notunderstand
;
or
as
some
minor
despot
snuffed
out
by
a
stronger
.
The
General
,
who
had
only
arrived
just
in
time
to
dress
,
inquired
in
astonishment
for
Daphne
,
and
was
told
by
Roger
that
his
wife
was
not
well
,
but
would
come
down
for
a
little
while
after
dinner
.
In
presence
of
the
new
splendours
of
Heston
,
the
General
had
—
in
Roger
's
company
—
very
little
to
say
.
He
made
the
vague
remark
that
the
dining-room
was
“
very
fine
,
”
but
he
should
not
have
known
it
again
.
Where
was
the
portrait
of
Edward
,
and
the
full-length
of
Edward
's
father
by
Sir
Francis
Grant
?
Lady
Barnes
drew
herself
up
,
and
said
nothing
.
Roger
hastily
replied
that
he
believed
they
were
now
in
the
passage
leading
to
the
billiard-room
.
“
What
!
that
dark
corner
!
”
cried
the
General
,
looking
with
both
distaste
and
hostility
at
the
famous
Signorelli
—
a
full-length
nude
St.
Sebastian
,
bound
and
pierced
—
which
had
replaced
them
on
the
dining-room
wall
.
Who
on
earth
ever
saw
such
a
picture
in
a
dining-room
?
Roger
must
be
a
fool
to
allow
it
!
Afterwards
,
the
General
and
Lady
Barnes
wandered
through
the
transformed
house
,
in
general
agreement
as
to
the
ugliness
and
extravagance
of
almost
everything
that
had
been
done
—
an
agreement
that
was
as
balm
to
the
harassed
spirits
of
the
lady
.
“
What
have
they
spent
?
”
asked
the
General
,
under
his
breath
,
as
they
returned
to
the
drawing-room
—
“
thousands
and
thousands
,
I
should
think
!
And
there
was
no
need
for
them
to
spend
a
penny
.
It
is
a
sinful
waste
,
and
no
one
should
waste
money
in
these
days
—
there
are
too
many
unemployed
!
”
He
drew
up
his
spare
person
,
with
a
terrier-like
shake
of
the
head
and
shoulders
,
as
of
one
repudiating
Mammon
and
all
its
works
.
“
Daphne
has
simply
no
idea
of
the
value
of
money
!
”
Lady
Barnes
complained
,
also
under
her
breath
.
They
were
passing
along
one
of
the
side
corridors
of
the
house
,
and
there
was
no
one
in
sight
.
But
Roger
's
mother
was
evidently
uneasy
,
as
though
Daphne
might
at
any
moment
spring
from
the
floor
,
or
emerge
from
the
walls
.
The
General
was
really
sorry
for
her
.
“
It
's
like
all
the
rest
of
them
—
Americans
,
I
mean
,
”
he
declared
;
“
they
have
n't
our
sense
of
responsibility
.
I
saw
plenty
of
that
in
the
States
.
”
Lady
Barnes
acquiesced
.
She
was
always
soothed
by
the
General
's
unfaltering
views
of
British
superiority
.
They
found
Daphne
in
the
drawing-room
—
a
ghostly
Daphne
,
in
white
,
and
covered
with
diamonds
.
She
made
a
little
perfunctory
conversation
with
them
,
avoided
all
mention
of
the
house
,
and
presently
,
complaining
again
of
headache
,
went
back
to
her
room
after
barely
an
hour
downstairs
.
The
General
whistled
to
himself
,
as
he
also
retired
to
bed
,
after
another
and
more
private
conversation
with
Lady
Barnes
,
and
half
an
hour
's
billiards
with
a
very
absent-minded
host
.
By
Jove
,
Laura
wanted
a
change
!
He
rejoiced
that
he
was
to
escort
her
on
the
morrow
to
the
London
house
of
some
cheerful
and
hospitable
relations
.
Dollars
,
it
seemed
,
were
not
everything
,
and
he
wished
to
heaven
that
Roger
had
been
content
to
marry
some
plain
English
girl
,
with
,
say
,
a
couple
of
thousand
a
year
.
Even
the
frugal
General
did
not
see
how
it
could
have
been
done
on
less
.
Roger
no
doubt
had
been
a
lazy
,
self-indulgent
beggar
.
Yet
he
seemed
a
good
deal
steadier
,
and
more
sensible
than
he
used
to
be
;
in
spite
of
his
wife
,
and
the
pouring
out
of
dollars
.
And
there
was
no
doubt
that
he
had
grown
perceptibly
older
.
The
General
felt
a
vague
pang
of
regret
,
so
rare
and
so
compelling
had
been
the
quality
of
Roger
's
early
youth
,
measured
at
least
by
physical
standards
.
The
house
sank
into
sleep
and
silence
.
Roger
,
before
saying
good-night
to
his
mother
,
had
let
fall
a
casual
question
as
to
the
whereabouts
of
the
room
which
still
contained
the
débris
of
the
London
house
.
He
must
,
he
said
,
look
up
two
or
three
things
,
some
share
certificates
of
his
father
's
,
for
instance
,
that
he
had
been
in
want
of
for
some
time
.
Lady
Barnes
directed
him
.
At
the
end
of
the
nursery
wing
,
to
the
right
.
But
in
the
morning
one
of
the
housemaids
would
show
him
.
Had
she
the
key
?
She
produced
it
,
thought
no
more
of
it
,
and
went
to
bed
.
He
waited
in
his
room
till
after
midnight
,
then
took
off
his
shoes
,
his
pride
smarting
,
and
emerged
.
There
was
one
electric
light
burning
in
the
hall
below
.
This
gave
enough
glimmer
on
the
broad
open
landing
for
him
to
grope
his
way
by
,
and
he
went
noiselessly
towards
the
staircase
leading
up
to
Beatty
's
rooms
.
Once
,
just
as
he
reached
it
,
he
thought
he
caught
the
faint
noise
of
low
talking
somewhere
in
the
house
,
an
indeterminate
sound
not
to
be
located
.
But
when
he
paused
to
listen
,
it
had
ceased
;
and
he
supposed
it
to
be
only
a
windy
murmur
of
the
night
.
He
gained
the
nursery
wing
.
So
far
,
of
course
,
the
way
was
perfectly
familiar
.
He
rarely
passed
an
evening
without
going
to
kiss
Beatty
in
her
cot
.
Outside
the
door
of
the
night-nursery
he
waited
a
moment
to
listen
.
Was
she
snoozling
among
her
blankets
?
—
the
darling
!
She
still
sucked
her
thumb
,
sometimes
,
poor
baby
,
to
send
her
to
sleep
,
and
it
was
another
reason
for
discontent
with
Miss
Farmer
that
she
would
make
a
misdemeanour
of
it
.
Really
,
that
woman
got
on
his
nerves
!
Beyond
the
nursery
he
had
no
knowledge
whatever
of
his
own
house
.
The
attics
at
Heston
were
large
and
rambling
.
He
believed
the
servants
were
all
in
the
other
wing
,
but
was
not
sure
;
he
could
only
hope
that
he
might
not
stumble
on
some
handmaiden
's
room
by
mistake
!
A
door
to
the
right
,
at
the
end
of
the
passage
.
He
tried
the
key
.
Thank
goodness
!
It
turned
without
too
much
noise
,
and
he
found
himself
on
the
threshold
of
a
big
lumber-room
,
his
candle
throwing
lines
of
dusty
light
across
it
.
He
closed
the
door
,
set
down
the
light
,
and
looked
round
him
in
despair
.
The
room
was
crowded
with
furniture
,
trunks
,
and
boxes
,
in
considerable
confusion
.
