第11章

Thesilencewasbrokenbythesoundoffeetonthegravel。Agnessaidhastily，"Isthatreallytrue——thatheknowsnothing？"

"You，Rickie，andIaretheonlypeoplealivethatknow。Herealizeswhatheis——withaprecisionthatissometimesalarming。

Whoheis，hedoesn’tknowanddoesn’tcare。IsupposehewouldknowwhenI’mdead。Therearepapers。"

"AuntEmily，beforehecomes，mayIsaytoyouI’msorryIwassorude？"

Mrs。Failinghadnotdislikedhercourage。"Mydear，youmay。

We’realloffourhingesthisSunday。Sitdownbymeagain。"

Agnesobeyed，andtheyawaitedthearrivalofStephen。Theywerecleverenoughtounderstandeachother。Thethingmustbehushedup。Thematronmustrepairtheconsequencesofherpetulance。Thegirlmusthidethestaininherfuturehusband’sfamily。Whynot？

Whowasinjured？Whatdoesagrown—upmanwantwithagrownbrother？Rickieupstairs，howgratefulhewouldbetothemforsavinghim。

"Stephen！"

"Yes。"

"I’mtiredofyou。Goandbatheinthesea。"

"Allright。"

Andthewholethingwassettled。Shelikednofuss，andsodidhe。Hesatdownonthesteptotightenhisbootlaces。Thenhewouldbeready。Mrs。Failinglaidtwoorthreesovereignsonthestepabovehim。Agnestriedtomakeconversation，andsaid，withavertedeyes，thattheseawasalongwayoff。

"Thesea’sdownhill。That’sallIknowaboutit。"Hesweptupthemoneywithawordofpleasure:hewaskeptlikeababyinsuchthings。Thenhestartedoff，butslowly，forhemeanttowalktillthemorning。

"Hewillbegonedays，"saidMrs。Failing。"Thecomedyisfinished。Letuscomein。"

Shewenttoherroom。Thestormthatshehadraisedhadshatteredher。Yet，becauseitwasstilledforamoment，sheresumedheroldemancipatedmanner，andspokeofitasacomedy。

AsforMissPembroke，shepretendedtobeemancipatednolonger。

Peoplelike"StephenWonham"weresocialthunderbolts，tobeshunnedatallcosts，oratalmostallcosts。Herjoywasnowunfeigned，andshehurriedupstairstoimpartittoRickie。

"Idon’tthinkwearerewardedifwedoright，butwearepunishedifwelie。It’sthefashiontolaughatpoeticjustice，butIdobelieveinhalfofit。Castbitterbreaduponthewaters，andaftermanydaysitreallywillcomebacktoyou。"

ThesewerethewordsofMr。Failing。TheywerealsotheopinionsofStewartAnsell，anotherunpracticalperson。Rickiewastryingtowritetohimwhensheenteredwiththegoodnews。

"Dear，we’resaved！Hedoesn’tknow，andheneveristoknow。I

can’ttellyouhowgladIam。Allthetimewesawthemstandingtogetherupthere，shewasn’ttellinghimatall。Shewaskeepinghimoutoftheway，incaseyouletitout。Oh，Ilikeher！Shemaybeunwise，butsheisnice，really。Shesaid，’I’vebeenafoolbutIhaven’tbeenafooltwice。’Youmustforgiveher，Rickie。I’veforgivenher，andsheme;foratfirstIwassoangrywithher。Oh，mydarlingboy，Iamsoglad！"

Hewasshiveringallover，andcouldnotreply。Atlasthesaid，"Whyhasn’tshetoldhim？"

"Becauseshehascometohersenses。"

"Butshecan’tbehavetopeoplelikethat。Shemusttellhim。"

"Becausehemustbetoldsucharealthing。"

"Sucharealthing？"thegirlechoed，screwingupherforehead。

"But——butyoudon’tmeanyou’regladaboutit？"

Hisheadbowedovertheletter。"MyGod——no！Butit’sarealthing。Shemusttellhim。Inearlytoldhimmyself——upthere——

whenhemademelookattheground，butyouhappenedtopreventme。"

