getbackIwilltakecarethataninvitationissenttohertopayhernextvisitatmyhouse。Itremains，ofcourse，tobeseenwhetheryouarefortunateenoughtoproduceafavorableimpressiononher。Inthemeantimeyouwillbedoingeverythingthatmyfathercanaskofyou，ifyoumaketheattempt。“
Geoffreyimpatientlydismissedthatpartofthequestionfromallconsideration。
“Ifshedon’tcottontoamanwho’sgoingtorunintheGreatRaceatFulham，“hesaid，“thereareplentyasgoodassheiswhowill!That’snotthedifficulty。Bother_that!_“
“Itellyouagain，Ihavenothingtodowithyourdifficulties，“
Juliusresumed。“TaketherestofthedaytoconsiderwhatIhavesaidtoyou。Ifyoudecidetoaccepttheproposal，Ishallexpectyoutoproveyouareinearnestbymeetingmeatthestationto-night。WewilltravelbacktoScotlandtogether。YouwillcompleteyourinterruptedvisitatLadyLundie’sitisimportant，inmyinterests，thatyoushouldtreatapersonofherpositioninthecountywithallduerespect；andmywifewillmakethenecessaryarrangementswithMrs。Glenarm，inanticipationofyourreturntoourhouse。Thereisnothingmoretobesaid，andnofurthernecessityofmystayinghere。Ifyoujoinmeatthestationto-night，yoursister-in-lawandIwilldoallwecantohelpyou。IfItravelbacktoScotlandalone，don’ttroubleyourselftofollow——Ihavedonewithyou。“Heshookhandswithhisbrother，andwentout。
Leftalone，Geoffreylithispipeandsentforthelandlord。
“Getmeaboat。Ishallscullmyselfuptheriverforanhourortwo。Andputinsometowels。Imaytakeaswim。“
Thelandlordreceivedtheorder——withacautionaddressedtohisillustriousguest。
“Don’tshowyourselfinfrontofthehouse，Sir!Ifyouletthepeopleseeyou，they’reinsuchastateofexcitement，thepolicewon’tanswerforkeepingtheminorder。“
“Allright。I’llgooutbythebackway。“
Hetookaturnupanddowntheroom。Whatwerethedifficultiestobeovercomebeforehecouldprofitbythegoldenprospectwhichhisbrotherhadofferedtohim？TheSports？No!Thecommitteehadpromisedtodefertheday，ifhewishedit——andamonth’straining，inhisphysicalcondition，wouldbeamplyenoughforhim。HadheanypersonalobjectiontotryinghisluckwithMrs。Glenarm？Nothe!Anywomanwoulddo——providedhisfatherwassatisfied，andthemoneywasallright。Theobstaclewhichwasreallyinhiswaywastheobstacleofthewomanwhomhehadruined。Anne!TheoneinsuperabledifficultywasthedifficultyofdealingwithAnne。
“We’llseehowitlooks，“hesaidtohimself，“afterapulluptheriver!“
ThelandlordandthepoliceinspectorsmugledhimoutbythebackwayunknowntotheexpectantpopulaceinfrontThetwomenstoodontheriver-bankadmiringhim，ashepulledawayfromthem，withhislong，powerful，easy，beautifulstroke。
“That’swhatIcalltheprideandflowerofEngland!“saidtheinspector。“Hasthebettingonhimbegun？“
“Sixtofour，“saidthelandlord，“andnotakers。“
Juliuswentearlytothestationthatnight。Hismotherwasveryanxious。“Don’tletGeoffreyfindanexcuseinyourexample，“shesaid，“ifheislate。“
ThefirstpersonwhomJuliussawongettingoutofthecarriagewasGeoffrey——withhistickettaken，andhisportmanteauinchargeoftheguard。
FOURTHSCENE——WINDYGATES。
