第8章

Thelightfadedoutofthedrawing—room，inspiteofitbeingSeptemberandonlyhalf—pastsix。FromherlowchairAgnescouldseethetreesbythedrive，blackagainstablackeningsky。Thatdrivewashalfamilelong，andshewaspraisingitsgravelledsurfacewhenRickiecalledinavoiceofalarm，"Isay，whendidourtrainarrive？"

"Four—six。"

"Isaidso。"

"Itarrivedatfour—sixonthetime—table，"saidMr。Wonham。"I

wanttoknowwhenitgottothestation？"

"Itellyouagainitwaspunctual。ItellyouIlookedatmywatch。Icandonomore。"

Agneswasamazed。WasRickiemad？Aminuteagoandtheywereboringeachotheroverdogs。Whathadhappened？

"Now，now！Quarrellingalready？"askedMrs。Failing。

Thefootman，bringingalamp，lituptwoangryfaces。

"Hesays——"

"Hesays——"

"Hesaysweranoverachild。"

"Soyoudid。Youranoverachildinthevillageatfour—sevenbymywatch。Yourtrainwaslate。Youcouldn’thavegottothestationtillfour—ten。"

"Idon’tbelieveit。Wehadpassedthevillagebyfour—seven。

Agnes，hadn’twepassedthevillage？Itmusthavebeenanexpressthatranoverthechild。"

"Nowisitlikely"——heappealedtothepracticalworld——"isitlikelythatthecompanywouldrunastoppingtrainandthenanexpressthreeminutesafterit？"

"Achild——"saidRickie。"Ican’tbelievethatthetrainkilledachild。"Hethoughtoftheirjourney。Theywerealoneinthecarriage。Asthetrainslackenedspeedhehadcaughtherforamomentinhisarms。Therainbeatonthewindows，buttheywereinheaven。

"You’vegottobelieveit，"saidtheother，andproceededto"rubitin。"Hishealthy，irritablefacedrewclosetoRickie’s。"TwochildrenwerekickingandscreamingontheRomancrossing。Yourtrain，beinglate，camedownonthem。Oneofthemwaspulledofftheline，buttheotherwascaught。Howwillyougetoutofthat？"

"Andhowwillyougetoutofit？"criedMrs。Failing，turningthetablesonhim。"Where’sthechildnow？Whathashappenedtoitssoul？Youmustknow，Agnes，thatthisyounggentlemanisaphilosopher。"

"Oh，dropallthat，"saidMr。Wonham，suddenlycollapsing。

"Dropit？Where？Onmynicecarpet？"

"Ihatephilosophy，"remarkedAgnes，tryingtoturnthesubject，forshesawthatitmadeRickieunhappy。

"SodoI。ButIdaren’tsaysobeforeStephen。Hedespisesuswomen。"

"No，Idon’t，"saidthevictim，swayingtoandfroonthewindow—sill，whitherhehadretreated。

"Yes，hedoes。Hewon’teventroubletoanswerus。Stephen！

Podge！Answerme。Whathashappenedtothechild’ssoul？"

Heflungopenthewindowandleantfromthemintothedusk。Theyheardhimmuttersomethingaboutabridge。

"WhatdidItellyou？Hewon’tanswermyquestion。"

Thedelightfulmomentwasapproachingwhentheboywouldlosehistemper:sheknewitbyacertaintremorinhisheels。

"Therewantsabridge，"heexploded。"Abridgeinsteadofallthisrottentalkandthelevel—crossing。Itwouldn’tbreakyoutobuildatwo—archbridge。Thenthechild’ssoul，asyoucallit——

well，nothingwouldhavehappenedtothechildatall。"

Agustofnightairentered，accompaniedbyrain。Theflowersinthevasesrustled，andtheflameofthelampshotupandsmokedtheglass。Slightlyirritated，sheorderedhimtoclosethewindow。

