Sheformulatedthisfeelingnomorethantheothers,butshesaidtoWestover,whomJeffbadehertelloftheengagement:\"Ita’n’texactlyasIcould’a’wishedittobe。ButIdon’tknowasmothersareeverquitesuitedwiththeirchildren’smarriages。Ipresumeit’sfromalwayskindofhavin’hadherroundundermyfeeteversinceshewasborn,asyoumaysay,andseein’herfamilyalwayssoshiftless。Well,Ican’tsaythatofFrank,either。He’sturnedoutafineboy;butthefather!Cynthyisoneofthemostcapablegirls,smartasatrap,andbrightasabiscuit。
She’smasterful,too!sheNEEDtohaveawillofherownwithJeff。\"
Somethingoftheinsensatepridethatmothershaveintheirchildren’sfaults,astheirquicktempers,ortheirwastefulness,ortheirrevengefulness,expresseditselfinhertone;anditwasperhapsthisthatirritatedWestover。
\"Ihopehe’llneverletherknowit。Idon’tthinkastrongwillisathingtobeprized,andIshouldn’tconsideritoneofCynthia’sgoodpoints。Thehappiestlifeforherwouldbeonethatneverforcedhertouseit。\"
\"Idon’tknowasIunderstandyouexactly,\"saidMrs。Durgin,withsomedryness。\"IknowJeff’sgotratherofadomineeringdisposition,butI
don’tbelievebutshecanmanagehimwithoutmeetin’himonhisownground,asyoumaysay。\"
\"She’sagirlinathousand,\"Westoverreturned,evasively。
\"Thenyouthinkhe’sshownsenseinchoosin’ofher?\"pursuedJeff’smother,resolutetofindsomepraiseofhiminWestover’swords。
\"He’saveryfortunateman,\"saidthepainter。
\"Well,Iguessyou’reright,\"Mrs。Durginacquiesced,asmuchtoJeff’sadvantageasshecould。\"YouknowIwasalwaysafraidhewouldmakeafoolofhimself,butIguesshe’skepthiseyesprettywellopenallthewhile。Well!\"Sheclosedthesubjectwiththisexclamation。\"HimandCynthy’sbeenatmeaboutJackson,\"sheadded,abruptly。\"They’vecookeditupbetween’emthathe’soutofhealthorrundownorsomething。\"
HermannerreferredthemattertoWestover,andhesaid:\"Heisn’tlookingsowellthissummer。Heoughttogoawaysomewhere。\"
\"That’swhattheythought,\"saidMrs。Durgin,smilinginherpleasureathavingtheiropinionconfirmedbytheoldandvaluedfriendofthefamily。
Whereaboutsdoyouthinkhe’dbestgo?\"
\"Oh,Idon’tknow。Italy——orEgypt——\"
\"Iguess,ifyoucouldgetJacksontogoawayatall,itwouldbetosomeofthemoldBiblecountries,\"saidMrs。Durgin。\"We’vegottohaveafighttogethimoff,makethebestofit,andI’vethoughtitoversincethechildrenspokeaboutit,andIcouldn’tseemtoseeJacksonwillin’
togoouttoCalifornyorColorady,toeitherofhisbrothers。ButI
guesshewouldgotoEgypt。Thatagoodclimateforthe——hiscomplaint?\"
Sheenteredeagerlyintothequestion,andWestoverpromisedtowritetoaBostondoctor,whomheknewverywell,andreportJackson’scasetohim,andgethisviewsofEgypt。
\"Tellhimhowitis,\"saidMrs。Durgin,\"andthetussleweshallhavetohaveanywaytomakeJacksonbelievehe’doughttohavearest。He’llgotoEgyptifhe’llgoanywheres,becausehismindkeepsrunnin’onBiblequestions,andit’llinteresthimtogooutthere;andwecanmakehimbelieveit’sjusttobangaroundforthewinter。He’sterriblehopeful。\"
Nowthatshebegantospeak,allherlong—repressedanxietypoureditselfout,andshehitchedherchairnearertoWestoverandwistfullyclutchedhissleeve。\"That’stheworstofJackson。Youcan’tmakehimbelieveanything’sthematter。SometimesIcan’tbeartohearhimgoonabouthimselfasifhewasawellyoungman。Heexpectsthatmedium’sstuffisgoin’tocurehim!\"
\"Peoplesickinthatwayarealwayshopeful,\"saidWestover。
\"Oh,don’tIknowit!Ha’n’tIseenmychildrenandmyhusband——Oh,doaskthatdoctortoanswerasquickashecan!\"