HowProvidencehadwatchedoverthem！

"Shewon’ttellhim。Iknowthatmuch。"

"Then，Agnes，darling"——hedrewhertothetable"wemusttalktogetheralittle。Ifshewon’t，thenweoughtto。"

"WEtellhim？"criedthegirl，whitewithhorror。"Tellhimnow，wheneverythinghasbeencomfortablyarranged？"

"Yousee，darling"——hetookholdofherhand——"whatonemustdoistothinkthethingoutandsettlewhat’sright，I’mstillalltremblingandstupid。Iseeitmixedupwithotherthings。Iwantyoutohelpme。Itseemstomethathereandthereinlifewemeetwithapersonorincidentthatissymbolical。It’snothinginitself，yetforthemomentitstandsforsomeeternalprinciple。Weacceptit，atwhatevercosts，andwehaveacceptedlife。Butifwearefrightenedandrejectit，themoment，sotospeak，passes;thesymbolisneverofferedagain。Isthisnonsense？Oncebeforeasymbolwasofferedtome——Ishallnottellyouhow;butIdidacceptit，andcherisheditthroughmuchanxietyandrepulsion，andintheendIamrewarded。Therewillbenorewardthistime。Ithink，fromsuchaman——thesonofsuchaman。ButIwanttodowhatisright。"

"Becausedoingrightisitsownreward，"saidAgnesanxiously。

"Idonotthinkthat。Ihaveseenfewexamplesofit。Doingrightissimplydoingright。"

"Ithinkthatallyousayiswonderfullyclever;butsinceyouaskme，itISnonsense，dearRickie，absolutely。"

"Thankyou，"hesaidhumbly，andbegantostrokeherhand。"Butallmydisgust;myindignationwithmyfather，mylovefor——"Hebrokeoff;hecouldnotbeartomentionthenameofhismother。

"Iwastryingtosay，Ioughtn’ttofollowtheseimpulsestoomuch。Thereareothersthings。Truth。Ourdutytoacknowledgeeachmanaccurately，howevervileheis。Andapartfromideals"

（hereshehadwonthebattle），"andleavingidealsaside，I

couldn’tmeethimandkeepsilent。Itisn’tinme。Ishouldblurtitout。"

"Butyouwon’tmeethim！"shecried。"It’sallbeenarranged。

We’vesenthimtothesea。Isn’titsplendid？He’sgone。Myownboywon’tbefantastic，willhe？"Thenshefoughtthefantasyonitsownground。"And，byethebye，whatyoucallthe’symbolicmoment’isover。YouhaditupbytheRings。Youtriedtotellhim，Iinterruptedyou。It’snotyourfault。Youdidallyoucould。"

Shethoughtthisexcellentlogic，andwassurprisedthathelookedsogloomy。"Sohe’sgonetothesea。Forthepresentthatdoessettleit。HasAuntEmilytalkedabouthimyet？"

"No。Askhertomorrowifyouwishtoknow。Askherkindly。Itwouldbesodreadfulifyoudidnotpartfriends，and——"

"What’sthat？"

ItwasStephencallingupfromthedrive。Hehadcomeback。Agnesthrewoutherhandindespair。

"Elliot！"thevoicecalled。

Theywerefacingeachother，silentandmotionless。ThenRickieadvancedtothewindow。Thegirldartedinfrontofhim。Hethoughthehadneverseenhersobeautiful。Shewasstoppinghisadvancequitefrankly，withwidespreadarms。

"Elliot！"

Hemovedforward——intowhat？Hepretendedtohimselfhewouldratherseehisbrotherbeforeheanswered;thatitwaseasiertoacknowledgehimthus。Butatthebackofhissoulheknewthatthewomanhadconquered，andthathewasmovingforwardtoacknowledgeher。"Ifhecallsmeagain——"hethought。

"Elliot！"

"Well，ifhecallsmeonceagain，Iwillanswerhim，vileasheis。"

