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microeconomics

C O L A N D E R
11e
 Preface
c­ ontext. The modern textbook template moved away from
that, and in previous editions, I have tried to return the
principles of economics toward that broader template,
presenting models in a historical and institutional context.
This edition continues that emphasis on institutions and
history. Modern work in game theory and strategic deci-
sion making is making it clear that the implications of
economic reasoning depend on the institutional setting.
To understand economics requires an understanding of
existing institutions and the historical development of
those institutions. In a principles course we don’t have
time to present much about history and institutions,
but that does not preclude us from letting students know
that these issues are important. And that’s what I try to do.
When I say that institutions and history are important,
I am talking especially about economic policy. This text
and the accompanying supplements are not ­designed for
future economics majors. Most principles students aren’t
going to go on in economics. I write for students who will
probably take only one or two economics courses in their
lifetime. These students are interested in policy, and what
I try to present to them is modern economic reasoning
relevant to policy questions.
Because I think policy is so important in explaining
how to apply economic reasoning, I utilize a distinction
made by J. N. Keynes (John Maynard Keynes’ father) and
Classical economists generally. That distinction is be-
tween theorems—the deductive conclusions of models—
and precepts—the considered judgments of economists
about the policy implications of the models. I make it
clear to students that models do not tell us what to do
about policy—they give us theorems. Only when we
combine the models’ results with our understanding of
institutions, our understanding of the social context, and
our understanding of the normative goals we want to
achieve, can we arrive at policy conclusions embodied in
precepts.
Openness to Various Views
While I present modern economics, I present it in such a
way that is open to many different points of view. I don’t
present the material as “the truth” but simply as the con-
ventional wisdom. Learning conventional wisdom is a
useful hurdle for all students to jump over. To encourage
students to question conventional wisdom, at the end of
each chapter I include a set of questions—Questions from
Alternative Perspectives—written by economists from a
variety of different perspectives. These include Post-
Keynesian, Feminist, Austrian, Radical, Institutionalist,
and Religious perspectives. Each is described further in
the “Distinguishing Features” section that follows the
preface. The Radical questions come from the Dollars
vii
and Sense Collective, a group with whom I’ve worked to
coordinate their readers (www.dollarsandsense.org/
bookstore.html) with this text. I also often integrate Aus-
trian ideas into my class; I find that The Free Market
(www.mises.org) is a provocative resource.
I often pair an article in The Free Market with one in
Dollars and Sense in my assignments to students for sup-
plementary reading. Having students read both Radical
and Austrian views, and then integrate those views into
more middle-of-the-road views is, for me, a perfect way
to teach the principles course. (If I have a lot of radicals
and libertarians in the class, I assign them articles that
advocate more middle-of-the-road views.)
Integrating Nuance into the
Learning Platform
Changes in technology are changing the medium through
which ideas are conveyed and the way students learn. Stu-
dents today don’t know a time without the Internet and
social media, which provide them with access to a broad
range of digital resources and instant feedback. Technol-
ogy has changed the way they learn, and if we are to reach
them, we have to present material in ways that fit their
learning style. They want to be able to access their
courses anywhere, anytime—at a coffee shop in the after-
noon, in their dorm room late at night, or at lunch hour at
work. They still want material that speaks to them, but it
has to speak to them in their language at the time they
want to listen. Modern learning is blended learning in
which online presentations, review, testing of material,
and feedback are seamlessly blended with the narrative of
the text. This revision is designed to improve what the
publisher calls the learning platform in both the content
presented and in the delivery of that content.
I think of this book as consisting of both the text and
the delivery system for the text. For the book to succeed,
the online delivery system has to deliver the material to
students in a manner that they can access both online and
in the physical book. The new reality of accessing books
online has driven important changes in the last edition,
and in this edition. Specifically, while the content and
pedagogical approach described above remain largely the
same, the delivery is different.
In the last two editions the learning platform was re-
fined, and all of the content, including end-of-chapter
questions, was made to line up directly with learning
­objectives. These learning objectives serve as the organi-
zational structure for the material. The learning objectives
themselves were broken down into further learning objec-
tives associated with concepts that are presented in bite-
sized portions of the text as part of the SmartBook offer.
viii
This now allows students the opportunity to master con-
cepts that support the larger picture no matter how they
access it in the Colander learning platform. Within
­McGraw-Hill’s Connect and SmartBook platforms, stu-
dents can learn the core building blocks online with in-
stant feedback; instructors can assess student learning data
and know what their students understand, and what they
don’t. With that information, they can devote class time to
those issues with which students are having problems.
In the previous two editions, the end-of-chapter ma-
terial was also restructured for online delivery: All of
the standard questions and problems were made auto-
gradable and integrated with the online experience.
Such integration allows students to move seamlessly
between homework problems and portions of the narra-
tive to get the information they need, when they need it.
This is a significant advance in pedagogy. Now, even
professors in large lecture classes can assign questions
and exercises at the end of chapters and provide feed-
back to students at the point of need.
While the new learning platforms made the teaching
of the building blocks easier, they presented a challenge
for my approach that emphasized the nuance of interpre-
tation as a key element of what students were to learn.
That discussion of nuance was scattered throughout the
text; it wasn’t a building block to be learned in one place.
Rather it was mortar to be learned over the course of the
entire semester. This learning goal did not come through
in the learning platform as strongly as it did in the text it-
self. While the modular learning platform worked well in
teaching a building block approach to models, it didn’t
work so well helping students understand the context of
the models. It provided the building blocks but not the
mortar. So the previous versions of my online learning
platforms emphasized models a bit more than I would
have liked and context a bit less.
The nuance material was still there, but it was not in-
tegrated into the learning platform as much as I thought it
should be. In previous editions, I did what I could to ac-
count for that. Specifically I added aspects of the book
that allowed professors who wanted to emphasize nuance
to do so. These included two sets of end-of-chapter ques-
tions, Issues to Ponder and Questions from Alternative
Perspectives, which have no “correct” answer, but instead
are designed to get the students to think. In a learning
environment that blends both online and in-person expe-
riences, these are the questions that can form the basis for
rich classroom discussions that engage the students with
broad issues as much as the online material engages them
with the building blocks.
In this edition I go a step further in integrating nuance
into the course. Specifically, I have essentially made
Preface
n­ uance its own general learning objective—a learning
objective that relates to the entire book. So in addition to
the learning objectives specific to individual chapters,
there is a general learning objective that is relevant to all
chapters. The general learning objective—the mortar
that holds the building blocks together—is: Know that to
relate models to the real world, you need to use a nuanced
approach.
For professors who want to include this learning ob-
jective in their course, I have written a prologue to the
student found on pages P-1 to P-5, just before Chapter 1.
In it I discuss the need for context and nuance in applying
the models, and introduce students to two methodological
tools that philosophers use to move from models to policy
positions. This prologue, what you might think of as
­Chapter 0, serves as the mortar and blueprint to guide stu-
dents in thinking critically about the models and their
­application. This short prologue, which can be assigned
along with Chapter 1, presents a general discussion of the
problem of context and nuance and introduces the general
learning objective.
Students are reminded of this general learning objec-
tive throughout the book in chapter discussions of nu-
anced issues, which are highlighted in SmartBook and
probes that focus on nuance. I also provide professors
with some guidance and suggestions on how to integrate
a discussion of values and ethics into the course, along
with a list of Connect questions and material in SmartBook
that deal with integrating values into the analysis. These
are to be found in the Instructor’s website for the book. For
those who want to emphasize critical thought and nuance
in the course, it is much easier to do so than before.
Specific Content Changes
to This Edition
Any new edition provides the possibility to update dis-
cussions and I have done so throughout the book, both in
updating references to events, and in examples. On a
mundane level I changed examples and products being
discussed. For example, there was an earlier discussion of
the supply and demand for CDs, which at one point in the
past seemed reasonable. CDs have gone the way of buggy
whips, and so the discussion was changed to chocolate,
which has a longer shelf life—there will always be
­demand for 80 percent dark chocolate, at least from me.
I also reviewed all the boxes, eliminating or updat-
ing those that were outdated, replacing them with new
boxes that capture some of the new ideas being dis-
cussed. For example, in Chapter 3 I added a box on
polycentric ­g overnment and the ideas of economist
 Preface ix