It
looked
as
though
the
men
employed
to
move
them
had
piled
them
there
as
they
pleased
;
and
Roger
shrewdly
suspected
that
his
mother
,
from
whom
,
in
spite
of
her
square
and
businesslike
appearance
,
his
own
indolence
was
inherited
,
had
shrunk
till
now
from
the
task
of
disturbing
them
.
He
began
to
rummage
a
little
.
Papers
belonging
to
his
father
—
an
endless
series
of
them
;
some
in
tin
boxes
marked
with
the
names
of
various
companies
,
mining
and
other
;
some
in
leather
cases
,
reminiscent
of
politics
,
and
labelled
“
Parliamentary
”
or
“
Local
Government
Board
.
”
Trunks
containing
Court
suits
,
yeomanry
uniforms
,
and
the
like
;
a
medley
of
old
account
books
,
photographs
,
worthless
volumes
,
and
broken
ornaments
:
all
the
refuse
that
our
too
complex
life
piles
about
us
was
represented
in
the
chaos
of
the
room
.
Roger
pulled
and
pushed
as
cautiously
as
he
could
,
but
making
,
inevitably
,
some
noise
in
the
process
.
At
last
!
He
caught
sight
of
some
belongings
of
his
own
,
and
was
soon
joyfully
detaching
the
old
Eton
desk
,
of
which
he
was
in
search
,
from
a
pile
of
miscellaneous
rubbish
.
In
doing
so
,
to
his
dismay
,
he
upset
a
couple
of
old
cardboard
boxes
filled
with
letters
,
and
they
fell
with
some
clatter
.
He
looked
round
instinctively
at
the
door
;
but
it
was
shut
,
and
the
house
was
well
built
,
the
walls
and
ceilings
reasonably
sound-proof
.
The
desk
was
only
latched
—
beastly
carelessness
,
of
course
!
—
and
inside
it
were
three
thick
piles
of
letters
,
and
a
few
loose
ones
below
.
His
own
letters
to
Chloe
;
and
—
by
George
!
—
the
lost
one
!
—
among
the
others
.
He
opened
it
eagerly
,
ran
it
through
.
Yes
,
the
very
thing
!
What
luck
!
He
laid
it
carefully
aside
a
moment
on
a
trunk
near
by
,
and
sat
with
the
other
letters
on
his
lap
.
His
fingers
played
with
them
.
He
almost
determined
to
take
them
down
unopened
,
and
burn
them
,
as
they
were
,
in
his
own
room
;
but
in
the
end
he
could
not
resist
the
temptation
to
look
at
them
once
more
.
He
pulled
off
an
indiarubber
band
from
the
latest
packet
,
and
was
soon
deep
in
them
,
at
first
half
ashamed
,
half
contemptuous
.
Calf
love
,
of
course
!
And
he
had
been
a
precious
fool
to
write
such
things
.
Then
,
presently
,
the
headlong
passion
of
them
began
to
affect
him
,
to
set
his
pulses
swinging
.
He
fell
to
wondering
at
his
own
bygone
facility
,
his
own
powers
of
expression
.
How
did
he
ever
write
such
a
style
!
He
,
who
could
hardly
get
through
a
note
now
without
blots
and
labour
.
Self-pity
grew
upon
him
,
and
self-admiration
.
By
heaven
!
How
could
a
woman
treat
a
man
—
a
man
who
could
write
to
her
like
this
—
as
Chloe
had
treated
him
!
The
old
smart
revived
;
or
rather
,
the
old
indelible
impressions
of
it
left
on
nerve
and
brain
.
The
letters
lay
on
his
knee
.
He
sat
brooding
:
his
hands
upon
the
packets
,
his
head
bowed
.
One
might
have
thought
him
a
man
overcome
and
dissolved
by
the
enervating
memories
of
passion
;
but
in
truth
,
he
was
gradually
and
steadily
reacting
against
them
;
resuming
,
and
this
time
finally
,
as
far
as
Chloe
Fairmile
was
concerned
,
a
man
's
mastery
of
himself
.
He
thought
of
her
unkindness
and
cruelty
—
of
the
misery
he
had
suffered
—
and
now
of
the
reckless
caprice
with
which
,
during
the
preceding
weeks
,
she
had
tried
to
entangle
him
afresh
,
with
no
respect
for
his
married
life
,
for
his
own
or
Daphne
's
peace
of
mind
.
He
judged
her
,
and
therewith
,
himself
.
Looking
back
upon
the
four
years
since
Chloe
Fairmile
had
thrown
him
over
,
it
seemed
to
him
that
,
in
some
ways
,
he
had
made
a
good
job
of
his
life
,
and
,
in
others
,
a
bad
one
.
As
to
the
money
,
that
was
neither
here
nor
there
.
It
had
been
amusing
to
have
so
much
of
it
;
though
of
late
Daphne
's
constant
reminders
that
the
fortune
was
hers
and
not
his
,
had
been
like
grit
in
the
mouth
.
But
he
did
not
find
that
boundless
wealth
had
made
as
much
difference
to
him
as
he
had
expected
.
On
the
other
hand
,
he
had
been
much
happier
with
Daphne
than
he
had
thought
he
should
be
,
up
to
the
time
of
their
coming
to
Heston
.
She
was
n't
easy
to
live
with
,
and
she
had
been
often
,
before
now
,
ridiculously
jealous
;
but
you
could
not
,
apparently
,
live
with
a
woman
without
getting
very
fond
of
her
—
he
could
n't
—
especially
if
she
had
given
you
a
child
;
and
if
Daphne
had
turned
against
him
now
,
for
a
bit
—
well
,
he
could
not
swear
to
himself
that
he
had
been
free
from
blame
;
and
it
perhaps
served
him
right
for
having
gone
out
deliberately
to
the
States
to
marry
money
—
with
a
wife
thrown
in
—
in
that
shabby
sort
of
way
.
But
,
now
,
to
straighten
out
this
coil
;
to
shake
himself
finally
free
of
Chloe
,
and
make
Daphne
happy
again
!
He
vowed
to
himself
that
he
could
and
would
make
her
happy
—
just
as
she
had
been
in
their
early
days
together
.
The
memory
of
her
lying
white
and
exhausted
after
child-birth
,
with
the
little
dark
head
beside
her
,
came
across
him
,
and
melted
him
;
he
thought
of
her
with
longing
and
tenderness
.
With
a
deep
breath
he
raised
himself
on
his
seat
;
in
the
old
Greek
phrase
,
“
the
gods
breathed
courage
into
his
soul
”
;
and
as
he
stretched
out
an
indifferent
hand
towards
Chloe
's
letters
on
the
trunk
,
Roger
Barnes
had
perhaps
reached
the
highest
point
of
his
moral
history
;
he
had
become
conscious
of
himself
as
a
moral
being
choosing
good
or
evil
;
and
he
had
chosen
good
.
It
was
not
so
much
that
his
conscience
accused
him
greatly
with
regard
to
Chloe
.
For
that
his
normal
standards
were
not
fine
enough
.
It
was
rather
a
kind
of
“
serious
call
,
”
something
akin
to
conversion
,
or
that
might
have
been
conversion
,
which
befell
him
in
this
dusty
room
,
amid
the
night-silence
.
As
he
took
up
Chloe
's
letters
he
did
not
notice
that
the
door
had
quietly
opened
behind
him
,
and
that
a
figure
stood
on
the
threshold
.
A
voice
struck
into
the
stillness
.
“
Roger
!
”
He
turned
with
a
movement
that
scattered
all
his
own
letters
on
the
floor
.
Daphne
stood
before
him
—
but
with
the
eyes
of
a
mad
woman
.
Her
hand
shook
on
the
handle
of
the
door
.
“
What
are
you
doing
here
?
”
She
flung
out
the
question
like
a
blow
.
“
Hallo
,
Daphne
!
—
is
that
you
?
”
He
tried
to
laugh
.
