第6章

"Suchthingswehavetokeepsecret——thingsthatgoonrightbeforeYOUReyes!"

"Whydon\'tsomeofyoutellus？"heasked。

"Wecan\'ttellyou。"

"Toomuchhonour？"

"No。Noteventoomuchhonouramongthieves，Mr。Russell。Wedon\'ttellyouaboutourtricksagainstoneanotherbecauseweknowitwouldn\'tmakeanyimpressiononyou。Thetricksaren\'tplayedagainstyou，andyouhaveasoftsideforcatswithlovelymanners!"

"Whataboutyourtricksagainstus？"

"Oh，those!"Alicelaughed。"Wethinkthey\'rerathercute!"

"Bravo!"hecried，andhammeredtheferruleofhisstickuponthepavement。

"What\'stheapplausefor？"

"Foryou。Whatyousaidwaslikerunninguptheblackflagtothemasthead。"

"Oh，no。Itwasjustamodestlittlesigninaprettyflower-bed:\'Gentlemen，beware!\'"

"IseeImust，"hesaid，gallantly。

"Thanks!ButImean，bewareofthewholebloomin\'garden!"Then，pickingupathreadthathadalmostdisappeared:"Youneedn\'tthinkyou\'lleverfindoutwhetherI\'mrightaboutMildred\'snotbeinganexceptionbyaskingher，"shesaid。"Shewon\'ttellyou:she\'snotthesortthatevermakesaconfession。"

ButRussellhadnotfollowedhershifttotheformertopic。

"\'Mildred\'snotbeinganexception？\'"hesaid，vaguely。"I

don\'t——"

"Anexceptionaboutthinkingshecouldbewonderfulthingonthestageifsheonlycaredto。IfyouaskedherI\'mprettysureshe\'dsay，\'Whatnonsense!\'Mildred\'sthedearest，finestthinganywhere，butyouwon\'tfindoutmanythingsaboutherbyaskingher。"

Russell\'sexpressionbecamemoreserious，asitdidwheneverhiscousinwasmadetheirtopic。"Youthinknot？"hesaid。"Youthinkshe\'s——"

"No。Butit\'snotbecausesheisn\'tsincereexactly。It\'sonlybecauseshehassuchalottoliveupto。Shehastoliveuptobeingagirlonthegrandstyletoherself，Imean，ofcourse。"

AndwithoutpausingAlicerippledon，"YououghttohaveseenME

whenIhadthestage-fever!Iusedtoplay\'Juliet\'allaloneinmyroom。\'Sheliftedherarmsingracefulentreaty，pleadingmusically，"O，swearnotbythemoon，theinconstantmoon，Thatmonthlychangesinhercircledorb，Lestthyloveprove——"

Shebrokeoffabruptlywithalittleflourish，snappingthumbandfingerofeachoutstretchedhand，thenlaughedandsaid，"Papausedtomakesuchfunofme!Thankheaven，Iwasonlyfifteen；I

wasalloveritbythenextyear。"

"Nowonderyouhadthefever，"Russellobserved。"Youdoitbeautifully。Whydidn\'tyoufinishtheline？"

"Whichone？\'Lestthyloveprovelikewisevariable\'？JulietwassayingittoaMAN，youknow。Sheseemstohavebeenreadytoworryabouthisconstancyprettyearlyintheiraffair!"

Hercompanionwasagainthoughtful。"Yes，"hesaid，seemingtoberatherirksomelyimpressedwithAlice\'ssuggestion。"Yes；itdoesappearso。"

Aliceglancedathisseriousface，andyieldedtoanaudacioustemptation。"Youmustn\'ttakeitsohard，"shesaid，flippantly。

"Itisn\'taboutyou:it\'sonlyaboutRomeoandJuliet。"

"Seehere!"heexclaimed。"Youaren\'tatyourmind-readingagain，areyou？Therearetimeswhenitwon\'tdo，youknow!"

