下载辰思小说免费APP
She’llbequicktoseethatwedon’tmeanunkindness，andcan’t，byanythingwesayordo，whenshe’sTom’swife。"
Shepronouncedthedistastefulwordwithcourage，andwenton："Theprettyonemightnothavebeenabletoseethat。
Shemighthavegotitintoherheadthatwewerelookingdownonher；andthoseinsipidpeopleareterriblystubborn。
Wecancometosomeunderstandingwiththisone；I’msureofthat。"SheendedbydeclaringthatitwasnowtheirdutytohelpTomoutofhisterriblepredicament。
"Oh，eventheLaphamcloudhasasilverlining，"saidCorey。
"Infact，itseemsreallytohaveallturnedoutforthebest，Anna；thoughit’srathercurioustofindyouthechampionoftheLaphamside，atlast。Confess，now，thattherightgirlhassecretlybeenyourchoiceallalong，andthatwhileyousympathisewiththewrongone，yourejoiceinthetenacitywithwhichtherightoneisclingingtoherown！"Headdedwithfinalseriousness，"It’sjustthatsheshould，and，sofarasIunderstandthecase，Irespectherforit。"
"Ohyes，"sighedMrs。Corey。"It’snatural，andit’sright。"
Butsheadded，"Isupposethey’regladofhimonanyterms。"
"ThatiswhatIhavebeentaughttobelieve，"saidherhusband。
"Whenshallweseeourdaughter—in—lawelect？Ifindmyselfratherimpatienttohavethatpartofitover。"
Mrs。Coreyhesitated。"Tomthinkswehadbetternotcall，justyet。"
"Shehastoldhimofyourterriblebehaviourwhenyoucalledbefore？"
"No，Bromfield！Shecouldn’tbesovulgarasthat？"
"Butanythingshortofit？"
XXI。
LAPHAMwasgoneafortnight。Hewasinasullenhumourwhenhecameback，andkepthimselfshutclosewithinhisowndenattheofficethefirstday。Heentereditinthemorningwithoutawordtohisclerksashepassedthroughtheouterroom，andhemadenosignthroughouttheforenoon，excepttostrikesavagelyonhisdesk—bellfromtimetotime，andsendouttoWalkerforsomebookofaccountsoraletter—file。HisboyconfidentiallyreportedtoWalkerthattheoldmanseemedtohavegotalotofpapersround；andatlunchthebook—keepersaidtoCorey，atthelittletablewhichtheyhadtakeninacornertogether，indefaultofseatsatthecounter，"Well，sir，Iguessthere’sacoldwavecoming。"
Coreylookedupinnocently，andsaid，"Ihaven’treadtheweatherreport。"
"Yes，sir，"Walkercontinued，"it’scoming。Areasofrainalongthewholecoast，andincreasedpressureintheregionoftheprivateoffice。Storm—signalsupattheoldman’sdoornow。"
Coreyperceivedthathewasspeakingfiguratively，andthathismeteorologywasentirelypersonaltoLapham。
"Whatdoyoumean？"heasked，withoutvividinterestintheallegory，hismindbeingfullofhisowntragi—comedy。
"Why，justthis：Iguesstheoldman’stakin’insail。
AndIguesshe’sgotto。AsItoldyouthefirsttimewetalkedabouthim，theredon’tanyoneknowone—
quarterasmuchabouttheoldman’sbusinessastheoldmandoeshimself；andIain’tbetrayinganyconfidencewhenIsaythatIguessthatoldpartnerofhishasgotprettydeepintohisbooks。Iguesshe’soverheadandearsin’em，andtheoldman’sgoneinafterhim，andhe’sgotadrownin’man’sgriproundhisneck。
Thereseemstobeakindofalull——kindofadeadcalm，Icallit——inthepaintmarketjustnow；andthenagainaten—hundred—thousand—dollarmandon’tbuildahundred—thousand—dollarhousewithoutfeelingthedrain，unlessthere’saregularboom。Andjustnowthereain’tanyboomatall。Oh，Idon’tsaybutwhattheoldman’sgotanchorstowindward；guessheHAS；butifhe’sGOIN’
toleavemehismoney，Iwishhe’dleftitsixweeksago。
Yes，sir，Iguessthere’sacoldwavecomin’；butyoucan’tgenerally’mostalwaystell，asausualthing，wheretheoldman’sconcerned，andit’sONLYaguess。"
