethefloor。"Ahalf—wittedepileptic！"
　　"No,no！"shecried。"Hemaybeallright。We——"
　　"Oh,it'shorrible！Ican't——"Hethrewhimselfbackintohischairagain,sweepinghishandsacrosshisface,thenlettingthemfalllimplyathissides。
　　Mrs。Vertreeswastremulous。"Youmustn'tgivewayso,"shesaid,inspiredforoncealmosttodirectdiscourse。"WhateverMarymightthinkofdoing,itwouldn'tbeonherownaccount;itwouldbeonours。ButifWE
　　should——shouldconsiderit,thatwouldn'tbeonOURownaccount。Itisn'tbecausewethinkofourselves。"
　　"OhGod,no！"hegroaned。"Notforus！Wecangotothepoorhouse,butMarycan'tbeastenographer！"
　　Sighing,Mrs。Vertreesresumedherobliqueness。"Ofcourse,"shemurmured,"itallseemsverypremature,speculatingaboutsuchthings,butIhadaqueersortoffeelingthatsheseemedquiteinterestedinthis——"Shehadalmostsaid"inthisone,"butcheckedherself。"Inthisyoungman。It'snatural,ofcourse;sheisalwayssostrongandwell,andheis——heseemstobe,thatis——ratherappealingtothe——thesympathies。"
　　"Yes！"heagreed,bitterly。"Precisely。Thesympathies！"
　　"Perhaps,"shefaltered——"perhapsyoumightfeeleasierifIcouldhavealittletalkwithsomeone？"
　　"Withwhom？"
　　"Ihadthoughtof——notgoingaboutittoobrusquely,ofcourse,butperhapsjustwaitingforhisnametobementioned,ifIhappenedtobetalkingwithsomebodythatknewthefamily——andthenImightfindachancetosaythatI
　　wassorrytohearhe'dbeenillsomuch,and——Somethingofthatkindperhaps？"
　　"Youdon'tknowanybodythatknowsthefamily。"
　　"Yes。Thatis——well,inaway,ofcourse,oneOFthefamily。ThatMrs。
　　RoscoeSheridanisnota——thatis,she'sratherapleasant—facedlittlewoman,Ithink,andofcourseratherordinary。Ithinksheisinterestedabout——thatis,ofcourse,she'dbeanxioustobemoreintimatewithMary,naturally。She'salwayslookingoverherefromherhouse;shewaslookingoutthewindowthisafternoonwhenMarywentout,Inoticed——thoughIdon'tthinkMarysawher。I'msureshewouldn'tthinkitoutofplaceto——tobefrankaboutmatters。Shecalledtheotherday,andMarymustratherlikeher——shesaidthateveningthatthecallhaddonehergood。Don'tyouthinkitmightbewise？"
　　"Wise？Idon'tknow。Ifeelthewholematterisimpossible。"
　　"Yes,sodoI,"shereturned,promptly。"Itisn'treallyathingweshouldbeconsideringseriously,ofcourse。Still——"
　　"Ishouldsaynot！Butpossibly——"
　　Thustheyskirmishedupanddownthefield,butbeforetheyturnedthelightsoutandwentup—stairsitwasthoroughlyunderstoodbetweenthemthatMrs。
　　VertreesshouldseektheearliestopportunitytoobtaindefiniteinformationfromSibylSheridanconcerningthementalandphysicalstatusofBibbs。Andifheweresubjecttoattacksoflunacy,theunhappypairdecidedtopreventthesacrificetheysupposedtheirdaughterintendedtomakeofherself。
　　Altogether,iftherewerespitefulghostsintheoldhousethatnight,eavesdroppinguponthewoefulcomedy,theymusthavediedanewoflaughter！
　　Mrs。Vertrees'sopportunityoccurredtheverynextafternoon。Darknesshadfallen,andthepiano—movershadcome。Theywerecarryingthepianodownthefrontsteps,andMrs。Vertreeswasstandingintheopendoorwaybehindthem,preparingtowithdraw,whensheheardasharpexclamation;andMrs。RoscoeSheridan,bareheaded,emergedfromtheshadowintothelightofthedoorway。
　　"Goodgracious！"shecried。"Itdidgivemeafright！"