XI

Cadoverwasnotalargehouse。Butitisthelargesthousewithwhichthisstoryhasdealings，andmustalwaysbethoughtofwithrespect。Itwasbuiltabouttheyear1800，andfavouredthearchitectureofancientRome——chieflybymeansoffivelankpilasters，whichstretchedfromthetopofittothebottom。

Betweenthepilasterswastheglassfrontdoor，totherightofthemthedrawingroomwindows，totheleftofthemthewindowsofthedining—room，abovethematriangulararea，whichthebetter—classservantsknewasa"pendiment，"andwhichhadinitsmiddleasmallroundhole，accordingtotheusageofPalladio。

Theclassicalnotewasalsosustainedbyeightgreystepswhichledfromthebuildingdownintothedrive，andbyanattemptataformalgardenontheadjoininglawn。ThelawnendedinaHa—ha（"Ha！ha！whoshallregardit？"），andthencethebarelandslopeddownintothevillage。Themaingarden（walled）wastotheleftasonefacedthehouse，whiletotherightwasthatlaurelavenue，leadinguptoMrs。Failing’sarbour。

Itwasacomfortablebutnotveryattractiveplace，and，toacertaintypeofmind，itssituationwasnotattractiveeither。

>Fromthedistanceitshowedasagreybox，huddledagainstevergreens。Therewasnomysteryaboutit。Yousawitformiles。

ItshillhadnoneofthebeetlingromanceofDevonshire，noneofthesubtlecontoursthatpreludeacottageinKent，butprofferreditsburdencrudely，onahugebarepalm。"There’sCadover，"visitorswouldsay。"Howsmallitstilllooks。Weshallbelateforlunch。"Andtheviewfromthewindows，thoughextensive，wouldnothavebeenacceptedbytheRoyalAcademy。A

valley，containingastream，aroad，arailway;overthevalleyfieldsofbarleyandwurzel，dividedbynoprettyhedges，andpassingintoagreatandformlessdown——thiswastheoutlook，desolateatalltimes，andalmostterrifyingbeneathacloudysky。Thedownwascalled"CadburyRange"（"CocoaSquares"ifyouwereyoungandfunny），becausehighuponit——onecannotsay"onthetop，"therebeingscarcelyanytopsinWiltshire——becausehighuponittherestoodadoublecircleofentrenchments。Abankofgrassenclosedaringofturnips，whichenclosedasecondbankofgrass，whichenclosedmoreturnips，andinthemiddleofthepatterngrewonesmalltree。British？Roman？Saxon？Danish？Thecompetentreaderwilldecide。TheThompsonfamilyknewittobefarolderthantheFranco—Germanwar。ItwasthepropertyofGovernment。ItwasfullofgoldanddeadsoldierswhohadfoughtwiththesoldiersonCastleRingsandbeenbeaten。TheroadtoLondinium，havingfordedthestreamandcrossedthevalleyroadandtherailway，passedupbytheseentrenchments。TheroadtoLondonlayhalfamiletotherightofthem。

Tocompletethissurveyonemustmentionthechurchandthefarm，bothofwhichlayoverthestreaminCadford。Betweenthemtheyruledthevillage，oneclaimingthesoulsofthelabourers，theothertheirbodies。Ifamandesiredotherreligionorotheremploymenthemustleave。Thechurchlayupbytherailway，thefarmwasdownbythewatermeadows。Thevicar，agentlecharitablemanscarcelyrealizedhispower，andnevertriedtoabuseit。Mr。Wilbraham，theagent，wasofanothermould。Heknewhisplace，andkeptotherstotheirs:allsocietyseemedspreadbeforehimlikeamap。Thelinebetweenthecountyandthelocal，thelinebetweenthelabourerandtheartisan——heknewthemall，andstrengthenedthemwithnouncertaintouch。

Everythingwithhimwasgraduated——carefullygraduatedcivilitytowardshissuperior，towardshisinferiorscarefullygraduatedincivility。So——forhewasathoughtfulperson——soalone，declaredhe，couldthingsbekepttogether。