“
I
'm
only
looking
up
some
old
papers
;
no
joke
,
in
all
this
rubbish
.
”
He
pointed
to
it
.
“
What
old
papers
?
”
“
Well
,
you
need
n't
catechise
me
!
”
he
said
,
nettled
by
her
tone
,
“
or
not
in
that
way
,
at
any
rate
.
I
could
n't
sleep
,
and
I
came
up
here
to
look
for
something
I
wanted
.
Why
did
you
shut
your
door
on
me
?
”
He
looked
at
her
intently
,
his
lips
twitching
a
little
.
Daphne
came
nearer
.
“
It
must
be
something
you
want
very
badly
—
something
you
do
n't
want
other
people
to
see
—
something
you
're
ashamed
of
!
—
or
you
would
n't
be
searching
for
it
at
this
time
of
night
.
”
She
raised
her
eyes
,
still
with
the
same
strange
yet
flaming
quiet
,
from
the
littered
floor
to
his
face
.
Then
suddenly
glancing
again
at
the
scattered
papers
—
“
That
's
your
handwriting
!
—
they
're
your
letters
!
—
letters
to
Mrs.
Fairmile
!
”
“
Well
,
and
what
do
you
make
of
that
?
”
cried
Roger
,
half
wroth
,
half
inclined
to
laugh
.
“
If
you
want
to
know
,
they
are
the
letters
I
wrote
to
Chloe
Fairmile
;
and
I
,
like
a
careless
beast
,
never
destroyed
them
,
and
they
were
stuffed
away
here
.
I
have
long
meant
to
get
at
them
and
burn
them
,
and
as
you
turned
me
out
to-night
—
”
“
What
is
that
letter
in
your
hand
?
”
exclaimed
Daphne
,
interrupting
him
.
“
Oh
,
that
has
nothing
to
do
with
you
—
or
me
—
”
he
said
,
hastily
making
a
movement
to
put
it
in
his
coat
pocket
.
But
in
a
second
,
Daphne
,
with
a
cry
,
had
thrown
herself
upon
him
,
to
his
intense
amazement
,
wrestling
with
him
,
in
a
wild
excitement
.
And
as
she
did
so
,
a
thin
woman
,
with
frightened
eyes
,
in
a
nurse
's
dress
,
came
quickly
into
the
room
,
as
though
Daphne
's
cry
had
signalled
to
her
.
She
was
behind
Roger
,
and
he
was
not
aware
of
her
approach
.
“
Daphne
,
do
n't
be
such
a
little
fool
!
”
he
said
indignantly
,
holding
her
off
with
one
hand
,
determined
not
to
give
her
the
letter
.
Then
,
all
in
a
moment
—
without
,
as
it
seemed
to
him
,
any
but
the
mildest
defensive
action
on
his
part
—
Daphne
stumbled
and
fell
.
“
Daphne
!
—
I
say
!
—
”
He
was
stooping
over
her
in
great
distress
to
lift
her
up
,
when
he
felt
himself
vehemently
put
aside
by
a
woman
's
hand
.
“
You
ought
to
be
ashamed
of
yourself
,
sir
!
Let
me
go
to
her
.
”
He
turned
in
bewilderment
.
“
Miss
Farmer
!
What
on
earth
are
you
doing
here
?
”
But
in
his
astonishment
he
had
given
way
to
her
,
and
he
fell
back
pale
and
frowning
,
while
,
without
replying
,
she
lifted
Daphne
—
who
had
a
cut
on
her
forehead
and
was
half
fainting
—
from
the
ground
.
“
Do
n't
come
near
her
,
sir
!
”
said
the
nurse
,
again
warding
him
off
.
“
You
have
done
quite
enough
.
Let
me
attend
to
her
.
”
“
You
imagine
that
was
my
doing
?
”
said
Roger
grimly
.
“
Let
me
assure
you
it
was
nothing
of
the
kind
.
And
pray
,
were
you
listening
at
the
door
?
”
Miss
Farmer
vouchsafed
no
reply
.
She
was
half
leading
,
half
supporting
Daphne
,
who
leant
against
her
.
As
they
neared
the
door
,
Roger
,
who
had
been
standing
dumb
again
,
started
forward
.
“
Let
me
take
her
,
”
he
said
sternly
.
“
Daphne
!
—
send
this
woman
away
.
”
But
Daphne
only
shuddered
,
and
putting
out
a
shaking
hand
,
she
waved
him
from
her
.
“
You
see
in
what
a
state
she
is
!
”
cried
Miss
Farmer
,
with
a
withering
look
.
“
If
you
must
speak
to
her
,
put
it
off
,
sir
,
at
least
till
tomorrow
.
”
Roger
drew
back
.
A
strange
sense
of
inexplicable
disaster
rushed
upon
him
.
He
sombrely
watched
them
pass
through
the
door
and
disappear
.
Daphne
reached
her
own
room
.
As
the
door
closed
upon
them
she
turned
to
her
companion
panion
,
holding
out
the
handkerchief
stained
with
blood
she
had
been
pressing
to
her
temple
.
“
You
saw
it
all
?
”
she
said
imperiously
—
“
the
whole
thing
?
”
“
All
,
”
said
Miss
Farmer
.
“
It
's
a
mercy
you
're
not
more
hurt
.
”
Daphne
gave
a
hysterical
laugh
.
“
It
'll
just
do
—
I
think
it
'll
just
do
!
But
you
'll
have
to
make
a
good
deal
out
of
it
.
”
And
sinking
down
by
the
fire
,
she
burst
into
a
passion
of
wild
tears
.
The
nurse
brought
her
sal
volatile
,
and
washed
the
small
cut
above
her
eyebrow
.
“
It
was
lucky
we
heard
him
,
”
she
said
triumphantly
.
“
I
guessed
at
once
he
must
be
looking
for
something
—
I
knew
that
room
was
full
of
papers
.
”
A
knock
at
the
door
startled
them
.
“
Never
mind
.
”
The
nurse
hurried
across
the
room
.
“
It
's
locked
.
”
“
How
is
my
wife
?
”
said
Roger
's
strong
and
,
as
it
seemed
,
threatening
voice
outside
.
“
She
'll
be
all
right
,
sir
,
I
hope
,
if
you
'll
leave
her
to
rest
.
But
I
wo
n't
answer
for
the
consequences
if
she
's
disturbed
any
more
.
”
There
was
a
pause
,
as
though
of
hesitation
.
Then
Roger
's
steps
receded
.
Daphne
pushed
her
hair
back
from
her
face
,
and
sat
staring
into
the
fire
.
Everything
was
decided
now
.
Yet
she
had
rushed
upstairs
stairs
on
Miss
Farmer
's
information
with
no
definite
purpose
.
She
only
knew
that
—
once
again
—
Roger
was
hiding
something
from
her
—
doing
something
secret
and
disgraceful
—
and
she
suddenly
resolved
to
surprise
and
confront
him
.
With
a
mind
still
vaguely
running
on
the
legal
aspects
of
what
she
meant
to
do
,
she
had
bade
the
nurse
follow
her
.
The
rest
had
been
half
spontaneous
,
half
acting
.
It
had
struck
her
imagination
midway
how
the
incident
could
be
turned
—
and
used
.
She
was
triumphant
;
but
from
sheer
excitement
she
wept
and
sobbed
through
the
greater
part
of
the
night
.
PART
III
“
La
vie
est
un
orage
,
soit
.
Nous
sommes
orage
et
convulsion
nous-mêmes
.
Laissons
nous
aller
à
cette
loi
qui
emporte
tout
dans
l'abîme
,
et
il
n'y
a
plus
de
société
,
plus
d'humanité
,
plus
rien
.
”
CHAPTER
IX
IT
was
a
cheerless
February
day
,
dark
and
slaty
overhead
,
dusty
below
.
