第15章

"Callitthen，ifyoudon’tliketheword，yoursympathy。"

Ihadgivenhertime，however，toproduceatlastsomethingthat，itvisiblyoccurredtoher，mightpass。"AssoonasIwasnotwithyou——I

meanwithyoupersonally——youNEVERhadmysympathy。"

"Ismypersonthensoirresistible？"

Well，shewasbrave。"ItWAS。Butit’snot，thankGod，now！"

"Thenthereweareagainatourmystery！Idon’tthink，youknow，"I

madeoutforher，"itwasmyperson，really，thatgaveitscharmtomytheory；Ithinkitwasmuchmoremytheorythatgaveitscharmtomyperson。

Myperson，Iflattermyself，hasremainedthroughthesefewhours——hoursoftension，butofatension，yousee，purelyintellectual——asgoodasever；sothatifwe’renot，eveninouranomaloussituation，indangerfromanysuchsource，it’ssimplythatmytheoryisdeadandthattheblightoftherestisinvolved。"

Mywordswereindeedmany，butsheplumpedstraightthroughthem。"AssoonasIwasawayfromyouIhatedyou。"

"HatedME？"

"Well，hatedwhatyoucall’therest’——hatedyourtheory。"

"Isee。Yet，"Ireflected，"you’renotatpresent——thoughyouwishtogoodness，nodoubt，youWERE——awayfromme。"

"Oh，Idon’tcarenow，"shesaidwithcourage；"since——foryouseeI

believeyou——we’reawayfromyourdelusions。"

"Youwouldn’t，inspiteofyourbelief，"——Ismiledather——"liketobealittlefurtheroffyet？"Butbeforeshecouldanswer，andbecausealso，doubtless，thequestionhadtoomuchthesoundofataunt，Icameup，asifforherrealconvenience，quiteinanotherplace。"Perhapsmyidea——mytiming，thatis，ofyourcrisis——istheresult，inmymind，ofmyownassociationwiththatparticularinstant。ItcomesbacktomethatwhatIwasmostfullofwhileyourfacesignedtomeandyourvoicethensograciouslyconfirmedit，andwhiletoo，asI’vesaid，Longwalkedaway——whatIwasmostfullof，asaconsequenceofanothergo，justended，atLadyJohn，was，oncemore，thissameLadyJohn’swantofadjustabilitytothecharacteryouandI，inourassociatedspeculationofthemorning，hadsocandidlytriedtofitherwith。Iwasstilleventhen，yousee，speculating——allonmyownhook，alas！——andithadjustrolledovermewithrenewedforcethatshewasnothingwhatever，nottheleastlittlebit，toourpurpose。

Themoment，inotherwords，ifyouunderstand，happenedtobeoneofMY

moments；sothat，bythesametoken，Isimplywonderedifitmightn’tlikewisehavehappenedtobeoneofyours。"

"ItWASoneofmine，"Mrs。BrissrepliedaspromptlyasIcouldreasonablyhaveexpected；"inthesensethat——asyou’veonlytoconsider——itwastoleadmoreorlessdirectlytothesepresentwordsofours。"

IfIhadonlytoconsider，nothingwasmoreeasy；buteachtimeIconsidered，Iwasreadytoshow，thelessthereseemedleftbytheact。"Ah，butyouhadthenALREADYbackedout。Won’tyouunderstand——foryou’realittlediscouraging——thatIwanttocatchyouattheearlierstage？"

"To’catch’me？"Ihadindeedexpressions！

"Absolutelycatch！Focusyouunderthefirstshockoftheobservationthatwastomakeeverythingfalltopiecesforyou。"

"ButI’vetoldyou，"shestoutlyresisted，"thattherewasno’first’

shock。"

"Well，then，thesecondorthethird。"

"Therewasnoshock，"Mrs。Brissmagnificentlysaid，"atall。"