PerhapstheComicMuse，towhomsomuchisnowattributed，hadcausedhisestatetobelefttoMr。Failing。Mr。Failingwastheauthorofsomebrilliantbooksonsocialism，——thatwaswhyhiswifemarriedhim——andfortwenty—fiveyearshereignedupatCadoverandtriedtoputhistheoriesintopractice。Hebelievedthatthingscouldbekepttogetherbyaccentingthesimilarities，notthedifferencesofmen。"Weareallmuchmorealikethanweconfess，"wasoneofhisfavouritespeeches。Asaspeechitsoundedverywell，andhiswifehadapplauded;butwhenitresultedinhardwork，eveningsinthereading—rooms，mixed—parties，andlongunobtrusivetalkswithdullpeople，shegotbored。Inherpiquantwayshedeclaredthatshewasnotgoingtoloveherhusband，andsucceeded。Hetookitquietly，buthisbrilliancydecreased。Hishealthgrewworse，andheknewthatwhenhediedtherewasnoonetocarryonhiswork。Hefelt，besides，thathehaddoneverylittle。Toilashewould，hehadnotapracticalmind，andcouldneverdispensewithMr。

Wilbraham。Forallhistact，hewouldoftenstretchoutthehandofbrotherhoodtoosoon，orwithholditwhenitwouldhavebeenaccepted。Mostpeoplemisunderstoodhim，oronlyunderstoodhimwhenhewasdead。Inafteryearshisreignbecameagoldenage;

buthecountedafewdisciplesinhislife—time，afewyounglabourersandtenantfarmers，whosworetempestuouslythathewasnotreallyafool。This，hetoldhimself，wasasmuchashedeserved。

Cadoverwasinheritedbyhiswidow。Shetriedtosellit;shetriedtoletit;butsheaskedtoomuch，andasitwasneitheraprettyplacenorfertile，itwasleftonherhands。Withmanyagroanshesettleddowntobanishment。Wiltshirepeople，shedeclared，werethestupidestinEngland。Shetoldthemsototheirfaces，whichmadethemnobrighter。Andtheircountywasworthyofthem:nodistinctioninit——nostyle——simplyland。

Butherwrathpassed，orremainedonlyasagracefulfretfulness。

Shemadethehousecomfortable，andabandonedthefarmtoMr。

Wilbraham。Withagooddealofcaresheselectedasmallcircleofacquaintances，andhadthemtostopinthesummermonths。Inthewintershewouldgototownandfrequentthesalonsoftheliterary。Asherlamenessincreasedshemovedaboutless，andatthetimeofhernephew’svisitseldomlefttheplacethathadbeenforceduponherasahome。Justnowshewasbusy。A

prominentpoliticianhadquotedherhusband。Theyounggenerationasked，"WhoisthisMr。Failing？"andthepublisherswrote，"Nowisthetime。"Shewascollectingsomeessaysandpenninganintroductorymemoir。

Rickieadmiredhisaunt，butdidnotcareforher。Sheremindedhimtoomuchofhisfather。Shehadthesameaffliction，thesameheartlessness，thesamehabitoftakinglifewithalaugh——asiflifeisapill！Healsofeltthatshehadneglectedhim。Hewouldnothaveaskedmuch:asfor"prospects，"theyneverenteredhishead，butshewashisonlynearrelative，andalittlekindnessandhospitalityduringthelonelyyearswouldhavemadeincalculabledifference。NowthathewashappierandcouldbringherAgnes，shehadaskedhimtostopatonce。Thesunasitrosenextmorningspoketohimofanewlife。Hetoohadapurposeandavalueintheworldatlast。Leaningoutofthewindow，hegazedattheearthwashedcleanandheardthroughthepureairthedistantnoisesofthefarm。

