imagineit
,
'
he
said
almost
fiercely
.
'
The
question
is
whether
a
second
anarchy
will
cure
a
first
.
I
say
no.
I
prefer
sentiment
to
assassination
?
Very
well
,
why
should
I
not
?
But
I
prefer
reason
and
right
even
to
sentiment
.
I
appeal
to
what
is
deepest
in
the
heart
of
man
.
'
The
stranger
laughed
unpleasantly
and
resumed
,
as
though
dismissing
the
argument
.
'
I
have
seen
battles
,
'
he
said
,
'
in
which
there
were
heroism
,
and
madness
,
and
the
rush
of
armies
together
,
and
the
thunder
of
cannon
,
and
wild
,
raging
cries
in
the
artillery
gloom
,
enough
to
intoxicate
a
man
with
the
bloody
splendours
of
war
.
But
I
never
beheld
anything
more
heroic
or
glorious
'
—
he
smiled
,
his
voice
fell
,
and
he
gave
a
long
,
peculiar
glance
down
the
hall
—
'
than
the
overture
to
our
great
enterprise
.
It
cost
many
days
to
think
it
out
;
it
was
accomplished
in
a
moment
.
'
Then
,
in
the
strange
,
musing
tone
of
one
that
has
a
vision
before
him
,
'
I
saw
him
stagger
,
lean
his
arm
against
the
parapet
,
and
fall
,
shattered
as
with
a
thunderbolt
.
It
was
not
the
death
of
a
man
;
it
was
the
annihilation
of
a
tyranny
.
'
'
And
the
springing
up
of
a
fresh
tyranny
from
his
blood
,
'
cried
Ivor
,
unable
,
amid
the
cheering
of
the
others
,
to
contain
himself
.
'
Ah
,
it
was
a
fine
sight
,
'
continued
the
speaker
,
as
though
he
had
not
been
interrupted
,
'
and
new
in
its
kind
.
The
great
White
Tsar
has
often
been
murdered
—
by
his
wife
,
his
son
,
his
brother
;
Nicholas
committed
suicide
,
and
so
did
Alexander
the
First
.
But
never
until
now
have
the
people
done
justice
on
their
executioner
.
'
Then
in
the
same
quiet
voice
,
where
passion
was
so
concentrated
that
it
gave
only
a
dull
red
intensity
of
expression
,
but
none
of
those
lyric
cries
that
lift
up
the
soul
,
he
recited
,
without
naming
person
or
place
,
the
tragedy
of
which
he
had
been
a
witness
and
one
of
the
prime
movers
.
No
sound
of
protest
came
while
he
was
speaking
.
The
audience
hung
spellbound
on
his
words
;
and
the
sombre
,
sanguinary
picture
unrolled
itself
in
all
its
dreadfulness
before
their
vision
.
Like
a
tragic
messenger
,
he
told
the
tale
graphically
,
yet
as
though
he
had
no
part
in
it
;
but
the
conviction
,
unanimous
in
that
meeting
,
of
the
share
he
had
taken
added
a
covert
fear
,
a
wonder
not
unmixed
with
something
almost
loathsome
,
as
the
man
stood
there
,
his
hands
clean
,
but
the
scent
of
blood
clinging
to
his
raiment
.
Ivor
listened
,
his
head
bowed
down
,
motionless
.
Rupert
never
once
turned
his
eyes
from
the
stranger
,
who
moved
along
the
lines
of
the
story
swiftly
,
quietly
,
painting
with
lurid
tints
,
and
not
pausing
till
he
had
shown
the
mangled
remains
of
the
victim
wrapped
in
his
bloody
shroud
.
'
That
was
not
all
the
blood
spilt
in
the
tragedy
,
'
he
concluded
.
'
We
,
too
,
lost
our
soldiers
,
but
they
were
willing
to
die
.
And
now
that
you
have
seen
the
deed
through
my
eyes
,
judge
whether
it
was
rightly
done
.
'
'
Stay
,
'
said
Ivor
,
rising
again
,
and
in
his
agitation
leaning
heavily
upon
Rupert
's
shoulder
,
'
before
you
judge
let
me
ask
on
what
principles
your
verdict
is
to
be
founded
.
Will
you
take
those
of
the
Revolution
,
or
return
to
those
of
Absolutism
?
'
'
The
Revolution
,
the
Revolution
,
'
cried
many
voices
.
'
One
of
them
,
'
returned
the
young
man
,
'
is
fraternity
.
Where
did
his
murderers
show
pity
to
the
Tsar
?
Another
is
humanity
,
to
employ
the
arms
of
reason
,
to
enlighten
blindness
,
not
strike
it
with
the
sword
.
Must
war
be
perpetual
,
or
where
is
retaliation
to
cease
?
I
have
always
thought
that
pardon
,
light
,
and
love
were
the
watchwords
of
our
cause
;
and
I
looked
forward
to
the
day
when
men
should
live
in
peace
with
one
another
.
To
be
a
man
,
I
understood
,
was
to
bear
a
charmed
life
,
on
which
no
other
man
should
lay
a
daring
hand
.
Murder
,
I
was
told
,
is
sacrilege
.
Am
I
now
to
unlearn
all
these
truths
,
and
join
the
crusade
of
dynamite-throwers
instead
of
the
crusade
of
reason
?
That
is
the
counter-revolution
indeed
.
I
,
for
one
,
will
have
nothing
to
do
with
it
.
Take
my
vote
,
which
condemns
anarchy
,
whether
in
the
heights
or
in
the
depths
,
and
let
me
go
.
'
He
moved
out
of
his
seat
towards
the
door
,
pulling
Rupert
after
him
.
In
an
instant
the
way
was
barred
.
Some
few
,
whose
secret
thoughts
had
been
expressed
in
Ivor
's
indignant
language
,
held
aloof
;
the
rest
were
all
speaking
excitedly
,
and
reiterating
the
words
'
traitor
'
and
'
informer
,
'
which
had
been
previously
hurled
at
the
head
of
the
dissentient
.
Ivor
,
unable
to
reach
the
entrance
and
surrounded
on
every
side
by
angry
faces
and
uplifted
arms
,
was
in
no
slight
peril
.
But
he
did
not
seem
to
notice
;
he
was
collected
and
silent
.
Once
he
looked
towards
the
stranger
,
and
their
eyes
met
.
It
is
impossible
to
say
what
would
have
happened
next
,
for
more
than
one
foreigner
had
drawn
a
knife
from
his
pocket
and
there
was
a
gleam
of
steel
in
the
air
,
when
,
striding
down
from
the
tribune
and
pushing
his
way
through
the
crowd
,
Ivor
's
antagonist
arrived
in
front
of
him
.
The
others
fell
back
.
To
Rupert
it
appeared
that
they
obeyed
this
man
as
a
chief
.
'
Where
are
you
going
,
Ivor
Mardol
?
'
he
said
in
his
distinct
accents
.
'
Are
you
proposing
to
denounce
your
friends
?
'
'
Denounce
?
What
do
you
take
me
for
?
'
replied
Ivor
.
'
I
shall
never
enter
this
committee-room
again
.
I
give
up
the
society
,
and
you
may
inflict
on
me
any
punishment
you
please
,
but
I
am
neither
a
spy
nor
an
informer
.
You
know
where
to
find
me
.
I
have
not
been
hiding
for
the
last
six
months
.
In
spite
of
your
threatenings
I
have
walked
the
streets
of
London
.
These
men
know
,
for
some
of
them
have
seen
me
.
'
'
And
this
friend
of
yours
,
who
has
not
spoken
a
word
all
the
evening
?
'
inquired
the
other
;
'
is
he
,
like
yourself
,
a
partisan
of
light
or
a
spy
?
'
'
It
matters
not
what
he
is
,
'
replied
Ivor
;
'
he
has
authority
for
coming
hither
which
even
you
will
not
dispute
.