Itmademesomehowbreakintolaughter。"Youfounditsonaturalthen——andyousoratherlikedit——tomakeupyourmindofasuddenthatyouhadbeensteepedinthelastintellectualintimacywithamaniac？"

Shethoughtoncemore，andthen，asImyselfhadjustpreviouslydone，cameupinanotherplace。"IhadatthemomentyouspeakofwhollygivenupanyideaofLadyJohn。"

Butitwassofeebleitmademesmile。"Ofcourseyouhad，youpoorinnocent！Youcouldn’totherwise，hoursbefore，havestrappedthesaddlesotightonanotherwoman。"

"Ihadgivenupeverything，"shestubbornlycontinued。

"It’sexactlywhat，inreferencetothatjuncture，Iperfectlyembrace。"

"Well，eveninreferencetothatjuncture，"sheresumed，"youmaycatchmeasmuchasyoulike。"Withwhich，suddenly，duringsomeseconds，Isawherholdherselfforaleap。"Youtalkof’focussing，’butwhatelse，eveninthoseminutes，wereyouinfactengagedin？"

"Ah，then，youdorecognisethem，"Icried——"thoseminutes？"

Shetookherjump，thoughwithsomethingofaflop。"Yes——as，consentingthustobecatechised，Icudgelmybrainforyouramusement——Idorecognisethem。IrememberwhatIthought。Youfocussed——Ifeltyoufocus。Isawyouwonderwhereabouts，inwhatyoucallourassociatedspeculation，I

wouldbythattimebe。Iaskedmyselfwhetheryou’dunderstandifIshouldtrytoconveytoyousimplybymyexpressionsuchalookaswouldtellyouall。By’all’Imeantthefactthat，sorryasIwasforyou——orperhapsformyself——ithadstruckmeasonlyfairtoletyouknowasstraightaspossiblethatIwasnowhere。ThatwaswhyIstaredso，andIofcoursecouldn’texplaintoyou，"shelucidlypursued，"towhommystarehadreference。"

Ihungonherlips。"ButyoucanNOW？"

"Perfectly。ToMr。Long。"

Iremainedsuspended。"Ah，butthisislovely！It’swhatIwant。"

IsawIshouldhavemoreofit，andmoreinfactcame。"Youweresayingjustnowwhatyouwerefullof，andIcandothesame。IwasfullofHIM。"

I，onmyside，wasnowfullofeagerness。"Yes？Hehadleftyoufullashewalkedaway？"

Shewincedalittleatthisrenewedevocationofhisretreat，butshetookitasshehadnotdonebefore，andIfeltthatwithanotherpushshewouldbefairlyafloat。"Hehadreasontowalk！"

Iwondered。"Whathadyousaidtohim？"

Shepieceditout。"Nothing——orverylittle。ButIhadlistened。"

"AndtoWHAT？"

"Towhathesays。Tohisplatitudes。"

"Hisplatitudes？"Istared。"Long’s？"

"Why，don’tyouknowhe’saprizefool？"

Imused，scepticalbutreasonable。"HeWAS。"

"HeIS！"

Mrs。Brisswassuperb，but，asIquicklyfeltImightremindher，therewasherpossiblyweakjudgment。"Yourconfidenceissplendid；onlymustn’tIrememberthatyoursenseofthefinerkindsofclevernessisn’tperhapsabsolutelysecure？Don’tyouknow？——youalso，tilljustnow，thoughtME

aprizefool。"

IfIhadhoped，however，heretotripherup，Ihadreckonedwithouttheimpulse，andevenperhapstheexample，thatsheproperlyowedtome。

"Oh，no——notanythingofthatsort，you，atall。Onlyanintelligentmangonewrong。"

Ifollowed，butbeforeIcaughtup，"WhereasLong’sonlyastupidmangoneright？"Ithrewout。

Itcheckedhertoobriefly，andtherewasindeedsomethingofmyownitbroughtstraightback。"Ithoughtthatjustwhatyoutoldme，thismorningoryesterday，wasthatyouhadneverknownacaseoftheconversionofanidiot。"

