Where’sBilly？’hehadaskedabruptly。
　　Mariesaysshehasn’tseenherfortwoweeks。
　　Marie’safraidshe’ssick。ShesaysBillydidn’tlookwellabit，whenshedidseeher。’
　　Calderwellhadcappedtheclimax。Hehadsaid：
　　GreatScott，Henshaw，wherehaveyoubeenkeepingyourself？Andwhere’syourwife？Notoneofushascaughtmorethanaglimpseofherforweeks。Shehasn’tsungwithus，norplayedforus，norletustakeheranywhereforamonthofSundays。EvenMissGreggorysays_she_hasn’tseenmuchofher，andthatBillyalwayssaysshe’stoobusytogoanywhere。ButMissGreggorysaysshelookspaleandthin，andthat_she_
　　thinksshe’sworryingtoomuchoverrunningthehouse。Ihopesheisn’tsick!’
　　Why，no，Billyisn’tsick。Billy’sallright，’
　　Bertramhadanswered。Hehadspokenlightly，nonchalantly，withanelaborateairofcarelessness；
　　butafterhehadleftCalderwell，hehadturnedhisstepsabruptlyandalittlehastilytowardhome。
　　AndhehadnotfoundBilly——atleast，notatonce。Hehadgonefirstdownintothekitchenanddining-room。Herememberedthen，uneasily，thathehadalwayslookedforBillyinthekitchenanddining-room，oflate。To-day，however，shewasnotthere。
　　OnthekitchentableBertramdidseeabookwideopen，and，mechanically，hepickeditup。
　　Itwasamuch-thumbedcookbook，anditwasopenwheretwoonce-blankpagesborehiswife’shandwriting。Onthefirstpage，undertheprintedheadingThingstoRemember，’hereadthesesentences：
　　Thatriceswellstilleverydishinthehouseisfull，andthatspinachshrinkstillyoucan’tfindit。
　　Thatbeetsboildryifyoulookoutthewindow。
　　Thatbiscuitswhichlookasifthey’dbeenmixedupwitharustystovepokerhaven’treallybeenso，buthaveonlygottoomuchundissolvedsodainthem。’
　　Therewereothersentences，butBertram’seyeschancedtofallontheoppositepagewheretheThingstoRemember’hadbeenchangedtoThingstoForget’；andhereBillyhadwrittenjustfourwords：Burns，’cuts，’andyesterday’sfailures。’
　　Bertramdroppedthebookthenwithaspasmodicclearingofhisthroat，andhurriedlyresumedhissearch。Whenhedidfindhiswife，atlast，hegaveacryofdismay——shewasonherownbed，huddledinalittleheap，andshakingwithsobs。
　　Billy!Why，Billy!’hegasped，stridingtothebedside。
　　Billysatupatonce，andhastilywipedhereyes。
　　Oh，isityou，B-Bertram？Ididn’thearyoucomein。You——yous-saidyouweren’tcomingtillsixo’clock!’shechoked。
　　Billy，whatisthemeaningofthis？’
　　N-nothing。I——IguessI’mjusttired。’
　　Whathaveyoubeendoing？’Bertramspokesternly，almostsharply。Hewaswonderingwhyhehadnotnoticedbeforethelittlehollowsinhiswife’scheeks。Billy，whathaveyoubeendoing？’
　　Why，n-nothingextra，onlysomesweeping，andcleaningouttherefrigerator。’
　　Sweeping!Cleaning!_You!_IthoughtMrs。
　　Durgindidthat。’
　　Shedoes。Imeanshedid。Butshecouldn’tcome。Shebrokeherleg——felloffthestepladderwhereshewasthreedaysago。SoI_had_todoit。
　　Andto-day，someway，everythingwentwrong。
　　Iburnedme，andIcutme，andIusedtwosodaswithnotanycreamoftartar，andIshouldthinkIdidn’tknowanything，notanything!’AnddownwentBilly’sheadintothepillowsagaininanotherburstofsobs。
　　Withgentleyetuncompromisingdetermination，Bertramgatheredhiswifeintohisarmsandcarriedhertothebigchair。There，forafewminutes，hesoothedandpettedherasifshewereatiredchild——which，indeed，shewas。
　　Billy，thisthinghasgottostop，’hesaidthen。
　　Therewasaveryinexorableringofdecisioninhisvoice。
　　Whatthing？’
　　Thishouseworkbusiness。’
　　Billysatupwithajerk。
　　But，Bertram，itisn’tfair。Youcan’t——youmustn’t——justbecauseofto-day!I_can_doit。
　　Ihavedoneit。I’vedoneitdaysanddays，andit’sgonebeautifully——eveniftheydidsayI
　　couldn’t!’
