GIBSON:  Then all you poor are getting rich?

CARTER:  Yes; looks like we will be.

[During these speeches NORA has appeared, or rather her head and shoulders have, above the hedge.  She has come along the hedge and now stands halting at the gate.  She wears a becoming autumn dress and hat, in excellent taste; carries a slim umbrella.  She has a beautifully bound book in her hand.]

NORA [opening the gate]:  Do you mind my coming in the side gate, Mr.
Gibson?

     [GIBSON, startled by her voice, turns abruptly from CARTER
     to stare at her, speaks after a pause, slowly.]

GIBSON:  No, I don’t mind what gate you come in.

NORA [coming down to join them]:  How do you do! [Gives him her hand.]

GIBSON:  How do you do!

CARTER [on the other side of her]:  How do you do, Miss Gorodna!

NORA [for a brief moment confused that she has not noticed Carter]:  Oh—­oh, how do you do, Mr. Carter! [Turns and shakes hands with him.  She turns again, facing GIBSON.] I just heard you were here.  I wanted to bring you this copy of Montaigne—­if you’ll forgive me for keeping it a year.

GIBSON:  I gave it to you.  Don’t you—­remember?

NORA:  Yes, I—­remember.  But things were different then.  Please.  I think I oughtn’t to keep it now. [He takes it, places it gently upon the table; they sit facing each other; she speaks more cheerfully and briskly.] I came to see you on a matter of business, too.

CARTER:  Well, then, I’ll just be—­

NORA:  Oh, no!  Please stay, Mr. Carter!  It’s a factory matter. [CARTER coughs and sits. NORA continues, not pausing for that.] It was about that great stock of wire you had your purchasing agent buy just before the—­before you went away, Mr. Gibson.

GIBSON:  I’m glad to see you looking so well, Miss Gorodna.

NORA:  Thank you!  If you remember, you must have ordered him to buy all the wire of our grade that was in the market at that time.  At any rate, we found ourselves in possession of an enormous stock that would have lasted us about three years.

GIBSON:  Yes.  That’s what I wanted.

NORA:  As it happened it turned out to be a very good investment, Mr. Gibson, because in less than a month it had gained about nine per cent. in value, and three weeks ago a man came to us and offered to take it off our hands at a price giving us a twenty-two per cent. profit!

GIBSON:  Yes; I should think he would.

NORA:  So of course we sold it.

GIBSON [checks an exclamation, merely saying]:  Did you?

NORA:  Naturally we did!  Twenty-two per cent. profit in that short time!  Now it just happens that we’ve got to buy some more ourselves, and we can’t get hold of any, even at the price that we sold it, because it seems to have kept going up.  I thought perhaps you might know where to get some at the price you bought the other, and you mightn’t mind telling us.