Sheleanedtowardhimalittle，asifcompanionably:theywerewalkingslowly，andthisgenialityofhersbroughthershoulderinlightcontactwithhisforamoment。"Doyoudislikemymind-reading？"sheasked，and，acrosstheirtwojusttouchingshoulders，gavehimhersuddenlookofsmilingwistfulness。"Doyouhateit？"

Heshookhishead。"No，Idon\'t，"hesaid，gravely。"It\'squitepleasant。ButIthinkitsays，\'Gentlemen，beware!\'"

Sheinstantlymovedawayfromhim，withthelawlessandfranklaughofonewhoisdelightedtobecaughtinapieceofhypocrisy。"Howlovely!"shecried。Thenshepointedahead。

"Ourwalkisnearlyover。We\'recomingtothefoolishlittlehousewhereIlive。It\'saqueerlittleplace，butmyfather\'ssoattachedtoitthefamilyhaveaboutgivenuphopeofgettinghimtobuildarealhousefartherout。Hedoesn\'tmindourbeingextravagantaboutanythingelse，buthewon\'tletusalteronesinglethingabouthispreciouslittleoldhouse。Well!"Shehalted，andgavehimherhand。"Adieu!"

"Icouldn\'t，"hebegan；hesitated，thenasked:"Icouldn\'tcomeinwithyouforalittlewhile？"

"Notnow，"shesaid，quickly。"Youcancome——"Shepaused。

"When？"

"Almostanytime。"Sheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthepath，buthewaited。"Youcancomeintheeveningifyoulike，"shecalledbacktohimoverhershoulder。

"Soon？"

"Assoonasyoulike!"Shewavedherhand；thenranindoorsandwatchedhimfromawindowashewentupthestreet。Hewalkedrapidly，afine，easyfigure，swinginghisstickinawaythatsuggestedexhilaration。Alice，staringafterhimthroughtheirregularaperturesofalacecurtain，showednosimilarbuoyancy。Upontheinstantsheclosedthedoorallsparklelefther:shehadbecomeatoncethesimpleandsometimestroubledgirlherfamilyknew。

"Whatisgoingonoutthere？"hermotherasked，approachingfromthedining-room。

"Oh，nothing，"Alicesaid，indifferently，assheturnedaway。

"ThatMr。Russellmetmedowntownandwalkedupwithme。"

"Mr。Russell？Oh，theonethat\'sengagedtoMildred？"

"Well——Idon\'tknowforcertain。Hedidn\'tseemsomuchlikeanengagedmantome。"Andsheadded，inthetoneofthoughtfulpreoccupation:"Anyhow——notsoterribly!"

Thensheranupstairs，gaveherfatherhistobacco，filledhispipeforhim，andpettedhimashelightedit。

CHAPTERXI

Afterthat，shewenttoherroomandsatdownbeforeherthree-leavedmirror。Therewaswhereshenearlyalwayssatwhenshecameintoherroom，ifshehadnothinginmindtodo。Shewenttothatchairasnaturallyasadoggoestohiscorner。

Sheleanedforward，observingherprofile；gravityseemedtobehermood。Butafteralong，almostmotionlessscrutiny，shebegantoproducedramaticsketchesuponthatever-readystage，hercountenance:sheshowedgaiety，satire，doubt，gentleness，appreciationofacompanionandlove-in-hiding——allstudiedinprofilefirst，thenrepeatedfora"three-quarterview。"

Subsequentlysheranthroughthem，facingherselfinfull。

InthismannersheoutlinedaplayfulscenarioforhernextinterviewwithArthurRussell；butgrewsolemnagain，thinkingoftheimpressionshehadalreadysoughttogivehim。Shehadnotwingesforanyunderminingsofher"mostintimatefriend"——infact，shefeltthatherworkonanewportraitofMildredforMr。

Russellhadbeenhonestandaccurate。ButwhyhaditbeenherinstincttoshowhimanAliceAdamswhodidn\'texist？

Almosteverythingshehadsaidtohimwasuponspontaneousimpulse，springingtoherlipsontheinstant；yetitallseemedtohavebeenfoundeduponacarefuldesign，asifsomehiddenselfkeptsuchdesignsinstockandhandedthemuptoher，ready-made，tobeusedforitsownpurpose。Whatappearedtobethedesiredresultwasafalse-colouredimageinRussell\'smind；

butifhelikedthatimagehewouldn\'tbelikingAliceAdams；norwouldanythinghethoughtabouttheimagebeathoughtabouther。