Butthatdaynothingwastoremaindivinebuttheweather。Hisaunt，forreasonsofherown，decreedthatheshouldgoforaridewiththeWonhamboy。TheyweretolookatOldSarum，proceedthencetoSalisbury，lunchthere，seethesights，callonacertaincanonfortea，andreturntoCadoverintheevening。Thearrangementsuitednoone。Hedidnotwanttoride，buttobewithAgnes;nordidAgneswanttobepartedfromhim，norStephentogowithhim。Buttheclearerthewishesofherguestsbecame，themoredeterminedwasMrs。Failingtodisregardthem。Shesmoothedawayeverydifficulty，sheconvertedeveryobjectionintoareason，andsheorderedthehorsesforhalf—pastnine。

"Itisabore，"hegrumbledashesatintheirlittleprivatesitting—room，breakinghisfinger—nailsuponthecoachman’sgaiters。"Ican’tride。Ishallfalloff。Weshouldhavebeensohappyhere。It’sjustlikeAuntEmily。Can’tyouimaginehersayingafterwards，’Loversareabsurd。Imadeapointofkeepingthemapart，’andtheneverybodylaughing。"

Withaprettyforetasteofthefuture，Agneskneltbeforehimanddidthegaitersup。"WhoisthisMr。Wonham，bythebye？"

"Idon’tknow。SomeconnectionofMr。Failing’s，Ithink。"

"Doeshelivehere？"

"Heusedtobeatschoolorsomething。Heseemstohavegrownintoatiresomeperson。"

"IsupposethatMrs。Failinghasadoptedhim。"

"Isupposeso。Ibelievethatshehasbeenquitekind。Idohopeshe’llbekindtoyouthismorning。Ihateleavingyouwithher。"

"Why，yousayshelikesme。"

"Yes，butthatwouldn’tprevent——youseeshedoesn’tmindwhatshesaysorwhatsherepeatsifitamusesher。Ifshethoughtitreallyfunny，forinstance，tobreakoffourengagement，she’dtry。"

"Dearboy，whatafrightfulremark！Butitwouldbefunnierforustoseehertrying。Whatevercouldshedo？"

Hekissedthehandsthatwerestillbusywiththefastenings。

"Nothing。Ican’tseeonething。Wesimplylieopentoeachother，youandI。Thereisn’tonenewcornerineitherofusthatshecouldreveal。It’sonlythatIalwayshaveinthishousethemostawfulfeelingofinsecurity。"

"Why？"

"Ifanyonesaysordoesafoolishthingit’salwayshere。Allthefamilybreezeshavestartedhere。It’sakindoffocusforaimedandaimlessscandal。Youknow，whenmyfatherandmotherhadtheirspecialquarrel，myauntwasmixedupinit，——Ineverknewhoworhowmuch——butyoumaybesureshedidn’tcalmthingsdown，unlessshefoundthingsmoreentertainingcalm。"

"Rickie！Rickie！"criedtheladyfromthegarden，"Yourriding—master’simpatient。"

"Wereallyoughtn’ttotalkofherlikethishere，"whisperedAgnes。"It’sahorriblehabit。"

"Thehabitofthecountry，Agnes。Ugh，thisgossip！"Suddenlyheflunghisarmsoverher。"Dear——dear——let’sbewareofIdon’tknowwhat——ofnothingatallperhaps。"

"Oh，buckup！"yelledtheirritableStephen。"WhichamItoshorten——leftstirruporright？"

"Left！"shoutedAgnes。

"Howmanyholes？"

Theyhurrieddown。Onthewayshesaid:"I’mgladofthewarning。

NowI’mprepared。Yourauntwillgetnothingoutofme。"

Herbetrothedtriedtomountwiththewrongfootaccordingtohisinvariablecustom。Shealsohadtopickuphiswhip。Atlasttheystarted，theboyshowingoffprettyconsistently，andshewasleftalonewithherhostess。

"Didoisquietasalamb，"saidMrs。Failing，"andStephenisagoodfielder。Whatablessingitistohaveclearedoutthemen。

