The results of his lifework would not be
swept away, his idolized commercial standing could now be maintained,
his wife's brow remain unclouded by care, his children be amply
provided for, Graydon saved from a worse fate than financial disaster,
and, last but not least, the young fellow would be cured by Madge of
all future tendencies toward the Wildmere type. He never could think
of this hope without smiling to himself. He had at last obtained the
explanation of Madge's effort and success. By the superb result
he measured the strength of the love which had led to it. "Great
Scott!"--his favorite expletive--he had thought; "what a compass there
is in her nature! I had long suspected her secret, but when I touched
upon it last night she made my blood tingle by her magnificent
resentment. I would sooner have trifled with an enraged empress. Look
at her now, smiling, serene, and, although not in the least artful,
keeping all her secrets with consummate art. Who would imagine that
she was capable of such a volcanic outburst? If Graydon does not lay
siege to her now, the name of the future firm should be Henry Muir and
idiot."
That sagacious young man did not appear at all blighted by the wreck
of the hope he had cherished.
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