Ilaughedatherreadiness。Well，Ihadwantedtomakeherfight！"It’strueitwouldhavebeentheonlyone。"

"Ah，you’llhavetodowithoutit！"Oh，shewasbrisknow。"AndifyouknowwhatIthinkofhim，youknownomorethanHEdoes。"

"Youmeanyoutoldhim？"

Shehungfirebutaninstant。"Itoldhim，practically——anditwasinfactallIdidhavetosaytohim。Itwasenough，however，andhedisgustedlyleftmeonit。Thenitwasthat，asyougavemethechance，Itriedtotelegraphyou——tosaytoyouonthespotandunderthesharpimpression：

’Whatonearthdoyoumeanbyyournonsense？Itdoesn’tholdwater！’It’sapityIdidn’tsucceed！"shecontinued——forshehadbecomealmostvoluble。

"Itwouldhavesettledthequestion，andIshouldhavegonetobed。"

Iweigheditwiththegrimacethat，Ifeared，hadbecomealmostasfixedasMrs。Server’s。"Itwouldhavesettledthequestionperhaps；butIshouldhavelostthisimpressionofyou。"

"Oh，thisimpressionofme！"

"Ah，butdon’tundervalueit：it’swhatIwant！WhatwasitthenLonghadsaid？"

Shehaditmoreandmore，butshehaditasnothingatall。"Notawordtorepeat——youwouldn’tbelieve！Hedoessaynothingatall。Onecan’tremember。It’swhatImean。Itriedhimonpurpose，whileIthoughtofyou。Buthe’sperfectlystupid。Idon’tseehowwecanhavefancied——！"

Ihadinterruptedherbythemovementwithwhichagain，uncontrollablytossedononeofmysurgesofcertitude，Iturnedaway。HOWdeeptheymusthavebeenintogetherforhertohavesoatlastgatheredherselfup，andinhowdoublyinterestingalight，aboveall，itseemedtopresentLongforthefuture！Thatwas，whileIwarnedmyself，whatImostreadin——literallyanimplicationoftheenhancementofthislattersideoftheprodigy。Ifhiscleverness，underthealarmthat，firststirringtheirconsciousnessbutdimly，hadsoswiftlydevelopedastomakenextofeachamirrorfortheother，andthentoprecipitateforthem，insomesilencedeeperthandarkness，theexchangeofrecognitions，admissionsand，astheycertainlywouldhavephrasedit，tips——ifhisexcitedacutenesswashenceforthtoprotectitselfbydissimulation，whatwouldn’tperhaps，forone’sdiversion，bethenewspectacleandwonder？IcouldinamanneralreadymeasurethislargerplaybytheamplitudefreshlydeterminedinMrs。Briss，andIwasforamomentactuallyheldbythethoughtofthepossiblefinishourfriendwouldfinditinhimtogivetoarepresented，afictiveineptitude。Thesharpestjostletomythought，inthisrush，mightwellhavebeen，Iconfess，thereflectionthatasitwasIwhohadarrested，whohadspoiledtheirunconsciousness，soitwasnaturaltheyshouldfightagainstmeforapossiblelifeinthestateIhadgiventheminstead。Ihadspoiledtheirunconsciousness，Ihaddestroyedit，anditwasconsciousnessalonethatcouldmakethemeffectivelycruel。Therefore，iftheywerecruel，itwasIwhohaddeterminedit，inasmuchas，consciously，theycouldonlywant，theycouldonlyintend，tolive。Wouldn’tthatquestionhavebeen，Imanagedevennowtoaskmyself，theverybasisonwhichtheyhadinscrutablycometogether？"It’slife，youknow，"eachhadsaidtotheother，"andI，accordingly，canonlyclingtomine。Butyou，poordear——shallYOUgiveup？""Giveup？"theotherhadreplied："forwhatdoyoutakeme？Ishallfightbyyourside，please，andwecancompareandexchangeweaponsandmanoeuvres，andyoumayineverywaycountuponme。"