Nevertheless，sheknewshewouldgoonwithherfalse，fancycolouringsofthisnothingassoonasshesawhimagain；shehadjustbeenpracticingthem。"What\'stheidea？"shewondered。

"Whatmakesmetellsuchlies？Whyshouldn\'tIbejustmyself？"

Andthenshethought，"Butwhichoneismyself？"

Hereyesdweltonthesolemneyesinthemirror；andherlips，disquietedbyadeepeningwonder，partedtowhisper:

"Whointheworldareyou？"

Theapparitionbeforeherhadobeyedherlikeanalertslave，butnow，asshesubsidedtoacompletestillness，thataspectchangedtotheoldmockerywithwhichmirrorsavengetheirwrongs。Thenucleusofsomequeerthingseemedtogatherandshapeitselfbehindthenothingnessofthereflectedeyesuntilitbecamealmostanactualstrangepresence。Ifitcouldbeidentified，perhapsthepresencewasthatofthehiddendesignerwhohandedupthefalse，ready-madepictures，and，forunknownpurposes，madeAliceexhibitthem；butwhateveritwas，shesuddenlyfounditmonkey-likeandterrifying。Inafluttershejumpedupandwenttoanotherpartoftheroom。

Amomentortwolatershewaswhistlingsoftlyasshehungherlightcoatoverawoodentriangleinhercloset，andhermusingnowwasquainterthantheexperiencethatledtoit；forwhatshethoughtwasthis，"Icertainlyamaqueergirl!"Shetookalittleprideinsomuchoriginality，believingherselfprobablytheonlypersonintheworldtohavesuchthoughtsashadbeenherssincesheenteredtheroom，andthefirsttobedisturbedbyastrangepresenceinthemirror。Infact，theeffectofthetinyepisodebecameapparentinthatlookofpreoccupiedcomplacencytobeseenforatimeuponanygirlwhohasfoundreasontosuspectthatsheisabeingwithoutcounterpart。

Thisslightglow，stillfaintlyradiant，wasobservedacrossthedinner-tablebyWalter，buthemisinterpretedit。"WhatYOU

lookin\'soself-satisfiedabout？"heinquired，andaddedinhisknowingway，"Isawyou，allright，cutie!"

"Where\'dyouseeme？"

"Down-town。"

"Thisafternoon，youmean，Walter？"

"Yes，\'thisafternoon，Imean，Walter，\'"hereturned，burlesquinghervoiceatleasthappilyenoughtopleasehimself；

forhelaughedapplausively。"Oh，youneversawme!Ipassedyoucloseenoughtopullatooth，butyouwereawfulbusy。I

neverdidseeanybodyasbusyasyouget，Alice，whenyou\'retowin\'abarge。My，butyoukeepyourhandsgoin\'!Lookedliketheairwasfullof\'em!That\'swhyI\'montowhyyoulooksotickledthisevening；Isawyouwiththatbigfish。"

Mrs。Adamslaughedbenevolently；shewasnotdispleasedwiththisrallying。"Well，whatofit，Walter？"sheasked。"Ifyouhappentoseeyoursisteronthestreetwhensomeniceyoungmanisbeingattentivetoher——"

Walterbarkedandthencackled。"Whoa，Sal!"hesaid。"Yougotthepartsmixed。It\'slittleAlicethatwas\'beingattentive。\'I

knowthebigfishshewasattentiveto，allright，too。"

"Yes，"hissisterretorted，quietly。"Ishouldthinkyoumighthaverecognizedhim，Walter。"

Walterlookedannoyed。"Stillharpin\'onTHAT!"hecomplained。

"ThekindofwomenIlike，iftheygetsoretheyjusthityousomewhereonthefaceandthenthey\'rethrough。Bytheway，I

heardthisRussellwassupposedtobeyourdear，old，sweetfriendMildred\'ssteady。Whatyoudoin\'walkin\'asclosetohimasallthat？"

Mrs。Adamsaddressedhersoningentlereproof，"WhyWalter!"

