GladandPollyoccupiedthemselveswiththeirownfood。
AntonyDartgazedatthefire。
Herehesatwarminghimselfinaloftwithabeggar，athief，andahelplessthingofthestreet。Hehadcomeouttobuyapistol——itsweightstillhunginhisovercoatpocket——
andhehadreachedthisplaceofwhoseexistencehehadanhouragonotdreamed。Eachstepwhichhadledhimhadseemedasimple，inevitablething，forwhichhehadapparentlybeenresponsible，butwhichheknew——yes，somehowheKNEW——hehadofhisownvolitionneitherplannednormeant。Yetherehesat——apartofthelivesofthebeggar，thethief，andthepoorthingofthestreet。Whatdiditmean？
\"Tellme，\"hesaidtothethief，\"howyoucamehere。\"
Bythistimetheyoungfellowhadfedhimselfandlookedlesslikeawolf。Itwastobeseennowthathehadblue—grayeyeswhichweredreamyandyoung。
\"Ihavealwaysbeeninventingthings，\"hesaidalittlehuskily。\"I
diditwhenIwasachild。Ialwaysseemedtoseetheremightbeawayofdoingathingbetter——gettingmorepower。WhenotherboyswereplayinggamesIwassittingincornerstryingtobuildmodelsoutofwireandstring，andoldboxesandtincans。IoftenthoughtIsawthewaytothings，butIwasalwaystoopoortogetwhatwasneededtoworkthemout。TwiceIheardofmenmakinggreatnamesandfortunesbecausetheyhadbeenabletofinishwhatIcouldhavefinishedifI
hadhadafewpounds。Itusedtodrivememadandbreakmyheart。\"
Hishandsclenchedthemselvesandhishuskinessgrewthicker。\"Therewasaman，\"catchinghisbreath，\"wholeapedtothetopoftheladderandsetthewholeworldtalkingandwriting——andIhaddonethethingFIRST——IswearIhad！Itwasallclearinmybrain，andIwashalfmadwithjoyoverit，butIcouldnotaffordtoworkitout。Hecould，sototheendoftimeitwillbeHIS。\"Hestruckhisfistuponhisknee。
\"Aw！\"ThedeeplittledrawlwasagroanfromGlad。
\"Igotaplaceinanofficeatlast。
Iworkedhard，andtheybegantotrustme。I——hadanewidea。Itwasabigone。Ineededmoneytoworkitout。I——Irememberedwhathadhappenedbefore。Ifeltlikeapoorfellowrunningaraceforhislife。IKNEWIcouldpaybacktentimes——ahundredtimes——whatItook。\"
\"Youtookmoney？\"saidDart。
Thethief’sheaddropped。
\"No。IwascaughtwhenIwastakingit。Iwasn’tsharpenough。
Someonecameinandsawme，andtherewasacrazyrow。Iwassenttoprison。Therewasnomoretryingafterthat。It’snearlytwoyearssince，andI’vebeenhangingaboutthestreetsandfallinglowerandlower。I’verunmilespantingaftercabswithluggageinthemandnothadstrengthtocarryintheboxeswhentheystopped。I’vestarvedandsleptoutofdoors。ButthethingIwantedtoworkoutisinmymindallthetime——likesomemachinetearinground。Itwantstobefinished。Itneverwillbe。
That’sall。\"
Gladwasleaningforwardstaringathim，herroughenedhandswiththesmearedcracksonthemclaspedroundherknees。
\"Things’AStobefinished，\"shesaid。\"Theyfinishtheirselves。\"
\"Howdoyouknow？\"Dartturnedonher。
\"Dunno’OWIknow——butIdo。
Whenthingsbegintheyfinish。It’slikeawheelrollin’downan’ill。\"
HersharpeyesfixedthemselvesonDart’s。\"Allofus’llfinishsomethin’——
’coswe’vebegun。Youwill——Pollywill——’ewill——Iwill。\"
Shestoppedwithasuddensheepishchuckleanddroppedherforeheadonherknees，giggling。\"DunnowotI’mtalkingabout，\"shesaid，\"butit’strue。\"
Dartbegantounderstandthatitwas。Andhealsosawthatthisraggedthingwhoknewnothingwhatever，lookedoutontheworldwiththeeyesofaseer，thoughshewasignorantofthemeaningofherownknowledge。Itwasaweirdthing。HeturnedtothegirlPolly。
\"Tellmehowyoucamehere，\"