XXVI。
WestoverhadadifficultyincongratulatingJeffwhichhecouldscarcelydefinetohimself,butwhichwaslikethatobscureresentmentwefeeltowardpeoplewhomwethinkunequaltotheirgoodfortune。Hewasashamedofhisgrudge,whateveritwas,andthismayhavemadehimoverdohisexpressionsofpleasure。Hewassensibleofafalsecordialityinthem,andhecheckedhimselfinaflowofforcedsentimenttosay,morehonestly:\"Iwishyou’dspeaktoCynthiaforme。YouknowhowmuchI
thinkofher,andhowmuchIwanttoseeherhappy。Yououghttobeaverygoodfellow,Jeff!\"
\"I’lltellherthat;she’lllikethat,\"saidJeff。\"Shethinkstheworldofyou。\"
\"Doesshe?Well!\"
\"AndIguessshe’llbegladyousentword。She’sbeenwonderingwhatyouwouldsay;she’salwayssoafraidofyou。\"
\"Isshe?You’renotafraidofme,areyou?Butperhapsyoudon’tthinksomuchofme。\"
\"IguessCynthiaandIthinkalikeonthatpoint,\"saidJeff,withoutabatingWestover’sdiscomfort。
Therewasastressofsharpcoldthatyearaboutthe20thofAugust。
Thentheweatherturnedwarmagain,andheldfinetillthebeginningofOctober,withinaweekofthetimewhenJacksonwastosail。Ithadnotbeensohardtomakehimconsentwhenheknewwherethedoctorwishedhimtogo,andhehadwillinglyprofitedbyWestover’ssuggestionsaboutgettingtoEgypt。Hisinterestinthematter,whichhetriedtohideatfirstunderamaskofdecorousindifference,mountedwiththefireofWhitwell’senthusiasm,andtheyheldnightlycouncilstogether,studyinghiscourseonthemap,andconsultingplanchetteuponthepointsatvariancethatrosebetweenthem,whileJombateestesatwithhischairtiltedagainstthewall,andpulledsteadilyathispipe,whichmixeditsstrongfumeswiththesmellofthekerosene—lampandtheperennialodorofpotatoesinthecellarunderthelowroomwherethecompanionsforgathered。
TowardtheendofSeptemberWestoverspentthenightbeforehewentbacktotownwiththem。Afteraseasonwithplanchette,theirhostpushedhimselfbackwithhiskneesfromthetabletillhischairreareduponitshindlegs,andshovedhishatupfromhisforeheadintokenofphilosophicalmood。
\"Itellyou,Jackson,\"hesaid,\"you’doughttogetholdo’somethemoccultdevilsoutthere,andsqueezetheirscienceoutof’em。AnyBuddhistsinEgypt,Mr。Westover?\"
\"Idon’tthinkthereare,\"saidWestover。\"UnlessJacksonshouldcomeacrosssomewanderingHindu。Orhemightpushon,andcomehomebythewayofIndia。\"
\"Doit,Jackson!\"hisfriendconjuredhim。\"Maycostyousomethingmore,butit’llbeworththemoney。Ifit’strue,whatsomethemBlavetskyfellersclaim,youcanvisitushereinyourastralbody——gitinwith’emtherightway。Ishouldliketohaveyoutryit。What’sthereasonIndiawouldn’tbeasgoodforhimasEgypt,anyway?\"WhitwelldemandedofWestover。
\"Isupposetheclimate’srathertoomoist;theheatwouldberathertryingtohimthere。\"
\"Thatso?\"
\"Andhe’stakenhisticketforAlexandria,\"Westoverpursued。
\"Well,Iguessthat’sso。\"Whitwelltiltedhisbackwardslopinghattooneside,soastoscratchthenortheastcornerofhisbeadthoughtfully。
\"Butasfarasthatisconcerned,\"saidWestover,\"andthedoctrineofimmortalitygenerallyisconcerned,JacksonwillhavehishandsfullifhestudiestheEgyptianmonuments。\"
\"Whattheygottodowithit?\"
\"Everything。Egyptisthehomeofthebeliefinafuturelife;itwascarriedfromEgypttoGreece。HemightcomehomebywayofAthens。\"
\"Why,man!\"criedWhitwell。\"DoyoumeantosaythatthemoldHebrewsaints,Joseph’sbrethren,thatwentdownintoEgyptaftercorn,didn’tknowaboutimmortality,andthemEgyptiandevilsdid?\"
