第21章

Leightonopenedthedoor。Theysawalittleroom，bluewithtobacco—smoke。Flankingthefireweredeepsettleshidingallbutthelegsofthemenwholoungedinthem。Betweenthesettlesstoodatable，coveredwithmugsandglasses。Thescenewaspicturesque——fairerthanthecutglasspalacesofthetown。

"Ohyes，he’sthere，"hecalled，andafteramoment’shesitationcameout。

"Wouldhecome？"

"No。Ishouldn’tsayso，"repliedLeighton，withafurtiveglance。HeknewthatRickiewasamilksop。"Firstnight，youknow，sir，amongoldfriends。"

"Yes，Iknow，"saidRickie。"Buthemightlikeaturndownthevillage。Itlooksstuffyinsidethere，andpoorfunprobablytowatchothersdrinking。"

Leightonshutthedoor。

"Whatwasthathecalledafteryou？"

"Oh，nothing。Amanwhenhe’sdrunk——hesaystheworsthe’severheard。Atleast，sotheysay。"

"Amanwhenhe’sdrunk？"

"Yes，Sir。"

"ButStephenisn’tdrinking？"

"No，no。"

"Hecouldn’tbe。Ifhebrokeapromise——Idon’tpretendhe’sasaint。Idon’twanthimone。Butitisn’tinhimtobreakapromise。"

"Yes，sir;Iunderstand。"

"Inthetrainhepromisedmenottodrink——nothingtheatrical:

justapromiseforthesefewdays。"

"No，sir。"

"’No，sir，’"stampedRickie。"’Yes！no！yes！’Can’tyouspeakout？Ishedrunkorisn’the？"

Leighton，justlyexasperated，cried，"Hecan’tstand，andI’vetoldyousoagainandagain。"

"Stephen！"shoutedRickie，dartingupthesteps。Heatandthesmellofbeerawaitedhim，andhespokemorefuriouslythanhehadintended。"Isthereanyoneherewho’ssober？"hecried。Thelandlordlookedoverthebarangrily，andaskedhimwhathemeant。Hepointedtothedeepsettles。"Insidetherehe’sdrunk。

Tellhimhe’sbrokenhisword，andIwillnotgowithhimtotheRings。"

"Verywell。Youwon’tgowithhimtotheRings，"saidthelandlord，steppingforwardandslammingthedoorinhisface。

Intheroomhewasonlyangry，butoutinthecoolairherememberedthatStephenwasalawtohimself。Hehadchosentobreakhisword，andwouldbreakitagain。Nothingelseboundhim。

Toyieldtotemptationisnotfatalformostofus。Butitwastheendofeverythingforahero。

"He’ssuddenlyruined！"hecried，notyetrememberinghimself。

Foralittlehestoodbytheelm—tree，clutchingtheridgesofitsbark。Evensowouldhewrestletomorrow，andStephen，imperturbable，reply，"Mybodyismyown。"Orworsestill，hemightwrestlewithapliantStephenwhopromisedhimgliblyagain。Whileheprayedforamiracletoconverthisbrother，itstruckhimthathemustprayforhimself。Forhe，too，wasruined。

"Why，what’sthematter？"askedLeighton。"Stephen’sonlybeingwithfriends。Mr。Elliot，sir，don’tbreakdown。Nothing’shappenedbad。Noone’sdiedyet，orevenhurtthemselves。"Everkind，hetookholdofRickie’sarm，and，pityingsuchanervousfellow，setoutwithhimforhome。TheshouldersofOrionrosebehindthemoverthetopmostboughsoftheelm。Fromthebridgethewholeconstellationwasvisible，andRickiesaid，"MayGodreceivemeandpardonmefortrustingtheearth。"

"But，Mr。Elliot，whathaveyoudonethat’swrong？"

"Gonebankrupt，Leighton，forthesecondtime。Pretendedagainthatpeoplewerereal。MayGodhavemercyonme！"

Leightondroppedhisarm。Thoughhedidnotunderstand，achillofdisgustpassedoverhim，andhesaid，"IwillgobacktoTheAntelope。IwillhelpthemputStephentobed。"

"Do。Iwillwaitforyouhere。"Thenheleantagainsttheparapetandprayedpassionately，forheknewthattheconventionswouldclaimhimsoon。Godwasbeyondthem，butah，howfarbeyond，andtobereachedafterwhatdegradation！Attheendofthischildishdetourhiswifeawaitedhim，notlesssurelybecauseshewasonlyhiswifeinname。Hewastooweak。Booksandfriendswerenotenough。Littlebylittleshewouldclaimhimandcorrupthimandmakehimwhathehadbeen;andthewomanhelovedwoulddieout，indrunkenness，indebauchery，andherstrengthwouldbedissipatedbyaman，herbeautydefiledinaman。Shewouldnotcontinue。Thatmysticroseandthefaceitilluminedmeantnothing。Thestream——hewasaboveitnow——meantnothing，thoughitburstfromthepureturfandranforevertothesea。Thebather，theshouldersofOrion—theyallmeantnothing，andweregoingnowhere。Thewholeaffairwasaridiculousdream。

Leightonreturned，saying，"Haven’tyouseenStephen？Theysayhefollowedus:hecanstillwalk:Itoldyouhewasn’tsobad。"

"Idon’tthinkhepassedme。Oughtonetolook？"HewanderedalittlealongtheRomanroad。Againnothingmattered。Atthelevel—crossingheleantonthegatetowatchaslowgoodstrainpass。Intheglareoftheenginehesawthathisbrotherhadcomethisway，perhapsthroughsomesoddenmemoryoftheRings，andnowlaydrunkovertherails。Wearilyhedidaman’sduty。Therewastimetoraisehimupandpushhimintosafety。Itisalsoaman’sdutytosavehisownlife，andthereforehetried。Thetrainwentoverhisknees。HediedupinCadover，whispering，"Youhavebeenright，"toMrs。Failing。

ShewroteofhimtoMrs。Lewinafterwardsas"onewhohasfailedinallheundertook;oneofthethousandswhosedustreturnstothedust，accomplishingnothingintheinterval。AgnesandI

buriedhimtothesoundofourcrackedbell，andpretendedthathehadoncebeenalive。Theother，whowasalwayshonest，keptaway。"

XXXV

>Fromthewindowtheylookedoverasobervalley，whosesideswerenottooslopingtobeploughed，andwhosetrendwasfollowedbyagrass—growntrack。ItwaslateonSundayafternoon，andthevalleywasdesertedexceptforonelabourer，whowascoastingslowlydownwardonarosybicycle。Theairwasveryquiet。Ajayscreamedupinthewoodsbehind，butthering—doves，whoroostearly，werealreadysilent。Sincethewindowopenedwestward，theroomwasfloodedwithlight，andStephen，findingithot，wasworkinginhisshirtsleeves。

"Youguaranteethey’llsell？"heasked，withapenbetweenhisteeth。Hewastidyingupapileofmanuscripts。

"Iguaranteethattheworldwillbethegainer，"saidMr。

Pembroke，nowaclergyman，whosatbesidehimatthetablewithanexpressionofrefineddisapprovalonhisf

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