The most curious effect of Marley's visit to Dudley, however, was one he did not observe himself. Having been defeated in his plan to secure a place in the bank, he felt at first, with a certain consolation, that he still had the law to fall back on, and he returned to his studies. But he made little headway; once having decided to give up the law, the decision remained, and his mind was constantly occupied with schemes for securing a foothold in some other occupation. He considered, one after another, every possibility in Macochee, and as fast as he thought of some opening, he went for it, but invariably to find it either no opening at all, or else, if it were an opening, one that closed at his approach. Gradually he gave up his studies altogether, and sat idle, his book before him; but one day Powell said to him: "Say, Glenn, you're not getting along very fast, are you?" Marley started, and flushed with a sense of guilt. "Well, no," he admitted. "What's the matter, in love?" Marley blushed, from another cause this time, though the guilt remained in his face. But Powell instantly was gentle. "I beg your pardon," he said, "I was just joking, of course; I didn't mean to be inquisitive. You mustn't mind my boorishness." Marley looked at him gratefully and Powell, to whom any show of affection was confusing, turned away self-consciously. But Marley whirled his chair around toward Powell. "I am in love," he said. "I've wanted to tell you, but I--you know who she is." "Lavinia Blair?" "Yes. And that's what's troubling me," Marley went on. "I want to get married, and I can't. I can't," he repeated, "the law's too slow; I've realized it for a long while, but I tried to keep the fact away, I tried not to see it. But now I have to face it. Why," he said, rising to his feet, "it'll take a thousand years to get a practice in this town, and I'm not even admitted yet." He walked to and fro, his brows pinched together, his lower lip thrust out, his teeth nipping his upper one. Powell glanced at him, but said nothing. He knew human nature, this lawyer, and the fact made every one in the county tremble at the thought of his cross-examinations; sometimes he carried too far his love of laying souls bare, and as often hurt as helped his cause. He never had been able to turn his knowledge to much practical account; in a city he would have had numerous retainers as a trial lawyer, though few as a counselor. In Macochee he was out of place, and he chafed under a semi-consciousness of the fact. He waited, knowing that Marley would burst forth again. "I'll have to get a job," Marley said at that moment, bitterly, "and go to work; that's all." And then he laughed harshly. "Humph, get a job--that's the biggest job of all. What can I get here in Macochee, I'd like to know?" He halted and turned suddenly, fiercely, almost menacingly on Powell, as if he were the cause of his predicament. "I've told you already it's no place for you," said Powell, quietly.