sentinel.
Daffy
thought
of
the
need
of
more
cups
and
plates
and
went
in
to
get
them
,
and
Mrs.
Pope
remarked
that
she
did
hope
Sir
Rupert
was
not
badly
hurt
...
.
"
Extraordinary
all
this
is
,
"
remarked
Mr.
Trafford
.
"
Now
,
here
we
were
after
lunch
,
twenty
miles
away
—
smoking
cigars
and
with
no
more
idea
of
having
tea
with
you
than
—
I
was
going
to
say
—
flying
.
But
that
's
out
of
date
now
.
Then
we
just
thought
we
'd
try
the
thing
...
.
Like
a
dream
.
"
He
addressed
himself
to
Marjorie
:
"
I
never
feel
that
life
is
quite
real
until
about
three
days
after
things
have
happened
.
Never
.
Two
hours
ago
I
had
not
the
slightest
intention
of
ever
flying
again
.
"
"
But
have
n't
you
flown
before
?
"
asked
Mrs.
Pope
.
"
Not
much
.
I
did
a
little
at
Sheppey
,
but
it
's
so
hard
for
a
poor
man
to
get
his
hands
on
a
machine
.
And
here
was
Solomonson
,
with
this
thing
in
his
hangar
,
eating
its
head
off
.
Let
's
take
it
out
,
"
I
said
,
"
and
go
once
round
the
park
.
And
here
we
are
...
.
I
thought
it
was
n't
wise
for
him
to
come
...
.
"
Sir
Rupert
,
without
opening
his
eyes
,
was
understood
to
assent
.
"
Do
you
know
,
"
said
Trafford
,
"
The
sight
of
your
tea
makes
me
feel
frightfully
hungry
.
"
"
I
do
n't
think
the
engine
's
damaged
?
"
he
said
cheerfully
,
"
do
you
?
"
as
Magnet
joined
them
.
"
The
ailerons
are
in
splinters
,
and
the
left
wing
's
not
much
better
.
But
that
's
about
all
except
the
wheels
.
One
falls
so
much
lighter
than
you
might
suppose
—
from
the
smash
...
.
Lucky
it
did
n't
turn
over
.
Then
,
you
know
,
the
engine
comes
on
the
top
of
you
,
and
you
're
done
.
"
The
doctor
arrived
after
tea
,
with
a
bag
and
a
stethoscope
in
a
small
coffin-like
box
,
and
the
Popes
and
Mr.
Magnet
withdrew
while
Sir
Rupert
was
carefully
sounded
,
tested
,
scrutinized
,
questioned
,
watched
and
examined
in
every
way
known
to
medical
science
.
The
outcome
of
the
conference
was
presently
communicated
to
the
Popes
by
Mr.
Trafford
and
the
doctor
.
Sir
Rupert
was
not
very
seriously
injured
,
but
he
was
suffering
from
concussion
and
shock
,
two
of
his
ribs
were
broken
and
his
wrist
sprained
,
unless
perhaps
one
of
the
small
bones
was
displaced
.
He
ought
to
be
bandaged
up
and
put
to
bed
...
.
"
Could
n't
we
—
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
,
but
the
doctor
assured
her
his
own
house
was
quite
the
best
place
.
There
Sir
Rupert
could
stay
for
some
days
.
At
present
the
cross-country
journey
over
the
Downs
or
by
the
South
Eastern
Railway
would
be
needlessly
trying
and
painful
.
He
would
with
the
Popes
'
permission
lie
quietly
where
he
was
for
an
hour
or
so
,
and
then
the
doctor
would
come
with
a
couple
of
men
and
a
carrying
bed
he
had
,
and
take
him
off
to
his
own
house
.
There
he
would
be
,
as
Mr.
Trafford
said
,
"
as
right
as
ninepence
,
"
and
Mr.
Trafford
could
put
up
either
at
the
Red
Lion
with
Mr.
Magnet
or
in
the
little
cottage
next
door
to
the
doctor
.
(
Mr.
Trafford
elected
for
the
latter
as
closer
to
his
friend
.
)
As
for
the
smashed
aeroplane
,
telegrams
would
be
sent
at
once
to
Sir
Rupert
's
engineers
at
Chesilbury
,
and
they
would
have
all
that
cleared
away
by
mid-day
to-morrow
...
.
The
doctor
departed
;
Sir
Rupert
,
after
stimulants
,
closed
his
eyes
,
and
Mr.
Trafford
seated
himself
at
the
tea-things
for
some
more
cake
,
as
though
introduction
by
aeroplane
was
the
most
regular
thing
in
the
world
.
He
had
very
pleasant
and
easy
manners
,
an
entire
absence
of
self-consciousness
,
and
a
quick
talkative
disposition
that
made
him
very
rapidly
at
home
with
everybody
.
He
described
all
the
sensations
of
flight
,
his
early
lessons
and
experiments
,
and
in
the
utmost
detail
the
events
of
the
afternoon
that
had
led
to
this
disastrous
adventure
.
He
made
his
suggestion
of
"
trying
the
thing
"
seem
the
most
natural
impulse
in
the
world
.
The
bulk
of
the
conversation
fell
on
him
;
Mr.
Magnet
,
save
for
the
intervention
of
one
or
two
jests
,
was
quietly
observant
;
the
rest
were
well
disposed
to
listen
.
And
as
Mr.
Trafford
talked
his
eye
rested
ever
and
again
on
Marjorie
with
the
faintest
touch
of
scrutiny
and
perplexity
,
and
she
,
too
,
found
a
curious
little
persuasion
growing
up
in
her
mind
that
somewhere
,
somehow
,
she
and
he
had
met
and
had
talked
rather
earnestly
.
But
how
and
where
eluded
her
altogether
...
.
They
had
sat
for
an
hour
—
the
men
from
the
doctor
's
seemed
never
coming
—
when
Mr.
Pope
returned
unexpectedly
from
his
cricket
match
,
which
had
ended
a
little
prematurely
in
a
rot
on
an
over-dry
wicket
.
He
was
full
of
particulars
of
the
day
's
play
,
and
how
Wiper
had
got
a
most
amazing
catch
and
held
it
,
though
he
fell
;
how
Jenks
had
deliberately
bowled
at
a
man
's
head
,
he
believed
,
and
little
Gibbs
thrown
a
man
out
from
slip
.
He
was
burning
to
tell
all
this
in
the
utmost
detail
to
Magnet
and
his
family
,
so
that
they
might
at
least
share
the
retrospect
of
his
pleasure
.
He
had
thought
out
rather
a
good
pun
on
Wiper
,
and
he
was
naturally
a
little
thwarted
to
find
all
this
good
,
rich
talk
crowded
out
by
a
more
engrossing
topic
.
At
the
sight
of
a
stranger
grouped
in
a
popular
manner
beside
the
tea-things
,
he
displayed
a
slight
acerbity
,
which
was
if
anything
increased
by
the
discovery
of
a
prostrate
person
with
large
brown
eyes
and
an
expression
of
Oriental
patience
and
disdain
,
in
the
shade
of
a
bush
near
by
.
At
first
he
seemed
scarcely
to
grasp
Mrs.
Pope
's
explanations
,
and
regarded
Sir
Rupert
with
an
expression
that
bordered
on
malevolence
.
Then
,
when
his
attention
was
directed
to
the
smashed
machine
upon
the
lawn
,
he
broke
out
into
a
loud
indignant
:
"
Good
God
!
What
next
?
"
He
walked
towards
the
wreckage
,
disregarding
Mr.
Trafford
beside
him
.
"
A
man
ca
n't
go
away
from
his
house
for
an
hour
!
"
he
complained
.
"
I
can
assure
you
we
did
all
we
could
to
prevent
it
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
Ought
never
to
have
had
it
to
prevent
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
Is
your
friend
hurt
?
