The door closed. He stood, for a minute, looking at the ground glass in its panels. Then the light behind those panels went out. He turned away, in a state of mind divided between disgust, resentment and discouragement. Women were a non-comprehensible lot, and the best of them seemed to be as illogical and unreasonable as the worst. It was a thought by no means original, but he considered it a discovery all his own. He walked to the stable, climbed into his buggy and drove, in miserable reverie, to Denboro. Upstairs in the pink room Esther was lying upon the bed, her wet cheeks buried in the pillows. The things Bob had said about her uncle were wicked--wicked. But if they were true then her uncle was wicked. And, in that case, she, herself, for having treated Bob as she had, was the most wicked of all. It was a wicked, hateful world altogether. CHAPTER XV “If” is one of the shortest words in the English language and also one of the most important. “If” Elisha Cook had not been taken ill with a cold, accompanied by complications threatening pneumonia, the complications now threatening the love story of his grandson and Foster Townsend’s niece might not have been aggravated. The disagreement between the young people was serious, but not too dangerous. Had that particular “if” not arisen-- But it did arise. Bob, when he reached Denboro that evening, had made up his mind on one point, namely, that he would, the very next morning, keep his promise to Esther and tell his grandfather that he had been calling at the big house in Harniss and why he had done so. The prospect was anything but cheerful and what its consequences might be he did not dare consider. He was ashamed of his procrastination, although he still believed his reasons for the delay to be good ones. If left to himself he would have waited even longer, for, as he saw it, nothing was to be gained and perhaps much lost by premature disclosure of his secret. But, right or wrong, he would disclose it now. She should not have another opportunity to taunt him with lack of courage and failure to keep his word. As to the other promise she had demanded, that he carry out his plan to go abroad regardless of the fact that she was to remain at home, that was harder to give. He was not sure that he would give it. He would wait until they met again and he had further opportunity to plead his side of the case. She was unreasonable in demanding such a thing and he hoped, after she had had time to think it over, she would realize that unreasonableness.