'
And
for
the
third
time
he
held
out
the
scrap
of
paper
.
The
stranger
looked
at
it
closely
,
gave
it
back
,
and
said
,
turning
round
to
the
brotherhood
,
'
We
must
let
them
go
.
It
would
be
dangerous
to
have
any
quarrelling
in
this
place
.
Public
opinion
is
roused
,
and
what
has
been
done
is
compromising
enough
to
the
whole
order
.
I
will
be
responsible
,
and
will
watch
over
their
movements
myself
.
'
Amid
confusion
a
strong
character
maintains
its
ascendency
.
The
stranger
was
determined
and
cool
;
Ivor
had
shown
no
timidity
;
and
Rupert
's
silence
implied
that
self-possession
of
the
Englishman
which
appears
so
formidable
a
thing
to
the
average
foreigner
.
It
would
seem
as
though
the
three
men
settled
the
business
among
them
,
while
the
meeting
looked
on
.
'
Wait
till
I
join
you
,
'
said
the
stranger
,
leading
the
friends
through
the
lane
which
was
made
for
them
to
the
entrance
.
Ivor
bowed
silently
,
and
refused
his
proffered
hand
.
The
door
closed
behind
them
,
there
was
still
no
light
in
the
passage
;
and
not
a
word
was
spoken
till
the
young
men
were
in
the
street
.
Then
Rupert
,
grasping
Ivor
's
arm
and
pulling
him
towards
the
gas-lamp
which
shed
a
dull
,
flickering
light
in
front
of
the
great
doorway
,
said
with
the
utmost
vehemence
,
'
Why
did
you
tell
me
a
falsehood
?
You
said
you
did
not
know
him
.
That
,
Ivor
,
that
is
Colonel
Valence
.
'
Ivor
staggered
back
.
'
What
,
Rupert
?
'
he
exclaimed
.
'
Colonel
Valence
,
I
tell
you
,
'
replied
his
friend
.
'
I
knew
him
the
moment
I
set
eyes
on
him
.
'
The
engraver
was
bewildered
still
.
'
Is
it
possible
?
'
he
said
to
himself
.
'
Ah
,
was
that
the
resemblance
I
fancied
,
but
could
not
account
for
,
in
Mrs.
Malcolm
?
'
He
fell
into
a
deep
silence
.
Rupert
shook
his
arm
impatiently
.
'
When
are
you
going
to
explain
?
'
he
said
.
'
You
knew
them
both
,
and
you
would
never
have
told
me
.
Oh
,
what
a
false
friend
you
have
been
,
Ivor
!
'
'
No
,
'
said
the
other
,
rousing
himself
;
'
spare
me
your
reproaches
.
I
do
not
deserve
them
.
I
know
that
man
,
have
known
him
these
sixteen
years
;
but
he
is
Mr.
Felton
,
not
Colonel
Valence
.
'
'
I
tell
you
,
'
returned
the
other
with
emphasis
,
'
it
is
Colonel
Valence
.
Voice
,
and
manner
,
and
appearance
,
—
I
recognise
them
all
.
I
met
and
talked
with
him
in
Trelingham
churchyard
the
day
after
I
went
there
.
'
Ivor
made
him
recount
the
incident
,
while
they
walked
up
and
down
in
front
of
the
house
,
waiting
till
the
lodge
broke
up
.
But
the
artist
was
impatient
,
and
said
hardly
a
word
of
Lady
Alice
.
His
thoughts
were
set
on
Hippolyta
.
The
old
man
—
Colonel
Valence
looked
older
than
ever
—
must
surely
know
what
had
become
of
her
.
But
would
he
tell
Rupert
?
He
was
rigid
and
unfeeling
,
capable
of
leading
his
child
into
the
thick
of
battle
and
with
dry
eyes
beholding
her
perish
,
so
long
as
the
cause
triumphed
.
Glanville
,
when
he
had
ended
the
short
recital
,
turned
again
to
cross-examine
his
friend
.
What
did
Ivor
know
of
Mr.
Felton
?
Not
much
,
or
more
truly
nothing
,
apart
from
the
Socialist
designs
wherein
both
of
them
had
been
engaged
.
He
still
persisted
in
declaring
that
he
had
never
communicated
with
Miss
Valence
,
nor
set
eyes
on
her
till
she
came
to
the
spot
where
they
were
now
standing
.
There
was
something
in
her
face
that
vaguely
recalled
,
he
could
not
have
said
whose
features
,
but
he
now
saw
they
were
Mr.
Felton
's
.
The
artist
thought
of
the
documents
which
Bernstein
had
seen
in
Ivor
's
desk
,
in
the
writing
of
Hippolyta
;
but
he
felt
ashamed
to
mention
them
.
How
did
he
know
they
were
there
?
It
was
a
bitterly
cold
night
,
and
Rupert
shivered
as
they
went
to
and
fro
in
the
windy
street
,
not
speaking
while
there
was
any
one
near
,
and
having
occasionally
to
pause
lest
the
throng
that
at
moments
swept
by
should
carry
them
away
from
the
house
,
and
Colonel
Valence
should
escape
them
.
For
the
artist
was
sure
that
he
had
been
recognised
by
the
old
man
as
he
came
towards
them
from
the
tribune
.
Nothing
but
Ivor
's
perilous
situation
had
kept
him
from
challenging
him
there
and
then
.
The
feeling
of
suspense
was
horrible
;
and
Ivor
,
overwhelmed
at
the
discovery
that
his
guardian
,
his
stern
and
pitiless
friend
,
was
Mrs.
Malcolm
's
father
,
walked
by
Glanville
's
side
,
voiceless
,
trying
to
piece
together
the
details
of
this
strange
story
.
In
what
way
had
his
own
solitary
life
come
to
be
entangled
with
that
of
the
woman
who
had
disappeared
,
and
with
her
father
's
?
Was
she
alive
or
dead
?
His
affection
for
Mr.
Felton
had
never
been
strong
;
it
was
now
annihilated
by
the
exultant
cynicism
with
which
that
prophet
of
evil
had
depicted
the
Tsar
's
tragedy
.
It
had
almost
turned
to
loathing
.
The
men
were
coming
out
.
Rupert
,
standing
under
the
street
lamp
,
scanned
their
features
as
they
passed
;
and
when
the
stream
slackened
made
a
sign
to
Ivor
,
and
pushed
into
the
hall
,
where
a
tallow
candle
was
burning
at
the
head
of
the
stairs
.
The
man
he
sought
was
on
the
threshold
of
the
committee-room
.
Its
door
,
wide
open
,
showed
the
gas
flaring
within
.
When
the
last
man
had
issued
forth
,
Ivor
,
darting
in
front
of
Rupert
,
said
eagerly
,
'
Mr
.
Felton
,
come
this
way
,
'
and
went
in
,
followed
by
Rupert
and
the
old
man
.
No
sooner
was
the
door
shut
,
and
the
three
by
themselves
,
than
Ivor
,
in
a
trembling
voice
,
cried
out
,
'
Rupert
says
you
are
Colonel
Valence
.
Is
it
true
?
'
His
guardian
looked
at
them
in
turn
.
'
It
must
have
come
,
'
he
said
under
his
breath
.
'
Yes
,
Ivor
,
'
he
went
on
in
a
louder
tone
,
'
I
am
Colonel
Valence
.
Do
you
know
anything
about
me
?
'
Rupert
,
who
could
wait
no
longer
,
struck
in
.
'
What
has
become
of
Hippolyta
?
'
he
asked
,
his
face
growing
pale
.
The
name
would
hardly
pass
his
lips
.
Colonel
Valence
,
forgetting
Ivor
,
wheeled
round
,
and
gave
an
astonished
glance
at
the
artist
.
'
Is
not
she
at
Falside
?
'
he
demanded
in
turn
.
'
The
Jew
said
there
was
no
one
there
but
the
servants
,
'
answered
Rupert
confusedly
.
