thinkbetter
of
it
?
”
Baumgartner
smiled
.
“
Surely
I
am
,
”
said
he
;
but
his
smile
went
out
with
the
words
.
“
If
only
they
believe
me
!
”
he
added
as
though
it
was
a
new
idea
to
him
.
It
was
a
terrifying
one
to
Pocket
.
“
Why
should
n't
they
?
”
was
his
broken
exclamation
.
“
I
do
n't
know
.
I
never
thought
of
it
before
.
But
what
can
I
swear
to
,
after
all
?
I
can
swear
you
shot
a
man
,
but
I
ca
n't
swear
you
shot
him
in
your
sleep
!
”
“
You
said
you
saw
I
did
!
”
“
So
I
did
,
my
young
fellow
,
”
replied
the
doctor
,
with
a
kinder
smile
;
“
at
least
I
can
swear
that
you
were
walking
with
your
eyes
shut
,
and
I
thought
you
were
walking
in
your
sleep
.
It
's
not
quite
the
same
thing
.
It
is
near
it
.
But
we
are
talking
about
my
evidence
on
oath
in
a
court
of
justice
.
”
“
Shall
I
be
tried
?
”
asked
the
schoolboy
in
a
hoarse
whisper
.
“
Perhaps
only
by
the
magistrate
,
”
replied
the
other
,
soothingly
;
“
let
us
hope
it
will
stop
at
that
.
”
“
But
it
must
,
it
must
!
”
cried
Pocket
wildly
.
“
I
'm
absolutely
innocent
!
You
said
so
yourself
a
minute
ago
;
you
've
only
to
swear
it
as
a
doctor
?
They
ca
n't
do
anything
to
me
—
they
ca
n't
possibly
!
”
The
doctor
stood
looking
into
the
sunless
garden
with
a
troubled
face
.
“
Dr.
Baumgartner
!
”
“
Yes
,
my
young
fellow
?
”
“
They
ca
n't
do
anything
to
me
,
can
they
?
”
Baumgartner
returned
to
the
fireside
with
his
foreign
shrug
.
“
It
depends
what
you
call
anything
,
”
said
he
.
“
They
cannot
hang
you
;
after
what
I
should
certainly
have
to
say
I
doubt
if
they
could
even
detain
you
in
custody
.
But
you
would
only
be
released
on
bail
;
the
case
would
be
sent
for
trial
;
it
would
get
into
every
paper
in
England
;
your
family
could
not
stop
it
,
your
schoolfellows
would
devour
it
,
you
would
find
it
difficult
to
live
down
both
at
home
and
at
school
.
In
years
to
come
it
will
mean
at
best
a
certain
smile
at
your
expense
!
That
is
what
they
can
do
to
you
,
”
concluded
the
doctor
,
apologetically
.
“
You
asked
me
to
tell
you
.
It
is
better
to
be
candid
.
I
hoped
you
would
bear
it
like
a
man
.
”
Pocket
was
not
even
bearing
it
like
a
manly
boy
;
he
had
flung
himself
back
into
the
big
chair
,
and
broken
down
for
the
first
time
utterly
.
One
name
became
articulate
through
his
sobs
.
“
My
mother
!
”
he
moaned
.
“
It
'll
kill
her
!
I
know
it
will
!
Oh
,
that
I
should
live
to
kill
my
mother
too
!
”
“
Mothers
have
more
lives
than
that
;
they
have
more
than
most
people
,
”
remarked
Baumgartner
sardonically
.
“
You
do
n't
understand
!
She
has
had
a
frightful
illness
,
bad
news
of
any
kind
has
to
be
kept
from
her
,
and
can
you
imagine
worse
news
than
this
?
She
must
n't
hear
it
!
”
cried
the
boy
,
leaping
to
feet
with
streaming
eyes
.
“
For
God
's
sake
,
sir
,
help
me
to
hush
it
up
!
”
“
It
's
in
the
papers
already
,
”
replied
Baumgartner
,
with
a
forbearing
shrug
.
“
But
my
part
in
it
!
”
“
You
said
it
had
got
to
come
out
.
”
“
I
did
n't
realise
all
it
meant
—
to
her
!
”
“
I
thought
you
meant
to
make
a
clean
breast
of
it
?
”
“
So
I
did
;
but
now
I
do
n't
!
”
cried
Pocket
,
vehemently
.
“
Now
I
would
give
my
own
life
,
cheerfully
,
rather
than
let
her
know
what
I
've
done
—
than
drag
them
all
through
that
!
”
“
Do
you
mean
what
you
say
?
”
Baumgartner
appeared
to
be
forming
some
conditional
intention
.
“
Every
syllable
!
”
said
Pocket
.
“
Because
,
you
know
,
”
explained
the
doctor
,
“
it
is
a
case
of
now
or
never
so
far
as
going
to
Scotland
Yard
is
concerned
.
”
“
Then
it
's
never
!
”
“
I
must
put
it
plainly
to
you
.
It
's
not
too
late
to
do
whatever
you
decide
,
but
you
must
decide
now
.
I
would
still
go
with
you
to
Scotland
Yard
,
and
the
chances
are
that
they
would
still
accept
the
true
story
of
to-day
.
I
have
told
you
what
I
believe
to
be
the
worst
that
can
happen
to
you
;
it
may
be
that
rather
more
may
happen
to
me
for
harbouring
you
all
day
as
I
have
done
.
I
hope
not
,
but
I
took
the
law
into
my
own
hands
,
and
I
I
am
prepared
to
abide
by
the
law
if
you
so
decide
this
minute
.
”
“
I
have
decided
.
”
“
Mind
you
,
it
would
mean
putting
yourself
unreservedly
in
my
hands
,
at
any
rate
for
the
present
,
”
said
Baumgartner
,
impressively
.
“
Better
come
to
Scotland
Yard
this
minute
than
go
back
to
school
and
blab
about
the
whole
thing
there
!
”
“
I
should
n't
do
that
.
”
“
I
'm
not
so
sure
,
”
replied
the
acute
doctor
.
“
I
believe
I
know
you
better
than
you
know
yourself
;
one
learns
more
of
a
person
in
an
hour
like
this
than
in
a
whole
humdrum
lifetime
.
I
believe
you
would
find
it
very
difficult
not
to
tell
somebody
.
”
Pocket
admitted
it
with
a
natural
outburst
of
his
leading
quality
.
In
truth
no
previous
act
or
word
of
Baumgartner
's
had
inspired
such
confidence
as
this
unerring
piece
of
insight
.
It
seemed
to
the
boy
a
perfect
miracle
of
discernment
.
He
was
not
old
enough
to
know
that
what
he
would
have
done
,
in
his
weakness
,
most
grown-up
men
and
women
of
his
temperament
would
have
done
in
theirs
.
“
Remember
,
”
resumed
the
doctor
,
“
you
would
have
the
whole
of
to-day
to
account
for
;
it
's
not
as
though
you
would
n't
have
some
very
awkward
questions
to
answer
the
moment
you
got
back
to
school
.
”
And
again
the
lad
marvelled
at
this
intuition
into
public-school
conditions
on
the
part
of
one
who
could
have
no
first-hand
knowledge
of
those
insular
institutions
.
But
this
fresh
display
of
understanding
only
confirmed
him
in
his
resolve
.
“
I
trust
you
,
sir
,
”
said
he
;
“
have
n't
you
done
enough
for
me
to
make
me
?
I
put
myself
,
as
you
say
,
absolutely
in
your
hands
;
and
I
'm
grateful
to
you
for
all
you
've
done
and
whatever
you
mean
to
do
!
”
“
Even
though
it
comes
to
hiding
with
us
here
in
London
?
”
“
No
matter
what
it
comes
to
,
”
cried
Pocket
,
strangely
exalted
now
,
“
so
long
as
my
people
never
know
!
