’I’mtryingtogetthegeographyofmynewpossessions，’saidhe。
’D’yourememberthatniggeryougougedinthesquare？Pityyoudidn’tkeeptheoddeyeItwouldhavebeenusefulAnylettersforme？Givemealltheonesinfatgrayenvelopeswithasortofcrownthingoutside。
They’reofnoimportance。’
TorpenhowgavehimaletterwithablackMontheenvelopeflap。
DickputitintohispocketTherewasnothinginitthatTorpenhowmightnothaveread，butitbelongedtohimselfandtoMaisie，whowouldneverbelongtohim。
’WhenshefindsthatIdon’twrite，she’llstopwritingIt’sbettersoI
couldn’tbeanyusetohernow，’Dickargued，andthetemptersuggestedthatheshouldmakeknownhisconditionEverynerveinhimrevolted’I
havefallenlowenoughalreadyI’mnotgoingtobegforpity。
Besides，itwouldbecrueltoher。’HestrovetoputMaisieoutofhisthoughts；
buttheblindhavemanyopportunitiesforthinking，andasthetidesofhisstrengthcamebacktohiminthelongemploylessdaysofdeaddarkness，Dick’ssoulwastroubledtothecoreAnotherletter，andanother，camefromMaisieThentherewassilence，andDicksatbythewindow，thepulseofsummerintheair，andpicturedherbeingwonbyanotherman，strongerthanhimselfHisimagination，thekeenerforthedarkbackgrounditworkedagainst，sparedhimnosingledetailthatmightsendhimragingupanddownthestudio，tostumbleoverthestovethatseemedtobeinfourplacesatonceWorstofall，tobaccowouldnottasteinthedarknessThearroganceofthemanhaddisappeared，andinitsplaceweresettleddespairthatTorpenhowknew，andblindpassionthatDickconfidedtohispillowatnightTheintervalsbetweentheparoxysmswerefilledwithintolerablewaitingandtheweightofintolerabledarkness。
’ComeoutintothePark，’saidTorpenhow’Youhaven’tstirredoutsincethebeginningofthings。’
’What’stheuse？There’snomovementinthedark；and，besides，’——hepausedirresolutelyattheheadofthestairs，——’somethingwillrunoverme。’
’NotifI’mwithyouProceedgingerly。’
TheroarofthestreetsfilledDickwithnervousterror，andheclungtoTorpenhow’sarm’Fancyhavingtofeelforagutterwithyourfoot！’
hesaidpetulantly，asheturnedintothePark’Let’scurseGodanddie。’
’SentriesareforbiddentopayunauthorisedcomplimentsByJove，therearetheGuards！’
Dick’sfigurestraightened’Let’sgetnear’emLet’sgoinandlook。
Let’sgetonthegrassandrunIcansmellthetrees。’
’MindthelowrailingThat’sallright！’Torpenhowkickedoutatuftofgrasswithhisheel’Smellthat，’hesaid’Isn’titgood？’Dicksniffedluxuriously’Nowpickupyourfeetandrun。’TheyapproachedasneartotheregimentaswaspossibleTheclankofbayonetsbeingunfixedmadeDick’snostrilsquiver。
’Let’sgetnearerThey’reincolumn，aren’tthey？’
’YesHowdidyouknow？’
’FeltitOh，mymen！——mybeautifulmen！’Heedgedforwardasthoughhecouldsee’IcoulddrawthosechapsonceWho’lldraw’emnow？’
’They’llmoveoffinaminuteDon’tjumpwhenthebandbegins。’
’Huh！I’mnotanewchargerIt’sthesilencesthathurtNearer，Torp！——nearer！Oh，myGod，whatwouldn’tIgivetosee’emforaminute！——onehalf-minute！’
Hecouldhearthearmedlifealmostwithinreachofhim，couldheartheslingstightenacrossthebandsman’schestasheheavedthebigdrumfromtheground。
’Stickscrossedabovehishead，’whisperedTorpenhow。
’IknowIknow！WhoshouldknowifIdon’t？H’sh！’
Thedrum-sticksfellwithaboom，andthemenswungforwardtothecrashofthebandDickfeltthewindofthemassedmovementinhisface，heardthemaddeningtrampoffeetandthefrictionofthepouchesonthebeltsThebigdrumpoundedoutthetuneItwasamusic-hallrefrainthatmadeaperfectquickstep——
Hemustbeamanofdecentheight，Hemustbeamanofweight，HemustcomehomeonaSaturdaynightInathoroughlysoberstate；