"
"
A
rib
—
and
shock
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
Well
—
he
deserves
it
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
Rather
than
launch
myself
into
the
air
in
one
of
those
infernal
things
,
I
'd
be
stood
against
a
wall
and
shot
.
"
"
Tastes
differ
,
of
course
,
"
said
Trafford
,
with
unruffled
urbanity
.
"
You
'll
have
all
this
cleared
away
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
Mechanics
—
oh
!
a
complete
break-down
party
—
are
speeding
to
us
in
fast
motors
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
Thanks
to
the
kindness
of
your
domestic
in
taking
a
telegram
for
me
.
"
"
Hope
they
wo
n't
kill
any
one
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
,
and
just
for
a
moment
the
conversation
hung
fire
.
"
And
your
friend
?
"
he
asked
.
"
He
goes
in
the
next
ten
minutes
—
well
,
whenever
the
litter
comes
from
the
doctor
's
.
Poor
old
Solomonson
!
"
"
Solomonson
?
"
"
Sir
Rupert
.
"
"
Oh
!
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
Is
that
the
Pigmentation
Solomonson
?
"
"
I
believe
he
does
do
some
beastly
company
of
that
sort
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
Is
n't
it
amazing
we
did
n't
smash
our
engine
?
"
Sir
Rupert
Solomonson
was
indeed
a
familiar
name
to
Mr.
Pope
.
He
had
organized
the
exploitation
of
a
number
of
pigment
and
bye-product
patents
,
and
the
ordinary
and
deferred
shares
of
his
syndicate
has
risen
to
so
high
a
price
as
to
fill
Mr.
Pope
with
the
utmost
confidence
in
their
future
;
indeed
he
had
bought
considerably
,
withdrawing
capital
to
do
so
from
an
Argentine
railway
whose
stock
had
awakened
his
distaste
and
a
sort
of
moral
aversion
by
slumping
heavily
after
a
bad
wheat
and
linseed
harvest
.
This
discovery
did
much
to
mitigate
his
first
asperity
,
his
next
remark
to
Trafford
was
almost
neutral
,
and
he
was
even
asking
Sir
Rupert
whether
he
could
do
anything
to
make
him
comfortable
,
when
the
doctor
returned
with
a
litter
,
borne
by
four
hastily
compiled
bearers
.
Some
brightness
seemed
to
vanish
when
the
buoyant
Mr.
Trafford
,
still
undauntedly
cheerful
,
limped
off
after
his
more
injured
friend
,
and
disappeared
through
the
gate
.
Marjorie
found
herself
in
a
world
whose
remaining
manhood
declined
to
see
anything
but
extreme
annoyance
in
this
gay
,
exciting
rupture
of
the
afternoon
.
"
Good
God
!
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
What
next
?
What
next
?
"
"
Registration
,
I
hope
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
—
"
and
relegation
to
the
desert
of
Sahara
.
"
"
One
good
thing
about
it
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
—
"
it
all
wastes
petrol
.
And
when
the
petrol
supply
gives
out
—
they
're
done
.
"
"
Certainly
we
might
all
have
been
killed
!
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
,
feeling
she
had
to
bear
her
witness
against
their
visitors
,
and
added
:
"
If
we
had
n't
moved
out
of
the
way
,
that
is
.
"
There
was
a
simultaneous
movement
towards
the
shattered
apparatus
,
about
which
a
small
contingent
of
villagers
,
who
had
availed
themselves
of
the
withdrawal
of
the
sentinel
,
had
now
assembled
.
"
Look
at
it
!
"
said
Mr.
Pope
,
with
bitter
hostility
.
"
Look
at
it
!
"
Everyone
had
anticipated
his
command
.
"
They
'll
never
come
to
anything
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
,
after
a
pause
of
silent
hatred
.
"
But
they
have
to
come
to
something
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
They
've
come
to
smash
!
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
with
the
true
humorist
's
air
.
"
But
consider
the
impudence
of
this
invasion
,
the
wild
—
objectionableness
of
it
!
"
"
They
're
nasty
things
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
.
"
Nasty
things
!
"
A
curious
spirit
of
opposition
stirred
in
Marjorie
.
It
seemed
to
her
that
men
who
play
golf-croquet
and
watch
cricket
matches
have
no
business
to
contemn
men
who
risk
their
lives
in
the
air
.
She
sought
for
some
controversial
opening
.
"
Is
n't
the
engine
rather
wonderful
?
"
she
remarked
.
Mr.
Magnet
regarded
the
engine
with
his
head
a
little
on
one
side
.
"
It
's
the
usual
sort
,
"
he
said
.
"
There
were
n't
engines
like
that
twenty
years
ago
.
"
"
There
were
n't
people
like
you
twenty
years
ago
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
,
smiling
wisely
and
kindly
,
and
turned
his
back
on
the
thing
.
Mr.
Pope
followed
suit
.
He
was
filled
with
the
bitter
thought
that
he
would
never
now
be
able
to
tell
the
history
of
the
remarkable
match
he
had
witnessed
.
It
was
all
spoilt
for
him
—
spoilt
for
ever
.
Everything
was
disturbed
and
put
out
.
"
They
've
left
us
our
tennis
lawn
,
"
he
said
,
with
a
not
unnatural
resentment
passing
to
invitation
.
"
What
do
you
say
,
Magnet
?
Now
you
've
begun
the
game
you
must
keep
it
up
?
"
"
If
Marjorie
,
or
Mrs.
Pope
,
or
Daffy
...
?
"
said
Magnet
.
Mrs.
Pope
declared
the
house
required
her
.
And
so
with
the
gravest
apprehensions
,
and
an
insincere
compliment
to
their
father
's
energy
,
Daffy
and
Marjorie
made
up
a
foursome
for
that
healthy
and
invigorating
game
.
But
that
evening
Mr.
Pope
got
his
serve
well
into
the
bay
of
the
sagging
net
almost
at
once
,
and
with
Marjorie
in
the
background
taking
anything
he
left
her
,
he
won
quite
easily
,
and
everything
became
pleasant
again
.
Magnet
gloated
upon
Marjorie
and
served
her
like
a
missionary
giving
Bibles
to
heathen
children
,
he
seemed
always
looking
at
her
instead
of
the
ball
,
and
except
for
a
slight
disposition
on
the
part
of
Daffy
to
slash
,
nothing
could
have
been
more
delightful
.
And
at
supper
Mr.
Pope
,
rather
crushing
his
wife
's
attempt
to
recapitulate
the
more
characteristic
sayings
and
doings
of
Sir
Rupert
and
his
friend
,
did
after
all
succeed
in
giving
every
one
a
very
good
idea
indeed
of
the
more
remarkable
incidents
of
the
cricket
match
at
Wamping
,
and
made
the
pun
he
had
been
accustomed
to
use
upon
the
name
of
Wiper
in
a
new
and
improved
form
.
A
general
talk
about
cricket
and
the
Immense
Good
of
cricket
followed
.
Mr.
Pope
said
he
would
make
cricket-playing
compulsory
for
every
English
boy
.
Everyone
it
seemed
to
Marjorie
was
forgetting
that
dark
shape
athwart
the
lawn
,
and
all
the
immense
implication
of
its
presence
,
with
a
deliberate
and
irrational
skill
,
and
she
noted
that
the
usual
move
towards
the
garden
at
the
end
of
the
evening
was
not
made
.
In
the
night
time
Marjorie
had
a
dream
that
she
was
flying
about
in
the
world
on
a
monoplane
with
Mr.
Trafford
as
a
passenger
.
Then
Mr.
Trafford
disappeared
,
and
she
was
flying
about
alone
with
a
curious
uneasy
feeling
that
in
a
minute
or
so
she
would
be
unable
any
longer
to
manage
the
machine
.
Then
her
father
and
Mr.
Magnet
appeared
very
far
below
,
walking
about
and
disapproving
of
her
.