In
the
East
End
streets
paper
and
straw
,
children
's
curls
,
girls
'
pinafores
and
women
's
skirts
were
driven
back
and
forward
by
a
bitter
wind
;
there
was
an
ugly
light
on
ugly
houses
,
with
none
of
that
kind
trickery
of
mist
or
smoke
which
can
lend
some
grace
on
normal
days
even
to
Commercial
Street
,
or
to
the
network
of
lanes
north
of
the
Bethnal
Green
Road
.
The
pitiless
wind
swept
the
streets
—
swept
the
children
and
the
grown-ups
out
of
them
into
the
houses
,
or
any
available
shelter
;
and
in
the
dark
and
chilly
emptiness
of
the
side
roads
one
might
listen
in
fancy
for
the
stealthy
returning
steps
of
spirits
crueller
than
Cold
,
more
tyrannous
than
Poverty
,
coming
to
seize
upon
their
own
.
In
one
of
these
side
streets
stood
a
house
larger
than
its
neighbours
,
in
a
bit
of
front
garden
,
with
some
decrepit
rust-bitten
railings
between
it
and
the
road
.
It
was
an
old
dwelling
overtaken
by
the
flood
of
tenement
houses
,
which
spread
north
,
south
,
east
,
and
west
of
it
.
Its
walls
were
no
less
grimy
than
its
neighbours
'
;
but
its
windows
were
outlined
in
cheerful
white
paint
,
firelight
sparkled
through
its
unshuttered
panes
,
and
a
bright
green
door
with
a
brass
knocker
completed
its
pleasant
air
.
There
were
always
children
outside
the
Vicarage
railings
on
winter
evenings
,
held
there
by
the
spell
of
the
green
door
and
the
firelight
.
Inside
the
firelit
room
to
the
left
of
the
front
pathway
,
two
men
were
standing
—
one
of
whom
had
just
entered
the
house
.
“
My
dear
Penrose
!
—
how
very
good
of
you
to
come
.
I
know
how
frightfully
busy
you
are
.
”
The
man
addressed
put
down
his
hat
and
stick
,
and
hastily
smoothed
back
some
tumbling
black
hair
which
interfered
with
spectacled
eyes
already
hampered
by
short
sight
.
He
was
a
tall
,
lank
,
powerful
fellow
;
anyone
acquainted
with
the
West-country
would
have
known
him
for
one
of
the
swarthy
,
grey-eyed
Cornish
stock
.
“
I
am
pretty
busy
—
but
your
tale
,
Herbert
,
was
a
startler
.
If
I
can
help
you
—
or
Barnes
—
command
me
.
He
is
coming
this
afternoon
?
”
Herbert
French
pointed
his
visitor
to
a
chair
.
“
Of
course
.
And
another
man
—
whom
I
met
casually
,
in
Pall
Mall
this
morning
—
and
had
half
an
hour
's
talk
with
—
an
American
naval
officer
—
an
old
acquaintance
of
Elsie
's
—
Captain
Boyson
—
will
join
us
also
.
I
met
him
at
Harvard
before
our
wedding
,
and
liked
him
.
He
has
just
come
over
with
his
sister
for
a
short
holiday
,
and
I
ran
across
him
.
”
“
Is
there
any
particular
point
in
his
joining
us
?
”
Herbert
French
expounded
.
Boyson
had
been
an
old
acquaintance
of
Mrs.
Roger
Barnes
'
before
her
marriage
.
He
knew
a
good
deal
about
the
Barnes
story
—
“
feels
,
so
I
gathered
,
very
strongly
about
it
,
and
on
the
man
's
side
;
and
when
I
told
him
that
Roger
had
just
arrived
and
was
coming
to
take
counsel
with
you
and
me
this
afternoon
,
he
suddenly
asked
if
he
might
come
,
too
.
I
was
rather
taken
aback
.
I
told
him
that
we
were
going
,
of
course
,
to
consider
the
case
entirely
from
the
English
point
of
view
.
He
still
said
,
‘Let
me
come
;
I
may
be
of
use
to
you.’
So
I
could
only
reply
it
must
rest
with
Roger
.
They
'll
show
him
first
into
the
dining-room
.
”
Penrose
nodded
.
“
All
right
,
as
long
as
he
does
n't
mind
his
national
toes
trampled
upon
.
So
these
are
your
new
quarters
,
old
fellow
?
”
His
eyes
travelled
round
the
small
book-lined
room
,
with
its
shelves
of
poetry
,
history
,
and
theology
;
its
parish
litter
;
its
settle
by
the
fire
,
on
which
lay
a
doll
and
a
child
's
picture-
book
;
back
to
the
figure
of
the
new
vicar
,
who
stood
,
pipe
in
hand
,
before
the
hearth
,
clad
in
a
shabby
serge
suit
,
his
collar
alone
betraying
him
.
French
's
white
hair
showed
even
whiter
than
of
old
above
the
delicately
blanched
face
;
from
his
natural
slenderness
and
smallness
the
East
End
and
its
life
had
by
now
stripped
every
superfluous
ounce
;
yet
,
ethereal
as
his
aspect
was
,
not
one
element
of
the
Meredithian
trilogy
—
“
flesh
,
”
“
blood
,
”
or
“
spirit
”
—
was
lacking
in
it
.
“
Yes
,
we
've
settled
in
,
”
he
said
quietly
,
as
Penrose
took
stock
.
“
And
you
like
it
?
”
“
We
do
.
”
The
phrase
was
brief
;
nor
did
it
seem
to
be
going
to
lead
to
anything
more
expansive
.
Penrose
smiled
.
“
Well
,
now
”
—
he
bent
forward
,
with
a
professional
change
of
tone
—
“
before
he
arrives
,
where
precisely
is
this
unhappy
business
?
I
gather
,
by
the
way
,
that
Barnes
has
got
practically
all
his
legal
advice
from
the
other
side
,
though
the
solicitors
here
have
been
co-operating
?
”
French
nodded
.
“
I
am
still
rather
vague
myself
.
Roger
only
arrived
from
New
York
the
day
before
yesterday
.
His
uncle
,
General
Hobson
,
died
a
few
weeks
ago
,
and
Roger
came
rushing
home
,
as
I
understand
,
to
see
if
he
could
make
any
ready
money
out
of
his
inheritance
.
Money
,
in
fact
,
seems
to
be
his
chief
thought
.
”
“
Money
?
What
for
?
Mrs.
Barnes
's
suit
was
surely
settled
long
ago
?
”
“
Oh
,
yes
—
months
ago
.
She
got
her
decree
and
the
custody
of
the
child
in
July
.
”
“
Remind
me
of
the
details
.
Barnes
refused
to
plead
?
”
“
Certainly
.
By
the
advice
of
the
lawyers
on
both
sides
,
he
refused
,
as
an
Englishman
,
to
acknowledge
the
jurisdiction
of
the
court
.
”
“
But
he
did
what
he
could
to
stop
the
thing
?
”
“
Of
course
.
He
rushed
out
after
his
wife
as
soon
as
he
could
trace
where
she
had
gone
;
and
he
made
the
most
desperate
attempts
to
alter
her
purpose
.
His
letters
,
as
far
as
I
could
make
them
out
,
were
heart-rending
.
I
very
nearly
went
over
to
try
and
help
him
,
but
it
was
impossible
to
leave
my
work
.
Mrs.
Barnes
refused
to
see
him
.
She
was
already
at
Sioux
Falls
,
and
had
begun
the
residence
necessary
to
bring
her
within
the
jurisdiction
of
the
South
Dakota
Court
.
Roger
,
however
,
forced
one
or
two
interviews
with
her
—
most
painful
scenes
!
—
but
found
her
quite
immovable
.
