, turned out the
lights and went up stairs. He knocked on the door of his aunt's
bedroom.

"Is that you, Richard?"

"Yes. May I come in?"

"Certainly."

He entered quietly. The moonlight, pouring in through the window, lay
blue-white on the counterpane and the beloved old face.

"What is it?" she asked.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and patted her hands.

"Aunty, old lady, I'm through thinking. I'm going to come home just as
soon as I can fix up things in New York."

"Richard, my boy!" Her arms pulled him downward. "I knew it when you
came in. I've prayed so long for this. God has answered my prayers.
I'm so happy. Don't you remember how you used to tell me all your
plans, the plots of your stories, the funny things that had come to
you during the day? You used to come home late, but that didn't
matter; you'd always find some pie and cheese and a glass of milk on
the kitchen table--the old kitchen table. I'm so glad!"

"It may be a month or so; for I'll have to sell some of the things.
But I'm coming home, I'm coming home." He bent swiftly and kissed her.
"Good night."

Chapter VI

Warrington was up and about at six the next morning. He had never
really outgrown the natural habit of waking at dawn, but he had fallen
upon the evil way of turning over and sleeping till half after nine.
He ate a light breakfast and went out to the stables and moved among
the stalls, talking affectionate nonsense to the horses. A man can not
talk baby-talk, that is the undisputed prerogative of the woman; but
he has a fashion of his own which serves. "Aha, old boy! handsome
beggar!" or--"How's the little lady this morning, eh?" or yet
again--"Rascal! you've been rubbing the hair off your tail!" In the
boxstall Warrington's thoroughbred Irish hunter nozzled his palm for
loaf-sugar, and whinnied with pleasure when he found it. One of the
first things Warrington had done, upon drawing his first big royalty
check, was to buy a horse. As a boy on the farm he had hungered for
the possession of one of those sleek, handsome animals which men call
thoroughbreds. Then for a while he bought, sold and traded horses, for
the mere pleasure it gave him to be near them. Finally he came to
Herculaneum with two such saddle-horses as made every millionaire in
town (and there were several in Herculaneum) offer fabulous sums
whenever they ran across the owner. Next, he added two carriage-horses,
in their way quite equal to the hunt