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 Mountains for it. Sarah came back with a funny little bald-headed man in tow. Name's Chumleigh, alawyer. They are going to be married. Mother's all for it."

"Ruth and Bruce?"

"Ruth cuts a lot of ice in high sassiety," said Edward, "and Bruce is her husband. He does all the things he doesn't like to do and isn't interested in, or if he doesn't Ruth will have a terrible backache. He's a mess."

Edward wondered if John was going to ask about James. But John didn't, so after a silence Edward said, "James is the same old James."

"I'm not interested in James," said John. "He's a bad egg."

"He can twist mother round his little finger," said Edward. "She's always giving him money, and he saves it until he's got enough to go on a big spree. He was sick the other night. If mother'd been home I'd have let her find out."

"Oh," said John, "he'd have told her some lie and she'd have believed him."

The house in which John's wife lived with her mother and her baby was an odd little white house covered with long h-and-split shingles. There were some fine old lilac trees in the front yard, and above and beyond the roof, though growing on a