ofcourse
not
!
”
“
It
must
have
been
the
ghost
,
”
she
said
.
Then
she
blinked
at
me
with
long
lashes
,
and
laughed
.
I
laughed
too
.
“
The
ghost
be
it
!
”
I
said
,
but
I
read
in
her
laughing
eyes
the
word
that
sprang
to
my
own
lips
—
“
Yolande
!
”
IV
OUR
NEW
TENANT
OF
course
we
have
our
own
little
stereotyped
code
of
honor
and
morality
,
laid
by
on
the
shelf
,
ready
for
use
,
and
in
it
we
read
vaguely
that
one
may
not
put
one
's
name
to
another
's
work
,
or
make
money
by
another
's
success
.
Had
any
one
offered
to
finish
for
me
the
story
to
which
I
should
put
my
name
,
I
had
refused
,
though
the
offer
had
been
made
by
Rudyard
Kipling
himself
.
But
when
a
ghost
finishes
your
story
,
what
's
to
be
done
?
As
Chloe
said
,
“
What
else
did
the
ghost
do
it
for
?
”
She
added
that
of
course
I
must
send
it
in
.
And
indeed
it
seemed
to
me
that
the
matter
was
at
least
arguable
.
Yet
I
could
not
bring
myself
to
sign
my
name
to
the
thing
.
Chloe
made
horseshoes
in
her
forehead
,
and
professed
herself
unable
to
understand
my
hesitation
.
“
If
the
ghost
chose
to
finish
your
silly
old
story
,
”
she
said
,
“
you
may
be
sure
it
wants
to
see
itself
in
print
.
”
“
Over
my
signature
?
”
“
Perhaps
the
ghost
is
modest
,
and
would
rather
not
venture
to
face
the
public
over
its
own
signature
till
it
's
more
sure
of
its
talents
.
Yes
—
that
must
be
it
.
It
's
a
mutual
benefit
.
The
ghost
wants
to
see
itself
printed
.
You
wanted
your
story
finished
.
There
's
no
obligation
either
way
.
”
I
bit
the
end
of
my
fountain-pen
till
it
cracked
.
“
Suppose
we
ask
Yolande
?
”
said
I
.
Chloe
laughed
.
And
I
wrote
to
Yolande
that
evening
.
Chloe
wrote
,
too
—
about
a
pattern
for
a
fichu
,
I
believe
—
and
we
posted
the
letters
in
the
village
.
When
we
came
home
we
found
an
unattractive
working-man
slouching
by
our
gate
.
As
we
approached
,
he
touched
his
hat
with
a
grudging
gesture
.
“
You
the
governor
?
”
he
inquired
.
I
ventured
a
modest
assent
.
“
About
these
'
ere
cottages
of
yourn
,
now
,
”
said
he
,
“
was
you
thinkin
'
of
lettin
'
e'er
a
one
of
'
em
?
”
“
Well
,
no
,
”
said
I
,
truthful
in
defiance
of
Chloe
's
finger-pressure
on
my
arm
.
“
Because
if
you
was
,
”
said
my
visitor
,
rubbing
a
stubbly
chin
reflectively
,
“
you
and
me
might
hit
on
a
bargain
betwixt
us
.
My
missus
an
'
me
we
're
a-lookin
'
out
for
a
bit
of
a
cottage
,
so
I
do
n't
deceive
you
,
governor
.
”
My
tenant-aspirant
inspired
me
with
little
admiration
and
less
confidence
,
but
Chloe
pinched
my
arm
again
,
and
said
,
“
Can
you
do
gardening
?
”
“
I
'm
a
bricklayer
's
laborer
by
trade
,
miss
,
”
said
he
.
“
But
if
we
let
you
have
the
cottage
we
should
expect
you
to
keep
the
cottage
garden
tidy
.
”
“
Gardening
's
all
I
care
for
,
out
of
workin'-hours
,
”
said
the
man
,
eagerly
,
“
and
my
missus
,
she
's
the
same
.
Dotes
on
flowers
,
lilies
,
and
roses
,
and
toolips
,
so
she
do
.
”
“
I
'll
think
of
it
,
”
said
I
,
severely
non-committal
,
and
feigning
insensibility
as
Chloe
's
fingers
tightened
almost
painfully
on
my
arm
.
“
What
rent
do
you
want
to
pay
?
”
she
asked
.
At
the
word
“
want
”
a
shadow
of
a
grin
passed
under
the
reflective
hand
that
stroked
the
stubble
.
“
Two
shillings
a
week
was
about
what
we
thought
an
honest
rent
,
”
was
the
answer
.
“
That
would
n't
do
at
all
,
”
said
my
wife
.
“
Why
,
the
smallest
cottage
has
four
rooms
.
We
could
n't
let
it
under
four
shillings
.
”
“
Say
three
and
six
,
lady
.
And
that
's
a
lot
to
a
working-man
.
”
This
alacritous
acceptance
of
the
raised
figure
should
have
warned
us
—
I
,
indeed
,
did
perceive
that
the
man
wanted
the
cottage
enough
to
pay
the
four
shillings
for
it
.
But
Chloe
said
:
“
Very
well
.
Three
and
six
a
week
—
that
's
nine
pounds
two
a
year
.
When
do
you
want
to
come
in
?
”
“
Our
time
's
up
next
Saturday
,
miss
,
”
said
the
man
,
“
and
we
could
get
our
bits
of
sticks
moved
then
.
It
's
a
stiffish
rent
,
miss
,
is
nine
pun
two
a
year
,
but
there
's
the
garden
.
I
am
dead
nuts
on
a
bit
of
garden
.
”
“
On
Saturday
,
then
,
”
said
Chloe
,
and
our
new
tenant
left
us
.
I
was
full
of
doubts
and
distrusts
,
which
I
turned
to
impart
to
Chloe
;
but
as
our
gate
slammed
behind
us
she
threw
her
arms
round
my
neck
in
a
transport
of
avaricious
enthusiasm
.
“
Oh
,
Len
!
How
splendid
!
Did
n't
I
do
the
arithmetic
beautifully
?
Why
did
we
never
think
of
letting
the
cottages
before
?
We
'll
let
all
the
others
—
three
and
sixpence
each
—
and
the
big
ones
—
ought
to
fetch
more
.
Why
,
it
's
fourteen
shillings
a
week
.
What
a
heap
of
money
!
”
“
What
do
you
propose
to
buy
with
it
,
Mrs.
Midas
?
”
“
Time
!
”
she
answered
,
promptly
.
“
Now
I
sha'
n't
feel
so
wicked
if
I
waste
a
whole
day
on
pottering
.
Why
do
n't
you
write
an
ode
or
a
sonnet
or
something
,
about
pottering
?
It
's
the
most
glorious
thing
in
the
world
.
And
this
man
is
going
to
pay
me
to
potter
while
he
lays
bricks
.
Noble
,
splendid
creature
!
”
“
This
man
,
”
I
said
,
“
exactly
;
we
do
n't
even
know
his
name
,
we
have
n't
a
hint
of
his
address
.
And
who
are
we
—
land-owners
,
truly
,
but
born
potterers
,
and
lacking
the
education
accorded
to
those
born
to
the
purple
of
landlordism
—
who
are
we
that
we
should
ask
a
bricklayer
's
laborer
for
references
?
”
“
Oh
,
dear
!
”
said
she
.
“
I
never
thought
of
that
!
Never
mind
—
we
can
ask
him
for
them
on
Saturday
.
”
But
on
Saturday
it
was
too
late
.