­ linor Ostrom, and in Chapter 8W I updated the discus-

E e­ leventh edition reviewers, whose insightful comments
sion of the farm program. kept me on track. Reviewers include:
I did the same with discussions in the text, adding up-
dates where needed. That led to substantial changes in Catherine M. Chambers Benjamin Leyden
some chapters. For example, President Trump’s changing University of Central University of Virginia
the narrative on trade meant some significant changes in Missouri Victoria Miller
Chapter 10 on trade were needed. I replaced the opening Frankie P. Albritton Jr. Akin Technical College
discussion of trade to include Trump’s criticism of Seminole State College ABM E. Nasir
free trade agreements and updated the discussion of WTO Paul Chambers North Carolina Central
trade negotiations and U.S. trade policy to account for the University of Central University
Trump presidency. The growing importance of platform Missouri Christina Ann Robinson
monopolies and network externalities led to substantial B. Andrew Chupp Central Connecticut
changes in Chapter 14 and the discussion of antitrust pol- Georgia Institute of State University
icy in Chapter 15. Chapter 17 on labor also was modified Technology
to account for developments in the information revolu- William Shambora
tion. I also added discussions of artificial intelligence and Diane Cunningham Ohio University
deep learning in both the micro and macro chapters. Los Angeles Valley College Mark Griffin Smith
These developments will likely have significant implica- Gregory E. DeFreitas Colorado College
tions for the economy in the coming decade, as AI and Hofstra University Don Uy-Barreta
deep learning do to mental labor what the Industrial John P. Finnigan De Anza College
­Revolution did to physical labor. Marist College Kenneth Woodward
Finally, there were a number of changes to allow the Bernhard Georg Gunter Saddleback College
introduction of nuanced understanding as a separate American University
learning objective. I added a discussion of Adam Smith’s
impartial spectator tool, and how in assessing policy, one In addition to the comments of the formal reviewers
must go beyond how it will benefit oneself, and concen- listed above, I have received helpful suggestions, encour-
trate on how it can be judged from society’s point of view. agement, and assistance from innumerable individuals
I encourage students to discuss contentious policy issues via e-mails, letters, symposia, and focus groups. Their
with others who approach the issues differently as a way help made this edition even stronger than its predecessor.
of advancing the discussion. They include James Wetzel, Virginia Commonwealth
University; Dmitry Shishkin, Georgia State University;
Enjoy! Amy Cramer, Pima Community College–West; Andrea
Terzi, Franklin College; Shelby Frost, Georgia State Uni-
In summary, this book differs from others in its distinc- versity; Doris Geide-Stevenson, Weber State University;
tive blend of nuance and no-nonsense modeling. Working James Chasey, Advanced Placement Economics Teaching
with models doesn’t involve nuance; it involves knowing Consultant and Homewood-Flossmoor High School
the models and their assumptions—questions about (ret.); David Tufte, Southern Utah University; Eric
models are right or wrong—and nuanced discussion of ­Sarpong, Georgia State University; Jim Ciecka, DePaul
applying the models where there are inevitably gray areas University; Fran Bradley, George School; Ron Olive,
where critical thought is needed. Seeing students navigate University of Massachusetts–Lowell; Rachel Kreier,
this gray area and arrive at a nuanced understanding of Hofstra University; Kenneth Elzinga, University of
­
economic principles gives me enormous joy. I hope it ­Virginia; Ben Leyden, University of Virginia; Poul Thøis
does for you as well. Madse, Danmarks Medie—OG Journalistehojskole; Rich
Tarmey, Colorado Mountain College; Michael Mandelberg,
People to Thank Stuart Webber, Trinity Lutheran College; Bob Rogers,
Let me conclude this preface by thanking the hundreds of Ashland University; Zackery Hansen, Southern Utah
people who have offered suggestions, comments, kudos, University; and Matt Gaffney, Missouri State University.
and criticism on this project since its inception. This book I want to give a special thank-you to the supplement
would not be what it is without their input. So many peo- authors and subject matter experts including Jennifer
ple have contributed to this text in so many ways that I Rester Savoie, Pearl River Community College; Susan
cannot thank everyone. So, to all the people who helped— Bell, Seminole State University; Per Norander, University
many, many thanks. I specifically want to thank the of North Carolina at Charlotte; Frankie P. Albritton Jr.,
x Preface
Seminole State University; and Kenneth Woodward,
­Saddleback College. They all did an outstanding job.
I’d also like to thank the economists who wrote the
alternative perspective questions. These include Ann
Mari May of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, John
Miller of Wheaton College, Dan Underwood of P ­ eninsula
College, Ric Holt of Southern Oregon University, and
Bridget Butkevich of George Mason University. I en-
joyed working with each of them, and while their views
often differed substantially, they were all united in want-
ing questions that showed economics as a pluralist field
that encourages students to question the text from all
­perspectives.
I have hired numerous students to check aspects of the
book, to read over my questions and answers to questions,
and to help proofread. For this edition, these include Reid
Smith, Amelia Pollard and Zhewei Yang. I thank them all.
A special thank-you for this edition goes to two peo-
ple. The first is Jenifer Gamber, whose role in the book
cannot be overestimated. She helped me clarify its vision
by providing research, critiquing expositions and often
improving them, and being a good friend. She has an
amazing set of skills, and I thank her for using them
to improve the book. The second is Christina Kouvelis,
senior product developer, who came into this project and
with her hard work, dedication, and superb ability made it
possible to get the book done on time. She and Jenifer are
two amazing women.
Next, I want to thank the entire McGraw-Hill team,
including Terri Schiesl, managing director; Anke Weekes,
director; Christine Vaughan, lead content project man-
ager; Bruce Gin, senior assessment project manager; Egzon
Shaqiri, designer; Bobby Pearson, marketing manager; Julia
­Blankenship, marketing specialist; and Doug Ruby, director
of digital content. All of them have done a superb job, for
which I thank them sincerely.
Finally, I want to thank Pat, my wife, and my sons,
Kasey and Zach, for helping me keep my work in per-
spective, and for providing a loving environment in which
to work.
 Distinguishing
Features
Margin Comments
Located throughout the text in the margin, these key take-
aways underscore and summarize the importance of the
material, at the same time helping students focus on the
most relevant topics critical to their understanding.
Margin Questions
These self-test questions are presented in the margin of
the chapter to enable students to determine whether the
preceding material has been understood and to reinforce
understanding before students read further. Answers to
Margin Questions are found at the end of each chapter.
Web Notes
This feature extends the text discussion onto the web.
Web Notes are denoted within the margins, and are
housed within Connect and featured in SmartBook.
Nuance Prologue and Questions
Nuanced aspects of economics are presented throughout
the book, and in a Prologue for the Student. In SmartBook,
nuance questions have been added that directly relate to
applying the models and the problems of integrating values
into the analysis. A guide to these questions can be found
on the Instructor Resource website.
Issues to Ponder
Each chapter ends with a set of Issues to Ponder questions
that are designed to encourage additional economic think-
ing and application.
Questions from Alternative
Perspectives
The end-of-chapter material includes a number of ques-
tions that ask students to assess economics from alterna-
tive perspectives. Specifically, six different approaches
are highlighted: Austrian, Post-Keynesian, Institutional-
ist, Radical, Feminist, and Religious. Below are brief
­descriptions of each group.
Austrian Economists
Austrian economists believe in methodological individu-
alism, by which they mean that social goals are best met
through voluntary, mutually beneficial interactions. Lack
of information and unsolvable incentive problems under-
mine the ability of government to plan, making the mar-
ket the best method for coordinating economic activity.
Austrian economists oppose state intrusion into private
property and private activities. They are not economists
from Austria; rather, they are economists from anywhere
who follow the ideas of Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich
Hayek, two economists who were from Austria.
Austrian economists are sometimes classified as con-
servative, but they are more appropriately classified as
libertarians, who believe in liberty of individuals first and
in other social goals second. Consistent with their views,
they are often willing to support what are sometimes con-
sidered radical ideas, such as legalizing addictive drugs
or eliminating our current monetary system—ideas that
most mainstream economists would oppose. Austrian
economists emphasize the uncertainty in the economy and
the inability of a government controlled by self-­interested
politicians to undertake socially beneficial policy.
Institutionalist Economists
Institutionalist economists argue that any economic analy-
sis must involve specific considerations of institutions. The
lineage of Institutionalist economics begins with the pio-
neering work of Thorstein Veblen, John R. Commons, and
Wesley C. Mitchell. Veblen employed evolutionary analy-
sis to explore the role of institutions in directing and retard-
ing the economic process. He saw human behavior driven
by cultural norms and conveyed the way in which they
were with sardonic wit and penetrating insight, leaving us
with enduring metaphors such as the leisure class and con-
spicuous consumption. Commons argued that institutions
are social constructs that improve general welfare. Accord-
ingly, he established cooperative investigative programs to
support pragmatic changes in the legal structure of govern-
ment. Mitchell was a leader in developing economics as an
empirical study; he was a keen observer of the business
cycle and argued that theory must be informed by system-
atic attention to empirical data, or it was useless.
Contemporary Institutionalists employ the founders’
“trilogy”—empirically informed, evolutionary analysis,
xi
xii
directed toward pragmatic alteration of institutions shap-
ing economic outcomes—in their policy approach.
Radical Economists
Radical economists believe substantial equality-preferring
institutional changes should be implemented in our
­economic system. Radical economists evolved out of
Marxian economics. In their analysis, they focus on the
lack of equity in our current economic system and on in-
stitutional changes that might bring about a more equita-
ble system. Specifically, they see the current economic
system as one in which a few people—capitalists and
high-level managers—benefit enormously at the expense
of many people who struggle to make ends meet in jobs
that are unfulfilling or who even go without work at
times. They see the fundamental instability and irratio-
nality of the capitalist system at the root of a wide array
of social ills that range from pervasive inequality to alien-
ation, racism, sexism, and imperialism. Radical econo-
mists often use a class-oriented analysis to address these
issues and are much more willing to talk about social
conflict and tensions in our society than are mainstream
economists.
A policy favored by many Radicals is the establish-
ment of worker cooperatives to replace the corporation.
Radicals argue that such worker cooperatives would see
that the income of the firm is more equitably allocated.
Likewise, Radical economists endorse policies, such as
universal health care insurance, that conform to the ethic
of “putting people before profits.”
Feminist Economists
Feminist economics offers a substantive challenge to the
content, scope, and methodology of mainstream econom-
ics. Feminist economists question the boundaries of what
we consider economics to be and examine social arrange-
ments surrounding provisioning. Feminist economists
have many different views, but all believe that in some
way traditional economic analysis misses many important
issues pertaining to women.
Feminist economists study issues such as how the in-
stitutional structure tends to direct women into certain
types of jobs (generally low-paying jobs) and away from
other types of jobs (generally high-paying jobs). They
draw our attention to the unpaid labor performed by
women throughout the world and ask, “What would GDP
look like if women’s work were given a value and
­included?” They argue for an expansion in the content of
Preface
economics to include women as practitioners and as
­worthy of study and for the elimination of the masculine
bias in mainstream economics. Is there such a bias? To
see it, simply compare the relative number of women in
your economics class to the relative number of women at
your school. It is highly likely that your class has relatively
more men. Feminist economists want you to ask why that
is, and whether anything should be done about it.
Religious Economists
Religion is the oldest and, arguably, the most influential
institution in the world—be it Christianity, Islam, Juda-
ism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any of the many other reli-
gions in the world. Modern science, of which economics
is a part, emphasizes the rational elements of thought. It
attempts to separate faith and normative issues from ra-
tional analysis in ways that some religiously oriented
economists find questionable. The line between a reli-
gious and nonreligious economist is not hard and fast; all
economists bring elements of their ethical considerations
into their analysis. But those we call “religious econo-
mists” integrate the ethical and normative issues into eco-
nomic analysis in more complex ways than the ways
presented in the text.
Religiously oriented economists have a diversity of
views; some believe that their views can be integrated
reasonably well into standard economics, while others
see the need for the development of a distinctive faith-
based methodology that focuses on a particular group of
normative concerns centered on issues such as human
dignity and caring for the poor.
Post-Keynesian Economists
Post-Keynesian economists believe that uncertainty is a
central issue in economics. They follow J. M. Keynes’ ap-
proach more so than do mainstream economists in em-
phasizing institutional imperfections in the economy and
the importance of fundamental uncertainty that rational-
ity cannot deal with. They agree with Institutionalists that
the study of economics must emphasize and incorporate
the importance of social and political structure in deter-
mining market outcomes.
While their view about the importance of uncertainty
is similar to the Austrian view, their policy response to
that uncertainty is quite different. They do not see uncer-
tainty as eliminating much of government’s role in the
economy; instead, they see it leading to policies in which
government takes a larger role in guiding the economy.
Supplements
McGraw-Hill has established a strong history of top-rate
supplements to accompany this text, and this eleventh
edition strives to carry on the tradition of excellence. The
following ancillaries are available for quick download
and convenient access via the Instructor Resource mate-
rial available through McGraw-Hill Connect®.
Solutions Manual
Prepared by Jenifer Gamber and me, this manual provides
answers to all end-of-chapter questions—the Questions
and Exercises, Questions from Alternative Perspectives,
and Issues to Ponder.
Test Banks
The test bank contains more than 5,600 quality multiple
choice and true-false questions for instructors to draw from
in their classrooms. Jenifer Gamber and I have worked
diligently to make sure that the questions are clear and
useful. Each question is categorized by learning objective,
level of difficulty, economic concept, AACSB learning
categories, and Bloom’s Taxonomy objectives. Questions
were reviewed by professors and students alike to ensure
that each one was effective for classroom use. All of the test
bank content is available for assigning within Connect.
A computerized test bank is available via TestGen, a
complete, state-of-the-art test generator and editing applica-
tion software that allows instructors to quickly and easily
select test items. Instructors can then organize, edit, and cus-
tomize questions and answers to rapidly generate tests for
paper or online administration. With both quick-and-simple
test creation and flexible and robust editing tools, TestGen
is a complete test generator system for today’s educators.
An essay-only test bank, organized by chapter, will be
available via the Instructor Resource material available
within Connect.
PowerPoint Presentations
Jennifer Rester Savoie of Pearl River Community College
worked tirelessly to revise the PowerPoint slide program,
animating graphs and emphasizing important concepts.
Each chapter has been scrutinized to ensure an accurate,
direct connection to the text.
Problem Sets
Additional problem sets accompany each chapter, which
can be assigned to students either for practice or
a­ ssessment. They are also included as extra assessment
content available within Connect.
Assurance of Learning Ready
Many educational institutions today are focused on the
notion of assurance of learning, an important element of
some accreditation standards. Microeconomics, 11/e is
designed specifically to support your assurance of learning
initiatives with a simple yet powerful solution.
Instructors can use Connect to easily query for
­learning outcomes/objectives that directly relate to the
learning objectives of the course. You can then use the
reporting features of Connect to aggregate student results
in similar fashion, making the collection and presentation
of assurance of learning data simple and easy.
AACSB Statement
McGraw-Hill Global Education is a proud corporate
member of AACSB International. Understanding the im-
portance and value of AACSB accreditation, the author
of Microeconomics, 11/e has sought to recognize the cur-
ricula guidelines detailed in the AACSB standards for
business accreditation by connecting questions in the test
bank and end-of-chapter material to the general knowl-
edge and skill guidelines found in the AACSB standards.
It is important to note that the statements contained in
Microeconomics, 11/e are provided only as a guide for the
users of this text. The AACSB leaves content coverage and
assessment within the purview of individual schools, the
mission of the school, and the faculty. While Microeconomics,
11/e and the teaching package make no claim of any
specific AACSB qualification or evaluation, we have
within Microeconomics, 11/e labeled selected questions
according to the general knowledge and skills areas.
McGraw-Hill Customer Care
Contact Information
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 Brief
Contents