'
The
Jew
?
What
Jew
?
Have
you
gone
out
of
your
mind
?
'
exclaimed
the
Colonel
,
more
and
more
perplexed
.
'
Has
my
daughter
left
home
since
I
went
away
?
I
thought
by
this
time
you
would
have
arranged
everything
.
'
'
She
is
lost
,
'
said
Rupert
gloomily
.
He
did
not
know
what
to
think
.
He
saw
that
Colonel
Valence
was
troubled
,
but
not
like
a
man
who
had
seen
his
child
die
,
or
left
her
in
prison
with
the
surviving
assassins
at
Petersburg
.
He
asked
for
explanations
.
Question
and
answer
succeeded
each
other
rapidly
.
Her
father
appeared
to
learn
for
the
first
time
that
Hippolyta
had
come
to
London
,
had
taken
a
false
name
,
had
met
Ivor
Mardol
.
Rupert
,
in
the
presence
of
his
friend
,
and
to
her
father
's
face
,
could
not
describe
how
she
had
given
herself
to
him
.
He
kept
back
what
he
could
;
but
Colonel
Valence
did
not
press
him
,
did
not
seem
to
think
of
dishonour
in
connection
with
Hippolyta
.
He
inquired
only
how
many
days
she
had
been
missing
,
what
she
had
taken
as
provision
for
her
journey
,
and
whether
she
had
received
any
letters
.
Rupert
told
all
he
knew
,
and
mentioned
the
second
letter
,
besides
his
own
,
which
Mrs.
Leeming
had
handed
to
her
the
last
evening
she
spent
at
Forrest
House
.
'
That
was
from
me
,
'
said
the
Colonel
,
'
announcing
that
I
should
probably
return
to
Falside
in
the
course
of
three
weeks
.
I
allowed
a
margin
for
accidents
,
and
the
time
is
out
.
I
told
her
where
I
was
.
It
is
conceivable
that
she
went
abroad
in
the
hope
of
meeting
me
,
or
of
helping
me
in
Petersburg
.
Hippolyta
was
always
a
creature
of
impulse
.
She
must
be
at
Falside
.
Lost
!
No
,
my
dear
Glanville
,
do
not
think
it
.
We
will
all
three
go
down
to
the
West
to-morrow
.
'
'
Not
I
,
'
said
Ivor
,
turning
away
.
'
Why
not
?
'
inquired
his
guardian
.
He
answered
firmly
,
'
Because
I
have
done
with
you
,
Mr.
Felton
.
I
said
so
to
myself
a
hundred
times
while
you
were
speaking
,
and
I
mean
it
.
You
are
—
'
he
stopped
.
'
What
am
I
?
'
asked
the
other
quietly
,
with
a
severe
light
in
his
eyes
.
'
You
are
worse
than
a
murderer
,
that
is
what
you
are
,
'
cried
Ivor
Mardol
with
great
passion
.
'
Others
commit
bloody
deeds
,
but
you
make
a
religion
of
them
.
'
Colonel
Valence
frowned
.
'
Boy
,
boy
,
you
must
not
talk
to
me
in
that
fashion
,
'
he
said
.
'
What
I
have
advocated
is
justice
,
not
murder
.
Have
done
with
your
tenderness
for
crowned
criminals
,
and
come
with
me
to
Falside
.
'
'
I
shall
do
no
such
thing
,
'
replied
Ivor
.
'
Goodnight
,
Rupert
.
When
you
have
found
Mrs.
Malcolm
,
let
me
know
.
'
He
was
going
.
Rupert
caught
hold
of
him
.
'
Dear
Ivor
,
'
he
said
,
'
be
a
friend
to
me
.
If
I
do
not
come
upon
Hippolyta
soon
,
I
shall
—
I
do
n't
know
what
I
shall
do
—
something
desperate
.
Never
mind
Colonel
Valence
.
Come
and
help
in
the
search
.
'
But
Ivor
was
not
to
be
shaken
.
He
kept
his
eyes
carefully
averted
from
the
spot
where
his
guardian
was
standing
,
in
a
strange
attitude
of
grief
and
scorn
.
The
Colonel
did
not
speak
,
and
Rupert
went
on
entreating
,
but
to
no
purpose
.
At
last
Ivor
said
,
'
I
will
never
come
under
the
same
roof
again
with
Mr.
Felton
'
—
the
old
man
winced
slightly
,
but
was
silent
as
before
;
'
never
,
'
continued
Ivor
,
'
while
I
live
.
If
you
want
me
,
Rupert
,
I
can
go
down
to
Trelingham
and
stay
at
the
Hermitage
,
while
you
are
searching
for
Miss
Valence
.
I
doubt
,
I
doubt
,
'
he
concluded
,
shaking
his
head
mournfully
,
'
that
you
will
find
her
.
'
'
What
makes
you
doubt
?
'
asked
Glanville
.
'
The
way
she
seems
to
have
left
you
,
'
replied
his
friend
.
'
She
had
a
strong
will
,
and
she
must
have
meant
,
—
oh
,
my
dear
fellow
,
I
know
it
is
hard
,
—
but
she
intended
her
flight
to
be
a
separation
for
ever
,
or
she
would
not
have
left
you
without
a
sign
.
'
'
She
must
be
at
Falside
,
'
repeated
Colonel
Valence
in
a
low
voice
.
'
Come
,
Ivor
,
'
said
Rupert
entreatingly
.
'
To
Trelingham
,
if
you
please
,
'
answered
his
friend
.
'
I
know
the
Earl
is
kind
and
will
understand
that
you
want
me
.
But
never
to
that
—
that
other
house
.
'
Colonel
Valence
,
in
a
gentler
way
than
he
had
hitherto
shown
,
said
,
'
Ivor
,
I
am
an
old
man
.
My
principles
are
a
part
of
my
experience
,
which
all
the
discussion
in
the
world
cannot
alter
.
Come
and
stay
with
me
at
Falside
with
your
friend
,
with
Hippolyta
.
Let
us
enjoy
a
few
days
of
happiness
together
.
'
Such
language
from
the
stern
Mr.
Felton
surprised
Ivor
.
It
was
unlike
him
,
not
in
his
character
.
But
this
night
had
made
him
odious
.
The
scent
of
murder
hung
about
him
yet
.
It
was
impossible
that
any
change
in
his
bearing
could
take
away
the
guilt
of
what
he
had
said
and
done
.
As
a
final
answer
,
Mardol
turned
to
the
artist
and
said
with
decision
,
'
When
you
return
from
Falside
,
you
will
find
me
at
the
chalet
.
I
will
write
at
once
to
Lord
Trelingham
,
if
you
can
give
me
his
address
.
'
And
so
saying
he
went
out
of
the
room
,
without
looking
round
.
He
supposed
Rupert
would
stay
,
to
make
arrangements
for
the
journey
of
to-morrow
.
When
he
gained
the
street
he
paused
,
considered
for
a
moment
,
and
walked
hastily
towards
Grafton
Place
.
His
thoughts
were
in
a
tumult
;
he
scarcely
knew
which
way
he
was
going
.
In
the
midst
of
his
painful
and
distracted
musings
he
heard
steps
behind
him
,
as
of
some
one
coming
rapidly
on
.
A
moment
after
Rupert
was
by
his
side
.
'
Why
did
you
not
wait
?
'
he
said
,
out
of
breath
.
'
Colonel
Valence
is
gone
.
We
are
to
travel
together
by
the
fast
train
at
ten
o'clock
.
Here
is
Lord
Trelingham
's
address
.
What
shall
you
do
?
'
'
I
will
follow
in
the
afternoon
,
'
replied
Ivor
.
'
But
,
Rupert
,
prepare
yourself
for
disappointment
.
I
am
almost
certain
Miss
Valence
is
not
there
.
'
'
You
cannot
tell
me
where
she
is
,
all
the
same
?
