n a chair near by; and Sheridan was
striding up and down, his hand so heavily wrapped in fresh bandages that
he seemed to be wearing a small boxing-glove. His eyes were bloodshot;
his forehead was heavily bedewed; one side of his collar had broken
loose, and there were blood-stains upon his right cuff.

"THERE'S our little sunshine!" he cried, as Bibbs appeared. "THERE'S the
hope o' the family--my lifelong pride and joy! I want--"

"Keep you hand in that sling," said Gurney, sharply.

Sheridan turned upon him, uttering a sound like a howl. "For God's sake,
sing another tune!" he cried. "You said you 'came as a doctor but stay
as a friend,' and in that capacity you undertake to sit up and criticize
ME--"

"Oh, talk sense," said the doctor, and yawned intentionally. "What do
you want Bibbs to say?"

"You were sittin' up there tellin' me I got 'hysterical'--'hysterical,'
oh Lord! You sat up there and told me I got 'hysterical' over nothin'!
You sat up there tellin' me I didn't have as heavy burdens as many
another man you knew. I just want you to hear THIS. Now listen!" He
swung toward the quiet figure waiting in the doorway. "Bibbs, will you
come down-town with me Monday morning and let me start you with two
vice-presidencies, a directorship, stock, and salaries? I ask you."

"No, father," said Bibbs, gently.

Sheridan looked at Gurney and then faced his son once more.

"Bibbs, you want to stay in the shop, do you, at nine dollars a week,
instead of takin' up my offer?"

"Yes, sir."

"And I'd like the doctor to hear: What'll you do if I decide you're
too high-priced a workin'-man either to live in my house or work in my
shop?"

"Find other work," said Bibbs.

"There! You hear him for yourself!" Sheridan cried. "You hear what--"

"Keep you hand in that sling! Yes, I hear him."

Sheridan leaned over Gurney and shouted, in a voice that cracked and
broke, piping into falsetto: "He thinks of bein' a PLUMBER! He wants to
be a PLUMBER! He told me he couldn't THINK if he went into business--he
wants to be a plumber so he can THINK!"

He fell back a step, wiping his forhead with the back of his left hand.
"There! That's my son! That's the only son I got now! That's my chance
to live," he cried, with a bitterness that seemed to leave ashes in his
throat. "That's my one chance to live--that thing you see in the doorway
yonder!"

Dr. Gurney thoughtfully regarded the bandage strip he had been winding,
and tossed i