Thatwaswhat，withgreatervividness，wasfortherestoftheoccasionbeforeme，orbehindme；andthatIhaddoneitallandhadonlymyselftothankforitwaswhat，fromthisminute，bythesametoken，wasmoreandmoreformetheinneressenceofMrs。Briss’sattitude。Iknownotwhatheavyadmonitionofmyresponsibilityhadthussuddenlydescendedonme；butnothing，underit，wasindeedmoresensiblethanthatpracticallyitparalysedme。AndIcouldonlysaytomyselfthatthiswastheprice——thepriceofthesecretsuccess，thelonelylibertyandtheintellectualjoy。

Therewerethingsthatforsoprivateandsplendidarevel——thatoftheexclusivekingwithhisWagneropera——Icouldonlyletgo，andthespecialtormentofmycasewasthattheconditionoflight，ofthesatisfactionofcuriosityandoftheattestationoftriumph，wasinthisdirectwaythesacrificeoffeeling。Therewasnopointatwhichmyassurancecould，bythescientificmethod，judgeitselfcompleteenoughnottoregardfeelingasaninterferenceand，inconsequence，asapossiblecheck。IfithadtogoIknewwellwhowentwithit，butIwasn’ttheretosaveTHEM。I

wastheretosavemypricelesspearlofaninquiryandtoharden，tothatend，myheart。Ishouldneedindeedallmyhardness，aswellasmybrightness，moreover，tomeetMrs。BrissonthehighleveltowhichIhadatlastinducedhertomount，and，evenwhileIprolongedthemovementbywhichIhadmomentarilystayedher，theintermissionofherspeechbecameitselfformeahintofthepeculiarpertinenceofcaution。Itlastedlongenough，thisdrop，tosuggestthatherattentionwasthesharperformyhavingturnedawayfromit，andIshouldhavefearedarenewedchallengeifshehadn’t，bygoodluck，presentlygoneon："There’sreallynothinginhimatall！"

Chapter14

Ihadfacedheragainjustintimetotakeit，andIimmediatelymadeupmymindhowbesttodoso。"ThenIgoutterlytopieces！"

"Youshouldn’thaveperchedyourself，"shelaughed——shecouldbythistimealmostcoarselylaugh——"insuchapreposterousplace！"

"Ah，that’smyaffair，"Ireturned，"andifIaccepttheconsequencesIdon’tquiteseewhatyou’vetosaytoit。ThatIdoacceptthem——sofarasImakethemoutasnottoointolerableandyouasnotintendingthemtobe——thatIdoacceptthemiswhatI’vebeentryingtosignifytoyou。

Onlymyfall，"Iadded，"isaninevitableshock。Youremarkedtomeafewminutessincethatyoudidn’trecoveryourselfinaflash。Idifferfromyou，yousee，inthatido；Itakemycollapseallatonce。HerethenI

am。I’msmashed。Idon’tsee，asIlookaboutme，apieceIcanpickup。

Idon’tattempttoaccountformygoingwrong；Idon’tattempttoaccountforyourswithme；Idon’tattempttoaccountforanything。IfLongIS

justwhathealwayswasitsettlesthematter，andthespecialclincherforuscanbebutyourhonestfinalimpression，madepreciselymoreawareofitselfbyrepentanceforthelevitywithwhichyouhadoriginallyyieldedtomycontagion。"

Shedidn’tinsistonherrepentance；shewastootakenupwiththefactsthemselves。"Oh，butaddtomyimpressioneveryoneelse’simpression！Hasanyonenoticedanything？"

"Ah，Idon’tknowwhatanyonehasnoticed。Ihaven’t，"Ibrooded，"ventured——asyouknow——toaskanyone。"

"Well，ifyouhadyou’dhaveseen——seen，Imean，alltheydon’tsee。

Iftheyhadbeenconsciousthey’dhavetalked。"