THELibraryatWindygateswasthelargestandthehandsomestroominthehouse。ThetwogranddivisionsunderwhichLiteratureisusuallyarrangedinthesedaysoccupiedthecustomaryplacesinit。Ontheshelveswhichranroundthewallswerethebookswhichhumanityingeneralrespects——anddoesnotread。Onthetablesdistributedoverthefloorwerethebookswhichhumanityingeneralreads——anddoesnotrespect。Inthefirstclass，theworksofthewiseancients；andtheHistories，Biographies，andEssaysofwritersofmoremoderntimes——otherwisetheSolidLiterature，whichisuniversallyrespected，andoccasionallyread。Inthesecondclass，theNovelsofourownday——otherwisetheLightLiterature，whichisuniversallyread，andoccasionallyrespected。AtWindygates，aselsewhere，webelievedHistorytobehighliterature，becauseitassumedtobetruetoAuthoritiesofwhichweknewlittle——andFictiontobelowliterature，becauseitattemptedtobetruetoNatureofwhichweknewless。AtWindygatesaselsewhere，wewerealwaysmoreorlesssatisfiedwithourselves，ifwewerepubliclydiscoveredconsultingourHistory——andmoreorlessashamedofourselves，ifwewerepubliclydiscovereddevouringourFiction。Anarchitecturalpeculiarityintheoriginalarrangementofthelibraryfavoredthedevelopmentofthiscommonandcuriousformofhumanstupidity。Whilearowofluxuriousarm-chairs，inthemainthoroughfareoftheroom，invitedthereaderofsolidliteraturetorevealhimselfintheactofcultivatingavirtue，arowofsnuglittlecurtainedrecesses，openingatintervalsoutofoneofthewalls，enabledthereaderoflightliteraturetoconcealhimselfintheactofindulgingavice。Fortherest，alltheminoraccessoriesofthisspaciousandtranquilplacewereasplentifulandaswellchosenastheheartcoulddesire。Andsolidliteratureandlightliterature，andgreatwritersandsmall，wereallbounteouslyilluminatedalikebyafinebroadflowofthelightofheaven，pouringintotheroomthroughwindowsthatopenedtothefloor。
ItwasthefourthdayfromthedayofLadyLundie’sgarden-party，anditwantedanhourormoreofthetimeatwhichtheluncheon-bellusuallyrang。
TheguestsatWindygatesweremostoftheminthegarden，enjoyingthemorningsunshine，afteraprevalentmistandrainforsomedayspast。Twogentlemenexceptionstothegeneralrulewerealoneinthelibrary。Theywerethetwolastgentlemeninthewouldwhocouldpossiblybesupposedtohaveanylegitimatemotiveformeetingeachotherinaplaceofliteraryseclusion。OnewasArnoldBrinkworth，andtheotherwasGeoffreyDelamayn。
TheyhadarrivedtogetheratWindygatesthatmorning。GeoffreyhadtraveledfromLondonwithhisbrotherbythetrainofthepreviousnight。Arnold，delayedingettingawayathisowntime，fromhisownproperty，byceremoniesincidentaltohispositionwhichwerenottobeabridgedwithoutgivingoffensetomanyworthypeople——hadcaughtthepassingtrainearlythatmorningatthestationnearesttohim，andhadreturnedtoLadyLundie’s，ashehadleftLadyLundie’s，incompanywithhisfriend。
AfterashortpreliminaryinterviewwithBlanche，ArnoldhadrejoinedGeoffreyinthesaferetirementofthelibrary，tosaywhatwasstilllefttobesaidbetweenthemonthesubjectofAnne。HavingcompletedhisreportofeventsatCraigFernie，hewasnownaturallywaitingtohearwhatGeoffreyhadtosayonhisside。ToArnold’sastonishment，Geoffreycoollyturnedawaytoleavethelibrarywithoututteringaword。
Arnoldstoppedhimwithoutceremony。
“Notquitesofast，Geoffrey，“hesaid。“IhaveaninterestinMissSilvester’swelfareaswellasinyours。NowyouarebackagaininScotland，whatareyougoingtodo？“
IfGeoffreyhadtoldthetruth，hemusthavestatedhispositionmuchasfollows：