”
“
They
may
think
you
dead
.
”
He
thought
of
saying
that
he
wished
he
was
;
but
it
would
not
have
been
true
;
even
then
it
would
have
been
a
lie
,
and
Pocket
was
not
the
boy
to
tell
one
if
he
knew
it
.
“
That
would
be
better
than
knowing
what
I
have
done
,
”
was
what
he
said
;
and
in
his
exaltation
he
believed
no
less
.
“
You
quite
see
that
you
are
taking
a
step
which
must
be
final
?
”
“
It
is
final
—
absolutely
—
so
far
as
I
am
concerned
.
”
And
it
was
meant
to
be
,
in
all
good
faith
;
the
very
fulness
and
fairness
of
the
doctor
's
warnings
served
but
to
strengthen
that
resolve
.
But
Baumgartner
,
as
if
to
let
well
or
ill
alone
,
dropped
the
matter
with
a
clinching
shrug
;
and
presently
he
left
his
visitor
,
less
wisely
,
to
brood
on
it
alone
.
Pocket
was
a
dab
at
brooding
!
That
is
the
worst
of
your
conscientious
ass
;
he
takes
his
decision
like
a
man
;
he
means
to
stick
to
it
like
a
sportsman
;
but
he
cannot
help
wondering
whether
he
has
decided
for
the
best
,
and
what
would
have
happened
if
he
had
decided
otherwise
,
and
what
his
world
will
say
about
him
as
it
is
.
This
one
went
much
further
in
the
unique
stress
of
his
extraordinary
position
.
He
pictured
his
people
dressing
for
dinner
at
home
;
he
pictured
his
form
sitting
down
to
private-work
in
his
form-master
's
hall
;
there
was
no
end
to
his
mental
pictures
,
for
they
included
one
of
himself
on
the
scaffold
in
the
broad-arrows
of
the
little
old
waxwork
at
Madame
Tassaud
's
!
He
could
not
help
himself
;
his
mind
was
crumbling
with
his
dreadful
deed
and
its
awful
possibilities
.
Now
his
heart
bled
honestly
for
the
poor
dead
man
,
now
for
his
own
mother
and
sister
,
and
now
not
less
freely
for
himself
.
He
had
been
so
innocent
in
the
whole
matter
;
he
had
only
been
an
innocent
and
rather
sporting
fool
.
And
now
one
of
these
lives
was
ended
by
his
hand
,
and
all
the
rest
would
be
darkened
for
ever
after
!
It
was
too
great
a
burden
for
a
boy
to
bear
;
but
Pocket
bore
it
far
into
the
long
June
twilight
,
scarcely
stirring
in
the
big
soft
chair
,
yet
never
leaning
back
in
it
again
.
He
sat
hunched
up
as
though
once
more
battling
for
breath
,
but
curiously
enough
his
bodily
distress
had
flown
before
that
of
the
mind
.
Pocket
would
thankfully
have
changed
them
back
again
,
for
his
brain
was
as
clear
as
his
bronchial
tubes
,
its
capacity
for
suffering
undimmed
by
a
single
physical
preoccupation
.
Between
seven
and
eight
the
young
lady
of
the
house
came
in
with
candles
and
a
kind
of
high-tea
on
a
tray
;
she
also
brought
a
box
of
d'Auvergne
Cigarettes
and
the
latest
evening
paper
,
which
her
uncle
thought
that
Mr.
Upton
would
like
to
see
.
That
was
how
the
girl
addressed
the
boy
,
and
the
style
always
made
him
feel
,
and
wish
to
seem
,
something
of
a
man
.
But
his
present
effort
in
that
direction
was
sadly
perfunctory
:
he
almost
ejected
little
Miss
Platts
in
his
eagerness
to
shut
the
door
on
her
and
see
the
news
.
It
was
neither
unimportant
nor
at
first
sight
reassuring
.
The
dead
man
had
been
identified
by
the
police
,
who
knew
him
of
old
,
and
were
reported
as
hopeful
of
obtaining
a
clue
through
his
identity
.
The
clue
was
the
point
that
stuck
like
a
burr
in
the
boyish
brain
;
his
idea
of
a
clue
was
one
leading
straight
to
himself
;
it
took
Dr.
Baumgartner
to
explain
the
true
value
of
the
identity
clause
,
and
bid
the
boy
eat
his
meal
.
“
Trust
the
police
!
”
said
he
.
“
They
're
on
a
false
scent
already
;
they
may
try
at
that
end
till
it
turns
their
hair
grey
!
”
Pocket
disliked
this
tone
;
he
had
begun
to
think
almost
as
reverentially
of
his
victim
as
of
a
dead
member
of
his
own
family
.
It
appeared
thus
early
,
however
,
that
in
life
the
defunct
had
been
by
no
means
worthy
of
respect
.
Rowton
Houses
had
been
his
only
home
,
except
when
his
undistinguished
offences
got
him
into
gaol
;
the
surreptitious
practices
of
the
professional
mendicant
,
his
sole
means
of
livelihood
.
So
much
was
to
be
read
between
the
few
brief
lines
in
the
stop-press
column
of
the
latest
evening
paper
.
Again
it
required
Baumgartner
to
extract
comfort
from
such
items
.
“
At
all
events
,
”
said
he
,
“
you
cannot
reproach
yourself
with
the
destruction
of
a
valuable
life
!
The
man
was
evidently
the
worthless
creature
that
he
looked
.
You
talk
about
your
undesirable
aliens
,
but
here
in
England
you
breed
undesirables
enough
to
manure
the
world
!
It
's
a
public
service
to
reduce
their
number
.
”
This
pitch
of
nauseous
cynicism
had
not
been
reached
at
a
bound
;
the
doctor
had
been
working
up
to
it
all
the
evening
,
and
this
was
the
climax
of
his
cold-blooded
consolation
as
the
schoolboy
mechanically
undressed
himself
for
bed
.
His
host
had
accompanied
him
up
two
pairs
of
stairs
,
carrying
candles
,
and
his
meerschaum
pipe
in
aromatic
blast
.
Pocket
felt
a
new
chill
through
his
veins
,
but
he
was
not
revolted
as
he
would
have
been
at
first
.
This
extraordinary
man
had
shown
him
still
more
extraordinary
kindness
;
the
die
was
cast
for
them
to
stand
or
fall
together
;
and
there
was
something
about
the
gaunt
old
visionary
,
a
confidential
candour
,
a
dry
intellectual
plausibility
,
which
could
not
but
stimulate
respect
for
his
ungodliest
views
.
Whether
they
really
were
his
views
,
or
only
a
tortuous
attempt
at
comfort
,
the
sympathy
underlying
their
expression
was
undoubted
and
indubitable
.
But
the
doctor
spoke
as
though
he
meant
every
word
,
and
the
boy
only
longed
to
agree
with
him
:
his
conscientious
failure
to
do
so
declared
itself
in
a
series
of
incoherent
expostulations
to
which
Baumgartner
himself
gave
articulate
shape
in
order
to
demolish
them
in
the
next
breath
.
“
You
say
his
life
was
as
much
to
him
as
yours
to
you
?
Is
that
it
,
my
young
fellow
?
”
Pocket
acknowledged
the
interpretation
,
and
watched
the
Turk
's
head
wreathed
in
cool
blue
clouds
.
“
You
might
as
well
compare
withered
weed
with
budding
flower
!
”
cried
the
poetic
doctor
.
“
You
have
an
honourable
life
before
you
;
he
had
a
disreputable
one
behind
him
.
You
were
bred
and
nurtured
in
the
lap
of
luxury
;
he
finds
it
for
the
first
time
in
his
—
—
”
But
here
even
Baumgartner
broke
off
abruptly
.