Ithought。"Tome？"

"Well，I’mnotsuretoyou；peoplehavesuchanotionofwhatyouembroideronthingsthatthey’reratherafraidtocommitthemselvesortoleadyouon：they’resometimesin，youknow，"sheluminouslyremindedme，"formorethantheybargainfor，thantheyquiteknowwhattodowith，orthantheycaretohaveontheirhands。"

Itriedtodojusticetothisaccountofmyself。"YoumeanIseesomuch？"

Itwasadelicatematter，butsheriskedit。"Don’tyousometimesseehorrors？"

Iwondered。"Well，namesareaconvenience。Peoplecatchmeintheact？"

"Theycertainlythinkyoucritical。"

"Andiscriticismthevisionofhorrors？"

Shecouldn’tquitebesurewhereIwastakingher。"Itisn’t，perhaps，somuchthatyouseethem——"

Istarted。"AsthatIperpetratethem？"

Shewassurenow，however，andwouldn’thaveit，forshewasserious。

"Dearno——youdon’tperpetrateanything。Perhapsitwouldbebetterifyoudid！"shetossedoffwithanoddlaugh。"But——alwaysbypeople’sidea——youlikethem。"

Ifollowed。"Horrors？"

"Well，youdon’t——"

"Yes——？"

Butshewouldn’tbehurriednow。"Youtakethemtoomuchforwhattheyare。Youdon’tseemtowant——"

"Tocomedownonthemstrong？Oh，butIoftendo！"

"Somuchthebetterthen。"

"ThoughIdolike——whetherforthatornot，"Ihastenedtoconfess，"tolookthemfirstwellintheface。"

Oureyesmet，withthis，foraminute，butshemadenothingofthat。

"WhentheyHAVEnoface，then，youcan’tdoit！Itisn’tatalleventsnowaquestion，"shewenton，"ofpeople’skeepinganythingback，andyou’reperhapsinanycasenotthepersontowhomitwouldfirsthavecome。"

Itriedtothinkthenwhothepersonwouldbe。"ItwouldhavecometoLonghimself？"

Butshewasimpatientofthis。"Oh，onedoesn’tknowwhatcomes——orwhatdoesn’t——toLonghimself！I’mnotsurehe’stoomodesttomisrepresent——ifhehadtheintelligencetoplayapart。"

"Whichhehasn’t！"Iconcluded。

"Whichhehasn’t。It’stoMEtheymighthavespoken——ortoeachother。"

"ButIthoughtyouexactlyheldtheyHADchatteredinaccountingforhisstatebytheinfluenceofLadyJohn。"

Shegotthematterinstantlystraight。"Notabit。Thatchatterwasmineonly——andproducedtomeetyours。Therehadso，byyourtheory，tobeawoman——"

"That，toobligeme，youinventedHER？Precisely。ButIthought——"

"Youneedn’thavethought！"Mrs。Brissbrokein。"Ididn’tinventher。"

"Thenwhatareyoutalkingabout？"

"Ididn’tinventher，"sherepeated，lookingatmehard。"She’strue。"

Iechoeditinvagueness，thoughinstinctivelyagaininprotest；yetI

heldmybreath，forthiswasreallythepointatwhichIfeltmycompanion’sforcesmosttohavemustered。Hermannernowmoreovergavemeagreatideaofthem，andherwholeairwasoftakingimmediateadvantageofmyimpression。

"Well，seehere：sinceyou’vewantedit，I’mafraidthat，howeverlittleyoumaylikeit，you’llhavetotakeit。You’vepressedmeforexplanationsanddrivenmemuchharderthanyoumusthaveseenIfoundconvenient。IfI’veseemedtobeataboutthebushit’sbecauseIhadn’tonlymyselftothinkof。Onecanbesimpleforone’sself——onecan’tbe，always，forothers。"