part I I NTRODUCTION: THINKING

 MARKET STRUCTURE
13
Perfect Competition 272
LIKE AN ECONOMIST 14
Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition 293
11 Economics and Economic Reasoning 4 Appendix: The Algebra of Competitive and
2 The Production Possibility Model, Trade, and Monopolistic Firms 319
Globalization 25 15
Oligopoly and Antitrust Policy 321
Appendix: Graphish: The Language of Graphs 44 16
Real-World Competition and Technology 340
3 Economic Institutions 53
Appendix: The History of Economic Systems 73 FACTOR MARKETS
4 Supply and Demand 78 17
Work and the Labor Market 359
5 Using Supply and Demand 101 Appendix: Derived Demand 383
Appendix: Algebraic Representation of Supply, 17W Nonwage and Asset Income: Rents, Profits, and
Demand, and Equilibrium 117 Interest 389
18
Who Gets What? The ­Distribution of Income 390
part II MICROECONOMICS
CHOICE AND DECISION MAKING
THE POWER OF TRADITIONAL 19
The Logic of Individual Choice:
ECONOMIC MODELS The Foundation of Supply and Demand 416
6 Describing Supply and Demand: Elasticities 124 Appendix: Indifference Curve Analysis 436
7 Taxation and Government Intervention 144 20
Game Theory, Strategic ­Decision Making, and
8 Market Failure versus ­Government Failure 165 ­Behavioral Economics 441
8W Politics and Economics: The Case of Agricultural Appendix: Game Theory and Oligopoly 462
Markets 187
MODERN ECONOMIC THINKING
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC 21
Thinking Like a Modern ­Economist 466
POLICY ISSUES 22
Behavioral Economics and Modern Economic
Policy 492
9 Comparative Advantage, Exchange Rates,
and Globalization 188
23
Microeconomic Policy, ­Economic Reasoning,
and Beyond 511
10
International Trade Policy 207

PRODUCTION AND COST ANALYSIS

11 Production and Cost Analysis I 229
12 Production and Cost Analysis II 249
Appendix: Isocost/Isoquant Analysis 267

xvi
 Contents
Trade and Comparative Advantage 32
PART I
Markets, Specialization, and Growth 33
The Benefits of Trade 34
INTRODUCTION:
Globalization and the Law of One Price 36
THINKING LIKE Globalization 36
AN ECONOMIST Exchange Rates and Comparative Advantage 38
The Law of One Price 38
Globalization and the Timing of Benefits of Trade 39
11 Economics and Economic Reasoning 4
Conclusion 39
What Economics Is 5
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Scarcity 5
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Microeconomics and Macroeconomics 6
Margin Questions 40–43
A Guide to Economic Reasoning 6
Appendix: Graphish: The Language of Graphs 44
Marginal Costs and Marginal Benefits 8
The Economic Decision Rule 8
Economics and Passion 8 3 Economic Institutions 53
Opportunity Cost 9
Economic Systems 54
Economic Forces, Social Forces, and Political Forces 11
How Markets Work 54
Economic and Market Forces 11
What’s Good about the Market? 55
Social and Political Forces 11
Capitalism and Socialism 55
Using Economic Insights 13
Economic Institutions in a Market Economy 58
The Invisible Hand Theorem 14
Business 59
Economic Theory and Stories 15
Households 61
Economic Institutions 15
The Roles of Government 62
Economic Policy Options 16
Government as an Actor 62
Objective Policy Analysis 17
Government as a Referee 64
Policy and Social and Political Forces 20
Specific Roles for Government 65
Conclusion 20 Market Failures and Government Failures 67
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Global Institutions 68
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to Global Corporations 68
Margin Questions 21–24 Coordinating Global Issues 68
Conclusion 69
2 The Production Possibility Model, Trade, Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
and Globalization 25 from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 69–72
The Production Possibility Model 26
Appendix: The History of Economic Systems 73
A Production Possibility Curve for an Individual 26
Increasing Opportunity Costs of the Trade-Off 27
Comparative Advantage 28 4 Supply and Demand 78
Efficiency 29
Demand 78
Distribution and Productive Efficiency 30
The Law of Demand 79
Examples of Shifts in the PPC 31
The Demand Curve 79