WhatshallyouandIdothisheavenlymorning？"

"I’mgameforanything。"

"Haveyouquiteunpacked？"

"Yes。"

"Anyletterstowrite？"No。

"Thenlet’sgotomyarbour。No，wewon’t。Itgetsthemorningsun，andit’llbetoohottoday。"Alreadysheregrettedclearingoutthemen。Onsuchamorningshewouldhavelikedtodrive，butherthirdanimalhadgonelame。Shefeared，too，thatMissPembrokewasgoingtoboreher。However，theydidgotothearbour。Inlanguidtonesshepointedoutthevariousobjectsofinterest。

"There’stheCad，whichgoesintothesomething，whichgoesintotheAvon。CadburyRingsopposite，Cadchurchtotheextremeleft:

youcan’tseeit。Youweretherelastnight。Itisfamousforthedrunkenparsonandtherailway—station。ThenCadDauntsey。ThenCadford，thatsideofthestream，connectedwithCadover，this。

ObservethefertilityoftheWiltshiremind。"

"AterriblelotofCads，"saidAgnesbrightly。

Mrs。Failingdividedherguestsintothosewhomadethisjokeandthosewhodidnot。Thelatterclasswasverysmall。

"ThevicarofCadford——notthenicedrunkard——declaresthenameisreally’Chadford，’andheworriedontillIputupawindowtoSt。Chadinourchurch。HisCambridgewifepronouncesit’Hyadford。’Icouldsmackthemboth。HowdoyoulikePodge？Ah！

youjump;Imeantyouto。HowdoyoulikePodgeWonham？"

"Verynice，"saidAgnes，laughing。

"Nice！Heisahero。"

Therewasalongintervalofsilence。Eachladylooked，withoutmuchinterest，attheview。Mrs。Failing’sattitudetowardsNaturewasseverelyaesthetic——anattitudemoresterilethantheseverelypractical。Sheappliedthetestofbeautytoshadowandodourandsound;theyneverfilledherwithreverenceorexcitement;sheneverknewthemasaresistlesstrinitythatmayintoxicatetheworshipperwithjoy。Ifshelikedaploughedfield，itwasonlyasaspotofcolour——notalsoasahintoftheendlessstrengthoftheearth。Andtodayshecouldapproveofonecloud，butobjecttoitsfellow。AsforMissPembroke，shewasnotapprovingorobjectingatall。"Ahero？"shequeried，whentheintervalhadpassed。Hervoicewasindifferent，asifshehadbeenthinkingofotherthings。

"Ahero？Yes。Didn’tyounoticehowheroichewas？"

"Idon’tthinkIdid。"

"Notatdinner？Ah，Agnes，alwayslookoutforheroismatdinner。

Itistheirgreattime。Theyliveuptothestiffnessoftheirshirtfronts。DoyoumeantosaythatyounevernoticedhowhesetdownRickie？"

"Oh，thataboutpoetry！"saidAgnes，laughing。"Rickiewouldnotminditforamoment。Butwhydoyousingleoutthatasheroic？"

"Tosnubpeople！tosetthemdown！toberudetothem！tomakethemfeelsmall！Surelythat’sthelifeworkofahero？"

"Ishouldn’thavesaidthat。AndasamatteroffactMr。Wonhamwaswrongoverthepoetry。ImadeRickielookitupafterwards。"

"Butofcourse。Aheroalwaysiswrong。"

"Tome，"shepersisted，rathergently，"aherohasalwaysbeenastrongwonderfulbeing，whochampions——"

"Ah，waittillyouarethedragon！Ihavebeenadragonmostofmylife，Ithink。Adragonthatwantsnothingbutapeacefulcave。Thenincomesthestrong，wonderful，delightfulbeing，andgainsaprincessbypiercingmyhide。No，seriously，mydearAgnes，thechiefcharacteristicsofaheroareinfinitedisregardforthefeelingsofothers，plusgeneralinabilitytounderstandthem。"