At
the
same
time
she
was
much
annoyed
and
excited
by
the
legal
line
that
he
was
advised
to
take
;
and
there
was
a
moment
when
she
tried
to
bribe
him
to
accept
the
divorce
and
submit
to
the
American
court
.
”
“
To
bribe
him
!
With
money
?
”
“
No
;
with
the
child
.
Beatty
at
first
was
hidden
away
,
and
Roger
could
find
no
traces
of
her
.
But
for
a
few
weeks
she
was
sent
to
stay
with
a
Mrs.
Verrier
at
Philadelphia
,
and
Roger
was
allowed
to
see
her
,
while
Mrs.
Barnes
negotiated
.
It
was
a
frightful
dilemma
!
If
he
submitted
,
Mrs.
Barnes
promised
that
Beatty
should
go
to
him
for
two
months
every
year
;
if
not
,
and
she
obtained
her
decree
,
and
the
custody
of
the
child
,
as
she
was
quite
confident
of
doing
,
he
should
never
—
as
far
as
she
could
secure
it
—
see
Beatty
again
.
He
,
too
,
foresaw
that
she
would
win
her
suit
;
he
was
sorely
tempted
;
but
he
stood
firm
.
Then
,
before
he
could
make
up
his
mind
what
to
do
as
to
the
child
,
the
suit
came
on
,
Mrs.
Barnes
got
her
decree
,
and
the
custody
of
the
little
girl
.
”
“
On
the
ground
of
‘cruelty
,
’
I
understand
,
and
‘indignities’
?
”
French
nodded
.
His
thin
cheek
flushed
.
“
And
by
the
help
of
evidence
that
any
liar
could
supply
!
”
“
Who
were
her
witnesses
?
”
“
Beatty
's
nurse
—
one
Agnes
Farmer
—
and
a
young
fellow
who
had
been
employed
on
the
decorative
work
at
Heston
.
There
were
relations
tions
between
these
two
,
and
Roger
tells
me
they
have
married
lately
,
on
a
partnership
bought
by
Mrs.
Barnes
.
While
the
work
was
going
on
at
Heston
the
young
man
used
to
put
up
at
an
inn
in
the
country
town
,
and
talk
scandal
at
the
bar
.
”
“
Then
there
was
some
local
scandal
—
on
the
subject
of
Barnes
and
Mrs.
Fairmile
?
”
“
Possibly
.
Scandal
pour
rire
!
Not
a
soul
believed
that
there
was
anything
more
in
it
than
mischief
on
the
woman
's
side
,
and
a
kind
of
incapacity
for
dealing
with
a
woman
as
she
deserved
,
on
the
man
's
.
Mrs.
Fairmile
has
been
an
intrigante
from
her
cradle
.
Barnes
was
at
one
time
deeply
in
love
with
her
.
His
wife
became
jealous
of
her
after
the
marriage
,
and
threw
them
together
,
by
way
of
getting
at
the
truth
,
and
he
shilly-shallied
with
the
situation
,
instead
of
putting
a
prompt
end
to
it
,
as
of
course
he
ought
to
have
done
.
He
was
honestly
fond
of
his
wife
the
whole
time
,
and
devoted
to
his
home
and
his
child
.
”
“
Well
,
she
did
n't
plead
,
you
say
,
anything
more
than
‘cruelty’
and
‘indignities.’
The
scandal
,
such
as
it
was
,
was
no
doubt
part
of
the
‘cruelty’
?
”
French
assented
.
“
And
you
suspect
that
money
played
a
great
part
in
the
whole
transaction
?
”
“
I
do
n't
suspect
—
the
evidence
goes
a
long
way
beyond
that
.
Mrs.
Barnes
bought
the
show
!
I
am
told
there
are
a
thousand
ways
of
doing
it
.
”
Penrose
smoked
and
pondered
.
“
Well
,
then
—
what
happened
?
I
imagine
that
by
this
time
Barnes
had
not
much
affection
left
for
his
wife
?
”
“
I
do
n't
know
,
”
said
French
,
hesitating
.
“
I
believe
the
whole
thing
was
a
great
blow
to
him
.
He
was
never
passionately
in
love
with
her
,
but
he
was
very
fond
of
her
in
his
own
way
—
increasingly
fond
of
her
—
up
to
that
miserable
autumn
at
Heston
.
However
,
after
the
decree
,
his
one
thought
was
for
Beatty
.
His
whole
soul
has
been
wrapped
up
in
that
child
from
the
first
moment
she
was
put
into
his
arms
.
When
he
first
realised
that
his
wife
meant
to
take
her
from
him
,
Boyson
tells
me
that
he
seemed
to
lose
his
head
.
He
was
like
a
person
unnerved
and
bewildered
,
not
knowing
how
to
act
or
where
to
turn
.
First
of
all
,
he
brought
an
action
—
a
writ
of
habeas
corpus
,
I
think
—
to
recover
his
daughter
,
as
an
English
subject
.
But
the
fact
was
he
had
put
it
off
too
long
—
”
“
Naturally
,
”
said
Penrose
,
with
a
shrug
.
“
Not
much
hope
for
him
—
after
the
decree
.
”
“
So
he
discovered
,
poor
old
fellow
!
The
action
was
,
of
course
,
obstructed
and
delayed
in
every
way
,
by
the
power
of
Mrs.
Barnes
's
millions
behind
the
scenes
.
His
lawyers
told
him
plainly
from
the
beginning
that
he
had
precious
little
chance
.
And
presently
he
found
himself
the
object
of
a
press
campaign
in
some
of
the
yellow
papers
—
all
of
it
paid
for
and
engineered
by
his
wife
.
He
was
held
up
as
the
brutal
fortune-hunting
Englishman
,
who
had
beguiled
an
American
heiress
to
marry
him
,
had
carried
her
off
to
England
to
live
upon
her
money
,
had
then
insulted
her
by
scandalous
flirtations
with
a
lady
to
whom
he
had
formerly
been
engaged
,
had
shown
her
constant
rudeness
and
unkindness
,
and
had
finally
,
in
the
course
of
a
quarrel
,
knocked
her
down
,
inflicting
shock
and
injury
from
which
she
had
suffered
ever
since
.
Mrs.
Barnes
had
happily
freed
herself
from
him
,
but
he
was
now
trying
to
bully
her
through
the
child
—
had
,
it
was
said
,
threatened
to
carry
off
the
little
girl
by
violence
.
Mrs.
Barnes
went
in
terror
of
him
.
America
,
however
,
would
know
how
to
protect
both
the
mother
and
the
child
!
You
can
imagine
the
kind
of
thing
.
Well
,
very
soon
Roger
began
to
find
himself
a
marked
man
in
hotels
,
followed
in
the
streets
,
persecuted
by
interviewers
;
and
the
stream
of
lies
that
found
its
way
even
into
the
respectable
newspapers
about
him
,
his
former
life
,
his
habits
,
etc.
,
is
simply
incredible
!
Unfortunately
,
he
gave
some
handle
—
”
French
paused
a
moment
.
“
Ah
!
”
said
Penrose
,
“
I
have
heard
rumours
.
”
French
rose
and
began
to
pace
the
room
.
“
It
is
a
matter
I
can
hardly
speak
of
calmly
,
”
he
said
at
last
.
“
The
night
after
that
first
scene
between
them
,
the
night
of
her
fall
—
her
pretended
fall
,
so
Roger
told
me
—
he
went
downstairs
in
his
excitement
and
misery
,
and
drank
,
one
way
and
another
,
nearly
a
bottle
of
brandy
,
a
thing
he
had
never
done
in
his
life
before
.
But
—
”
“
He
has
often
done
it
since
?
”
French
raised
his
shoulders
sadly
,
then
added
,
with
some
emphasis
,
“
Do
n't
,
however
,
suppose
the
thing
worse
than
it
is
.