Mr.
Magnet
was
shaking
his
head
very
,
very
sagely
,
and
saying
:
"
Rather
a
stiff
job
for
little
Marjorie
,
"
and
her
father
was
saying
she
would
be
steadier
when
she
married
.
And
then
,
she
was
n't
clear
how
,
the
engine
refused
to
work
until
her
bills
were
paid
,
and
she
began
to
fall
,
and
fall
,
and
fall
towards
Mr.
Magnet
.
She
tried
frantically
to
pay
her
bills
.
She
was
falling
down
the
fronts
of
skyscrapers
and
precipices
—
and
Mr.
Magnet
was
waiting
for
her
below
with
a
quiet
kindly
smile
that
grew
wider
and
wider
and
wider
...
.
She
woke
up
palpitating
.
Next
morning
a
curious
restlessness
came
upon
Marjorie
.
Conceivably
it
was
due
to
the
absence
of
Magnet
,
who
had
gone
to
London
to
deliver
his
long
promised
address
on
The
Characteristics
of
English
Humour
to
the
Literati
Club
.
Conceivably
she
missed
his
attentions
.
But
it
crystallized
out
in
the
early
afternoon
into
the
oddest
form
,
a
powerful
craving
to
go
to
the
little
town
of
Pensting
,
five
miles
off
,
on
the
other
side
of
Buryhamstreet
,
to
buy
silk
shoelaces
.
She
decided
to
go
in
the
donkey
cart
.
She
communicated
her
intention
to
her
mother
,
but
she
did
not
communicate
an
equally
definite
intention
to
be
reminded
suddenly
of
Sir
Rupert
Solomonson
as
she
was
passing
the
surgery
,
and
make
an
inquiry
on
the
spur
of
the
moment
—
it
would
n't
surely
be
anything
but
a
kindly
and
justifiable
impulse
to
do
that
.
She
might
see
Mr.
Trafford
perhaps
,
but
there
was
no
particular
harm
in
that
.
It
is
also
to
be
remarked
that
finding
Theodore
a
little
disposed
to
encumber
her
vehicle
with
his
presence
she
expressed
her
delight
at
being
released
from
the
need
of
going
,
and
abandoned
the
whole
expedition
to
him
—
knowing
as
she
did
perfectly
well
that
if
Theodore
hated
anything
more
than
navigating
the
donkey
cart
alone
,
it
was
going
unprotected
into
a
shop
to
buy
articles
of
feminine
apparel
—
until
he
chucked
the
whole
project
and
went
fishing
—
if
one
can
call
it
fishing
when
there
are
no
fish
and
the
fisherman
knows
it
—
in
the
decadent
ornamental
water
.
And
it
is
also
to
be
remarked
that
as
Marjorie
approached
the
surgery
she
was
seized
with
an
absurd
and
powerful
shyness
,
so
that
not
only
did
she
not
call
at
the
surgery
,
she
did
not
even
look
at
the
surgery
,
she
gazed
almost
rigidly
straight
ahead
,
telling
herself
,
however
,
that
she
merely
deferred
that
kindly
impulse
until
she
had
bought
her
laces
.
And
so
it
happened
that
about
half
a
mile
beyond
the
end
of
Buryhamstreet
she
came
round
a
corner
upon
Trafford
,
and
by
a
singular
fatality
he
also
was
driving
a
donkey
,
or
,
rather
,
was
tracing
a
fan-like
pattern
on
the
road
with
a
donkey
's
hoofs
.
It
was
a
very
similar
donkey
to
Marjorie
's
,
but
the
vehicle
was
a
governess
cart
,
and
much
smarter
than
Marjorie
's
turn-out
.
His
ingenuous
face
displayed
great
animation
at
the
sight
of
her
,
and
as
she
drew
alongside
he
hailed
her
with
an
almost
unnatural
ease
of
manner
.
"
Hullo
!
"
he
cried
.
"
I
'm
taking
the
air
.
You
seem
to
be
able
to
drive
donkeys
forward
.
How
do
you
do
it
?
I
ca
n't
.
Never
done
anything
so
dangerous
in
my
life
before
.
I
've
just
been
missed
by
two
motor
cars
,
and
hung
for
a
terrible
minute
with
my
left
wheel
on
the
very
verge
of
an
unfathomable
ditch
.
I
could
hear
the
little
ducklings
far
,
far
below
,
and
bits
of
mould
dropping
.
I
tried
to
count
before
the
splash
.
Are
n't
you
—
white
?
"
"
But
why
are
you
doing
it
?
"
"
One
must
do
something
.
I
'm
bandaged
up
and
ca
n't
walk
.
It
hurt
my
leg
more
than
I
knew
—
your
doctor
says
.
Solomonson
wo
n't
talk
of
anything
but
how
he
feels
,
and
I
do
n't
care
a
rap
how
he
feels
.
So
I
got
this
thing
and
came
out
with
it
.
"
Marjorie
made
her
inquiries
.
There
came
a
little
pause
.
"
Some
day
no
one
will
believe
that
men
were
ever
so
foolish
as
to
trust
themselves
to
draught
animals
,
"
he
remarked
.
"
Hullo
!
Look
out
!
The
horror
of
it
!
"
A
large
oil
van
—
a
huge
drum
on
wheels
—
motor-driven
,
had
come
round
the
corner
,
and
after
a
preliminary
and
quite
insufficient
hoot
,
bore
down
upon
them
,
and
missing
Trafford
as
it
seemed
by
a
miracle
,
swept
past
.
Both
drivers
did
wonderful
things
with
whips
and
reins
,
and
found
themselves
alone
in
the
road
again
,
with
their
wheels
locked
and
an
indefinite
future
.
"
I
leave
the
situation
to
you
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
Or
shall
we
just
sit
and
talk
until
the
next
motor
car
kills
us
?
"
"
We
ought
to
make
an
effort
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
cheerfully
,
and
descended
to
lead
the
two
beasts
.
Assisted
by
an
elderly
hedger
,
who
had
been
taking
a
disregarded
interest
in
them
for
some
time
,
she
separated
the
wheels
and
got
the
two
donkeys
abreast
.
The
old
hedger
's
opinion
of
their
safety
on
the
king
's
highway
was
expressed
by
his
action
rather
than
his
words
;
he
directed
the
beasts
towards
a
shady
lane
that
opened
at
right
angles
to
the
road
.
He
stood
by
their
bridles
while
Marjorie
resumed
her
seat
.
"
It
seems
to
me
clearly
a
case
for
compromise
,
"
said
Trafford
.
"
You
want
to
go
that
way
,
I
want
to
go
that
way
.
Let
us
both
go
this
way
.
It
is
by
such
arrangements
that
civilization
becomes
possible
.
"
He
dismissed
the
hedger
generously
and
resumed
his
reins
.
"
Shall
we
race
?
"
he
asked
.
"
With
your
leg
?
"
she
inquired
.
"
No
;
with
the
donkeys
.
I
say
,
this
is
rather
a
lark
.
At
first
I
thought
it
was
both
dangerous
and
dull
.
But
things
have
changed
.
I
am
in
beastly
high
spirits
.
I
feel
there
will
be
a
cry
before
night
;
but
still
,
I
am
—
—
I
wanted
the
companionship
of
an
unbroken
person
.
It
's
so
jolly
to
meet
you
again
.
"
"
Again
?
"
"
After
the
year
before
last
.
"
"
After
the
year
before
last
?
"
"
You
did
n't
know
,
"
said
Trafford
,
"
I
had
met
you
before
?
How
aggressive
I
must
have
seemed
!
Well
,
I
was
n't
quite
clear
.
I
spent
the
greater
part
of
last
night
—
my
ankle
being
foolish
in
the
small
hours
—
in
trying
to
remember
how
and
where
.