We
learned
,
indeed
,
during
the
course
of
the
day
,
our
tenant
's
name
,
and
it
was
Prosser
,
than
which
no
surname
claims
a
larger
share
of
my
personal
abhorrence
;
but
where
was
the
use
of
asking
for
references
when
the
moving
had
been
effected
during
the
hours
immediately
following
the
dawn
,
when
our
after-breakfast
expedition
to
the
cottage
showed
us
the
“
bits
of
sticks
”
already
dumped
down
on
the
cottage-garden
flower-beds
,
and
a
slatternly
drab
of
a
woman
carrying
them
slowly
in
?
The
furniture
looked
very
dirty
.
“
Not
,
I
fear
,
the
most
desirable
of
tenants
,
”
I
murmured
,
as
we
delicately
withdrew
.
“
The
furniture
looks
as
if
it
had
come
out
of
the
dustbin
,
and
so
does
the
lady
.
”
“
Oh
,
do
n't
be
so
harsh
,
”
said
my
wife
;
“
remember
what
our
furniture
looked
like
—
all
dusty
and
forlorn
and
friendless
—
when
it
sat
outside
the
Bandbox
waiting
for
the
vans
.
And
as
for
the
woman
,
you
would
n't
like
any
one
to
judge
me
by
how
I
looked
the
day
we
moved
.
”
“
I
remember
just
how
you
looked
,
”
I
said
.
And
indeed
I
did
.
“
My
dear
,
Yolande
was
absolutely
right
.
We
are
perfect
Babes
in
the
Wood
.
We
have
let
our
cottage
to
the
ideally
undesirable
tenant
.
I
do
n't
for
a
moment
believe
that
he
is
a
bricklayer
's
laborer
!
More
likely
a
counterfeit-coiner
's
journeyman
—
or
perhaps
a
master-thief
.
He
is
ideally
undesirable
,
you
are
impetuous
,
and
I
am
weakly
yielding
.
You
and
I
together
deserve
to
be
sat
on
by
a
Board
.
Why
ca
n't
we
turn
ourselves
into
a
limited
company
and
be
run
,
together
with
our
little
property
,
by
competent
directors
?
”
“
We
must
try
to
arrange
it
,
”
she
answered
,
gayly
.
“
And
now
cheer
up
—
the
Prossers
will
be
better
when
they
get
straight
.
That
girl
's
coming
to-day
—
I
must
get
her
room
ready
.
You
might
just
clean
the
front
doorstep
—
it
's
done
with
hearth-stone
,
just
like
the
kitchen
hearth
.
It
is
enough
to
discourage
any
girl
to
come
to
a
house
wrapped
in
a
mantle
of
decay
,
with
green
mould
on
the
doorstep
.
Then
afterwards
we
'll
do
the
kitchen
together
.
”
It
was
with
but
half
a
heart
that
I
collected
pail
,
hearth-stone
,
and
house-flannel
.
I
had
to
take
a
scrubbing-brush
to
the
green
mould
,
and
I
wondered
why
the
favorite
implement
gave
me
so
little
joy
as
I
wielded
it
.
The
sudden
arrival
of
the
new
maid
's
box
,
by
Carter
Paterson
,
enlightened
me
.
I
found
myself
now
working
with
vigor
and
enthusiasm
.
Since
she
really
was
coming
!
I
knew
then
that
I
had
never
believed
she
would
come
,
and
it
had
seemed
futile
to
spread
milk-white
over
the
doorstep
,
just
for
Chloe
and
me
,
whose
eyes
its
blotted
gray
and
moss
green
had
always
delighted
.
Now
I
finished
the
doorstep
con
amore
,
and
hastened
to
the
kitchen
where
Chloe
and
a
hammer
were
busy
together
.
I
scrubbed
the
dressers
and
the
table
and
the
deal
shelf
that
pulls
out
under
the
window
.
Chloe
is
always
wise
enough
to
feed
energy
with
praise
—
a
diet
too
often
grudged
it
.
“
You
do
scrub
beautifully
,
”
she
said
.
“
I
believe
you
think
the
brush
is
nobler
than
the
pen
.
”
“
You
see
I
am
an
able
‘performer
on
the
instrument
,
’
as
Jane
Austen
would
say
.
”
“
Dear
Jane
,
”
said
Chloe
.
“
There
—
there
's
glory
for
you
!
”
She
had
nailed
up
a
deep
flounce
of
green
and
red
chintz
along
the
chimney-piece
,
and
another
above
the
windows
.
A
cushion
to
match
nestled
in
the
shabby
Windsor
arm-chair
we
had
recently
picked
up
for
two
and
threepence
in
a
back
street
in
Deptford
.
“
Is
n't
it
pretty
?
Is
n't
it
cosey
,
and
old-fashioned
,
and
farm-housy
?
If
this
does
n't
make
her
stay
,
nothing
will
!
I
'll
get
the
hearth-rug
out
of
our
bedroom
.
You
wo
n't
mind
,
will
you
?
And
do
put
your
instrument
away
—
there
's
no
more
scrubbing
,
and
she
'll
be
here
directly
.
Do
you
think
we
could
bear
to
let
her
have
two
of
the
brass
candlesticks
out
of
the
white
parlor
for
this
mantel-piece
?
”
“
No
,
”
I
said
,
firmly
;
“
there
are
limits
.
But
put
up
the
cake-tins
—
I
polished
them
the
other
day
.
”
The
cake-tins
were
a
shining
crown
to
the
splendor
of
the
chintz
flounce
.
Our
crockery
,
well
spread
out
upon
the
two
large
dressers
,
made
a
brave
show
.
Our
bedroom
hearth-rug
,
also
woven
of
reds
and
greens
,
showed
up
the
beauty
of
the
chintz
flounce
,
which
in
its
turn
,
by
its
neat
newness
,
added
lustre
and
importance
to
the
hearth-rug
.
It
was
indeed
a
beautiful
picture
—
a
poem
,
even
,
set
to
music
by
the
singing
of
the
new
kitchen
kettle
,
and
I
did
not
grudge
the
sacrifice
of
the
parlor
table-cloth
to
the
completion
of
that
radiant
harmony
.
We
had
our
lunch
in
a
very
great
hurry
,
so
as
to
get
the
plates
washed
up
before
our
new
servant
came
.
By
two
o'clock
all
was
ready
.
Ever
since
the
joyous
day
when
in
my
well-ironed
frock-coat
I
had
gone
forth
and
engaged
a
servant
,
Chloe
had
ventured
,
day
by
day
,
on
more
and
more
daring
preparations
for
the
maid
's
arrival
,
and
Chloe
had
dragged
me
with
her
.
We
had
cleaned
the
white
parlor
—
when
we
had
a
servant
we
could
afford
to
sit
in
a
parlor
.
We
had
laid
down
a
rug
or
two
on
the
red-and-white
marble
of
the
hall
,
and
hung
two
or
three
old
prints
on
the
dull
brown
of
its
walls
.
We
sat
out
some
oak
chairs
and
the
old
elm
kneading-trough
in
it
by
way
of
furniture
.
We
had
put
up
dimity
curtains
in
the
new
maid
's
bedroom
:
Chloe
insisted
on
these
,
not
because
she
admired
the
material
,
but
because
“
dimity
”
is
such
a
nice
word
—
the
born
sister
of
lavender
,
and
tall
presses
,
and
well-scrubbed
boards
,
and
patch-work
quilts
.
We
had
a
patch-work
quilt
—
the
gift
of
a
gaunt
great-aunt
of
mine
—
and
we
sacrificed
it
to
the
fitness
of
things
,
and
let
it
live
with
the
dimity
curtains
.
Chloe
adorned
the
dimity-covered
dressing
ing-table
with
a
smart
,
new
pin-cushion
with
blue
bows
,
and
set
a
blue
jug
of
pink
roses
on
the
broad
window-sill
.
