第4章

"Ah，then，it’sformetoaskYOUwhat。Idon’tmyself，yousee，perceiveit。"

Hemadeforalittlenoanswer，andwewerebothindeedbythistimetakenupwiththewithdrawalofthetwoothermembersofourgroup。Theymovedawaytogetheracrosstheshiningfloor，pausing，lookingupatthepaintedvault，sayingtheinevitablethings——bringingofftheirretreat，inshort，inthebestorder。Itstruckmesomehowasaretreat，andyetIinsistedtomyself，oncemore，onitsbeingperfectlynatural。Atthehighdoor，whichstoodopen，theystoppedamomentandlookedbackatus——lookedfrankly，sociably，asifinconsciousnessofoursympatheticattention。

Mrs。Serverwaved，asintemporaryfarewell，afreeexplanatoryhandatme；sheseemedtoexplainthatshewasnowtryingsomebodyelse。ObertmoreoveraddedHISexplanation。"That’sthewayshecollarsus。"

"Oh，Longdoesn’tmind，"Isaid。"Butwhat’sthewayshestrikesyouasdifferent？"

"Fromwhatshewaswhenshesattome？Well，apartofitisthatshecan’tkeepstill。Shewasasstillthenasifshehadbeenpaidforit。

Nowshe’sallovertheplace。"Buthecamebacktosomethingelse。"Ilikeyourtalking，mydearman，ofwhatyou’don’tperceive。’I’veyettofindoutwhatthatremarkablequantityis。Whatyoudoperceivehasatalleventsgivenmesomuchtothinkaboutthatitdoubtlessoughttoservemeforthepresent。IfeelIoughttoletyouknowthatyou’vemademealsoperceivetheBrissendens。"IofcourserememberedwhatIhadsaidtohim，butitwasjustthisthatnowtouchedmyuneasiness，andIonlyechoedthename，alittleblankly，withtheinstinctofgainingtime。"Youputmeonthemwonderfully，"Obertcontinued，"thoughofcourseI’vekeptyourideatomyself。Allthesameitshedsagreatlight。"

Icouldagainbutfeeblyrepeatit。"Agreatlight？"

"Astowhatmaygoonevenbetweenothersstill。It’sajollyidea——atorchinthedarkness；anddoyouknowwhatI’vedonewithit？I’vehelditup，Idon’tmindtellingyou，tojustthequestionofthechange，sincethisinterestsyou，inMrs。Server。Ifyou’vegotyourmysteryI’llbehangedifIwon’thavemine。Ifyou’vegotyourBrissendensIshallseewhatIcandowithHER。You’vegivenmeananalogy，andIdeclareIfinditdazzling。Idon’tseetheendofwhatmaybedonewithit。IfBrissenden’spayingforhiswife，forheramazingsecondbloom，who’spayingforMrs。

Server？Isn’tTHAT——whatdothenewspaperscallit？——themissingword？

Isn’titperhapsinfactjustwhatyoutoldmelastnightyouwereonthetrackof？Butdon’taddnow，"hewenton，moreandmoreamusedwithhisdivination，"don’taddnowthattheman’sobviouslyGilbertLong——forI

won’tbeputoffwithanythingofthesort。Shecollaredhimmuchtoomarkedly。

Therealmanmustbeoneshedoesn’tmarkedlycollar。"

"ButIthoughtthatwhatyouamomentagomadeoutwasthatshesomarkedlycollarsallofus。"ThiswasmyimmediatereplytoObert’sblazeofingenuity，butInonethelesssawmorethingsinitthanIcouldreplyto。Isaw，atanyrate，andsawwithrelief，thatifheshouldlookontheprinciplesuggestedtohimbythecaseoftheBrissendens，therewouldbenodangeratallofhisfindingit。If，accordingly，IwasnervousforMrs。Server，allIhadtodowastokeephimonthisfalsescent。Sinceitwasnotshewhowaspaidfor，butshewhopossiblypaid，hisfancymightharmlesslydiverthimtillthepartyshoulddisperse。Atthesametime，inthemidstofthesereflections，thequestionofthe"change"inher，whichhewasinsomuchbetterapositionthanItomeasure，couldn’thelphavingformeitsportent，andthesenseofthatwas，nodoubt，inmynextwords。