hesaid。
Hespokeinalowvoiceandgently。Hedidnotwanttofrightenher，buthewantedtoknowhowSHE
hadbegun。Whensheliftedherchildisheyestohis，herchinbegantoshake。Forsomereasonshedidnotquestionhisrighttoaskwhathewould。Sheansweredhimmeekly，asherfingersfumbledwiththestuffofherdress。
\"Ilivedinthecountrywithmymother，\"shesaid。\"Wewasveryhappytogether。Inthespringtherewasprimrosesand——andlambs。I
——can’tabidetolookatthesheepintheparkthesedays。Theyremindmeso。Therewasagirlinthevillagegotaplaceintownandcamebackandtoldusallaboutit。
Itmademesilly。Iwantedtocomehere，too。I——Icame——\"
Sheputherarmoverherfaceandbegantosob。
\"Shecan’ttellyou，\"saidGlad。
\"Therewasaswellinthe’ousemadelovetoher。Sheusedtocarryupcoalsto’isparloran’’etalkedto’er。’E’adawyewith’im——\"
Pollybrokeintoasmotheredwail。
\"Oh，Ididlovehimso——Idid！\"
shecried。\"I’dhavelethimwalkoverme。I’dhavelethimkillme。\"
\"’Enearlydidit，\"saidGlad。
\"’Ewentawaysuddenan’she’snever’eardwordof’imsince。\"
FromunderPolly’sface—hidingarmcamebrokenwords。
\"Icouldn’ttellmymother。I
didnotknowhow。Iwastoofrightenedandashamed。Nowit’stoolate。Ishallneverseemymotheragain，anditseemsasifallthelambsandprimrosesintheworldwasdead。
Oh，they’redead——they’redead——
andIwishIwas，too！\"
Glad’seyeswinkedrapidlyandshegaveahoarselittlecoughtoclearherthroat。Herarmsstillclaspingherknees，shehitchedherselfclosertothegirlandgaveheranudgewithherelbow。
\"Buckup，Polly，\"shesaid，\"weain’tnoneofusfinishedyet。Lookatusnow——sittin’byourownfirewithbreadandpuddin’insideus——
an’thinkwotwewasthismornin’。
Whoknowswotwe’ll’avethistimeto—morrer。\"
ThenshestoppedandlookedwithawidegrinatAntonyDart。
\"OwdidIcome’ere？\"shesaid。
\"Yes，\"heanswered，\"howdidyoucomehere？\"
\"Idunno，\"shesaid;\"Iwas’erefirstthingIremember。Ilivedwithaoldwomaninanother’ouseinthecourt。Onemornin’whenIwokeupshewasdead。SometimesI’vebeggedan’soldmatches。SometimesI’vetookcareofwomen’schildrenor’elped’emwhenthey’adtolieup。
I’veseenalot——butIliketoseealot。’OpeI’llseealotmoreaforeI’mdone。I’musedtobein’’ungryan’cold，an’allthat，but——butI
allersliketoseewhat’scomin’to—
morrer。There’sallerssomethin’
elseto—morrer。That’sallaboutME，\"andshechuckledagain。
Dartpickedupsomefreshsticksandthrewthemonthefire。Therewassomefinecracklingandanewflameleapedup。
\"Ifyoucoulddowhatyouliked，\"
hesaid，\"whatwouldyouliketodo？\"
Herchucklebecameanoutrightlaugh。
\"IfI’adtenpounds？\"sheasked，evidentlypreparedtoadjustherselfinimaginationtoanyformofun—
looked—forgoodluck。
\"Ifyouhadmore？\"
Histonemadethethieflifthisheadtolookathim。
\"IfI’adawandliketheoneJemtoldmewasinthepantermine？\"
\"Yes，\"heanswered。
Shesatandstaredatthefireafewmoments，andthenbegantospeakinalowluxuriatingvoice。
\"I’dgetabetterroom，\"shesaid，revelling。\"There’soneinthenext’ouse。I’d’aveafewstickso’
furnisherinit——abedan’achairortwo。I’dgetsomewarmpetticutsan’ashawlan’a’at——withaostrichfeatherinit。Pollyan’
me’dlivetogether。We’d’avefirean’grubeveryday。I’dgetdrunkenBet’sbibyputinan’ome。
I’d’elpthewomenwhenthey’adtolieup。I’d——I’d’elp’IMabit，\"
withajerkofherelbowtowardthethief。\"If’ewaskeptfedp’r’aps’ecouldworkoutthatthingin’is’ead。
I’dgoroundthecourtan’’elpthemwith’usbandsthatknocks’emabout。
I’d——I’dputastoptotheknockin’