"Oh，nevermind，mama，"Alicesaid。"Tothehorridallthingsarehorrid。"

"Getout!"Walterprotested，carelessly。"IheardallaboutthisRusselldownattheshop。YoungJoeLamb\'ssuchatalkerI

wonderhedon\'truinhisgrandfather\'sbusiness；hekeepsalluscheaphelpstandin\'roundlisteningtohimnine-tenthsofourtime。Well，JoetoldmethisRussell\'ssomekinorothertothePalmerfamily，andhe\'sgotsomelittlemoneyofhisown，andhe\'sputtin\'itintoolePalmer\'strustcompanyandPalmer\'sgoin\'tomakehimavice-presidentofthecompany。Sortofakeep-the-money-in-the-familyarrangement，JoeLambsays。"

Mrs。Adamslookedthoughtful。"Idon\'tsee——"shebegan。

"Why，thisRussell\'ssupposedtobetieduptoMildred，"hersonexplained。"WhenolePalmerdiesthisRussellwillbehisson-in-law，andallhe\'llhaf\'todo\'llbetobarelylifthisfeetandstepintotheoleman\'sshoes。It\'scertainlyamightyfathand-me-outforthisRussell!Youbetterlayoffo\'there，Alice。Picksomebodythat\'sgotlesstoloseandyou\'llmakebettershowing。"

Mrs。Adams\'sairofthoughtfulnesshadnotdeparted。"ButyousaythisMr。Russelliswelloffonhisownaccount，Walter。"

"Oh，JoeLambsayshe\'sgotsomelittleofhisown。Didn\'tknowhowmuch。"

"Well，then——"

Walterlaughedhislaugh。"Cutitout，"hebadeher。"Alicewouldn\'truninfourthplace。"

Alicehadbeenlookingathiminadetachedway，asthoughestimatingthevalueofaspecimeninacollectionnotherown。

"Yes，"shesaid，indifferently。"YouREALLYarevulgar，Walter。"

Hehadfinishedhismeal；and，rising，hecameroundthetabletoherandpattedhergood-naturedlyontheshoulder。"GoodoleAllie!"hesaid。"HONEST，youwouldn\'truninfourthplace。IfIwasyouI\'dneverevenstartintheclass。Thatfrozen-face；

gangwillruleyouoffthetracksoonastheyseeyourcolours。"

"Walter!"hismothersaidagain。

"Well，ain\'tIherbrother？"hereturned，seemingtobeentirelyseriousanddirect，forthemoment，atleast。"_I_liketheolegirlallright。Factis，sometimesI\'mkindofsorryforher。"

"Butwhat\'sitallABOUT？"Alicecried。"Simplybecauseyoumetmedown-townwithamanIneversawbutoncebeforeandjustbarelyknow!Whyallthispalaver？"

"\'Why？\'"herepeated，grinning。"Well，I\'veseenyoustartbefore，youknow!"Hewenttothedoor，andpaused。"Igotnodateto-night。Takeyoutothemovies，youcaretogo。"

Shedeclinedcrisply。"No，thanks!"

"Comeon，"hesaid，aspleasantlyasheknewhow。

"Givemeachancetoshowyouabettertimethanwehadupatthatfrozen-facejoint。I\'llgetyousomechopsueyafterward。"

"No，thanks!"

"Allright，"herespondedandwavedaflippantadieu。"Asthebarbersays，\'Thebettertheadvice，theworseit\'swasted!\'

Good-night!"

Aliceshruggedhershoulders；butamomentortwolater，asthejarofthecarelesslyslammedfrontdoorwentthroughthehouse，sheshookherhead，reconsidering。"PerhapsIoughttohavegonewithhim。Itmighthavekepthimawayfromwhateverdreadfulpeoplearehisfriends——atleastforonenight。"

"Oh，I\'msureWalter\'saGOODboy，"Mrs。Adamssaid，soothingly；

andthiswaswhatshealmostalwayssaidwheneitherherhusbandorAliceexpressedsuchmisgivings。"He\'sodd，andhe\'spickeduprightqueermanners；butthat\'sonlybecausewehaven\'tgivenhimadvantagesliketheotheryoungmen。ButI\'msurehe\'saGOODboy。"

