第8章

"Everyoneknowsthat，Ishouldthink，"saidtheoldman。"Except——justfools。Hemeanttobemastersomehow。IntheCouncilornot。Everyonewhoknowsanythingknowsthat。AndherewearewithdeadbodiesIyinginthedark！Why，wherehaveyoubeenifyouhaven’theardallaboutthetroublebetweenOstrogandtheVerneys？Andwhatdoyouthinkthetroublesareabout？TheSleeper？Eh？

YouthinktheSleeper’srealandwokeofhisownaccord——eh？"

"I’madullman，olderthanIlook，andforgetful，"

saidGraham。"Lotsofthingsthathavehappened——

especiallyoflateyears——。IfIwastheSleeper，totellyouthetruth，Icouldn’tknowlessaboutthem。"

"Eh！"saidthevoice。"Old，areyou？Youdon’tsoundsoveryold！Butitsnoteveryonekeepshismemorytomytimeoflife——truly。Butthesenotoriousthings！Butyou’renotsooldasme——notnearlysooldasme。Well！Ioughtnottojudgeothermenbymyself，perhaps。I’myoung——forsooldaman。Maybeyou’reoldforsoyoung。"

"That’sit，"saidGraham。"AndI’veaqueerhistory。

Iknowverylittle。Andhistory！PracticallyI

knownohistory。TheSleeperandJuliusCaesarareallthesametome。It’sinterestingtohearyoutalkofthesethings。"

"Iknowafewthings，"saidtheoldman。"Iknowathingortwo。But——。Hark！"

Thetwomenbecamesilent，listening。Therewasheavythud，aconcussionthatmadetheirseatshiver。

Thepassers—bystopped，shoutedtooneanother。Theoldmanwasfullofquestions；heshoutedtoamanwhopassednear。Graham，emboldenedbyhisexample，gotupandaccostedothers。Noneknewwhathadhappened。

Hereturnedtotheseatandfoundtheoldmanmutteringvagueinterrogationsinanundertone。Forawhiletheysaidnothingtooneanother。

Thesenseofthisgiganticstruggle，sonearandyetsoremoteoppressedGraham’simagination。Wasthisoldmanright，wasthereportofthepeopleright，andweretherevolutionarieswinning？Orweretheyallinerror，andweretheredguardsdrivingallbeforethem？Atanytimethefloodofwarfaremightpourintothissilentquarterofthecityandseizeuponhimagain。Itbehoovedhimtolearnallhecouldwhiletherewastime。Heturnedsuddenlytotheoldmanwithaquestionandleftitunsaid。Buthismotionmovedtheoldmantospeechagain。

"Eh！buthowthingsworktogether！"saidtheoldman。"ThisSleeperthatallthefoolsputtheirtrustin！I’vethewholehistoryofit——Iwasalwaysagoodoneforhistories。WhenIwasaboy—I’mthatold——

Iusedtoreadprintedbooks。You’dhardlythinkit。

Likelyyou’veseennone——theyrotanddustso——andtheSanitaryCompanyburnsthemtomakeashlarite。

Buttheywereconvenientintheirdirtyway。OhI

learntalot。Thesenew—fangledBabbleMachines——

theydon’tseemnew—fangledtoyou，eh？——they’reeasytohear，easytoforget。ButI’vetracedalltheSleeperbusinessfromthefirst。"

"Youwillscarcelybelieveit，"saidGrahamslowly，"I’msoignorant——I’vebeensopreoccupiedinmyownlittleaffairs，mycircumstanceshavebeensoodd——IknownothingofthisSleeper’shistory。Whowashe？"

"Eh！"saidtheoldman。"Iknow。Iknow。Hewasapoornobody，andsetonaplayfulwoman，poorsoul！Andhefellintoatrance。There’stheoldthingstheyhad，thosebrownthings——silverphoto—

graphs——stillshowinghimashelay，agrossandahalfyearsago——agrossandahalfofyears。"