"Ah，towhomdoyousayit？"Iencouraginglysighed；notevenyetquiteseeingforwhatissueshewasheading。

Shecontinuedtomakeforthespot，whateveritwas，withacertainmajesty。"IshouldhavepreferredtotellyounothingmorethanwhatI

HAVEtoldyou。Ishouldhavepreferredtocloseourconversationonthesimpleannouncementofmyrecoveredsenseofproportion。ButyouHAVE，Isee，gotmeintoodeep。"

"O—oh！"Icourteouslyattenuated。

"You’vemadeofme，"shelucidlyinsisted，"toobigatalker，toobigathinker，ofnonsense。"

"Thankyou，"Ilaughed，"forintimatingthatItriflesoagreeably。"

"Oh，YOU’VEappearednottomind！Butletmethenatlastnotfailoftheluxuryofadmittingthatimind。Yes，Imindparticularly。Imay，bebad，butI’veagrainofgumption。"

"’Bad’？"Itseemedmorecloselytoconcernme。

"BadImaybe。Infact，"shepursuedatthishighpitchandpressure；

"there’snodoubtwhateverIAM。"

"I’mdelightedtohearit，"Icried，"foritwasexactlysomethingstrongIwantedofyou！"

"ItISthenstrong"——andIcouldseeindeedshewasreadytosatisfyme。"You’veworriedmeformymotiveandharassedmeformy’moment，’andI’vehadtoprotectothersand，atthecostofadecentappearance，topretendtobemyselfhalfanidiot。I’vehadeven，forthesamepurpose——ifyoumusthaveit——todepartfromthetruth；togiveyou，thatis，afalseaccountofthemannerofmyescapefromyourtangle。Butnowthetruthshallbetold，andotherscantakecareofthemselves！"Shehadsowoundherselfupwiththis，reachedsothepointoffairlyheavingwithcourageandcandour，thatIforaninstantalmostmiscalculatedherdirectionandbelievedshewasreallythrowinguphercards。Itwasasifshehaddecided，onsomestillfinerlines，justtorubmynoseintowhatIhadbeenspellingout；whichwouldhavebeenananticipationofmyownjourney’scrownofthemostdisconcertingsort。Iwantedmypersonalconfidence，butIwantednobody’sconfession，andwithoutthejourney’scrownwhereWASthepersonalconfidence？Withoutthepersonalconfidence，moreover，wherewasthepersonalhonour？ThatwouldbereallythesinglethingtowhichIcouldattachauthority，foraconfessionmight，afterall，beitselfalie。Anybody，atallevents，couldfittheshoetoone。Myfriend’sintention，however，remainedbutbrieflyequivocal；mydangerpassed，andIrecognisedinitsplaceastillricherassurance。Itwasnottheunnamed，inshort，whoweretobenamed。

"LadyJohnISthewoman。"

Yeteventhiswasprodigious。"ButIthoughtyourpresentpositionwasjustthatshe’sNOT！"

"LadyJohnISthewoman，"Mrs。Brissagainannounced。

"ButIthoughtyourpresentpositionwasjustthatnobodyis！"

"LadyJohnISthewoman，"sheathirdtimedeclared。

Itnaturallyleftmegaping。"ThenthereISone？"Icriedbetweenbewildermentandjoy。

"Awoman？There’sHER！"Mrs。Brissrepliedwithmoreforcethangrammar。

"Iknow，"shebriskly，almostbreezilyadded，"thatIsaidshewouldn’tdo（asIhadoriginallysaidshewoulddobetterthananyone），whenyouawhileagomentionedher。Butthatwastosaveher。"

"Andyoudon’tcarenow，"Ismiled，"ifshe’slost！"

Shehesitated。"SheISlost。Butshecantakecareofherself。"

Icouldbuthelplesslythinkofher。"I’mafraidindeedthat，withwhatyou’vedonewithher，ican’ttakecareofher。Butwhyisshenowtothepurpose，"Iarticulatelywondered，"anymorethanshewas？"