"ButsurelyMr。Wonham——"

"Yes;aren’twebeingunkindtothepoorboy。Oughtwetogoontalking？"

Agneswaited，rememberingthewarningsofRickie，andthinkingthatanythingshesaidmightperhapsberepeated。

"Thoughevenifhewasherehewouldn’tunderstandwhatwearesaying。"

"Wouldn’tunderstand？"

Mrs。Failinggavetheleastflickerofaneyetowardshercompanion。"Didyoutakehimforclever？"

"Idon’tthinkItookhimforanything。"Shesmiled。"Ihavebeenthinkingofotherthings，andanotherboy。"

"ButdothinkforamomentofStephen。Iwilldescribehowhespentyesterday。Heroseateight。Fromeighttoelevenhesang。

Thesongwascalled，’Father’sbootswillsoonfitWillie。’Hestoppedoncetosaytothefootman，’She’llneverfinishherbook。Sheidles:’She’beingI。Atelevenhewentout，andstoodintheraintillfour，buthadthelucktoseeachildrunoveratthelevel—crossing。Byhalf—pastfourhehadknockedthebottomoutofChristianity。"

Agneslookedbewildered。

"Aren’tyouimpressed？Iwas。Itoldhimthathewasonnoaccounttounsettlethevicar。Openthatcupboard，oneofthosesixpennybookstellsPodgethathe’smadeofhardlittleblackthings，anotherthathe’smadeofbrownthings，largerandsquashy。Thereseemsadiscrepancy，butanythingisbetterforathoughtfulyouththantobemadeintheGardenofEden。Letuseliminatethepoetic，atwhatevercosttotheprobable。"Whenforamomentshespokemoregravely。"Hereheisattwenty，withnothingtoholdonby。Idon’tknowwhat’stobedone。Isupposeit’smyfault。ButI’veneverhadanybotherovertheChurchofEngland;haveyou？"

"OfcourseIgowithmyChurch，"saidMissPembroke，whohatedthisstyleofconversation。"Idon’tknow，I’msure。Ithinkyoushouldconsultaman。"

"WouldRickiehelpme？"

"Rickiewoulddoanythinghecan。"AndMrs。Failingnotedthehalfofficialwayinwhichshevouchedforherlover。"ButofcourseRickieisalittle——complicated。IdoubtwhetherMr。

Wonhamwouldunderstandhim。Hewants——doesn’the？——someonewho’salittlemoreassertiveandmoreaccustomedtoboys。Someonemorelikemybrother。"

"Agnes！"sheseizedherbythearm。"DoyousupposethatMr。

PembrokewouldundertakemyPodge？"

Sheshookherhead。"Histimeissofilledup。Hegetsaboarding—housenextterm。Besides——afterallIdon’tknowwhatHerbertwoulddo。"

"Morality。Hewouldteachhimmorality。TheThirty—NineArticlesmaycomeofthemselves，butifyouhavenomoralsyoucometogrief。MoralityisallIdemandfromMr。HerbertPembroke。Heshallbeexcusedtheuseoftheglobes。Youknow，ofcourse，thatStephen’sexpelledfromapublicschool？Hestole。"

Theschoolwasnotapublicone，andtheexpulsion，orratherrequestforremoval，hadtakenplacewhenStephenwasfourteen。A

violentspasmofdishonesty——suchasoftenheraldstheapproachofmanhood——hadovercomehim。Hestoleeverything，especiallywhatwasdifficulttosteal，andhidtheplunderbeneathalooseplankinthepassage。Hewasbetrayedbytheinclusionofaham。

Thiswasthecrisisofhiscareer。Hisbenefactresswasjustthenratherboredwithhim。Hehadstoppedbeingaprettyboy，andsheratherdoubtedwhethershewouldseehimthrough。Butshewassoragedwiththelettersoftheschoolmaster，andsodelightedwiththoseofthecriminal，thatshehadhimbackandgavehimaprize。