　　"It'sMrs。Sheridan,isn'tit？"Mrs。Vertreeswasperplexedbythisinformalappearance,butshereflectedthatitmightbeprovidential。"Won'tyoucomein？"
　　"No。Ohno,thankyou！"Sibylpanted,pressingherhandtoherside。"Youdon'tknowwhatafrightyou'vegivenme！Anditwasnothingbutyourpiano！"Shelaughedshrilly。"Youknow,sinceourtragedycomingsosuddenlytheotherday,youhavenoideahowupsetI'vebeen——almosthysterical！AndIjustglancedoutofthewindow,aminuteorsoago,andsawyourdoorwideopenandblackfiguresofmenagainstthelight,carryingsomethingheavy,andIalmostfainted。Yousee,itwasjustthewayitlookedwhenIsawthembringingmypoorbrother—in—lawin,nextdoor,onlysuchafewshortdaysago。AndIthoughtI'dseenyourdaughterstartforadrivewithBibbsSheridaninacaraboutthreeo'clock——and——Theyaren'tbackyet,arethey？"
　　"No。Goodheavens！"
　　"AndtheonlythingIcouldthinkofwasthatsomethingmusthavehappenedtothem,andIjustdashedover——anditwasonlyyourPIANO！"Shebrokeintolaughteragain。"Isupposeyou'rejustsendingitsomewheretoberepaired,aren'tyou？"
　　"It's——it'sbeingtakendown—town,"saidMrs。Vertrees。"Won'tyoucomeinandmakemealittlevisit。IwasSOsorry,theotherday,thatIwas——ah——"
　　Shestoppedinconsequently,thenrepeatedherinvitation。"Won'tyoucomein？I'dreally——"
　　"Thankyou,butImustberunningback。Myhusbandusuallygetshomeaboutthistime,andImakealittlepointofitalwaystobethere。"
　　"That'sverysweet。"Mrs。VertreesdescendedthestepsandwalkedtowardthestreetwithSibyl。"It'squitebalmyforsolateinNovember,isn'tit？
　　AlmostlikeaMayevening。"
　　"I'mafraidMissVertreeswillmissherpiano,"saidSibyl,watchingtheinstrumentdisappearintothebigvanatthecurb。"Sheplayswonderfully,Mrs。Kittersbytellsme。"
　　"Yes,sheplaysverywell。Oneofyourrelativescametohearheryesterday,afterdinner,andIthinksheplayedalleveningforhim。"
　　"YoumeanBibbs？"askedSibyl。
　　"The——theyoungestMr。Sheridan。Yes。He'sverymusical,isn'the？"
　　"Ineverheardofit。ButIshouldn'tthinkitwouldmattermuchwhetherhewasornot,ifhecouldgetMissVertreestoplaytohim。Doesyourdaughterexpectthepianobacksoon？"
　　"I——Ibelievenotimmediately。Mr。Sheridancamelasteveningtohearherplaybecauseshehadarrangedwiththe——thatis,itwastoberemovedthisafternoon。Heseemsalmostwellagain。"
　　"Yes。"Sibylnodded。"Hisfather'sgoingtotrytostarthimtowork。"
　　"Heseemsverydelicate,"saidMrs。Vertrees。"Ishouldn'tthinkhewouldbeabletostandagreatdeal,eitherphysicallyor——"Shepausedandthenadded,glowingwiththesenseofherownadroitness——"ormentally。"
　　"Oh,mentallyBibbsisallright,"saidSibyl,inanoddvoice。
　　"Entirely？"Mrs。Vertreesasked,breathlessly。
　　"Yes,entirely。"
　　"ButhasheALWAYSbeen？"Thisquestioncamewiththesameanxiouseagerness。
　　"Certainly。Hehadalongsiegeofnervousdyspepsia,buthe'soverit。"
　　"Andyouthink——"
　　"Bibbsisallright。Youneedn'twor——"Sibylchoked,andpressedherhandkerchieftohermouth。"Goodnight,Mrs。Vertrees,"shesaid,hurriedly,asthehead—lightsofanautomobileswungroundthecornerabove,sendingabrighteningglaretowardtheedgeofthepavementwherethetwoladieswerestanding。
　　"Won'tyoucomein？"urgedMrs。Vertrees,cordially,hearingthesoundofacheerfulvoiceoutofthedarknessbeyondtheapproachingglare。"Do！
　　There'sMarynow,andshe——"
　　ButSibylwashalf—wayacrossthestreet。"No,thanks,"shecalled。"I