Give
him
a
gleam
of
hope
and
happiness
,
and
he
would
soon
shake
it
off
.
”
“
Well
,
what
came
of
his
action
?
”
“
Nothing
—
so
far
.
I
believe
he
has
ceased
to
take
any
interest
in
it
.
Another
line
of
action
altogether
was
suggested
to
him
.
About
three
months
ago
he
made
an
attempt
to
kidnap
the
child
,
and
was
foiled
.
He
got
word
that
she
had
been
taken
to
Charlestown
,
and
he
went
there
with
a
couple
of
private
detectives
.
But
Mrs.
Barnes
was
on
the
alert
,
and
when
he
discovered
the
villa
in
which
the
child
had
been
living
,
she
had
been
removed
.
It
was
a
bitter
shock
and
disappointment
,
and
when
he
got
back
to
New
York
in
November
,
in
the
middle
of
an
epidemic
,
he
was
struck
down
by
influenza
and
pneumonia
.
It
went
pretty
hard
with
him
.
You
will
be
shocked
by
his
appearance
.
Ecco
!
was
there
ever
such
a
story
!
Do
you
remember
,
Penrose
,
what
a
magnificent
creature
he
was
that
year
he
played
for
Oxford
,
and
you
and
I
watched
his
innings
from
the
pavilion
?
”
There
was
a
note
of
emotion
in
the
tone
which
implied
much
.
Penrose
assented
heartily
,
remarking
,
however
,
that
it
was
a
magnificence
which
seemed
to
have
cost
him
dear
,
if
,
as
no
doubt
was
the
case
,
it
had
won
him
his
wife
.
“
But
now
,
with
regard
to
money
;
you
say
he
wants
money
.
But
surely
,
at
the
time
of
the
marriage
,
something
was
settled
on
him
?
”
“
Certainly
,
a
good
deal
.
But
from
the
moment
she
left
him
,
and
the
Heston
bills
were
paid
,
he
has
never
touched
a
farthing
of
it
,
and
never
will
.
”
“
So
that
the
General
's
death
was
opportune
?
Well
,
it
's
a
deplorable
affair
!
And
I
wish
I
saw
any
chance
of
being
of
use
.
”
French
looked
up
anxiously
.
“
Because
you
know
,
”
the
speaker
reluctantly
continued
,
“
there
's
nothing
to
be
done
.
The
thing
's
finished
.
”
“
Finished
?
”
French
's
manner
took
fire
.
“
And
the
law
can
do
nothing
!
Society
can
do
nothing
,
to
help
that
man
either
to
right
himself
,
or
to
recover
his
child
?
Ah
!
”
—
he
paused
to
listen
—
“
here
he
is
!
”
A
cab
had
drawn
up
outside
.
Through
the
lightly
curtained
windows
the
two
within
saw
a
man
descend
from
it
,
pay
the
driver
,
and
walk
up
the
flagged
passage
leading
to
the
front
door
.
French
hurried
to
greet
the
new-comer
.
“
Come
in
,
Roger
!
Here
's
George
Penrose
—
as
I
promised
you
.
Sit
down
,
old
man
.
They
'll
bring
us
some
tea
presently
.
”
Roger
Barnes
looked
round
him
for
a
moment
without
replying
;
then
murmured
something
unintelligible
,
as
he
shook
hands
with
Penrose
,
and
took
the
chair
which
French
pushed
forward
.
French
stood
beside
him
with
a
furrowed
brow
.
“
Well
,
here
we
are
,
Roger
!
—
and
if
there
's
anything
whatever
in
this
horrible
affair
where
an
English
lawyer
can
help
you
,
Penrose
is
your
man
.
You
know
,
I
expect
,
what
a
swell
he
is
?
A
K.C.
after
seven
years
—
lucky
dog
!
—
and
last
year
he
was
engaged
in
an
Anglo-American
case
not
wholly
unlike
yours
—
Brown
v.
Brown
.
So
I
thought
of
him
as
the
best
person
among
your
old
friends
and
mine
to
come
and
give
us
some
private
informal
help
to-day
,
before
you
take
any
fresh
steps
—
if
you
do
take
any
.
”
“
Awfully
good
of
you
both
.
”
The
speaker
,
still
wrapped
in
his
fur
coat
,
sat
staring
at
the
carpet
,
a
hand
on
each
of
his
knees
.
“
Awfully
good
of
you
,
”
he
repeated
vaguely
.
Penrose
observed
the
new-comer
.
In
some
ways
Roger
Barnes
was
handsomer
than
ever
.
His
colour
,
the
pink
and
white
of
his
astonishing
complexion
,
was
miraculously
vivid
;
his
blue
eyes
were
infinitely
more
arresting
than
of
old
;
and
the
touch
of
physical
weakness
in
his
aspect
,
left
evidently
by
severe
illness
,
was
not
only
not
disfiguring
,
but
a
positive
embellishment
.
He
had
been
too
ruddy
in
the
old
days
,
too
hearty
and
splendid
—
a
too
obvious
and
supreme
king
of
men
—
for
our
fastidious
modern
eyes
.
The
grief
and
misfortune
which
had
shorn
some
of
his
radiance
had
given
a
more
human
spell
to
what
remained
.
At
the
same
time
the
signs
of
change
were
by
no
means
,
all
of
them
,
easy
to
read
,
or
reassuring
to
a
friend
's
eye
.
Were
they
no
more
than
physical
and
transient
?
Penrose
was
just
beginning
on
the
questions
which
seemed
to
him
important
,
when
there
was
another
ring
at
the
front
door
.
French
got
up
nervously
,
with
an
anxious
look
at
Barnes
.
“
Roger
!
I
do
n't
know
whether
you
will
allow
it
,
but
I
met
an
American
acquaintance
of
yours
to-day
,
and
,
subject
to
your
permission
,
I
asked
him
to
join
our
conference
.
”
Roger
raised
his
head
—
it
might
have
been
thought
,
angrily
.
“
Who
on
earth
—
?
”
“
Captain
Boyson
?
”
The
young
man
's
face
changed
.
“
I
do
n't
mind
him
,
”
he
said
sombrely
.
“
He
's
an
awfully
good
sort
.
He
was
in
Philadelphia
a
few
months
ago
,
when
I
was
.
He
knows
all
about
me
.
It
was
he
and
his
sister
who
introduced
me
to
—
my
wife
.
”
French
left
the
room
for
a
moment
,
and
returned
accompanied
by
a
fair-haired
,
straight-shouldered
man
,
whom
he
introduced
to
Penrose
as
Captain
Boyson
.
Roger
rose
from
his
chair
to
shake
hands
.
“
How
do
you
do
,
Boyson
?
I
've
told
them
you
know
all
about
it
.
”
He
dropped
back
heavily
into
his
seat
.
“
I
thought
I
might
possibly
put
in
a
word
,
”
said
the
new-comer
,
glancing
from
Roger
to
his
friends
.
“
I
trust
I
was
not
impertinent
?
But
do
n't
let
me
interrupt
anything
that
was
going
on
.
”
On
a
plea
of
chill
,
Boyson
remained
standing
by
the
fire
,
warming
his
hands
,
looking
down
upon
the
other
three
.
Penrose
,
who
belonged
to
a
military
family
,
reminded
himself
self
,
as
he
glanced
at
the
American
,
of
a
recent
distinguished
book
on
Military
Geography
by
a
Captain
Alfred
Boyson
.
No
doubt
the
same
man
.
A
capable
face
!
—
the
face
of
the
modern
scientific
soldier
.
It
breathed
alertness
;
but
also
some
quality
warmer
and
softer
.
If
the
general
aspect
had
been
shaped
and
moulded
by
an
incessant
travail
of
brain
,
the
humanity
of
eye
and
mouth
spoke
dumbly
to
the
humanity
of
others
.