xvii
xviii Contents

Shifts in Demand versus Movements

PART II
along a Demand Curve 80
Some Shift Factors of Demand 81
The Demand Table 82
MICROECONOMICS
From a Demand Table to a Demand Curve 82
Individual and Market Demand Curves 83 THE POWER OF TRADITIONAL
Supply 85 ECONOMIC MODELS
The Law of Supply 85
The Supply Curve 86
Shifts in Supply versus Movements along a Supply
6 Describing Supply and Demand:
Curve 87 Elasticities 124
Shift Factors of Supply 88 Price Elasticity 124
The Supply Table 88 What Information Price Elasticity Provides 125
From a Supply Table to a Supply Curve 88 Classifying Demand and Supply as Elastic
Individual and Market Supply Curves 88 or Inelastic 125
The Interaction of Supply and Demand 89 Elasticity Is Independent of Units 126
Equilibrium 90 Calculating Elasticities 126
The Graphical Interaction of Supply and Demand 91 Other Examples 128
What Equilibrium Isn’t 91 Elasticity Is Not the Same as Slope 128
Political and Social Forces and Equilibrium 92 Five Terms to Describe Elasticity 130
Shifts in Supply and Demand 93 Substitution and Elasticity 130
A Limitation of Supply/Demand Analysis 95 Substitution and Demand 131
Conclusion 95 How Substitution Factors Affect Specific
Decisions 132
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises,
Questions from Alternative Perspectives, Elasticity, Total Revenue, and Demand 133
Issues to Ponder, Answers to Total Revenue along a Demand Curve 134
Margin Questions 96–100 Income and Cross-Price Elasticity 135
Income Elasticity of Demand 135
Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand 136
5 Using Supply and Demand 101 Some Examples 137
Real-World Supply and Demand The Power of Supply/Demand Analysis 138
Applications 101 When Should a Supplier Not Raise Price? 138
Government Intervention: Price Ceilings Elasticity and Shifting Supply and Demand 139
and Price Floors 104 Conclusion 139
Price Ceilings 105 Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Price Floors 106 from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Government Intervention: Excise Taxes Margin Questions 140–143
and Tariffs 108
Government Intervention: Quantity 7 Taxation and Government
Restrictions 109 Intervention 144
Third-Party-Payer Markets 111
Producer and Consumer Surplus 144
Conclusion 112
Burden of Taxation 146
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Who Bears the Burden of a Tax? 148
Questions from Alternative Perspectives, Tax Incidence and Current Policy Debates 151
Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Government Intervention as Implicit Taxation 152
Margin Questions 112–116
Price Ceilings and Floors 152
Appendix: Algebraic Representation of Supply, Demand, The Difference between Taxes and Price
and Equilibrium 117 Controls 153
 Contents
Rent Seeking, Politics, and Elasticities 154
Inelastic Demand and Incentives to Restrict Supply 154
Inelastic Supplies and Incentives to Restrict Prices 157
The Long-Run/Short-Run Problem of Price
Controls 158
Conclusion 160
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 160–164
8 Market Failure versus ­Government
Failure 165
Externalities 166
Effects of Positive and Negative Externalities 167
Alternative Methods of Dealing with
Externalities 168
Direct Regulation 169
Incentive Policies 170
Voluntary Reductions 171
The Optimal Policy 172
Public Goods 172
The Market Value of a Public Good 173
Excludability and the Costs of Pricing 175
Informational and Moral Hazard Problems 176
Signaling and Screening 177
Policies to Deal with Informational Problems 177
Government Failure and Market Failures 180
Conclusion 182
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 182–186
8W Politics and Economics: The Case of
Agricultural Markets 187 and 8W-1
The Good/Bad Paradox in Agriculture 8W-3
The Long-Run Decline of Farming 8W-3
The Short-Run Cyclical Problem Facing Farmers 8W-4
The Difficulty of Coordinating Farm Production 8W-4
Ways around the Good/Bad Paradox 8W-4
The General Rule of Political Economy 8W-5
Four Price Support Options 8W-5
Supporting the Price by Regulatory Measures 8W-6
Providing Economic Incentives to Reduce Supply 8W-8
Subsidizing the Sale of the Good 8W-9
Buying Up and Storing, Giving Away, or Destroying
the Good 8W-9
Which Group Prefers Which Option? 8W-10
xix
Economics, Politics, and Real-World Policies 8W-10
Interest Groups 8W-11
International Issues 8W-12
Conclusion 8W-12
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 8W-13–8W-16
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY
ISSUES
9 Comparative Advantage, Exchange
Rates, and Globalization 188
The Principle of Comparative Advantage 188
The Gains from Trade 189
Dividing Up the Gains from Trade 190
Why Economists and Laypeople Differ in Their Views
of Trade 192
Gains Are Often Stealth 192
Opportunity Cost Is Relative 192
Trade Is Broader Than Manufactured Goods 192
Trade Has Distributional Effects 193
Sources of U.S. Comparative Advantage 194
Some Concerns about the Future 196
Inherent and Transferable Sources of
Comparative Advantages 196
The Law of One Price 196
How the United States Gained and Is Now Losing
Sources of Comparative Advantage 197
Methods of Equalizing Trade Balances 197
Determination of Exchange Rates and Trade 198
Exchange Rates and Trade 200
Some Complications in Exchange Rates 201
Conclusion 202
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 202–206
10 International Trade Policy 207
The Nature and Patterns of Trade 207
Increasing but Fluctuating World Trade 207
Differences in the Importance of Trade 208
What and with Whom the United States Trades 208
Debtor and Creditor Nations 210
xx Contents

Varieties of Trade Restrictions 212

Tariffs and Quotas 212 12 Production and Cost
Voluntary Restraint Agreements 214 Analysis II 249
Sanctions 214 Technical Efficiency and Economic
Regulatory Trade Restrictions 215 Efficiency 250
Nationalistic Appeals and “Buy Domestic”
The Shape of the Long-Run Cost Curve 250
Requirements 215
Economies of Scale 251
Reasons for and against Trade Restrictions 215 Diseconomies of Scale 253
Unequal Internal Distribution of the Gains from Trade 216 Constant Returns to Scale 254
Haggling by Companies over the Gains from Trade 218 The Importance of Economies and
Haggling by Countries over Trade Restrictions 218 Diseconomies of Scale 255
Specialized Production 219 Envelope Relationship 255
Macroeconomic Costs of Trade 220
Entrepreneurial Activity and the
National Security 221
Supply Decision 257
International Politics 221
Increased Revenue Brought In by Tariffs 221 Using Cost Analysis in the Real World 258
Why Economists Generally Oppose Trade Economies of Scope 258
Restrictions 221 Learning by Doing and Technological Change 259
Many Dimensions 262
Institutions Supporting Free Trade 223
Unmeasured Costs 262
Conclusion 225 The Standard Model as a Framework 263
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Conclusion 263
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Margin Questions 225–228
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 264–267
Appendix: Isocost/Isoquant Analysis 267
PRODUCTION AND COST ANALYSIS

11 Production and Cost MARKET STRUCTURE

Analysis I 229
The Role of the Firm 230 13 Perfect Competition 272
Firms Maximize Profit 231
The Difference between Economists’ Profits and Perfect Competition as a Reference Point 272
Accountants’ Profits 232 Conditions for Perfect Competition 273
Demand Curves for the Firm and the Industry 273
The Production Process 233
The Long Run and the Short Run 233 The Profit-Maximizing Level of Output 274
Production Tables and Production Functions 233 Marginal Revenue 274
The Law of Diminishing Marginal Productivity 235 Marginal Cost 275
Profit Maximization: MC = MR 275
The Costs of Production 236
The Marginal Cost Curve Is the Supply Curve 276
Fixed Costs, Variable Costs, and Total Costs 236
Firms Maximize Total Profit 276
Average Costs 237
Marginal Cost 237 Total Profit at the Profit-Maximizing
Level of Output 278
Graphing Cost Curves 238
Determining Profit from a Table of Costs and
Total Cost Curves 239
Revenue 278
Average and Marginal Cost Curves 239
Determining Profit from a Graph 279
Intermission 243 The Shutdown Point 281
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Short-Run Market Supply and Demand 282
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to Long-Run Competitive Equilibrium:
Margin Questions, 244–248 Zero Profit 283
 Contents xxi

Adjustment from the Short Run to the Long Run 284 Classifying Industries and Markets in Practice 327
An Increase in Demand 284 The North American Industry Classification
Long-Run Market Supply 285 System 328
An Example in the Real World 286 Empirical Measures of Industry Structure 329
Conclusion 287 Conglomerate Firms and Bigness 330
Oligopoly Models and Empirical Estimates
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
of Market Structure 330
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Margin Questions 288–292 Antitrust Policy 331
Judgment by Performance or Structure? 331
The Role of Antitrust in Today’s Economy 333
14 Monopoly and Monopolistic
Conclusion 335
Competition 293
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
The Key Difference between a Monopolist and a Perfect from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Competitor 293 Margin Questions 336–339
A Model of Monopoly 294
Determining the Monopolist’s Price and Output
Numerically 294 16 Real-World Competition and
Determining Price and Output Graphically 295 Technology 340
Comparing Monopoly and Perfect Competition 297 Competition Is for Losers 341
An Example of Finding Output and Price 297
The Goals of Real-World Firms
Profits and Monopoly 298
and the Monitoring Problem 341
Welfare Loss from Monopoly 300 What Do Real-World Firms Maximize? 344
The Normal Monopolist 300 The Lazy Monopolist and X-Inefficiency 344
The Price-Discriminating Monopolist 301
The Fight between Competitive and Monopolistic
Barriers to Entry and Monopoly 302 Forces 346
Natural Ability 304 How Monopolistic Forces Affect Perfect Competition 347
Natural Monopolies 304 Economic Insights and Real-World Competition 347
Network and Platform Monopolies 306 How Competitive Forces Affect Monopoly 348
Monopolistic Competition 308 Competition: Natural and Platform Monopolies 349
Characteristics of Monopolistic Competition 308 How Firms Protect Their Monopolies 350
Advertising and Monopolistic Competition 309 Cost/Benefit Analysis of Creating and
Output, Price, and Profit of a Monopolistic Maintaining Monopolies 351
Competitor 311 Establishing Market Position 351
Comparing Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition,
Platform Monopolies and Technology 352
and Perfect Competition 312
Standards and Winner-Take-All Industries 352
Conclusion 313 Technological Lock-In 353
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Conclusion 354
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Margin Questions 314–319
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Appendix: The Algebra of Competitive and Monopolistic Margin Questions 354–358
Firms 319