Sherevertedtothesubjectalittlelater，whileshewashedthedishesandAlicewipedthem。"OfcourseWaltercouldtakehisplacewiththeotherniceboysofthetownevenyet，"shesaid。

"Imean，ifwecouldaffordtohelphimfinancially。Theyallbelongtothecountryclubsandhavecarsand——"

"Let\'sdon\'tgointothatanymore，mama，"thedaughterbeggedher。"What\'stheuse？"

"ItCOULDbeofuse，"Mrs。Adamsinsisted。"Itcouldifyourfather——"

"ButpapaCAN\'T。"

"Yes，hecan。"

"Buthowcanhe？HetoldmeamanofhisageCAN\'Tgiveupabusinesshe\'sbeeninpracticallyallhislife，andjustgogropingaboutforsomethingthatmightneverturnupatall。I

thinkhe\'srightaboutit，too，ofcourse!"

Mrs。Adamssplashedamongtheplateswithanewvigourheightenedbyanoldbitterness。"Oh，yes，"shesaid。"Hetalksthatway；butheknowsbetter。"

"Howcouldhe\'knowbetter，\'mama？"

"HEknowshow!"

"Butwhatdoesheknow？"

Mrs。Adamstossedherhead。"Youdon\'tsupposeI\'msuchafoolI\'dbeurginghimtogiveupsomethingfornothing，doyou，Alice？DoyousupposeI\'dwanthimtojustgo\'gropingaround\'

likehewastellingyou？Thatwouldbecrazy，ofcourse。LittleashisworkatLamb\'sbringsin，Iwouldn\'tbesosillyastoaskhimtogiveitupjustonaCHANCEhecouldfindsomethingelse。

Goodgracious，Alice，youmustgivemecreditforalittleintelligenceonceinawhile!"

Alicewaspuzzled。"Butwhatelsecouldtherebeexceptachance？Idon\'tsee——"

"Well，Ido，"hermotherinterrupted，decisively。"Thatmancouldmakeusallwelloffrightnowifhewantedto。Wecouldhavebeenrichlongagoifhe\'deverreallyfeltasheoughttoabouthisfamily。"

"What!Why，howcould——"

"YouknowhowaswellasIdo，"Mrs。Adamssaid，crossly。"I

guessyouhaven\'tforgottenhowhetreatedmeaboutittheSundaybeforehegotsick。"

Shewentonwithherwork，puttingintoitasuddenviolenceinspiredbytherecollection；butAlice，enlightened，gaveutterancetoalaughoflugubriousderision。"Oh，theGLUE

factoryagain!"shecried。"Howsilly!"Andsherenewedherlaughter。

Sooftendothegreatprojectsofparentsappearignominioustotheirchildren。Mrs。Adams\'sconceptionofagluefactoryasafairygodmotherofthisfamilywasanabsurdoldstorywhichAlicehadnevertakenseriously。SherememberedthatwhenshewasaboutfifteenhermotherbegannowandthentosaysomethingtoAdamsabouta"gluefactory，"rathertimidly，andasavaguesuggestion，butneverwithoutirritatinghim。Then，foryears，thepreposteroussubjecthadnotbeenmentioned；possiblybecauseofsomeexplosiononthepartofAdams，whenhisdaughterhadnotbeenpresent。ButduringthelastyearMrs。Adamshadquietlygonebacktotheseoldhints，revivingthematintervalsandalsorevivingherhusband\'sirritation。Alice\'sboredimpressionwasthathermotherwantedhimtofound，orbuy，ordosomething，orother，aboutagluefactory；andthatheconsideredtheproposalsoimpracticableastobeinsulting。TheparentalconversationstookplacewhenneitherAlicenorWalterwasathand，butsometimesAlicehadcomeinupontheconclusionofone，tofindherfatherinashoutingmood，andshockingtheairbehindhimwithprofanemonosyllablesashedeparted。Mrs。Adamswouldbeleftquietandtroubled；andwhenAlice，sympathizingwiththegoadedman，inquiredofhermotherwhythesetiresomebickeringshadbeenrenewed，shealwaysgotthebroodingandcrypticanswer，"HeCOULDdoit——ifhewantedto。"Alicefailedtocomprehendthedesirabilityofagluefactory——tohermindafatherengagedinagluefactorylackedimpressiveness；hadnoadvantageoverafatheremployedbyLambandCompany；andshesupposedthatAdamsknewbetterthanhermotherwhethersuchanenterprisewouldbeprofitableornot。Emphatically，hethoughtitwouldnot，forshehadheardhimshoutingattheendofoneofthesepainfulinterviews，"YoucankeepupyourdangtalktillYOUdieand_I_

