”Iftheproprietorhadeyes，”hesaid，”hewouldshowyouthedoor；youhavebrokenthroughhisdecorations。”Thuslightlyhesmotheredupanemotionalmoment。Havingeatencoldbeef，pickledwalnut，gooseberrytart，anddrunkstone-bottleginger-beer，theywalkedintothePark，andlighttalkwassucceededbythesilenceJolyonhaddreaded。”Youhaven’ttoldmeaboutParis，”hesaidatlast。”No。I’vebeenshadowedforalongtime；onegetsusedtothat。
ButthenSoamescame。BythelittleNiobe——thesamestory；wouldI
gobacktohim?””Incredible！”
Shehadspokenwithoutraisinghereyes，butshelookedupnow。
Thosedarkeyesclingingtohissaidasnowordscouldhave：’I
havecometoanend；ifyouwantme，hereIam。’
Forsheeremotionalintensityhadheever——oldashewas——passedthroughsuchamoment?
Thewords：’Irene，Iadoreyou！’almostescapedhim。Then，withaclearnessofwhichhewouldnothavebelievedmentalvisioncapable，hesawJollylyingwithawhitefaceturnedtoawhitewall。”Myboyisveryilloutthere，”hesaidquietly。
Ireneslippedherarmthroughhis。”Let’swalkon；Iunderstand。”
Nomiserableexplanationtoattempt！Shehadunderstood！Andtheywalkedonamongthebracken，knee-highalready，betweentherabbitholesandtheoak-trees，talkingofJolly。HelefthertwohourslaterattheRichmondHillGate，andturnedtowardshome。
’Sheknowsofmyfeelingforher，then，’hethought。Ofcourse！
Onecouldnotkeepknowledgeofthatfromsuchawoman！
CHAPTERIV
OVERTHERIVER
Jollywastiredtodeathofdreams。Theyhadlefthimnowtoowanandweaktodreamagain；lefthimtolietorpid，faintlyrememberingfar-offthings；justabletoturnhiseyesandgazethroughthewindownearhiscotatthetrickleofriverrunningbyinthesands，atthestragglingmilk-bushoftheKaroobeyond。HeknewwhattheKaroowasnow，evenifhehadnotseenaBoerrolloverlikearabbit，orheardthewhineofflyingbullets。Thispestilencehadsneakedonhimbeforehehadsmelledpowder。A
thirstydayandarashdrink，orperhapsataintedfruit——whoknew?
Nothe，whohadnotevenstrengthlefttogrudgetheevilthingitsvictory——justenoughtoknowthatthereweremanylyingherewithhim，thathewassorewithfrenzieddreaming；justenoughtowatchthatthreadofriverandbeabletorememberfaintlythosefar-awaythings……
Thesunwasnearlydown。Itwouldbecoolersoon。Hewouldhavelikedtoknowthetime——tofeelhisoldwatch，sobutter-smooth，toheartherepeaterstrike。Itwouldhavebeenfriendly，home-like。
Hehadnotevenstrengthtorememberthattheoldwatchwaslastwoundthedayhebegantoliehere。Thepulseofhisbrainbeatsofeeblythatfaceswhichcameandwent，nurse’s，doctor’s，orderly’s，wereindistinguishable，justoneindifferentface；andthewordsspokenabouthimmeantallthesamething，andthatalmostnothing。Thosethingsheusedtodo，thoughfarandfaint，weremoredistinct——walkingpastthefootoftheoldstepsatHarrow’bill’——’Here，sir！Here，sir！’——wrappingbootsintheWestminsterGazette，greenishpaper，shiningboots——grandfathercomingfromsomewheredark——asmellofearth——themushroomhouse！
RobinHill！BuryingpooroldBalthasarintheleaves！Dad！
Home……
Consciousnesscameagainwithnoticingthattheriverhadnowaterinit——someonewasspeakingtoo。Wantanything?No。Whatcouldonewant?Tooweaktowant——onlytohearhiswatchstrike……
Holly！Shewouldn’tbowlproperly。Oh！Pitchthemup！Notsneaks！……’Backher，TwoandBow！’HewasTwo！……Consciousnesscameoncemorewithasenseofthevioletduskoutside，andarisingblood-redcrescentmoon。Hiseyesrestedonitfascinated；
inthelongminutesofbrain-nothingnessitwentmovingupandup……”He’sgoing，doctor！”Notpackbootsagain?Never?’Mindyourform，Two！’Don’tcry！Goquietly-overtheriver——sleep！……
Dark?Ifsomebodywould——strike——his——watch！……
CHAPTERV
SOAMESACTS
AsealedletterinthehandwritingofMr。PolteedremainedunopenedinSoames’pocketthroughouttwohoursofsustainedattentiontotheaffairsofthe’NewCollieryCompany，’which，decliningalmostfromthemomentofoldJolyon’sretirementfromtheChairmanship，hadlatelyrundownsofastthattherewasnownothingforitbuta’winding-up。’HetooktheletterouttolunchathisCityClub，sacredtohimforthemealshehadeatentherewithhisfatherintheearlyseventies，whenJamesusedtolikehimtocomeandseefarhimselfthenatureofhisfuturelife。
Hereinaremotecornerbeforeaplateofroastmuttonandmashedpotato，heread：”DEARSIR，”Inaccordancewithyoursuggestionwehavedulytakenthematterupattheotherendwithgratifyingresults。Observationof47hasenabledustolocate17attheGreenHotel，Richmond。ThetwohavebeenobservedtomeetdailyduringthepastweekinRichmondPark。