\"There’sverylittleproofintheOldTestamentthattheIsraelitesknewofit。\"
WhitwelllookedatJackson。\"Thattheideeyougot?\"
\"Iguesshe’sright,\"saidJackson。\"There’ssomethingalittleaboutitinJob,andsomethinginthePsalms:butnotagreatdeal。\"
\"AndwegotitfromthemEgyptiand————\"
\"Idon’tsaythat,\"Westoverinterposed。\"Buttheyhaditbeforewehad。
Asweimagineit,wegotitthoughChristianity。\"
Jombateeste,whohadtakenhispipeoutofhismouthinacontroversialmanner,putitbackagain。
Westoveradded,\"Butthere’snoquestionbuttheEgyptiansbelievedinthelifehereafter,andinfuturerewardsandpunishmentsforthedeedsdoneinthebody,thousandsofyearsbeforeourera。\"
\"Well,I’mdumned,\"saidWhitwell。
Jombateestetookhispipeoutagain。\"Hitshowtheygotgoodsense。
Theyknow——theyfeelitintheirbone——whatgoin’’appen——whenyoudead。
Me,Iguesstheygotsomeprophetfindithoutforthem;thentheygoin’
takethecredit。\"
\"Iguessthat’ssomethingso,Jombateeste,\"saidWhitwell。\"Itdon’tstandtoreasonthatfolkswithoutanyalphabet,asyoumaysay,andonlyalotofpicturesforwords,likeInjuns,couldfigureouttheimmortalityofthesoul。Theygottheideebyinspirationsomehow。Why,here!It’slikethis。ThemPharaohsmusthavealwaysbeenclawin’outfortheHebrewsbeforetheygotaholdofJoseph,andwhentheyfoundoutthetruedoctrine,theyhushedupwheretheygotit,andtheirpriestswentonteachin’itasifitwastheirown。\"
\"That’sw’atIsay。Gotitfromthe’Ebrew。\"
\"Well,itdon’tmatteragreatdealwheretheygotit,sotheygotit,\"
saidJackson,asherose。
\"IbelieveI’llgowithyou,\"saidWestover。
\"Allthereisaboutit,\"saidthesickman,solemnly,withafrailefforttostraightenhimself,towhichhissunkenchestwouldnotrespond,\"isthis:nomaneverdidfigurethatoutforhimself。Amanseesfolksdie,andasfarashissensesgo,theydon’tliveagain。Butsomehowheknowstheydo;andhisknowledgecomesfromsomewhereelse;it’sinspired——\"
\"That’sw’atIsay,\"Jombateestehastenedtointerpose。\"Gotitfromthe’Ebrew。Feelitin’isbone。\"
OutunderthestarsJacksonandWestoversilentlymountedthehill—sidetogether。Atoneofthethank—you—marmsintheroadthesickmanstopped,likeawearyhorse,tobreathe。Hetookoffhishatandwipedthesweatofweaknessthathadgathereduponhisforehead,andlookedroundthesky,powderedwiththeconstellationsandtheplanets。\"It’ssightly,\"hewhispered。
\"Yes,itisfine,\"Westoverassented。\"ButthestarsofourNorthernnightsarenothingtowhatyou’llseeinEgypt。\"
Jacksonrepeated,vaguely:\"Egypt!WhereIshouldliketogoisMars。\"
Hefixedhiseyesontheflamingplanets,inalongstare。\"ButI
supposetheyhavetheirowntroubles,sameaswedo。Theymustgetsickanddie,liketherestofus。ButIshouldliketoknowmoreabout’em。
Youbelieveit’sinhabited,don’tyou?\"
Westover’sagnosticismdidnot,somehow,extendtoMars。\"Yes,I’venodoubtofit。\"
Jacksonseemedpleased。\"I’vereadeverythingIcanlaymyhandsonaboutit。I’vegotanotionthatifthere’sanychoosin’,afterwegetthroughhere,IshouldliketogotoMarsforawhile,oraslongasI
wasalittlehomesickstill,andwantedtokeepasneartheearthasI
could,\"headded,quaintly。
Westoverlaughed。\"Youcouldstudyupthesubjectofirrigation,there;
theysaythat’swhatkeepstheparallelmarkingsgreenonMars;andtelegraphafewhintstoyourbrotherinColorado,aftertheMartiansperfecttheirsignalcode。\"
Perhapstheinvalid’sfancyflagged。Hedrewalong,raggedbreath。
\"Idon’tknowasIcaretoleavehome,much。Ifitwa’n’takindofduty,Ishouldn’t。\"Heseemedimpelledbyasuddenneedtosay,\"HowdoyouthinkJeffersonandmotherwillmakeitouttogether?\"