"WhatmakesyouthinkthatwhatyouspeakofwaswhatIhadinmyhead？"

"Well，theway，simply，thattheshoefits。She’sabsolutelynotthesamepersonIpainted。It’sexactlylikeMrs。Brissenden’shavingbeenforyouyesterdaynotthesamepersonyouhadlastseenbearinghername。"

"Verygood，"Ireturned，"thoughIdidn’tintheleastmeantosetyoudiggingsohard。However，digonyourside，byallmeans，whileIdigonmine。AllIaskofyouiscompletediscretion。"

"Ah，naturally！"

"Weoughttoremember，"Ipursued，evenattheriskofshowingastoosententious，"thatsuccessinsuchaninquirymayperhapsbemoreembarrassingthanfailure。Tonoseaboutforarelationthataladyhasherreasonsforkeepingsecret——"

"Ismadenotonlyquiteinoffensive，Ihold"——heimmediatelytookmeup——"butpositivelyhonourable，bybeingconfinedtopsychologicevidence。"

Iwonderedalittle。"Honourabletowhom？"

"Why，totheinvestigator。RestingontheKINDofsignsthatthegametakesaccountofwhenfairlyplayed——restingonpsychologicsignsalone，it’sahighapplicationofintelligence。What’signobleisthedetectiveandthekeyhole。"

"Isee，"Iafteramomentadmitted。"Ididhave，lastnight，myscruples，butyouwarmmeup。YetIconfessalso，"Istilladded，"thatifIdomusterthecourageofmycuriosity，it’salittlebecauseIfeelevenyet，asIthinkyoualsomust，altogetherdestituteofamaterialclue。IfIhadamaterialclueIshouldfeelashamed：thefactwouldbedeterrent。Istart，formypart，atanyrate，quiteinthedark——orinadarknesslighted，atbest，bywhatyouhavecalledthetorchofmyanalogy。Theanalogytoo，"

Iwoundup，"mayverywellbeonlyhalfahelp。ItwaseasytofindpoorBriss，becausepoorBrissishere，andit’salwayseasy，moreover，tofindahusband。ButsayMrs。Server’spoorBriss——orhisequivalent，whoeveritmaybe——ISN’There。"

Wehadbeguntowalkawaywiththis，butmycompanionpulledupatthedooroftheroom。"I’msureheis。Shetellsmehe’snear。"

"’Tells’you？"Ichallengedit，butIuncomfortablyreflectedthatitwasjustwhatIhadmyselftoldMrs。Brissenden。

"Shewouldn’tbeassheisifheweren’t。Herbeingassheisisthesignofit。Hewasn’tpresent——thatishewasn’tpresentinherlifeatall——whenIpaintedher；andthedifferencewe’reimpressedwithisexactlytheproofthatheisnow。"

Mydifficultyinprofitingbythereliefhehadsounconsciouslyaffordedmeresidedofcourseinmynotfeelingfreetoshowforquiteasimpressedashewas。Ihadn’treallymadeoutatallwhathewasimpressedWITH，andIshouldonlyhavespoiledeverythingbyinvitinghimtobedefinite。

Thiswasalittleofaworry，forIshouldhavelikedtoknow；butontheotherhandIfeltmytrackatpresenteffectuallycovered。"Well，then，granthe’soneofus。Therearemorethanadozenofus——adozenevenwithyouandmeandBrissendencountedout。Thehitchisthatwe’renowherewithoutaprimarylead。AstoBrissendenthereWASthelead。"

"Youmeanasaffordedbyhiswife’sbloatedstate，whichwasasignal？"

"Precisely：forthesearchforsomethingorotherthatwouldhelptoexplainit。Givenhiswife’sbloatedstate，hisownshrunkenonewaswhatwastohavebeenpredicated。Iknewdefinitely，inotherwords，whattolookfor。"

"Whereaswedon’tknowhere？"

"Mrs。Server’sstate，unfortunately，"Ireplied，"isnotbloated。"