die，butI\'llnevermakeoneGod\'scentthatway!"

Therehadbeenaculmination。ReturningfromchurchontheSundayprecedingthecollapsewithwhichAdams\'sillnesshadbegun，Alicefoundhermotherdownstairs，weepingandintimidated，whileherfather\'sstampingfootstepswereloudlyaudibleashestrodeupanddownhisroomoverhead。Sowerehisendlessrepetitionsofinvectiveloudlyaudible:"Thatwoman!

Oh，thatwoman；Oh，thatdangedwoman!"

Mrs。Adamsadmittedtoherdaughterthatitwas"theoldgluefactory"andthatherhusband\'swildnesshadfrightenedherintoa"solemnpromise"nevertomentionthesubjectagainsolongasshehadbreath。Alicelaughed。The"gluefactory"ideawasnotonlyabore，butridiculous，andhermother\'sevidentseriousnessaboutitoneofthoseinexplicablevagarieswesometimesdiscoverinthepeopleweknowbest。ButthisSundayrampageappearedtobetheendofit，andwhenAdamscamedowntodinner，anhourlater，hewasunusuallycheerful。Alicewasgladhehadgonewildenoughtosettlethegluefactoryonceandforall；andshehadceasedtothinkoftheepisodelongbeforeFridayofthatweek，whenAdamswasbroughthomeinthemiddleoftheafternoonbyhisoldemployer，the"greatJ。A。Lamb，"inthelatter\'scar。

Duringthelongillnessthe"gluefactory"wascompletelyforgotten，byAliceatleast；andherlaughwasruefulaswellasderisivenow，inthekitchen，whensherealizedthathermother\'smindagaindweltuponthisabandonednuisance。"Ithoughtyou\'dgotoverallthatnonsense，mama，"shesaid。

Mrs。Adamssmiled，pathetically。"Ofcourseyouthinkit\'snonsense，dearie。Youngpeoplethinkeverything\'snonsensethattheydon\'tknowanythingabout。"

"Goodgracious!"Alicecried。"IshouldthinkIusedtohearenoughaboutthathorribleoldgluefactorytoknowsomethingaboutit!"

"No，"hermotherreturnedpatiently。"You\'veneverheardanythingaboutitatall。"

"Ihaven\'t？"

"No。YourfatherandIdidn\'tdiscussitbeforeyouchildren。

Allyoueverheardwaswhenhe\'dgetinsucharage，afterwe\'dbeenspeakingofit，thathecouldn\'tcontrolhimselfwhenyoucamein。Wasn\'t_I_alwaysquiet？Did_I_evergoontalkingaboutit？"

"No；perhapsnot。Butyou\'retalkingaboutitnow，mama，afteryoupromisednevertomentionitagain。"

"Ipromisednottomentionittoyourfather，"saidMrs。Adams，gently。"Ihaven\'tmentionedittohim，haveI？"

"Ah，butifyoumentionittomeI\'mafraidyouWILLmentionittohim。Youalwaysdospeakofthingsthatyouhaveonyourmind，andyoumightgetpapaallstirredupagainabout——"Alicepaused，alightofdivinationflickeringinhereyes。"Oh!"shecried。"ISEE!"

"Whatdoyousee？"

"YouHAVEbeenathimaboutit!"

"Notonesingleword!"

