Milroy’sillnesswouldpreventhisreceivingMr。Armadalethatday。”ItwasplainthatMrs。Milroy’soccasionalfitsofsufferingorofilltempercreatednomeretransitorydisturbanceofthetranquillityofthehousehold。Drawingthisnaturalinference，afterwhathehadhimselfheardatthecottagenearlythreehourssince，Midwinterwithdrewintothelibrarytowaitpatientlyamongthebooksuntilhisfriendcameback。
Itwaspastsixo’clockwhenthewell-knownheartyvoicewasheardagaininthehall。Allanburstintothelibrary，inastateofirrepressibleexcitement，andpushedMidwinterbackunceremoniouslyintothechairfromwhichhewasjustrising，beforehecouldutteraword“Here’sariddleforyou，oldboy！“criedAllan。“WhyamIliketheresidentmanageroftheAugeanstable，beforeHerculeswascalledintosweepthelitterout？BecauseIhavehadmyplacetokeepup，andI’vegoneandmadeaninfernalmessofit！Whydon’tyoulaugh？ByGeorge，hedoesn’tseethepoint！Let’stryagain。
WhyamIliketheresidentmanager——“
“ForGod’ssake，Allan，beseriousforamoment！“interposedMidwinter。“Youdon’tknowhowanxiousIamtohearifyouhaverecoveredthegoodopinionofyourneighbors。”
“That’sjustwhattheriddlewasintendedtotellyou！“rejoinedAllan。“Butifyouwillhaveitinsomanywords，myownimpressionisthatyouwouldhavedonebetternottodisturbmeunderthattreeinthepark。I’vebeencalculatingittoanicety，andIbegtoinformyouthatIhavesunkexactlythreedegreeslowerintheestimationoftheresidentgentrysinceI