Hemustknowhowtoloveme，Andhemustknowhowtokiss；
Andifhe’senoughtokeepusbothIcan’trefusehimbliss。
’What’sthematter？’saidTorpenhow，ashesawDick’sheadfallwhenthelastoftheregimenthaddeparted。
’NothingIfeelalittlebitoutoftherunning，——that’sallTorp，takemebackWhydidyoubringmeout？’
CHAPTERXII
Therewerethreefriendsthatburiedthefourth，ThemouldinhismouthandthedustinhiseyesAndtheywentsouthandeast，andnorth，——
Thestrongmanfights，butthesickmandies。
Therewerethreefriendsthatspokeofthedead，——
Thestrongmanfights，butthesickmandies——
’Andwouldhewerewithusnow，’theysaid，’Thesuninourfaceandthewindinoureyes。’——
Ballad。
THENILGHAIwasangrywithTorpenhowDickhadbeensenttobed，——blindmenareeverundertheordersofthosewhocansee，——andsincehehadreturnedfromtheParkhadfluentlyswornatTorpenhowbecausehewasalive，andalltheworldbecauseitwasaliveandcouldsee，whilehe，Dick，wasdeadinthedeathoftheblind，who，atthebest，areonlyburdensupontheirassociatesTorpenhowhadsaidsomethingaboutaMrsGummidge，andDickhadretiredinablackfurytohandleandre-handlethreeunopenedlettersfromMaisie。
TheNilghai，fat，burly，andaggressive，wasinTorpenhow’srooms。
BehindhimsattheKeneu，theGreatWarEagle，andbetweenthemlayalargemapembellishedwithblack-and-white-headedpins。
’IwaswrongabouttheBalkans，’saidtheNilghai’ButI’mnotwrongaboutthisbusinessThewholeofourworkintheSouthernSoudanmustbedoneoveragainThepublicdoesn’tcare，ofcourse，butthegovernmentdoes，andtheyaremakingtheirarrangementsquietly。
YouknowthataswellasIdo。’
’IrememberhowthepeoplecurseduswhenourtroopswithdrewfromOmdurmanItwasboundtocropupsoonerorlaterButIcan’tgo，’
saidTorpenhowHepointedthroughtheopendoor；itwasahotnight。
’Canyoublameme？’
TheKeneupurredabovehispipelikealargeandveryhappycat——
’Don’tblameyouintheleastIt’suncommonlygoodofyou，andalltherestofit，buteveryman——evenyou，Torp——mustconsiderhiswork。
Iknowitsoundsbrutal，butDick’soutoftherace，——down，——gastadosexpended，finished，doneforHehasalittlemoneyofhisownHewon’tstarve，andyoucan’tpulloutofyourslideforhissakeThinkofyourownreputation。’
’Dick’swasfivetimesbiggerthanmineandyoursputtogether。’
’ThatwasbecausehesignedhisnametoeverythinghedidIt’sallendednowYoumustholdyourselfinreadinesstomoveoutYoucancommandyourownprices，andyoudobetterworkthananythreeofus。’
’Don’ttellmehowtemptingitisI’llstayheretolookafterDickforawhileHe’sascheerfulasabearwithasorehead，butIthinkhelikestohavemenearhim。’
TheNilghaisaidsomethinguncomplimentaryaboutsoft-headedfoolswhothrowawaytheircareersforotherfoolsTorpenhowflushedangrilyTheconstantstrainofattendanceonDickhadwornhisnervesthin。
’Thereremainsathirdfate，’saidtheKeneu，thoughtfully’Considerthis，andbenotlargerfoolsthannecessaryDickis——orratherwas——anable-bodiedmanofmoderateattractionsandacertainamountofaudacity。’
’Oho！’saidtheNilghai，whorememberedanaffairatCairo’Ibegintosee，——Torp，I’msorry。’
Torpenhownoddedforgiveness：’Youweremoresorrywhenhecutyouout，though——Goon，Keneu。’
’I’veoftenthought，whenI’veseenmendieoutinthedesert，thatifthenewscouldbesentthroughtheworld，andthemeansoftransportwerequickenough，therewouldbeonewomanatleastateachman’sbedside。’
’TherewouldbesomemightyquaintrevelationsLetusbegratefulthingsareastheyare，’saidtheNilghai。