Walkerbegantofeedinhisbreadedchopwiththesamenervousexcitementwithwhichheabandonedhimselftotheslangyandfigurativeexcessesofhistalks。
Coreyhadlistenedwithamiserablecuriosityandcompassionuptoacertainmoment，whenabroadlightofhopeflasheduponhim。ItcamefromLapham’spotentialruin；
andthewayoutofthelabyrinththathadhithertoseemedsohopelesswasclearenough，ifanother’sdisasterwouldbefriendhim，andgivehimtheopportunitytoprovetheunselfishnessofhisconstancy。Hethoughtofthesumofmoneythatwashisown，andthathemightoffertolend，orpracticallygive，ifthetimecame；andwithhiscrudehopesandpurposesformlesslyexultinginhisheart，hekeptonlisteningwithanunchangedcountenance。
Walkercouldnotresttillhehaddevelopedthewholesituation，sofarasheknewit。"Lookatthestockwe’vegotonhand。
There’sgoingtobeanawfulshrinkageonthat，now！Andwheneverybodyisshuttingdown，orrunninghalf—time，theworksupatLaphamaregoingfullchip，justthesameasever。Well，it’shispride。Idon’tsaybutwhatit’sagoodsortofpride，buthelikestomakehisbragsthatthefire’sneverbeenoutintheworkssincetheystarted，andthatnoman’sworkorwageshaseverbeencutdownyetatLapham，itdon’tmatterWHATthetimesare。Ofcourse，"
explainedWalker，"Ishouldn’ttalksotoeverybody；
don’tknowasIshouldtalksotoanybodybutyou，Mr。Corey。"
"Ofcourse，"assentedCorey。
"Littleoffyourfeedto—day，"saidWalker，glancingatCorey’splate。
"Igotupwithaheadache。"
"Well，sir，ifyou’relikemeyou’llcarryitroundallday，then。Idon’tknowamuchmeanerthingthanaheadache——unlessit’searache，ortoothache，orsomeotherkindofacheI’mprettyhardtosuit，whenitcomestodiseases。Noticehowyellowtheoldmanlookedwhenhecameinthismorning？Idon’tliketoseeamanofhisbuildlookyellow——much。"Aboutthemiddleoftheafternoonthedust—colouredfaceofRogers，nowfamiliartoLapham’sclerks，showeditselfamongthem。
"HasColonelLaphamreturnedyet？"heasked，inhisdry，woodentones，ofLapham’sboy。
"Yes，he’sinhisoffice，"saidtheboy；andasRogersadvanced，heroseandadded，"Idon’tknowasyoucanseehimto—day。Hisordersarenottoletanybodyin。"
"Oh，indeed！"saidRogers；"IthinkhewillseeME！"
andhepressedforward。
"Well，I’llhavetoask，"returnedtheboy；andhastilyprecedingRogers，heputhisheadinatLapham’sdoor，andthenwithdrewit。"Pleasetositdown，"hesaid；
"he’llseeyouprettysoon；"and，withanairofsomesurprise，Rogersobeyed。Hissere，dull—brownwhiskersandthemoustacheclosingoverbothlipswereincongruouslyandillogicallyclericalineffect，andtheeffectwasheightenedfornoreasonbytheparchmenttextureofhisskin；thebaldnessextendingtothecrownofhisheadwaslikeabaldnessmadeupforthestage。
Whathisfaceexpressedchieflywasablandandbeneficentcaution。Here，youmusthavesaidtoyourself，isamanofjust，sober，andprudentviews，fixedpurposes，andthegoodcitizenshipthatavoidsdebtandhazardofeverykind。
"Whatdoyouwant？"askedLapham，wheelingroundinhisswivel—chairasRogersenteredhisroom，andpushingthedoorshutwithhisfoot，withoutrising。
Rogerstookthechairthatwasnotofferedhim，andsatwithhishat—brimonhisknees，anditscrownpointedtowardsLapham。"Iwanttoknowwhatyouaregoingtodo，"
heansweredwithsufficientself—possession。
"I’lltellyou，first，whatI’vedone，"saidLapham。
"I’vebeentoDubuque，andI’vefoundoutallaboutthatmillingpropertyyouturnedinonme。DidyouknowthattheG。L。&P。hadleasedtheP。Y。&X。？"
"Isomesuspectedthatitmight。"
"Didyouknowitwhenyouturnedthepropertyinonme？
DidyouknowthattheG。L。&P。wantedtobuythemills？"
"Ipresumedtheroadwouldgiveafairpricefort
