Josiah hesitated, struggling to speak to his daughter as though she were a young man instead of a young woman. But heredity, training and world-old custom restrained him. What would a girl know about mergers, combinations, fundamental patents, the differences between common and preferred stock, and all that? "It would only confuse her," he thought, looking at her with love in his eyes. "She would nod her pretty head to be polite, but I might as well be talking Greek to her." "No, dear," he said, at last. "I'll tell you why we are making those additions. I have bought options on some of the biggest bearing factories in the country--so you won't have so much competition when I'm gone. And instead of running those other factories, I'm going to move their machinery down here. When the changes are once made, it's more economical to run one big factory than half a dozen little ones. And of course it will make it better for New Bethel." "But it must make it bad for the towns where the factories are now," said Mary after a thoughtful pause. "I know how it would hurt New Bethel if we closed up." Josiah nodded his head. "I didn't like it myself at first." "It was Uncle Stanley's idea, then?" "Yes; he's engineering it." Again Mary felt her heart grow heavy. "It must be costing an awful lot of money," she said. "It is," said Josiah, leaning over and making a gesture. "Of course we'll get it back, and more, too--but for quite a few years now it's been taking a lot of money--a dreadful lot of money. Still, I think the end's in sight--" He was sitting at his desk with a shaded lamp in front of him, and as he leaned over and gestured with his hands, Mary's eyes caught the shadow on the wall. She seemed to see a spider--a spider that was spinning and weaving his web--and for the third time that night her heart grew heavy within her. CHAPTER VIII The next day was Saturday and Mary drove her father down to the factory. A small army of men was at work at the new improvements, and when they reached the brow of the hill which overlooked the scene below, Josiah felt that thrill of pride which always ran over him when beholding this monument to his family's genius. "The greatest of its kind in the world," he said. With her free hand, Mary patted his arm. "That's us!" she said, as proud as he. "I'll leave you at the office door, and then I'm going to drive around and see how the building's going on--" There was plenty for Mary to see. A gang of structural workers was putting up the steel frame-work for one of the new buildings. Nearby the brick-layers were busy with mortar and trowels. Carpenters were swarming over a roof, their hammers beating staccato. As they worked in the sunshine, they joked and laughed and chatted with each other, and Mary couldn't help reverting to some of her old thoughts.