"Setonaplayfulwoman，poorsoul，"saidGrahamsoftlytohimself，andthenaloud，"Yes——well！goon。"

"YoumustknowhehadacousinnamedWarmingasolitarymanwithoutchildren，whomadeabigfortunespeculatinginroads——thefirstEadhamiteroads。

Butsurelyyou’veheard？No？Why？Heboughtallthepatentrightsandmadeabigcompany。Inthosedaysthereweregrossesofgrossesofseparatebusinessesandbusinesscompanies。Grossesofgrosses！Hisroadskilledtherailroads——theoldthings——intwodozenyears；heboughtupandEadhaillited’

thetracks。Andbecausehedidn’twanttobreakuphisgreatpropertyorletinshareholders，heleftitalltotheSleeper，andputitunderaBoardofTrusteesthathehadpickedandtrained。HeknewthentheSleeperwouldn’twake，thathewouldgoonsleeping，sleepingtillhedied。Heknewthatquitewell！Andplump！amanintheUnitedStates，whohadlosttwosonsinaboataccident，followedthatupwithanothergreatbequest。Histrusteesfoundthemselveswithadozenmyriadsoflions’—worthormoreofpropertyattheverybeginning。"

"Whatwashisname？"

"Graham。"

"No，Imean——thatAmerican’s。"

"Isbister。"

"Isbister！"criedGraham。"Why，Idon’tevenknowthename。"

"Ofcoursenot，"saidtheoldman。"Ofcoursenot。

Peopledon’tlearnmuchintheschoolsnowadays。

ButIknowallabouthim。HewasarichAmericanwhowentfromEngland，andhelefttheSleeperevenmorethanWarming。Howhemadeit？ThatIdon’tknow。Somethingaboutpicturesbymachinery。Buthemadeitandleftit，andsotheCouncilhaditsstart。

Itwasjustacounciloftrusteesatfirst。"

"Andhowdiditgrow？"

"Eh！——butyou’renotuptothings。Moneyattractsmoney——andtwelvebrainsarebetterthanone。Theyplayeditcleverly。Theyworkedpoliticswithmoney，andkeptonaddingtothemoneybyworkingcurrencyandtariffs。Theygrew——theygrew。AndforyearsthetwelvetrusteeshidthegrowingoftheSleeper’sestate，underdoublenamesandcompanytitlesandallthat。TheCouncilspreadbytitledeed，mortgage，share，everypoliticalparty，everynewspaper，theybought。IfyoulistentotheoldstoriesyouwillseetheCouncilgrowingandgrowingBillionsandbillionsoflionsatlast——theSleeper’sestate。Andallgrowingoutofawhim——outofthisWarming’swill，andanaccidenttoIsbister’ssons。

"Menarestrange，"saidtheoldman。"Thestrange，thingtomeishowtheCouncilworkedtogethersolong。Asmanyastwelve。Buttheyworkedincliquesfromthefirst。Andthey’veslippedback。InmyyoungdaysspeakingoftheCouncilwaslikeanignorantmanspeakingofGod。Wedidn’tthinktheycoulddowrong。Wedidn’tknowoftheirwomenandallthat！OrelseI’vegotwiser。

"Menarestrange，"saidtheoldman。"Hereareyou，youngandignorant，andme——sevendyyearsold，andImightreasonablybeforgetting——explainingitalltoyoushortandclear。

"Sevendy，"hesaid，"sevendy，andIhearandsee——

hearbetterthanIsee。Andreasonclearly，andkeepmyselfuptoallthehappeningsofthings。Sevendy！

"Lifeisstrange。IwastwaindybeforeOstrogwasababy。Irememberhimlongbeforehe’dpushedhiswaytotheheadoftheWindVanesControl。I’veseenmanychanges。Eh！I’veworntheblue。AndatlastI’vecometoseethiscrushanddarknessandtumultanddeadmencarriedbyinheapsontheways。