"
"
I
do
n't
remember
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
I
remembered
you
very
distinctly
,
and
some
things
I
thought
about
you
,
but
not
where
it
had
happened
.
Then
in
the
night
I
got
it
.
It
is
a
puzzle
,
is
n't
it
?
You
see
,
I
was
wearing
a
black
gown
,
and
I
had
been
out
of
the
sunlight
for
some
months
—
and
my
eye
,
I
remember
it
acutely
,
was
bandaged
.
I
'm
usually
bandaged
somewhere
.
'
I
was
a
King
in
Babylon
And
you
were
a
Christian
slave
'
—
I
mean
a
candidate
.
"
Marjorie
remembered
suddenly
.
"
You
're
Professor
Trafford
.
"
"
Not
in
this
atmosphere
.
But
I
am
at
the
Romeike
College
.
And
as
soon
as
I
recalled
examining
you
I
remembered
it
—
minutely
.
You
were
intelligent
,
though
unsound
—
about
cryo-hydrates
it
was
.
Ah
,
you
remember
me
now
.
As
most
young
women
are
correct
by
rote
and
unintelligent
in
such
questions
,
and
as
it
does
n't
matter
a
rap
about
anything
of
that
sort
,
whether
you
are
correct
or
not
,
as
long
as
the
mental
gesture
is
right
—
—
"
He
paused
for
a
moment
,
as
though
tired
of
his
sentence
.
"
I
remembered
you
.
"
He
proceeded
in
his
easy
and
detached
manner
,
that
seemed
to
make
every
topic
possible
,
to
tell
her
his
first
impressions
of
her
,
and
show
how
very
distinctly
indeed
he
remembered
her
.
"
You
set
me
philosophizing
.
I
'd
never
examined
a
girls
'
school
before
,
and
I
was
suddenly
struck
by
the
spectacle
of
the
fifty
of
you
.
What
's
going
to
become
of
them
all
?
"
"
I
thought
,
"
he
went
on
,
"
how
bright
you
were
,
and
how
keen
and
eager
you
were
—
you
,
I
mean
,
in
particular
—
and
just
how
certain
it
was
your
brightness
and
eagerness
would
be
swallowed
up
by
some
silly
ordinariness
or
other
—
stuffy
marriage
or
stuffy
domestic
duties
.
The
old
,
old
story
—
done
over
again
with
a
sort
of
threadbare
badness
.
(
Nothing
to
say
against
it
if
it
's
done
well
.
)
I
got
quite
sentimental
and
pathetic
about
life
's
breach
of
faith
with
women
.
Odd
,
is
n't
it
,
how
one
's
mind
runs
on
.
But
that
's
what
I
thought
.
It
's
all
come
back
to
me
.
"
Marjorie
's
bright
,
clear
eye
came
round
to
him
.
"
I
do
n't
see
very
much
wrong
with
the
lot
of
women
,
"
she
reflected
.
"
Things
are
different
nowadays
.
Anyhow
—
—
"
She
paused
.
"
You
do
n't
want
to
be
a
man
?
"
"
No
!
"
She
was
emphatic
.
"
Some
of
us
cut
more
sharply
at
life
than
you
think
,
"
he
said
,
plumbing
her
unspoken
sense
.
She
had
never
met
a
man
before
who
understood
just
how
a
girl
can
feel
the
slow
obtuseness
of
his
sex
.
It
was
almost
as
if
he
had
found
her
out
at
something
.
"
Oh
,
"
she
said
,
"
perhaps
you
do
,
"
and
looked
at
him
with
an
increased
interest
.
"
I
'm
half-feminine
,
I
believe
,
"
he
said
.
"
For
instance
,
I
've
got
just
a
woman
's
joy
in
textures
and
little
significant
shapes
.
I
know
how
you
feel
about
that
.
I
can
spend
hours
,
even
now
,
in
crystal
gazing
—
I
do
n't
mean
to
see
some
silly
revelation
of
some
silly
person
's
proceedings
somewhere
,
but
just
for
the
things
themselves
.
I
wonder
if
you
have
ever
been
in
the
Natural
History
Museum
at
South
Kensington
,
and
looked
at
Ruskin
's
crystal
collection
?
I
saw
it
when
I
was
a
boy
,
and
it
became
—
I
ca
n't
help
the
word
—
an
obsession
.
The
inclusions
like
moss
and
like
trees
,
and
all
sorts
of
fantastic
things
,
and
the
cleavages
and
enclosures
with
little
bubbles
,
and
the
lights
and
shimmer
—
What
were
we
talking
about
?
Oh
,
about
the
keen
way
your
feminine
perceptions
cut
into
things
.
And
yet
somehow
I
was
throwing
contempt
on
the
feminine
intelligence
.
I
do
n't
do
justice
to
the
order
of
my
thoughts
.
Never
mind
.
We
've
lost
the
thread
.
But
I
wish
you
knew
my
mother
.
"
He
went
on
while
Marjorie
was
still
considering
the
proper
response
to
this
.
"
You
see
,
I
'm
her
only
son
and
she
brought
me
up
,
and
we
know
each
other
—
oh
!
very
well
.
She
helps
with
my
work
.
She
understands
nearly
all
of
it
.
She
makes
suggestions
.
And
to
this
day
I
do
n't
know
if
she
's
the
most
original
or
the
most
parasitic
of
creatures
.
And
that
's
the
way
with
all
women
and
girls
,
it
seems
to
me
.
You
're
as
critical
as
light
,
and
as
undiscriminating
...
.
I
say
,
do
I
strike
you
as
talking
nonsense
?
"
"
Not
a
bit
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
But
you
do
go
rather
fast
.
"
"
I
know
,
"
he
admitted
.
"
But
somehow
you
excite
me
.
I
've
been
with
Solomonson
a
week
,
and
he
's
dull
at
all
times
.
It
was
that
made
me
take
out
that
monoplane
of
his
.
But
it
did
him
no
good
.
"
He
paused
.
"
They
told
me
after
the
exam
.
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
"
you
knew
more
about
crystallography
—
than
anyone
.
"
"
Does
that
strike
you
as
a
dull
subject
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
in
a
tone
that
invited
justifications
.
"
It
is
n't
.
I
think
—
naturally
,
that
the
world
one
goes
into
when
one
studies
molecular
physics
is
quite
the
most
beautiful
of
Wonderlands
...
.
I
can
assure
you
I
work
sometimes
like
a
man
who
is
exploring
a
magic
palace
...
.
Do
you
know
anything
of
molecular
physics
?
"
"
You
examined
me
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
The
sense
one
has
of
exquisite
and
wonderful
rhythms
—
just
beyond
sound
and
sight
!
And
there
's
a
taunting
suggestion
of
its
being
all
there
,
displayed
and
confessed
,
if
only
one
were
quick
enough
to
see
it
.
Why
,
for
instance
,
when
you
change
the
composition
of
a
felspar
almost
imperceptibly
,
do
the
angles
change
?
What
's
the
correspondence
between
the
altered
angle
and
the
substituted
atom
?
Why
does
this
bit
of
clear
stuff
swing
the
ray
of
light
so
much
out
of
its
path
,
and
that
swing
it
more
?
Then
what
happens
when
crystals
gutter
down
,
and
go
into
solution
.
The
endless
launching
of
innumerable
little
craft
.
Think
what
a
clear
solution
must
be
if
only
one
had
ultra-microscopic
eyes
and
could
see
into
it
,
see
the
extraordinary
patternings
,
the
swimming
circling
constellations
.
And
then
the
path
of
a
ray
of
polarized
light
beating
through
it
!
It
takes
me
like
music
.
Do
you
know
anything
of
the
effects
of
polarized
light
,
the
sight
of
a
slice
of
olivine-gabbro
for
instance
between
crossed
Nicols
?
"
"
I
've
seen
some
rock
sections
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
I
forget
the
names
of
the
rocks
.
"
"
The
colours
?