15 Oligopoly and Antitrust Policy 321 FACTOR MARKETS

The Distinguishing Characteristics of Oligopoly 321
Models of Oligopoly Behavior 322
The Cartel Model 322
17 Work and the Labor Market 359
The Contestable Market Model 325 The Supply of Labor 360
Comparison of the Contestable Market Model Real Wages and the Opportunity Cost of Work 361
and the Cartel Model 325 The Supply of Labor and Nonmarket Activities 362
xxii Contents

Income Taxation, Work, and Leisure 362

The Elasticity of the Supply of Labor 363 18 Who Gets What?
Immigration and the International Supply The ­Distribution of Income 390
of Labor 364 Measuring the Distribution of Income,
The Derived Demand for Labor 364 Wealth, and Poverty 391
Factors Influencing the Elasticity of Demand for The Lorenz Curve 391
Labor 365 U.S. Income Distribution over Time 393
Labor as a Factor of Production 365 Defining Poverty 394
Shift Factors of Demand 365 International Dimensions of Income Inequality 397
Determination of Wages 369 The Distribution of Wealth 398
Imperfect Competition and the Labor Market 370 Socioeconomic Dimensions of Income
Political and Social Forces and the Labor Market 371 and Wealth Inequality 400
Fairness and the Labor Market 372 Income Distribution According to
Discrimination and the Labor Market 374 Socioeconomic Characteristics 400
Three Types of Direct Demand-Side Income Distribution According to Class 400
Discrimination 374 Income Distribution and Fairness 403
Institutional Discrimination 376 Philosophical Debates about Equality
The Evolution of Labor Markets 377 and Fairness 403
Evolving Labor Laws 377 Fairness and Equality 403
The Labor Market and You 377 Fairness as Equality of Opportunity 404
Conclusion 378 The Problems of Redistributing Income 405
Three Important Side Effects of Redistributive
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Programs 405
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Politics, Income Redistribution, and Fairness 405
Margin Questions 379–382
Income Redistribution Policies 407
Appendix: Derived Demand 383 How Successful Have Income Redistribution Programs
Been? 410
Conclusion 411
17W Nonwage and Asset Income: Rents, Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
Profits, and Interest 389 and 17W-1 from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Rent 17W-3 Margin Questions 412–415
The Effect of a Tax on Land 17W-3
Quasi Rents 17W-4
Rent Seeking and Institutional Constraints 17W-5 CHOICE AND DECISION MAKING
Profit 17W-6
Profit, Entrepreneurship, and Disequilibrium
Adjustment 17W-6 19 The Logic of Individual Choice:
Market Niches, Profit, and Rent 17W-7 The Foundation of Supply and
Interest 17W-7 Demand 416
The Present Value Formula 17W-8 Rational Choice Theory 417
Some Rules of Thumb for Determining Present Total Utility and Marginal Utility 417
Value 17W-9 Diminishing Marginal Utility 419
The Importance of Present Value 17W-11 Rational Choice and Marginal Utility 419
The Marginal Productivity Theory Maximizing Utility and Equilibrium 422
of Income Distribution 17W-11 An Example of Maximizing Utility 422
Conclusion 17W-12 Extending the Principle of Rational Choice 423
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Rational Choice and the Laws
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to of Demand and Supply 424
Margin Questions 17W-12–17W-14 The Law of Demand 424
 Contents xxiii

Income and Substitution Effects 425 MODERN ECONOMIC THINKING

The Law of Supply 426
Opportunity Cost 427
Applying Economists’ Theory of Choice 21 Thinking Like a Modern ­
to the Real World 427 Economist 466
The Cost of Decision Making 427 The Nature of Economists’ Models 467
Given Tastes 428 Scientific and Engineering Models 468
Utility Maximization 430 Behavioral and Traditional Building Blocks 468
Conclusion 431 Behavioral Economic Models 468
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions The Advantages and Disadvantages of Modern Traditional
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to and Behavioral Models 471
Margin Questions 432–435 Behavioral and Traditional Informal
Appendix: Indifference Curve Analysis 436 (Heuristic) Models 473
The Armchair Economist: Heuristic Models
Using Traditional Building Blocks 473
The Economic Naturalist: Heuristic Models
20 Game Theory, Strategic ­Decision Using Behavioral Building Blocks 476
Making, and ­Behavioral Economics 441 The Limits of Heuristic Models 477
Empirical and Formal Models 478
Game Theory and the Economic
The Importance of Empirical Work in Modern
Way of Thinking 442
Economics 478
Game Theory and Economic Modeling 442
The Role of Formal Models 481
The Game Theory Framework 443
The Prisoner’s Dilemma 444 What Difference Does All This Make to Policy? 487
Dominant Strategies and Nash Equilibrium 445 Conclusion 488
An Overview of Game Theory as a Tool Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
in Studying Strategic Interaction 447 from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Some Specific Games 447 Margin Questions 488–491
Strategies of Players 448
Informal Game Theory and Modern
Behavioral Economics 451 22 Behavioral Economics and Modern
Informal Game Theory 452 Economic Policy 492
Real-World Applications of Informal Game Behavioral Economic Policy in Perspective 492
Theory 452 Behavioral Economics and Economic Engineering 493
An Application of Game Theory: Auction Economists as Mechanism Design Engineers 494
Markets 454 Behavioral Economics and Mechanism Design 495
Game Theory and the Challenge to Standard Economic Policy Implications of Traditional Economics 497
Assumptions 455 Choice Architecture and Behavioral
Fairness 455 Economic Policy 497
Endowment Effects 456 Nudge Policy and Libertarian Paternalism 499
Framing Effects 456 When Are Nudges Needed? 499
Behavioral Economics and the Traditional Two Types of Nudges 501
Model 456
The Problems of Implementing Nudges 502
The Importance of the Traditional Model:
Distinguishing a Nudge from a Push 503
Money Is Not Left on the Table 457
Behavioral and Traditional Economic Policy
Conclusion 457 Frames 503
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Concerns about Behavioral Economic Policies 505
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to Few Policies Meet the Libertarian Paternalism
Margin Questions 458–461 Criterion 505
Appendix: Game Theory and Oligopoly 462 Designing Helpful Policies Is Complicated 505
xxiv Contents

It Isn’t Clear Government Knows Better 506 Putting Cost/Benefit Analysis in Perspective 518
Government Policy May Make the Situation Worse 506 The Problem of Other Things Changing 518
A Changing View of Economists: From Pro-market The Cost/Benefit Approach in Context 519
Advocates to Economic Engineers 507 Failure of Market Outcomes 519
Conclusion 507 Distribution 520
Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions Consumer Sovereignty and Rationality Problems 521
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to Inalienable Rights 523
Margin Questions 508–510 Government Failure 524
Conclusion 525
23 Microeconomic Policy, ­Economic Summary, Key Terms, Questions and Exercises, Questions
from Alternative Perspectives, Issues to Ponder, Answers to
Reasoning, and Beyond 511 Margin Questions 527–530
Economists’ Differing Views about Social Policy 512
How Economists’ Value Judgments Creep into Policy
Proposals 512 Glossary G-1
The Need for a Worldview 514
Agreement among Economists about Social Policy 514
Economists’ Cost/Benefit Approach
to Government Regulation 515 Colloquial Glossary CG
The Value of Life 515
Comparing Costs and Benefits of Different
Dimensions 517 Index I-1
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Mr. Arnold Bennett, in a recent essay, advises young bachelors to
proceed with a certain caution in matters of the heart. They should,
he asserts, first decide whether or not they are ready for love; then,
whether it is better to marry earlier or later; thirdly, whether their
ambitions are such that a wife will prove a hindrance to their career.
These romantic preliminaries concluded, they may grab a girl and go
to it. Rollo Podmarsh would have made a tough audience for these
precepts. Since the days of Antony and Cleopatra probably no one
had ever got more swiftly off the mark. One may say that he was in
love before he had come within two yards of the girl. And each day
that passed found him more nearly up to his eyebrows in the tender
emotion.
He thought of Mary when he was changing his wet shoes; he
dreamed of her while putting flannel next his skin; he yearned for her
over the evening arrowroot. Why, the man was such a slave to his
devotion that he actually went to the length of purloining small
articles belonging to her. Two days after Mary’s arrival Rollo
Podmarsh was driving off the first tee with one of her handkerchiefs,
a powder-puff, and a dozen hairpins secreted in his left breast-
pocket. When dressing for dinner he used to take them out and look
at them, and at night he slept with them under his pillow. Heavens,
how he loved that girl!
One evening when they had gone out into the garden together to
look at the new moon—Rollo, by his mother’s advice, wearing a
woollen scarf to protect his throat—he endeavoured to bring the
conversation round to the important subject. Mary’s last remark had
been about earwigs. Considered as a cue, it lacked a subtle
something; but Rollo was not the man to be discouraged by that.
“Talking of earwigs, Miss Kent,” he said, in a low musical voice,
“have you ever been in love?”
Mary was silent for a moment before replying.
“Yes, once. When I was eleven. With a conjurer who came to
perform at my birthday-party. He took a rabbit and two eggs out of
my hair, and life seemed one grand sweet song.”
“Never since then?”
“Never.”
“Suppose—just for the sake of argument—suppose you ever did
love any one—er—what sort of a man would it be?”
“A hero,” said Mary, promptly.
“A hero?” said Rollo, somewhat taken aback. “What sort of hero?”
“Any sort. I could only love a really brave man—a man who had
done some wonderful heroic action.”
“Shall we go in?” said Rollo, hoarsely. “The air is a little chilly.”
We have now, therefore, arrived at a period in Rollo Podmarsh’s
career which might have inspired those lines of Henley’s about “the
night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole.” What with
one thing and another, he was in an almost Job-like condition of
despondency. I say “one thing and another,” for it was not only
hopeless love that weighed him down. In addition to being
hopelessly in love, he was greatly depressed about his golf.