Our
servant
's
bedroom
was
as
pretty
as
paint
.
I
said
so
,
and
Chloe
said
:
“
Nonsense
!
it
's
only
conventionally
correct
.
All
good
girls
'
rooms
in
books
are
like
this
—
if
they
're
servants
;
if
they
're
young
ladies
it
is
muslin
instead
of
dimity
.
And
the
pin-cushion
is
sometimes
pink
—
you
put
letters
under
it
when
you
run
away
,
you
know
.
”
“
I
hope
the
roses
are
n't
just
the
touch
too
much
,
”
I
said
;
“
we
must
n't
spoil
her
.
”
“
Roses
spoil
nobody
.
”
“
Or
make
her
think
us
lunatics
.
”
“
We
are
that
,
”
said
Chloe
,
“
and
it
's
better
to
recognize
frankly
that
concealment
is
impossible
.
No
one
could
live
with
us
a
month
and
not
see
how
silly
we
are
.
It
's
better
not
to
try
to
break
things
to
people
.
Let
her
know
the
worst
at
once
.
If
she
does
n't
have
to
waste
her
mental
energies
on
finding
out
our
follies
,
she
may
use
them
to
perceive
our
virtues
.
I
sometimes
ca
n't
help
thinking
that
we
really
are
rather
nice
.
”
No
courtier
expecting
a
visit
from
his
sovereign
ever
waited
the
monarch
's
advent
with
half
the
anxious
embarrassment
that
was
ours
as
,
I
in
flannels
and
Chloe
in
soft
muslin
,
we
sat
in
the
wicker
chairs
by
the
front
porch
,
with
our
books
and
our
work-basket
,
in
an
atmosphere
of
elegant
leisure
,
ayant
l'air
de
rien
,
just
as
if
we
sat
there
idly
every
day
of
the
week
.
At
half-past
three
the
white
smoke
of
the
down
train
clouded
the
blue
above
our
willow-trees
.
Chloe
put
her
hand
to
her
heart
.
“
If
I
faint
,
do
n't
be
surprised
.
But
you
must
pretend
to
be
!
Do
n't
let
her
think
fainting
's
a
habit
of
mine
.
All
the
other
servants
came
to
us
and
they
went
,
and
there
it
was
.
But
this
is
a
crisis
—
an
epoch
.
”
“
That
's
because
you
feel
that
she
's
going
to
stay
,
”
I
said
;
“
her
personality
is
influencing
yours
,
as
she
comes
down
the
lane
.
”
Breaking
a
silence
full
of
emotion
came
the
click
of
the
front
gate
.
“
Courage
!
”
I
murmured
.
“
My
heart
's
in
my
mouth
,
”
said
she
.
“
I
must
have
mislaid
it
.
Give
it
back
at
once
!
”
“
How
can
you
talk
nonsense
at
a
solemn
moment
like
this
?
No
—
do
n't
come
with
me
.
I
'll
face
the
danger
alone
!
”
I
saw
her
meet
the
new
servant
and
lead
her
into
the
house
.
It
was
an
anxious
time
.
I
could
not
read
,
and
I
was
trying
to
go
on
with
Chloe
's
duster-
hemming
when
she
came
back
,
with
bright
eyes
and
no
horseshoes
on
her
brow
.
“
She
's
a
dear
,
”
said
my
wife
,
“
and
so
are
you
.
And
I
was
quite
right
about
the
roses
and
the
pin-cushion
.
When
I
took
her
into
the
bedroom
she
looked
quite
blank
,
and
then
she
said
:
“
‘This
is
the
spare
room
,
I
suppose
,
mum.’
And
I
said
,
‘No
,
it
's
yours.’
And
she
just
said
,
‘
Well
’
and
sniffed
at
the
roses
.
And
she
came
down
almost
directly
.
Oh
,
what
beautiful
things
clean
caps
and
aprons
are
!
And
she
's
getting
the
tea
,
Len
.
And
she
likes
the
kitchen
.
And
she
said
it
was
like
their
kitchen
at
home
.
I
do
believe
she
's
going
to
be
nice
!
”
She
was
.
Chloe
and
I
had
simplified
our
lives
,
as
people
always
do
when
their
own
hands
supply
their
wants
.
Mary
accepted
Chloe
's
assistance
for
two
days
,
and
then
gently
but
firmly
declined
further
help
.
“
Why
,
”
she
said
,
“
I
could
do
the
work
here
with
one
hand
behind
me
!
You
go
along
,
mum
,
and
play
the
pianna
,
and
mess
about
with
the
flowers
,
or
make
your
pretty
pictures
.
”
The
change
in
our
lives
was
like
the
change
from
a
stormy
night
in
mid-ocean
to
the
mid-summer
calm
of
a
daisied
meadow
.
The
house
was
always
neat
and
clean
,
and
yet
there
was
time
for
everything
.
I
wrote
now
,
sometimes
we
went
to
town
when
we
wanted
to
go
,
orders
grew
,
and
prosperity
seemed
,
like
the
rainbow
,
to
be
waiting
for
us
at
the
end
of
the
next
field
.
It
was
a
happy
breathing-space
.
Yolande
wrote
,
fully
endorsing
Chloe
's
view
,
and
insisting
that
the
ghost
would
certainly
not
have
been
silly
enough
to
write
half
a
story
unless
it
had
wanted
to
see
it
in
print
,
and
recommending
us
to
leave
the
galleys
conveniently
lying
about
in
the
more
haunted-looking
parts
of
the
Red
House
,
so
that
the
ghost
might
,
if
it
pleased
,
correct
its
own
proofs
.
So
we
sent
off
the
story
,
and
the
editor
wrote
to
me
.
I
got
his
letter
at
breakfast
,
and
I
threw
it
over
to
Chloe
across
the
tea-tray
.
“
Fortune
smiles
at
last
,
”
said
I
.
“
Here
's
to
the
ghost
!
”
and
I
drank
its
health
in
boiling
tea
.
The
letter
had
all
the
beauty
of
simplicity
.
“
Dear
sir
,
”
it
said
,
“
your
story
,
‘The
Return
,
’
to
hand
.
It
is
quite
satisfactory
,
and
if
you
care
to
supply
a
series
of
six
,
in
the
same
style
,
we
could
,
I
think
,
find
room
for
them
in
the
magazine
during
next
year
.
”
The
editor
said
something
vague
but
pleasant
about
terms
,
and
added
that
he
was
faithfully
mine
,
and
the
letter
concluded
with
the
name
of
a
very
lucky
man
.
“
It
is
my
name
at
the
foot
,
”
I
said
.
“
This
piece
of
luck
has
happened
to
me
!
It
ought
to
have
been
addressed
to
Messrs.
Ghost
+
Co.
,
ought
n't
it
?
Aid
me
,
ye
powers
!
Six
stories
!
”
“
In
the
same
style
,
”
said
Chloe
,
getting
up
from
the
tea-tray
and
coming
behind
me
to
pull
my
ears
in
sheer
gladness
of
heart
.
“
Are
you
going
to
imitate
the
ghost
's
style
,
Len
?
”
I
did
not
answer
.
She
rested
her
chin
on
my
shoulder
.
“
Of
course
you
write
much
better
than
the
ghost
,
”
she
said
,
hastily
;
“
but
he
does
say
the
same
style
.
”
“
I
have
written
stories
before
—
and
I
can
do
it
again
,
I
suppose
,
”
said
I
.
“
I
only
happened
to
get
stuck
with
that
story
.
I
should
have
finished
it
all
right
if
the
ghost
had
n't
interfered
.