\"I’venodoubtthey’llmanage,\"saidWestover。
\"They’reagooddealalike,\"Jacksonsuggested。
Westoverpreferrednottomeethisoverture。You’llbeback,youknow,almostassoonastheseasoncommences,nextsummer。\"
\"Yes,\"Jacksonassented,morecheerfully。\"Andnow,Cynthy’ssuretobehere。\"
\"Yes,shewillbehere,\"saidWestover,notsocheerfully。
Jacksonseemedtofindtheopeninghewasseeking,inWestover’stone。
\"Whatdoyouthinkofgettin’married,anyway,Mr。Westover?\"heasked。
\"Wehaven’teitherofusthoughtsowellofitastotryit,Jackson,\"
saidthepainter,jocosely。
\"Thinkit’sakindofchance?\"
\"It’sachance。\"
Jacksonwassilent。Then,\"Ia’n’toneofthem,\"hesaid,abruptly,\"thatthinkaman’sgoin’tobemadeoverbymarryin’thiswomanorthat。
Ifhea’n’tgoin’tobetherightkindofamanhimself,hea’n’tbecausehiswife’sagoodwoman。SometimesIthinkthataman’swifeisthelastpersonintheworldthatcanchangehisdisposition。Shecaninfluencehimaboutthisandaboutthat,butshecan’tchangehim。Itseemsasifhecouldn’tletherifhetried,andafterthefirststart—offhedon’ttry。\"
\"That’strue,\"Westoverassented。\"We’reterriblyinflexible。Nothingbutsomethinglikeachangeofheart,astheyusedtocallit,canmakeusdifferent,andeventhenwe’reapttogobacktoouroldshape。Whenyoulookatitinthatlight,marriageseemsimpossible。Yetittakesplaceeveryday!\"
\"It’sagreatriskforawoman,\"saidJackson,puttingonhishatandstirringforanonwardmovement。\"ButIpresumethatifthemanishonestwithherit’sthebestthingshecanhave。Thegreattroubleisforthemantobehonestwithher。\"
\"Honestyisdifficult,\"saidWestover。
HemadeJacksonpromisetospendadaywithhiminBoston,onhiswaytotaketheMediterraneansteameratNewYork。Whentheymetheyieldedtoanimpulsewhichtheinvalid’sforlornnessinspired,andwentontoseehimoff。Hewasgladthathedidthat,for,thoughJacksonwasnotsadatparting,hewasvisiblytouchedbyWestover’skindness。
Ofcoursehetalkedawayfromit。\"IguessI’veleft’eminprettygoodshapeforthewinteratLion’sHead,\"hesaid。\"I’vegotWhitwelltoagreetocomeupandliveinthehousewithmother,andshe’llhaveCynthywithher,anyway;andFrankandJombateestecanlookafterthebosseseasyenough。\"
Hehadsaidsomethinglikethisbefore,butWestovercouldseethatitcomfortedhimtorepeatit,andheencouragedhimtodosoinfull。Hemadehimtalkaboutgettinghomeinthespring,afterthefrostwasoutoftheground,buthequestionedinvoluntarily,whilethesickmanspoke,whetherhemightnotthenbelyingunderthesandsthathadneverknownafrostsincetheglacialepoch。Whenthelastwarningforvisitorstogoashorecame,Jacksonsaid,withawansmile,whileheheldWestover’shand:\"Isha’n’tforgetthisverysoon。\"
\"Writetome,\"saidWestover。
EndTheLandlordAtLionsHeadV2
byWilliamDeanHowellsPartII。
XXVII。
JacksonkepthispromisetowritetoWestover,buthewasbetterthanhiswordtohismother,andwrotetohereveryweekthatwinter。
\"Iseemjusttolivefromlettertoletter。It’sridic’lous,\"shesaidtoCynthiaoncewhenthegirlbroughtthemailinfromthebarn,wherethemenfolkskeptittilltheyhadputawaytheirhorsesafterdrivingoverfromLovewellwithit。Thetrainsonthebranchroadweretakenoffinthewinter,andthepost—officeatthehotelwasdiscontinued。Themenhadtogotothetownbycutter,overahighwaythatthewindssiftedhalffullofsnowafterithadbeenbrokenoutbytheox—teamsinthemorning。ButMrs。DurginhadstudiedthesteamerdaysandcalculatedthetimeitwouldtakeletterstocomefromNewYorktoLovewell;and,unlessablizzardwasraging,someonehadtogoforthemailwhenthedaycame。
