would be dreadful to
lose the love and esteem of her dear old friends, and she cried a little
as this possibility came over her. And then she hardened her heart a
little at the thought that she could not help it if they chose to
misunderstand her and change.

Carmen was calling from the stairs that it was time to dress for the
drive. She dashed off a note. It contained messages of love for
everybody, but it was the first one in her life written to her aunt not
from her heart.

XVII

Shall we never have done with this carping at people who succeed? Are
those who start and don't arrive any better than those who do arrive? Did
not men always make all the money they had an opportunity to make? Must
we always have the old slow-coach merchants and planters thrown up to us?
Talk of George Washington and the men of this day! Were things any better
because they were on a small scale? Wasn't the thrifty George Washington
always adding to his plantations, and squeezing all he could out of his
land and his slaves? What are the negro traditions about it? Were they
all patriots in the Revolutionary War? Were there no contractors who
amassed fortunes then? And how was it in the late war? The public has a
great spasm of virtue all of a sudden. But we have got past the day of
stage-coaches.

Something like this Henderson was flinging out to Carmen as he paced back
and forth in her parlor. It was very unlike him, this outburst, and
Carmen knew that he would indulge in it to no one else, not even to Uncle
Jerry. She was coiled up in a corner of the sofa, her eyes sparkling with
admiration of his indignation and force. I confess that he had been
irritated by the comments of the newspapers, and by the prodding of the
lawyers in the suit then on trial over the Southwestern consolidation.

"Why, there was old Mansfield saying in his argument that he had had some
little experience in life, but he never had known a man to get rich
rapidly, barring some piece of luck, except by means that it would make
him writhe to have made public. I don't know but that Uncle Jerry was
right, that we made a mistake in not retaining him for the corporation."

"Not if you win," said Carmen, softly. "The public won't care for the
remark unless you fail."

"And he tried to prejudice the Court by quoting the remark attributed to
Uncle Jerry, 'The public be d---d' as if, said Mansfield, the public has
no rights as--against the railroad wreckers. Uncle