第45章

“Well，no，sir，notasignofit。”wasthereply。“Worse，wethink，thanever。”

“Dear，dear！”saidIagain。

“WhenMr。Norrisarrived，sheDIDseemgladtoseehim。”hepursued；“andwewereallpleased，I’msure；fornooneknowstheyounggentlemanbutwhatlikeshim。Ah，sir，itdidn’tlastlong！Thatverynighttheyhadatalk，andfelloutorsomething；herladyshiptookonmostpainful；itwaslikeolddays，butworse。AndthenextmorningMr。Norriswasoffagainuponhistravels。“Denman。”hesaidtoMr。Denman，“Denman，I’llnevercomeback。”hesaid，andshookhimbythe’and。Iwouldn’tbesayingallthistoastranger，sir。”addedmyinformant，overcomewithasuddenfearlesthehadgonetoofar。

Hehadindeedtoldmemuch，andmuchthatwasunsuspectedbyhimself。Onthatstormynightofhisreturn，Carthewhadtoldhisstory；theoldladyhadmoreuponhermindthanmerebereavements；andamongthementalpicturesonwhichshelooked，asshewalkedstaringdownthepath，wasoneofMidwayIslandandtheFlyingScud。

Mr。Denmanheardmyinquirieswithdiscomposure，butinformedmetheshysterwasalreadygone。

“Gone？”criedI。“Thenwhatcanhehavecomefor？OnethingIcantellyou，itwasnottoseethehouse。”

“Idon’tseeitcouldhavebeenanythingelse。”repliedthebutler。

“Youmaydependuponititwas。”saidI。“Andwhateveritwas，hehasgotit。Bytheway，whereisMr。Carthewatpresent？Iwassorrytofindhewasfromhome。”

“Heisengagedintravelling，sir。”repliedthebutler，dryly。

“Ah，bravo！”criedI。“Ilaidatrapforyouthere，Mr。Denman。

NowIneednotaskyou；Iamsureyoudidnottellthispryingstranger。”

“Tobesurenot，sir。”saidthebutler。

Iwentthroughtheformof“shakinghimbythe’and“——likeMr。

Norris——not，however，withgenuineenthusiasm。ForIhadfailedingloriouslytogettheaddressformyself；andIfeltasureconvictionthatBellairshaddonebetter，orhehadstillbeenhereandstillcultivatingMr。Denman。

Ihadescapedthegroundsandthecattle；Icouldnotescapethehouse。Aladywithsilverhair，aslendersilvervoice，andastreamofinsignificantinformationnottobediverted，ledmethroughthepicturegallery，themusic-room，thegreatdining-

room，thelongdrawing-room，theIndianroom，thetheatre，andeverycorner(asIthought)ofthatinterminablemansion。Therewasbutoneplacereserved；thegarden-room，whitherLadyAnnhadnowretired。Ipausedamomentontheoutsideofthedoor，andsmiledtomyself。Thesituationwasindeedstrange，andthesethinboardsdividedthesecretoftheFlyingScud。

Allthewhile，asIwenttoandfro，IwasconsideringthevisitanddepartureofBellairs。Thathehadgottheaddress，Iwasquitecertain：thathehadnotgotitbydirectquestioning，Iwasconvinced；someingenuity，someluckyaccident，hadservedhim。Asimilarchance，anequalingenuity，wasrequired；orI

waslefthelpless，theferretmustrundownhisprey，thegreatoaksfall，theRaphaelsbescattered，thehouselettosomestockbrokersuddenlymaderich，andthenamewhichnowfilledthemouthsoffiveorsixparishesdwindletoamemory。

Strangethatsuchgreatmatters，sooldamansion，afamilysoancientandsodull，shouldcometodependforperpetuityupontheintelligence，thediscretion，andthecunningofaLatin-

Quarterstudent！WhatBellairshaddone，Imustdolikewise。

Chanceoringenuity，ingenuityorchance——soIcontinuedtoringthechangesasIwalkeddowntheavenue，castingbackoccasionalglancesattheredbrickfacadeandthetwinklingwindowsofthehouse。HowwasItocommandchance？wherewasItofindtheingenuity？

Thesereflectionsbroughtmetothedooroftheinn。Andhere，pursuanttomypolicyofkeepingwellwithallmen，I

immediatelysmoothedmybrow，andaccepted(beingtheonlyguestinthehouse)aninvitationtodinewiththefamilyinthebar-parlour。IsatdownaccordinglywithMr。Higgstheex-butler，Mrs。Higgstheex-lady’s-maid，andMissAgnesHiggstheirfrowsy-headedlittlegirl，theleastpromisingand(astheeventshowed)themostusefulofthelot。Thetalkranendlesslyonthegreathouseandthegreatfamily；theroastbeef，theYorkshirepudding，thejam-roll，andthecheddarcheesecameandwent，andstillthestreamflowedon；nearfourgenerationsofCarthewsweretoucheduponwithoutelicitingonepointofinterest；andwehadkilledMr。Henryin“the’unting-field。”withavastelaborationofpainfulcircumstance，andb

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