ItwasusuallyJombateeste,whorevertedinwintertothetypeofhabitantfromwhichhehadsprung。Heworeabluewoollencap,likealargesock,pulledoverhisearsandclosetohiseyes,andbelowithisclean—shavenbrownfaceshowed。Hehadbluewoollenmittens,andbootsofrussetleather,withoutheels,cametohisknees;hegotapaireverytimehewenthomeonSt。John’sday。Hisleanlittlebodywasswathedinseveralshortjackets,andhebroughtthelettersbuttonedintooneoftheinnermostpockets。HeproducedtheletterfromJacksonpromptlyenoughwhenCynthiacameouttothebarnforit,andthenhemadeashowofgettinghishorseoutofthecuttershafts,andshoutinginternationalreproachesatit,tillshewasforcedtoask,\"Haven’tyougotsomethingforme,Jombateeste?\"
\"Youexpec’someletter?\"hesaid,unbucklingastrapandshoutinglouder。
\"YouknowwhetherIdo。Giveittome。\"
\"Idon’know。IthinkIdropsomethingontheroad。Isawsomethingwhite;maybesnow;gooddealofsnow。\"
\"Don’tplague!Giveithere!\"
\"WaitIfinishunhitch。Ican’tfindanylettertillIgetsometimetolook。\"
\"Oh,now,Jombateeste!Givememyletter!\"
\"W’atyouwantletterfor?Alwayssamething。Well!’Oldthe’oss;I
goin’tofeel。\"
Jombateestefeltinonepocketafteranother,whileCynthiaclungtothecolt’sbridle,andhewasuncertaintillthelastwhetherhehadanyletterforher。Whenitappearedshemadeaflyingsnatchatitandran;
andthecomedywasover,toberepeatedinsomeformthenextweek。
ThegirlsomehowalwayspossessedherselfofwhatwasinherlettersbeforeshereachedtheroomwhereMrs。Durginwaswaitingforhers。ShehadtoreadthataloudtoJackson’smother,andintheeveningshehadtoreaditagaintoMrs。DurginandWhitwellandJombateesteandFrank,aftertheyhaddonetheirchores,andtheyhadgatheredintheoldfarm—
houseparlor,aroundtheair—tightsheet—ironstove,inaheatofeightydegrees。Whitwelllistened,withplanchettereadyonthetablebeforehim,andheconsulteditfortelepathicimpressionsofJackson’sactualmentalstatewhenthereadingwasover。
Hegotverylittleoutoftheperverseinstrument。\"Ican’tseemtoworkher。IfJacksonwashere——\"
\"Weshouldn’tneedtoaskplanchetteabouthim,\"Cynthiaoncesuggested,withthesparesenseofhumorthatsometimesrevealeditselfinher。
\"Well,Iguessthat’ssomethingso,\"herfathercandidlyadmitted。Butthenexttimeheconsultedthehelplessplanchetteashopefullyasbefore。\"Youcan’ttell,youcan’ttell,\"heurged。
\"Thetroubleseemstobethatplanchettecan’ttell,\"saidMrs。Durgin,andtheyalllaughed。Theywerenotpeoplewholaughedagreatdeal,andtheywereeachintentuponsomepointinthefuturethatkeptthemfrompleasureinthepresent。ThelittleCanuckwastheonlyonewhosufferedhimselfacontemporaneousconsolation。HisearlyfaithhadsofarlapsedfromhimthathecouldhospitablyentertainthewildpsychicalconjecturesofWhitwellwithoutanaccusingsenseofheresy,andhefoundthewinterofnorthernNewEnglandsomildafterthatofLowerCanadathatheexperiencedahighdegreeofanimalcomfortinit,andlookedforwardtonothingbetter。Tobewellfed,wellhoused,andwellheated;
tosmokesuccessivepipeswhiletheotherstalked,andtocatchthroughhissmoke—wreathsvagueglimpsesoftheirmeanings,wasenough。HefeltthatinbeingpromotedtothecareofthestablesinJackson’sabsenceheoccupiedadignifiedandresponsibleposition,withaconfidentialrelationtotheexilewhichjustifiedhiminsendingspecialmessagestohim,andattachingpeculiarvaluetoJackson’sremembrances。