The
council
gathered
in
the
vicarage
room
felt
itself
strengthened
.
Penrose
resumed
his
questioning
of
Barnes
,
and
the
other
two
listened
while
the
whole
miserable
story
of
the
divorce
,
in
its
American
aspects
,
unrolled
.
At
first
Roger
showed
a
certain
apathy
and
brevity
;
he
might
have
been
fulfilling
a
task
in
which
he
took
but
small
interest
;
even
the
details
of
chicanery
and
corruption
connected
with
the
trial
were
told
without
heat
;
he
said
nothing
bitter
of
his
wife
—
avoided
naming
her
,
indeed
,
as
much
as
possible
.
But
when
the
tale
was
done
he
threw
back
his
head
with
sudden
animation
and
looked
at
Boyson
.
“
Is
that
about
the
truth
,
Boyson
?
You
know
.
”
“
Yes
,
I
endorse
it
,
”
said
the
American
gravely
.
His
face
,
thin
and
tanned
,
had
flushed
while
Barnes
was
speaking
.
“
And
you
know
what
all
their
papers
said
of
me
—
what
they
wished
people
to
believe
—
that
I
was
n't
fit
to
have
charge
of
Beatty
—
that
I
should
have
done
her
harm
?
”
His
eyes
sparkled
.
He
looked
almost
threateningly
at
the
man
whom
he
addressed
.
Boyson
met
his
gaze
quietly
.
“
I
did
n't
believe
it
.
”
There
was
a
pause
.
Then
Roger
sprang
suddenly
to
his
feet
,
confronting
the
men
round
him
.
“
Look
here
!
”
he
said
impatiently
.
“
I
want
some
money
at
once
—
and
a
good
lot
of
it
.
”
He
brought
his
fist
down
heavily
on
the
mantelpiece
.
“
There
's
this
place
of
my
uncle
's
,
and
I
'm
dashed
if
I
can
get
a
penny
out
of
it
!
I
went
to
his
solicitors
this
morning
.
They
drove
me
mad
with
their
red-tape
nonsense
.
It
will
take
some
time
,
they
say
,
to
get
a
mortgage
on
it
,
and
meanwhile
they
do
n't
seem
inclined
to
advance
me
anything
,
or
a
hundred
or
two
,
perhaps
.
What
's
that
?
I
lost
my
temper
,
and
next
time
I
go
they
'll
turn
me
out
,
I
dare
say
.
But
there
's
the
truth
.
It
's
money
I
want
,
and
if
you
ca
n't
help
me
to
money
it
's
no
use
talking
.
”
“
And
when
you
get
the
money
what
'll
you
do
with
it
?
”
asked
Penrose
.
“
Pay
half
a
dozen
people
who
can
be
trusted
to
help
me
kidnap
Beatty
and
smuggle
her
over
the
Canadian
frontier
.
I
bungled
the
thing
once
.
I
do
n't
mean
to
bungle
it
again
.
”
The
answer
was
given
slowly
,
without
any
bravado
,
but
whatever
energy
of
life
there
was
in
the
speaker
had
gone
into
it
.
“
And
there
is
no
other
way
?
”
French
's
voice
from
the
back
was
troubled
.
“
Ask
him
?
”
Roger
pointed
to
Boyson
.
“
Is
there
any
legal
way
,
Boyson
,
in
which
I
can
recover
the
custody
and
companionship
of
my
child
?
”
Boyson
turned
away
.
“
None
that
I
know
of
—
and
I
have
made
every
possible
inquiry
.
”
“
And
yet
,
”
said
Barnes
,
with
emphasis
,
addressing
the
English
barrister
,
“
by
the
law
of
England
I
am
still
Daphne
's
husband
and
that
child
's
legal
guardian
?
”
“
Certainly
.
”
“
And
if
I
could
once
get
her
upon
ground
under
the
English
flag
,
she
would
be
mine
again
,
and
no
power
could
take
her
from
me
?
”
“
Except
the
same
private
violence
that
you
yourself
propose
to
exercise
.
”
“
I
'd
take
care
of
that
!
”
said
Roger
briefly
.
“
How
do
you
mean
to
do
it
?
”
asked
French
,
with
knit
brows
.
To
be
sitting
there
in
an
English
vicarage
plotting
violence
against
a
woman
disturbed
him
.
“
He
and
I
'll
manage
it
,
”
said
the
quiet
voice
of
the
American
officer
.
The
others
stared
.
“
You
?
”
said
French
.
“
An
officer
in
active
service
?
It
might
injure
your
career
!
”
“
I
shall
risk
it
.
”
A
charming
smile
broke
on
Penrose
's
meditative
face
.
“
My
dear
French
,
this
is
much
more
amusing
than
the
law
.
But
I
do
n't
quite
see
where
I
come
in
.
”
He
rose
tentatively
from
his
seat
.
Boyson
,
however
,
did
not
smile
.
He
looked
from
one
to
the
other
.
“
My
sister
and
I
introduced
Daphne
Floyd
to
Barnes
,
”
he
said
steadily
,
“
and
it
is
my
country
,
as
I
hold
—
or
a
portion
of
it
—
that
allows
these
villainies
.
Some
day
we
shall
get
a
great
reaction
in
the
States
,
and
then
the
reforms
that
plenty
of
us
are
clamouring
for
will
come
about
.
Meanwhile
,
as
of
course
you
know
”
—
he
addressed
French
—
“
New
Yorkers
and
Bostonians
suffer
almost
as
much
from
the
abominations
that
Nevada
and
South
Dakota
call
laws
,
as
Barnes
has
suffered
.
Marriage
in
the
eastern
States
is
as
sacred
as
with
you
—
South
Carolina
allows
no
divorce
at
all
—
but
with
this
licence
at
our
gates
,
no
one
is
safe
,
and
thousands
of
our
women
,
in
particular
—
for
the
women
bring
two-thirds
of
the
actions
—
are
going
to
the
deuce
,
simply
because
they
have
the
opportunity
of
going
.
And
the
children
—
it
does
n't
bear
thinking
of
!
Well
—
no
good
haranguing
!
I
'm
ashamed
of
my
country
in
this
matter
—
I
have
been
for
a
long
time
—
and
I
mean
to
help
Barnes
out
,
coûte
que
coûte
!
And
as
to
the
money
,
Barnes
,
you
and
I
'll
discuss
that
.
”
Barnes
lifted
a
face
that
quivered
,
and
he
and
Boyson
exchanged
looks
.
Penrose
glanced
at
the
pair
.
That
imaginative
power
,
combined
with
the
power
of
drudgery
,
which
was
in
process
of
making
a
great
lawyer
out
of
a
Balliol
scholar
,
showed
him
something
typical
and
dramatic
in
the
two
figures
:
—
in
Boyson
,
on
the
one
hand
,
so
lithe
,
serviceable
,
and
resolved
,
a
helpful
,
mercurial
man
,
ashamed
of
his
country
in
this
one
respect
,
because
he
adored
her
in
so
many
others
,
penitent
and
patriot
in
one
:
—
in
Barnes
,
on
the
other
,
so
heavy
,
inert
,
and
bewildered
,
a
shipwrecked
suppliant
as
it
were
,
clinging
to
the
knees
of
that
very
America
which
had
so
lightly
and
irresponsibly
wronged
him
.
It
was
Penrose
who
broke
the
silence
.
“
Is
there
any
chance
of
Mrs.
Barnes
's
marrying
again
?
”
he
asked
.
Barnes
turned
to
him
.
“
Not
that
I
know
of
.
”
“
There
's
no
one
else
in
the
case
?
”
“
I
never
heard
of
anyone
.
”
Roger
gave
a
short
,
excited
laugh
.