Andallhisdoing！Allhisdoing！"

HisvoicediedawayinscarcelyarticulatepraisesofOstrogGrahamthought。"Letmesee，"hesaid，"ifIhaveitright。"

Heextendedahandandtickedoffpointsuponhisfingers。"TheSleeperhasbeenasleep——"

"Changed，"saidtheoldman。

"Perhaps。AndmeanwhiletheSleeper’spropertygrewinthehandsofTwelveTrustees，untilitswallowedupnearlyallthegreatownershipoftheworld。TheTwelveTrustees——byvirtueofthispropertyhavebecomevirtuallymastersoftheworld。

Becausetheyarethepayingpower——justastheoldEnglishParliamentusedtobe——"

"Eh！"saidtheoldman。"That’sso——that’sagoodcomparison。You’renotso——"

"AndnowthisOstrog——hassuddenlyrevolutionisedtheworldbywakingtheSleeper——whomnoonebutthesuperstitious，commonpeoplehadeverdreamtwouldwakeagain——raisingtheSleepertoclaimhispropertyfromtheCouncil，afteralltheseyears。"

Theoldmanendorsedthisstatementwithacough。

"It’sstrange，"hesaid，"tomeetamanwholearnsthesethingsforthefirsttimetonight。"

"Aye，"saidGraham，"it’sstrange。"

"HaveyoubeeninaPleasureCity？"saidtheoldman。"AllmylifeI’velonged——"Helaughed。

"Evennow，"hesaid，"Icouldenjoyalittlefun。

Enjoyseeingthings，anyhow。"HemumbledasentenceGrahamdidnotunderstand。

"TheSleeper——whendidheawake？"saidGrahamsuddenly。

"Threedaysago。"

"Whereishe？"

"Ostroghashim。HeescapedfromtheCouncilnotfourhoursago。Mydearsir，wherewereyouatthetime？Hewasinthehallofthemarkets——wherethefightinghasbeen。Allthecitywasscreamingaboutit。AlltheBabbleMachines！Everywhereitwasshouted。EventhefoolswhospeakfortheCouncilwereadmittingit。Everyonewasrushingofftoseehim——everyonewasgettingarms。Wereyoudrunkorasleep？Andeventhen！Butyou’rejoking！

Surelyyou’repretending。ItwastostoptheshoutingoftheBabbleMachinesandpreventthepeoplegatheringthattheyturnedofftheelectricity——andputthisdamneddarknessuponus。Doyoumeantosay——？"

"IhadheardtheSleeperwasrescued，"saidGraham。

"But——tocomebackaminute。AreyousureOstroghashim？"

"Hewon’tlethimgo，"saidtheoldman。

"AndtheSleeper。Areyousureheisnotgenuine？

Ihaveneverheard——"

"Soallthefoolsthink。Sotheythink。Asiftherewasn’tathousandthingsthatwereneverheard。I

knowOstrogtoowellforthat。DidItellyou？InawayI’masortofrelationofOstrog’s。Asortofrelation。Throughmydaughter—in—law。"

"Isuppose——"

"Well？"

"Isupposethere’snochanceofthisSleeperassertinghimself。Isupposehe’scertaintobeapuppet——

inOstrog’shandsortheCouncil’s，assoonasthestruggleisover。"

"InOstrog’shands——certainly。Whyshouldn’thebeapuppet？Lookathisposition。Everythingdoneforhim，everypleasurepossible。Whyshouldhewanttoasserthimself？"

"WhatarethesePleasureCities？"saidGraham，abruptly。

Theoldmanmadehimrepeatthequestion。WhenatlasthewasassuredofGraham’swords，henudgedhimviolently。"That’stoomuch，"saidhe。"You’repokingfunatanoldman。I’vebeensuspectingyouknowmorethanyoupretend。"

"PerhapsIdo，"saidGraham。"Butno！whyshouldIgoonacting？No，IdonotknowwhataPleasureCityis。"