Theexile’sletterssaidverylittleabouthishealth,whichinthesenseofnonewshismotherheldtobegoodnews,buttheywerefullconcerningthemonumentsandtheethnologicalinterestoflifeinEgypt。
Theywerelargelyrescriptsofeachday’sobservationsandexperiences,closeandfull,ashismotherlikedtheminregardtofact,andgenerouslyphilosophizedonthesideofpoliticsandreligionforWhitwell。TheEasternquestionbecameinthesnow—chokedhillsofNewEnglandtheengrossingconcernofthisspeculativemind,andhewasapttospringituponMrs。DurginandCynthiaatmealtimesandotherdefencelessmoments。HetriedtodebateitwithJombateeste,whoconceivedofitasaformofspiritualisticinquiry,andansweredfromthehay—loft,wherehewasthrowingdownfodderforthecattletoWhitwell,volublyreceivingitonthebarnfloorbelow,thathebelieved,him,everybodygotahastralbody,EnglishsameasMormons。
\"GuessyoumeanMoslems,\"saidWhitwell,andJombateesteaskedthedifference,defiantly。
TheletterswhichcametoCynthiacouldnotbemadeasmuchageneralinterest,and,infact,nooneelsecaredsomuchforthemasforJackson’sletters,notevenJeff’smother。AfterCynthiagotoneofthem,shewouldask,perfunctorily,whatJeffsaid,butwhenshewastoldtherewasnonewsshedidnotpressherquestion。
\"IfJacksondon’tgetbackintimenextsummer,\"Mrs。Durginsaid,inoneofthetalksshehadwiththegirl,\"IguessIshallhavetoletJeffandyourunthehousealone。\"
\"Iguessweshallwantalittlehelpfromyou,\"saidCynthia,demurely。
ShedidnotrefusetheimplicationofMrs。Durgin’swords,butshewouldnotassumethattherewasmoreinthemthantheyexpressed。
WhenJeffcamehomeforthethreedays’vacationatThanksgiving,hewishedagaintorelinquishhislastyearatHarvard,andCynthiahadtosummonallherforcestokeephimtohispromiseofstaying。Hebroughthomethebookswithwhichhewasworkingoffhisconditions,withahalf—
heartedintentionofstudy,andshetookholdwithhim,andtogethertheyfoughtforwardoverthegroundhehadtogain。Hismotherwasalmostwillingatlastthatheshouldgiveuphislastyearincollege。
\"Whatistheuse?\"sheasked。\"He’sgiveupthelaw,andhemightaswellcommenceherefirstaslast,ifhe’sgoin’to。\"
Thegirlhadnoreasontourgeagainstthis;shecouldonlyurgeherfeelingthatheoughttogobackandtakehisdegreewiththerestofhisclass。
\"Ifyou’regoingtokeepLion’sHeadthewayyoupretendyouare,\"shesaidtohim,asshecouldnotsaytohismother,\"youwanttokeepallyourHarvardfriends,don’tyou,andhavethemrememberyou?Goback,Jeff,anddon’tyoucomehereagaintillafteryou’vegotyourdegree。
NevermindtheChristmasvacation,northeEaster。StayinCambridgeandworkoffyourconditions。Youcandoit,ifyoutry。Oh,don’tyousupposeIshouldliketohaveyouhere?\"shereproachedhim。
Hewentback,withakindofgrudgeinhisheart,whichheconfessedinhisfirstletterhometoher,whenhetoldherthatshewasrightandhewaswrong。Hewassurenow,withtheimpulsewhichtheirworkonthemincommonhadgivenhim,thatheshouldgethisconditionsoff,andhewantedherandhismothertobeginpreparingtheirmindstocometohisClassDay。Heplannedhowtheycouldbothbeawayfromthehotelforthatday。Thehousewastobeopenedonthe20thofJune,butitwasnotlikelythattherewouldbesomanypeopleatoncethattheycouldnotgivethe21sttoClassDay;FrankandhisfathercouldrunLion’sHeadsomehow,or,iftheycouldnot,thentheopeningcouldbepostponedtillthe24th。Atallevents,theymustnotfailtocome。Cynthiashowedthewholelettertohismother,whorefusedtothinkofsuchathing,andthenasked,asifthefacthadnotbeenfullysetbeforeher:\"Whenisittobe?\"