'
inquired
the
artist
,
half
angrily
.
'
I
can
tell
you
nothing
,
because
I
know
nothing
.
I
have
searched
where
I
could
.
Miss
Desmond
has
not
seen
her
.
The
Duke
of
Adullam
thinks
—
but
it
matters
not
what
he
thinks
.
It
is
mere
conjecture
.
The
best
thing
we
can
do
is
to
go
back
to
Trelingham
Court
,
—
you
to
finish
the
Great
Hall
,
and
I
to
bear
you
company
.
If
Miss
Valence
is
living
,
she
either
cannot
or
will
not
inform
you
of
her
existence
.
You
may
as
well
wait
for
news
at
the
Court
as
anywhere
.
You
will
have
work
to
distract
you
.
'
Rupert
accompanied
Ivor
in
silence
to
his
own
door
,
and
went
home
.
CHAPTER
XXXIII
THE
VALLEY
OF
PERPETUAL
DREAM
The
journey
from
London
,
which
Rupert
and
Colonel
Valence
undertook
next
day
,
was
melancholy
.
In
spite
of
his
indomitable
vigour
and
iron
frame
,
the
Colonel
looked
tired
,
said
but
little
,
and
appeared
to
be
sunk
in
his
own
reflections
,
which
could
hardly
be
of
a
cheerful
cast
.
There
were
moments
when
he
seemed
dispirited
.
A
curious
experience
,
which
he
knew
not
whether
to
call
pain
or
pleasure
,
was
that
of
Rupert
,
as
he
sat
opposite
the
gray-haired
man
and
traced
in
the
lines
of
his
weather-beaten
countenance
the
far-off
likeness
of
Hippolyta
.
At
a
word
,
sometimes
,
the
mask
would
seem
to
change
,
the
whole
expression
would
be
soft
and
gentle
,
like
that
of
his
daughter
when
a
pleasant
thought
came
into
her
mind
;
but
again
,
it
vanished
and
the
stern
lines
were
fixed
as
ever
.
The
Colonel
asked
no
questions
;
he
had
gathered
the
story
last
night
from
Rupert
's
confused
narrative
,
all
except
the
motive
which
could
have
brought
to
so
sudden
a
conclusion
the
idyll
they
seemed
to
have
begun
.
On
the
other
hand
,
he
spoke
without
prompting
of
Ivor
Mardol
,
whose
resolution
to
break
their
long
friendship
seemed
to
afflict
rather
than
to
anger
him
.
'
Strange
,
'
he
said
,
'
that
the
old
man
should
be
so
much
more
advanced
than
the
young
!
Ivor
is
sentimental
;
he
talked
of
Victor
Hugo
.
I
daresay
he
writes
verses
.
While
I
have
gone
forward
with
the
age
,
he
is
turning
back
to
Utopia
and
the
idealists
.
He
does
not
see
that
the
question
between
Governments
and
people
is
which
shall
make
an
end
of
the
other
.
But
he
is
very
noble
.
'
The
artist
replied
at
random
.
He
felt
the
old
affection
for
his
schoolboy
friend
reviving
;
but
of
the
argument
last
night
he
remembered
nothing
distinctly
.
He
was
suffering
almost
as
on
the
morning
when
Hippolyta
left
him
,
when
he
sat
,
a
ruined
man
,
in
her
boudoir
.
The
mind
was
torturing
the
body
.
One
fear
hung
upon
him
and
from
time
to
time
shook
him
with
a
passionate
thrill
;
what
if
she
were
not
at
Falside
,
or
had
never
been
there
?
The
journey
was
a
forlorn
hope
.
All
he
could
say
was
that
she
must
,
in
any
case
,
have
written
to
her
father
.
The
old
man
was
not
dissembling
,
he
thought
;
had
Hippolyta
gone
from
Forrest
House
with
his
approval
,
he
would
not
be
taking
all
these
pains
to
convince
Rupert
that
she
was
lost
to
him
.
He
would
be
following
her
to
the
Continent
.
She
had
,
then
,
fled
of
her
own
accord
.
But
why
?
It
was
an
impenetrable
mystery
.
They
passed
through
the
scenery
which
his
frequent
expeditions
to
and
from
Trelingham
had
made
familiar
;
at
a
certain
junction
they
changed
for
Toxenden
,
which
was
the
station
nearest
Falside
.
They
saw
nobody
of
their
acquaintance
.
When
they
alighted
at
the
small
country
station
,
looking
pretty
even
in
the
lap
of
winter
,
Colonel
Valence
ordered
a
vehicle
,
remarking
,
as
they
entered
it
,
'
A
fortunate
thing
that
we
are
not
obliged
to
go
round
by
Trelingham
!
Although
,
during
the
last
seven
years
,
I
have
travelled
constantly
on
this
line
,
never
once
have
I
encountered
the
Earl
or
any
of
his
people
.
They
knew
when
I
came
or
went
;
for
it
was
idle
to
disguise
my
name
in
a
place
where
everybody
remembered
it
.
Else
I
have
not
borne
the
name
of
Valence
for
thirty
years
and
more
.
'
'
The
Duke
of
Adullam
is
acquainted
with
it
,
'
said
Rupert
.
'
Ah
,
has
he
told
you
so
?
'
returned
the
other
;
'
but
the
Duke
knows
everything
.
'
'
Even
the
parentage
of
Ivor
Mardol
,
'
observed
the
artist
.
'
I
daresay
,
'
was
the
careless
reply
,
as
Colonel
Valence
settled
down
in
the
carriage
.
The
evening
was
dark
and
cold
.
The
way
seemed
long
,
although
Glanville
knew
it
from
his
frequent
riding
over
the
country
in
those
happy
days
when
he
was
learning
more
and
more
the
worth
of
Hippolyta
,
to
be
,
in
fact
,
but
a
couple
of
miles
.
It
went
uphill
towards
the
moor
,
then
turned
again
rather
abruptly
,
and
kept
on
the
bare
hillside
.
And
now
the
sky
seemed
a
huge
cloud
resting
on
another
,
which
was
the
dark
sullen
waste
,
heavy
and
dismal
in
the
gloom
.
They
turned
in
at
the
steep
gate
of
Falside
.
The
evergreens
would
have
hidden
the
lights
had
any
been
shining
in
the
library
windows
.
But
there
were
none
.
That
side
of
the
house
was
quite
dark
.
When
they
reached
the
second
gate
they
dismounted
,
and
Rupert
stood
there
all
impatient
while
the
Colonel
paid
and
dismissed
the
driver
.
No
one
came
at
their
approach
,
although
the
sounds
of
their
wheels
must
surely
,
said
Rupert
to
himself
,
have
been
audible
on
the
gravel-path
.
He
followed
Colonel
Valence
round
the
cottage
,
where
all
seemed
deadly
still
,
to
the
housekeeper
's
room
at
the
back
.
There
was
a
light
in
the
window
.
The
Colonel
tapped
in
a
peculiar
way
;
and
Dolores
,
the
aged
nurse
of
Hippolyta
,
came
at
once
to
the
door
.
On
seeing
her
master
she
began
to
explain
that
Andres
had
gone
to
the
village
.
'
Where
is
my
daughter
?
'
inquired
the
Colonel
.
She
looked
at
Glanville
,
whom
she
had
not
before
noticed
,
and
seeing
the
expression
on
his
face
,
screamed
out
some
words
in
her
own
language
.
Colonel
Valence
,
answering
apparently
in
the
same
—
for
Rupert
,
though
he
could
read
Spanish
,
had
no
practice
in
hearing
it
—
turned
to
the
artist
,
and
said
,
'
She
has
not
been
here
.
There
must
be
a
letter
in
my
study
.
'
And
he
took
the
light
which
Dolores
offered
.
The
two
men
ran
down
the
steps
,
through
the
covered
way
,
and
into
the
house
,
each
disquieted
,
but
neither
stopping
to
utter
his
thought
.