Helaughedatmy"unfortunately，"thoughrecognisingthatIspokemerelyfromthepointofviewoflucidity，andpresentlyremarkedthathehadhisownidea。Hedidn’tsaywhatitwas，andIdidn’task，intimatingtherebythatIheldittobeinthismannerwewereplayingthegame；butIindulgentlyquestioneditinthelightofitsnotyethavingassistedhim。Heansweredthattheminuteswehadjustpassedwerewhathadmadethedifference；

ithadsprungfromthestrongeffectproducedonhimaftershecameinwithme。"It’sbutnowIreallyseeher。Shedidandsaidnothingspecial，nothingstrikingorextraordinary；butthatdidn’tmatter——itneverdoes：

onesawhowsheis。She’snothingbutTHAT。"

"Nothingbutwhat？"

"She’sallinit，"heinsisted。"Orit’sallinHER。Itcomestothesamething。"

"Ofcourseit’sallinher，"IsaidasimpatientlyasIcould，thoughhisattestation——forIwhollytrustedhisperception——leftmesomuchinhisdebt。"That’swhatwestartwith，isn’tit？Itleavesusasfaraseverfromwhatwemustarriveat。"

Buthewastoointerestedinhisideatoheedmyquestion。Hewaswrappedinthe"psychologic"glow。"IHAVEher！"

"Ah，butit’saquestionofhavingHIM！"

HelookedatmeonthisasifIhadbroughthimbacktoameredetail，andafteraninstantthelightwentoutofhisface。"Soitis。Ileaveittoyou。Idon’tcare。"Hisdrophadtheusualsuddennessofthedropsoftheartistictemperament。"Lookforthelastman，"henevertheless，butwithmoredetachment，added。"Idaresayitwouldbehe。"

"Thelast？Inwhatsensethelast？"

"Well，thelastsortofcreaturewhocouldbebelievedofher。"

"Oh，"Irejoinedaswewenton，"thegreatbartothatisthatsuchasortofcreatureasthelastwon’tBEhere！"

Hehesitated。"Somuchthebetter。Igivehim，atanyrate，whereverheis，uptoyou。"

"Thankyou，"Ireturned，"forthebeautyofthepresent！Youdosee，then，thatourpsychologicglowdoesn’t，afterall，preventthething——"

"Frombeingnoneofone’sbusiness？Yes。Poorlittlewoman！"Heseemedsomehowsatisfied；hethrewitallup。"Itisn’tanyofone’sbusiness，isit？"

"Why，that’swhatIwastellingyou，"Iimpatientlyexclaimed，"thatifeel！"

Chapter5

THEfirstthingthathappenedtomeafterpartingwithhimwastofindmyselfagainengagedwithMrs。Brissenden，stillfullofthequickconvictionwithwhichIhadlefther。"ItISshe——quiteunmistakably，youknow。I

don’tseehowIcanhavebeensostupidasnottomakeitout。Ihaven’tyourcleverness，ofcourse，tillmynoseisrubbedintoathing。ButwhenitIS——！"Shecelebratedherhumilityinalaughthatwasproud。"Thetwoareofftogether。"

"Offwhere？"

"Idon’tknowwhere，butIsawthemafewminutesagomostdistinctly’slope。’They’vegoneforaquiet，unwatchedhour，poordears，outintotheparkorthegardens。Whenoneknowsit，it’sallthere。Butwhat’sthatvulgarsong？——’You’vegottoknowitfirst！’Itstrikesme，ifyoudon’tmindmytellingyouso，thatthewayYOUgetholdofthingsispositivelyuncanny。Imeanasregardswhatfirstmarkedherforyou。"

"But，mydearlady，"Iprotested，"nothingatallfirstmarkedherforme。SheISN’Tmarkedforme，firstorlast。Itwasonlyyouwhosojumpedather。"

Myinterlocutressstared，andIhadatthismoment，Iremember，analmostintolerablesenseofherfatuityandcruelty。Theywereallunconscious，buttheywere，atthatstage，nonethelessirritating。Herfinebosomheaved，herblueeyesexpandedwithhersuccessful，hersimplifiedegotism。

Icouldn’t，inshort，Ifound，bearherbeingsokeenaboutMrs。ServerwhileshewassostupidaboutpoorBriss。SheseemedtorecalltomenoblythefactthatSHEhadn’talover。No，shewasonlyeatingpoorBrissupinchbyinch，butshehadn’talover。"Idon’t，"Iinsisted，"seeinMrs。