HehadnecessarilydecidedondesertingAnnewhenhehaddecidedonjoininghisbrotheronthejourneyback。Buthehadadvancednofartherthanthis。Howhewastoabandonthewomanwhohadtrustedhim，withoutseeinghisowndastardlyconductdraggedintothelightofday，wasmorethanheyetknew。AvagueideaofatoncepacifyinganddeludingAnne，byamarriagewhichshouldbenomarriageatall，hadcrossedhismindonthejourney。Hehadaskedhimselfwhetheratrapofthatsortmightnotbeeasilysetinacountrynotoriousfortheloosenessofitsmarriagelaws——ifamanonlyknewhow？Andhehadthoughtitlikelythathiswell-informedbrother，wholivedinScotland，mightbetrickedintoinnocentlytellinghimwhathewantedtoknow。HehadturnedtheconversationtothesubjectofScotchmarriagesingeneralbywayoftryingtheexperiment。Juliushadnotstudiedthequestion；Juliusknewnothingaboutit；andtheretheexperimenthadcometoanend。Asthenecessaryresultofthecheckthusencountered，hewasnowinScotlandwithabsolutelynothingtotrusttoasameansofeffectinghisreleasebutthechapterofaccidents，aidedbyhisownresolutiontomarryMrs。
Glenarm。Suchwashisposition，andsuchshouldhavebeenthesubstanceofhisreplywhenhewasconfrontedbyArnold’squestion，andplainlyaskedwhathemeanttodo。
“Therightthing，“heanswered，unblushingly。“Andnomistakeaboutit。“
“I’mgladtohearyouseeyourwaysoplainly，“returnedArnold。
“Inyourplace，Ishouldhavebeenallabroad。Iwaswondering，onlytheotherday，whetheryouwouldend，asIshouldhaveended，inconsultingSirPatrick。“
Geoffreyeyedhimsharply。
“ConsultSirPatrick？“herepeated。“Whywouldyouhavedonethat？“
“_I_shouldn’thaveknownhowtosetaboutmarryingher，“repliedArnold。“And——beinginScotland——IshouldhaveappliedtoSirPatrickwithoutmentioningnames，ofcourse，becausehewouldbesuretoknowallaboutit。“
“SupposeIdon’tseemywayquitesoplainlyasyouthink，“saidGeoffrey。“Wouldyouadviseme——“
“ToconsultSirPatrick？Certainly!HehaspassedhislifeinthepracticeoftheScotchlaw。Didn’tyouknowthat？“
“No。“
“Thentakemyadvice——andconsulthim。Youneedn’tmentionnames。
Youcansayit’sthecaseofafriend。“
Theideawasanewoneandagoodone。Geoffreylookedlonginglytowardthedoor。EagertomakeSirPatrickhisinnocentaccompliceonthespot，hemadeasecondattempttoleavethelibrary；andmadeitforthesecondtimeinvain。Arnoldhadmoreunwelcomeinquiriestomake，andmoreadvicetogiveunasked。
“HowhaveyouarrangedaboutmeetingMissSilvester？“hewenton。
“Youcan’tgotothehotelinthecharacterofherhusband。I
havepreventedthat。Whereelseareyoutomeether？Sheisallalone；shemustbewearyofwaiting，poorthing。Canyoumanagematterssoastoseeherto-day？“
AfterstaringhardatArnoldwhilehewasspeaking，Geoffreyburstoutlaughingwhenhehaddone。Adisinterestedanxietyforthewelfareofanotherpersonwasoneofthoserefinementsoffeelingwhichamusculareducationhadnotfittedhimtounderstand。
“Isay，oldboy，“heburstout，“youseemtotakeanextraordinaryinterestinMissSilvester!Youhaven’tfalleninlovewithheryourself——haveyou？“
“Come!come!“saidArnold，seriously。“NeithershenorIdeservetobesneeredat，inthatway。Ihavemadeasacrificetoyourinterests，Geoffrey——andsohasshe。“
Geoffrey’sfacebecameseriousagain。HissecretwasinArnold’shands；andhisestimateofArnold’scharacterwasfounded，unconsciously，onhisexperienceofhimself。“Allright，“hesaid，bywayoftimelyapologyandconcession。“Iwasonlyjoking。“
“Asmuchjokingasyouplease，whenyouhavemarriedher，“
repliedArnold。“Itseemsseriousenough，tomymind，tillthen。“
Hestopped——considered——andlaidhishandveryearnestlyonGeoffrey’sarm。“Mind!“heresumed。“Youarenottobreatheawordtoanylivingsoul，ofmyhavingbeenneartheinn!“