第45章

Doyouknowanydrill，Val?””Notascrap。””Ihopetheywon’tworryyoumuch。Imusttakeyouabouttogetthethingsto-morrow。Good-night；kissme。”

Withthatkiss，softandhot，betweenhiseyes，andthosewords，’I

hopetheywon’tworryyoumuch，’inhisears，hesatdowntoacigarette，beforeadyingfire。Theheatwasoutofhim——theglowofcuttingadash。Itwasalladamnedheart-achingbore。’I’llbeevenwiththatchapJolly，’hethought，trailingupthestairs，pasttheroomwherehismotherwasbitingherpillowtosmotherasenseofdesolationwhichwastryingtomakehersob。

AndsoononlyoneofthedinersatJames’wasawake——Soames，inhisbedroomabovehisfather’s。

SothatfellowJolyonwasinParis——whatwashedoingthere?

HangingroundIrene！ThelastreportfromPolteedhadhintedthattheremightbesomethingsoon。Coulditbethis?Thatfellow，withhisbeardandhiscursedamusedwayofspeaking——sonoftheoldmanwhohadgivenhimthenickname’ManofProperty，’andboughtthefatalhousefromhim。SoameshadeverresentedhavinghadtosellthehouseatRobinHill；neverforgivenhisuncleforhavingboughtit，orhiscousinforlivinginit。

Recklessofthecold，hethrewhiswindowupandgazedoutacrossthePark。BleakanddarktheJanuarynight；littlesoundoftraffic；afrostcoming；baretrees；astarortwo。’I’llseePolteedto-morrow，’hethought。’ByGod！I’mmad，Ithink，towantherstill。Thatfellow！If……?Um！No！’

CHAPTERX

DEATHOFTHEDOGBALTHASAR

Jolyon，whohadcrossedfromCalaisbynight，arrivedatRobin——

HillonSundaymorning。Hehadsentnowordbeforehand，sowalkedupfromthestation，enteringhisdomainbythecoppicegate。

Comingtothelogseatfashionedoutofanoldfallentrunk，hesatdown，firstlayinghisovercoatonit。

’Lumbago！’hethought；’that’swhatloveendsinatmytimeoflife！’AndsuddenlyIreneseemedverynear，justasshehadbeenthatdayoframblingatFontainebleauwhentheyhadsatonalogtoeattheirlunch。Hauntinglynear！Odourdrawnoutoffallenleavesbythepale-filteringsunlightsoakedhisnostrils。’I’mgladitisn’tspring，’hethought。Withthescentofsap，andthesongofbirds，andtheburstingoftheblossoms，itwouldhavebeenunbearable！’IhopeIshallbeoveritbythen，oldfoolthatI

am！’andpickinguphiscoat，hewalkedonintothefield。Hepassedthepondandmountedthehillslowly。

Nearthetopahoarsebarkinggreetedhim。UponthelawnabovetheferneryhecouldseehisolddogBalthasar。Theanimal，whosedimeyestookhismasterforastranger，waswarningtheworldagainsthim。Jolyongavehisspecialwhistle。Evenatthatdistanceofahundredyardsandmorehecouldseethedawningrecognitionintheobesebrown-whitebody。Theolddoggotoffhishaunches，andhistail，close-curledoverhisback，beganafeeble，excitedfluttering；hecamewaddlingforward，gatheredmomentum，anddisappearedovertheedgeofthefernery。Jolyonexpectedtomeethimatthewicketgate，butBalthasarwasnotthere，and，ratheralarmed，heturnedintothefernery。

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