　　hopeshewon'tmissherpiano！"Andsheranintoherownhouseandplungedheadlonguponaleatherdivaninthehall,holdingherhandkerchiefoverhermouth。
　　Thenoiseofhertumultuousentrancewasevidentlystartlinginthequiethouse,foruponthebangofthedoortherefollowedthecrashofadecanter,droppeduponthefloorofthedining—roomattheendofthehall;and,afterarumbleofindistinctprofanity,Roscoecameforth,holdingadrippingnapkininhishand。
　　"What'syourexcitement？"hedemanded。"Whatdoyoufindtogointohystericsover？Anotherdeathinthefamily？"
　　"Oh,it'sfunny！shegasped。"Thoseoldfrost—bittenpeople！IguessTHEY'REgettingtheircome—upance！"Lyingprone,sheelevatedherfeetintheair,clappedherheelstogetherrepeatedly,inanecstasy。
　　"Comethrough,comethrough！"saidherhusband,crossly。"Whatyoubeenupto？"
　　"Me？"shecried,droppingherfeetandswingingaroundtofacehim。
　　"Nothing。It'sthem！ThoseVertreeses！"Shewipedhereyes。"They'vehadtoselltheirpiano！"
　　"Well,whatofit？"
　　"ThatMrs。Kittersbytoldmeallabout'emaweekago,"saidSibyl。"They'vebeenhardupforalongtime,andshesaysaslongagoaslastwintersheknewthatgirlgotapairofwalking—shoesre—soledandpatched,becauseshegotitdonethesameplaceMrs。Kittersby'scookhadHERS！Andthenightofthehouse—warmingIkindofgotsuspicious,myself。Shedidn'thaveonesinglepieceofanykindofrealjewelry,andyoucouldseeherdresswasanoldonedoneover。Mencan'ttellthosethings,andyouallmadeabigfussoverher,butIthoughtshelookedasight,myself！Ofcourse,EDITHwascrazytohaveher,and——"
　　"Well,well？"heurged,impatiently。
　　"Well,I'mTELLINGyou！Mrs。Kittersbysaystheyhaven'tgotaTHING！JustabsolutelyNOTHING——andtheydon'tknowanywheretoturn！Thefamily'salldiedoutbutthem,andalltherelativestheygotareverydistant,andliveEastandscarcelyknow'em。Shesaysthewholetown'sbeenwonderingwhatWOULDbecomeof'em。Thegirlhadplentychancestomarryuptoayearorsoago,butshewassoindifferentshescaredthemenoff,andtheonesthathadwantedtowentandmarriedothergirls。Gracious！theywerelucky！MarryHER？ThemanthatfoundhimselftieduptoTHATgirl——"
　　"Terriblefunny,terriblefunny！"saidRoscoe,withsarcasm。"It'ssofunnyIbrokeacut—glassdecanterandspilledaquartof——"
　　"Wait！"shebegged。"You'llsee。Iwassittingbythewindowalittlewhileago,andIsawabigwagondriveupacrossthestreetandsomemengointothehouse。Itwastoodarktomakeoutmuch,andforaminuteIgottheideatheyweremovingout——thehousehasbeenforeclosedon,Mrs。Kittersbysays。
　　Itseemedfunny,too,becauseIknewthatgirlwasoutridingwithBibbs。
　　Well,IthoughtI'dsee,soIslippedover——anditwastheirPIANO！They'dsolditandweretryingtosneakitoutafterdark,sonobody'dcatchon！"
　　Againshegavewaytoherenjoyment,butresumed,asherhusbandseemedabouttointerruptthenarrative。"Waitaminute,can'tyou？Theoldladywassuperintending,andshegaveitallaway。Isizedherupforoneofthoseoldchurchypeoplethattellallkindsofliesexceptwhenitcomestosomanywords,andthentheycan't。Shemightjustaswelltoldmeoutright！
　　Yes,they'dsoldit;andIhopethey'llpaysomeoftheirdebts。Theyoweeverybody,andlastweekacoal—dealermadeanawfulfussatthedoorwithMr。Vertrees。Theircooktoldourupstairsgirl,andshesaidshedidn'tknowWHENshe'dseenanymoney,herself！DidyoueverhearofsuchacaseasthatgirlinyouLIFE？"
　　"Whatgirl？Theircook？"