I
wish
to
goodness
she
'd
let
it
alone
!
”
Chloe
took
her
chin
from
my
shoulder
and
went
back
to
the
tea-tray
.
“
Will
you
have
another
cup
?
”
she
said
,
coldly
.
“
What
's
the
matter
?
”
She
did
not
answer
.
Then
I
caught
at
my
lost
temper
and
secured
it
.
I
laughed
.
“
What
!
”
I
said
,
“
take
part
with
a
nasty
,
stuck-up
ghost
against
your
own
husband
—
so
talented
,
yet
so
modest
?
If
I
am
to
have
a
rival
,
let
it
be
flesh
and
blood
,
and
not
a
ghost
whose
head
I
cannot
punch
,
whose
back
I
cannot
horsewhip
!
”
“
Well
,
then
,
”
she
said
,
trying
to
balance
a
teaspoon
on
the
milk-jug
,
“
I
think
the
ghost
only
meant
to
be
kind
,
and
I
do
n't
like
to
hear
you
speak
as
if
you
thought
it
had
no
business
to
interfere
.
”
“
I
see
,
”
I
said
,
slowly
.
She
flashed
a
quick
glance
at
me
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
said
,
“
I
see
you
see
.
Here
's
luck
to
the
six
stories
!
”
It
was
in
the
morning
after
one
of
Mary
's
evenings
out
that
she
came
to
Chloe
and
said
:
“
Please
,
mum
,
are
those
your
cottages
along
by
the
garden
wall
?
”
Chloe
smiled
,
scenting
another
tenant
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
said
.
“
Do
you
know
any
one
—
”
“
Well
,
mum
,
”
said
Mary
,
“
I
think
it
's
no
more
but
right
that
you
should
know
it
.
”
Chloe
said
,
“
What
?
”
Mary
replied
:
“
Why
,
their
goings-on
!
I
see
him
last
night
,
as
I
come
in
,
as
drunk
as
drunk
,
lying
all
over
the
front
garden
,
and
I
went
down
this
morning
to
have
another
look
.
”
“
And
was
he
still
there
—
all
over
the
front
garden
?
”
I
asked
.
“
No
,
sir
,
not
him
,
but
everything
else
you
can
think
of
.
But
I
wo
n't
say
not
a
word
more
,
sir
;
but
it
's
not
respectable
,
and
I
thought
you
ought
to
know
,
sir
.
You
're
that
innocent
,
sir
,
if
you
'll
excuse
me
saying
so
.
I
know
you
wo
n't
believe
no
harm
of
any
one
till
you
have
caught
'
em
at
it
.
You
just
go
and
look
,
sir
,
that
's
all
.
”
Chloe
and
I
walked
down
the
garden
path
,
hand
in
hand
,
in
agitated
silence
.
Not
till
we
were
safe
hidden
under
the
twisted
quince-tree
did
we
dare
to
look
at
each
other
.
Then
we
sat
down
in
the
long
grass
expressly
to
laugh
at
our
ease
.
“
And
the
worst
of
it
is
it
's
true
,
”
Chloe
said
.
“
You
are
innocent
.
No
—
do
n't
be
offended
.
I
'm
afraid
I
am
,
too
.
We
are
Babes
in
the
Wood
,
Len
,
just
as
Yolande
said
,
and
Mary
has
the
sense
to
see
it
.
”
I
murmured
something
about
references
.
“
Yes
,
I
know
you
said
so
,
and
I
know
it
's
my
fault
;
but
other
things
are
yours
.
You
are
innocent
.
Do
n't
deny
it
.
Oh
,
Len
,
we
ought
to
be
living
in
a
villa
,
and
paying
proper
little
calls
,
and
giving
proper
little
dinners
,
and
decorating
our
dinner-table
with
proper
little
cut
flowers
in
proper
little
cut-glass
vases
;
and
when
we
dined
alone
the
fishmonger
would
send
in
two
proper
little
whitings
with
their
proper
little
tails
in
their
mouths
;
and
we
should
have
roast
chicken
,
and
it
would
be
minced
the
next
day
,
and
everything
would
go
by
dull
,
beautiful
,
proper
little
clock-work
;
and
you
would
say
what
a
good
manager
I
was
,
because
we
neither
of
us
should
have
any
idea
what
good
management
really
meant
.
We
're
failures
,
Len
.
We
have
n't
the
wit
to
run
a
great
estate
.
”
“
In
fact
,
”
I
said
,
“
we
've
bitten
off
a
larger
chunk
than
we
can
chew
.
”
“
Do
n't
be
vulgar
!
”
“
I
'm
not
—
I
'm
trying
to
be
American
.
”
“
You
're
not
succeeding
.
They
do
n't
talk
like
that
.
I
knew
an
American
once
.
He
was
the
nicest
—
”
“
I
know
.
He
thought
you
were
the
nicest
.
Why
did
n't
you
marry
him
?
”
“
Because
he
was
rich
,
and
it
's
my
destiny
to
ruin
a
poor
man
.
Len
,
I
wish
I
was
n't
such
an
idiot
!
”
“
Or
that
I
was
n't
.
That
would
do
just
as
well
.
But
do
n't
let
's
weep
about
it
yet
.
Perhaps
Mary
exaggerated
.
Our
tenant
may
merely
have
been
in
a
fit
.
No
known
system
of
manorial
management
can
avert
fits
among
the
tenantry
.
”
“
But
she
said
,
‘You
go
and
look
,
that
's
all
!
’
”
“
Well
,
”
said
I
,
rising
,
“
I
will
go
and
look
.
Will
you
come
?
”
“
No
,
”
said
she
.
“
I
'm
frightened
.
Yes
,
I
will
,
of
course
.
”
And
we
went
.
Outside
the
red
wall
of
our
garden
is
a
strip
of
ground
bounded
by
a
hawthorn
hedge
,
and
at
the
end
of
this
stand
the
two
cottages
.
We
passed
along
the
winding
shrubbery-walk
—
by
reason
of
its
darkness
the
only
path
of
our
garden
whereon
the
weeds
were
not
breast-high
—
and
so
,
pushing
through
the
tall-standing
weeds
,
dock
and
nettle
,
sow-thistle
and
cow-parsley
,
of
the
cottage
garden
,
to
the
square
of
ground
that
stands
between
our
two
cottages
and
the
road
.
Here
were
no
juicy
,
green
,
upstanding
weeds
,
graceful
in
their
arrogant
victory
over
flowers
and
fruits
.
The
green
weeds
were
trampled
down
to
a
damp
,
yellow
,
sodden
mass
,
sordid
and
evilsmelling
.
Old
meat-cans
,
sardine-tins
,
broken
boots
,
decayed
brooms
,
and
battered
saucepans
were
strewn
around
,
“
like
flowers
at
a
festival
.
”
Dirty
rags
festooned
the
faded
blue
of
the
railings
;
the
family
linen
,
wetted
but
not
washed
,
hung
on
the
elder-bushes
,
whose
white
blossoms
drooped
degraded
under
the
foul
burden
.
A
very
dirty
blanket
hung
out
of
the
bedroom
window
,
and
on
the
doorstep
,
among
dust
and
flue
,
bones
,
crusts
,
and
the
miscellaneous
sweepings
of
a
filthy
floor
,
three
indescribably
unengaging
children
,
with
dirty
noses
,
were
playing
moodily
and
without
smiles
.
Their
playthings
were
a
blade-bone
of
mutton
,
two
muddy
clothes-pegs
,
and
a
dead
mouse
.
Chloe
is
absurdly
fond
of
children
,
but
—
or
,
perhaps
,
therefore
—
she
turned
away
with
a
shudder
.