"
"
Oh
yes
,
the
colours
.
"
"
Is
there
anything
else
so
rich
and
beautiful
in
all
the
world
?
And
every
different
mineral
and
every
variety
of
that
mineral
has
a
different
palette
of
colours
,
a
different
scheme
of
harmonies
—
and
is
telling
you
something
.
"
"
If
only
you
understood
.
"
"
Exactly
.
All
the
ordinary
stuff
of
life
—
you
know
—
the
carts
and
motor
cars
and
dusty
roads
and
—
cinder
sifting
,
seems
so
blank
to
me
—
with
that
persuasion
of
swing
and
subtlety
beneath
it
all
.
As
if
the
whole
world
was
fire
and
crystal
and
aquiver
—
with
some
sort
of
cotton
wrappers
thrown
over
it
...
.
"
"
Dust
sheets
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
I
know
.
"
"
Or
like
a
diamond
painted
over
!
"
"
With
that
sort
of
grey
paint
,
very
full
of
body
—
that
lasts
.
"
"
Yes
.
"
He
smiled
at
her
.
"
I
ca
n't
help
apologetics
.
Most
people
think
a
professor
of
science
is
just
—
—
"
"
A
professor
of
science
.
"
"
Yes
.
Something
all
pedantries
and
phrases
.
I
want
to
clear
my
character
.
As
though
it
is
foolish
to
follow
a
vortex
ring
into
a
vacuum
,
and
wise
to
whack
at
a
dirty
golf
ball
on
a
suburban
railway
bank
.
Oh
,
their
golf
!
Under
high
heaven
!
...
You
do
n't
play
golf
,
do
you
,
by
any
chance
?
"
"
Only
the
woman
's
part
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
And
they
despise
us
,
"
he
said
.
"
Solomonson
can
hardly
hide
how
he
despises
us
.
Nothing
is
more
wonderful
than
the
way
these
people
go
on
despising
us
who
do
research
,
who
have
this
fever
of
curiosity
,
who
wo
n't
be
content
with
—
what
did
you
call
those
wrappers
?
"
"
Dust
sheets
.
"
"
Yes
,
dust
sheets
.
What
a
life
!
Swaddling
bands
,
dust
sheets
and
a
shroud
!
You
know
,
research
and
discovery
are
n't
nearly
so
difficult
as
people
think
—
if
only
you
have
the
courage
to
say
a
thing
or
try
a
thing
now
and
then
that
it
is
n't
usual
to
say
or
try
.
And
after
all
—
—
"
he
went
off
at
a
tangent
,
"
these
confounded
ordinary
people
are
n't
justified
in
their
contempt
.
We
keep
on
throwing
them
things
over
our
shoulders
,
electric
bells
,
telephones
,
Marconigrams
.
Look
at
the
beautiful
electric
trains
that
come
towering
down
the
London
streets
at
nightfall
,
ships
of
light
in
full
sail
!
Twenty
years
ago
they
were
as
impossible
as
immortality
.
We
conquer
the
seas
for
these
—
golfers
,
puts
arms
in
their
hands
that
will
certainly
blow
them
all
to
bits
if
ever
the
idiots
go
to
war
with
them
,
come
sailing
out
of
the
air
on
them
—
—
"
He
caught
Marjorie
's
eye
and
stopped
.
"
Falling
out
of
the
air
on
them
,
"
corrected
Marjorie
very
softly
.
"
That
was
only
an
accident
,
"
said
Mr.
Trafford
...
.
So
they
began
a
conversation
in
the
lane
where
the
trees
met
overhead
that
went
on
and
went
on
like
a
devious
path
in
a
shady
wood
,
and
touched
upon
all
manner
of
things
...
.
In
the
end
quite
a
number
of
people
were
aggrieved
by
this
dialogue
,
in
the
lane
that
led
nowhither
...
.
Sir
Rupert
Solomonson
was
the
first
to
complain
.
Trafford
had
been
away
"
three
mortal
hours
.
"
No
one
had
come
near
him
,
not
a
soul
,
and
there
had
n't
been
even
a
passing
car
to
cheer
his
ear
.
Sir
Rupert
admitted
he
had
to
be
quiet
.
"
But
not
so
damned
quiet
.
"
"
I
'd
have
been
glad
,
"
said
Sir
Rupert
,
"
if
a
hen
had
laid
an
egg
and
clucked
a
bit
.
You
might
have
thought
there
had
been
a
Resurrection
or
somethin
'
,
and
cleared
off
everybody
.
Lord
!
it
was
deadly
.
I
'd
have
sung
out
myself
if
it
had
n't
been
for
these
infernal
ribs
...
.
"
Mrs.
Pope
came
upon
the
affair
quite
by
accident
.
"
Well
,
Marjorie
,
"
she
said
as
she
poured
tea
for
the
family
,
"
did
you
get
your
laces
?
"
"
Never
got
there
,
Mummy
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
and
paused
fatally
.
"
Did
n't
get
there
!
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
.
"
That
's
worse
than
Theodore
!
Would
n't
the
donkey
go
,
poor
dear
?
"
There
was
nothing
to
colour
about
,
and
yet
Marjorie
felt
the
warm
flow
in
neck
and
cheek
and
brow
.
She
threw
extraordinary
quantities
of
candour
into
her
manner
.
"
I
had
a
romantic
adventure
,
"
she
said
rather
quietly
.
"
I
was
going
to
tell
you
.
"
(
Sensation
.
)
"
You
see
it
was
like
this
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
I
ran
against
Mr.
Trafford
...
.
"
She
drank
tea
,
and
pulled
herself
together
for
a
lively
description
of
the
wheel-locking
and
the
subsequent
conversation
,
a
bright
ridiculous
account
which
made
the
affair
happen
by
implication
on
the
high
road
and
not
in
a
byeway
,
and
was
adorned
with
every
facetious
ornament
that
seemed
likely
to
get
a
laugh
from
the
children
.
But
she
talked
rather
fast
,
and
she
felt
she
forced
the
fun
a
little
.
However
,
it
amused
the
children
all
right
,
and
Theodore
created
a
diversion
by
choking
with
his
tea
.
From
first
to
last
Marjorie
was
extremely
careful
to
avoid
the
affectionate
scrutiny
of
her
mother
's
eye
.
And
had
this
lasted
the
whole
afternoon
?
asked
Mrs.
Pope
.
"
Oh
,
they
'd
talked
for
half-an-hour
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
or
more
,
and
had
driven
back
very
slowly
together
.
"
He
did
all
the
talking
.
You
saw
what
he
was
yesterday
.
And
the
donkeys
seemed
too
happy
together
to
tear
them
away
.
"
"
But
what
was
it
all
about
?
"
asked
Daffy
curious
.
"
He
asked
after
you
,
Daffy
,
most
affectionately
,
"
said
Marjorie
,
and
added
,
"
several
times
.
"
(
Though
Trafford
had
as
a
matter
of
fact
displayed
a
quite
remarkable
disregard
of
all
her
family
.
)
"
And
,
"
she
went
on
,
getting
a
plausible
idea
at
last
,
"
he
explained
all
about
aeroplanes
.
And
all
that
sort
of
thing
.
Has
Daddy
gone
to
Wamping
for
some
more
cricket
?
...
"
(
But
none
of
this
was
lost
on
Mrs.
Pope
.
)
Mr.
Magnet
's
return
next
day
was
heralded
by
nearly
two-thirds
of
a
column
in
the
Times
.
The
Lecture
on
the
Characteristics
of
Humour
had
evidently
been
quite
a
serious
affair
,
and
a
very
imposing
list
of
humorists
and
of
prominent
people
associated
with
their
industry
had
accepted
the
hospitality
of
the
Literati
.
Marjorie
ran
her
eyes
over
the
Chairman
's
flattering
introduction
,
then
with
a
queer
faint
flavour
of
hostility
she
reached
her
destined
husband
's
utterance
.