　　"ThatVertreesgirl！Don'tyouseetheylookedonourcomingupintothisneighborhoodastheirlastchance？Theywerejustgoingdownandout,andherebobsupthegreen,richSheridanfamily！Sotheydollthegirlupinheroldthings,madeover,andsendherouttogetaSheridan——she'sGOTtogetone！Andshejustgoesinblind;andshetriesitonfirstwithYOU。
　　Youremember,shejustplainTOLDyoushewasgoingtomashyou,andthenshefoundoutyouwerethemarriedone,andturnedrightsquarearoundtoJimandcarriedhimoffhisfeet。Oh,Jimwaslanded——there'snodoubtaboutTHAT！
　　ButJimwaslucky;hedidn'tlivetoSTAYlanded,andit'sagoodthingforhim！"Sibyl'smirthhadvanished,andshespokewithvirulentrapidity。
　　"Well,shecouldn'tgetyou,becauseyouweremarried,andshecouldn'tgetJim,becauseJimdied。Andtheretheywere,deadbroke！Doyouknowwhatshedid？Doyouknowwhatshe'sDOING？"
　　"No,Idon't,"saidRoscoe,gruffly。
　　Sibyl'svoiceroseandculminatedinascreamofrenewedhilarity。"BIBBS！
　　Shewaitedinthegrave—yard,anddrovehomewithhimfromJIM'SFUNERAL！
　　Neverspoketohimbefore！Jimwasn'tCOLD！"
　　Sherockedherselfbackandforthuponthedivan。"Bibbs！"sheshrieked。
　　"Bibbs！Roscoe,THINKofit！BIBBS！"
　　Hestaredunsympathetically,buthermirthwasunabatedforallthat。"Andyesterday,"shecontinued,betweenparoxysms——"yesterdayshecameoutofthehouse——justashewaspassing。Shemusthavebeenlookingout——waitingforthechance;Isawtheoldladywatchingatthewindow！Andshegothimtherelastnight——to'PLAY'tohim;theoldladygavethataway！Andto—dayshemadehimtakeheroutinamachine！Andthecreamofitisthattheydidn'tevenknowwhetherhewasINSANEornot——theythoughtmaybehewas,butshewentafterhimjustthesame！Theoldladysetherselftopumpmeaboutitto—day。BIBBS！Oh,myLord！BIBBS！"
　　ButRoscoelookedgrim。"Soit'sfunnytoyou,isit？Itsoundskindofpitifultome。Ishouldthinkitwouldtoawoman,too。"
　　"Oh,itmight,"shereturned,sobering。"Itmight,ifthosepeopleweren'tsuchfrozen—facedsmartAlecks。Ifthey'dhadthedecencytocomedownofftheperchalittleIprobablywouldn'tthinkitwasfunny,buttosee'emsitupontheirpedestalallthetimethey'reeatingdirt——well,Ithinkit'sfunny！ThatgirlsitsupasifshewasQueenElizabeth,andexpectspeopletowallowonthegroundbeforeheruntiltheygetnearenoughforhertogive'emagoodkickwithheroldpatchedshoes——oh,she'ddoTHAT,allright！——andthenshepowdersupandgoesouttomash——BIBBSSHERIDAN！"
　　"Lookhere,"saidRoscoe,heavily;"Idon'tcareaboutthatonewayoranother。Ifyou'rethrough,IgotsomethingIwanttotalktoyouabout。I
　　wasgoingto,thatdayjustbeforeweheardaboutJim。"
　　AtthisSibylstiffenedquickly;hereyesbecameintenselybright。"Whatisit？"
　　"Well,"hebegan,frowning,"whatIwasgoingtosaythen——"Hebrokeoff,and,becomingconsciousthathewasstillholdingthewetnapkininhishand,threwitpettishlyintoacorner。"IneverexpectedI'dhavetosayanythinglikethistoanybodyIMARRIED;butIwasgoingtoaskyouwhatwasthematterbetweenyouandLamhorn。"
　　Sibylutteredasharpmonosyllable。"Well？"
　　"Ifeltthetimehadcomeformetoknowaboutit,"hewenton。"Younevertoldmeanything——"
　　"Youneverasked,"sheinterposed,curtly。
　　"Well,we'dgotinawayofnottalkingmuch,"saidRoscoe。"Itlookstomenowasifwe'dprettymuchlosttherunofeachotherthewayagoodmanypeopledo。Idon'tsayitwasn'tmyfault。Iwasupearlyanddowntoworkallday,andI'dcomehometiredatnight,andwanttogotobedsoonasI'dgotthepaperread——unlesstherewassomegoodmusicalshowintown。Well,youseemedallrightuntilherelately,thelastmonthorso,Ibegantoseesomethingwaswrong。Icouldn'thelpseeingit。"