Hedidnotcallagain。

Stephenhadreallycomebackforsometobacco，butashepassedunderthewindowshethoughtofthepoorfellowwhohadbeen"nipped"（nothingserious，saidMrs。Failing），anddeterminedtoshoutgood—byetohim。Andonceortwice，ashefollowedtheriverintothedarkness，hewonderedwhatitwasliketobesoweak，——nottoride，nottoswim，nottocareforanythingbutbooksandagirl。

Theyembracedpassionately。Thedangerhadbroughtthemveryneartoeachother。Theybothneededahometoconfrontthemenacingtumultuousworld。Andwhatwearyyearsofwork，ofwaiting，laybetweenthemandthathome！Stillholdingherfast，hesaid，"I

waswritingtoAnsellwhenyoucamein。"

"Doyouowehimaletter？"

"No。"Hepaused。"Iwaswritingtotellhimaboutthis。Hewouldhelpus。Healwayspicksouttheimportantpoint。"

"Darling，Idon’tliketosayanything，andIknowthatMr。

Ansellwouldkeepasecret，buthaven’twepickedouttheimportantpointforourselves？"

Hereleasedherandtoretheletterup。

XV

Thesenseofpurityisapuzzlingandattimesafearfulthing。

Itseemssonoble，anditstartsasonewithmorality。Butitisadangerousguide，andcanleadusawaynotonlyfromwhatisgracious，butalsofromwhatisgood。Agnes，inthistangle，hadfolloweditblindly，partlybecauseshewasawoman，anditmeantmoretoherthanitcanevermeantoaman;partlybecause，thoughdangerous，itisalsoobvious，andmakesnodemandupontheintellect。ShecouldnotfeelthatStephenhadfullhumanrights。Hewasillicit，abnormal，worsethanamandiseased。AndRickierememberingwhosesonhewas，graduallyadoptedheropinion。He，too，cametobegladthathisbrotherhadpassedfromhimuntried，thatthesymbolicmomenthadbeenrejected。

Stephenwasthefruitofsin;thereforehewassinful，He，too，becameasexualsnob。

Andnowhemustheartheunsavourydetails。Thateveningtheysatinthewalledgarden。Agues，accordingtoarrangement，lefthimalonewithhisaunt。Heaskedher，andwasnotanswered。

"Youareshocked，"shesaidinahard，mockingvoice，"Itisveryniceofyoutobeshocked，andIdonotwishtogrieveyoufurther。Wewillnotalludetoitagain。Letusallgoonjustasweare。Thecomedyisfinished。"

Hecouldnottoleratethis。Hisnerveswereshattered，andallthatwasgoodinhimrevoltedaswell。TothehorrorofAgnes，whowaswithinearshot，hereplied，"Youusedtopuzzleme，AuntEmily，butIunderstandyouatlast。Youhaveforgottenwhatotherpeoplearelike。Continualselfishnessleadstothat。Iamsureofit。Iseenowhowyoulookattheworld。’Niceofmetobeshocked！’Iwanttogotomorrow，ifImay。"

"Certainly，dear。Themorningtrainsarethebest。"Andsothedisastrousvisitended。

Ashewalkedbacktothehousehemetacertainpoorwoman，whosechildStephenhadrescuedatthelevel—crossing，andwhohaddecided，aftersomedelay，thatshemustthankthekindgentlemaninperson。"Hehasgotsomebrutecourage，"thoughtRickie，"anditwasdecentofhimnottoboastaboutit。"Buthehadlabelledtheboyas"Bad，"anditwasconvenienttoreverttohisgoodqualitiesasseldomaspossible。Hepreferredtobroodoverhiscoarseness，hiscaddishingratitude，hisirreligion。Outoftheseheconstructedarepulsivefigure，forgettinghowslovenlyhisownperceptionshadbeenduringthepastweek，howdogmaticandintoleranthisattitudetoallthatwasnotLove。