The
boy
was
writhing
in
his
bed
;
the
man
sat
down
on
the
end
of
it
.
“
You
do
such
poor
devils
a
service
,
”
said
he
,
“
in
sending
them
to
a
world
that
cannot
use
them
worse
than
this
one
.
They
are
better
under
the
ground
than
lying
on
it
drenched
and
drunk
!
”
“
It
was
a
human
life
,
”
groaned
the
boy
,
shutting
his
eyes
in
pain
.
“
Human
life
!
”
cried
Baumgartner
,
leaping
to
his
feet
,
his
huge
shadow
guying
him
on
the
ceiling
.
“
What
is
this
human
life
,
and
who
are
you
and
I
,
that
we
set
such
store
by
it
?
The
great
men
of
this
world
never
did
;
it
's
only
the
little
people
and
the
young
who
pule
and
whine
about
human
life
.
The
ancient
Roman
sacrificed
his
weaklings
as
on
an
altar
;
there
are
some
of
us
in
these
days
who
would
prescribe
a
Tarpeian
Rock
for
modern
decadence
.
So
much
in
pious
parenthesis
!
Napoleon
thought
nothing
of
your
human
life
.
Von
Moltke
,
Bismarck
,
and
our
staff
in
Germany
thought
as
little
of
it
as
Napoleon
;
the
Empire
of
my
countrymen
was
founded
on
a
proper
appreciation
of
the
infinitesimal
value
of
human
life
,
and
your
British
Empire
will
be
lost
through
exaggerating
its
importance
.
Blood
and
Iron
were
our
watchwords
;
they
're
on
the
tip
of
every
Fleet
Street
pen
to-day
,
but
I
speak
of
what
I
know
.
I
've
heard
the
Iron
shriek
without
ceasing
,
like
the
wind
,
and
I
've
felt
the
Blood
like
spray
from
a
hot
spring
!
I
fought
at
Gravelotte
;
as
a
public
schoolboy
you
probably
never
heard
the
name
before
this
minute
.
I
fought
in
the
Prussian
Guard
.
I
saw
you
looking
at
the
pictures
downstairs
.
I
was
in
that
charge
across
those
hellish
ridges
.
Over
two
thousand
of
us
fell
dead
in
half
an
hour
,
but
we
gained
the
victory
.
More
Germans
were
killed
that
day
—
that
sweltering
August
afternoon
—
than
English
in
your
whole
South
African
War
that
took
you
years
!
The
flower
of
Germany
fell
at
Gravelotte
;
that
was
human
life
with
a
vengeance
!
But
an
Empire
rose
out
of
my
comrades
'
ashes
.
And
that
's
all
it
's
for
,
this
human
life
of
yours
:
for
the
master-builders
to
lay
out
in
their
wisdom
on
the
upward
road
.
”
The
schoolboy
was
carried
away
.
In
the
sudden
eloquence
of
this
strange
outburst
,
with
its
poetic
frenzy
,
its
ruthless
idealism
,
its
wild
bloodthirsty
nobility
,
the
youthful
listener
lost
sight
of
its
irrelevancy
,
or
rather
it
was
the
irrevelant
features
that
flared
up
first
in
his
brain
.
It
was
a
childish
question
,
but
here
was
a
very
child
,
and
he
could
not
help
asking
the
fierce
old
soldier
whether
he
had
escaped
without
a
wound
.
“
Without
a
scratch
,
”
was
the
reply
.
“
I
come
home
.
I
leave
the
army
.
I
ally
my
human
life
with
one
that
is
all
but
divine
.
My
Queen
is
struck
down
dead
at
my
side
within
a
year
.
And
you
expect
me
to
pity
the
veriest
pawn
in
the
game
!
”
The
boy
was
never
to
forget
these
bitter
speeches
altogether
;
there
was
not
a
single
sentence
of
them
that
he
failed
to
recall
at
one
time
or
another
word
for
word
.
He
would
see
a
wild
arm
waving
,
wisps
of
smoke
from
a
waving
pipe
,
a
core
of
nicotine
in
a
curve
of
amber
,
and
the
Turk
's
face
glistening
in
its
heat
like
that
of
the
hard
old
man
himself
.
He
would
hear
the
cynical
and
scornful
voice
softening
in
a
breath
to
the
simple
,
tender
,
and
domestic
humanity
of
his
race
.
The
voice
and
the
face
were
with
him
throughout
that
night
of
his
own
manifold
misery
;
but
the
time
had
not
come
for
so
young
a
boy
to
realise
that
Dr.
Baumgartner
had
begun
to
say
one
thing
,
and
been
carried
away
like
his
listener
.
POINTS
OF
VIEW
On
the
following
morning
,
the
ominous
Friday
of
this
disastrous
week
,
there
was
a
letter
for
Mr.
Upton
on
the
breakfast-table
down
in
Leicestershire
.
This
circumstance
was
not
so
usual
as
it
sounds
,
because
Mr.
Upton
conducted
all
his
correspondence
from
his
office
at
the
works
.
If
you
simply
put
the
name
of
the
village
,
as
he
did
on
his
stationery
,
to
the
works
it
went
;
it
was
necessary
to
direct
your
letter
to
the
hall
if
you
wished
it
to
be
delivered
there
;
and
few
there
were
who
had
anything
to
say
to
Mr.
Upton
,
on
paper
,
unless
it
was
on
business
too
.
His
youngest
son
,
however
,
had
furnished
the
more
impressive
address
to
Dr.
Bompas
,
whose
hurried
hand
it
was
that
dealt
the
first
blow
.
It
so
happened
that
a
letter
from
Dr.
Bompas
had
been
expected
;
this
made
the
letter
he
wrote
especially
upsetting
,
and
for
the
following
reason
.
Mrs.
Upton
had
been
so
shaken
by
her
vivid
dream
on
the
Thursday
morning
,
that
her
husband
had
telegraphed
to
Bompas
,
somewhat
against
his
own
judgment
,
to
know
how
he
found
their
son
.
The
reply
had
been
:
“
Better
expecting
him
again
to-day
will
write
”
—
which
prepared
the
family
for
still
more
reassuring
accounts
in
the
morning
.
Lettice
felt
relieved
as
the
original
discoverer
of
Dr.
Bompas
.
Horace
found
his
views
confirmed
as
to
the
systematic
exaggeration
of
a
touch
of
asthma
,
and
Fred
was
only
prevented
by
absence
from
entirely
agreeing
with
Horace
.
Mr.
Upton
thought
no
more
about
the
matter
.
But
poor
Mrs.
Upton
lay
upstairs
looking
forward
to
a
letter
which
it
was
quite
impossible
to
show
her
now
that
it
had
come
.
Mr.
Upton
read
it
more
than
once
without
a
word
;
and
it
was
not
his
way
to
keep
a
family
matter
to
himself
at
his
own
table
;
but
on
this
occasion
he
triumphed
over
temperament
with
an
extraordinary
instinct
for
what
was
in
the
air
.
“
The
most
infernal
letter
I
ever
had
in
my
life
!
”
was
his
only
comment
as
he
thrust
it
in
his
pocket
out
of
sight
.
Lettice
,
however
,
might
have
seen
that
her
father
was
far
more
distressed
than
angry
had
not
Horace
promptly
angered
him
by
saying
he
was
not
surprised
.
The
young
fellow
's
face
and
the
old
one
's
neck
were
redder
before
the
last
was
heard
of
that
remark
.
A
garbled
paraphrase
of
the
letter
was
eventually
vouchsafed
;
the
boy
had
made
very
little
improvement
,
and
was
not
likely
to
make
more
while
he
remained
at
a
school
where
he
was
allowed
to
use
any
remedy
he
liked
;
in
fact
,
until
he
was
taken
away
from
school
,
and
placed
under
his
own
immediate
control
in
town
,
Dr.