On Rollo in his capacity of golfer I have so far not dwelt. You have
probably allowed yourself, in spite of the significant episode of the
pipe, to dismiss him as one of those placid, contented—shall I say
dilettante?—golfers who are so frequent in these degenerate days.
Such was not the case. Outwardly placid, Rollo was consumed
inwardly by an ever-burning fever of ambition. His aims were not
extravagant. He did not want to become amateur champion, nor
even to win a monthly medal; but he did, with his whole soul, desire
one of these days to go round the course in under a hundred. This
feat accomplished, it was his intention to set the seal on his golfing
career by playing a real money-match; and already he had selected
his opponent, a certain Colonel Bodger, a tottery performer of
advanced years who for the last decade had been a martyr to
lumbago.
But it began to look as if even the modest goal he had marked out
for himself were beyond his powers. Day after day he would step on
to the first tee, glowing with zeal and hope, only to crawl home in the
quiet evenfall with another hundred and twenty on his card. Little
wonder, then, that he began to lose his appetite and would moan
feebly at the sight of a poached egg.
With Mrs. Podmarsh sedulously watching over her son’s health,
you might have supposed that this inability on his part to teach the
foodstuffs to take a joke would have caused consternation in the
home. But it so happened that Rollo’s mother had recently been
reading a medical treatise in which an eminent physician stated that
we all eat too much nowadays, and that the secret of a happy life is
to lay off the carbohydrates to some extent. She was, therefore,
delighted to observe the young man’s moderation in the matter of
food, and frequently held him up as an example to be noted and
followed by little Lettice Willoughby, her grand-daughter, who was a
good and consistent trencherwoman, particularly rough on the
puddings. Little Lettice, I should mention, was the daughter of Rollo’s
sister Enid, who lived in the neighbourhood. Mrs. Willoughby had
been compelled to go away on a visit a few days before and had left
her child with Mrs. Podmarsh during her absence.
You can fool some of the people all the time, but Lettice
Willoughby was not of the type that is easily deceived. A nice, old-
fashioned child would no doubt have accepted without questioning
her grand-mother’s dictum that roly-poly pudding could not fail to
hand a devastating wallop to the blood-pressure, and that to take
two helpings of it was practically equivalent to walking right into the
family vault. A child with less decided opinions of her own would
have been impressed by the spectacle of her uncle refusing
sustenance, and would have received without demur the statement
that he did it because he felt that abstinence was good for his health.
Lettice was a modern child and knew better. She had had
experience of this loss of appetite and its significance. The first
symptom which had preceded the demise of poor old Ponto, who
had recently handed in his portfolio after holding office for ten years
as the Willoughby family dog, had been this same disinclination to
absorb nourishment. Besides, she was an observant child, and had
not failed to note the haggard misery in her uncle’s eyes. She
tackled him squarely on the subject one morning after breakfast.
Rollo had retired into the more distant parts of the garden, and was
leaning forward, when she found him, with his head buried in his
hands.
“Hallo, uncle,” said Lettice.
Rollo looked up wanly.
“Ah, child!” he said. He was fond of his niece.
“Aren’t you feeling well, uncle?”
“Far, far from well.”
“It’s old age, I expect,” said Lettice.
“I feel old,” admitted Rollo. “Old and battered. Ah, Lettice, laugh
and be gay while you can.”
“All right, uncle.”
“Make the most of your happy, careless, smiling, halcyon
childhood.”
“Right-o, uncle.”
“When you get to my age, dear, you will realise that it is a sad,
hopeless world. A world where, if you keep your head down, you
forget to let the club-head lead: where even if you do happen by a
miracle to keep ’em straight with your brassie, you blow up on the
green and foozle a six-inch putt.”
Lettice could not quite understand what Uncle Rollo was talking
about, but she gathered broadly that she had been correct in
supposing him to be in a bad state, and her warm, childish heart was
filled with pity for him. She walked thoughtfully away, and Rollo
resumed his reverie.
 Into each life, as the poet says, some rain must fall. So much had
recently been falling into Rollo’s that, when Fortune at last sent along
a belated sunbeam, it exercised a cheering effect out of all
proportion to its size. By this I mean that when, some four days after
his conversation with Lettice, Mary Kent asked him to play golf with
her, he read into the invitation a significance which only a lover could
have seen in it. I will not go so far as to say that Rollo Podmarsh
looked on Mary Kent’s suggestion that they should have a round
together as actually tantamount to a revelation of undying love; but
he certainly regarded it as a most encouraging sign. It seemed to
him that things were beginning to move, that Rollo Preferred were on
a rising market. Gone was the gloom of the past days. He forgot
those sad, solitary wanderings of his in the bushes at the bottom of
the garden; he forgot that his mother had bought him a new set of
winter woollies which felt like horsehair; he forgot that for the last few
evenings his arrowroot had tasted rummy. His whole mind was
occupied with the astounding fact that she had voluntarily offered to
play golf with him, and he walked out on to the first tee filled with a
yeasty exhilaration which nearly caused him to burst into song.
“How shall we play?” asked Mary. “I am a twelve. What is your
handicap?”
Rollo was under the disadvantage of not actually possessing a
handicap. He had a sort of private system of book-keeping of his
own by which he took strokes over if they did not seem to him to be
up to sample, and allowed himself five-foot putts at discretion. So he
had never actually handed in the three cards necessary for
handicapping purposes.
“I don’t exactly know,” he said. “It’s my ambition to get round in
under a hundred, but I’ve never managed it yet.”
“Never?”
“Never! It’s strange, but something always seems to go wrong.”
“Perhaps you’ll manage it to-day,” said Mary, encouragingly, so
encouragingly that it was all that Rollo could do to refrain from
flinging himself at her feet and barking like a dog. “Well, I’ll start you
two holes up, and we’ll see how we get on. Shall I take the honour?”
She drove off one of those fair-to-medium balls which go with a
twelve handicap. Not a great length, but nice and straight.
“Splendid!” cried Rollo, devoutly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Mary. “I wouldn’t call it anything special.”
Titanic emotions were surging in Rollo’s bosom as he addressed
his ball. He had never felt like this before, especially on the first tee
—where as a rule he found himself overcome with a nervous
humility.
“Oh, Mary! Mary!” he breathed to himself as he swung.
You who squander your golden youth fooling about on a bowling-
green will not understand the magic of those three words. But if you
were a golfer, you would realise that in selecting just that invocation
to breathe to himself Rollo Podmarsh had hit, by sheer accident, on
the ideal method of achieving a fine drive. Let me explain. The first
two words, tensely breathed, are just sufficient to take a man with
the proper slowness to the top of his swing; the first syllable of the
second “Mary” exactly coincides with the striking of the ball; and that
final “ry!” takes care of the follow-through. The consequence was
that Rollo’s ball, instead of hopping down the hill like an
embarrassed duck, as was its usual practice, sang off the tee with a
scream like a shell, nodded in passing Mary’s ball, where it lay some
hundred and fifty yards down the course, and, carrying on from
there, came to rest within easy distance of the green. For the first
time in his golfing life Rollo Podmarsh had hit a nifty.
Mary followed the ball’s flight with astonished eyes.
“But this will never do!” she exclaimed. “I can’t possibly start you
two up if you’re going to do this sort of thing.”
Rollo blushed.
“I shouldn’t think it would happen again,” he said. “I’ve never done
a drive like that before.”
 “But it must happen again,” said Mary, firmly. “This is evidently
your day. If you don’t get round in under a hundred to-day, I shall
never forgive you.”
Rollo shut his eyes, and his lips moved feverishly. He was
registering a vow that, come what might, he would not fail her. A
minute later he was holing out in three, one under bogey.
The second hole is the short lake-hole. Bogey is three, and Rollo
generally did it in four; for it was his custom not to count any balls he
might sink in the water, but to start afresh with one which happened
to get over, and then take three putts. But to-day something seemed
to tell him that he would not require the aid of this ingenious system.
As he took his mashie from the bag, he knew that his first shot would
soar successfully on to the green.
“Ah, Mary!” he breathed as he swung.
These subtleties are wasted on a worm, if you will pardon the
expression, like yourself, who, possibly owing to a defective
education, is content to spend life’s springtime rolling wooden balls
across a lawn; but I will explain that in altering and shortening his
soliloquy at this juncture Rollo had done the very thing any good pro.
would have recommended. If he had murmured, “Oh, Mary! Mary!”
as before he would have over-swung. “Ah, Mary!” was exactly right
for a half-swing with the mashie. His ball shot up in a beautiful arc,
and trickled to within six inches of the hole.
Mary was delighted. There was something about this big, diffident
man which had appealed from the first to everything in her that was
motherly.
“Marvellous!” she said. “You’ll get a two. Five for the first two
holes! Why, you simply must get round in under a hundred now.” She
swung, but too lightly; and her ball fell in the water. “I’ll give you this,”
she said, without the slightest chagrin, for this girl had a beautiful
nature. “Let’s get on to the third. Four up! Why, you’re wonderful!”
And not to weary you with too much detail, I will simply remark
that, stimulated by her gentle encouragement, Rollo Podmarsh
actually came off the ninth green with a medal score of forty-six for
the half-round. A ten on the seventh had spoiled his card to some
extent, and a nine on the eighth had not helped, but nevertheless
here he was in forty-six, with the easier half of the course before him.
He tingled all over—partly because he was wearing the new winter
woollies to which I have alluded previously, but principally owing to
triumph, elation, and love. He gazed at Mary as Dante might have
gazed at Beatrice on one of his particularly sentimental mornings.
Mary uttered an exclamation.
“Oh, I’ve just remembered,” she exclaimed. “I promised to write
last night to Jane Simpson and give her that new formula for knitting
jumpers. I think I’ll ’phone her now from the club-house and then it’ll
be off my mind. You go on to the tenth, and I’ll join you there.”
Rollo proceeded over the brow of the hill to the tenth tee, and was
filling in the time with practice-swings when he heard his name
spoken.
“Good gracious, Rollo! I couldn’t believe it was you at first.”
He turned to see his sister, Mrs. Willoughby, the mother of the
child Lettice.
“Hallo!” he said. “When did you get back?”
“Late last night. Why, it’s extraordinary!”
“Hope you had a good time. What’s extraordinary? Listen, Enid.
Do you know what I’ve done? Forty-six for the first nine! Forty-six!
And holing out every putt.”
“Oh, then that accounts for it.”
“Accounts for what?”
“Why, your looking so pleased with life. I got an idea from Letty,
when she wrote to me, that you were at death’s door. Your gloom
seems to have made a deep impression on the child. Her letter was
full of it.”
Rollo was moved.
“Dear little Letty! She is wonderfully sympathetic.”
 “Well, I must be off now,” said Enid Willoughby. “I’m late. Oh,
talking of Letty. Don’t children say the funniest things! She wrote in
her letter that you were very old and wretched and that she was
going to put you out of your misery.”
“Ha ha ha!” laughed Rollo.
“We had to poison poor old Ponto the other day, you know, and
poor little Letty was inconsolable till we explained to her that it was
really the kindest thing to do, because he was so old and ill. But just
imagine her thinking of wanting to end your sufferings!”
“Ha ha!” laughed Rollo. “Ha ha h—”
His voice trailed off into a broken gurgle. Quite suddenly a sinister
thought had come to him.
The arrowroot had tasted rummy!
“Why, what on earth is the matter?” asked Mrs. Willoughby,
regarding his ashen face.
Rollo could find no words. He yammered speechlessly. Yes, for
several nights the arrowroot had tasted very rummy. Rummy! There
was no other adjective. Even as he plied the spoon he had said to
himself: “This arrowroot tastes rummy!” And—he uttered a sharp
yelp as he remembered—it had been little Lettice who had brought it
to him. He recollected being touched at the time by the kindly act.
“What is the matter, Rollo?” demanded Mrs. Willoughby, sharply.
“Don’t stand there looking like a dying duck.”
“I am a dying duck,” responded Rollo, hoarsely. “A dying man, I
mean. Enid, that infernal child has poisoned me!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! And kindly don’t speak of her like that!”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t blame her, I suppose. No doubt her motives
were good. But the fact remains.”
“Rollo, you’re too absurd.”
“But the arrowroot tasted rummy.”
 “I never knew you could be such an idiot,” said his exasperated
sister with sisterly outspokenness. “I thought you would think it
quaint. I thought you would roar with laughter.”
“I did—till I remembered about the rumminess of the arrowroot.”
Mrs. Willoughby uttered an impatient exclamation and walked
away.
Rollo Podmarsh stood on the tenth tee, a volcano of mixed
emotions. Mechanically he pulled out his pipe and lit it. But he found
that he could not smoke. In this supreme crisis of his life tobacco
seemed to have lost its magic. He put the pipe back in his pocket
and gave himself up to his thoughts. Now terror gripped him; anon a
sort of gentle melancholy. It was so hard that he should be
compelled to leave the world just as he had begun to hit ’em right.
And then in the welter of his thoughts there came one of practical
value. To wit, that by hurrying to the doctor’s without delay he might
yet be saved. There might be antidotes.
He turned to go and there was Mary Kent standing beside him with
her bright, encouraging smile.
“I’m sorry I kept you so long,” she said. “It’s your honour. Fire
away, and remember that you’ve got to do this nine in fifty-three at
the outside.”
Rollo’s thoughts flitted wistfully to the snug surgery where Dr.
Brown was probably sitting at this moment surrounded by the finest
antidotes.
“Do you know, I think I ought to—”
“Of course you ought to,” said Mary. “If you did the first nine in
forty-six, you can’t possibly take fifty-three coming in.”
For one long moment Rollo continued to hesitate—a moment
during which the instinct of self-preservation seemed as if it must win
the day. All his life he had been brought up to be nervous about his
health, and panic gripped him. But there is a deeper, nobler instinct
than that of self-preservation—the instinctive desire of a golfer who
is at the top of his form to go on and beat his medal-score record.
And little by little this grand impulse began to dominate Rollo. If, he
felt, he went off now to take antidotes, the doctor might possibly save
his life; but reason told him that never again would he be likely to do
the first nine in forty-six. He would have to start all over afresh.
Rollo Podmarsh hesitated no longer. With a pale, set face he teed
up his ball and drove.