Serveranyoftherightsigns。"

Shelookedalmostindignant。"EvenafteryourtellingmethatyouseeinLadyJohnonlythewrongones？"

"Ah，butthereareotherwomenherethanMrs。ServerandLadyJohn。"

"Certainly。Butdidn’twe，amomentago，thinkofthemallanddismissthem？IfLadyJohn’soutofthequestion，howcanMrs。ServerpossiblyNOTbeinit？Wewantafool——"

"Ah，DOwe？"Iinterruptinglywailed。

"Why，exactlybyyourowntheory，inwhichyou’vesomuchinterestedme！Itwasyouwhostruckofftheidea。"

"Thatwewantafool？"Ifeltmyselfturninggloomyenough。"Dowereallywantanyoneatall？"

Shegaveme，inmomentarysilence，astrangesmile。"Ah，youwanttotakeitbacknow？You’resorryyouspoke。Mydearman，youmaybe——"butthatdidn’thinderthefact，inshort，thatIhadkindlednearmeafine，ifmodestandtimid，intelligence。Theredidremainthetruthofourfriend’sstrikingdevelopment，towhichIhadcalledherattention。Regrettingmyrashnessdidn’tmaketheprodigyless。"You’llleadmetobelieve，ifyoubackout，thatthere’ssuddenlysomeoneyouwanttoprotect。Weakman，"

sheexclaimedwithanassurancefromwhich，Iconfess，Iwastotakealarm，"somethinghashappenedtoyousinceweseparated！Weakman，"sherepeatedwithdreadfulgaiety，"you’vebeensquared！"

Iliterallyblushedforher。"Squared"？

"Doesitinconvenientlyhappenthatyoufindyou’reinlovewithheryourself？"

"Well，"Irepliedonquickreflection，"do，ifyoulike，callitthat；

foryouseewhatamotiveitgivesmeforbeing，insuchamatterasthiswonderfulonethatyouandIhappenedtofindourselvesforamomentmakingsofreewith，absolutelysureabouther。IAMabsolutelysure。There！Shewon’tdo。Andforyourpostulatethatshe’satthepresentmomentinsomesequesteredspotinLong’scompany，suffermewithoutdelaytocorrectit。Itwon’tholdwater。Ifyou’llgointothelibrary，throughwhichI

havejustpassed，you’llfindherthereinthecompanyoftheComtedeDreuil。"

Mrs。Brissstaredagain。"Already？SheWAS，atanyrate，withMr。Long，andshetoldmeonmymeetingthemthattheyhadjustcomefromthepastels。"

"Exactly。TheymettheresheandIhavinggonetogether；andtheyretiredtogetherundermyeyes。Theymusthaveparted，clearly，themomentafter。"

Shetookitallin，turneditallover。"Thenwhatdoesthatprovebutthatthey’reafraidtobeseen？"

"Ah，they’reNOTafraid，sincebothyouandIsawthem！"

"Oh，onlyjustlongenoughforthemtopublishthemselvesasnotavoidingeachother。Allthesame，youknow，"shesaid，"theydo。"

"Doavoideachother？Howisyourbeliefinthat，"Iasked，"consistentwithyourbeliefthattheyparadetogetherinthepark？"

"Theyignoreeachotherinpublic；theyforegatherinprivate。"

"Ah，buttheyDON’T——since，asItellyou，she’sevenwhilewetalkthecentreofthemysticcircleofthetwaddleofM。deDreuil；chainedtoastakeifyouCANbe。Besides，"Iwoundup，"it’snotonlythatshe’snotthe’rightfool’——it’ssimplythatshe’snotafoolatall。Wewantthewomanwhohasbeenrenderedmostinane。Butthisladyhasn’tbeenrenderedsoinanydegree。She’sthereverseofinane。She’sinfullpossession。"

"Infullpossessionofwhat？"

"Why，ofherself。"

"LikeLadyJohn？"

Ihadunfortunatelytodiscriminatehere。"No，notlikeLadyJohn。"

"Likewhomthen？"