"No，"saidAgnes，"Ididn’tknow。IshouldbehappytospeaktoHerbert，but，asIsaid，histimewillbeveryfull。ButIknowhehasfriendswhomakeaspecialityofweaklyor——orunusualboys。"

"Mydear，I’vetriedit。Stephenkickedtheweaklyboysandrobbedappleswiththeunusualones。Hewasexpelledagain。"

AgnesbegantofindMrs。Failingrathertiresome。Whereveryoutrodonher，sheseemedtoslipawayfrombeneathyourfeet。

Agneslikedtoknowwhereshewasandwhereotherpeoplewereaswell。Shesaid:"Mybrotherthinksagreatdealofhomelife。I

daresayhe’dthinkthatMr。Wonhamisbestwhereheis——withyou。

Youhavebeensokindtohim。You"——shepaused——"havebeentohimbothfatherandmother。"

"I’mtoohot，"wasMrs。Failing’sreply。ItseemedthatMissPembrokehadatlasttouchedatopiconwhichshewasreticent。

Sherangtheelectricbell，——itwasonlytotellthefootmantotakethereprintstoMr。Wonham’sroom，——andthenmurmuringsomethingaboutwork，proceededherselftothehouse。

"Mrs。Failing——"saidAgnes，whohadnotexpectedsuchaspeedyendtotheirchat。

"CallmeAuntEmily。Mydear？"

"AuntEmily，whatdidyouthinkofthatstoryRickiesentyou？"

"Itisbad，"saidMrs。Failing。"But。But。But。"Thensheescaped，havingtoldthetruth，andyetleavingapleasurableimpressionbehindher。

XII

TheexcursiontoSalisburywasbutapoorbusiness——infact，Rickienevergotthere。TheywerenotoutofthedrivebeforeMr。

Wonhambegandoingacrobatics。HeshowedRickiehowveryquicklyhecouldturnroundinhissaddleandsitwithhisfacetoAeneas’stail。"Isee，"saidRickiecoldly，andbecamealmostcrosswhentheyarrivedinthisconditionatthegatebehindthehouse，forhehadtoopenit，andwasafraidoffalling。Asusual，heanchoredjustbeyondthefastenings，andthenhadtoturnDido，whoseemedaslongasabattleship。Tohisreliefamancameforward，andmurmuring，"Worstgateintheparish，"

pusheditwideandhelditrespectfully。"Thankyou，"criedRickie;"manythanks。"ButStephen，whowasridingintotheworldbackfirst，saidmajestically，"No，no;itdoesn’tcount。Youneedn’tthinkitdoes。Youmakeitworsebytouchingyourhat。

Fourhoursandsevenminutes！You’llseemeagain。"Themananswerednothing。

"Eh，butI’llhurthim，"hechanted，asheswungintoposition。

"ThatwasFlea。Eh，buthe’sforgottenmyfists;eh，butI’llhurthim。"

"Why？"venturedRickie。Lastnight，overcigarettes，hehadbeenboredtodeathbythestoryofFlea。TheboyhadalittleremindedhimofGerald——theGeraldofhistory，nottheGeraldofromance。Hewasmoregenial，buttherewasthesamebrutality，thesamepeevishinsistenceonthepoundofflesh。

"Hurthimtillhelearns。"

"Learnswhat？"

"Learns，ofcourse，"retortedStephen。Neitherofthemwasverycivil。Theydidnotdislikeeachother，buttheyeachwantedtobesomewhereelse——exactlythesituationthatMrs。Failinghadexpected。

"Hebehavedbadly，"saidRickie，"becauseheispoorerthanweare，andmoreignorant。Lessmoneyhasbeenspentonteachinghimtobehave。"

"Well，I’llteachhimfornothing。"

"Perhapshisfistsarestrongerthanyours！"

"Theyaren’t。Ilooked。"