The
library
was
in
perfect
order
,
but
had
that
woebegone
appearance
which
comes
over
a
room
where
no
one
has
dwelt
for
some
time
.
Colonel
Valence
,
setting
down
the
light
,
began
,
with
uneasy
looks
,
to
turn
over
the
pile
of
miscellaneous
correspondence
that
lay
undisturbed
on
the
table
.
There
were
many
letters
,
which
he
tore
open
and
flung
from
him
,
when
he
saw
they
had
not
the
enclosure
he
was
expecting
.
He
came
to
the
end
of
them
,
turned
back
,
shook
them
out
carefully
again
,
and
sat
down
,
fixing
his
eyes
on
the
floor
and
not
uttering
a
word
.
Glanville
was
equally
silent
.
At
last
Colonel
Valence
looked
up
,
haggard
,
with
the
deep
veins
on
his
forehead
swollen
.
'
Mr
.
Glanville
,
'
he
said
,
with
curious
formality
,
'
I
can
find
nothing
.
My
daughter
must
have
been
murdered
.
'
Under
that
dreadful
shock
the
artist
reeled
and
had
almost
fallen
,
but
recovering
himself
he
went
to
the
table
;
and
,
for
the
third
time
,
the
correspondence
was
turned
and
examined
,
in
the
vain
hope
of
finding
a
trace
of
Hippolyta
.
She
had
not
written
;
there
was
nothing
there
.
The
two
men
,
when
Rupert
laid
down
the
last
of
the
papers
,
sank
into
a
stillness
that
resembled
apathy
.
Neither
stirred
nor
spoke
.
The
Colonel
sat
with
his
eyes
on
the
ground
;
Rupert
,
grasping
the
table
with
one
hand
,
stood
like
a
man
in
a
dream
.
The
candle
burnt
to
the
socket
,
flickered
,
and
went
out
.
There
was
darkness
in
the
room
,
and
far
down
the
valley
a
star
or
two
seemed
to
twinkle
.
The
sound
of
Andres
returning
on
horseback
struck
upon
their
ears
and
woke
Colonel
Valence
from
his
overwhelming
grief
.
He
rose
and
went
to
the
door
,
calling
out
to
Andres
in
Spanish
.
The
old
servant
stopped
.
There
was
brief
colloquy
between
them
;
the
Colonel
did
not
return
;
and
by
and
by
lights
were
brought
into
the
room
,
and
Dolores
set
down
a
tray
with
supper
on
it
by
the
side
of
Glanville
.
Her
husband
,
who
brought
the
lights
,
said
that
Colonel
Valence
would
not
appear
again
that
night
,
but
the
stranger
's
room
would
be
made
ready
as
soon
as
possible
.
Both
the
old
servants
were
in
great
consternation
and
shedding
tears
;
but
Glanville
hardly
noticed
them
,
and
the
supper
remained
untasted
where
it
had
been
laid
.
He
heard
the
sound
of
Colonel
Valence
's
footstep
as
he
paced
up
and
down
outside
on
the
terrace
.
It
was
a
slight
thing
,
but
intolerable
.
Seizing
his
hat
he
ran
up
the
steps
once
more
,
and
let
himself
out
by
the
little
postern-gate
leading
to
the
bridge
.
How
well
he
remembered
that
afternoon
when
Hippolyta
brought
him
through
it
for
the
first
time
,
and
he
followed
like
her
dog
,
or
some
poor
thing
she
cherished
!
Gone
,
gone
!
She
was
dead
,
or
worse
than
dead
,
to
him
.
He
wandered
on
the
edge
of
the
moor
,
stumbling
over
the
great
stones
,
but
,
by
some
instinct
,
never
going
beyond
the
sound
of
the
waterfall
,
which
made
a
strange
monotonous
music
in
the
night
,
like
a
sobbing
ghost
,
he
said
to
himself
.
When
some
hours
were
past
Andres
found
him
,
and
persuaded
him
to
go
in
,
speaking
to
the
proud
English
gentleman
with
soothing
words
as
to
a
child
.
He
showed
him
the
stranger
's
room
.
'
My
first
night
at
Falside
,
under
her
father
's
roof
,
'
murmured
Glanville
,
as
he
looked
round
him
.
'
This
is
the
coming
home
,
and
the
end
of
the
honeymoon
.
Hippolyta
is
dead
,
and
I
am
miserable
.
'
He
crept
into
bed
and
fell
asleep
.
Next
morning
,
when
he
woke
,
the
fever
was
upon
him
,
but
he
would
take
no
heed
of
it
.
He
came
downstairs
.
Colonel
Valence
was
gone
,
—
to
London
,
said
the
note
which
he
had
written
and
left
for
Glanville
.
He
might
be
compelled
to
seek
his
daughter
on
the
Continent
.
He
would
let
the
artist
know
if
he
heard
anything
.
A
fire
was
blazing
on
the
hearth
,
looking
clear
as
in
frosty
weather
.
Dolores
,
when
she
had
laid
the
table
for
breakfast
,
lingered
until
Rupert
sat
down
,
and
then
,
with
the
tenderness
of
the
kind
old
creature
she
was
,
induced
him
to
eat
.
He
made
a
hasty
meal
,
and
at
its
conclusion
was
setting
out
from
the
cottage
,
when
she
asked
him
at
what
hour
he
would
come
back
.
He
echoed
the
words
wonderingly
.
'
Come
back
?
'
he
said
,
'
never
.
'
She
insisted
,
and
begged
him
to
say
in
what
direction
he
was
going
.
In
the
same
absent
way
he
replied
,
'
To
Trelingham
.
'
Upon
hearing
that
she
called
Andres
,
and
between
them
they
made
Glanville
stay
until
the
pony-chaise
could
be
got
ready
.
He
waited
by
the
garden
wall
;
he
would
not
enter
the
house
,
nor
even
look
towards
it
,
a
second
time
.
He
seemed
to
have
no
interest
in
himself
,
no
purpose
save
that
of
reaching
Trelingham
at
the
earliest
.
When
Andres
appeared
with
the
carriage
he
mounted
silently
,
drew
his
ulster
about
him
,
and
sat
upright
,
gazing
straight
on
before
him
,
but
speaking
not
a
syllable
,
and
seeming
not
to
remark
the
way
they
went
.
His
thoughts
,
meanwhile
,
were
busy
enough
with
it
,
going
over
the
dreams
,
the
vanished
illusions
of
that
night
on
which
he
had
been
driven
along
these
very
paths
,
in
the
dark
,
but
with
Hippolyta
's
remembrance
to
light
up
all
within
.
Now
the
darkness
had
entered
his
soul
.
He
did
not
dare
to
whisper
the
name
which
,
barely
thought
of
,
pierced
him
like
a
sword
.
He
wanted
to
get
away
from
it
,
to
see
no
more
of
Falside
,
to
be
only
the
artist
whose
work
was
to
be
done
at
Trelingham
.
Plans
for
the
future
he
had
none
.
'
I
shall
be
stronger
,
'
he
said
,
'
when
I
am
in
the
Great
Hall
painting
.
'
He
tried
to
think
of
the
frescoes
,
but
the
exertion
sickened
him
.
It
seemed
to
him
that
he
was
neither
living
nor
dead
.
He
was
stunned
and
yet
suffering
.
The
well-known
trees
rose
up
to
greet
him
as
they
came
in
view
of
Trelingham
Chase
.
The
winter-
landscape
,
though
bare
in
places
,
and
taking
in
the
wild
moor
with
its
belt
of
dark-blue
sea
,
was
soothing
and
gentle
.
The
great
house
stretched
its
wings
over
the
silent
terrace
,
where
no
figure
was
to
be
seen
.
They
passed
the
lodge
,
drove
slowly
up
the
winding
walk
by
which
Hippolyta
had
always
come
when
she
visited
Lady
May
Davenant
,
and
arrived
at
the
chief
entrance
.