"No!"Alicecried。"NotaWORD，butthat\'swhatyou\'vemeantallalong!Youhaven\'tspokenthewordstohim，butallthisurginghimtochange，to\'findsomethingbettertogointo\'——it\'sallbeenaboutnothingonearthbutyourfoolisholdgluefactorythatyouknowupsetshim，andyougaveyoursolemnwordnevertospeaktohimaboutagain!Youdidn\'tsayit，butyoumeantit——andheKNOWSthat\'swhatyoumeant!Oh，mama!"

Mrs。Adams，withherhandsstillautomaticallyatworkinthefloodeddishpan，turnedtofaceherdaughter。"Alice，"shesaid，tremulously，"whatdoIaskformyself？"

"What？"

"Isay，WhatdoIaskformyself？Doyousuppose_I_wantanything？Don\'tyouknowI\'dbeperfectlycontentonyourfather\'spresentincomeifIweretheonlypersontobeconsidered？WhatdoIcareaboutanypleasureformyself？I\'dbewillingnevertohaveamaidagain；_I_don\'tminddoingthework。Ifwedidn\'thaveanychildrenI\'dbegladtodoyourfather\'scookingandthehouseworkandthewashingandironing，too，fortherestofmylife。Iwouldn\'tcare。I\'mapoorcookandapoorhousekeeper；Idon\'tdoanythingwell；butitwouldbegoodenoughforjusthimandme。Iwouldn\'teverutteronewordofcom——"

"Oh，goodness!"Alicelamented。"WhatISitallabout？"

"It\'saboutthis，"saidMrs。Adams，swallowing。"YouandWalterareanewgenerationandyououghttohavethesameastherestofthenewgenerationget。PoorWalter——askingyoutogotothemoviesandaChineserestaurant:thebesthehadtooffer!Don\'tyousuppose_I_seehowthepoorboyisdeteriorating？Don\'tyousupposeIknowwhatYOUhavetogothrough，Alice？AndwhenI

thinkofthatmanupstairs——"Theagitatedvoicegrewlouder。

"WhenIthinkofhimandknowthatnothingintheworldbuthisSTUBBORNNESSkeepsmychildrenfromhavingalltheywantandwhattheyOUGHTtohave，doyousupposeI\'mgoingtoholdmyselfboundtokeeptotheabsoluteletterofasillypromisehegotfrommebybehavinglikeacrazyman？Ican\'t!Ican\'tdoit!Nomothercouldsitbyandseehimlockupahornofplentylikethatinhisclosetwhenthechildrenwerestarving!"

"Oh，goodness，goodnessme!"Aliceprotested。"Wearen\'tprecisely\'starving，\'arewe？"

Mrs。Adamsbegantoweep。"It\'sjustthesame。Didn\'tIseehowflushedandprettyyoulooked，thisafternoon，afteryou\'dbeenwalkingwiththisyoungmanthat\'scomehere？Doyousupposehe\'dLOOKatagirllikeMildredPalmerifyouhadwhatyououghttohave？Doyousupposehe\'dbegoingintobusinesswithherfatherifYOURfather——"

"Goodheavens，mama；you\'reworsethanWalter:Ijustbarelyknowtheman!DON\'Tbesoabsurd!"

"Yes，I\'malways\'absurd，\'"Mrs。Adamsmoaned。"AllIcandoiscry，whileyourfathersitsupstairs，andhishornofplenty——"

ButAliceinterruptedwithapealofdesperatelaughter。"Oh，that\'hornofplenty!\'Docomedowntoearth，mama。HowcanyoucallaGLUEfactory，thatdoesn\'texistexceptinyourmind，a\'hornofplenty\'？Dolet\'sbealittlerational!"

