The tabloid that Elekko had subscribed to came out on Thursday, and it would be Saturday before that paper arrived here, having traveled five hundred miles from Tilbury's village. Tilbury's letter was written on Friday, and even if he had died then, he would have been a day too late to make that week's paper, but it was still early enough for the next week's edition. Thus the Fosters would have to wait almost a whole week to find out if Tilbury had done his duty. It was a long, long week, and the strings were tight. The couple could not bear it if they did not think of something good for their bodies and minds. As we have seen, there is no shortage of things to do. The woman is busy accumulating wealth, and the man is busy spending money - big or small - as long as his wife gives him the opportunity to do so.

At last it was Saturday, and that Sagamore Weekly came. It was from Mrs. Eversley Bennett. She was the wife of a Presbyterian minister and was urging Mr. and Mrs. Foster to be virtuous and make a donation. But before the words could unfold, they came to an abrupt end - the blame was all on the Fosters' side. Too Big for Bennett soon realizes that the two hosts have turned a deaf ear to her words. Puzzled, she rose in exasperation and took her leave. As soon as Mrs. Bennett had left the house, Alec couldn't wait to tear open the paper's wrapper, and her eyes, along with Sally's, raked over the obituary section of the paper in unison. It was a great disappointment! There was no mention of Tilbury anywhere. Alec had been brought up a Christian, and Christian rules and the force of habit had restrained her emotions. She settled down and said in a tone of great relief:

"Thank God he hasn't passed on. Besides--"

"The old man, I wish--"

" Sally! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"I don't care!" Her husband replied angrily, "We both have the same thing in mind, and you'd be telling the truth if you weren't pretending to be fake."

Elleko's dignity was hurt, and she said,

"I really don't know how you can say such unkind and unkind things, when did I pretend to be unkind and unkind?"

Sally was still indignant, but he tried to muddle through and call a truce with Alec - as if a change in tone of voice would keep the connoisseur in the dark. Sally said:

"Alec, I'm not that bad, I didn't mean hypocrisy, I meant - I meant - the old religious thing, you know? Well, it's the businessman's way. That's - that's - hey, you know what I mean. It's - it's - it's like, if you take an empty shell and put it out there as a solid thing, you don't think there's anything wrong with it, it's just a businessman's habit, it's an old rule, it's a custom, it's a way to keep - to keep - to keep - shit. --I can't find the right word. Anyway, you know what I mean, Alec, there's no harm in it. I'll try another way of putting it, you see, like a person who--"

"You've said enough," said Aleko coldly, "let's not talk about it. "

"Well, well," Sully replied warmly, wiping the sweat from his head as if he didn't know how to express his gratitude properly. He made a contemplative self-criticism: "I had a good hand--I knew it was good--but I just grabbed it in my hand and didn't play it. I'm always guilty of that in poker. If I could have been more resolute - but I wasn't. I never have. I haven't learned enough."

Conceding to his defeat, he bent his head. Alekko's eyes forgave him.

The question that had been of great interest, of the greatest interest, came right back. Whatever it was could only be pressed for a short while. The couple went back to the dumb guess of why there was no news of Tilbury's death in the paper. They guessed and guessed, at one time at the end of their tether, at another time at the end of their tether; but after a great circle they came back to the same place, and admitted that the only really plausible explanation for the absence of Tilbury's obituary was-undoubtedly-that Tilbury Tilbury wasn't dead. It was a little discouraging, and perhaps even a little unfair; but it was what it was, and they would just have to let it go. They were unanimous on this. In Sally's opinion, it was, after all, perverse and unbelievable, though providential. To be honest, it was one of the most unbelievable things he could think of-and he said it with a few emotions when he thought of it. However, if his intention was to draw out Erykor's words, it fell flat. Even if Elekko had thoughts, they were hidden in his heart. Whether in the human world or in the netherworld, it was her habit not to act rashly on all occasions.

The couple had only to wait for next week's paper - apparently Tilbury was delaying death. That was their idea and their decision. So they put the matter aside and did their best to fight the good fight as they each went about their business.

They didn't realize that they were completely wrong about Tilbury. Tilbury had done what was mentioned in that letter. He had died, on schedule. Now he had been dead for more than four days and was at rest. Dead to the core, dead to the core, no different from every new ghost in the cemetery. The news of Tilbury's death had plenty of time to get into the obituary column of the Sagamore Weekly News, and only through a slight omission did it not. Such an oversight would never happen in any metropolitan newspaper, but for a rural tabloid like the Sagamore Weekly, it was not surprising. This time it was a quart of strawberry ice cream for nothing from the Horstedt Gentlewoman and Lady ice cream parlor at the editorial page deadline, so the bland eulogy for Tilbury was pulled out to make room for the editor's enthusiastic thank-you to the ice cream parlor.

Tilbury's obituary typeface was messed up when it arrived on the spare shelf. The obituary could have been used in the future because the Sagamore Weekly never spoiled the "spare" copy, which was always available as long as the typeface was not messed up. As long as the typeface is not messed up, the manuscript is finished, it will not be brought back to life, and it will never have a chance to appear in the paper. So, whether Tilbury is happy or not, even if he is storming in his grave, it does not matter - the news of his death will never be published in the Sagamore Weekly News.