ns against the darkness. Now and then a bicycle wound its
nervous way among these portents, or, at long intervals, a surrey or
buggy plodded forlornly by.

"There seem to be so many ways of making money nowadays," Fanny said
thoughtfully. "Every day I hear of a new fortune some person has got
hold of, one way or another--nearly always it's somebody you never heard
of. It doesn't seem all to be in just making motor cars; I hear there's
a great deal in manufacturing these things that motor cars use--new
inventions particularly. I met dear old Frank Bronson the other day, and
he told me--"

"Oh, yes, even dear old Frank's got the fever," Amberson laughed. "He's
as wild as any of them. He told me about this invention he's gone into,
too. 'Millions in it!' Some new electric headlight better than anything
yet--'every car in America can't help but have 'em,' and all that. He's
putting half he's laid by into it, and the fact is, he almost talked me
into getting father to 'finance me' enough for me to go into it. Poor
father! he's financed me before! I suppose he would again if I had the
heart to ask him; and this seems to be a good thing, though probably
old Frank is a little too sanguine. At any rate, I've been thinking it
over."

"So have I," Fanny admitted. "He seemed to be certain it would pay
twenty-five per cent. the first year, and enormously more after that;
and I'm only getting four on my little principal. People are making such
enormous fortunes out of everything to do with motor cars, it does seem
as if--" She paused. "Well, I told him I'd think it over seriously."

"We may turn out to be partners and millionaires then," Amberson
laughed. "I thought I'd ask Eugene's advice."

"I wish you would," said Fanny. "He probably knows exactly how much
profit there would be in this."

Eugene's advice was to "go slow": he thought electric lights for
automobiles were "coming--someday but probably not until certain
difficulties could be overcome." Altogether, he was discouraging, but
by this time his two friends "had the fever" as thoroughly as old Frank
Bronson himself had it; for they had been with Bronson to see the light
working beautifully in a machine shop. They were already enthusiastic,
and after asking Eugene's opinion they argued with him, telling him how
they had seen with their own eyes that the difficulties he mentioned had
been overcome. "Perfectly!" Fanny cried. "And if it worked in the shop
it's bound to wo