The
butler
,
who
was
at
hand
,
observed
Glanville
's
extraordinary
pallor
,
but
,
with
his
usual
discretion
,
said
nothing
except
that
Mr.
Mardol
had
come
the
evening
before
,
and
was
at
the
chalet
.
Rupert
sent
him
a
message
,
shook
Andres
by
the
hand
,
and
let
him
go
.
It
was
a
relief
to
see
the
pony-chaise
depart
;
it
had
belonged
to
her
.
While
he
was
taking
off
his
wraps
,
Ivor
,
who
had
been
walking
near
the
house
,
came
in
and
ran
up
,
catching
him
by
both
hands
,
and
,
by
a
look
,
inquiring
what
news
there
might
be
.
The
artist
bit
his
lip
nervously
and
turned
away
.
'
She
is
not
there
,
'
he
whispered
.
That
was
all
.
They
understood
one
another
,
and
said
no
more
.
It
was
a
bad
sign
that
Rupert
would
neither
eat
nor
lie
down
.
Capable
,
like
all
great
artists
,
of
working
for
many
hours
on
end
,
he
was
also
,
like
them
,
subject
to
fits
of
weariness
during
which
he
slept
the
day
through
.
But
now
he
was
fatigued
,
and
he
wrought
on
.
He
made
the
Great
Hall
his
abode
,
leaving
it
only
to
retire
late
in
the
evening
to
his
own
room
,
where
he
would
throw
himself
on
the
bed
,
sometimes
without
undressing
,
and
lie
,
not
knowing
how
his
thoughts
went
,
in
a
state
of
semi-
consciousness
that
left
him
more
tired
than
the
day
before
.
His
work
,
however
,
showed
no
trace
of
fatigue
.
Ivor
looked
on
with
grave
misgivings
,
astonished
that
he
would
not
unburden
his
heart
,
seeing
the
fever
on
his
brow
,
but
powerless
to
influence
him
.
Rupert
,
silent
for
hours
,
kept
his
friend
in
the
Great
Hall
,
and
seemed
disquieted
if
he
went
away
;
which
led
to
Ivor
's
giving
up
the
chalet
and
sleeping
in
his
old
room
at
the
Court
,
next
to
Glanville
's
.
He
received
,
a
few
days
after
his
arrival
,
a
most
gracious
letter
from
Lord
Trelingham
,
who
,
with
his
daughter
and
the
Countess
Lutenieff
,
was
staying
in
Paris
at
the
house
of
a
Legitimist
noble
,
M
.
de
Flamas
.
In
his
own
epistle
Ivor
had
said
that
Rupert
had
wanted
him
immediately
,
and
he
had
ventured
to
anticipate
the
Earl
's
permission
to
spend
the
necessary
time
at
Trelingham
.
The
Earl
,
in
reply
,
hoped
that
Mr.
Glanville
was
in
his
usual
health
,
regretting
that
he
had
not
heard
from
him
for
more
than
a
month
.
Rupert
,
in
fact
,
could
not
have
said
when
he
last
wrote
to
Lord
Trelingham
.
He
had
forgotten
the
name
of
Lady
May
.
And
so
he
continued
to
paint
the
Morte
d'Arthur
,
working
from
his
own
designs
as
though
they
had
been
another
's
,
not
creating
but
remembering
,
and
with
the
refrain
of
his
sad
thoughts
for
an
accompaniment
.
One
evening
as
he
was
coming
down
the
ladder
from
his
high
scaffold
a
fit
of
giddiness
seized
him
,
and
but
for
his
friend
,
who
caught
him
as
he
slipped
,
the
accident
might
have
proved
serious
.
He
walked
occasionally
on
the
terrace
;
but
he
would
never
visit
any
point
from
which
the
Hermitage
was
visible
.
When
the
letters
came
he
inspected
them
eagerly
.
There
was
nothing
from
Colonel
Valence
Bernstein
wrote
several
times
,
and
Rupert
did
not
answer
.
At
last
,
when
he
had
been
working
some
ten
days
with
despairing
eagerness
,
he
laid
his
brush
down
and
said
to
Ivor
,
'
My
brain
does
not
seem
right
.
I
think
it
means
fever
.
Take
care
of
me
when
it
comes
,
and
let
no
one
enter
my
room
.
'
Next
day
he
was
unable
to
rise
.
He
slept
a
little
,
woke
with
a
throbbing
brow
,
and
hardly
knew
who
it
was
that
sat
by
his
bedside
.
Ivor
sent
for
the
physician
that
had
attended
Tom
Davenant
.
When
he
came
the
patient
was
wandering
in
his
mind
,
talking
much
but
unintelligibly
in
a
low
tone
,
and
stretching
out
his
hands
every
moment
for
water
.
The
attack
,
which
had
been
delayed
by
Rupert
's
energy
for
so
many
days
,
now
came
in
full
force
.
His
reason
,
his
life
were
in
danger
.
There
could
be
no
thought
of
moving
him
.
Ivor
telegraphed
to
Lord
Trelingham
,
and
the
same
evening
received
an
answer
from
Lady
May
announcing
that
they
were
coming
home
,
and
recommending
the
utmost
care
of
Rupert
.
Though
it
was
an
abrupt
termination
to
a
visit
that
the
Earl
had
long
resolved
to
pay
and
was
now
enjoying
,
the
good
man
,
who
liked
Glanville
exceedingly
,
at
once
complied
with
his
daughter
's
suggestion
;
and
they
crossed
the
Channel
twenty-four
hours
after
the
telegram
had
acquainted
them
with
Rupert
's
situation
.
The
Countess
,
not
so
much
interested
as
inquisitive
,
and
just
then
at
a
loss
what
to
do
,
accompanied
them
.
I
shall
say
little
of
Lady
May
's
feelings
.
They
are
easy
to
imagine
;
they
would
take
long
to
describe
.
How
had
she
lived
since
her
father
's
illness
had
compelled
her
to
quit
Trelingham
and
Rupert
Glanville
?
As
we
all
do
when
despair
of
some
pleasant
prospect
has
fallen
upon
us
,
—
from
day
to
day
,
without
hope
,
letting
the
hours
creep
on
,
and
finding
existence
like
sand
in
the
mouth
.
Rupert
had
never
so
much
as
addressed
a
line
to
her
,
though
occasions
were
not
wanting
.
He
had
sent
the
usual
unmeaning
messages
through
Lord
Trelingham
;
but
,
writing
at
length
on
subjects
connected
with
painting
,
and
diverging
now
and
then
to
social
topics
,
he
did
not
wear
his
heart
upon
his
sleeve
.
To
guess
at
his
inner
life
was
impossible
.
He
seemed
happy
;
the
tone
in
which
he
indited
these
pleasant
nothings
was
a
sign
of
it
.
Had
the
Earl
's
health
been
less
uncertain
,
less
dependent
on
clear
skies
and
medicinal
waters
,
she
would
have
urged
him
to
return
home
,
to
take
up
his
residence
in
town
,
at
any
rate
,
during
the
season
,
where
they
must
from
time
to
time
have
had
a
visit
from
Glanville
.
But
she
was
tired
of
devising
schemes
which
brought
her
no
nearer
the
goal
.
She
lived
a
proud
solitary
life
,
making
the
most
of
her
music
as
the
channel
of
emotions
she
must
otherwise
conceal
,
and
conscious
every
day
that
she
was
walking
in
a
vain
shadow
.
Of
such
an
existence
there
is
nothing
to
tell
,
except
how
long
it
lasted
.
For
while
there
were
endless
changes
of
feeling
,
they
bore
no
harvest
.
And
now
Glanville
was
down
with
brain
fever
,
how
brought
on
she
could
not
imagine
.
Who
was
to
nurse
him
while
it
lasted
?
