第56章

”Yes，guilty。”ItwasIrenespeakinginthatserenevoice，withthatunreachedairwhichhadmaddenedhimsooften；and，carriedbeyondhimself，hecried：”Youareadevil””Goout！Leavethishouse，orI’lldoyouaninjury。”Thatfellowtotalkofinjuries！Didheknowhownearhisthroatwastobeingscragged?”Atrustee，”hesaid，”embezzlingtrustproperty！Athief，stealinghiscousin’swife。””Callmewhatyoulike。Youhavechosenyourpart，wehavechosenours。Goout！”

IfhehadbroughtaweaponSoamesmighthaveuseditatthatmoment。”I’llmakeyoupay！”hesaid。”Ishallbeveryhappy。”

Atthatdeadlyturningofthemeaningofhisspeechbythesonofhimwhohadnicknamedhim’themanofproperty，’Soamesstoodglaring。Itwasridiculous！

Theretheywere，keptfromviolencebysomesecretforce。Noblowpossible，nowordstomeetthecase。Buthecouldnot，didnotknowhowtoturnandgoaway。HiseyesfastenedonIrene’sface——

thelasttimehewouldeverseethatfatalface——thelasttime，nodoubt！”You，”hesaidsuddenly，”Ihopeyou’lltreathimasyoutreatedme——that’sall。”

Hesawherwince，andwithasensationnotquitetriumph，notquiterelief，hewrenchedopenthedoor，passedoutthroughthehall，andgotintohiscab。Helolledagainstthecushionwithhiseyesshut。Neverinhislifehadhebeensoneartomurderousviolence，neversothrownawaytherestraintwhichwashissecondnature。Hehadastrippedandnakedfeeling，asifallvirtuehadgoneoutofhim——lifemeaningless，mind-strikingwork。Sunlightstreamedinonhim，buthefeltcold。Thescenehehadpassedthroughhadgonefromhimalready，whatwasbeforehimwouldnotmaterialise，hecouldcatchontonothing；andhefeltfrightened，asifhehadbeenhangingovertheedgeofaprecipice，asifwithanotherturnofthescrewsanitywouldhavefailedhim。’I’mnotfitforit，’

hethought；’Imustn’t——I’mnotfitforit。’Thecabspedon，andinmechanicalprocessiontrees，houses，peoplepassed，buthadnosignificance。’Ifeelveryqueer，’hethought；’I’lltakeaTurkishbath——I’vebeenveryneartosomething。Itwon’tdo。’

Thecabwhirreditswaybackoverthebridge，uptheFulhamRoad，alongthePark。”TotheHammam，”saidSoames。

Curiousthatonsowarmasummerday，heatshouldbesocomforting！

CrossingintothehotroomhemetGeorgeForsytecomingout，redandglistening。”Hallo！”saidGeorge；”whatareyoutrainingfor?You’venotgotmuchsuperfluous。”

Buffoon！Soamespassedhimwithhissidewaysmile。Lyingback，rubbinghisskinuneasilyforthefirstsignsofperspiration，hethought：’Letthemlaugh！Iwon’tfeelanything！Ican’tstandviolence！It’snotgoodforme！’

CHAPTERVII

ASUMMERNIGHT

Soamesleftdeadsilenceinthelittlestudy。”Thankyouforthatgoodlie，”saidJolyonsuddenly。”Comeout——theairinhereisnotwhatitwas！”

Infrontofalonghighsoutherlywallonwhichweretrainedpeach-treesthetwowalkedupanddowninsilence。OldJolyonhadplantedsomecupressus-trees，atintervals，betweenthisgrassyterraceandthedippingmeadowfullofbuttercupsandox-eyeddaisies；fortwelveyearstheyhadflourished，tilltheirdarkspiralshapeshadquitealookofItaly。Birdsflutteredsoftlyinthewetshrubbery；theswallowsswoopedpast，withasteel-bluesheenontheirswiftlittlebodies；thegrassfeltspringybeneaththefeet，itsgreenrefreshed；butterflieschasedeachother。

AfterthatpainfulscenethequietofNaturewaswonderfullypoignant。Underthesun-soakedwallrananarrowstripofgarden-bedfullofmignonetteandpansies，andfromthebeescamealowhu

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