Dickfelthiswaybacktothebigchair，andwonderedwhatthesethingsmightmeanHedidnotwishtobetendedbythehousekeeper，andyetTorpenhow’sconstanttendernessjarredonhimHedidnotexactlyknowwhathewantedThedarknesswouldnotlift，andMaisie’sunopenedlettersfeltwornandoldfrommuchhandlingHecouldneverreadthemforhimselfaslongaslifeendured；butMaisiemighthavesenthimsomefreshonestoplaywithTheNilghaienteredwithagift，——apieceofredmodelling-waxHefanciedthatDickmightfindinterestinusinghishandsDickpokedandpattedthestuffforafewminutes，and，’Isitlikeanythingintheworld？’hesaiddrearily’TakeitawayImaygetthetouchoftheblindinfiftyyearsDoyouknowwhereTorpenhowhasgone？’
TheNilghaiknewnothing’We’restayinginhisroomstillhecomesbackCanwedoanythingforyou？’
’I’dliketobeleftalone，pleaseDon’tthinkI’mungrateful；butI’mbestalone。’
TheNilghaichuckled，andDickresumedhisdrowsybroodingandsullenrebellionagainstfateHehadlongsinceceasedtothinkabouttheworkhehaddoneintheolddays，andthedesiretodomoreworkhaddepartedfromhimHewasexceedinglysorryforhimself，andthecompletenessofhistendergriefsoothedhimButhissoulandhisbodycriedforMaisie——MaisiewhowouldunderstandHismindpointedoutthatMaisie，havingherownworktodo，wouldnotcareHisexperiencehadtaughthimthatwhenmoneywasexhaustedwomenwentaway，andthatwhenamanwasknockedoutoftheracetheotherstrampledonhim。
’Thenattheleast，’saidDick，inreply，’shecouldusemeasIusedBinat，——forsomesortofastudyIwouldn’taskmorethantobenearheragain，eventhoughIknewthatanothermanwasmakinglovetoherUgh！
whatadogIam！’
Avoiceonthestaircasebegantosingjoyfully——
’Whenwego——go——goawayfromhere，Ourcreditorswillweepandtheywillwail，Ourabsencemuchregrettingwhentheyfindthatthey’vebeengettingOutofEnglandbynextTuesday’sIndianmail。’
Followingthetramplingoffeet，slammingofTorpenhow’sdoor，andthesoundofvoicesinstrenuousdebate，someonesqueaked，’Andsee，yougoodfellows，Ihavefoundanewwater-bottle——firs’-classpatent——eh，howyousay？Openhimselfinsideout。’
DicksprangtohisfeetHeknewthevoicewell’That’sCassavetti，comebackfromtheContinentNowIknowwhyTorpwentaway。
There’sarowsomewhere，and——I’moutofit！’
TheNilghaicommandedsilenceinvain’That’sformysake，’Dicksaidbitterly’Thebirdsaregettingreadytofly，andtheywouldn’ttellmeI
canhearMorten-SutherlandandMackayeHalftheWarCorrespondentsinLondonarethere；——andI’moutofit。’
HestumbledacrossthelandingandplungedintoTorpenhow’sroomHecouldfeelthatitwasfullofmen’Where’sthetrouble？’saidhe’IntheBalkansatlast？Whydidn’tsomeonetellme？’
’Wethoughtyouwouldn’tbeinterested，’saidtheNilghai，shamefacedly。
’It’sintheSoudan，asusual。’
’Youluckydogs！LetmesitherewhileyoutalkIshan’tbeaskeletonatthefeast——Cassavetti，whereareyou？YourEnglishisasbadasever。’
DickwasledintoachairHeheardtherustleofthemaps，andthetalksweptforward，carryinghimwithitEverybodyspokeatonce，discussingpresscensorships，railway-routes，transport，water-supply，thecapacitiesofgenerals，——theseinlanguagethatwouldhavehorrifiedatrustingpublic，——rangint，asserting，denouncing，andlaughingatthetopoftheirvoicesTherewasthegloriouscertaintyofwarintheSoudanatanymomentTheNilghaisaidso，anditwaswelltobeinreadiness。
TheKeneuhadtelegraphedtoCairoforhorses；Cassavettihadstolenaperfectlyinaccuratelistoftroopsthatwouldbeorderedforward，andwasreadingitoutamidprofaneinterruptions，andtheKeneuintroducedtoDicksomemanunknownwhowouldbeemployedaswarartistbytheCentralSouthernSyndicate’It’shisfirstouting，’saidtheKeneu。
’Givehimsometips——aboutridingcamels。’
’Oh，thosecamels！’groanedCassavetti’Ishalllearntoridehimagain，andnowIamsomuchallsoft！Listen，yougoodfellowsIknowyourmilitaryarrangementverywellTherewillgotheRoyalArgalshireSutherlandersSoitwasreadtomeuponbestauthority。’