　　"Wrong？"shesaid。"Whatlike？"
　　"Youchanged;youdidn'tlookthesame。Youwereallstrungupandexcitedandfidgety;yougottolookingpeakidandrundown。Nowthen,Lamhornhadbeengoingwithusagoodwhile,butInoticedthatnotlongagoyougottopickingonhimabouteverylittlethinghedid;yougottoquarrelingwithhimwhenIwasthereandwhenIwasn't。Icouldseeyou'dbeenquarrelingwheneverIcameinandhewashere。"
　　"Doyouobjecttothat？"askedSibyl,breathingquickly。
　　"Yes——whenitinjuresmywife'shealth！"hereturned,withaquickliftofhiseyestohers。"Youbegantorundownjustaboutthetimeyoubeganfallingoutwithhim。"Hesteppedclosetoher。"Seehere,Sibyl,I'mgoingtoknowwhatitmeans。"
　　"Oh,youARE？"shesnapped。
　　"You'retrembling,"hesaid,gravely。
　　"Yes。I'mangryenoughtodomorethantremble,you'llfind。Goon！"
　　"ThatwasallIwasgoingtosaytheotherday,"hesaid。"Iwasgoingtoaskyou——"
　　"Yes,thatwasallyouweregoingtosayTHEOTHERDAY。Yes。Whatelsehaveyoutosayto—night？"
　　"To—night,"hereplied,withgrimswiftness,"Iwanttoknowwhyyoukeeptelephoninghimyouwanttoseehimsincehestoppedcominghere。"
　　Shemadealong,lowsoundofcomprehensionbeforeshesaid,"AndwhatelsedidEdithwantyoutoaskme？"
　　"IwanttoknowwhatyousayoverthetelephonetoLamhorn,"hesaid,fiercely。
　　"IsthatallEdithtoldyoutoaskme？Yousawherwhenyoustoppedinthereonyourwayhomethisevening,didn'tyou？Didn'tshetellyouthenwhatI
　　saidoverthetelephonetoMr。Lamhorn？"
　　"No,shedidn't！"hevociferated,hisvoicegrowinglouder。"Shesaid,'YoutellyourwifetostoptelephoningRobertLamhorntocomeandseeher,becauseheisn'tgoingtodoit！'That'swhatshesaid！AndIwanttoknowwhatitmeans。Iintend——"
　　Amaidappearedatthelowerendofthehall。"Dinnerisready,"shesaid,and,givingthetroubledpaironeglance,wentdemurelyintothedining—room。
　　Roscoedisregardedtheinterruption。
　　"Iintendtoknowexactlywhathasbeengoingon,"hedeclared。"Imeantoknowjustwhat——"
　　Sibyljumpedup,almosttouchinghim,standingfacetofacewithhim。
　　"Oh,youDO！"shecried,shrilly。"Youmeantoknowjustwhat'swhat,doyou？Youlistentoyoursisterinsinuatinguglythingsaboutyourwife,andthenyoucomehomemakingascenebeforetheservantsandhumiliatingmeintheirpresence！DoyousupposethatIrishgirldidn'theareverywordyousaid？Yougointhereandeatyourdinneralone！Goon！Goandeatyourdinneralone——becauseIwon'teatwithyou！"
　　Andshebrokeawayfromthedetaininggrasphesoughttofastenuponher,anddashedupthestairway,panting。Heheardthedoorofherroomslamoverhead,andthesharpclickofthekeyinthelock。
　　Atseveno'clockonthelastmorningofthatmonth,Sheridan,passingthroughtheupperhallonhiswaytodescendthestairsforbreakfast,foundacoupleofscribbledsheetsofnote—paperlyingonthefloor。AwindowhadbeenopeninBibbs'sroomtheeveningbefore;hehadlefthisnote—bookonthesill——andthesheetswereloose。Thedoorwasopen,andwhenBibbscameinandclosedit,hedidnotnoticethatthetwosheetshadblownoutintothehall。Sheridanrecognizedthehandwritingandputthesheetsinhiscoatpocket,intendingtogivethemtoGeorgeorJacksonforreturntotheowner,butheforgotandcarriedthemdown—townwithhim。