”Fool！”Thewordrangoutinbitterironyfromhisirateneighbour’slips。”Whatdoesheknowofwoman！Woman！Lethimcourtarichoneandsee-butthat’salloveranddonewith。Nomoreharpingonthatstring，andnomorereadingofpoetry。I’llnever，-”Therestwaslostinhisthroatandwasquiteunintelligibletotheanxiouslistener。Self-revealingwords，whichaninstantbeforewouldhavearousedSweetwater’sdeepestinterest！Buttheyhadsuddenlylostallforcefortheunhappylistener。Thesightofthatholestillshiningbrightlybeforehiseyeshaddistractedhisthoughtsandrousedhisliveliestapprehensions。Ifthatbookshouldbeallowedtoliewhereithadfallen，thenhewasinforaperiodofuncertaintyheshrankfromcontemplating。Anymomenthisneighbourmightlookupandcatchsightofthisholeboredinthebackingoftheshelvesbeforehim。Couldthemanwhohadbeenguiltyofsubmittinghimtothisoutragestandthestrainofwaitingindefinitelyforthemomentofdiscovery?Hedoubtedit，ifthesuspenselastedtoolong。
Shiftinghisposition，heplacedhiseyewherehisearhadbeen。
Hecouldseeverylittle。Thespacebeforehim，limitedasitwastothewidthoftheonevolumewithdrawn，precludedhisseeingaughtbutwhatlaydirectlybeforehim。Happily，itwasinthisnarrowlineofvisionthatMr。Brothersonstood。Hehadresumedworkuponhismodelandwassoplacedthatwhilehisfacewasnotvisible，hishandswere，andasSweetwaterwatchedthesehandsandnoticedthedelicacyoftheirmanipulation，hewasenoughofaworkmantorealisethatworksofinecalledforanundividedattention。Heneednotfearthegazeshifting，whilethosehandsmovedaswarilyastheydidnow。
Relievedforthemoment，helefthispostand，sittingdownontheedgeofhiscot，gavehimselfuptothought。
Hedeservedthismischance。HadheprofitedproperlybyMr。Gryce’steachings，hewouldnothavebeencaughtlikethis；hewouldhavecalculatednotupontheninehundredandninety-ninechancesofthatbookbeingleftalone，butuponthethousandthoneofitsbeingtheveryonetobesingledoutandremoved。Hadhedonethis，-hadhetakenpainstosoroughenanddiscolourtheopeninghehadmade，thatitwouldlooklikeanancientratholeinsteadofshowingacleanbore，hewouldhavesomeanswertogiveBrothersonwhenhecametoquestionhiminregardtoit。Butnowthewholethingseemedup！HehadshownhimselfafoolandbygoodrightsoughttoacknowledgehisdefeatandreturntoHeadquarters。Buthehadtoomuchspiritforthat。Hewouldrather-yes，hewouldratherfacethepistolhehadonceseeninhisenemy’shand。Yetitwashardtositherewaiting，waiting-Suddenlyhestartedupright。