Bompas
declined
to
persevere
with
the
case
.
“
Blighter
!
”
said
Horace
impartially
,
as
though
now
there
were
two
of
them
.
Such
was
,
in
fact
,
the
sum
of
his
observations
to
Lettice
when
their
father
had
taken
himself
and
his
letter
upstairs
.
Young
Tony
was
not
“
playing
the
game
”
;
but
then
he
never
did
play
it
to
the
expert
satisfaction
of
Fred
and
Horace
.
Upstairs
the
husband
gave
a
more
elaborate
version
of
his
letter
,
and
told
a
lie
.
He
said
he
had
destroyed
the
letter
in
his
indignation
.
He
had
destroyed
it
,
but
solely
to
escape
any
question
of
his
showing
it
to
his
wife
.
He
said
a
happier
thing
by
chance
;
he
said
that
for
two
pins
he
would
motor
over
to
the
school
and
see
for
himself
how
the
boy
really
was
;
then
perhaps
he
would
be
in
a
position
to
consider
the
entreaty
which
Mrs.
Upton
added
to
the
specialist
's
demand
,
that
his
patient
should
be
placed
under
his
eye
in
town
.
Mr.
Upton
went
so
far
,
however
,
without
much
immediate
intention
of
taking
so
strong
a
measure
.
He
wished
to
discuss
the
matter
with
Horace
;
he
might
be
quite
justified
in
his
fears
.
He
was
sorry
he
had
let
them
lead
to
words
with
his
eldest
son
.
There
were
aspects
of
the
case
,
as
it
presented
itself
to
his
mind
,
which
he
could
hardly
thresh
out
with
Lettice
,
and
her
mother
must
not
know
of
his
anxiety
on
any
account
.
Horace
,
however
,
had
gone
off
earlier
than
usual
in
his
dudgeon
.
Mr.
Upton
was
not
long
in
following
him
to
the
works
.
It
was
a
charming
garden
that
he
passed
through
on
his
way
;
it
charmed
its
owner
all
the
more
from
his
having
made
it
himself
out
of
a
few
rolling
meadows
.
The
rhododendrons
were
at
the
climax
of
their
June
glory
.
The
new
red
gravel
(
his
own
colouring
to
a
shade
)
appealed
to
an
eye
which
had
never
looked
longer
than
necessary
in
the
glass
.
Lawn-tennis
courts
were
marked
out
snowily
on
a
shaven
lawn
;
the
only
eyesore
the
good
man
encountered
was
poor
Pocket
's
snob-wickets
painted
on
a
buttress
in
the
back
premises
;
his
own
belching
blast-furnaces
,
corroding
and
defiling
acres
and
acres
within
a
few
hundred
yards
of
his
garden
wall
,
were
but
another
form
of
beauty
to
the
sturdy
Briton
who
had
made
them
too
.
Horace
was
called
into
the
private
office
and
speedily
propitiated
.
“
I
was
more
anxious
than
I
could
tell
you
at
the
time
,
”
his
father
said
;
“
the
fact
is
,
I
concealed
half
the
fellow
's
letter
on
account
of
Lettice
.
But
it
's
a
man
's
matter
,
and
you
ought
to
know
.
”
Of
course
the
letter
had
stated
that
the
erratic
patient
had
failed
to
keep
his
appointment
on
the
morning
of
writing
;
but
if
it
had
drawn
the
line
of
information
there
,
it
is
highly
improbable
that
Mr.
Upton
would
have
exercised
so
wise
a
discretion
at
table
and
in
his
wife
's
room
.
It
now
appeared
that
as
a
busy
professional
man
the
outspoken
Bompas
had
gone
far
out
of
his
way
to
play
Mahomet
to
his
patient
's
mountain
.
Tony
had
told
him
where
he
hoped
to
stay
in
London
,
which
Bompas
particularly
wished
to
know
on
account
of
some
special
prescription
the
boy
was
to
try
that
night
.
On
his
failure
to
appear
at
the
appointed
time
,
the
doctor
had
telephoned
to
the
address
in
question
,
only
to
learn
that
the
boy
had
not
stayed
there
at
all
.
He
had
been
given
another
address
with
the
same
result
,
except
that
from
the
second
house
he
gathered
that
the
young
gentleman
had
gone
on
to
some
hotel
.
Horace
was
left
to
imagine
a
professional
opinion
of
such
proceedings
,
and
asked
for
his
own
on
the
facts
as
a
man
of
the
world
.
“
Exactly
like
young
Tony
!
”
quoth
Horace
,
never
afraid
to
say
what
he
thought
.
“
What
!
Like
a
lad
of
sixteen
to
go
and
put
up
at
some
hotel
?
”
“
Like
Tony
,
”
repeated
Horace
significantly
.
“
Trust
him
to
do
what
nobody
else
ever
did
.
”
“
But
how
could
Spearman
give
him
the
chance
?
”
“
Heaven
knows
!
Fred
and
I
never
got
it
.
”
“
I
thought
he
was
to
stay
at
Coverley
's
?
”
“
So
I
heard
.
”
“
I
do
n't
like
it
!
It
's
all
wrong
at
his
age
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
.
He
had
his
notions
of
life
and
its
temptations
,
and
he
was
blunt
enough
with
his
elder
sons
,
yet
it
was
not
without
some
hesitation
that
he
added
:
“
You
do
n't
think
there
's
any
question
of
bad
company
,
do
you
?
”
And
though
Horace
had
“
no
use
for
”
his
so-called
pocket
edition
,
he
answered
without
any
hesitation
at
all
:
“
Not
for
a
moment
,
from
what
I
know
of
Tony
.
”
Mr.
Upton
was
sorry
he
had
said
so
much
.
He
excused
himself
by
mentioning
his
wife
's
dream
,
now
family
property
,
which
had
been
on
his
mind
all
this
time
.
Horace
,
however
,
had
no
hesitation
in
informing
him
that
nobody
nowadays
believed
in
dreams
.
“
Well
,
I
never
have
,
certainly
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
.
“
But
what
can
it
be
?
”
“
He
probably
went
up
to
Lord
's
,
and
forgot
all
about
his
doctor
.
”
“
I
hope
not
!
You
're
too
down
on
him
,
Horace
.
”
“
If
there
was
nobody
to
put
him
up
it
was
the
game
to
go
back
to
school
.
”
“
But
he
's
said
to
have
gone
to
some
hotel
.
”
“
I
do
n't
suppose
he
did
,
”
said
Horace
.
“
I
expect
he
got
back
somehow
.
”
The
question
was
still
under
discussion
when
a
telegram
from
Mr.
Spearman
settled
it
.
Where
was
Tony
?
He
had
not
returned
when
due
the
day
before
,
and
his
friends
in
London
wired
that
they
knew
nothing
about
him
.
“
What
friends
?
”
cried
Mr.
Upton
,
in
a
fury
.
“
Why
the
devil
could
n't
Spearman
give
their
names
or
Bompas
the
addresses
he
talked
about
?
”
Horace
could
only
think
of
Mr.
Coverley
or
“
that
Knaggs
crowd
.
”
Neither
he
nor
Fred
had
been
at
Coverley
's
school
,
and
young
Tony
's
friends
were
by
no
means
theirs
.
Mr.
Upton
thought
Lettice
would
know
,
and
was
going
to
speak
to
her
on
the
telephone
when
Horace
reminded
him
of
his
own
remark
about
its
being
“
a
man
's
matter
”
;
it
was
beginning
to
look
,
even
to
Horace
,
like
a
serious
one
as
well
,
and
in
his
opinion
it
was
much
better
that
neither
his
mother
nor
his
sister
should
know
anything
at
all
about
it
before
it
was
absolutely
necessary
.