DuringthepackinghewasobligedtogouptotheattictofindtheDryadmanuscriptwhichhadneverbeenreturned。Leightoncametoo，andforabouthalfanhourtheyhuntedintheflickeringlightofacandle。Itwasastrange，ghostlyplace，andRickiewasquitestartledwhenapictureswungtowardshim，andhesawtheDemeterofCnidus，shimmeringandgrey。Leightonsuggestedtheroof。Mr。Stephensometimesleftthingsontheroof。Sotheyclimbedoutoftheskylight——thenightwasperfectlystill——andcontinuedthesearchamongthegables。Enormousstarshungoverhead，andtheroofwasboundedbychasms，impenetrableandblack。"Itdoesn’tmatter，"saidRickie，suddenlyconvincedofthefutilityofallthathedid。"Oh，letuslookproperly，"saidLeighton，akindly，pliableman，whohadtriedtoshirkcoming，butwhowasgenuinelysympatheticnowthathehadcome。Theywererewarded:themanuscriptlayinagutter，charredandsmudged。

TherestoftheyearwasspentbyRickiepartlyinbed，——hehadacuriousbreakdown，——partlyintheattempttogethislittlestoriespublished。Hehadwritteneightornine，andhopedtheywouldmakeupabook，andthatthebookmightbecalled"PanPipes。"Hewasveryenergeticoverthis;helikedtowork，forsomeimperceptiblebloomhadpassedfromtheworld，andhenolongerfoundsuchacutepleasureinpeople。Mrs。Failing’soldpublishers，towhomthebookwassubmitted，repliedthat，greatlyastheyfoundthemselvesinterested，theydidnotseetheirwaytomakinganofferatpresent。Theywereverypolite，andsingledoutforspecialpraise"AndantePastorale，"whichRickiehadthoughttoosentimental，butwhichAgneshadpersuadedhimtoinclude。Thestoriesweresenttoanotherpublisher，whoconsideredthemforsixweeks，andthenreturnedthem。Afragmentofredcotton，PlacedbyAgnesbetweentheleaves，hadnotshifteditsposition。

"Can’tyoutrysomethinglonger，Rickie？"shesaid;

"Ibelievewe’reonthewrongtrack。Tryanout——and——outlove—story。"

"Mynotionjustnow，"hereplied，"istoleavethepassionsonthefringe。"Shenodded，andtappedforthewaiter:theyhadmetinaLondonrestaurant。"Ican’tsoar;Icanonlyindicate。

That’swherethemusicianshavethepull，formusichaswings，andwhenshesays’Tristan’andhesays’Isolde，’youareontheheightsatonce。Whatdopeoplemeanwhentheycalllovemusicartificial？"

"Iknowwhattheymean，thoughIcan’texactlyexplain。Orcouldn’tyoumakeyourstoriesmoreobvious？Idon’tseeanyharminthat。UncleWillieflounderedhopelessly。Hedoesn’treadmuch，andhegotmuddled。Ihadtoexplain，andthenhewasdelighted。Ofcourse，towritedowntothepublicwouldbequiteanotherthingandhorrible。Youhavecertainideas，andyoumustexpressthem。Butcouldn’tyouexpressthemmoreclearly？"

"Yousee——"Hegotnofurtherthan"yousee。"

"Thesoulandthebody。Thesoul’swhatmatters，"saidAgnes，andtappedforthewaiteragain。Helookedatheradmiringly，butfeltthatshewasnotaperfectcritic。Perhapsshewastooperfecttobeacritic。Actuallifemightseemtohersorealthatshecouldnotdetecttheunionofshadowandadamantthatmencallpoetry。Hewouldevengofurtherandacknowledgethatshewasnotascleverashimself——andhewasstupidenough！Shedidnotlikediscussinganythingorreadingsolidbooks，andshewasalittleangrywithsuchwomenasdid。Itpleasedhimtomaketheseconcessions，fortheytouchednothinginherthathevalued。Helookedroundtherestaurant，whichwasinSohoanddecidedthatshewasincomparable。

"Athalf—pasttwoIcallontheeditorofthe’Holborn。’He’sgotastraystorytolookat，andhe’swrittenaboutit。"

