第55章 THE JOURNALISTS ABDICATE(2)

Merrick，who had been deep in thought."I'll consider Patsy's proposition for awhile and then talk with Thursday.The paper belongs to the girls，but the outfit is mine，and I suppose I may do what I please with it when my nieces retire from journalism."Even the major could not demurb at this statement and so the conversation dropped.During the next few days Uncle John visited the printing of？ce several times and looked over the complete little plant with speculative eyes.Then one dayhe made a trip to Malvern，thirty miles up the railway linefrom the Junction，where a successful weekly paper had long been published.He interviewed the editor，examined the out？t critically，and after asking numerous questions returned to Millville in excellent spirits.

Then he invited Thursday Smith and Hetty to dine at the farm on Saturday evening，which was the one evening in the week they were free，there being no Sunday morning paper.Thursday had bought a new suit of clothes since he came tothe Tribune，and Hetty，after much urging，nally prevailed upon him to accept the invitation.When the young man appeared at the farm he wore his new suit with an air of perfect ease that disguised its cheapness，and it was noticed that he seemed quite at home in the handsome living—room，where the party assembled after dinner.

"I am in search of information，Thursday，"said UncleJohn in his pleasant way."Will you permit me to question you a bit？""Certainly，sir.""And you，Hetty ？""Ask anything you like，sir.""Thank you.To begin with，what are your future plans ？I understand，of course，you are to be married；but—afterward ？""We haven't considered that as yet，sir，"replied Thursday thoughtfully."Of course we shall stay with the Tribune as long as you care to employ our services；but—""Well ？""I have been given to understand the young ladies plan to return to New York at the end of September，and in that case of course the paper will suspend.""My nieces will be obliged to abandon journalism，to besure，"said Mr.Merrick；"but I see no reason why the paper should suspend.How would you and Hetty like to remain in Millville and run it ？"Both Thursday and Hetty smiled，but it was the man who answered；"We cannot afford such a luxury，sir.""Would you care to make your future home in Millville？""Oh，yes ！"exclaimed Hetty."I love the quaint little towndearly，and the villagers are all my friends.I'm sure Thursday doesn't care to go back to New York，where—where Harold Melville once lived.But，as he truly says，we couldn't make a living with the Tribune，even if you gave us the use of the plant.""Let us see about that，"said Uncle John."I will admit，in advance，that a daily paper in such a place is absurd.None of us quite understood that when we established the Tribune.My nieces thought a daily the only satisfactory sort of newspaper，because they were used to such，but it did not take long to convince me—and perhaps them—that in spite of all our efforts the Millville Daily Tribune would never thrive.It is tooexpensive to pay its own way and requires too much work to be a pleasant plaything.Only unbounded enthusiasm and energy have enabled my clever nieces to avoid being swampeda by the monster their ambition created.""That，"said Patsy，with a laugh，"is very clearly andconcisely put，my dear Uncle.""It was never intended to be a permanentb thing，anyhow，"continued Mr.Merrick；"yet I must express myadmiration for the courage and talent my nieces have displayed in forcing a temporary success where failure was the logical conclusion.Shortly，however，they intend to retire gracefullyfrom the ？eld of journalism，leaving me with a model countrynewspaper plant on my hands.Therefore it is I，Thursday and Hetty，and not my nieces，who have a proposition to place before you.