\"Ohdear！\"sighedPippin。\"Wemustchangeallthis，Scorrier;itwillneverdotogobackbeaten。Ishallnotgobackbeaten;youwillhavetocarrymeonmyshield;\"andslyly:\"Tooheavy，eh？Poorfellow！\"Thenforalongtimehewassilent，movinghislipsasifaddingupthecost。Suddenlyhesighed，andgraspingScorrier’sarm，said:\"Dull，aren’tI？Whatwillyoudo？Putmeinyourreport，’NewSuperintendent——sad，dulldog——notawordtothrowatacat！’\"
Andasifthenewtaskweretoomuchforhim，hesankbackinthought。ThelastwordshesaidtoScorrierthatnightwere:\"Verysilenthere。It’shardtobelieveone’shereforlife。ButIfeelI
am。Mustn’tbeacoward，though！\"andbrushinghisforehead，asthoughtoclearfromitacobweboffaintthoughts，hehurriedoff。
Scorrierstayedontheverandasmoking。Therainhadceased，afewstarswereburningdimly;evenabovethesqualorofthetownshipthescentoftheforests，theinterminableforests，brooded。Theresprangintohismindthememoryofapicturefromoneofhischildren’sfairybooks——thepictureofalittlebeardedmanontiptoe，withpoisedheadandagreatsword，slashingatthecastleofagiant。ItremindedhimofPippin。Andsuddenly，eventoScorrier—
—whoseexistencewasonelongencounterwithstrangeplaces——theunseenpresenceofthosewoods，theirheavy，healthyscent，thelittlesounds，likesqueaksfromtinytoys，issuingoutofthegloomysilence，seemedintolerable，tobeshunned，fromthemereinstinctofself—preservation。Hethoughtoftheeveninghehadspentinthebosomof\"Down—by—the—starn\"Hemmings’family，receivinghislastinstructions——thesecurityofthatsuburbanvilla，itsdiscouraginggentility;thesuperioracidityoftheMissHemmings;thenoblenamesoflargecontractors，ofcompanypromoters，ofapeer，draggedwiththelightnessofgun—carriagesacrosstheconversation;theautocracyofHemmings，raspeduphereandthere，bysomedomesticcontradiction。Itwasallsoniceandsafe——asifthewholethinghadbeenfastenedtoananchorsunkbeneaththepinkcabbagesofthedrawing—roomcarpet！Hemmings，seeinghimoffthepremises，hadsaidwithsecrecy:\"LittlePippinwillhaveagoodthing。WeshallmakehissalaryL————。He’llbeagreatman—quiteaking。Ha—ha！\"