Horace
now
quoted
his
mother
's
dream
as
the
devil
did
Scripture
,
but
adduced
sounder
arguments
besides
;
he
was
speaking
quite
nicely
of
them
both
,
for
instance
,
when
he
declared
that
Lettice
was
wrapped
up
in
Tony
,
and
would
be
beside
herself
if
she
thought
any
evil
had
overtaken
him
.
It
would
be
simply
impossible
for
her
to
hide
her
anxiety
from
the
mother
on
whom
she
also
waited
hand
and
foot
.
Mr.
Upton
disagreed
a
little
there
;
he
had
good
reason
to
believe
in
Lettice
's
power
of
suppressing
her
own
feelings
;
but
for
her
own
sake
,
and
particularly
in
view
of
that
discredited
dream
,
he
now
decided
to
keep
his
daughter
in
the
dark
as
long
as
his
wife
.
It
was
his
first
decision
;
his
next
was
to
motor
over
to
the
school
,
as
he
had
fortunately
told
his
wife
he
might
,
and
have
a
word
with
Mr.
Spearman
,
who
deserved
hanging
for
the
whole
thing
!
The
mischief
was
done
,
however
,
and
it
was
now
a
matter
in
which
home
and
school
authorities
must
act
together
.
A
clerk
was
instructed
to
telephone
to
the
garage
for
the
car
to
come
straight
to
the
works
.
And
the
ironmaster
stood
waiting
at
his
office
window
in
a
fever
of
anxiety
.
The
grimy
scene
on
which
he
looked
had
a
constant
charm
for
him
,
and
yet
to-day
it
almost
added
to
the
bitterness
of
his
heart
.
His
was
the
brain
that
had
conceived
those
broad
effects
of
smoke
and
flame
,
and
blackened
faces
lit
by
the
light
of
molten
metal
;
his
the
strong
hand
and
the
stout
heart
which
had
brought
his
conception
into
being
.
Those
were
his
trucks
bringing
in
his
ore
from
his
mines
;
that
was
his
consequential
little
locomotive
fussing
in
front
of
them
.
His
men
,
dwellers
in
his
cottages
on
the
brow
of
that
hill
,
which
was
also
his
,
happened
to
be
tapping
one
of
his
furnaces
at
the
moment
;
that
was
his
pig-iron
running
out
into
the
moulds
as
magically
as
an
electric
advertisement
writes
itself
upon
the
London
sky
at
night
.
The
sense
of
possession
is
the
foible
of
many
who
have
won
all
they
have
;
the
ironmaster
almost
looked
upon
the
hot
air
dancing
over
the
white-hot
bars
as
his
too
.
The
whole
sulphurous
prospect
,
once
a
green
pasture
,
had
long
been
his
to
all
intents
and
purposes
,
and
no
second
soul
would
ever
take
his
pride
in
it
;
to
his
children
it
would
never
be
more
than
the
means
of
livelihood
;
and
how
had
it
repaid
even
him
for
a
life
's
devotion
?
With
a
house
of
sorrow
in
the
next
valley
!
With
a
stricken
wife
,
and
sons
whose
right
hands
kept
their
cunning
for
the
cricket-field
,
and
one
of
whom
the
very
thought
had
become
a
sudden
madness
!
Yet
he
could
think
of
nothing
else
,
except
his
wife
,
even
in
the
great
green
car
that
whisked
him
westward
in
a
dancing
cloud
of
dust
;
for
he
did
not
drive
himself
,
and
the
rush
through
the
iced
fragrance
of
the
summer
's
day
was
a
mental
stimulant
that
did
its
work
only
too
well
.
Now
it
recalled
the
ailing
infancy
of
the
missing
boy
—
bronchitis
it
had
been
in
the
early
stages
—
and
how
his
mother
had
taken
him
to
Hastings
three
successive
winters
,
and
wrapped
him
up
far
too
much
.
Old
family
jokes
cropped
up
in
a
new
light
,
dimming
the
eyes
without
an
instant
's
warning
.
On
one
of
those
flittings
south
the
solicitous
mother
had
placed
the
uncomplaining
child
on
a
footwarmer
,
and
forgotten
him
until
a
cascade
of
perspiration
apprised
her
of
the
effect
:
poor
Mr.
Upton
had
never
thought
of
the
incident
without
laughter
,
until
to-day
.
Without
doubt
she
had
coddled
him
,
and
all
for
this
,
and
she
herself
too
ill
to
hear
a
word
about
it
!
His
mind
harked
back
to
his
wife
.
In
her
sad
case
there
was
no
uncertainty
.
He
thought
of
thirty
years
ago
when
he
had
seen
her
first
.
There
had
been
drama
and
colour
in
their
meeting
;
the
most
celebrated
of
the
neighbouring
packs
had
run
a
fox
to
earth
on
his
works
,
indeed
in
his
very
slag-heap
!
The
author
of
cancerous
furnaces
in
the
green
heart
of
a
grass
country
had
never
been
a
popular
personage
with
the
hunting
folk
;
but
he
was
master
of
the
situation
that
memorable
day
.
It
was
his
terrier
that
went
into
the
slag-heap
like
a
ferret
,
and
came
out
bloody
with
a
moribund
fox
;
his
pocket-knife
that
shore
through
the
brush
,
his
hand
that
presented
it
across
the
wall
to
the
only
young
lady
in
at
the
death
.
The
men
in
pink
looking
over
,
the
hunt
servants
with
their
work
cut
out
on
the
other
side
,
the
tongue
of
molten
slag
sticking
out
of
the
furnace
mouth
—
the
momentary
contact
of
the
industrial
and
the
sporting
world
—
it
was
that
strange
and
yet
significant
scene
which
had
first
endeared
its
dingy
setting
to
the
ironmaster
's
heart
.
But
he
had
made
the
contact
permanent
by
falling
in
love
with
the
young
lady
of
the
brush
and
marrying
her
under
all
the
guns
of
her
countified
kith
and
kin
.
And
now
she
was
a
stricken
invalid
,
and
their
youngest-born
was
God
knew
where
!
Of
course
there
were
no
tidings
of
him
at
the
school
,
where
the
now
distracted
father
spent
a
more
explosive
hour
than
he
cared
to
think
about
as
he
flew
on
to
town
in
the
car
.
He
was
afraid
he
had
been
very
rude
to
Mr.
Spearman
;
but
then
Spearman
had
been
rash
enough
to
repudiate
his
obvious
responsibility
in
the
matter
.
It
was
not
his
fault
that
the
boy
went
up
to
town
so
often
to
see
his
doctor
and
stay
the
night
.
He
had
his
own
opinion
of
that
arrangement
,
but
it
had
become
his
business
to
see
it
carried
out
.
Mr.
Upton
got
in
a
sharp
thrust
here
,
to
which
the
house-master
retorted
that
if
a
boy
of
seventeen
could
not
be
trusted
to
keep
his
word
,
he
should
like
to
know
who
could
!
Tony
had
promised
him
faithfully
to
return
that
same
night
,
failing
friends
whom
he
had
mentioned
as
certain
to
put
him
up
;
their
names
Mr.
Upton
was
able
to
demand
at
last
as
though
they
were
so
much
blood
;
and
he
could
not
have
cursed
them
more
freely
if
Spearman
had
been
a
layman
like
himself
.
But
that
was
all
the
information
forthcoming
from
this
quarter
;
for
,
happening
to
ask
what
the
head
master
thought
of
the
affair
,
Mr.
Upton
was
calmly
informed
that
it
had
still
to
reach
his
ears
;
at
which
he
stared
,
and
then
merely
remarked
that
he
was
not
surprised
,
but
in
such
a
tone
that
Spearman
sprang
up
and
led
him
straight
into
the
presence
.