　　Couldn’twhat？’
　　Beane-efficienthousekeeper。’
　　Whosaidyoucouldn’t？’
　　AuntHannahandK-Kate。’
　　Bertramsaidasavagewordunderhisbreath。
　　Holysmoke，Billy!Ididn’tmarryyouforacookorascrub-lady。Ifyou_had_todoit，thatwouldbeanothermatter，ofcourse；andifwedidhavetodoit，wewouldn’thaveabighouselikethisforyoutodoitin。ButIdidn’tmarryforacook，andIknewIwasn’tgettingonewhenI
　　marriedyou。’
　　Billybridledintoinstantwrath。
　　Well，Ilikethat，BertramHenshaw!Can’tIcook？Haven’tIprovedthatIcancook？’
　　Bertramlaughed，andkissedtheindignantlipstilltheyquiveredintoanunwillingsmile。
　　Blessyourspunkylittleheart，ofcourseyouhave!Butthatdoesn’tmeanthatIwantyoutodoit。Yousee，itsohappensthatyoucandootherthings，too；andI’dratheryoudidthose。
　　Billy，youhaven’tplayedtomeforaweek，norsungtomeforamonth。You’retootiredeverynighttotalk，orreadtogether，orgoanywherewithme。Imarriedforcompanionship——notcookingandsweeping!’
　　Billyshookherheadstubbornly。Hermouthsettledintodeterminedlines。
　　That’sallverywelltosay。Youaren’thungrynow，Bertram。Butit’sdifferentwhenyouare，andtheysaid’twouldbe。’
　　Humph!`They’areAuntHannahandKate，Isuppose。’
　　Yes——andthe`TalktoYoungWives。’’
　　Thew-what？’
　　Billychokedalittle。ShehadforgottenthatBertramdidnotknowabouttheTalktoYoungWives。’Shewishedthatshehadnotmentionedthebook，butnowthatshehad，shewouldmakethebestofit。Shedrewherselfupwithdignity。
　　It’sabook；averynicebook。Itsayslotsofthings——thathavecometrue。’
　　Whereisthatbook？Letmeseeit，please。’
　　WithvisiblereluctanceBillygotdownfromherperchonBertram’sknee，wenttoherdeskandbroughtbackthebook。
　　Bertramregardeditfrowningly，sofrowninglythatBillyhastenedtoitsdefense。
　　Andit’strue——whatitsaysinthere，andwhatAuntHannahandKatesaid。It_is_differentwhenthey’rehungry!YousaidyourselfifI’dtendtomyhusbandandmyhomealittlemore，and——’
　　Bertramlookedupwithunfeignedamazement。
　　Isaidwhat？’hedemanded。
　　Inavoiceshakenwithemotion，Billyrepeatedthefatefulwords。
　　Inever——whendidIsaythat？’
　　ThenightUncleWilliamandIcamehomefrom——Pete’s。’
　　ForamomentBertramstareddumbly；thenashamedredswepttohisforehead。
　　Billy，_did_Isaythat？IoughttobeshotifIdid。But，Billy，yousaidyou’dforgivenme!’
　　Idid，dear——trulyIdid；but，don’tyousee？——
　　itwastrue。I_hadn’t_tendedtothings。SoI’vebeendoingitsince。’
　　AsuddencomprehensionilluminatedBertram’sface。
　　Heavens，Billy!Andisthatwhyyouhaven’tbeenanywhere，ordoneanything？IsthatwhyCalderwellsaidto-daythatyouhadn’tbeenwiththemanywhere，andthat——GreatScott，Billy!