"Likeanyone。Likeme；likeyou；likeBrissenden。Don’tIsatisfyyou？"

Iaskedinamoment。

Sheonlylookedatmealittle，handsomeandhard。"Ifyouwishedtosatisfymesoeasilyyoushouldn’thavemadesuchapointofworkingmeup。IdaresayI，afterall，however，"sheadded，"noticemorethingsthanyou。"

"Asforinstance？"

"Well，MayServerlastevening。IwasnotquiteconsciousatthetimethatIdid，butwhenonehashadthe’tip’onelooksbackandseesthingsinanewlight。"

ItwasdoubtlessbecausemyfriendirritatedmemoreandmorethatI

metthiswithasharpnesspossiblyexcessive。"She’sperfectlynatural。

WhatIsawwasatest。Andsoishe。"

Butshegavemenoheed。"Iftherehadn’tbeensomanypeopleIshouldhavenoticedofmyselfafterdinnerthattherewassomethingthematterwithher。Ishouldhaveseenwhatitwas。Shewasallovertheplace。"

Sheexpresseditasthepoorlady’sothercritichaddone，butthisdidn’tshutmymouth。"Ah，then，inspiteofthepeople，youdidnotice。

Whatdoyoumeanby’allovertheplace’？"

"Shecouldn’tkeepstill。Shewasdifferentfromthewomanonehadlastseen。Sheusedtobesocalm——asifshewerealwayssittingforherportrait。

Wasn’tsheinfactalwaysbeingpaintedinapinkfrockandonerowofpearls，alwaysstaringoutatyouinexhibitions，asifsheweresaying’Heretheyareagain’？Lastnightshewasontherush。"

"Therush？Oh！"

"Yes，positively——fromonemantoanother。Shewasonthepounce。Shetalkedtoteninsuccession，makinguptotheminthemostextraordinarywayandleavingthemstillmorecrazily。She’sasnervousasacat。Putittoanymanhere，andseeifhedoesn’ttellyou。"

"Ishouldthinkitquiteunpleasanttoputittoanymanhere，"Ireturned；

"andIshouldhavebeensureyouwouldhavethoughtitthesame。Ispoketoyouinthedeepestconfidence。"

Mrs。Brissenden’slookatmewasforamomentoftheleastaccommodating；

thenitchangedtoanintelligentsmile。"HowyouAREprotectingher！Butdon’tcryout，"sheadded，"beforeyou’rehurt。Sinceyourconfidencehasdistinguishedme——thoughIdon’tquiteseewhy——youmaybesureIhaven’tbreathed。SoIallthemoreresentyourmakingmeasceneontheextraordinarygroundthatI’veobservedaswellasyourself。Perhapswhatyoudon’tlikeisthatmyobservationmaybeturnedonyou。Iconfessitis。"

Itwasdifficulttobearbeingputinthewrongbyher，butImadeaneffortthatIbelievewasnotunsuccessfultorecovermygoodhumour。"It’snotintheleasttoyourobservationthatIobject，it’stotheextravagantinferencesyoudrawfromit。Ofcourse，however，IadmitIalwayswanttoprotecttheinnocent。Whatdoesshegain，onyourtheory，byherrushingandpouncing？HadshepouncedonBrissendenwhenwemethimwithher？Areyousoverysurehehadn’tpouncedonHER？Theyhad，atallevents，tome，quitetheairofpeoplesettled；shewasnot，itwasclear，atthatmomentmeditatingachange。Itwaswe，ifyouremember，whohadabsolutelytopullthemapart。"

"Isityourideatomakeout，"Mrs。Brissendeninquiredinanswertothis，"thatshehassuddenlyhadthehappythoughtofapassionformyhusband？"

Anewpossibility，asshespoke，cametomewithawhirrofwings，andIhalfexpressedit。"Shemayhaveasympathy。"

Myinterlocutressgazedatspace。"Youmeanshemaybesorryforhim？

Onwhatground？"

Ihadgonetoofarindeed；butIgotoffasIcould。"Youneglecthimso！Butwhatisshe，atanyrate，"Iwenton，"nervous——asnervousasyoudescribeher——ABOUT？"