We
went
home
boiling
with
indignation
,
but
in
the
crucible
of
our
thought
our
rage
,
as
it
cooled
,
left
as
precipitate
the
unmistakable
consciousness
of
our
own
incompetence
.
True
,
as
Chloe
said
,
it
was
she
who
had
accepted
a
tenant
so
manifestly
undesirable
—
lured
by
a
bait
of
fourteen
shillings
a
month
.
She
had
done
it
,
but
I
had
stood
by
and
let
it
be
done
.
Now
,
however
,
I
must
act
.
I
would
act
.
Was
it
,
I
wonder
,
an
inexcusable
cowardice
or
a
wise
discretion
which
led
me
to
refrain
from
giving
Mr.
Prosser
notice
in
a
personal
interview
?
I
wrote
to
him
,
and
bade
him
leave
my
cottage
at
the
end
of
the
week
.
But
at
the
end
of
the
week
he
was
still
there
,
and
on
the
Monday
evening
,
as
Chloe
and
I
wandered
in
the
green
forest
of
weeds
and
flowers
that
was
our
garden
,
the
spell
of
its
silence
was
broken
for
us
by
the
sound
of
Mr.
Prosser
's
voice
,
uplifted
in
one
of
the
less
agreeable
comic
songs
of
the
year
before
the
year
before
last
.
I
went
down
at
once
to
give
him
,
personally
,
that
notice
to
quit
which
I
found
him
in
no
fit
state
to
receive
.
Another
call
,
in
the
morning
,
found
my
tenant
conscious
,
indeed
,
but
little
amenable
.
“
I
gave
you
written
notice
to
quit
last
week
,
”
said
I
.
“
How
is
it
you
've
not
gone
?
”
Mr.
Prosser
,
unshaved
,
without
tie
,
collar
,
or
boots
,
settled
his
head
between
his
shoulders
,
and
said
he
did
n't
know
anything
about
no
notice
.
“
Well
,
anyhow
,
”
said
I
,
“
you
've
got
to
clear
out
now
.
I
want
the
cottage
.
”
“
Right
you
are
,
sir
,
”
said
he
,
“
but
there
must
be
proper
notice
give
an
'
took
.
”
“
I
give
you
notice
now
,
”
said
I
,
“
and
,
while
I
am
here
,
suppose
you
hand
over
the
rent
.
”
Then
my
tenant
drew
himself
up
and
uttered
these
memorable
words
:
“
I
'm
a
yearly
tenant
,
I
am
,
and
I
pays
on
quarter-day
,
and
six
months
'
notice
is
what
I
'm
entitled
to
.
‘Nine
pun
two
a
year
,
’
your
missus
said
.
”
“
Very
well
.
I
shall
consult
my
solicitor
,
”
I
said
,
and
turned
away
helpless
.
I
did
n't
know
—
how
should
I
,
though
I
had
kicked
my
heels
,
briefless
,
in
the
Inner
Temple
for
at
least
two
years
—
whether
he
was
entitled
to
that
or
anything
else
.
I
wrote
to
my
solicitor
.
I
had
never
had
a
solicitor
before
,
but
I
acquired
one
at
once
—
an
old
chum
.
He
wrote
me
three
pages
of
advice
,
in
which
a
writ
of
ejectment
loomed
large
.
But
his
private
opinion
,
as
I
read
it
between
the
lines
,
seemed
to
be
that
I
had
got
myself
into
a
tight
place
by
my
own
folly
,
and
had
better
trust
to
time
to
get
me
out
of
it
.
Our
garden
's
peace
was
broken
.
We
never
knew
now
when
the
hoarse
,
raucous
voice
of
our
tenant
might
desecrate
the
moonlit
stillness
with
coarse
echoes
of
transpontine
musichalls
.
The
knowledge
of
Mr.
Prosser
's
nearness
seemed
to
smirch
the
clean
sweetness
of
life
.
The
very
jasmine
stars
seemed
less
white
for
the
presence
of
our
tenant
's
sordid
ménage
on
the
other
side
of
our
red
wall
.
And
Mary
,
day
by
day
,
tormented
us
with
fresh
tales
of
what
was
being
said
in
the
village
of
our
tenant
's
antecedents
and
character
,
and
,
by
implication
,
of
ours
.
And
all
the
time
my
inability
to
set
steadfastly
to
work
was
fretting
at
my
self-control
.
It
is
like
a
mouse
gnawing
at
the
cord
of
life
—
the
longing
to
work
,
and
the
inability
to
conquer
the
thousand
tiny
obstacles
that
fate
erects
—
fate
,
backed
by
one
's
own
folly
in
having
“
bitten
off
a
larger
chunk
than
one
can
chew
”
;
—
I
still
think
that
a
most
excellent
phrase
,
and
not
vulgar
,
only
homely
,
going
straight
to
the
mark
as
the
homely
expression
of
a
great
truth
may
be
permitted
to
do
.
Chloe
was
worried
also
—
her
editors
were
clamoring
for
the
illustrations
which
she
was
now
incapable
of
working
at
.
And
Mr.
Prosser
was
a
live
blister
,
and
,
like
a
blister
,
he
hurt
more
and
more
the
longer
we
had
to
bear
with
him
.
I
was
sitting
in
our
little
work-room
one
morning
,
pen
in
hand
,
hardly
able
to
meet
with
a
confident
eye
the
white
paper
that
,
as
I
stared
at
it
,
seemed
to
stare
at
me
in
return
—
to
stare
rudely
,
contemptuously
,
in
the
confident
superiority
of
its
fulfilment
of
its
destiny
,
as
opposed
to
my
manifest
inability
to
fulfil
mine
.
It
was
waiting
to
be
written
on
,
and
no
one
could
ask
more
of
it
.
And
I
was
waiting
to
write
on
it
;
and
a
good
deal
more
than
mere
waiting
was
obviously
demanded
of
me
by
our
financial
circumstances
and
my
own
self-respect
.
The
six
stories
—
“
in
the
style
of
the
ghost
”
—
I
longed
to
get
them
written
with
a
longing
more
desperate
than
the
longing
of
the
lover
for
his
mistress
,
the
mother
for
her
child
.
Though
more
desperate
,
it
had
not
,
however
,
the
force
of
these
natural
desires
,
because
it
was
not
a
desire
for
the
thing
in
itself
—
not
a
desire
to
achieve
,
to
attain
—
but
depended
for
its
vitality
on
a
secondary
motive
.
I
longed
to
write
the
stories
because
I
wanted
the
money
they
would
bring
to
me
.
The
longing
was
keen
enough
to
be
painful
,
not
strong
enough
to
get
itself
satisfied
.
So
I
sat
idle
,
and
drew
fancy
portraits
of
Chloe
on
the
blotting-paper
.
I
turned
it
over
hastily
as
I
heard
her
footstep
on
the
kitchen
floor
,
and
I
was
bending
over
a
virgin
quarto
page
rimmed
with
unsoiled
pink
when
she
came
in
.
I
drew
my
breath
in
sharply
.
Her
face
,
her
eyes
,
her
whole
bearing
announced
disaster
unspeakable
.
“
What
is
it
?
”
I
cried
,
and
I
am
sure
I
must
have
turned
pale
.
“
Len
,
do
you
love
me
?
”
she
asked
,
clasping
her
hands
with
a
charming
dramatic
movement
.
“
Better
than
my
life
,
of
course
,
”
I
said
,
hurriedly
,
“
but
I
'm
just
starting
on
this
story
,
and
if
it
's
some
domestic
detail
—
”
“
No
,
it
ca
n't
wait
,
”
said
she
,
sitting
down
on
the
edge
of
the
table
,
“
and
it
's
not
a
variation
on
the
domestic
theme
.