Atnoonhefoundhimselfaloneinhisoffice,and,havingalittleleisure,rememberedthebitsofmanuscript,tookthemout,andglancedatthem。Agrancewasenoughtorevealthattheywerenotepistolary。Sheridanwouldnothavereada"privateletter"thatcameintohispossessioninthatway,thoughina"matterofbusiness"hemighthavefeltithisdutytotakeadvantageofanopportunityaffordedinanymannerwhatsoever。HavingsatisfiedhimselfthatBibbs'sscribblingswereonlyasampleofthekindofwritinghissonpreferredtothemachine—shop,hedecided,innocentlyenough,thathewouldbejustifiedinreadingthem。
　　Itappearsthataladywillnodpleasantlyuponsomewindygeneralizationofacompanion,andwillwearthemostagreeableexpressionofacceptingitasthelaw,andthen——daysafterward,whenthethingisamummytoitspromulgator——shewillinquireoutofaclearsky:"WHYdidyousaythatthepeopledown—townhavenothinginlifethatachickenhasn't？Whatdidyoumean？"Andshemaysayitinamannerthatmakesasensiblereplyverydifficult——youwillbesofullofwonderthatsherememberedsoseriously。
　　Yet,whatdoestheroosterlack？Hehasfoodandshelter;heiswarminwinter;hiswivesraisenotonefinefamilyforhim,butdozens。Hehasaclearskyoverhim;hebreathessweetair;hewalksinhisAprilorchardunderaroofofflowers。Hemustdie,violentlyperhaps,butquickly。IsMidas'scancerabetterway？Therooster'swivesandchildrenmustdie。ArethoseofMidasimmortal？HislifeisshorterthanthelifeofMidas,butMidas'slifeisonlyasixthaslongasthatoftheGalapagostortoise。
　　Theworthymoney—workertakeshisvacationsothathemayrefreshhimselfanewforthehardworkofgettingnothingthattheroosterdoesn'tget。Theoffice—buildinghasanelevator,theroosterfliesuptothebough。Midashasamachinetotakehimtohiswork;theroosterfindshiswormunderfoot。
　　The"businessman"feelsapressuresometimes,withoutknowingwhy,andsitslateatwineaftertheday'slabor;nextmorninghecurseshisheadbecauseitinterfereswiththework——heswearsnevertorelievethatpressureagain。
　　Theroosterhasnopressureandnowine;thisdifferenceisinhisfavor。
　　Theroosterisadependent;hedependsuponthefarmerandtheweather。
　　Midasisadependent;hedependsuponthefarmerandtheweather。Theroosterthinksonlyofthemoment;Midasprovidesforto—morrow。Whatdoesheprovideforto—morrow？Nothingthattheroosterwillnothavewithoutproviding。
　　Theroosterandtheprosperousworker:theyareborn,theygrub,theylove;
　　theygrubandlovegrubbing;theygrubandtheydie。Neitherknowsbeauty;
　　neitherknowsknowledge。Andafterall,whenMidasdiesandtheroosterdies,thereisonethingMidashashadandroosterhasnot。Midashashadtheexcitementofaccumulatingwhathehasgrubbed,andthathasbeenhislifeandhisloveandhisgod。Hecannottakethatgodwithhimwhenhedies。Iwonderiftheworthygodsarethosewecantakewithus。
　　MidasmustteachalltobeasMidas;theyoungmustberaisedinhisreligion——
　　Themanuscriptendedthere,andSheridanwasnotanxiousformore。Hecrumpledthesheetsintoaball,depositingit（withvigor）inawaste—basketbesidehim;then,rising,heconsultedaCyclopediaofNames,whichabook—agenthadsomehowsoldtohimyearsbefore;avolumenowfirstputtouseforthelocationof"Midas。"Havingreadthelegend,Sheridanwalkedupanddownthespaciousoffice,exhalingthebreathofcontempt。"Dam'fool！"
　　hemumbled。Butthiswasnonewthought,norwasthecontrarinessofBibbs'snotesasurpisetohim;andpresentlyhedismissedthematterfromhismind。