"Aboutherdanger；thecontingencyofitsbeingfixeduponthem——anintimacysothoroughgoingthattheycanscarcelyaffordtoletitbeseenevenasamereacquaintance。Thinkofthecircumstances——HERpersonalones，Imean，andadmitthatitwouldn’tdo。Itwouldbetoobadacase。There’severythingtomakeitso。Theymustliveonpinsandneedles。Anythingprovedwouldgotremendouslyhardforher。"

"Inspiteofwhichyou’resurprisedthatI’protect’her？"

Itwasaquestion，however，thatmycompanioncouldmeet。"Frompeopleingeneral，no。Frommeinparticular，yes。"

InjusticetoMrs。BrissendenIthoughtamoment。"Well，then，letusbefairallround。Thatyoudon’t，asyousay，breatheisadiscretionIappreciate；allthemorethatalittleinquiry，tactfullypursued，wouldenableyoutojudgewhetheranyindependentsuspiciondoesattach。AlittleloosecollateralevidenceMIGHTbepickedup；andyourscorningtohandleitisnomorethanIshould，afterall，haveexpectedofyou。"

"Thankyoufor’afterall’！"Mycompaniontossedherhead。"IknowformyselfwhatIscorntohandle。Quiteapartfromthatthere’sanothermatter。

Youmusthavenoticedyourselfthatwhenpeoplearesomuchliked——"

"There’sakindofgeneral，amiableconsensusofblindness？Yes——onecanthinkofcases。Popularitysheltersandhallows——hastheeffectofmakingagood—naturedworldagreenottosee。"

MyfriendseemedpleasedthatIsosufficientlyunderstood。"Thisevidentlyhasbeenacasetheninwhichithasnotonlyagreednottosee，butagreednoteventolook。Ithasagreedinfacttolookstraighttheotherway。

Theysaythere’snosmokewithoutfire，butitappearstheremaybefirewithoutsmoke。I’msatisfied，atallevents，thatonewouldn’tinconnectionwiththesetwofindtheleastlittlepuff。Isn’tthatjustwhatmakesthemagnificenceoftheirsuccess——thesuccessthatreducesustoplayingoverthemwithmeremoonshine？"Shethoughtofit；seemedfairlytoenvyit。

"I’veneverSEENsuchluck！"

"ArarecaseofthebeautyofimpunityASimpunity？"Ilaughed。"Suchacaseputsapriceonpassionsotherwisetobedeprecated？I’mgladindeedyouadmitwe’re’reduced。’WeAREreduced。ButwhatImeanttosayjustnowwasthatifyou’llcontinuetojoininthegenialconspiracywhileIdothesame——eachofusmakinganexceptiononlyfortheother——I’llpledgemyselfabsolutelytothestraightcourse。IfbeforeweseparateI’veseenreasontochangemymind，I’llloyallyletyouknow。"

"Whatgoodwillthatdome，"sheasked，"ifyouDON’Tchangeyourmind？

Youwon’tchangeitifyoushutyoureyestoher。"

"Ah，IfeelIcan’tdothatnow。IAMinterested。Theproofofthatis，"Ipursued，"thatIappealtoyouforanotherimpressionofyourown。

Istilldon’tseethelogicofhergeneralimportunity。"

"Thelogicissimplythatshehasaterrorofappearingtoencourageanyoneinparticular。"

"Whythenisn’titinherowninterest，forthesakeofthescreen，justtoDOthat？TheappearanceofsomeoneinparticularwouldbeexactlytheoppositeoftheappearanceofLong。Yourownadmissionisthatthat’sHISlinewithLadyJohn。"

Mrs。Brissendentookherview。"Oh，shedoesn’twanttodoanythingsoliketherealthing。And，asforwhathedoes，theydon’tfeelinthesameway。He’snotnervous。"

"Thenwhydoeshegoinforascreen？"

"Imean"——shereadilymodifiedit——"thathe’snotsonervousasMay。

Hehasn’tthesamereasonsforpanic。Amanneverhas。Besides，there’snotsomuchinMr。Longtoshow——"

"What，bymynotion，hastakenplace？Whynot，ifitwaspreciselybythechangeinhimthatmynotionwasinspired？AnychangeinHERIknowcomparativelylittleabout。"