"Oh，Rickie！Rickie！Whydidn’tyouputonaboiledshirt！"

Helaughed，andteasedher。"’Thesoul’swhatmatters。Weliterarypeopledon’tcareaboutdress。"

"Well，yououghttocare。AndIbelieveyoudo。Can’tyouchange？"

"Toofar。"HehadroomsinSouthKensington。"AndI’veforgotmycard—case。There’sforyou！"

Sheshookherhead。"Naughty，naughtyboy！Whateverwillyoudo？"

"Sendinmyname，oraskforabitofpaperandwriteit。Hullo！

that’sTilliard！"

Tilliardblushed，partlyonaccountofthefauxpashehadmadelastJune，partlyonaccountoftherestaurant。HeexplainedhowhecametobepigginginSoho:itwassofrightfullyconvenientandsofrightfullycheap。

"JustwhyRickiebringsme，"saidMissPembroke。

"AndIsupposeyou’reheretostudylife？"saidTilliard，sittingdown。

"Idon’tknow，"saidRickie，gazingroundatthewaitersandtheguests。

"Doesn’tonewanttoseeagooddealoflifeforwriting？There’slifeofasortinSoho，——Unpeudefaisan，s’ilvowsplait。"

Agnesalsograbbedatthewaiter，andpaid。Shealwaysdidthepaying，Rickiemuddledwithhispurse。

"I’mcramming，"pursuedTilliard，"andsonaturallyIcomeintocontactwithverylittleatpresent。ButlateronIhopetoseethings。"Heblushedalittle，forhewastalkingforRickie’sedification。"Itismostfrightfullyimportantnottogetanarroworacademicoutlook，don’tyouthink？ApersonlikeAnsell，whogoesfromCambridge，home——home，Cambridge——itmusttellonhimintime。"

"ButMr。Ansellisaphilosopher。"

"Averykinkyone，"saidTilliardabruptly。"Notmyideaofaphilosopher。Howgoeshisdissertation？"

"Heneveranswersmyletters，"repliedRickie。"Heneverwould。

I’veheardnothingsinceJune。"

"It’sapityhesendsinthisyear。Therearesomanygoodpeoplein。He’dhaveafarbetterchanceifhewaited。"

"SoIsaid，buthewouldn’twait。He’ssokeenaboutthisparticularsubject。"

"Whatisit？"askedAgnes。

"Aboutthingsbeingreal，wasn’tit，Tilliard？"

"That’snearenough。"

"Well，goodlucktohim！"saidthegirl。"Andgoodlucktoyou，Mr。Tilliard！Lateron，Ihope，we’llmeetagain。"

Theyparted。Tilliardlikedher，thoughhedidnotfeelthatshewasquiteinhiscouchesociale。Hissister，forinstance，wouldneverhavebeenluredintoaSohorestaurant——exceptfortheexperienceofthething。Tilliard’scouchesocialepermittedexperiences。Providedhisheartdidnotgoouttothepoorandtheunorthodox，hemightstareatthemasmuchasheliked。Itwasseeinglife。

AgnesputherloversafelyintoanomnibusatCambridgeCircus。

Sheshoutedafterhimthathistiewasrisingoverhiscollar，buthedidnothearher。Foramomentshefeltdepressed，andpicturedquiteaccuratelytheeffectthathisappearancewouldhaveontheeditor。Theeditorwasatallneatmanofforty，slowofspeech，slowofsoul，andextraordinarilykind。HeandRickiesatoverafire，withanenormoustablebehindthemwhereonstoodmanybookswaitingtobereviewed。

"I’msorry，"hesaid，andpaused。

Rickiesmiledfeebly。

"Yourstorydoesnotconvince。"Hetappedit。"Ihavereaditwithverygreatpleasure。Itconvincesinparts，butitdoesnotconvinceasawhole;andstories，don’tyouthink，oughttoconvinceasawhole？"

"Theyoughtindeed，"saidRickie，andplungedintoself—depreciation。Buttheeditorcheckedhim。