Theoldmanlaughedinanintimateway。

"Whatismore，Idonotknowhowtoreadyourletters，Idonotknowwhatmoneyyouuse，Idonotknowwhatforeigncountriesthereare。IdonotknowwhereIam。Icannotcount。Idonotknowwheretogetfood，nordrink，norshelter。"

"Come，come，"saidtheoldman，"ifyouhadaglassofdrink，now，wouldyouputitinyourearoryoureye？"

"Iwantyoutotellmeallthesethings。"

"He，he！Well，gentlemenwhodressinsilkmusthavetheirfun。"AwitheredhandcaressedGraham’sarmforamoment。"Silk。Well，well！But，allthesame，IwishIwasthemanwhowasputupastheSleeper。He’llhaveafinetimeofit。Allthepompandpleasure。He’saqueerlookingface。Whentheyusedtoletanyonegotoseehim，I’vegotticketsandbeen。Theimageoftherealone，asthephotographsshowhim，thissubstituteusedtobe。Yellow。Buthe’llgetfedup。It’saqueerworld。Thinkoftheluckofit。Theluckofit。Iexpecthe’llbesenttoCapri。

It’sthebestfunforagreener。"

Hiscoughovertookhimagain。Thenhebeganmumblingenviouslyofpleasuresandstrangedelights。

"Theluckofit，theluckofit！AllmylifeI’vebeeninLondon，hopingtogetmychance。"

"Butyoudon’tknowthattheSleeperdied，"saidGraham，suddenly。J

Theoldmanmadehimrepeathiswords。

"Mendon’tlivebeyondtendozen。It’snotintheorderofthings，"saidtheoldman。"I’mnotafool。

Foolsmaybelieveit，butnotme。"

Grahambecameangrywiththeoldman’sassurance。

"Whetheryouareafoolornot，"hesaid，"ithappensyouarewrongabouttheSleeper。"

"Eh？"

"YouarewrongabouttheSleeper。Ihaven’ttoldyoubefore，butIwilltellyounow。YouarewrongabouttheSleeper。"

"Howdoyouknow？Ithoughtyoudidn’tknowanything——notevenaboutPleasureCities。"

Grahampaused。

"Youdon’tknow，"saidtheoldman。"Howareyoutoknow？It’sveryfewmen——"

"I__am__theSleeper。"

Hehadtorepeatit。

Therewasabriefpause。"There’sasillythingtosay，sir，ifyou’llexcuseme。Itmightgetyouintotroubleinatimelikethis，"saidtheoldman。

Graham，slightlydashed，repeatedhisassertion。

"IwassayingIwastheSleeper。ThatyearsandyearsagoIdid，indeed，fallasleep，inalittlestonebuiltvillage，inthedayswhentherewerehedgerows，andvillages，andinns，andallthecountrysidecutupintolittlepieces，littlefields。Haveyouneverheardofthosedays？AnditisI——Iwhospeaktoyou——

whoawakenedagainthesefourdayssince。"

"Fourdayssince！——theSleeper！Butthey’vegottheSleeper。Theyhavehimandtheywon’tlethimgo。Nonsense！You’vebeentalkingsensiblyenoughuptonow。IcanseeitasthoughIwasthere。TherewillbeLincolnlikeakeeperjustbehindhim；theywon’tlethimgoaboutalone。Trustthem。You’reaqueerfellow。Oneofthesefunpokers。Iseenowwhyyouhavebeenclippingyourwordssooddly，but——"

Hestoppedabruptly，andGrahamcouldseehisgesture。

"AsifOstrogwouldlettheSleeperrunaboutalone！No，you’retellingthattothewrongmanaltogether。Eh！asifIshouldbelieve。What’syourgame？Andbesides，we’vebeentalkingoftheSleeper。"

Grahamstoodup。"Listen，"hesaid。"IamtheSleeper。"

"You’reanoddman，"saidtheoldman，"tosithereinthedark，talkingclipped，andtellingalieofthatsort。But——"

