Holdingitnearerandnearertothefiredrieditquickly，tobesure。
butitshrunkitalso，sothatitwasnoeasymattertogetthecoatonagain。However，Hal，whodidnotseetheredsplashes，which，inspiteofalltheseoperations，weretoovisibleuponhisshoulders，andupontheskirtsofhiswhitecoatbehind，wasprettywellsatisfiedtoobservethattherewasnotonespotuponthefacings。Nobody，saidhe，willtakenoticeofmycoatbehind，Idaresay。Ithinkitlooksassmartalmostasever！——andunderthispersuasionouryoungarcherresumedhisbow——hisbowwithgreenribands，nownomore！——andhepursuedhiswaytotheDowns。
Allhiscompanionswerefaroutofsight。Isuppose，saidhetohisfriendwiththeblackpatch——IsupposemyuncleandBenhadlefthomebeforeyouwentfortheshoesandstockingsforme？
Oh，yes，sir。thebutlersaidtheyhadbeengonetotheDownsamatterofagoodhalf-hourormore。
Haltrudgedonasfastashepossiblycould。WhenhegotupontheDowns，hesawnumbersofcarriages，andcrowdsofpeople，allgoingtowardstheplaceofmeetingattheOstrich。Hepressedforwards。Hewasatfirstsomuchafraidofbeinglate，thathedidnottakenoticeofthemirthhismotleyappearanceexcitedinallbeholders。Atlengthhereachedtheappointedspot。Therewasagreatcrowdofpeople。InthemidstheheardLadyDiana’sloudvoicebettinguponsomeonewhowasjustgoingtoshootatthemark。