She
seemed
to
hear
the
flat
full
tones
of
his
voice
as
she
read
,
and
automatically
the
desiccated
sentences
of
the
reporter
filled
out
again
into
those
rich
quietly
deliberate
unfoldings
of
sound
that
were
already
too
familiar
to
her
ear
.
Mr.
Magnet
had
begun
with
modest
disavowals
.
"
There
was
a
story
,
he
said
,
"
—
so
the
report
began
—
"
whose
hallowed
antiquity
ought
to
protect
it
from
further
exploitation
,
but
he
was
tempted
to
repeat
it
because
it
offered
certain
analogies
to
the
present
situation
.
There
were
three
characters
in
the
story
,
a
bluebottle
and
two
Scotsmen
.
(
Laughter
.
)
The
bluebottle
buzzed
on
the
pane
,
otherwise
a
profound
silence
reigned
.
This
was
broken
by
one
of
the
Scotsmen
trying
to
locate
the
bluebottle
with
zoölogical
exactitude
.
Said
this
Scotsman
:
'
Sandy
,
I
am
thinking
if
yon
fly
is
a
birdie
or
a
beastie
.
'
The
other
replied
:
'
Man
,
do
n't
spoil
good
whiskey
with
religious
conversation
.
'
(
Laughter
.
)
He
was
tempted
,
Mr.
Magnet
resumed
,
to
ask
himself
and
them
why
it
was
that
they
should
spoil
the
aftereffects
of
a
most
excellent
and
admirably
served
dinner
by
an
academic
discussion
on
British
humour
.
At
first
he
was
pained
by
the
thought
that
they
proposed
to
temper
their
hospitality
with
a
demand
for
a
speech
.
A
closer
inspection
showed
that
he
was
to
introduce
a
debate
and
that
others
were
to
speak
,
and
that
was
a
new
element
in
their
hospitality
.
Further
,
he
was
permitted
to
choose
the
subject
so
that
he
could
bring
their
speeches
within
the
range
of
his
comprehension
.
(
Laughter
.
)
His
was
an
easy
task
.
He
could
make
it
easier
;
the
best
thing
to
do
would
be
to
say
nothing
at
all
.
(
Laughter
.
)
"
For
a
space
the
reporter
seemed
to
have
omitted
largely
—
perhaps
he
was
changing
places
with
his
relief
—
and
the
next
sentence
showed
Mr.
Magnet
engaged
as
it
were
in
revising
a
hortus
siccus
of
jokes
.
"
There
was
the
humour
of
facts
and
situations
,
"
he
was
saying
,
"
or
that
humour
of
expression
for
which
there
was
no
human
responsibility
,
as
in
the
case
of
Irish
humour
;
he
spoke
of
the
humour
of
the
soil
which
found
its
noblest
utterance
in
the
bull
.
Humour
depended
largely
on
contrast
.
There
was
a
humour
of
form
and
expression
which
had
many
local
varieties
.
American
humour
had
been
characterized
by
exaggeration
,
the
suppression
of
some
link
in
the
chain
of
argument
or
narrative
,
and
a
wealth
of
simile
and
metaphor
which
had
been
justly
defined
as
the
poetry
of
a
pioneer
race
.
"
...
Marjorie
's
attention
slipped
its
anchor
,
and
caught
lower
down
upon
:
"
In
England
there
was
a
near
kinship
between
laughter
and
tears
;
their
mental
relations
were
as
close
as
their
physical
.
Abroad
this
did
not
appear
to
be
the
case
.
It
was
different
in
France
.
But
perhaps
on
the
whole
it
would
be
better
to
leave
the
humour
of
France
and
what
some
people
still
unhappily
chose
to
regard
as
matters
open
to
controversy
—
he
referred
to
choice
of
subject
—
out
of
their
discussion
altogether
.
(
'
Hear
,
hear
,
'
and
cheers
.
)
"
...
Attention
wandered
again
.
Then
she
remarked
:
—
it
reminded
her
in
some
mysterious
way
of
a
dropped
hairpin
—
"
It
was
noticeable
that
the
pun
to
a
great
extent
had
become
démodé
...
.
"
At
this
point
the
flight
of
Marjorie
's
eyes
down
the
column
was
arrested
by
her
father
's
hand
gently
but
firmly
taking
possession
of
the
Times
.
She
yielded
it
without
reluctance
,
turned
to
the
breakfast
table
,
and
never
resumed
her
study
of
the
social
relaxations
of
humorists
...
.
Indeed
she
forgot
it
.
Her
mind
was
in
a
state
of
extreme
perplexity
.
She
did
n't
know
what
to
make
of
herself
or
anything
or
anybody
.
Her
mind
was
full
of
Trafford
and
all
that
he
had
said
and
done
and
all
that
he
might
have
said
and
done
,
and
it
was
entirely
characteristic
that
she
could
not
think
of
Magnet
in
any
way
at
all
except
as
a
bar-like
shadow
that
lay
across
all
her
memories
and
all
the
bright
possibilities
of
this
engaging
person
.
She
thought
particularly
of
the
mobile
animation
of
his
face
,
the
keen
flash
of
enthusiasm
in
his
thoughts
and
expressions
...
.
It
was
perhaps
more
characteristic
of
her
time
than
of
her
that
she
did
not
think
she
was
dealing
so
much
with
a
moral
problem
as
an
embarrassment
,
and
that
she
had
n't
as
yet
felt
the
first
stirrings
of
self-reproach
for
the
series
of
disingenuous
proceedings
that
had
rendered
the
yesterday
's
encounter
possible
.
But
she
was
restless
,
wildly
restless
as
a
bird
whose
nest
is
taken
.
She
could
abide
nowhere
.
She
fretted
through
the
morning
,
avoided
Daffy
in
a
marked
manner
,
and
inflicted
a
stinging
and
only
partially
merited
rebuke
upon
Theodore
for
slouching
,
humping
and
—
of
all
trite
grievances
!
—
not
washing
behind
his
ears
.
As
if
any
chap
washed
behind
his
ears
!
She
thought
tennis
with
the
pseudo-twins
might
assuage
her
,
but
she
broke
off
after
losing
two
sets
;
and
then
she
went
into
the
garden
to
get
fresh
flowers
,
and
picked
a
large
bunch
and
left
them
on
the
piano
until
her
mother
reminded
her
of
them
.
She
tried
a
little
Shaw
.
She
struggled
with
an
insane
wish
to
walk
through
the
wood
behind
the
village
and
have
an
accidental
meeting
with
someone
who
could
n't
possibly
appear
but
whom
it
would
be
quite
adorable
to
meet
.
Anyhow
she
conquered
that
.
She
had
a
curious
and
rather
morbid
indisposition
to
go
after
lunch
to
the
station
and
meet
Mr.
Magnet
as
her
mother
wished
her
to
do
,
in
order
to
bring
him
straight
to
the
vicarage
to
early
tea
,
but
here
again
reason
prevailed
and
she
went
.
Mr.
Magnet
arrived
by
the
2.27
,
and
to
Marjorie
's
eye
his
alighting
presence
had
an
effect
of
being
not
so
much
covered
with
laurels
as
distended
by
them
.
His
face
seemed
whiter
and
larger
than
ever
.
He
waved
a
great
handful
of
newspapers
.
"
Hullo
,
Magsy
!
"
he
said
.
"
They
've
given
me
a
thumping
Press
.
I
'm
nearer
swelled
head
than
I
've
ever
been
,
so
mind
how
you
touch
me
!
"
"
We
'll
take
it
down
at
croquet
,
"
said
Marjorie
.
"
They
've
cleared
that
thing
away
?
"
"
And
made
up
the
lawn
like
a
billiard
table
,
"
she
said
.
"
That
makes
for
skill
,
"
he
said
waggishly
.