Graham’sexasperationfelltolaughter。"Itispreposterous，"hecried。"Preposterous。Thedreammustend。Itgetswilderandwilder。HereamI——inthisdamnedtwilight——Ineverknewadreamintwilightbefore——ananachronismbytwohundredyearsandtryingtopersuadeanoldfoolthatIammyself，andmeanwhile——Ugh！"

Hemovedingustyirritationandwentstriding。Inamomenttheoldmanwaspursuinghim。"Eh！butdon’tgo！"criedtheoldman。"I’manoldfool，I

know。Don’tgo。Don’tleavemeinallthisdarkness。"

Grahamhesitated，stopped。Suddenlythefollyoftellinghissecretflashedintohismind。

"Ididn’tmeantooffendyou——disbelievingyou，"

saidtheoldmancomingnear。"It’snomannerofharm。CallyourselftheSleeperifitpleasesyou。

’Tisafoolishtrick"

Grahamhesitated，turnedabruptlyandwentonhisway。

Foratimeheheardtheoldman’shobblingpursuitandhiswheezycriesreceding。Butatlastthedarknessswallowedhim，andGrahamsawhimnomore。

CHAPTERXII

OSTROG

Grahamcouldnowtakeaclearerviewofhisposition。

Foralongtimeyethewandered，butafterthetalkoftheoldmanhisdiscoveryofthisOstrogwasclearinhismindasthefinalinevitabledecision。Onethingwasevident，thosewhowereattheheadquartersoftherevolthadsucceededveryadmirablyinsuppressingthefactofhisdisappearance。ButeverymomentheexpectedtohearthereportofhisdeathorofhisrecapturebytheCouncil。

Presentlyamanstoppedbeforehim。"Haveyouheard？"hesaid。

"No！"saidGrahamstarting。

"Nearadozand，"saidtheman，"adozandmen！"

andhurriedon。

Anumberofmenandagirlpassedinthedarkness，gesticulatingandshouting："Capitulated！Givenup！"Adozandofmen。""Twodozandofmen。"

"Ostrog，Hurrah！Ostrog，Hurrah！"Thesecriesreceded，becameindistinct。

Othershoutingmenfollowed。Foratimehisattentionwasabsorbedinthefragmentsofspeechheheard。

HehadadoubtwhetherallwerespeakingEnglish。

Scrapsfloatedtohim，scrapslikePigeonEnglish，like’nigger’dialect，blurredandmangleddistortions。Hedaredaccostnoonewithquestions。Theimpressionthepeoplegavehimjarredaltogetherwithhispreconceptionsofthestruggleandconfirmedtheoldman’sfaithinOstrog。ItwasonlyslowlyhecouldbringhimselftobelievethatallthesepeoplewererejoicingatthedefeatoftheCouncil，thattheCouncilwhichhadpursuedhimwithsuchpowerandvigourwasafteralltheweakerofthetwosidesinconflict。

Andifthatwasso，howdiditaffecthim？Severaltimeshehesitatedonthevergeoffundamentalquestions。

Onceheturnedandwalkedforalongwayafteralittlemanofrotundinvitingoutline，buthewasunabletomasterconfidencetoaddresshim。

Itwasonlyslowlythatitcametohimthathemightaskforthe"wind—vaneoffices，"whateverthe"wind—

vaneoffices"mightbe。HisfirstenquirysimplyresultedinadirectiontogoontowardsWestminster。

Hissecondledtothediscoveryofashortcutinwhichhewasspeedilylost。Hewastoldtoleavethewaystowhichhehadhithertoconfinedhimselfknowingnoothermeansoftransit——andtoplungedownoneofthemiddlestaircasesintotheblacknessofacrossway。Thereuponcamesometrivialadventures；chiefoftheseanambiguousencounterwithagruff—voicedinvisiblecreaturespeakinginastrangedialectthatseemedatfirstastrangetongue，athickflowofspeechwiththedriftingcorpsesofEnglishwordstherein，thedialectofthelatter—dayvile。Thenanothervoicedrewnear，agirl’svoicesinging，"tralalatralala。"