“
What
she
's
done
,
she
's
done
because
she
was
tired
of
me
,
not
because
she
was
in
love
with
anyone
else
.
That
was
her
great
score
in
the
divorce
case
—
that
there
was
nobody
.
”
Biting
and
twisting
his
lip
,
in
a
trick
that
recalled
to
French
the
beautiful
Eton
lad
,
cracking
his
brains
in
the
pupil-room
over
a
bit
of
Latin
prose
,
Roger
glanced
,
frowning
,
from
one
to
the
other
of
these
three
men
who
felt
for
him
,
whose
resentment
of
the
wrong
that
had
been
done
him
,
whose
pity
for
his
calamity
showed
plainly
enough
through
their
reticent
speech
.
His
sense
,
indeed
,
of
their
sympathy
began
to
move
him
,
to
break
down
his
own
self-command
.
No
doubt
,
also
,
the
fatal
causes
that
ultimately
ruined
his
will-power
were
already
at
work
.
At
any
rate
,
he
broke
out
into
sudden
speech
about
his
case
.
His
complexion
,
now
unhealthily
delicate
,
like
the
complexion
of
a
girl
,
had
flushed
deeply
.
As
he
spoke
he
looked
mainly
at
French
.
“
There
's
lots
of
things
you
do
n't
know
,
”
he
said
in
a
hesitating
voice
,
as
though
appealing
to
his
old
friend
.
And
rapidly
he
told
the
story
of
Daphne
's
flight
from
Heston
.
Evidently
since
his
return
home
many
details
that
were
once
obscure
had
become
plain
to
him
;
and
the
three
listeners
could
perceive
how
certain
new
information
had
goaded
and
stung
him
afresh
.
He
dwelt
on
the
letters
which
had
reached
him
during
his
first
week
's
absence
from
home
,
after
the
quarrel
—
letters
from
Daphne
and
Miss
Farmer
,
which
were
posted
at
intervals
from
Heston
by
their
accomplice
,
the
young
architect
,
while
the
writers
of
them
were
hurrying
across
the
Atlantic
.
The
servants
had
been
told
that
Mrs.
Barnes
,
Miss
Farmer
,
and
the
little
girl
were
going
to
London
for
a
day
or
two
,
and
suspected
nothing
.
“
I
wrote
long
letters
—
lots
of
them
—
to
my
wife
.
I
thought
I
had
made
everything
right
—
not
that
there
ever
had
been
anything
wrong
,
you
understand
,
—
seriously
.
But
in
some
ways
I
had
behaved
like
a
fool
.
”
He
threw
himself
back
in
his
chair
,
pressing
his
hands
on
his
eyes
.
The
listeners
sat
or
stood
motionless
.
“
Well
,
I
might
have
spared
my
pains
.
The
letters
were
returned
to
me
from
the
States
.
Daphne
had
arranged
it
all
so
cleverly
that
I
was
some
time
in
tracing
her
.
By
the
time
I
had
got
to
Sioux
Falls
she
was
through
a
month
of
her
necessary
residence
.
My
God
!
”
—
his
voice
dropped
,
became
almost
inaudible
—
“
if
I
'd
only
carried
Beatty
off
then
!
—
then
and
there
—
the
frontier
was
n't
far
off
—
without
waiting
for
anything
more
.
But
I
would
n't
believe
that
Daphne
could
persist
in
such
a
monstrous
thing
,
and
,
if
she
did
,
that
any
decent
country
would
aid
and
abet
her
.
”
Boyson
made
a
movement
of
protest
,
as
though
he
could
not
listen
any
longer
in
silence
.
“
I
am
ashamed
to
remind
you
,
Barnes
,
—
again
—
that
your
case
is
no
worse
than
that
of
scores
of
American
citizens
.
We
are
the
first
to
suffer
from
our
own
enormities
.
”
“
Perhaps
,
”
said
Barnes
absently
,
“
perhaps
.
”
His
impulse
of
speech
dropped
.
He
sat
,
drearily
staring
into
the
fire
,
absorbed
in
recollection
.
Penrose
had
gone
.
So
had
Boyson
.
Roger
was
sitting
by
the
fire
in
the
vicar
's
study
,
ministered
to
by
Elsie
French
and
her
children
.
By
common
consent
the
dismal
subject
of
the
day
had
been
put
aside
.
There
was
an
attempt
to
cheer
and
distract
him
.
The
little
boy
of
four
was
on
his
knee
,
declaiming
the
“
Owl
and
the
Pussy
Cat
,
”
while
Roger
submissively
turned
the
pages
and
pointed
to
the
pictures
of
that
immortal
history
.
The
little
girl
of
two
,
curled
up
on
her
mother
's
lap
close
by
,
listened
sleepily
,
and
Elsie
,
applauding
and
prompting
as
a
properly
regulated
mother
should
,
was
all
the
time
,
in
spirit
,
hovering
pitifully
about
her
guest
and
his
plight
.
There
was
in
her
,
as
in
Boyson
,
a
touch
of
patriotic
remorse
;
and
all
the
pieties
of
her
own
being
,
all
the
sacred
memories
of
her
own
life
,
combined
to
rouse
in
her
indignation
and
sympathy
for
Herbert
's
poor
friend
.
The
thought
of
what
Daphne
Barnes
had
done
was
to
her
a
monstrosity
hardly
to
be
named
.
She
spoke
to
the
young
man
kindly
and
shyly
,
as
though
she
feared
lest
any
chance
word
might
wound
him
;
she
was
the
symbol
,
in
her
young
motherliness
,
of
all
that
Daphne
had
denied
and
forsaken
.
“
When
would
America
—
dear
,
dear
America
!
—
see
to
it
that
such
things
were
made
impossible
!
”
Roger
meanwhile
was
evidently
cheered
and
braced
.
The
thought
of
the
interview
to
which
Boyson
had
confidentially
bidden
him
on
the
morrow
ran
warmly
in
his
veins
,
and
the
children
soothed
him
.
The
little
boy
especially
,
who
was
just
Beatty
's
age
,
excited
in
him
a
number
of
practical
curiosities
.
How
about
the
last
teeth
?
He
actually
inserted
a
coaxing
and
inquiring
finger
,
the
babe
gravely
suffering
it
.
Any
trouble
with
them
?
Beatty
had
once
been
very
ill
with
hers
,
at
Philadelphia
,
mostly
caused
,
however
,
by
some
beastly
,
indigestible
food
that
the
nurse
had
let
her
have
.
And
they
allowed
her
to
sit
up
much
too
late
.
Did
n't
Mrs.
French
think
seven
o'clock
was
late
enough
—
for
any
child
not
yet
four
?
One
could
n't
say
that
Beatty
was
a
very
robust
child
,
but
healthy
—
oh
yes
,
healthy
!
—
none
of
your
sickly
,
rickety
little
things
.
The
curtains
had
been
closed
.
The
street
children
,
the
electric
light
outside
,
were
no
longer
visible
.
Roger
had
begun
to
talk
of
departure
,
the
baby
had
fallen
fast
asleep
in
her
mother
's
arms
,
when
there
was
another
loud
ring
at
the
front
door
.
French
,
who
was
expecting
the
headmaster
of
his
church
schools
,
gathered
up
some
papers
and
left
the
room
.
His
wife
,
startled
by
what
seemed
an
exclamation
from
him
in
the
hall
outside
,
raised
her
head
a
moment
to
listen
;
but
the
sound
of
voices
—
surely
a
woman
's
voice
?
—
died
abruptly
away
,
and
the
door
of
the
dining-room
closed
.
Roger
heard
nothing
;
he
was
laughing
and
crooning
over
the
boy
.
“
The
Pobble
that
lost
his
toes
Had
once
as
many
as
we
.
”
The
door
opened
.
Herbert
stood
on
the