If I were telling this story to a golfer instead of to an excrescence—

I use the word in the kindliest spirit—who spends his time messing
about on a bowling-green, nothing would please me better than to
describe shot by shot Rollo’s progress over the remaining nine
holes. Epics have been written with less material. But these details
would, I am aware, be wasted on you. Let it suffice that by the time
his last approach trickled on to the eighteenth green he had taken
exactly fifty shots.
“Three for it!” said Mary Kent. “Steady now! Take it quite easy and
be sure to lay your second dead.”
It was prudent counsel, but Rollo was now thoroughly above
himself. He had got his feet wet in a puddle on the sixteenth, but he
did not care. His winter woollies seemed to be lined with ants, but he
ignored them. All he knew was that he was on the last green in
ninety-six, and he meant to finish in style. No tame three putts for
him! His ball was five yards away, but he aimed for the back of the
hole and brought his putter down with a whack. Straight and true the
ball sped, hit the tin, jumped high in the air, and fell into the hole with
a rattle.
“Oo!” cried Mary.
Rollo Podmarsh wiped his forehead and leaned dizzily on his
putter. For a moment, so intense is the fervour induced by the game
of games, all he could think of was that he had gone round in ninety-
seven. Then, as one waking from a trance, he began to appreciate
his position. The fever passed, and a clammy dismay took
possession of him. He had achieved his life’s ambition; but what
now? Already he was conscious of a curious discomfort within him.
He felt as he supposed Italians of the Middle Ages must have felt
after dropping in to take pot-luck with the Borgias. It was hard. He
had gone round in ninety-seven, but he could never take the next
step in the career which he had mapped out in his dreams—the
money-match with the lumbago-stricken Colonel Bodger.
Mary Kent was fluttering round him, bubbling congratulations, but
Rollo sighed.
“Thanks,” he said. “Thanks very much. But the trouble is, I’m afraid
I’m going to die almost immediately. I’ve been poisoned!”
“Poisoned!”
“Yes. Nobody is to blame. Everything was done with the best
intentions. But there it is.”
“But I don’t understand.”
Rollo explained. Mary listened pallidly.
“Are you sure?” she gasped.
“Quite sure,” said Rollo, gravely. “The arrowroot tasted rummy.”
“But arrowroot always does.”
Rollo shook his head.
“No,” he said. “It tastes like warm blotting-paper, but not rummy.”
Mary was sniffing.
“Don’t cry,” urged Rollo, tenderly. “Don’t cry.”
“But I must. And I’ve come out without a handkerchief.”
“Permit me,” said Rollo, producing one of her best from his left
breast-pocket.
“I wish I had a powder-puff,” said Mary.
“Allow me,” said Rollo. “And your hair has become a little
disordered. If I may—” And from the same reservoir he drew a
handful of hairpins.
 Mary gazed at these exhibits with astonishment.
“But these are mine,” she said.
“Yes. I sneaked them from time to time.”
“But why?”
“Because I loved you,” said Rollo. And in a few moving sentences
which I will not trouble you with he went on to elaborate this theme.
Mary listened with her heart full of surging emotions, which I
cannot possibly go into if you persist in looking at that damned watch
of yours. The scales had fallen from her eyes. She had thought
slightingly of this man because he had been a little over-careful of
his health, and all the time he had had within him the potentiality of
heroism. Something seemed to snap inside her.
“Rollo!” she cried, and flung herself into his arms.
“Mary!” muttered Rollo, gathering her up.
“I told you it was all nonsense,” said Mrs. Willoughby, coming up at
this tense moment and going on with the conversation where she
had left off. “I’ve just seen Letty, and she said she meant to put you
out of your misery but the chemist wouldn’t sell her any poison, so
she let it go.”
Rollo disentangled himself from Mary.
“What?” he cried.
Mrs. Willoughby repeated her remarks.
“You’re sure?” he said.
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Then why did the arrowroot taste rummy?”
“I made inquiries about that. It seems that mother was worried
about your taking to smoking, and she found an advertisement in
one of the magazines about the Tobacco Habit Cured in Three Days
by a secret method without the victim’s knowledge. It was a gentle,
safe, agreeable method of eliminating the nicotine poison from the
system, strengthening the weakened membranes, and overcoming
the craving; so she put some in your arrowroot every night.”
There was a long silence. To Rollo Podmarsh it seemed as though
the sun had suddenly begun to shine, the birds to sing, and the
grasshoppers to toot. All Nature was one vast substantial smile.
Down in the valley by the second hole he caught sight of Wallace
Chesney’s Plus Fours gleaming as their owner stooped to play his
shot, and it seemed to him that he had never in his life seen anything
so lovely.
“Mary,” he said, in a low, vibrant voice, “will you wait here for me? I
want to go into the club-house for a moment.”
“To change your wet shoes?”
“No!” thundered Rollo. “I’m never going to change my wet shoes
again in my life.” He felt in his pocket, and hurled a box of patent pills
far into the undergrowth. “But I am going to change my winter
woollies. And when I’ve put those dashed barbed-wire
entanglements into the club-house furnace, I’m going to ’phone to
old Colonel Bodger. I hear his lumbago’s worse than ever. I’m going
to fix up a match with him for a shilling a hole. And if I don’t lick the
boots off him you can break the engagement!”
“My hero!” murmured Mary.
Rollo kissed her, and with long, resolute steps strode to the club-
house.
 CHAPTER VII
RODNEY FAILS TO QUALIFY