WehoveredsonearthecaseofMr。andMrs。Brissendenthatitpositivelyexcitedme，andallthemoreforhersustainedunconsciousness。"Oh，theman’snotawareofhisownchange。Hedoesn’tseeitaswedo。It’salltohisadvantage。"

"Butweseeittohisadvantage。Howshouldthatprevent？"

"Weseeittotheadvantageofhismindandhistalk，butnottothatof——"

"Well，what？"Ipressedasshepulledup。

Shewasthinkinghowtonamesuchmysteries。"Hisdelicacy。Hisconsideration。

HisthoughtFORher。Hewouldthinkforherifheweren’tselfish。ButheISselfish——toomuchsotospareher，tobegenerous，torealise。It’sonly，afterall，"shesagelywenton，feedingmeagain，asIwincedtofeel，withprofundityofmyownsort，"it’sonlyanexcessivecase，acasethatinhimhappenstoshowaswhatthedoctorscall’fine，’ofwhatgoesonwhenevertwopersonsaresomuchmixedup。Oneofthemalwaysgetsmoreoutofitthantheother。Oneofthem——youknowthesaying——givesthelips，theothergivesthecheek。"

"It’sthedeepestofalltruths。Yetthecheekprofitstoo，"Imoreprudentlyargued。

"Itprofitsmost。Ittakesandkeepsandusesallthelipsgive。Thecheek，accordingly，"shecontinuedtopointout，"isMr。Long’s。Thelipsarewhatwebeganbylookingfor。We’vefoundthem。They’redrained——they’redry，thelips。Mr。Longfindshisimprovementnaturalandbeautiful。Herevelsinit。Hetakesitforgranted。He’ssublime。"

Itkeptmeforaminutestaringather。"So——doyouknow？——areYOU！"

Shereceivedthiswhollyasatributetoheracuteness，andwasthereforeproportionatelygracious。"That’sonlybecauseit’scatching。You’veMADE

mesublime。Youfoundmedense。You’veaffectedmequiteasMrs。ServerhasaffectedMr。Long。Idon’tpretendIshowit，"sheadded，"quiteasmuchashedoes。"

"BecausethatwouldentailMYshowingitasmuchas，byyourcontention，SHEdoes？Well，Iconfess，"Ideclared，"Idofeelremarkablylikethatpairoflips。Ifeeldrained——Ifeeldry！"Heranswertothis，withanothertossofherhead，wasextravagantenoughtomeanforgiveness——wasthatIwasimpertinent，andheractioninsupportofherchargewastomoveawayfromme，takinghercourseagaintotheterrace，easilyaccessiblefromtheroominwhichwehadbeentalking。Shepassedoutofthewindowthatopenedtotheground，andIwatchedherwhile，inthebrighterlight，sheputupherpinkparasol。Shewalkedafewpaces，asiftolookaboutherforachangeofcompany，andbythistimehadreachedaflightofstepsthatdescendedtoalowerlevel。Onobservingthathere，intheacttogodown，shesuddenlypaused，Iknewshehadbeencheckedbysomethingseenbelowandthatthiswaswhatmadeherturnthenextmomenttogivemealook。Itookitasaninvitationtorejoinher，andIperceivedwhenIhaddonesowhathadledhertoappealtome。Wecommandedfromthepointinquestiononeoftheshadyslopesoftheparkandinparticularaspreadingbeech，thetrunkofwhichhadbeeninclosedwitharusticcircularbench，aconveniencethatappearedtohaveoffered，forthemoment，asenseofleafyluxurytoaladyinpaleblue。Sheleanedback，herfigurepresentedinprofileandherheadalittleavertedasiffortalkwithsomeoneontheothersideofher，someonesoplacedastobelosttoourview。

"There！"triumphedMrs。Brissendenagain——fortheladywasunmistakablyMrs。Server。Amusementwasinevitable——thefactshowedherassocorrectlydescribedbythewordstowhichIhadtwicehadtolisten。Sheseemedreallyallovertheplace。"Ithoughtyousaid，"mycompanionremarked，"thatyouhadlefthertuckedawaysomewherewithM。deDreuil。"