第7章
加入书架 A- A+
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  \"\'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。\"

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