ShespoketoGraham，herEnglishtouchedwithsomethingofthesamequality。Sheprofessedtohavelosthersister，sheblunderedneedlesslyintohimhethought，caughtholdofhimandlaughed。Butawordofvagueremonstrancesentherintotheunseenagain。

Thesoundsabouthimincreased。Stumblingpeoplepassedhim，speakingexcitedly。"Theyhavesurrendered！"

"TheCouncil！SurelynottheCouncil！"

"TheyaresayingsointheWays。"Thepassageseemedwider。Suddenlythewallfellaway。Hewasinagreatspaceandpeoplewerestirringremotely。

Heinquiredhiswayofanindistinctfigure。"Strikestraightacross，"saidawoman’svoice。Helefthisguidingwall，andinamomenthadstumbledagainstalittletableonwhichwereutensilsofglass。Graham’seyes，nowattunedtodarkness，madeoutalongvistawithpallidtablesoneitherside。Hewentdownthis。Atoneortwoofthetablesheheardaclangofglassandasoundofeating。Therewerepeoplethencoolenoughtodine，ordaringenoughtostealamealinspiteofsocialconvulsionanddarkness。

Faroffandhighuphepresentlysawapallidlightofasemi—circularshape。Asheapproachedthis，ablackedgecameupandhidit。Hestumbledatstepsandfoundhimselfinagallery。Heheardasobbing，andfoundtwoscaredlittlegirlscrouchedbyarailing。Thesechildrenbecamesilentatthenearsoundoffeet。Hetriedtoconsolethem，buttheywereverystilluntilheleftthem。Thenasherecededhecouldhearthemsobbingagain。

Presentlyhefoundhimselfatthefootofastaircaseandnearawideopening。HesawadimtwilightabovethisandascendedoutoftheblacknessintoastreetofmovingWaysagain。Alongthisadisorderlyswarmofpeoplemarchedshouting。Theyweresingingsnatchesofthesongoftherevolt，mostofthemoutoftune。Hereandtheretorchesflaredcreatingbriefhystericalshadows。Heaskedhiswayandwastwicepuzzledbythatsamethickdialect。Histhirdattemptwonananswerhecouldunderstand。Hewastwomilesfromthewind—vaneofficesinWestminster，butthewaywaseasytofollow。

Whenatlasthedidapproachthedistrictofthewind—vaneofficesitseemedtohim，fromthecheeringprocessionsthatcamemarchingalongtheWays，fromthetumultofrejoicing，andfinallyfromtherestorationofthelightingofthecity，thattheoverthrowoftheCouncilmustalreadybeaccomplished。Andstillnonewsofhisabsencecametohisears。

There—illuminationofthecitycamewithstartlingabruptness。Suddenlyhestoodblinking，allabouthimmenhalteddazzled，andtheworldwasincandescent。

ThelightfoundhimalreadyupontheoutskirtsoftheexcitedcrowdsthatchokedtheWaysnearthewind—vaneoffices，andthesenseofvisibilityandexposurethatcamewithitturnedhiscolourlessintentionofjoiningOstrogtoakeenanxiety。

Foratimehewasjostled，obstructed，andendangeredbymenhoarseandwearywithcheeringhisname，someofthembandagedandbloodyinhiscause。Thefrontageofthewind—vaneofficeswasilluminatedbysomemovingpicture，butwhatitwashecouldnotsee，becauseinspiteofhisstrenuousattemptsthedensityofthecrowdpreventedhisapproachingit。

