\"\'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。\"