"
I
shall
save
my
head
after
all
.
"
For
a
moment
he
seemed
to
loom
towards
kissing
her
,
but
she
averted
this
danger
by
a
business-like
concern
for
his
bag
.
He
entrusted
this
to
a
porter
,
and
reverted
to
the
triumph
of
overnight
so
soon
as
they
were
clear
of
the
station
.
He
was
overflowing
with
kindliness
towards
his
fellow
humorists
,
who
had
appeared
in
force
and
very
generously
at
the
banquet
,
and
had
said
the
most
charming
things
—
some
of
which
were
in
one
report
and
some
in
another
,
and
some
the
reporters
had
missed
altogether
—
some
of
the
kindliest
.
"
It
's
a
pleasant
feeling
to
think
that
a
lot
of
good
fellows
think
you
are
a
good
fellow
,
"
said
Mr.
Magnet
.
He
became
solicitous
for
her
.
How
had
she
got
on
while
he
was
away
?
She
asked
him
how
one
was
likely
to
get
on
at
Buryhamstreet
;
monoplanes
did
n't
fall
every
day
,
and
as
she
said
that
it
occurred
to
her
she
was
behaving
meanly
.
But
he
was
going
on
to
his
next
topic
before
she
could
qualify
.
"
I
've
got
something
in
my
pocket
,
"
he
remarked
,
and
playfully
:
"
Guess
.
"
She
did
,
but
she
would
n't
.
She
had
a
curious
sinking
of
the
heart
.
"
I
want
you
to
see
it
before
anyone
else
,
"
he
said
.
"
Then
if
you
do
n't
like
it
,
it
can
go
back
.
It
's
a
sapphire
.
"
He
was
feeling
nervously
in
his
pockets
and
then
the
little
box
was
in
her
hand
.
She
hesitated
to
open
it
.
It
made
everything
so
dreadfully
concrete
.
And
this
time
the
sense
of
meanness
was
altogether
acuter
.
He
'd
bought
this
in
London
;
he
'd
brought
it
down
,
hoping
for
her
approval
.
Yes
,
it
was
—
horrid
.
But
what
was
she
to
do
?
"
It
's
—
awfully
pretty
,
"
she
said
with
the
glittering
symbol
in
her
hand
,
and
indeed
he
had
gone
to
one
of
those
artistic
women
who
are
reviving
and
improving
upon
the
rich
old
Roman
designs
.
"
It
's
so
beautifully
made
.
"
"
I
'm
so
glad
you
like
it
.
You
really
do
like
it
?
"
"
I
do
n't
deserve
it
.
"
"
Oh
!
But
you
do
like
it
?
"
"
Enormously
.
"
"
Ah
!
I
spent
an
hour
in
choosing
it
.
"
She
could
see
him
.
She
felt
as
though
she
had
picked
his
pocket
.
"
Only
I
do
n't
deserve
it
,
Mr.
Magnet
.
Indeed
I
do
n't
.
I
feel
I
am
taking
it
on
false
pretences
.
"
"
Nonsense
,
Magsy
.
Nonsense
!
Slip
it
on
your
finger
,
girl
.
"
"
But
I
do
n't
,
"
she
insisted
.
He
took
the
box
from
her
,
pocketed
it
and
seized
her
hand
.
She
drew
it
away
from
him
.
"
No
!
"
she
said
.
"
I
feel
like
a
cheat
.
You
know
,
I
do
n't
—
I
'm
sure
I
do
n't
love
—
—
"
"
I
'll
love
enough
for
two
,
"
he
said
,
and
got
her
hand
again
.
"
No
!
"
he
said
at
her
gesture
,
"
you
'll
wear
it
.
Why
should
n't
you
?
"
And
so
Marjorie
came
back
along
the
vicarage
avenue
with
his
ring
upon
her
hand
.
And
Mr.
Pope
was
evidently
very
glad
to
see
him
...
.
The
family
was
still
seated
at
tea
upon
rugs
and
wraps
,
and
still
discussing
humorists
at
play
,
when
Professor
Trafford
appeared
,
leaning
on
a
large
stick
and
limping
,
but
resolute
,
by
the
church
gate
.
"
Pish
!
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
Marjorie
tried
not
to
reveal
a
certain
dismay
,
there
was
dumb
,
rich
approval
in
Daphne
's
eyes
,
and
the
pleasure
of
Theodore
and
the
pseudo-twins
was
only
too
scandalously
evident
.
"
Hoo-Ray
!
"
said
Theodore
,
with
ill-concealed
relief
.
Mrs.
Pope
was
the
incarnate
invocation
of
tact
as
Trafford
drew
near
.
"
I
hope
,
"
he
said
,
with
obvious
insincerity
,
"
I
do
n't
invade
you
.
But
Solomonson
is
frightfully
concerned
and
anxious
about
your
lawn
,
and
whether
his
men
cleared
it
up
properly
and
put
things
right
.
"
His
eye
went
about
the
party
and
rested
on
Marjorie
.
"
How
are
you
?
"
he
said
,
in
a
friendly
voice
.
"
Well
,
we
seem
to
have
got
our
croquet
lawn
back
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
.
"
And
our
nerves
are
recovering
.
How
is
Sir
Rupert
?
"
"
A
little
fractious
,
"
said
Trafford
,
with
the
ghost
of
a
smile
.
"
You
'll
take
some
tea
?
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
in
the
pause
that
followed
.
"
Thank
you
,
"
said
Trafford
and
sat
down
instantly
.
"
I
saw
your
jolly
address
in
the
Standard
,
"
he
said
to
Magnet
.
"
I
have
n't
read
anything
so
amusing
for
some
time
.
"
"
Rom
dear
,
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
,
"
will
you
take
the
pot
in
and
get
some
fresh
tea
?
"
Mr.
Trafford
addressed
himself
to
the
flattery
of
Magnet
with
considerable
skill
.
He
had
detected
a
lurking
hostility
in
the
eyes
of
the
two
gentlemen
that
counselled
him
to
propitiate
them
if
he
meant
to
maintain
his
footing
in
the
vicarage
,
and
now
he
talked
to
them
almost
exclusively
and
ignored
the
ladies
modestly
but
politely
in
the
way
that
seems
natural
and
proper
in
a
British
middle-class
house
of
the
better
sort
.
But
as
he
talked
chiefly
of
the
improvement
of
motor
machinery
that
had
recently
been
shown
at
the
Engineering
Exhibition
,
he
did
not
make
that
headway
with
Marjorie
's
father
that
he
had
perhaps
anticipated
.
Mr.
Pope
fumed
quietly
for
a
time
,
and
then
suddenly
spoke
out
.
"
I
'm
no
lover
of
machines
,
"
he
said
abruptly
,
slashing
across
Mr.
Trafford
's
description
.
"
All
our
troubles
began
with
villainous
saltpetre
.
I
'm
an
old-fashioned
man
with
a
nose
—
and
a
neck
,
and
I
do
n't
want
the
one
offended
or
the
other
broken
.
No
,
do
n't
ask
me
to
be
interested
in
your
valves
and
cylinders
.
What
do
you
say
,
Magnet
?
It
starts
machinery
in
my
head
to
hear
about
them
...
.
"
On
such
occasions
as
this
when
Mr.
Pope
spoke
out
,
his
horror
of
an
anti-climax
or
any
sort
of
contradiction
was
apt
to
bring
the
utterance
to
a
culmination
not
always
to
be
distinguished
from
a
flight
.
And
now
he
rose
to
his
feet
as
he
delivered
himself
.
"
Who
's
for
a
game
of
tennis
?
"
he
said
,
"
in
this
last
uncontaminated
patch
of
air
?
I
and
Marjorie
will
give
you
a
match
,
Daffy
—
if
Magnet
is
n't
too
tired
to
join
you
.