Nothingabsolutelycrucialhassofarbeennotified。ButinconjunctionwithwhatwehadfromParisatthebeginningoftheyear，IamconfidentwecouldnowsatisfytheCourt。Weshall，ofcourse，continuetowatchthematteruntilwehearfromyou。”Veryfaithfullyyours，”CLAUDPOLTEED。’
Soamesreaditthroughtwiceandbeckonedtothewaiter：”Takethisaway；it’scold。””ShallIbringyousomemore，sir?””No。Getmesomecoffeeintheotherroom。”
And，payingforwhathehadnoteaten，hewentout，passingtwoacquaintanceswithoutsignofrecognition。
’SatisfytheCourt！’hethought，sittingatalittleroundmarbletablewiththecoffeebeforehim。ThatfellowJolyon！Hepouredouthiscoffee，sweetenedanddrankit。Hewoulddisgracehimintheeyesofhisownchildren！Andrising，withthatresolutionhotwithinhim，hefoundforthefirsttimetheinconvenienceofbeinghisownsolicitor。Hecouldnottreatthisscandalousmatterinhisownoffice。Hemustcommitthesoulofhisprivatedignitytoastranger，someotherprofessionaldealerinfamilydishonour。
Whowastherehecouldgoto?LinkmanandLaverinBudgeRow，perhaps——reliable，nottooconspicuous，onlynoddingacquaintances。
ButbeforehesawthemhemustseePolteedagain。ButatthisthoughtSoameshadamomentofsheerweakness。Topartwithhissecret?Howfindthewords?Howsubjecthimselftocontemptandsecretlaughter?Yet，afterall，thefellowknewalready——ohyes，heknew！And，feelingthathemustfinishwithitnow，hetookacabintotheWestEnd。
InthishotweatherthewindowofMr。Polteed’sroomwaspositivelyopen，andtheonlyprecautionwasawiregauze，preventingtheintrusionofflies。Twoorthreehadtriedtocomein，andbeencaught，sothattheyseemedtobeclingingtherewiththeintentionofbeingdevouredpresently。Mr。Polteed，followingthedirectionofhisclient’seye，roseapologeticallyandclosedthewindow。
’Posingass！’thoughtSoames。Likeallwhofundamentallybelieveinthemselveshewasrisingtotheoccasion，and，withhislittlesidewaysmile，hesaid：”I’vehadyourletter。I’mgoingtoact。
Isupposeyouknowwhotheladyyou’vebeenwatchingreallyis?”
Mr。Polteed’sexpressionatthatmomentwasamasterpiece。Itsoclearlysaid：’Well，whatdoyouthink?Butmereprofessionalknowledge，Iassureyou——prayforgiveit！’Hemadealittlehalfairymovementwithhishand，aswhoshouldsay：’Suchthings——suchthingswillhappentousall！’”Verywell，then，”saidSoames，moisteninghislips：”there’snoneedtosaymore。I’minstructingLinkmanandLaverofBudgeRowtoactforme。Idon’twanttohearyourevidence，butkindlymakeyourreporttothematfiveo’clock，andcontinuetoobservetheutmostsecrecy。”
Mr。Polteedhalfclosedhiseyes，asiftocomplyatonce。”Mydearsir，”hesaid。”Areyouconvinced，”askedSoameswithsuddenenergy，”thatthereisenough?”
ThefaintestmovementoccurredtoMr。Polteed’sshoulders。”Youcanriskit，”hemurmured；”withwhatwehave，andhumannature，youcanriskit。”
Soamesrose。”YouwillaskforMr。Linkman。Thanks；don’tgetup。”HecouldnotbearMr。Polteedtoslideasusualbetweenhimandthedoor。InthesunlightofPiccadillyhewipedhisforehead。
Thishadbeentheworstofit——hecouldstandthestrangersbetter。
AndhewentbackintotheCitytodowhatstilllaybeforehim。
ThateveninginParkLane，watchinghisfatherdine，hewasoverwhelmedbyhisoldlongingforason——ason，towatchhimeatashewentdowntheyears，tobetakenonhiskneeasJamesonatimehadbeenwonttotakehim；asonofhisownbegetting，whocouldunderstandhimbecausehewasthesamefleshandblood——
understand，andcomforthim，andbecomemorerichandculturedthanhimselfbecausehewouldstartevenbetteroff。Togetold——likethatthin，greywiry-frailfiguresittingthere——andbequitealonewithpossessionsheapinguparoundhim；totakenointerestinanythingbecauseithadnofutureandmustpassawayfromhimtohandsandmouthsandeyesforwhomhecarednojot！No！Hewouldforceitthroughnow，andbefreetomarry，andhaveasontocareforhimbeforehegrewtobeliketheoldoldmanhisfather，wistfullywatchingnowhissweetbread，nowhisson。
Inthatmoodhewentuptobed。But，lyingwarmbetweenthosefinelinensheetsofEmily’sproviding，hewasvisitedbymemoriesandtorture。VisionsofIrene，almostthesolidfeelingofherbody，besethim。Whyhadheeverbeenfoolenoughtoseeheragain，andletthisfloodbackonhimsothatitwaspaintothinkofherwiththatfellow——thatstealingfellow。
CHAPTERVI
ASUMMERDAY