\"Shearrangedwiththe——withthepurchaserthatthemenwillcomeforitabouthalfafterfiveintheafternoon。Thedaysaresoshortnowit\'sreallyquitewinter。\"
\"Oh,yes,\"heagreed,moodily。\"Sofarasthatgoespeoplehavearighttomoveapieceoffurniturewithoutstirringuptheneighbors,Isuppose,evenbydaylight。Idon\'tsupposeOURneighborsarepayingmuchattentionjustnow,thoughIhearSheridanwasbackinhisofficeearlythemorningafterthefuneral。\"
Mrs。Vertreesmadealittlesoundofcommiseration。\"Idon\'tbelievethatwasbecausehewasn\'tsuffering,though。I\'msureitwasonlybecausehefelthisbusinesswassoimportant。Marytoldmeheseemedwrappedupinhisson\'ssucceeding;andthatwaswhathebraggedaboutmost。Heisn\'tvulgarinhisboasting,Iunderstand;hedoesn\'ttalkagreatdealabouthis——hisactualmoney——thoughtherewassomethingaboutbladesofgrassthatIdidn\'tcomprehend。Ithinkhemeantsomethingabouthisenergy——butperhapsnot。
No,hisbraggingusuallyseemedtobenotsomuchapersonalvaingloryasabouthisfamilyandthegreatnessofthiscity。\"
\"\'Greatnessofthiscity\'！\"Mr。Vertreesechoed,withdullbitterness。\"It\'snothingbutacoal—hole！Isupposeitlooks\'great\'tothemanwhohasthelucktomakeitworkforhim。Isupposeitlooks\'great\'toanyYOUNGman,too,startingouttomakehisfortuneoutofit。Thefellowsthatgetwhattheywantoutofitsayit\'s\'great,\'andeverybodyelsegetsthehabit。Butyouhaveadifferentpointofviewifit\'sthecitythatgotwhatitwantedoutofyou！OfcourseSheridansaysit\'s\'great\'。\"