[...]... intelligence—! They started by taking Martha to North East Harbor for the balance of the summer, and then to keep her from going west in the fall, they engaged her to teach them French that winter at quite a fabulous salary They also took her to Boston and bought her some of the prettiest dresses imaginable; and the longer they knew her, the more they liked her; and the more they liked her, the more they tried... with the Pearsons—no, the one with the red cheeks—yes, that one!" the exchange of significant glances, the introduction, the invitation and last, but least, the verification of the fruitfulness of the vine The girl's name was Martha Berger and her home was in California She had come east to attend the wedding of her brother and was now staying with the Pearsons a few weeks before returning west Her. ..heroine So you see we are getting warm at last The grandfather of our heroine was probably the greatest Spencer of them all Under his ownership the factory was rebuilt of brick and stone He developed the town both socially and industrially until New Bethel bade fair to become one of the leading cities in the state He developed the water power by building a great dam above the factory and... Patricia, her eyes a little brighter than they should have been "Do you know," continued the other, her voice dropping to a whisper, "I'm afraid —if he keeps on the way he is—" "Oh, no, Cordelia! You know as well as I do—there has never been anything like that in our family." Nevertheless the two sisters looked at each other with awe-stricken eyes, and then their arms went around each other and they eased their... describe the progress of that gentle intrigue the consultations, the gradual eliminations, the search, the abandonment of the search—(which came immediately after learning of two elderly gentlemen with young wives—but no children!) the almost immediate resumption of the quest because of Josiah's failing health—and finally then the reward of patience, the pious nudge one Sunday morning in church, the whispered... with that delicacy of material and workmanship—reminiscent of old china— which seems to indicate the perfect type of spinster-hood Here and there in their hair gleamed touches of silver, and their cheeks might have reminded you of tinted apples which had lightly been kissed with the frost And so they sat looking at each other, intently, almost breathlessly, each suddenly moved by the same question and... and they met that night in Brigg's livery stable It didn't take much of this—unexpectedly little in fact the last of the Spencers resembling one of those giant firecrackers of bygone days the bigger the cracker, the shorter the fuse Some say he married an actress, which was one of the things which were generally whispered when I was a boy A Russian they said she was— which never failed to bring another... that the last of the Spencers had suddenly discovered that he was sitting upon a remonstrative bee The two sisters smiled at him—rather nervously, it is true, but still they kept their hands upon their brother's shoulders, as though they were two nurses soothing a patient and saying: "There, now … The- ee-ere … Just be quiet and you'll feel better in a little while." "Yes, dear," whispered Cordelia, her. .. given him custody of their only child As you have probably noticed, there are few who can walk so straight as those who have once been saved from the crooked path There are few so intolerant of fire as those poor, charred brands who have once been snatched from the burning After his mother's funeral young Spencer settled down to a life of atonement and toil, till first his father and then even his cousin... that more and more factories were drawn to New Bethel until the fame of the city's products were known wherever the language of commerce was spoken At the height of his son's success, old Josiah died, joining those silent members of the firm who had gone before I often like to imagine the whole seven of them, ghostly but inquisitive, following the subsequent strange proceedings with noiseless steps and .