"No——no。Pleasedon’ttalklikethat。Ican’tbeartohearanyonetalkagainstimagination。Therearecountlessopeningsforimagination，——forthemysterious，forthesupernatural，forallthethingsyouaretryingtodo，andwhich，Ihope，youwillsucceedindoing。I’mnotOBJECTINGtoimagination;onthecontrary，I’dadviseyoutocultivateit，toaccentit。Writeareallygoodghoststoryandwe’dtakeitatonce。Or"——hesuggesteditasanalternativetoimagination——"oryoumightgetinsidelife。It’sworthdoing。"

"Life？"echoedRickieanxiously。

Helookedroundthepleasantroom，asiflifemightbeflutteringtherelikeanimprisonedbird。Thenhelookedattheeditor:

perhapshewassittinginsidelifeatthisverymoment。

"Seelife，Mr。Elliot，andthensendusanotherstory。"Heheldouthishand。"IamsorryIhavetosay’No，thankyou’;it’ssomuchnicertosay，’Yes，please。’"Helaidhishandontheyoungman’ssleeve，andadded，"Well，theinterview’snotbeensoalarmingafterall，hasit？"

"Idon’tthinkthateitherofusisaveryalarmingperson，"wasnotRickie’sreply。Itwaswhathethoughtoutafterwardsintheomnibus。Hisreplywas"Ow，"deliveredwithaslightgiggle。

Asherumbledwestward，hisfacewasdrawn，andhiseyesmovedquicklytotherightandleft，asifhewoulddiscoversomethinginthesqualidfashionablestreetssomebirdonthewing，someradiantarchway，thefaceofsomegodbeneathabeaverhat。Heloved，hewasloved，hehadseendeathandotherthings;buttheheartofallthingswashidden。Therewasapasswordandhecouldnotlearnit，norcouldthekindeditorofthe"Holborn"teachhim。Hesighed，andthensighedmorepiteously。Forhadhenotknownthepasswordonce——knownitandforgottenitalready？

ButatthispointhisfortunesbecomeintimatelyconnectedwiththoseofMr。Pembroke。

PART2SAWSTON

XVI

InthreeyearsMr。Pembrokehaddonemuchtosolidifytheday—boysatSawstonSchool。Iftheywerenotsolid，theywereatalleventscurdling，andhisactivitiesmightreasonablyturnelsewhere。Hehadservedtheschoolformanyyears，anditwasreallytimeheshouldbeentrustedwithaboarding—house。Theheadmaster，animpulsivemanwhodartedaboutlikeaminnowandgavehismotheragreatdealoftrouble，agreedwithhim，andalsoagreedwithMrs。JacksonwhenshesaidthatMr。Jacksonhadservedtheschoolformanyyearsandthatitwasreallytimeheshouldbeentrustedwithaboarding—house。Consequently，whenDunwoodHousefellvacanttheheadmasterfoundhimselfinratheradifficultposition。

DunwoodHousewasthelargestandmostlucrativeoftheboarding—houses。Itstoodalmostoppositetheschoolbuildings。

Originallyithadbeenavillaresidence——ared—brickvilla，coveredwithcreepersandcrownedwithterracottadragons。Mr。

Annison，founderofitsglory，hadlivedhere，andhadhadoneortwoboystolivewithhim。Timeschanged。Thefameofthebishopsblazedbrighter，theschoolincreased，theoneortwoboysbecameadozen，andanadditionwasmadetoDunwoodHousethatmorethandoubleditssize。Ahugenewbuilding，repletewitheveryconvenience，wasstuckontoitsrightflank。Dormitories，cubicles，studies，apreparation—room，adining—room，parquetfloors，hot—airpipes——noexpensewasspared，andthetwelveboysroamedoveritlikeprinces。BaizedoorscommunicatedoneveryfloorwithMr。Annison’spart，andhe，ananxiousgentleman，wouldstrollbackwardsandforwards，alittledepressedatthehygienicsplendours，andconsciousofsomevanishedintimacy。