"ItCOULDbeahornofplenty，"thetearfulMrs，Adamsinsisted。

"Itcould!Youdon\'tunderstandathingaboutit。"

"Well，I\'mwilling，"Alicesaid，withtiredskepticism。"Makemeunderstand，then。Where\'dyouevergettheidea？"

Mrs。Adamswithdrewherhandsfromthewater，driedthemonatowel，andthenwipedhereyeswithahandkerchief。"Yourfathercouldmakeafortuneifhewantedto，"shesaid，quietly。"Atleast，Idon\'tsayafortune，butanyhowagreatdealmorethanhedoesmake。"

"Yes，I\'veheardthatbefore，mama，andyouthinkhecouldmakeitoutofagluefactory。WhatI\'maskingis:How？"

"How？Why，bymakingglueandsellingit。Don\'tyouknowhowbadmostglueiswhenyoutrytomendanything？Agoodglueisoneoftherarestthingsthereis；anditwouldjustsellitself，onceitgotstarted。Well，yourfatherknowshowtomakeasgoodaglueasthereisintheworld。"

Alicewasnotinterested。"Whatofit？Isupposeprobablyanybodycouldmakeitiftheywantedto。"

"ISAIDyoudidn\'tknowanythingaboutit。Nobodyelsecouldmakeit。Yourfatherknowsaformulaformakingit。"

"Whatofthat？"

"It\'sasecretformula。Itisn\'tevendownonpaper。It\'sworthanyamountofmoney。"

"\'Anyamount？\'"Alicesaid，remainingincredulous。"Whyhasn\'tpapasolditthen？"

"Justbecausehe\'stoostubborntodoanythingwithitatall!"

"Howdidpapagetit？"

"Hegotitbeforeyouwereborn，justafterweweremarried。I

didn\'tthinkmuchaboutitthen:itwasn\'ttillyouweregrowingupandIsawhowmuchweneededmoneythatI——"

"Yes，buthowdidpapagetit？"Alicebegantofeelalittlemorecuriousaboutthispossibleburiedtreasure。"Didheinventit？"

"Partly，"Mrs。Adamssaid，lookingsomewhatpreoccupied。"Heandanothermaninventedit。"

"Thenmaybetheotherman——"

"He\'sdead。"

"Thenhisfamily——"

"Idon\'tthinkheleftanyfamily，"Mrs。Adamssaid。"Anyhow，itbelongstoyourfather。Atleastitbelongstohimasmuchasitdoestoanyoneelse。He\'sgotanabsolutelyperfectrighttodoanythinghewantstowithit，anditwouldmakeusallcomfortableifhe\'ddowhatIwanthimto——andheKNOWSitwould，too!"

Aliceshookherheadpityingly。"Poormama!"shesaid。"Ofcourseheknowsitwouldn\'tdoanythingofthekind，orelsehe\'dhavedoneitlongago。"

"Hewould，yousay？"hermothercried。"Thatonlyshowshowlittleyouknowhim!"

"Poormama!"Alicesaidagain，soothingly。"Ifpapawerelikewhatyousayheis，he\'dbe——why，he\'dbecrazy!"

Mrs。Adamsagreedwithavehemencenearpassion。"You\'rerightabouthimforonce:that\'sjustwhatheis!Hesitsupthereinhisstubbornnessandletsusslavehereinthekitchenwhenifhewantedto——ifhe\'dsomuchaslifthislittlefinger——"

"Oh，come，now!"Alicelaughed。"Youcan\'tbuildevenagluefactorywithjustonelittlefinger。"

Mrs。Adamsseemedabouttoreplythatfindingfaultwithafigureofspeechwasbesidethepoint；butaringingofthefrontdoorbellforestalledtheretort。"Now，whodoyousupposethatis？"shewonderedaloud，thenherfacebrightened。"Ah——didMr。

Russellaskifhecould——"

"No，hewouldn\'tbecomingthisevening，"Alicesaid。"Probablyit\'sthegreatJ。A。Lamb:heusuallystopsforaminuteonThursdaystoaskhowpapa\'sgettingalong。I\'llgo。"

Shetossedherapronoff，andasshewentthroughthehouseherexpressionwasthoughtful。Shewasthinkingvaguelyaboutthegluefactoryandwonderingiftheremightbe"somethinginit"

afterall。IfhermotherwasrightabouttherichpossibilitiesofAdams\'ssecret——butthatwasasfarasAlice\'sspeculationsuponthematterwentatthistime:theywerechecked，partlybythethoughtthatherfatherprobablyhadn\'tenoughmoneyforsuchanenterprise，andpartlybythefactthatshehadarrivedatthefrontdoor。

CHAPTERXII