about，\"aqueerfixedlookshowingitselfinhereyes。\"IfI’admoneyIcoulddoit。’Owmuch，\"withsuddenprudence，\"couldabody’ave——withoneo’themwands？\"
\"Morethanenoughtodoallyouhavespokenof，\"answeredDart。
\"It’sashimeabodycouldn’t’aveit。AppleBlossomCourt’dbeadifferentthing。It’dbethesimeasMissMontaubynsaysit’sgoin’tobe。\"Shelaughedagain，thistimeasifrememberingsomethingfantastic，butnotdespicable。
\"WhoisMissMontaubyn？\"
\"She’sa’oldwomanaslivesnextfloorbelow。Whenshewasyoungshewasprettyan’usedtodanceinthe’alls。DrunkenBetsaysshewasoneo’thewust。Whenshegotolditmade’ermadan’shegotwusser。
Shewasreadytoteargalseyesout，an’whenshe’dgettookformakin’
arowshe’dfightlikeatigercat。
Aboutayearagoshetumbleddownstairswhenshe’d’adtoomuchan’
shebrokeboth’erlegs。Youremember，Polly？\"
Pollyhidherfaceinherhands。
\"Oh，whentheytookherawaytothehospital！\"sheshuddered。\"Oh，whentheyliftedheruptocarryher！\"
\"IthoughtPolly’d’aveafitwhenshe’eard’erscreamin’an’swearin’。
My！itwaslangwich！Butitwasthe’orspitledidit。\"
\"Didwhat？\"
\"Dunno，\"withanuncertain，evenslightlyawedlaugh。\"Dunnowotitdid——neitherdoesnobodyelse，butsomethin’’appened。Itwasalongofalidyascomeinonedayan’talkedto’erwhenshewaslyin’
there。Myeye，\"chuckling，\"itwasqueertalk！ButIlikedit。P’rapsitwaslies，butitwascheerfleliesthat’elpsyer。WhatIsesis——ifTHINGSain’tcheerfle，PEOPLE’Sgottobe——tofightitout。Thewomeninthe’ouselarftfittokilltheirselveswhenshefustcome’omelimpin’an’
talkedto’emaboutwhatthelidytold’er。Butarterabittheylikedto’ear’er——justalongo’thecheerfleness。Saiditwaslikeapantermine。DrunkenBetsaysifshecouldget’old’fitan’believeitsimeasJinnyMontaubyndoesit’dbeascheerin’asdrinkan’lastlonger。\"
\"Isitakindofreligion？\"Dartasked，havingavaguememoryofrumorsoffantasticnewtheoriesandhalf—bornbeliefswhichhadseemedtohimweirdvisionsfloatingthroughfaggedbrainsweariedbyolddoubtsandargumentsandfailures。Theworldwastired——thewholeearthwassad——centurieshadwroughtonlytotheendofthistwentiethcentury’sdespair。Wasthestrugglewakingevenhere——inthisbackwaterofthehugecity’shumantide？
hewonderedwithdullinterest。
\"Isitakindofreligion？\"hesaid。
\"It’scheerfler。\"Gladthrustouthersharpchinuncertainlyagain。
\"There’sno’ellfireinit。An’
thereain’tnoblimelaidonGodamighty。\"（ThewordassheuttereditseemedtohavenoconnectionwhateverwithherusualcolloquialinvocationoftheDeity。）\"WhenadrayrunoverlittleBillyan’crushed’iminterarag，an’’ismotherwasscreamin’an’draggin’’er’airdown，thecurick’eses，`It’sGawd’swill，’
’eses——an’’eain’tnobadsortneither，an’’isficewaswhitean’wetwithsweat——`Gawddoneit，’’eses。
An’me，I’dnussedthechildan’I
clawedme’airsimeasifIwas’ismotheran’Iscreamedout，`Thendamn’im！’An’thecurick’edroppedsittin’downonthecurb—
stonean’’id’isficein’is’ands。\"
Darthidhisownfaceafterthemannerofthewretchedcurate。
\"Nowonder，\"hegroaned。Hisbloodturnedcold。
\"But，\"saidGlad，\"MissMontaubyn’slidyshesaysGodamightyneverdoneitnorneverintendedit，an’ifwekep’sayin’an’believin’’e’sclosetousan’notmillyunso’milesaway，we’dbetookcareofwhilstwewasalivean’not’avetowaittillwewasdead。\"
Shegotuponherfeetandthrewupherarmswithasuddenjerkandinvoluntarygesture。
\"I’malive！I’malive！\"shecriedout，\"I’vegotterbetookcareofNOW！That’swhyIlikewotshetellsaboutit。Sodoesthewomen。