Aroaroflaughterinterruptedhim。
’Sitdown，’saidtheNilghai’Thelistsaren’tevenmadeoutintheWarOffice。’
’WilltherebeanyforceatSuakin？’aidavoice。
Thentheoutcriesredoubled，andgrewmixed，thus：’HowmanyEgyptiantroopswilltheyuse？——GodhelptheFellaheen！——There’sarailwayinPlumsteadmarshesdoingdutyasafives-court——WeshallhavetheSuakin-Berberlinebuiltatlast——CanadianvoyageursaretoocarefulGivemeahalf-drunkKroomaninawhale-boat——WhocommandstheDesertcolumn？——No，theyneverblewupthebigrockintheGhinehbendWeshallhavetobehauledup，asusual——Somebodytellmeifthere’sanIndiancontingent，orI’llbreakeverybody’shead——Don’ttearthemapintwo——It’sawarofoccupation，Itellyou，toconnectwiththeAfricancompaniesintheSouth——There’sGuinea-worminmostofthewellsonthatroute。’ThentheNilghai，despairingofpeace，bellowedlikeafog-hornandbeatuponthetablewithbothhands。
’ButwhatbecomesofTorpenhow？’saidDick，inthesilencethatfollowed。
’Torp’sinabeyancejustnowHe’sofflove-makingsomewhere，I
suppose，’saidtheNilghai。
’Hesaidhewasgoingtostayathome，’saidtheKeneu。
’Ishe？’saidDick，withanoath’Hewon’tI’mnotmuchgoodnow，butifyouandtheNilghaiholdhimdownI’llengagetotrampleonhimtillheseesreasonHe’llstaybehind，indeed！He’sthebestofyouall。
There’llbesometoughworkbyOmdurmanWeshallcometheretostay，thistime。
ButIforgotIwishIweregoingwithyou。’
’Sodoweall，Dickie，’saidtheKeneu。
’AndImostofall，’saidthenewartistoftheCentralSouthernSyndicate。
’Couldyoutellme——’
’I’llgiveyouonepieceofadvice，’Dickanswered，movingtowardsthedoor’Ifyouhappentobecutovertheheadinascrimmage，don’tguard。
TellthemantogooncuttingYou’llfinditcheapestintheend。
Thanksforlettingmelookin。’
’There’sgritinDick，’saidtheNilghai，anhourlater，whentheroomwasemptiedofallsavetheKeneu。
’Itwasthesacredcallofthewar-trumpetDidyounoticehowheansweredtoit？Poorfellow！Let’slookathim，’saidtheKeneu。
TheexcitementofthetalkhaddiedawayDickwassittingbythestudiotable，withhisheadonhisarms，whenthemencameinHedidnotchangehisposition。
’Ithurts，’hemoaned’Godforgiveme，butithurtscruelly；andyet，y’know，theworldhasaknackofspinningroundallbyitselfShallIseeTorpbeforehegoes？’
’Oh，yesYou’llseehim，’saidtheNilghai。
Thesunwentdownanhourago，IwonderifIfacetowardshome；
IfIlostmywayinthelightofdayHowshallIfinditnownightiscome？——
OldSong-
’MAISIE，cometobed。’
’It’ssohotIcan’tsleepDon’tworry。’
Maisieputherelbowsonthewindow-sillandlookedatthemoonlightonthestraight，poplar-flankedroadSummerhadcomeuponVitry-sur-MarneandparchedittotheboneThegrasswasdry-burntinthemeadows，theclaybythebankoftheriverwascakedtobrick，theroadsideflowerswerelongsincedead，andtherosesinthegardenhungwitheredontheirstalksTheheatinthelittlelowbedroomundertheeaveswasalmostintolerableTheverymoonlightonthewallofKami’sstudioacrosstheroadseemedtomakethenighthotter，andtheshadowofthebigbell-handlebytheclosedgatecastabarofinkyblackthatcaughtMaisie’seyeandannoyedher。
’Horridthing！Itshouldbeallwhite，’shemurmured’Andthegateisn’tinthemiddleofthewall，eitherInevernoticedthatbefore。’
MaisiewashardtopleaseatthathourFirst，theheatofthepastfewweekshadwornherdown；secondly，herwork，andparticularlythestudyofafemaleheadintendedtorepresenttheMelancoliaandnotfinishedintimefortheSalon，wasunsatisfactory；thirdly，Kamihadsaidasmuchtwodaysbefore；fourthly，——butsocompletelyfourthlythatitwashardlyworththinkingabout，——Dick，herproperty，hadnotwrittentoherformorethansixweeksShewasangrywiththeheat，withKami，andwithherwork，butshewasexceedinglyangrywithDick。