Any
misfortune
that
left
him
helpless
in
her
hands
was
welcome
.
They
must
hasten
back
,
and
keep
him
at
Trelingham
.
the
journey
was
accomplished
slowly
,
because
of
the
Earl
;
but
it
could
last
only
a
short
time
at
the
outside
.
Lady
May
kept
down
her
trouble
.
Karina
,
always
watching
,
saw
nothing
to
lay
hold
of
.
And
soon
they
were
all
once
more
at
home
.
The
meeting
between
Lady
May
and
Ivor
was
on
both
sides
full
of
emotion
.
But
the
lady
cared
only
for
Rupert
,
—
and
his
friend
,
at
such
a
time
,
could
not
indulge
in
the
self-torment
of
unrequited
love
.
The
patient
's
delirium
had
increased
;
he
recognised
no
one
,
and
he
talked
incessantly
of
the
dreadful
sights
he
had
looked
upon
during
his
night-wanderings
in
London
.
Ivor
thought
himself
bound
by
his
injunction
to
let
none
pass
the
threshold
of
the
sick-room
,
save
the
doctor
and
the
nurse
.
He
did
not
desire
that
Rupert
's
secret
should
get
abroad
;
and
his
former
suspicion
that
Lady
May
had
some
thought
of
marrying
the
artist
,
made
him
doubly
unwilling
that
her
presence
should
trouble
him
.
But
he
had
to
deal
with
a
determined
woman
.
She
satisfied
Lord
Trelingham
by
getting
the
physician
to
assure
him
that
there
was
no
risk
of
infection
;
she
submitted
to
the
jealous
surveillance
exercised
by
Mardol
over
every
one
that
came
near
his
friend
;
and
she
insisted
on
her
right
as
hostess
and
a
good
Samaritan
to
see
that
all
was
as
it
should
be
about
the
invalid
.
She
went
and
came
,
but
Glanville
did
not
look
her
way
.
Ivor
gave
him
his
medicine
,
contrived
,
with
the
nurse
's
aid
,
to
pour
liquid
nourishment
down
his
throat
;
and
never
left
him
day
or
night
.
It
was
an
extraordinary
thing
that
,
in
all
his
raving
,
one
name
never
crossed
the
patient
's
lips
.
It
seemed
to
be
erased
from
the
folds
of
his
brain
,
or
to
have
sunk
into
the
dim
recesses
whence
fever
could
not
pluck
it
forth
.
None
but
Ivor
could
have
told
how
he
came
to
be
ill.
He
had
overworked
himself
and
undergone
exposure
to
cold
;
he
must
have
been
sickening
when
he
left
London
.
That
was
all
Ivor
would
say
.
And
the
name
of
Hippolyta
was
never
pronounced
.
Rupert
,
living
over
again
the
scenes
which
had
followed
her
disappearance
,
recurred
continually
to
the
vision
of
the
gray-haired
woman
whose
form
he
had
beheld
in
the
dead-house
—
wherever
it
was
,
for
he
did
not
know
.
And
by
and
by
another
took
its
place
.
All
day
long
he
murmured
the
name
of
Annie
Dauris
;
he
described
the
wild
look
in
her
eyes
with
which
she
had
started
up
in
her
bed
at
the
hospital
on
seeing
him
.
When
the
Jew
acquainted
him
with
her
death
he
had
made
no
remark
;
his
own
trouble
absorbed
his
fancy
.
But
now
he
did
not
speak
of
Hippolyta
.
The
unknown
girl
of
seventeen
,
with
her
fair
hair
and
pallid
eyes
,
seemed
to
be
staring
at
him
terrifying
him
with
the
thoughts
of
muddy
death
,
recounting
the
horrors
of
the
wicked
river
flowing
to
the
sea
.
A
stranger
would
have
guessed
some
story
from
his
words
,
and
guessed
all
wrong
.
But
Ivor
took
care
that
Lady
May
should
not
overhear
them
.
For
weeks
Rupert
hung
between
life
and
death
.
His
friend
,
on
some
pretext
or
other
,
twice
drove
to
Toxenden
,
—
the
only
occasions
on
which
he
quitted
his
bedside
,
—
and
walking
by
roundabout
ways
arrived
at
Falside
.
There
was
no
news
of
Hippolyta
.
Colonel
Valence
had
gone
abroad
.
Ivor
was
thankful
to
have
missed
him
.
·
·
·
·
·
·
Such
an
one
lives
,
says
the
Greek
poet
,
that
would
be
glad
to
die
;
and
Rupert
Glanville
's
story
was
not
ended
.
Could
he
have
chosen
he
would
never
have
come
back
to
a
sense
of
misery
.
But
neither
of
his
life
nor
his
death
was
he
master
.
When
the
fever
had
brought
him
to
the
brink
of
the
grave
it
left
him
.
He
awoke
to
a
dull
feeling
of
pain
;
he
looked
round
,
saw
Ivor
,
and
called
him
.
The
loving
fellow
wept
tears
of
gratitude
.
Rupert
stretched
a
white
hand
out
of
the
bedclothes
and
asked
,
as
men
do
on
recovering
from
a
swoon
,
'
How
long
have
I
been
here
?
'
He
was
told
to
keep
still
and
to
refrain
from
talking
.
He
slept
once
more
.
Next
day
when
he
woke
there
was
no
pain
,
but
extreme
weakness
,
and
in
that
state
he
lay
for
a
long
time
.
Lady
May
came
frequently
,
as
often
as
she
dared
.
He
showed
no
sign
of
displeasure
;
he
hardly
noticed
.
Later
on
,
when
he
was
convalescent
,
he
saw
that
she
looked
worn
and
thin
.
'
Have
you
had
a
fever
too
?
'
he
asked
,
with
the
naïve
manner
which
comes
back
at
that
stage
,
a
reminiscence
of
childhood
.
She
smiled
rather
sadly
,
and
answered
that
it
was
gone
.
Lord
Trelingham
's
presence
gave
him
evident
pleasure
;
but
he
did
not
talk
much
.
He
would
fix
his
eyes
on
Lady
May
as
long
as
she
stayed
in
the
room
;
and
when
she
disappeared
,
he
gazed
after
her
.
He
did
not
ask
who
she
was
,
but
Ivor
sometimes
thought
his
memory
must
be
affected
;
for
he
seemed
not
to
recall
her
name
,
and
when
he
spoke
,
it
was
either
of
their
schooldays
or
of
the
unfinished
frescoes
which
he
was
anxious
to
go
on
with
.
Had
he
forgotten
Hippolyta
?
His
friend
,
dreading
a
relapse
,
did
not
venture
to
come
near
the
subject
.
But
one
day
,
before
he
could
prevent
himself
,
the
name
slipped
out
.
Rupert
gave
no
sign
.
His
countenance
did
not
change
.
He
answered
the
question
that
had
been
put
to
him
,
but
it
was
about
the
Hermitage
,
and
he
passed
over
the
once-loved
name
as
though
it
had
been
some
foreign
term
,
or
he
had
not
heard
it
.
During
his
long
illness
Ivor
,
who
opened
all
the
letters
that
came
,
read
several
from
Mr.
Bernstein
,
the
last
of
which
declared
that
he
looked
on
Mrs.
Malcolm
's
recovery
as
impossible
,
and
declined
to
prosecute
the
search
any
longer
.
He
enclosed
a
formidable
account
.
Ivor
went
to
Lord
Trelingham
,
borrowed
the
money
(
for
Rupert
was
still
delirious
)
,
and
sent
it
by
return
of
post
to
Mr.
Bernstein
.
Now
he
did
not
know
what
to
do
with
the
receipt
.
Money
of
his
own
would
be
shortly
due
,
enough
to
repay
Lord
Trelingham
,
though
leaving
himself
poor
enough
for
the
next
twelve
months
.
But
if
Rupert
had
forgotten
,
why
recall
this
frightful
business
?