Weain’tnomorereasonterbesureofwotthecuricksaysthanterbesureo’this。DunnoasI’vegotterchooseeitherway，butifI’ad，I’dchoosethecheerflest。\"
Darthadsatstaringather——sohadPolly——sohadthethief。Dartrubbedhisforehead。
\"Idonotunderstand，\"hesaid。
\"’Tain’tunderstanding！It’sbelievin’。Blessyer，SHEdoesn’tunderstand。Isay，let’sgoan’talkto’erabit。Shedon’tmindnothin’，an’
she’llletusin。WecanleavePollyan’’im’ere。Theycanmakesomemoreteaan’drinkit。\"
Itendedintheirgoingoutoftheroomtogetheragainandstumblingoncemoredownthestairway’scrookedness。AtthebottomofthefirstshortflighttheystoppedinthedarknessandGladknockedatadoorwithasummonsmanifestlyexpectantofcheerfulwelcome。Sheusedtheformulashehadusedbefore。
\"’Son’yme，MissMontaubyn，\"
shecriedout。\"’Son’yGlad。\"
Thedooropenedinwidewelcome，andconfrontingthemasshehelditshandlestoodasmalloldwomanwithanastonishingface。Itwasastonishingbecausewhileitwaswitheredandwrinkledwithmarksofpastyearswhichhadoncestampedtheirrecklessunsavorinessuponitseveryline，somestrangeredeemingthinghadhappenedtoitanditsexpressionwasthatofacreaturetowhomtheopeningofadoorcouldonlymeantheentrance——thetumblinginasitwere——ofhopesrealized。
Itssurfacewassweptcleanofeventhevaguestanticipationofanythingnottobedesired。Smilingasitdidthroughtheblackdoorwayintotheunrelievedshadowofthepassage，itstruckAntonyDartatoncethatitactuallyimpliedthis——
andthatinthisplace——andindeedinanyplace——nothingcouldhavebeenmoreastonishing。Whatcould，indeed？
\"Well，well，\"shesaid，\"comein，Glad，blessyer。\"
\"I’vebroughtagentto’earyertalkabit，\"Gladexplainedinformally。
Thesmalloldwomanraisedhertwinklingoldfacetolookathim。
\"Ah！\"shesaid，asifsummingupwhatwasbeforeher。\"’Ethinksit’sworsethanitis，doesn’t’e，now？
Comein，sir，do。\"
ThistimeitstruckDartthatherlookseemedactuallytoanticipatetheevolvingofsomewonderfulanddesirablethingfromhimself。Asifevenhisgloomcarriedwithittreasureasyetundisplayed。Assheknewnothingofthetensovereigns，hewonderedwhat，inGod’sname，shesaw。
Thepovertyofthelittlesquareroomhadanoddcheerinit。MuchscrubbinghadremovedfromittheobjectionsmanifestinGlad’sroomabove。Therewasasmallredfireinthegrate，astripofold，butgaycarpetbeforeit，twochairsandatablewerecoveredwithaharlequinpatchworkmadeofbrightoddsandendsofallsizesandshapes。Thefoginallitsmurkyvolumecouldnotquiteobscurethebrightnessoftheoftenrubbedwindowanditsharlequincurtaindrawnacrossuponastring。
\"Blessyer，\"saidMissMontaubyn，\"sitdown。\"
Dartsatandthankedher。GladdroppeduponthefloorandgirdledherkneescomfortablywhileMissMontaubyntookthesecondchair，whichwasclosetothetable，andsnuffedthecandlewhichstoodnearabasketofcoloredscrapssuchas，withoutdoubt，hadmadetheharlequincurtain。
\"Yerwon’tmindmegoin’onwithmebito’work？\"shechirped。
\"Tell’imwotitis，\"Gladsuggested。
\"Theycomefromadressmakerasisinasmallway，\"designatingthescrapsbyagesture。\"Icleanupfor’eran’
sheletsme’ave’em。Imake’emupintoanythinkIcan——pin—cushionsan’
bagsan’curtingsan’balls。Nobody’dthinkwottheyruntosometimes。
Nowan’thenIsellsomeof’em。
WotIcan’tsellIgiveaway。\"
\"DrunkenBet’sbibyplayswith’erballallday，\"saidGlad。
\"Ah！\"saidMissMontaubyn，drawingoutalongneedlefulofthread，\"Bet，SHEthinksitworsethanitis。\"