Now
the
Benevolent
Despot
of
this
particular
seat
of
learning
was
an
astute
pedagogue
who
could
handle
men
as
well
as
boys
.
He
explained
to
Mr.
Upton
that
the
safe-keeping
of
the
unit
was
the
house-master
's
concern
,
but
agreed
it
was
time
that
he
himself
was
made
acquainted
with
the
present
case
.
He
took
it
as
seriously
,
too
,
as
Mr.
Upton
could
have
wished
,
but
quite
as
frankly
from
his
own
point
of
view
as
his
two
visitors
did
from
each
of
theirs
.
He
had
no
doubt
the
boy
would
turn
up
,
but
when
he
did
it
would
be
necessary
for
him
to
give
a
satisfactory
account
of
his
proceedings
before
he
could
be
received
back
into
the
school
.
“
Bother
the
school
!
”
cried
Mr.
Upton
,
diluting
the
anathema
with
difficulty
.
“
Let
me
find
my
lad
alive
and
well
;
then
you
can
do
what
you
like
.
”
“
But
how
do
you
propose
to
find
him
?
”
inquired
the
head
master
,
with
only
a
dry
smile
(
which
disappointed
Spearman
)
by
way
of
rejoinder
.
“
First
I
shall
have
a
word
with
these
infernal
people
who
,
on
their
own
showing
,
refused
the
boy
a
bed
.
I
'll
give
them
a
bit
of
my
mind
,
I
promise
you
!
Then
there
's
the
hotel
they
seem
to
have
driven
him
to
;
it
may
be
the
one
we
always
stay
at
,
or
one
they
've
recommended
.
If
I
ca
n't
hear
anything
of
him
there
,
I
suppose
there
'll
be
nothing
for
it
but
to
call
in
the
police
.
”
“
My
dear
sir
,
”
exclaimed
the
head
master
,
“
you
may
as
well
call
in
the
public
at
once
!
It
will
be
in
the
papers
before
you
know
where
you
are
;
and
that
,
I
need
hardly
point
out
to
you
,
is
as
undesirable
from
our
point
of
view
as
I
should
have
thought
it
would
be
from
yours
.
”
“
It
's
more
so
from
mine
!
”
cried
Mr.
Upton
,
in
fresh
alarm
and
indignation
.
“
You
think
about
your
school
.
I
think
about
my
wife
and
boy
;
it
might
kill
her
to
hear
about
this
before
he
's
found
.
But
if
I
do
n't
go
to
the
police
,
who
am
I
to
go
to
?
”
The
head
master
leant
back
in
his
chair
,
and
joined
his
finger-tips
judicially
.
“
There
was
a
man
we
had
down
here
to
investigate
an
extraordinary
case
of
dishonesty
,
in
which
I
was
actually
threatened
with
legal
proceedings
on
behalf
of
a
certain
boy
.
But
this
man
Thrush
came
down
and
solved
the
mystery
within
twenty-four
hours
,
and
saved
the
school
a
public
scandal
.
”
“
He
may
save
you
another
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
,
“
if
he
can
find
my
boy
.
What
did
you
say
the
name
was
?
”
“
Thrush
—
Eugene
Thrush
—
quite
a
remarkable
man
,
and
,
I
think
,
a
gentleman
,
”
said
the
head
master
impressively
.
Further
particulars
,
including
an
address
in
Glasshouse
Street
,
were
readily
supplied
from
an
advertisement
in
that
day
's
Times
,
in
which
Mr.
Thrush
was
described
as
an
“
inquiry
agent
,
”
capable
alike
of
“
delicate
investigations
”
and
“
confidential
negotiations
.
”
That
was
the
very
man
for
Mr.
Upton
,
as
he
himself
agreed
.
And
he
departed
both
on
speaking
terms
with
Mr.
Spearman
,
who
said
a
final
word
for
his
own
behaviour
in
the
matter
,
and
grimly
at
one
with
the
head
master
on
the
importance
of
keeping
it
out
of
the
papers
.
MR.
EUGENE
THRUSH
The
remarkable
Mr.
Thrush
was
a
duly
qualified
solicitor
,
who
had
never
been
the
man
for
that
orderly
and
circumscribed
profession
.
The
tide
of
events
which
had
turned
his
talents
into
their
present
channel
,
was
known
to
but
few
of
his
many
boon
companions
,
and
much
nonsense
was
talked
about
him
and
his
first
career
.
It
was
not
the
case
(
as
anybody
might
have
ascertained
)
that
he
had
been
struck
off
the
rolls
in
connection
with
the
first
great
scandal
in
which
he
was
professionally
concerned
.
Nor
was
there
much
more
truth
in
the
report
that
he
drank
,
in
the
ordinary
interpretation
of
the
term
.
It
is
true
,
however
,
that
Mr.
Thrush
had
a
tall
tumbler
on
his
dressing-table
,
to
help
him
shave
for
the
evening
of
that
fateful
Friday
.
He
was
dressing
for
an
early
dinner
before
a
first
night
.
His
dressing-room
,
in
which
he
also
slept
in
Spartan
simplicity
,
was
the
original
powder-closet
of
the
panelled
library
out
of
which
it
led
.
There
was
a
third
room
in
which
his
man
Mullins
prepared
breakfast
and
spent
the
day
.
But
the
whole
was
a
glorified
garret
,
at
the
top
of
such
stairs
as
might
have
sent
a
nervous
client
back
for
an
escort
.
Mullins
,
with
the
expression
of
an
undertaker
's
mute
(
a
calling
he
had
followed
in
his
day
)
,
was
laying
out
his
master
's
clothes
as
mournfully
as
though
his
master
were
in
them
,
instead
of
chatting
genially
as
he
shaved
.
“
I
'm
sorry
to
have
missed
your
evidence
,
Mullins
,
but
if
we
go
into
this
case
it
's
no
use
letting
the
police
smell
the
competitive
rat
too
soon
.
Inquests
are
not
in
my
line
,
and
they
'd
have
wondered
what
the
devil
I
was
doing
there
,
especially
as
you
refrained
from
saying
you
were
in
my
service
.
”
“
I
had
no
call
,
sir
.
”
“
Quite
right
,
Mullins
!
An
ideal
witness
,
I
can
see
you
were
.
So
you
'd
only
to
describe
the
finding
of
the
body
?
”
“
That
was
all
,
sir
.
”
“
And
your
description
was
really
largely
founded
on
fact
?
”
Mullins
stood
like
a
funereal
grenadier
at
his
gentleman
's
shaving
elbow
.
“
I
told
the
truth
,
sir
,
and
nothing
but
the
truth
,
”
said
he
,
with
sombre
dignity
.
“
But
not
the
whole
truth
,
eh
,
Mullins
!
What
about
the
little
souvenirs
you
showed
me
yesterday
?
”
“
There
was
no
call
to
name
them
either
,
sir
.
The
cheroot-end
I
must
have
picked
up
a
hundred
yards
away
,
and
even
the
medicine-cork
was
n't
on
the
actual
scene
of
the
murder
.
”
“
That
's
all
right
,
Mullins
.
I
do
n't
see
what
they
could
possibly
have
to
do
with
it
,
myself
;
and
really
,
but
for
the
fluke
of
your
being
the
one
to
find
the
body
,
and
picking
the
first-fruits
for
what
they
're
worth
,
it
's
the
last
kind
of
case
that
I
should
dream
of
touching
with
a
ten-foot
pole
.
By
the
way
,
I
suppose
they
wo
n't
require
you
at
the
adjourned
inquest
?
”
“
They
may
not
require
me
,
sir
,
but
I
should
like
to
attend
,
if
quite
convenient
,
”
replied
Mullins
deferentially
.