He
thrust
the
Jew
's
epistles
into
the
fire
;
he
locked
away
the
receipt
among
his
own
papers
;
and
the
artist
,
who
put
no
questions
,
did
not
hear
from
the
private
inquiry
office
again
.
It
was
midsummer
,
and
one
of
the
pleasantest
days
of
the
year
,
when
Rupert
came
down
,
recovered
in
health
,
but
somewhat
changed
,
it
would
appear
,
in
disposition
.
He
was
no
longer
melancholy
or
fantastic
,
neither
was
there
the
same
brightness
about
him
.
He
seemed
grateful
to
every
one
for
a
kind
word
.
He
sat
and
walked
a
great
deal
with
Ivor
in
the
course
of
the
next
few
days
;
then
he
would
stay
longer
in
the
drawing-room
,
and
Lady
May
observed
,
with
the
most
exquisite
delight
,
that
he
seemed
to
depend
on
her
for
his
comfort
,
and
asked
her
often
to
improvise
on
the
piano
,
while
he
sat
and
listened
.
The
Countess
had
gone
away
at
an
early
stage
of
his
illness
;
she
could
not
endure
invalids
.
She
said
the
thought
of
one
in
the
house
made
her
unwell
.
Tom
Davenant
,
when
he
knew
that
Ivor
was
back
again
at
Trelingham
,
wrote
to
him
often
,
and
in
the
most
affectionate
terms
;
but
he
was
still
smarting
under
his
disappointment
,
and
paid
them
no
visit
.
So
that
Rupert
and
Lady
May
were
almost
as
much
alone
as
when
they
spent
their
mornings
in
the
picture-gallery
.
Ivor
,
looking
on
with
kinder
and
sadder
eyes
than
the
Countess
had
done
,
—
now
nearly
two
years
ago
,
—
considered
how
these
things
might
end
.
He
spoke
to
Rupert
casually
of
Falside
.
There
was
no
tremor
in
return
.
He
went
so
far
,
in
his
experiment
,
as
to
remark
that
Colonel
Valence
must
be
from
home
,
and
the
artist
replied
,
'
He
went
after
meeting
me
in
the
churchyard
.
'
Could
it
be
possible
that
the
episode
of
his
affection
for
Hippolyta
,
with
all
its
incidents
,
was
blotted
from
his
memory
?
Full
of
the
idea
,
and
ready
to
encourage
it
in
Rupert
's
interest
,
Ivor
did
a
bold
thing
.
When
Mr.
Bernstein
wrote
to
resign
his
commission
,
he
added
that
Mrs.
Malcolm
's
portrait
had
been
returned
to
Mr.
Glanville
's
house
in
Belgravia
.
Not
long
after
,
an
epistle
from
his
solicitor
,
which
Ivor
opened
,
apprised
him
of
the
place
where
Rupert
and
Hippolyta
had
lived
during
their
brief
union
.
The
man
of
business
required
instructions
as
to
Forrest
House
.
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Malcolm
,
it
appeared
,
had
left
suddenly
;
the
servants
'
wages
were
unpaid
,
and
but
for
Mrs.
Leeming
,
who
had
,
been
sent
there
originally
by
the
solicitor
,
the
red
brick
mansion
must
have
been
for
several
months
at
the
mercy
of
any
one
that
chose
to
come
in
.
Ivor
,
in
reply
,
informed
the
solicitor
of
Rupert
's
dangerous
condition
,
sent
money
to
pay
the
servants
,
and
recommended
that
the
house
should
be
let
as
soon
as
possible
.
This
was
done
,
and
there
remained
only
the
question
of
Hippolyta
's
portrait
.
Ivor
now
took
the
opportunity
,
while
Lady
May
and
the
artist
were
so
much
together
,
of
running
up
to
London
;
called
in
at
Clarence
Gardens
,
opened
the
parcels
he
found
there
,
and
carried
away
the
dangerous
picture
to
Grafton
Place
.
He
consulted
a
distinguished
physician
,
and
after
giving
him
the
history
of
Glanville
's
brain
fever
,
the
events
which
had
led
to
it
,
and
the
apparent
loss
of
memory
which
it
had
caused
,
asked
him
what
advice
he
could
offer
.
Among
other
things
he
inquired
,
'
Would
it
be
well
for
Rupert
to
marry
?
'
'
Yes
,
'
answered
the
physician
,
'
but
not
to
live
in
the
neighbourhood
of
his
disaster
.
Let
him
marry
and
go
abroad
,
practise
his
profession
,
and
be
kept
from
everything
which
would
remind
him
of
the
lost
Hippolyta
.
From
that
moment
Ivor
resolved
that
the
marriage
should
take
place
,
cost
what
it
might
to
himself
or
to
any
one
else
.
He
felt
a
choking
sensation
in
his
throat
;
it
was
surrendering
his
dearest
illusions
.
But
let
them
go
,
he
said
,
provided
Rupert
were
safe
.
On
his
return
he
found
matters
unchanged
,
the
lady
devoted
to
the
gentleman
,
and
the
gentleman
strangely
dependent
on
the
lady
.
He
took
Rupert
aside
one
bright
afternoon
,
as
they
were
walking
on
the
terrace
,
when
the
air
was
full
of
sweetness
,
the
moor
glorious
under
floating
clouds
,
the
sea
flashing
upon
the
horizon
.
There
was
a
party
of
lawn-tennis
at
Trelingham
,
and
the
laughing
voices
of
young
people
and
the
sound
of
their
playing
came
up
where
the
friends
paused
.
'
Rupert
,
'
said
Ivor
,
'
why
do
n't
you
marry
Lady
May
?
'
He
waited
with
intense
anxiety
for
the
answer
,
but
it
was
not
long
.
'
I
never
thought
of
it
,
'
replied
his
friend
,
in
a
calm
voice
;
'
do
you
fancy
she
would
accept
me
?
'
—
'
Go
and
ask
her
,
'
said
the
chivalrous
young
man
;
'
she
is
walking
at
the
other
end
of
the
terrace
.
'
Glanville
raised
his
eyes
.
She
was
alone
,
pacing
up
and
down
thoughtfully
.
He
quitted
Ivor
,
went
slowly
along
,
looking
neither
to
the
right
nor
to
the
left
,
until
he
approached
within
a
yard
of
her
.
She
stopped
and
turned
.
'
Lady
May
,
'
he
said
,
holding
his
hat
in
his
hand
,
'
Ivor
thinks
you
would
marry
me
,
if
I
asked
you
.
Is
it
true
?
'
Her
heart
gave
a
great
leap
.
She
put
out
her
hand
.
'
Why
did
you
not
ask
me
before
?
'
she
said
.
And
they
walked
back
along
the
terrace
together
.
Ivor
was
watching
them
and
saw
what
had
passed
.
'
God
bless
them
,
'
he
murmured
in
a
half-groan
as
he
turned
away
.
But
they
were
by
his
side
.
'
It
is
true
,
Ivor
,
'
said
his
friend
,
with
a
subdued
tenderness
that
had
something
marvellously
strange
in
it
to
one
who
knew
his
fiery
temperament
.
'
Lady
May
says
she
will
marry
me
.
Will
you
come
to
our
wedding
?
'
The
promise
was
given
.
Rupert
continuing
said
,
'
I
must
have
done
with
the
frescoes
,
however
.
And
,
Lady
May
,
'
—
she
trembled
as
he
addressed
her
,
—
'
when
we
are
married
we
will
leave
Trelingham
.
The
air
is
not
good
for
me
.
'
She
was
surprised
;
but
Ivor
thought
,
'
What
good
genius
inspired
him
to
say
that
at
once
?
'
It
was
a
formal
stipulation
,
so
to
speak
.
The
lady
cared
nothing
for
Trelingham
if
Rupert
were
away
;
and
with
him
she
would
have
roamed
the
world
.
Her
father
was
visible
in
the
library
.
She