Somehowhehadknownhisboysbetterwhentheyhadallmuddledtogetherasonefamily，andalgebraslaystrewnuponthedrawingroomchairs。Asthehousefilled，hisinterestinitdecreased。

Whenheretired——whichhedidthesamesummerthatRickieleftCambridge——ithadalreadypassedthesummitofexcellenceandwasbeginningtodecline。Itsnumberswerestillsatisfactory，andforalittletimeitwouldsubsistonitspastreputation。Butthatmysteriousassetthetonehadlowered，anditwasthereforeofgreatimportancethatMr。Annison’ssuccessorshouldbeafirst—classman。Mr。Coates，whocamenextinseniority，waspassedover，andrightly。ThechoicelaybetweenMr。PembrokeandMr。Jackson，theoneanorganizer，theotherahumanist。Mr。

JacksonwasmasteroftheSixth，and——withtheexceptionoftheheadmaster，whowastoobusytoimpartknowledge——theonlyfirst—classintellectintheschool。Buthecouldnotorratherwouldnot，keeporder。Hetoldhisformthatifitchosetolistentohimitwouldlearn;ifitdidn’t，itwouldn’t。Onehalflistened。Theotherhalfmadepaperfrogs，andboredholesintheraisedmapofItalywiththeirpenknives。Whenthepenknivesgrittedhepunishedthemwithundueseverity，andthenforgottomakethemshowthepunishmentsup。Yetoutofthischaostwofactsemerged。HalftheboysgotscholarshipsattheUniversity，andsomeofthem——includingseveralofthepaper—frogsort——

remainedfriendswithhimthroughouttheirlives。Moreover，hewasrich，andhadacompetentwife。HisclaimtoDunwoodHousewasstrongerthanonewouldhavesupposed。

ThequalificationsofMr。Pembrokehavealreadybeenindicated。

Theyprevailed——butunderconditions。Ifthingswentwrong，hemustpromisetoresign。

"Inthefirstplace，"saidtheheadmaster，"youaredoingsosplendidlywiththeday—boys。Yourattitudetowardstheparentsismagnificent。I——don’tknowhowtoreplaceyouthere。Whereas，ofcourse，theparentsofaboarder——"

"Ofcourse，"saidMr。Pembroke。

Theparentofaboarder，whoonlyhadtoremovehissonifhewasdiscontentedwiththeschool，wasnaturallyinamoreindependentpositionthantheparentwhohadbroughtallhisgoodsandchattelstoSawston，andwasrentingahousethere。

"Nowtheparentsofboarders——thisismysecondpoint——

practicallydemandthatthehouse—mastershouldhaveawife。"

"Amostunreasonabledemand，"saidMr。Pembroke。

"Tomymindalsoabrightmotherlymatronisquitesufficient。

Butthatiswhattheydemand。Andthatiswhy——doyousee？——weHAVEtoregardyourappointmentasexperimental。PossiblyMissPembrokewillbeabletohelpyou。OrIdon’tknowwhetherifever——"Heleftthesentenceunfinished。TwodayslaterMr。

PembrokeproposedtoMrs。Orr。

Hehadalwaysintendedtomarrywhenhecouldaffordit;andoncehehadbeeninlove，violentlyinlove，buthadlaidthepassionaside，andtoldittowaittillamoreconvenientseason。Thiswas，ofcourse，theproperthingtodo，andprudenceshouldhavebeenrewarded。Butwhen，afterthelapseoffifteenyears，hewent，asitwere，tohisspirituallarderandtookdownLovefromthetopshelftoofferhimtoMrs。Orr，hewasratherdismayed。

Somethinghadhappened。Perhapsthegodhadflown;perhapshehadbeeneatenbytherats。Atallevents，hewasnotthere。

Mr。Pembrokewasconscientiousandromantic，andknewthatmarriagewithoutloveisintolerable。Ontheotherhand，hecouldnotadmitthatlovehadvanishedfromhim。Toadmitthis，wouldarguethathehaddeteriorated。

Whereasheknewforafactthathehadimproved，yearbyyear。