It
's
the
theme
itself
.
Len
—
it
's
all
over
!
”
“
What
's
all
over
?
”
“
Everything
.
She
's
going
to
leave
.
”
“
Why
?
”
“
I
do
n't
know
.
I
was
too
upset
to
ask
her
.
I
just
came
to
you
.
”
I
resisted
an
impulse
to
put
aside
the
six
remunerative
munerative
stories
and
spend
the
rest
of
the
day
in
consoling
my
wife
.
“
I
do
n't
know
what
it
is
.
We
've
been
nice
to
her
,
I
'm
sure
!
She
likes
us
—
at
least
I
thought
she
did
.
It
's
Destiny
—
it
's
like
Maeterlinck
—
whatever
we
do
turns
out
all
anyhow
.
There
's
a
curse
upon
us
!
”
“
Speak
for
yourself
,
”
I
said
,
cheerfully
.
“
You
may
be
cursed
,
though
it
's
barely
polite
of
you
to
say
so
,
but
I
am
blessed
above
all
that
live
,
I
'm
blessed
if
I
'm
not
—
since
you
—
”
She
stamped
her
foot
.
“
Do
n't
you
see
,
”
she
said
,
“
it
's
serious
,
horribly
serious
?
I
wish
I
had
never
come
here
.
I
wish
we
were
back
in
the
Bandbox
—
there
!
Now
crow
over
me
,
and
tell
me
you
told
me
so
all
the
time
!
”
I
told
her
something
quite
different
,
and
presently
,
when
we
were
calmer
,
I
said
,
“
At
least
we
may
as
well
know
why
she
's
going
.
”
“
I
'll
ask
her
,
”
said
Chloe
,
drying
her
eyes
.
“
It
's
probably
Prosser
.
If
I
were
you
I
should
just
take
him
by
the
shoulders
and
turn
him
out
.
You
're
quite
strong
enough
.
”
“
Yes
,
and
have
an
action
for
assault
and
a
hundred
pounds
'
damages
,
”
said
I
,
wise
with
the
wisdom
of
my
solicitor
.
“
Go
and
ask
her
.
Perhaps
it
's
not
Prosser
.
Even
he
,
fiend
without
out
references
as
he
is
,
ca
n't
be
responsible
for
everything
.
Perhaps
she
's
seen
the
ghost
.
”
I
had
completed
a
fancy
sketch
of
Mary
giving
notice
,
and
alleging
her
reasons
by
unmistakable
gestures
indicating
the
ghost
,
in
the
background
,
when
Chloe
returned
.
“
Well
?
”
said
I
.
“
Well
?
”
said
she
.
“
Have
you
found
out
?
”
“
It
's
all
right
,
”
said
Chloe
,
with
a
sigh
of
deep
relief
.
“
We
have
n't
done
anything
.
She
is
awfully
fond
of
us
—
but
she
must
go
.
”
“
Why
?
”
“
She
's
going
to
marry
the
baker
.
”
“
Lucky
man
!
”
“
It
's
a
love-affair
,
”
said
Chloe
—
“
the
prettiest
story
.
They
could
n't
marry
before
because
he
was
n't
well
enough
off
,
and
now
an
uncle
has
left
him
some
money
,
and
he
's
bought
a
partnership
.
”
“
And
how
long
have
they
been
waiting
for
each
other
?
How
many
long
years
of
priceless
constancy
,
tried
like
gold
in
the
furnace
?
”
“
That
's
the
worst
of
it
,
”
said
Chloe
,
blushing
,
as
I
live
;
“
she
's
only
known
him
for
a
month
.
But
servants
are
expeditious
as
the
wind
in
matters
of
the
heart
.
”
“
Charles
Reade
:
Hard
Cash
—
yes
.
Well
,
it
's
hard
on
us
.
”
“
But
it
's
very
nice
for
them
,
”
said
my
wife
.
“
You
ought
to
feel
ever
so
much
sympathy
with
lovers
!
”
“
I
do
,
”
said
I
,
“
especially
when
they
are
married
and
live
in
a
house
miles
too
big
for
them
.
”
“
Oh
,
Len
,
”
she
said
,
“
are
you
really
so
very
sorry
for
yourself
?
”
“
I
am
just
as
sorry
for
myself
as
you
are
for
me
.
”
“
And
I
'm
just
as
sorry
for
you
as
you
can
possibly
be
for
yourself
.
Where
had
we
got
to
?
”
“
We
had
got
to
Mary
's
marrying
the
baker
,
and
your
not
minding
being
left
without
a
servant
because
of
your
admiration
for
the
beauty
of
constant
love
.
”
“
Let
's
go
into
the
garden
and
finish
talking
about
it
.
”
“
I
could
talk
all
day
about
love
and
constancy
,
”
said
I
,
“
but
my
story
—
”
“
Bother
the
story
!
”
said
she
,
“
and
it
's
not
love
I
want
to
talk
about
,
unless
you
ca
n't
keep
off
the
subject
.
It
's
advertisements
,
and
registry-offices
,
and
Prosser
.
”
So
we
went
into
the
garden
and
talked
.
The
garden
chooses
one
's
subjects
for
one
,
and
it
would
not
listen
to
any
of
Chloe
's
subjects
.
It
was
more
tolerant
of
mine
.
V
THE
LOAFERY
I
WAS
writing
in
the
red-and-white
marble
hall
that
morning
—
I
really
had
made
a
beginning
on
the
first
of
the
six
stories
.
It
was
not
a
good
beginning
,
but
there
it
was
.
I
had
reached
page
three
,
and
knew
that
unless
any
domestic
event
more
than
commonly
cataclysmic
befell
that
day
I
should
see
the
sun
set
on
twelve
pages
of
laborious
type-writing
.
The
walls
of
the
marble
hall
are
thick
,
and
the
windows
look
to
the
northeast
,
so
that
even
when
the
sun
is
turning
the
garden
to
fine
gold
,
and
the
westerly
rooms
to
a
burning
,
fiery
furnace
,
the
hall
remains
cool
as
a
cave
.
Through
the
open
door
I
could
see
the
feathery
flowers
of
the
Spanish
chestnut
;
through
one
window
I
could
see
the
copper-beech
,
wine-dark
,
and
through
the
other
a
gap
in
the
avenue
showed
me
a
square
of
blue
sky
backing
a
single
pillar
of
Normandy
poplar
,
straight
,
slender
,
self-
possessed
.
The
garden
was
full
of
bird
noises
and
the
faint
rustle
of
leaves
.
In
the
kitchen
sounded
the
clink
of
silver
—
of
electro-plate
,
to
be
more
accurate
—
and
the
chime
of
china
.
The
tapping
of
my
Remington
hardly
did
more
than
underline
a
silence
which
it
might
have
broken
to
an
ear
that
loved
its
monotonous
music
less
than
did
mine
.
The
hall
is
the
great
highway
of
the
Red
House
.
Chloe
passed
through
now
and
then
with
duster
and
broom
,
with
an
armful
of
blue-frilled
cushions
,
with
a
folded
rug
,
with
something
that
rattled
in
a
covered
waste-paper
basket
.
She
looked
at
me
,
and
I
knew
she
was
wondering
why
I
did
not
ask
her
what
she
was
playing
at
.
But
I
forbore
,
because
I
had
reached
the
fourth
page
,
and
I
dared
not
tempt
fate
by
pausing
to
enjoy
more
deeply
the
charm
of
a
life
my
right
to
which
I
ought
,
without
doubt
,
even
at
that
moment
to
be
earning
.
Besides
,
I
feared
to
break
the
spell
.