　　DidyouthinkIwassuchaselfishbruteasthat？’
　　Oh，butwhenIwasgoingwiththemI_was_
　　followingthebook——Ithought，’quaveredBilly；
　　andhurriedlysheturnedtheleavestoacarefullymarkedpassage。It’sthere——abouttheoutsideinterests。See？I_was_tryingtobrushupagainstthem，sothatIwouldn’tinterferewithyourArt。Then，whenyouaccusedmeofgallivantingoffwith——’ButBertramsweptherbackintohisarms，andnotforsomeminutescouldBillymakeacoherentspeechagain。
　　ThenBertramspoke。
　　Seehere，Billy，’heexploded，alittleshakily，ifIcouldgetyouoffsomewhereonadesertisland，wherethereweren’tanyAuntHannahsorKates，orTalkstoYoungWives，Ithinkthere’dbeachancetomakeyouhappy；but——’
　　Oh，buttherewastruthinit，’interruptedBilly，sittingerectagain。I_didn’t_knowhowtorunahouse，anditwasperfectlyawfulwhilewewerehavingallthosedreadfulmaids，oneaftertheother；andnowomanshouldbeawifewhodoesn’tknow——’
　　Allright，allright，dear，’interruptedBertram，inhisturn。We’llconcedethatpoint，ifyoulike。Butyou_do_knownow。You’vegottheefficienthousewiferacketdownpateventothelastcaloryyourhusbandshouldbefed；andI’llwarrantthereisn’taMaryElleninChristendomwhocanfindaspotofignoranceonyouasbigasapinhead!Sowe’llcallthatsettled。Whatyouneednowisagoodrest；andyou’regoingtohaveit，too。I’mgoingtohavesixMaryEllenshereto-morrowmorning。Six!Doyouhear？Andallyou’vegottodoistogetyourgladdestragstogetherforatriptoEuropewithmenextmonth。
　　Becausewe’regoing。Ishallgettheticketsto-
　　morrow，_after_IsendthesixMaryEllenspackinguphere。Nowcome，putonyourbonnet。We’regoingdowntowntodinner。’
　　BILLYTRIESHERHANDATMANAGING’
　　BertramdidnotengagesixMaryEllensthenextmorning，norevenone，asithappened；forthatevening，Eliza——whohadnotbeenunawareofconditionsattheStrata——telephonedtosaythathermotherwassomuchbetternowshebelievedshecouldbesparedtocometotheStrataforseveralhourseachday，ifMrs。Henshawwouldliketohaveherbegininthatway。
　　Billyagreedpromptly，anddeclaredherselfasmorethanwillingtoputupwithsuchanarrangement。Bertram，itistrue，whenheheardoftheplan，rebelled，andassertedthatwhatBillyneededwasarest，anentirerestfromcareandlabor。Infact，whathewantedhertodo，hesaid，wastogallivant——togallivantalldaylong。
　　Nonsense!’Billyhadlaughed，coloringtothetipsofherears。Besides，asforthework，Bertram，withjustyouandmehere，andwithallmyvastexperiencenow，andElizahereforseveralhourseveryday，it’llbenothingbutplayforthislittletimebeforewegoaway。You’llsee!’
　　Allright，I’ll_see_，then，’Bertramhadnoddedmeaningly。Butjustmakesurethatit_is_playforyou!’
　　Iwill，’laughedBilly；andtherethematterhadended。
　　Elizabeganworkthenextday，andBillydidindeedsoonfindherselfplaying’underBertram’swatchfulinsistence。Sheresumedhermusic，andbroughtoutofexiletheunfinishedsong。WithBertramshetookdrivesandwalks；
　　andeverytwoorthreedaysshewenttoseeAuntHannahandMarie。Shewaspleasantlybusy，too，withplansforhercomingtrip；anditwasnotlongbeforeeventheremorsefulBertramhadtoadmitthatBillywaslookingandappearingquitelikeheroldself。
　　AttheAnnexBillyfoundCalderwellandArkwright，oneday。Theygreetedherasifshehadjustreturnedfromafarcountry。
　　Well，ifyouaren’tthestrangerlady，’beganCalderwell，lookingfranklypleasedtoseeher。
　　We’dthoughtofadvertisinginthedailypresssomewhatafterthisfashion：`Lost，strayed，orstolen，oneBilly；comrade，goodfriend，andkindcheerer-upoflonelyhearts。Anyinformationthankfullyreceivedbyherbereft，sorrowingfriends。’’
　　Billyjoinedinthelaughthatgreetedthissally，butArkwrightnoticedthatshetriedtochangethesubjectfromherownaffairstoadiscussionofthenewsongonAliceGreggory’spiano。
　　Calderwell，however，wasnottobesilenced。
　　ThelastIheardofthiselusiveBilly，’heresumed，withteasingcheerfulness，shewasrunningdownacertainlostcalorythathadslippedawayfromherhusband’sbreakfast，and——’
　　Billywheeledsharply。