"
Daffy
looked
at
Marjorie
for
an
instant
.
"
We
'll
want
you
,
Theodore
,
to
look
after
the
balls
in
the
potatoes
,
"
said
Mr.
Pope
lest
that
ingenuous
mind
should
be
corrupted
behind
his
back
...
.
Mrs.
Pope
found
herself
left
to
entertain
a
slightly
disgruntled
Trafford
.
Rom
and
Syd
hovered
on
the
off
chance
of
notice
,
at
the
corner
of
the
croquet
lawn
nearest
the
tea
things
.
Mrs.
Pope
had
already
determined
to
make
certain
little
matters
clearer
than
they
appeared
to
be
to
this
agreeable
but
superfluous
person
,
and
she
was
greatly
assisted
by
his
opening
upon
the
subject
of
her
daughters
.
"
Jolly
tennis
looks
,
"
he
said
.
"
Do
n't
they
?
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
.
"
I
think
it
is
such
a
graceful
game
for
a
girl
.
"
Mr.
Trafford
glanced
at
Mrs.
Pope
's
face
,
but
her
expression
was
impenetrable
.
"
They
both
like
it
and
play
it
so
well
,
"
she
said
.
"
Their
father
is
so
skillful
and
interested
in
games
.
Marjorie
tells
me
you
were
her
examiner
a
year
or
so
ago
.
"
"
Yes
.
She
struck
my
memory
—
her
work
stood
out
.
"
"
Of
course
she
is
clever
,
"
said
Mrs.
Pope
.
"
Or
we
should
n't
have
sent
her
to
Oxbridge
.
There
she
's
doing
quite
well
—
quite
well
.
Everyone
says
so
.
I
do
n't
know
,
of
course
,
if
Mr.
Magnet
will
let
her
finish
there
.
"
"
Mr.
Magnet
?
"
"
She
's
just
engaged
to
him
.
Of
course
she
's
frightfully
excited
about
it
,
and
naturally
he
wants
her
to
come
away
and
marry
.
There
's
very
little
excuse
for
a
long
engagement
.
No.
"
Her
voice
died
in
a
musical
little
note
,
and
she
seemed
to
be
scrutinizing
the
tennis
with
an
absorbed
interest
.
"
They
've
got
new
balls
,
"
she
said
,
as
if
to
herself
.
Trafford
had
rolled
over
,
and
she
fancied
she
detected
a
change
in
his
voice
when
it
came
.
"
Is
n't
it
rather
a
waste
not
to
finish
a
university
career
?
"
he
said
.
"
Oh
,
it
would
n't
be
wasted
.
Of
course
a
girl
like
that
will
be
hand
and
glove
with
her
husband
.
She
'll
be
able
to
help
him
with
the
scientific
side
of
his
jokes
and
all
that
.
I
sometimes
wish
it
had
been
Daffy
who
had
gone
to
college
though
.
I
sometimes
think
we
've
sacrificed
Daffy
a
little
.
She
's
not
the
bright
quickness
of
Marjorie
,
but
there
's
something
quietly
solid
about
her
mind
—
something
stable
.
Perhaps
I
did
n't
want
her
to
go
away
from
me
...
.
Mr.
Magnet
is
doing
wonders
at
the
net
.
He
's
just
begun
to
play
—
to
please
Marjorie
.
Do
n't
you
think
he
's
a
dreadfully
amusing
man
,
Mr.
Trafford
?
He
says
such
quiet
things
.
"
The
effect
of
this
éclaircissement
upon
Mr.
Trafford
was
not
what
it
should
have
been
.
Properly
he
ought
to
have
realized
at
once
that
Marjorie
was
for
ever
beyond
his
aspirations
,
and
if
he
found
it
too
difficult
to
regard
her
with
equanimity
,
then
he
ought
to
have
shunned
her
presence
.
But
instead
,
after
his
first
shock
of
incredulous
astonishment
,
his
spirit
rose
in
a
rebellion
against
arranged
facts
that
was
as
un-English
as
it
was
ungentlemanly
.
He
went
back
to
Solomonson
with
a
mood
of
thoughtful
depression
giving
place
to
a
growing
passion
of
indignation
.
He
presented
it
to
himself
in
a
generalized
and
altruistic
form
.
"
What
the
deuce
is
the
good
of
all
this
talk
of
Eugenics
,
"
he
asked
himself
aloud
,
"
if
they
are
going
to
hand
over
that
shining
girl
to
that
beastly
little
area
sneak
?
"
He
called
Mr.
Magnet
a
"
beastly
little
area
sneak
!
"
Nothing
could
show
more
clearly
just
how
much
he
had
contrived
to
fall
in
love
with
Marjorie
during
his
brief
sojourn
in
Buryhamstreet
and
the
acuteness
of
his
disappointment
,
and
nothing
could
be
more
eloquent
of
his
forcible
and
undisciplined
temperament
.
And
out
of
ten
thousand
possible
abusive
epithets
with
which
his
mind
was
no
doubt
stored
,
this
one
,
I
think
,
had
come
into
his
head
because
of
the
alert
watchfulness
with
which
Mr.
Magnet
followed
a
conversation
,
as
he
waited
his
chance
for
some
neat
but
brilliant
flash
of
comment
...
.
Trafford
,
like
Marjorie
,
was
another
of
those
undisciplined
young
people
our
age
has
produced
in
such
significant
quantity
.
He
was
just
six-and-twenty
,
but
the
facts
that
he
was
big
of
build
,
had
as
an
only
child
associated
much
with
grown-up
people
,
and
was
already
a
conspicuous
success
in
the
world
of
micro-chemical
research
,
had
given
him
the
self-reliance
and
assurance
of
a
much
older
man
.
He
had
still
to
come
his
croppers
and
learn
most
of
the
important
lessons
in
life
,
and
,
so
far
,
he
was
n't
aware
of
it
.
He
was
naturally
clean-minded
,
very
busy
and
interested
in
his
work
,
and
on
remarkably
friendly
and
confidential
terms
with
his
mother
who
kept
house
for
him
,
and
though
he
had
had
several
small
love
disturbances
,
this
was
the
first
occasion
that
anything
of
the
kind
had
ploughed
deep
into
his
feelings
and
desires
.
Trafford
's
father
had
died
early
in
life
.
He
had
been
a
brilliant
pathologist
,
one
of
that
splendid
group
of
scientific
investigators
in
the
middle
Victorian
period
which
shines
ever
more
brightly
as
our
criticism
dims
their
associated
splendours
,
and
he
had
died
before
he
was
thirty
through
a
momentary
slip
of
the
scalpel
.
His
wife
—
she
had
been
his
wife
for
five
years
—
found
his
child
and
his
memory
and
the
quality
of
the
life
he
had
made
about
her
too
satisfying
for
the
risks
of
a
second
marriage
,
and
she
had
brought
up
her
son
with
a
passionate
belief
in
the
high
mission
of
research
and
the
supreme
duty
of
seeking
out
and
expressing
truth
finely
.
And
here
he
was
,
calling
Mr.
Magnet
a
"
beastly
little
area
sneak
.
"
The
situation
perplexed
him
.
Marjorie
perplexed
him
.
It
was
,
had
he
known
it
,
the
beginning
for
him
of
a
lifetime
of
problems
and
perplexities
.
He
was
absolutely
certain
she
did
n't
love
Magnet
.
Why
,
then
,
had
she
agreed
to
marry
him
?
Such
pressures
and
temptations
as
he
could
see
about
her
seemed
light
to
him
in
comparison
with
such
an
undertaking
.
Were
they
greater
than
he
supposed
?
His
method
of
coming
to
the
issue
of
that
problem
was
entirely
original
.
He
presented
himself
next
afternoon
with
the
air
of
an
invited
guest
,
drove
Mr.
Pope
who
was
suffering
from
liver
,
to
expostulatory
sulking
in
the
study