Fromthefragmentsofspeechhecaught，hejudgeditconveyednewsofthefightingabouttheCouncilHouse。Ignoranceandindecisionmadehimslowandineffectiveinhismovements。Foratimehecouldnotconceivehowhewastogetwithintheunbrokenfacadeofthisplace。Hemadehiswayslowlyintothemidstofthismassofpeople，untilherealisedthatthedescendingstaircaseofthecentralWayledtotheinteriorofthebuildings。Thisgavehimagoal，butthecrowdinginthecentralpathwassodensethatitwaslongbeforehecouldreachit。Andeventhenheencounteredintricateobstruction，andhadanhourofvividargumentfirstinthisguardroomandtheninthatbeforehecouldgetanotetakentotheonemanofallmenwhowasmosteagertoseehim。Hisstorywaslaughedtoscornatoneplace，andwiserforthat，whenatlasthereachedasecondstairwayheprofessedsimplytohavenewsofextraordinaryimportanceforOstrog。Whatitwashewouldnotsay。

Theysenthisnotereluctantly。Foralongtimehewaitedinalittleroomatthefootoftheliftshaft，andthitheratlastcameLincoln，eager，apologetic，astonished。HestoppedinthedoorwayscrutinisingGraham，thenrushedforwardeffusively。

"Yes，"hecried。"Itisyou。Andyouarenotdead！"

Grahammadeabriefexplanation。

"Mybrotheriswaiting，"explainedLincoln。"Heisaloneinthewind—vaneoffices。Wefearedyouhadbeenkilledinthetheatre。Hedoubted——andthingsareveryurgentstillinspiteofwhatwearetellingthem__there__——orhewouldhavecometoyou。"

Theyascendedalift，passedalonganarrowpassage，crossedagreathall，emptysavefortwohurryingmessengers，andenteredacomparativelylittleroom，whoseonlyfurniturewasalongsetteeandalargeovaldiscofcloudy，shiftinggrey，hungbycablesfromthewall。

ThereLincolnleftGrahamforaspace，andheremainedalonewithoutunderstandingtheshiftingsmokyshapesthatdroveslowlyacrossthisdisc。

Hisattentionwasarrestedbyasoundthatbeganabruptly。Itwascheering，thefranticcheeringofavastbutveryremotecrowd，aroaringexultation。

Thisendedassharplyasithadbegun，likeasoundheardbetweentheopeningandshuttingofadoor。

Intheouterroomwasanoiseofhurryingstepsandamelodiousclinkingasifaloosechainwasrunningovertheteethofawheel。

Thenheheardthevoiceofawoman，therustleofunseengarments。"ItisOstrog！"heheardhersay。

Alittlebellrangfitfully，andtheneverythingwasstillagain。

Presentlycamevoices，footstepsandmovementwithout。Thefootstepsofsomeonepersondetacheditselffromtheothersoundsanddrewnear，firm，evenlymeasuredsteps。Thecurtainliftedslowly。A

tall，white—hairedman，cladingarmentsofcreamcolouredsilk，appeared，regardingGrahamfromunderhisraisedarm。

Foramomentthewhiteformremainedholdingthecurtain，thendroppeditandstoodbeforeit。Graham’sfirstimpressionwasofaverybroadforehead，verypaleblueeyesdeepsunkenunderwhitebrows，anaquilinenose，andaheavily—linedresolutemouth。Thefoldsoffleshovertheeyes，thedroopingofthecornersofthemouthcontradictedtheuprightbearing，andsaidthemanwasold。Grahamrosetohisfeetinstinctively，andforamomentthetwomenstoodinsilence，regardingeachother。

"YouareOstrog？"saidGraham。

"IamOstrog。"

"TheBoss？"

"SoIamcalled。"

Grahamfelttheinconvenienceofthesilence。"I

havetothankyouchiefly，Iunderstand，formysafety，"

hesaidpresently。

"Wewereafraidyouwerekilled，"saidOstrog。

"Orsenttosleepagain——forever。Wehavebeendoingeverythingtokeepoursecret——thesecretofyourdisappearance。Wherehaveyoubeen？Howdidyougethere？"