When
once
the
fatal
third
page
is
passed
fluency
holds
her
own
against
ordinary
attacks
.
Not
against
Chloe
,
if
one
allows
her
to
begin
to
explain
a
new
idea
.
Yet
my
fingers
worked
more
slowly
,
and
my
full
stops
gave
me
time
to
count
forty
instead
of
four
,
as
they
tell
us
to
do
at
school
,
just
because
I
could
not
either
resist
or
understand
a
growing
impression
pression
that
my
wife
did
not
want
me
to
ask
any
questions
.
Had
I
felt
that
it
would
please
her
to
be
questioned
.
I
could
have
wrestled
with
the
definite
temptation
to
please
her
,
and
have
thrown
it
.
As
it
was
,
my
phrases
grew
feebler
,
my
narrative
less
convincing
.
I
had
to
clutch
with
both
hands
at
my
vanishing
interest
in
my
story
;
and
when
the
struggle
was
over
I
found
that
I
had
complicated
the
career
of
my
hero
with
two
wives
,
a
dissipated
youth
,
and
a
proposed
highway
robbery
.
And
my
hero
was
intended
to
shine
in
a
milieu
of
“
strong
domestic
interest
.
”
I
gathered
the
pages
together
;
it
was
lunchtime
.
The
blue
and
gold
of
the
morning
were
overclouded
with
thick
gray
;
the
sky
looked
like
the
canvas
roof
of
a
travelling-circus
tent
.
A
few
first
drops
made
splashes
on
the
door-step
big
as
five-shilling
pieces
.
Then
down
came
the
rain
—
straight
,
strong
,
masterful
.
“
I
knew
it
was
going
to
rain
,
”
said
Chloe
.
“
How
good
it
is
to
hear
it
!
Do
n't
you
feel
almost
as
glad
of
it
as
if
you
were
a
tree
?
Fancy
standing
up
to
it
and
holding
out
all
your
leaves
to
feel
the
splash
of
it
!
”
“
It
makes
work
easier
,
”
I
said
.
“
Now
you
ca
n't
entice
me
away
from
my
stories
and
tempt
me
to
waste
the
golden
hours
in
the
garden
.
”
“
That
's
the
worst
of
this
house
,
”
she
said
—
“
everything
inside
it
urges
to
industry
.
The
white
parlor
is
so
proper
,
I
never
sit
in
it
without
feeling
that
I
ought
to
be
doing
open-work
embroidery
,
if
not
working
a
sampler
.
What
heaps
of
work
we
shall
do
in
the
winter
when
there
's
no
dear
garden
to
tempt
us
!
”
“
I
wonder
—
”
It
was
Chloe
who
talked
just
then
.
I
was
trying
to
keep
a
few
tentacles
fixed
on
my
story
,
and
I
was
determined
that
I
would
ask
no
questions
.
After
lunch
I
said
:
“
Coffee
?
”
“
It
's
not
ready
yet
,
”
said
she
,
rising
.
Then
,
“
Len
,
”
she
said
,
abruptly
,
“
I
've
got
something
to
show
you
.
”
“
Not
more
rabbits
?
”
I
said
,
for
only
the
week
before
it
had
been
six
baby
rabbits
that
she
had
to
show
,
found
in
our
orchard
,
and
painfully
fed
by
Chloe
,
with
the
finger
of
a
white
kid
glove
dipped
in
warm
milk
.
The
rabbits
had
not
lived
.
“
No
,
no
—
how
can
you
remind
me
of
that
?
Come
.
”
She
led
me
up
the
oak
stairs
,
along
the
gallery
,
and
up
a
further
narrower
flight
.
We
were
among
the
nest
of
deserted
rooms
on
the
second
floor
.
Chloe
threw
open
a
door
,
pulled
me
through
,
and
shut
it
quickly
.
It
was
a
large
room
,
swept
and
cleaned
;
three
long
windows
,
curtained
with
cascades
of
Virginia-creeper
,
filled
it
with
soft
green
twilight
.
There
were
no
ornaments
,
there
were
no
easy-chairs
,
there
were
no
flowers
and
no
carpets
.
Only
one
Persian
rug
on
the
floor
,
and
a
great
divan
,
twelve
or
fourteen
feet
long
,
against
one
of
the
walls
.
On
the
shelves
in
the
recesses
by
the
fireplace
were
some
thirty
books
,
a
large
deal
table
held
a
solid
inkstand
,
a
smaller
deal
table
held
a
brass
tray
with
cups
and
tins
.
Two
Windsor
chairs
stood
against
the
big
table
.
“
Now
I
'll
make
coffee
,
”
she
said
,
turning
to
the
brass
tray
.
“
Coffee
seems
very
flat
.
Is
it
possible
that
you
are
n't
going
to
satisfy
my
raging
curiosity
?
What
is
this
room
?
”
“
It
's
the
loafery
,
”
she
said
.
“
In
the
winter
,
as
you
say
,
we
shall
need
a
place
to
loaf
in
.
”
“
I
did
n't
say
so
.
”
“
Yes
,
you
did
.
Try
the
divan
.
”
I
did
.
It
crackled
when
I
sat
down
,
but
it
was
very
comfortable
.
“
Chloe
,
”
I
said
,
“
come
here
!
”
“
I
ca
n't
.
I
'm
making
the
coffee
.
”
And
indeed
she
had
lighted
the
spirit-lamp
to
that
end
.
“
Do
you
know
that
you
are
blushing
as
though
you
had
been
detected
in
pocket-picking
,
or
in
some
generous
act
?
Why
are
you
embarrassed
?
Why
are
you
shy
?
Why
do
you
screen
yourself
behind
a
spirit-lamp
?
Why
have
you
done
this
?
And
why
do
n't
you
rush
into
my
arms
as
a
dutiful
wife
should
,
and
confess
how
you
came
to
have
such
a
beautiful
idea
?
”
“
You
do
like
it
,
then
?
”
“
Like
it
?
I
protest
,
by
all
my
household
gods
,
that
if
I
had
been
a
bachelor
inhabiting
this
house
,
thus
,
and
in
no
other
way
,
should
I
have
furnished
my
living-room
!
”
“
Why
‘if
you
were
a
bachelor’
?
”
“
Because
my
wife
likes
pretty
things
.
She
likes
green
Flemish
pots
,
and
brass
warming-pans
,
and
Sheffield-plate
candlesticks
,
and
flowers
;
and
,
as
a
husband
,
I
like
what
she
likes
.
Chloe
,
why
are
there
no
flowers
here
?
”
She
pointed
to
the
green
screen
of
leaves
at
the
window
.
I
got
up
and
began
to
walk
up
and
down
.
“
You
're
a
witch
,
”
said
I
.
“
How
did
you
know
exactly
what
I
liked
?
Here
is
space
—
nothing
to
knock
down
!
And
form
—
no
curtains
to
break
the
fine
lines
of
these
old
windows
.
And
color
—
look
at
the
green
light
;
it
's
like
a
fairy
palace
lighted
by
glowworm-lamps
,
especially
when
that
gleam
of
sunlight
came
!
Chloe
,
how
did
you
know
?
Is
it
because
you
love
me
very
much
?
”
“
Not
in
the
least
,
”
she
said
,
briskly
.
“
It
's
because
—
Len
,
do
n't
laugh
at
me
—
I
knew
how
to
do
the
room
because
it
's
what
I
like
,
too
!
”
She
had
made
the
coffee
and
poured
it
out
.
Then
she
came
and
took
my
arm
.
Outside
the
rain
pattered
pleasantly
on
the
green
leaves
and
on
the
roof
of
the
balcony
.