"Why？Ontheverysystemyouyourselflaiddown。Whenwetookhimforbrilliant，shecouldn’tbe。Butnowthatweseehimasheis——"

"WecanonlyseeheralsoasSHEis？"Well，Itried，asfarasmyamusementwouldpermit，sotoseeher；butstillthereweredifficulties。"Possibly！"

Iatmostconceded。"Doyouoweyourdiscovery，however，whollytomysystem？

Mysystem，wheresomuchmadeforprotection，"Iexplained，"wasn’tintendedtohavetheeffectofexposure。"

"Itappearstohavebeenatalleventsintended，"mycompanionreturned，"tohavetheeffectofdrivingmetothewall；andtheconsequenceofthateffectisnobody’sfaultbutyourown。"

Shewasalllogicnow，andIcouldeasilysee，betweenmylightandmydarkness，howshewouldremainso。YetIwasscarcesatisfied。"Andit’sonlyon’thateffect’——？"

"ThatI’vemadeupmymind？"Shewaspositivelyfreeatlasttoenjoymydiscomfort。"Wouldn’titbesurely，ifyourideaswereworthanything，enough？Butitisn’t，"sheadded，"onlyonthat。It’sonsomethingelse。"

Ihadafteraninstantextractedfromthisthesinglemeaningitcouldappeartoyield。"I’mtounderstandthatyouKNOW？"

"Thatthey’reintimateenoughforanything？"Shefaltered，butshebroughtitout。"Iknow。"

Itwastheoddestthingintheworldforalittle，thewaythisaffectedmewithoutmyatallbelievingit。Itwaspreposterous，hangthoughitwouldwithhersomersault，andshehadquitesucceededingivingitthenoteofsincerity。Itwasthemeresoundofitthat，asIfeltevenatthetime，madeitalittleofablow——ablowofthesmartofwhichIwasconsciousjustlongenoughinwardlytomurmur："WhatifsheSHOULDberight？"

Shehadforthesesecondstheadvantageofstirringwithinmethememoryofherhavingindeed，thedayprevious，atPaddington，"known"asIhadn’t。

IthadbeenreallyonwhatsheTHENknewthatweoriginallystarted，andanelementofourstarthadbeenthatIadmiredherfreedom。Theformofit，atleast——sobeautifullyhadsherecoveredherself——wasalltherenow。

Well，Iatanyratereflected，itwasn’ttheformthatneedtroubleme，andIquicklyenoughputheraquestionthatrelatedonlytothematter。

"Ofcourseifsheis——itISsmash！"

"Andhaven’tyouyetgotusedtoitsbeing？"

Ikeptmyeyesonher；Itracedtheburiedfigureintheruins。"She’sgoodenoughforafool；andso"——Imadeitout——"ishe！IfheISthesameass——yes——theyMIGHTbe。"

"ANDheis，"saidMrs。Briss，"thesameass！"

Icontinuedtolookather。"Hewouldhavenoneedthenofherhavingtransformedandinspiredhim。"

"OrofherhavingDEformedandidiotisedherself，"myfriendsubjoined。

Oh，howitsharpenedmylook！"No，no——shewouldn’tneedthat。"

"ThegreatpointisthatHEwouldn’t！"Mrs。Brisslaughed。

Ikeptitup。"Shewoulddoperfectly。"

Mrs。Brisswasnotbehind。"Mydearman，shehasgottodo！"

Thiswasbriskerstill，butIheldmyway。"Almostanyonewoulddo。"

Itseemedforalittle，betweenhumourandsadness，tostrikeher。"AlmostanyoneWOULD。Still，"shelesspensivelydeclared，"wewanttherightone。"

"Surely；therightone"——Icouldonlyechoit。"Buthow，"Ithenproceeded，"hasithappilybeenconfirmedtoyou？"

Itpulledherupatrifle。"’Confirmed’——？"

"Thathe’sherlover。"