She kept her own counsel, however, and gave no sign of the discovery she had made.
The day preceding their landing in New York, Helen asked her husband what plans he had made for their future, how he expected to provide for their support upon reaching San Francisco.
"Oh, I don't know!" he replied, somewhat irritably. "Possibly I may ask Uncle Nathan to give me a position in his office."
"And give up your art, John!" exclaimed Helen, in a voice of dismay, adding: "You are better fitted for that than for anything else."
"But I shall have to do something to get a start. You know, it takes money to live while one is painting pictures," he moodily returned.
"But it would not take very long to finish up some of them—the best ones; and I feel sure they would sell readily," said his wife.
"The best ones would require the help of a good teacher, or an expert artist, to complete," her husband curtly replied.
Helen sighed regretfully over the time which had been so wantonly wasted in Paris, and during which, under the skillful supervision of Monsieur Jacques, he might have finished much of his work, and at the same time perfected himself upon many important points. She preserved a thoughtful silence for several moments; then gravely inquired:
"Do you suppose, John, that, with another year of study, with some good teacher, you could finish and dispose of the various subjects you have begun?"
"Possibly I might," he briefly observed, but there was very little enthusiasm in his tone or manner.