“
The
police
were
very
stingy
with
their
evidence
to-day
;
they
've
still
to
produce
the
fatal
bullet
,
and
I
should
like
a
sight
of
that
,
sir
.
”
Mr.
Thrush
did
not
continue
the
conversation
,
possibly
because
he
took
as
little
real
interest
as
he
professed
in
the
case
which
was
being
thrust
upon
him
,
but
more
obviously
owing
to
the
necessary
care
in
shaving
the
corners
of
a
delightfuly
long
and
mobile
mouth
.
Indeed
,
the
whole
face
emerging
from
the
lather
,
as
a
cast
from
its
clay
,
would
have
delighted
any
eye
but
its
own
.
It
was
fat
and
flabby
as
the
rest
of
Eugene
Thrush
;
there
was
quite
a
collection
of
chins
to
shave
;
and
yet
anybody
but
himself
must
have
recognised
the
invincible
freshness
of
complexion
,
the
happy
penetration
of
every
glance
,
as
an
earnest
of
inexhaustible
possibilities
beneath
the
burden
of
the
flesh
.
Great
round
spectacles
,
through
which
he
stared
like
a
wise
fish
in
an
aquarium
,
were
caught
precariously
on
a
button
of
a
nose
which
in
itself
might
have
prevented
the
superficial
observer
from
taking
him
any
more
seriously
than
he
took
himself
.
Mr.
Upton
,
who
arrived
before
Thrush
was
visible
,
was
an
essentially
superficial
and
antipathetic
observer
of
unfamiliar
types
;
and
being
badly
impressed
by
the
forbidding
staircase
,
he
had
determined
on
the
landing
to
sound
his
man
before
trusting
him
.
In
the
rank
undergrowth
of
his
prejudices
there
was
no
more
luxuriant
weed
than
an
innate
abhorrence
of
London
and
all
Londoners
,
which
neither
the
cause
of
his
visit
nor
the
murky
mien
of
Mullins
was
calculated
to
abate
.
The
library
of
books
in
solid
bindings
,
many
of
them
legal
tomes
,
was
the
first
reassuring
feature
;
another
was
the
large
desk
,
made
business-like
with
pigeon-holes
and
a
telephone
;
but
Mr.
Upton
was
only
beginning
to
recover
confidence
when
Eugene
Thrush
shook
it
sadly
at
his
first
entry
.
It
might
have
been
by
his
face
,
or
his
fat
,
or
his
evening
clothes
seen
from
the
motorist
's
dusty
tweeds
,
almost
as
much
as
by
the
misplaced
joviality
with
which
Thrush
exclaimed
:
“
I
'm
sorry
to
have
kept
you
waiting
,
sir
,
and
the
worst
of
it
is
that
I
ca
n't
let
you
keep
me
!
”
This
touched
a
raw
nerve
in
the
ironmaster
,
as
the
kind
of
reception
one
had
to
come
up
to
London
to
incur
.
“
Then
I
'll
clear
out
!
”
said
he
,
and
would
have
been
as
good
as
his
word
but
for
its
instantaneous
effect
.
Thrush
had
pulled
out
a
gold
watch
after
a
stare
of
kindly
consternation
.
“
I
really
am
rather
rushed
,
”
said
he
;
“
but
I
can
give
you
four
minutes
,
if
that
's
any
good
to
you
.
”
Now
,
at
first
sight
,
before
a
word
was
spoken
,
Mr.
Upton
would
have
said
four
hours
or
four
days
of
that
boiled
salmon
in
spectacles
would
have
been
no
good
to
him
;
but
the
precise
term
of
minutes
,
together
with
a
seemlier
but
not
less
decisive
manner
,
had
already
quickened
the
business
man
's
respect
for
another
whose
time
was
valuable
.
This
is
by
no
means
to
say
that
Thrush
had
won
him
over
in
a
breath
.
But
the
following
interchange
took
place
rapidly
.
“
I
understand
you
're
a
detective
,
Mr.
Thrush
?
”
“
Hardly
that
,
Mr.
—
—
I
've
left
your
card
in
the
other
room
.
”
“
Upton
is
my
name
,
sir
.
”
“
I
do
n't
aspire
to
the
official
designation
,
Mr.
Upton
,
an
inquiry
agent
is
all
I
presume
to
call
myself
.
”
“
But
you
do
inquire
into
mysteries
?
”
“
I
've
dabbled
in
them
.
”
“
As
an
amateur
?
”
“
A
paid
amateur
,
I
fear
.
”
“
I
come
on
a
serious
matter
,
Mr.
Thrush
—
a
very
serious
matter
to
me
!
”
“
Pardon
me
if
I
seem
anything
else
for
a
moment
;
as
it
happens
,
you
catch
me
dabbling
,
or
rather
meddling
,
in
a
serious
case
which
is
none
of
my
business
,
but
strictly
a
matter
for
the
police
,
only
it
happens
to
have
come
my
way
by
a
fluke
.
I
am
not
a
policeman
,
but
a
private
inquisitor
.
If
you
want
anything
or
anybody
ferreted
out
,
that
's
my
job
and
I
should
put
it
first
.
”
“
Mr.
Thrush
,
that
's
exactly
what
I
do
want
,
if
only
you
can
do
it
for
me
!
I
had
reason
to
fear
,
from
what
I
heard
this
morning
,
that
my
youngest
child
,
a
boy
of
sixteen
,
had
disappeared
up
here
in
London
,
or
been
decoyed
away
.
And
now
there
can
be
no
doubt
about
it
!
”
So
,
in
about
one
of
the
allotted
minutes
,
Thrush
was
trusted
on
grounds
which
Mr.
Upton
could
not
easily
have
explained
;
but
the
time
was
up
before
he
had
concluded
a
briefly
circumstantial
report
of
the
facts
within
his
knowledge
.
“
When
can
I
see
you
again
?
”
he
asked
abruptly
of
Thrush
.
“
When
?
What
do
you
mean
,
Mr.
Upton
?
”
“
The
four
minutes
must
be
more
than
up
.
”
“
Go
on
,
my
dear
sir
,
and
do
n't
throw
good
time
after
bad
.
I
'm
only
dining
with
a
man
at
his
club
.
He
can
wait
.
”
“
Thank
you
,
Mr.
Thrush
.
”
“
More
good
time
!
How
do
you
know
the
boy
has
n't
turned
up
at
school
or
at
home
while
you
've
been
fizzing
in
a
cloud
of
dust
?
”
“
I
was
to
have
a
wire
at
the
hotel
I
always
stop
at
;
there
's
nothing
there
;
but
the
first
thing
they
told
me
was
that
my
boy
had
been
for
a
bed
which
they
could
n't
give
him
the
night
before
last
.
I
did
let
them
have
it
!
But
it
seems
the
manager
was
out
,
and
his
understrappers
had
recommended
other
hotels
;
they
've
just
been
telephoning
to
them
all
in
turn
,
but
at
every
one
the
poor
boy
seems
to
have
fared
the
same
.
Then
I
've
been
in
communication
with
these
infernal
people
in
St.
John
's
Wood
,
and
with
the
doctor
,
but
none
of
them
have
heard
anything
.
I
thought
I
'd
like
to
do
what
I
could
before
coming
to
you
,
Mr.
Thrush
,
but
that
's
all
I
've
done
or
know
how
to
do
.
Something
must
have
happened
!
”
“
It
begins
to
sound
like
it
,
”
said
Thrush
gravely
.
“
But
there
are
happenings
and
happenings
;
it
may
be
only
a
minor
accident
.
One
moment
!
”
And
he
returned
to
the
powder-closet
of
its
modish
day
,
where
Mullins
was
still
pursuing
his
ostensibly
menial
avocation
.