Shehadwrittentohimthreetimes，——eachtimeproposingafreshtreatmentofherMelancoliaDickhadtakennonoticeofthesecommunicationsShehadresolvedtowritenomoreWhenshereturnedtoEnglandintheautumn——forherpride’ssakeshecouldnotreturnearlier——shewouldspeaktohimShemissedtheSundayafternoonconferencesmorethanshecaredtoadmitAllthatKamisaidwas，’Continuez，mademoiselle，continueztoujours，’andhehadbeenrepeatingthewearisomecounselthroughthehotsummer，exactlylikeacicada，——anoldgraycicadainablackalpacacoat，whitetrousers，andahugefelthat。
ButDickhadtrampedmasterfullyupanddownherlittlestudionorthofthecoolgreenLondonpark，andhadsaidthingstentimesworsethancontinuez，beforehesnatchedthebrushoutofherhandandshowedherwheretheerrorlayHislastletter，Maisieremembered，containedsometrivialadviceaboutnotsketchinginthesunordrinkingwateratwaysidefarmhouses；andhehadsaidthatnotonce，butthreetimes，——asifhedidnotknowthatMaisiecouldtakecareofherself。
Butwhatwashedoing，thathecouldnottroubletowrite？A
murmurofvoicesintheroadmadeherleanfromthewindowAcavalrymanofthelittlegarrisoninthetownwastalkingtoKami’scookThemoonlightglitteredonthescabbardofhissabre，whichhewasholdinginhishandlestitshouldclankinopportunelyThecook’scapcastdeepshadowsonherface，whichwasclosetotheconscript’sHeslidhisarmroundherwaist，andtherefollowedthesoundofakiss。
’Faugh！’saidMaisie，steppingback。
’What’sthat？’saidthered-hairedgirl，whowastossinguneasilyoutsideherbed。
’Onlyaconscriptkissingthecook，’saidMaisie。
’They’vegoneawaynow。’Sheleanedoutofthewindowagain，andputashawloverhernightgowntoguardagainstchillsTherewasaverysmallnight-breezeabroad，andasun-bakedrosebelownoddeditsheadasonewhoknewunutterablesecretsWasitpossiblethatDickshouldturnhisthoughtsfromherworkandhisownanddescendtothedegradationofSuzanneandtheconscript？Hecouldnot！TherosenoddeditsheadandoneleaftherewithItlookedlikeanaughtylittledevilscratchingitsear。
Dickcouldnot，’because，’thoughtMaisie，’heismind，——mine，——mineHesaidhewasI’msureIdon’tcarewhathedoesItwillonlyspoilhisworkifhedoes；anditwillspoilminetoo。’
Therosecontinuedtonoditthefutilewaypeculiartoflowers。
TherewasnoearthlyreasonwhyDickshouldnotdisporthimselfashechose，exceptthathewascalledbyProvidence，whichwasMaisie，toassistMaisieinherworkAndherworkwasthepreparationofpicturesthatwentsometimestoEnglishprovincialexhibitions，asthenoticesinthescrap-bookproved，andthatwereinvariablyrejectedbytheSalonwhenKamiwasplaguedintoallowinghertosendthemupHerworkinthefuture，itseemed，wouldbethepreparationofpicturesonexactlysimilarlineswhichwouldberejectedinexactlythesameway——
Thered-hairedgirlthresheddistressfullyacrossthesheets’It’stoohottosleep，’shemoaned；andtheinterruptionjarred。
ExactlythesamewayThenshewoulddivideheryearsbetweenthelittlestudioinEnglandandKami’sbigstudioatVitry-sur-MarneNo，shewouldgotoanothermaster，whoshouldforceherintothesuccessthatwasherright，ifpatienttoilanddesperateendeavourgaveonearighttoanythingDickhadtoldherthathehadworkedtenyearstounderstandhiscraftShehadworkedtenyears，andtenyearswerenothing。
Dickhadsaidthattenyearswerenothing，——butthatwasinregardtoherselfonlyHehadsaid——thisverymanwhocouldnotfindtimetowrite——thathewouldwaittenyearsforher，andthatshewasboundtocomebacktohimsoonerorlaterHehadsaidthisintheabsurdletteraboutsunstrokeanddiphtheria；andthenhehadstoppedwritingHewaswanderingupanddownmoonlitstreets，kissingcooksShewouldliketolecturehimnow，——notinhernightgown，ofcourse，butproperlydressed，severelyandfromaheightYetifhewaskissingothergirlshecertainlywouldnotcarewhethershelecturehimornotHewouldlaughatherVerygood。