There was a sound of revelry by night, for the first Saturday in

June had arrived and the Golf Club was holding its monthly dance.
Fairy lanterns festooned the branches of the chestnut trees on the
terrace above the ninth green, and from the big dining-room, cleared
now of its tables and chairs, came a muffled slithering of feet and the
plaintive sound of saxophones moaning softly like a man who has
just missed a short putt. In a basket-chair in the shadows, the Oldest
Member puffed a cigar and listened, well content. His was the peace
of the man who has reached the age when he is no longer expected
to dance.
A door opened, and a young man came out of the club-house. He
stood on the steps with folded arms, gazing to left and right. The
Oldest Member, watching him from the darkness, noted that he wore
an air of gloom. His brow was furrowed and he had the indefinable
look of one who has been smitten in the spiritual solar plexus.
Yes, where all around him was joy, jollity, and song, this young
man brooded.
The sound of a high tenor voice, talking rapidly and entertainingly
on the subject of modern Russian thought, now intruded itself on the
peace of the night. From the farther end of the terrace a girl came
into the light of the lantern, her arm in that of a second young man.
She was small and pretty, he tall and intellectual. The light shone on
his forehead and glittered on his tortoiseshell-rimmed spectacles.
The girl was gazing up at him with reverence and adoration, and at
the sight of these twain the youth on the steps appeared to undergo
some sort of spasm. His face became contorted and he wobbled.
Then, with a gesture of sublime despair, he tripped over the mat and
stumbled back into the club-house. The couple passed on and
disappeared, and the Oldest Member had the night to himself, until
the door opened once more and the club’s courteous and efficient
secretary trotted down the steps. The scent of the cigar drew him to
where the Oldest Member sat, and he dropped into the chair beside
him.
“Seen young Ramage to-night?” asked the secretary.
“He was standing on those steps only a moment ago,” replied the
Oldest Member. “Why do you ask?”
“I thought perhaps you might have had a talk with him and found
out what’s the matter. Can’t think what’s come to him to-night. Nice,
civil boy as a rule, but just now, when I was trying to tell him about
my short approach on the fifth this afternoon, he was positively
abrupt. Gave a sort of hollow gasp and dashed away in the middle of
a sentence.”
The Oldest Member sighed.
“You must overlook his brusqueness,” he said. “The poor lad is
passing through a trying time. A short while back I was the spectator
of a little drama that explains everything. Mabel Patmore is flirting
disgracefully with that young fellow Purvis.”
“Purvis? Oh, you mean the man who won the club Bowls
Championship last week?”
“I can quite believe that he may have disgraced himself in the
manner you describe,” said the Sage, coldly. “I know he plays that
noxious game. And it is for that reason that I hate to see a nice girl
like Mabel Patmore, who only needs a little more steadiness off the
tee to become a very fair golfer, wasting her time on him. I suppose
his attraction lies in the fact that he has a great flow of conversation,
while poor Ramage is, one must admit, more or less of a dumb
Isaac. Girls are too often snared by a glib tongue. Still, it is a pity, a
great pity. The whole affair recalls irresistibly to my mind the story—”
The secretary rose with a whirr like a rocketing pheasant.
“—the story,” continued the Sage, “of Jane Packard, William
Bates, and Rodney Spelvin—which, as you have never heard it, I will
now proceed to relate.”
“Can’t stop now, much as I should like—”
“It is a theory of mine,” proceeded the Oldest Member, attaching
himself to the other’s coat-tails, and pulling him gently back into his
seat, “that nothing but misery can come of the union between a
golfer and an outcast whose soul has not been purified by the
noblest of games. This is well exemplified by the story of Jane
Packard, William Bates, and Rodney Spelvin.”
“All sorts of things to look after—”
“That is why I am hoping so sincerely that there is nothing more
serious than a temporary flirtation in this business of Mabel Patmore
and bowls-playing Purvis. A girl in whose life golf has become a
factor, would be mad to trust her happiness to a blister whose idea of
enjoyment is trundling wooden balls across a lawn. Sooner or later
he is certain to fail her in some crisis. Lucky for her if this failure
occurs before the marriage knot has been inextricably tied and so
opens her eyes to his inadequacy—as was the case in the matter of
Jane Packard, William Bates, and Rodney Spelvin. I will now,” said
the Oldest Member, “tell you all about Jane Packard, William Bates,
and Rodney Spelvin.”
The secretary uttered a choking groan.
“I shall miss the next dance,” he pleaded.
“A bit of luck for some nice girl,” said the Sage, equably.
He tightened his grip on the other’s arm.

Jane Packard and William Bates (said the Oldest Member) were
not, you must understand, officially engaged. They had grown up
together from childhood, and there existed between them a sort of
understanding—the understanding being that, if ever William could
speed himself up enough to propose, Jane would accept him, and
they would settle down and live stodgily and happily ever after. For
William was not one of your rapid wooers. In his affair of the heart he
moved somewhat slowly and ponderously, like a motor-lorry, an
object which both in physique and temperament he greatly
resembled. He was an extraordinarily large, powerful, ox-like young
man, who required plenty of time to make up his mind about any
given problem. I have seen him in the club dining-room musing with
a thoughtful frown for fifteen minutes on end while endeavouring to
weigh the rival merits of a chump chop and a sirloin steak as a
luncheon dish. A placid, leisurely man, I might almost call him
lymphatic. I will call him lymphatic. He was lymphatic.
The first glimmering of an idea that Jane might possibly be a
suitable wife for him had come to William some three years before
this story opens. Having brooded on the matter tensely for six
months, he then sent her a bunch of roses. In the October of the
following year, nothing having occurred to alter his growing
conviction that she was an attractive girl, he presented her with a
two-pound box of assorted chocolates. And from then on his
progress, though not rapid, was continuous, and there seemed little
reason to doubt that, should nothing come about to weaken Jane’s
regard for him, another five years or so would see the matter settled.
And it did not appear likely that anything would weaken Jane’s
regard. They had much in common, for she was a calm, slow-moving
person, too. They had a mutual devotion to golf, and played together
every day; and the fact that their handicaps were practically level
formed a strong bond. Most divorces, as you know, spring from the
fact that the husband is too markedly superior to his wife at golf; this
leading him, when she starts criticising his relations, to say bitter and
unforgivable things about her mashie-shots. Nothing of this kind
could happen with William and Jane. They would build their life on a
solid foundation of sympathy and understanding. The years would
find them consoling and encouraging each other, happy married
lovers. If, that is to say, William ever got round to proposing.
It was not until the fourth year of this romance that I detected the
first sign of any alteration in the schedule. I had happened to call on
the Packards one afternoon and found them all out except Jane. She
gave me tea and conversed for a while, but she seemed distrait. I
had known her since she wore rompers, so felt entitled to ask if there
was anything wrong.
“Not exactly wrong,” said Jane, and she heaved a sigh.
“Tell me,” I said.
She heaved another sigh.
“Have you ever read The Love that Scorches, by Luella Periton
Phipps?” she asked.
I said I had not.
“I got it out of the library yesterday,” said Jane, dreamily, “and
finished it at three this morning in bed. It is a very, very beautiful
book. It is all about the desert and people riding on camels and a
wonderful Arab chief with stern, yet tender, eyes, and a girl called
Angela, and oases and dates and mirages, and all like that. There is
a chapter where the Arab chief seizes the girl and clasps her in his
arms and she feels his hot breath searing her face and he flings her
on his horse and they ride off and all around was sand and night,
and the mysterious stars. And somehow—oh, I don’t know—”
She gazed yearningly at the chandelier.
“I wish mother would take me to Algiers next winter,” she
murmured, absently. “It would do her rheumatism so much good.”
I went away frankly uneasy. These novelists, I felt, ought to be
more careful. They put ideas into girls’ heads and made them
dissatisfied. I determined to look William up and give him a kindly
word of advice. It was no business of mine, you may say, but they
were so ideally suited to one another that it seemed a tragedy that
anything should come between them. And Jane was in a strange
mood. At any moment, I felt, she might take a good, square look at
William and wonder what she could ever have seen in him. I hurried
to the boy’s cottage.
“William,” I said, “as one who dandled you on his knee when you
were a baby, I wish to ask you a personal question. Answer me this,
and make it snappy. Do you love Jane Packard?”
 A look of surprise came into his face, followed by one of intense
thought. He was silent for a space.
“Who, me?” he said at length.
“Yes, you.”
“Jane Packard?”
“Yes, Jane Packard.”
“Do I love Jane Packard?” said William, assembling the material
and arranging it neatly in his mind.
He pondered for perhaps five minutes.
“Why, of course I do,” he said.
“Splendid!”
“Devotedly, dash it!”
“Capital.”
“You might say madly.”
I tapped him on his barrel-like chest.
“Then my advice to you, William Bates, is to tell her so.”
“Now that’s rather a brainy scheme,” said William, looking at me
admiringly. “I see exactly what you’re driving at. You mean it would
kind of settle things, and all that?”
“Precisely.”
“Well, I’ve got to go away for a couple of days to-morrow—it’s the
Invitation Tournament at Squashy Hollow—but I’ll be back on
Wednesday. Suppose I take her out on the links on Wednesday and
propose?”
“A very good idea.”
“At the sixth hole, say?”
“At the sixth hole would do excellently.”
“Or the seventh?”