What
the
master
said
was
inaudible
in
the
library
,
but
the
man
hurried
out
in
front
of
him
,
and
was
heard
clattering
down
the
evil
stairs
next
minute
.
“
In
less
than
an
hour
,
”
explained
Thrush
,
“
he
will
be
back
with
a
list
of
the
admissions
at
the
principal
hospitals
for
the
last
forty-eight
hours
.
I
do
n't
say
there
's
much
in
it
;
your
boy
had
probably
some
letter
or
other
means
of
easier
indentification
about
him
;
but
it
's
worth
trying
.
”
“
It
is
,
indeed
!
”
murmured
Mr.
Upton
,
much
impressed
.
“
And
while
he
is
trying
it
,
”
exclaimed
Eugene
Thrush
,
lighting
up
as
with
a
really
great
idea
,
“
you
'll
greatly
oblige
me
by
having
a
whisky-and-soda
in
the
first
place
.
”
“
No
,
thank
you
!
I
have
n't
had
a
bite
all
day
.
It
would
fly
to
my
head
.
”
“
But
that
's
its
job
;
that
's
where
it
's
meant
to
fly
,
”
explained
the
convivial
Mr.
Thrush
,
preparing
the
potion
with
practised
hand
.
Baited
with
a
biscuit
it
was
eventually
swallowed
,
and
a
flagging
giant
refreshed
by
his
surrender
.
It
made
him
like
his
new
acquaintance
too
well
to
bear
the
thought
of
detaining
him
any
more
.
“
Go
to
your
dinner
,
man
,
and
let
me
waylay
you
later
!
”
“
Thank
you
,
I
prefer
to
keep
you
now
I
've
got
you
,
Mr.
Upton
!
My
man
begins
his
round
by
going
to
tell
my
pal
I
ca
n't
dine
with
him
at
all
.
Not
a
word
,
I
beg
!
I
'll
have
a
bite
with
you
instead
when
Mullins
gets
back
,
and
in
a
taxi
that
wo
n't
be
long
.
”
“
But
do
you
think
you
can
do
anything
?
”
The
question
floated
in
pathetic
evidence
on
a
flood
of
inarticulate
thanks
.
“
If
you
give
me
time
,
I
hope
so
,
”
was
the
measured
answer
.
“
But
the
needle
in
the
hay
is
nothing
to
the
lost
unit
in
London
,
and
it
will
take
time
.
I
'm
not
a
magazine
detective
,
Mr.
Upton
;
if
you
want
a
sixpenny
solution
for
soft
problems
,
do
n't
come
to
me
!
”
At
an
earlier
stage
the
ironmaster
would
have
raised
his
voice
and
repeated
that
this
was
a
serious
matter
;
even
now
he
looked
rather
reproachfully
at
Eugene
Thrush
,
who
came
back
to
business
on
the
spot
.
“
I
have
n't
asked
you
for
a
description
of
the
boy
,
Mr.
Upton
,
because
it
's
not
much
good
if
we
've
got
to
keep
the
matter
to
ourselves
.
But
is
there
anything
distinctive
about
him
besides
the
asthma
?
”
“
Nothing
;
he
was
never
an
athlete
,
like
my
other
boys
.
”
“
Come
!
I
call
that
a
distinction
in
itself
,
”
said
Mr.
Thrush
,
smiling
down
his
own
unathletic
waistcoat
.
“
But
as
a
matter
of
fact
,
nothing
could
be
better
than
the
very
complaint
which
no
doubt
unfits
him
for
games
.
”
“
Nothing
better
,
do
you
say
?
”
“
Emphatically
,
from
my
point
of
view
.
It
's
harder
to
hide
a
man
's
asthma
than
to
hide
the
man
himself
.
”
“
I
never
thought
of
that
.
”
It
was
impossible
to
tell
whether
Thrush
had
thought
of
it
before
that
moment
.
The
round
glasses
were
levelled
at
Mr.
Upton
with
an
inscrutable
stare
of
the
marine
eyes
behind
them
.
“
I
suppose
it
has
never
affected
his
heart
?
”
he
inquired
nonchalantly
;
but
the
nonchalance
was
a
thought
too
deliberate
for
paternal
perceptions
quickened
as
were
those
of
Mr.
Upton
.
“
Is
that
why
you
sent
round
the
hospitals
,
Mr.
Thrush
?
”
“
It
was
one
reason
,
but
honestly
not
the
chief
.
”
“
I
certainly
never
thought
of
his
heart
!
”
“
Nor
do
I
think
you
need
now
,
in
the
case
of
so
young
a
boy
,
”
said
Thrush
earnestly
.
“
On
the
other
hand
,
I
should
n't
be
surprised
if
his
asthma
were
to
prove
his
best
friend
.
”
“
It
owes
him
something
!
”
“
Do
you
know
what
he
does
for
it
?
”
“
Yes
,
I
do
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
,
remembering
the
annoying
letter
he
seemed
to
have
received
some
weeks
before
.
“
He
smokes
,
against
his
doctor
's
orders
.
”
“
Do
you
mean
tobacco
?
”
“
No
—
some
stuff
for
asthma
.
”
“
In
cigarettes
?
”
“
Yes
.
”
“
Do
you
know
the
name
?
”
“
I
have
it
here
.
”
The
offensive
letter
was
not
only
produced
,
but
offered
for
inspection
after
a
precautionary
glance
.
Thrush
was
on
his
feet
to
receive
it
in
outstretched
hand
.
Already
he
looked
extraordinarily
keen
for
his
bulk
,
but
the
reading
of
the
letter
left
him
alive
and
alert
to
the
last
superfluous
ounce
.
“
But
this
is
magnificent
!
”
he
cried
,
with
eyes
as
round
as
their
glasses
.
“
I
confess
I
do
n't
see
why
.
”
“
Cigarettes
d'Auvergne
!
”
“
Some
French
rubbish
.
”
“
The
boy
has
evidently
been
dependent
on
them
?
”
“
It
looks
like
it
.
”
“
And
this
man
Bompas
made
him
give
them
all
up
?
”
“
So
he
has
the
impudence
to
say
.
”
“
Is
it
possible
you
do
n't
see
the
importance
of
all
this
?
”
Mr.
Upton
confessed
incompetence
unashamed
.
“
I
never
heard
of
these
cigarettes
before
;
they
're
an
imported
article
;
you
ca
n't
get
them
everywhere
,
I
'll
swear
!
Your
boy
has
got
to
rely
on
them
;
he
's
out
of
reach
of
the
doctor
who
's
forbidden
them
;
he
'll
try
to
get
them
somewhere
!
If
he
's
been
trying
in
London
,
I
'll
find
out
where
before
I
'm
twenty-four
hours
older
!
”
“
But
how
can
you
?
”
asked
Mr.
Upton
,
less
impressed
with
the
possibility
than
by
this
rapid
if
obvious
piece
of
reasoning
.
“
A
.
V.
M
.
!
”
replied
Eugene
Thrush
,
with
cryptic
smile
.
“
Who
on
earth
is
he
?
”
“
Nobody
;
it
's
the
principle
on
which
I
work
.
”
“
A
.
V.
M
.
?
”
“
Otherwise
the
old
nursery
game
of
Animal
,
Vegetable
,
or
Mineral
.
”
Again
Mr.
Upton
had
to
prevent
himself
by
main
force
from
declaring
it
all
no
laughing
matter
;
but
his
silence
was
almost
bellicose
.
“
You
divide
things
into
two
,
”
explained
Thrush
,
“
and
go
on
so
dividing
them
until
you
come
down
to
the
indivisible
unit
which
is
the
answer
to
the
riddle
.
Animal
or
Vegetable
?
Vegetable
or
Mineral
?
Northern
or
Southern
Hemisphere
?
Ah
!
I