“
That
's
why
I
felt
silly
and
why
I
blushed
—
only
,
of
course
,
I
never
did
blush
.
I
seem
to
be
turning
into
somebody
else
,
and
perhaps
you
wo
n't
like
me
so
much
.
Or
I
'm
half
myself
and
half
somebody
else
,
and
I
do
n't
know
which
half
is
really
you
.
It
did
n't
cost
anything
,
hardly
,
”
she
went
on
,
irrelevantly
.
“
The
divan
is
only
orange-boxes
filled
with
straw
,
and
covered
with
those
old
green
curtains
—
you
know
—
the
ones
that
were
so
faded
.
And
the
table
is
out
of
the
kitchen
—
the
two
shelves
that
pull
out
are
quite
enough
there
,
Mary
says
.
And
that
's
all
.
”
We
sat
down
among
the
blue-frilled
cushions
.
“
I
bought
the
stuff
for
these
,
of
course
—
the
green
twirlies
on
them
just
match
the
old
curtains
,
”
she
said
.
“
And
that
really
is
all
.
”
“
Honest
Injun
?
”
I
said
,
severely
.
“
Oh
,
”
she
said
,
tossing
her
head
,
“
if
you
think
I
really
did
it
to
please
you
—
”
“
But
tell
me
,
then
,
”
I
pleaded
.
“
I
do
n't
know
,
”
she
said
,
confusedly
,
resting
her
elbows
on
her
knees
and
her
head
in
her
hands
.
“
You
see
,
the
Red
House
is
so
big
.
It
's
like
Shakespeare
or
Goethe
,
and
the
Bandbox
was
like
Savoy
opera
.
And
I
hate
mixing
things
up
.
And
then
it
is
so
awful
to
have
to
dust
things
!
Was
n't
it
Thoreau
who
threw
away
his
curios
because
he
could
n't
be
bothered
to
dust
them
?
And
Mary
's
going
,
and
I
thought
if
one
could
have
a
room
with
just
only
what
one
needed
—
a
lounge
,
a
table
,
two
chairs
—
we
can
put
more
books
if
you
like
.
But
I
thought
—
if
you
would
—
we
need
n't
use
it
only
for
loafing
;
we
could
bring
anything
we
liked
here
—
work
or
anything
;
but
I
thought
if
you
would
agree
never
to
leave
anything
here
,
but
take
everything
away
when
we
'd
done
it
,
whatever
it
was
,
then
we
should
always
have
one
room
tidy
—
at
least
the
untidiness
would
never
be
more
than
one
day
deep
.
It
's
letting
the
litter
of
the
days
overlap
that
makes
everything
so
hopeless
.
And
I
thought
,
perhaps
,
I
should
get
some
work
done
here
.
”
“
You
are
a
genius
,
”
I
said
,
“
and
I
am
Prince
Fortunate
.
I
only
regret
one
thing
,
and
that
is
,
that
I
did
not
think
of
it
myself
.
”
“
If
you
had
you
would
n't
have
done
it
,
”
she
said
,
quickly
—
“
that
's
just
it
.
Because
you
thought
I
—
and
so
I
did
—
but
—
Anyway
,
you
're
pleased
?
”
“
I
am
.
”
“
The
odd
thing
is
that
I
think
I
must
be
two
people
,
because
if
I
had
heaps
of
servants
I
should
have
the
green
pottery
and
brass
and
things
in
every
room
but
this
.
Len
,
since
we
came
to
live
here
everything
seems
different
.
I
feel
as
if
I
were
swimming
for
my
life
in
a
great
sea
—
nothing
's
the
same
as
I
used
to
think
it
was
.
”
“
Nothing
?
”
“
Only
us
.
I
wonder
if
you
understand
—
”
“
My
dear
,
”
I
said
,
“
we
've
tumbled
out
of
our
doll
's
house
into
the
real
world
.
”
“
Oh
no
,
this
is
n't
the
real
world
—
it
's
too
nice
.
”
“
Into
a
new
world
,
then
—
a
world
where
we
have
to
think
for
ourselves
and
judge
things
on
their
merits
.
We
're
like
Columbus
,
madam
.
The
really
important
thing
is
to
find
out
for
one
's
self
,
without
any
sort
of
mistake
,
what
are
the
things
one
cares
about
—
the
things
that
matter
—
”
“
And
the
things
one
does
n't
care
about
—
those
are
much
more
important
—
the
things
one
has
just
because
other
people
have
them
—
at
least
,
if
that
's
not
the
reason
I
do
n't
know
what
is
.
And
we
've
so
much
to
learn
,
and
there
are
so
many
good
qualities
I
know
nothing
about
.
Do
n't
you
feel
very
poor
and
unimportant
,
Len
?
And
very
,
very
ignorant
?
I
do
.
”
“
I
know
one
or
two
important
things
,
”
said
I
,
for
I
never
encourage
Chloe
in
the
moods
of
humility
that
end
in
self-reproaches
,
“
and
I
have
one
or
two
unimportant
possessions
—
the
Red
House
,
and
a
wife
,
and
a
loafery
.
See
,
the
sun
is
coming
out
in
earnest
;
how
glorious
it
is
through
the
green
!
Oh
,
it
's
a
good
world
,
when
all
's
said
and
done
!
How
thick
the
creeper
grows
.
What
does
it
hang
by
?
Why
,
there
are
bars
!
This
must
have
been
the
nursery
.
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Chloe
,
leaning
her
chin
on
my
shoulder
,
as
she
stood
behind
me
.
“
It
would
make
a
splendid
nursery
,
too
,
”
said
I
.
“
Yes
,
”
said
my
wife
again
,
still
with
her
chin
on
my
shoulder
.
“
Len
,
I
feel
very
silly
indeed
,
to-day
;
I
should
like
to
say
something
stupid
.
”
“
You
could
n't
offer
me
a
greater
novelty
.
”
She
slipped
her
hand
into
my
arm
,
and
laid
her
cheek
against
my
coat
sleeve
.
“
You
know
you
thought
it
was
so
mad
of
me
wanting
to
come
to
the
Red
House
,
but
I
saw
these
bars
that
very
first
day
,
and
I
thought
how
nice
it
would
be
for
them
to
have
a
beautiful
place
to
remember
when
they
grow
up
.
Not
to
remember
the
people
next
door
,
and
organ-grinders
,
and
gritty
dust
,
and
pavements
,
but
quietness
and
big
green
trees
and
lawns
,
and
this
grave
old
house
.
Do
n't
you
think
it
would
be
nice
for
them
?
”
“
For
them
?
”
I
said
,
not
because
I
did
not
understand
.
“
For
—
if
ever
we
had
any
children
,
Len
.
”
Some
day
,
if
we
live
,
we
shall
be
old
and
gray
,
feeble
,
and
look
back
with
dim
eyes
along
a
lane
of
years
;
and
even
then
that
good
moment
will
stand
out
golden
and
perfect
—
the
moment
when
,
strong
in
youth
and
love
and
hope
,
we
stood
together
,
looking
out
together
through
the
nursery
bars
and
the
green
creeper
towards
the
years
to
come
.
The
summer
day
when
,
if
our
eyes
were
dim
,
it
was
with
the
dew
of
morning
,
when
,
if
our
hands
trembled
,
it
was
because
they
held
such
full
measure
of
life
's
good
things
.
Chloe
raised
her
head
suddenly
.
“
I
told
you
I
was
silly
,
”
she
said
,
“
but
since
I
am
silly
I
'll
say
one
silly
thing
more
.
I
do
n't
think
any
one
in
this
world
was
ever
so
happy
as
I
am
.
And
when
I
get
worried
and
cross
,
you
know
—
Oh
,
why
am