’LetusratherreverentlyconsiderwhetherTorp’sthree-corneredministrationsareexactlywhatDickneedsjustnow——Whatdoyouthinkyourself，Torp？’
’Iknowtheyaren’tButwhatcanIdo？’
’LaythematterbeforetheboardWeareallDick’sfriendshere。
You’vebeenmostinhislife。’
’ButIpickeditupwhenhewasoffhishead。’
’ThegreaterchanceofitsbeingtrueIthoughtweshouldarrive。
Whoisshe？’
ThenTorpenhowtoldataleinplainwords，asaspecialcorrespondentwhoknowshowtomakeaverbalprecisshouldtellitThemenlistenedwithoutinterruption。
’Isitpossiblethatamancancomebackacrosstheyearstohiscalf-love？’
saidtheKeneu’Isitpossible？’
’IgivethefactsHesaysnothingaboutitnow，buthesitsfumblingthreelettersfromherwhenhethinksI’mnotlookingWhatamItodo？’
’Speaktohim，’saidtheNilghai。
’Ohyes！Writetoher，——Idon’tknowherfullname，remember，——andaskhertoaccepthimoutofpityIbelieveyouoncetoldDickyouweresorryforhim，NilghaiYourememberwhathappened，eh？GointothebedroomandsuggestfullconfessionandanappealtothisMaisiegirl，whoeversheisIhonestlybelievehe’dtrytokillyou；andtheblindnesshasmadehimrathermuscular。’
’Torpenhow’scourseisperfectlyclear，’saidtheKeneu’HewillgotoVitry-sur-Marne，whichisontheBezieres-LandesRailway，——singletrackfromTourgasThePrussiansshelleditoutin’70becausetherewasapoplaronthetopofahilleighteenhundredyardsfromthechurchspireThere’sasquadronofcavalryquarteredthere，——oroughttobe。
WherethisstudioTorpspokeaboutmaybeIcannottellThatisTorp’sbusinessIhavegivenhimhisrouteHewilldispassionatelyexplainthesituationtothegirl，andshewillcomebacktoDick，——themoreespeciallybecause，touseDick’swords，“thereisnothingbutherdamnedobstinacytokeepthemapart。”’
’Andtheyhavefourhundredandtwentypoundsayearbetween’em。
Dickneverlosthisheadforfigures，eveninhisdeliriumYouhaven’ttheshadowofanexcusefornotgoing，’saidtheNilghai。
Torpenhowlookedveryuncomfortable’Butit’sabsurdandimpossibleI
can’tdragherbackbythehair。’
’Ourbusiness——thebusinessforwhichwedrawourmoney——istodoabsurdandimpossiblethings，——generallywithnoreasonwhateverexcepttoamusethepublicHerewehaveareasonTherestdoesn’tmatterI
shallsharetheseroomswiththeNilghaitillTorpenhowreturns。
Therewillbeabatchofunbridled“specials“comingtotowninalittlewhile，andthesewillserveastheirheadquartersAnotherreasonforsendingTorpenhowawayThusProvidencehelpsthosewhohelpothers，and’——heretheKeneudroppedhismeasuredspeech——’wecan’thaveyoutiedbythelegtoDickwhenthetroublebeginsIt’syouronlychanceofgettingaway；andDickwillbegrateful。’
’Hewill，——worseluck！IcanbutgoandtryIcan’tconceiveawomaninhersensesrefusingDick。’
’TalkthatoutwiththegirlIhaveseenyouwheedleanangryMahdiehwomanintogivingyoudatesThiswon’tbeatitheasdifficult。
Youhadbetternotbehereto-morrowafternoon，becausetheNilghaiandI
willbeinpossessionItisanorderObey。’
’Dick，’saidTorpenhow，nextmorning，’canIdoanythingforyou？’
’No！LeavemealoneHowoftenmustIremindyouthatI’mblind？’
’NothingIcouldgofortofetchfortocarryfortobring？’
’NoTakethoseinfernalcreakingbootsofyoursaway。’
’Poorchap！’saidTorpenhowtohimself’ImusthavebeensittingonhisnerveslatelyHewantsalighterstep。’Then，aloud，’Verywell。
Sinceyou’resoindependent，I’mgoingoffforfourorfivedaysSaygood-byeatleastThehousekeeperwilllookafteryou，andKeneuhasmyrooms。’
Dick’sfacefell’Youwon’tbelongerthanaweekattheoutside？I
knowI’mtouchedinthetemper，butIcan’tgetonwithoutyou。’
’Can’tyou？You’llhavetodowithoutmeinalittletime，andyou’llbegladI’mgone。’。