\"Coulditbeworse？\"askedDart。
\"Couldanythingbeworsethaneverythingis？\"
\"Lots，\"suggestedGlad;\"might’avebrokeyourback，might’aveafever，mightbeinjailforknifin’
someone。’Ewantsto’earyoutalk，MissMontaubyn;tell’imallaboutyerself。\"
\"Me！\"herexpectanteyesonhim。
\"’Ewouldn’twantto’earit。I
shouldn’twantto’earitmyself。
Bein’onthe’allswhenyeraprettygirlain’tan’elpfullife;an’bein’
tookupan’droppeddowntillyerdroppedinthegutteran’don’tknow’owtogetout——it’swotyermustn’tletyermindgobackto。\"
\"That’swotthelidysaid，\"calledoutGlad。\"Tell’imaboutthelidy。
Shedoesn’tevenknowwhoshewas。\"
TheremarkwastossedtoDart。
\"Nevereven’eard’ername，\"withunabatedcheersaidMissMontaubyn。
\"Shecomean’shewentan’metoolowtodoanythingbutliean’lookat’erandlisten。An’`Whichofustwoismad？’Isestomyself。ButI
laythinkin’andthinkin’——an’itwassocheerfleIcouldn’tgetitoutofme’ead——nornever’avesince。\"
\"Whatdidshesay？\"
\"Icouldn’trememberthewords——itwasthewaytheytookawaythingsabody’safraidof。Itwasaboutthingsnever’avin’reallybeenlikewotwethoughttheywas。
Godamightynow，thereain’tabitof’armin’im。\"
\"What？\"hesaidwithastart。
\"’Eneverdonetheaccidentsandthetrouble。Itwasusaswentoutofthelightintothedark。Ifwe’dkep’inthelightallthetime，an’
thoughtaboutit，an’talkedaboutit，we’dnever’adnothin’else。’Tain’tpunishmentneither。’Tain’tnothin’
butthedark——an’thedarkain’tnothin’butthelightbein’away。
`Keepinthelight，’sheses，`neverthinkofnothin’else，an’thenyou’llbeginan’seethings。Everybody’sbeenafraid。Thereain’tnoneed。
YoubelieveTHAT。’\"
\"Believe？\"saidDartheavily。
Shenodded。
\"`Yes，’sesIto’er，`that’swherethetroublecomesin——believin’。’
Andsheanswersascoolascouldbe:`Yes，itis，’sheses，`we’veallbeenthinkin’we’vebeenbelievin’，an’noneofus’as。Ifwe’adwhat’dtherebetobeafraidof？Ifwebelievedakingwasgivin’usourlivin’an’takin’careofuswho’dbeafraidofnot’avin’enoughtoeat？’\"
\"Who？\"groanedDart。Hesathanginghisheadandstaringatthefloor。Thiswasanotherphaseofthedream。
\"`Whereis’E？’Ises。`’Imasbreaksoldwomen’slegsan’crushesbabiesunderwheels——soasthey’llberesigned？’An’allofasuddenshecallsoutquiteloud:`Nowhere，’
sheses。`An’neverwas。But’Imasstretchedforththe’eavensan’laidthefoundationsoftheearth，’ImasistheLifean’Loveoftheworld，’E’s’ERE！Stretchoutyer’and，’sheses，’an’callout，\"Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth，\"an’ye’ll’earan’SEE。
An’neveryoustopsayin’it——letyer’eartbeatitan’yerbreathbreatheit——an’yer’llfindyergoin’aboutlaughin’softtoyerselfan’lovin’
everythin’asifitwasyerownchildatbreast。An’no’armcancometoyer。Tryitwhenyergo’ome。’\"
\"Didyou？\"askedDart。
Gladansweredforherwithatremulous——yesitwasaTREMULOUS——
giggle，aweirdlymovedlittlesound。
\"Whenshewakesinthemornin’
shesesto’erself，`Goodthingsisgoin’tocometo—day——cheerflethings。’Whenthere’saknockatthedoorsheses，`Somethin’friendly’scomin’in。’An’whenDrunkenBet’smakin’arowan’ragin’an’tearin’
an’threatenin’to’ave’ereyesoutof’erfice，sheses，`Lor，Bet，yerdon’tmeanawordofit——yerafriendtoeverywomaninthe’ouse。’Whenshedon’tknowwhichwaytoturn，shestandsstillan’ses，`Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth，’an’thenshedoeswotevernextcomesinto’ermind——
an’shesaysit’sallustherightanswer。