Thelightfadedoutofthedrawing—room，inspiteofitbeingSeptemberandonlyhalf—pastsix。FromherlowchairAgnescouldseethetreesbythedrive，blackagainstablackeningsky。Thatdrivewashalfamilelong，andshewaspraisingitsgravelledsurfacewhenRickiecalledinavoiceofalarm，\"Isay，whendidourtrainarrive？\"
\"Four—six。\"
\"Isaidso。\"
\"Itarrivedatfour—sixonthetime—table，\"saidMr。Wonham。\"I
wanttoknowwhenitgottothestation？\"
\"Itellyouagainitwaspunctual。ItellyouIlookedatmywatch。Icandonomore。\"
Agneswasamazed。WasRickiemad？Aminuteagoandtheywereboringeachotheroverdogs。Whathadhappened？
\"Now，now！Quarrellingalready？\"askedMrs。Failing。
Thefootman，bringingalamp，lituptwoangryfaces。
\"Hesays——\"
\"Hesays——\"
\"Hesaysweranoverachild。\"
\"Soyoudid。Youranoverachildinthevillageatfour—sevenbymywatch。Yourtrainwaslate。Youcouldn’thavegottothestationtillfour—ten。\"
\"Idon’tbelieveit。Wehadpassedthevillagebyfour—seven。
Agnes，hadn’twepassedthevillage？Itmusthavebeenanexpressthatranoverthechild。\"
\"Nowisitlikely\"——heappealedtothepracticalworld——\"isitlikelythatthecompanywouldrunastoppingtrainandthenanexpressthreeminutesafterit？\"
\"Achild——\"saidRickie。\"Ican’tbelievethatthetrainkilledachild。\"Hethoughtoftheirjourney。Theywerealoneinthecarriage。Asthetrainslackenedspeedhehadcaughtherforamomentinhisarms。Therainbeatonthewindows，buttheywereinheaven。
\"You’vegottobelieveit，\"saidtheother，andproceededto\"rubitin。\"Hishealthy，irritablefacedrewclosetoRickie’s。\"TwochildrenwerekickingandscreamingontheRomancrossing。Yourtrain，beinglate，camedownonthem。Oneofthemwaspulledofftheline，buttheotherwascaught。Howwillyougetoutofthat？\"
\"Andhowwillyougetoutofit？\"criedMrs。Failing，turningthetablesonhim。\"Where’sthechildnow？Whathashappenedtoitssoul？Youmustknow，Agnes，thatthisyounggentlemanisaphilosopher。\"
\"Oh，dropallthat，\"saidMr。Wonham，suddenlycollapsing。
\"Dropit？Where？Onmynicecarpet？\"
\"Ihatephilosophy，\"remarkedAgnes，tryingtoturnthesubject，forshesawthatitmadeRickieunhappy。
\"SodoI。ButIdaren’tsaysobeforeStephen。Hedespisesuswomen。\"
\"No，Idon’t，\"saidthevictim，swayingtoandfroonthewindow—sill，whitherhehadretreated。
\"Yes，hedoes。Hewon’teventroubletoanswerus。Stephen！
Podge！Answerme。Whathashappenedtothechild’ssoul？\"
Heflungopenthewindowandleantfromthemintothedusk。Theyheardhimmuttersomethingaboutabridge。
\"WhatdidItellyou？Hewon’tanswermyquestion。\"
Thedelightfulmomentwasapproachingwhentheboywouldlosehistemper:sheknewitbyacertaintremorinhisheels。
\"Therewantsabridge，\"heexploded。\"Abridgeinsteadofallthisrottentalkandthelevel—crossing。Itwouldn’tbreakyoutobuildatwo—archbridge。Thenthechild’ssoul，asyoucallit——
well，nothingwouldhavehappenedtothechildatall。\"
Agustofnightairentered，accompaniedbyrain。Theflowersinthevasesrustled，andtheflameofthelampshotupandsmokedtheglass。Slightlyirritated，sheorderedhimtoclosethewindow。
XI
Cadoverwasnotalargehouse。Butitisthelargesthousewithwhichthisstoryhasdealings，andmustalwaysbethoughtofwithrespect。Itwasbuiltabouttheyear1800，andfavouredthearchitectureofancientRome——chieflybymeansoffivelankpilasters，whichstretchedfromthetopofittothebottom。
Betweenthepilasterswastheglassfrontdoor，totherightofthemthedrawingroomwindows，totheleftofthemthewindowsofthedining—room，abovethematriangulararea，whichthebetter—classservantsknewasa\"pendiment，\"andwhichhadinitsmiddleasmallroundhole，accordingtotheusageofPalladio。
Theclassicalnotewasalsosustainedbyeightgreystepswhichledfromthebuildingdownintothedrive，andbyanattemptataformalgardenontheadjoininglawn。ThelawnendedinaHa—ha（\"Ha！ha！whoshallregardit？\"），andthencethebarelandslopeddownintothevillage。Themaingarden（walled）wastotheleftasonefacedthehouse，whiletotherightwasthatlaurelavenue，leadinguptoMrs。Failing’sarbour。
Itwasacomfortablebutnotveryattractiveplace，and，toacertaintypeofmind，itssituationwasnotattractiveeither。
>Fromthedistanceitshowedasagreybox，huddledagainstevergreens。Therewasnomysteryaboutit。Yousawitformiles。
ItshillhadnoneofthebeetlingromanceofDevonshire，noneofthesubtlecontoursthatpreludeacottageinKent，butprofferreditsburdencrudely，onahugebarepalm。\"There’sCadover，\"visitorswouldsay。\"Howsmallitstilllooks。Weshallbelateforlunch。\"Andtheviewfromthewindows，thoughextensive，wouldnothavebeenacceptedbytheRoyalAcademy。A
valley，containingastream，aroad，arailway;overthevalleyfieldsofbarleyandwurzel，dividedbynoprettyhedges，andpassingintoagreatandformlessdown——thiswastheoutlook，desolateatalltimes，andalmostterrifyingbeneathacloudysky。Thedownwascalled\"CadburyRange\"（\"CocoaSquares\"ifyouwereyoungandfunny），becausehighuponit——onecannotsay\"onthetop，\"therebeingscarcelyanytopsinWiltshire——becausehighuponittherestoodadoublecircleofentrenchments。Abankofgrassenclosedaringofturnips，whichenclosedasecondbankofgrass，whichenclosedmoreturnips，andinthemiddleofthepatterngrewonesmalltree。British？Roman？Saxon？Danish？Thecompetentreaderwilldecide。TheThompsonfamilyknewittobefarolderthantheFranco—Germanwar。ItwasthepropertyofGovernment。ItwasfullofgoldanddeadsoldierswhohadfoughtwiththesoldiersonCastleRingsandbeenbeaten。TheroadtoLondinium，havingfordedthestreamandcrossedthevalleyroadandtherailway，passedupbytheseentrenchments。TheroadtoLondonlayhalfamiletotherightofthem。
Tocompletethissurveyonemustmentionthechurchandthefarm，bothofwhichlayoverthestreaminCadford。Betweenthemtheyruledthevillage，oneclaimingthesoulsofthelabourers，theothertheirbodies。Ifamandesiredotherreligionorotheremploymenthemustleave。Thechurchlayupbytherailway，thefarmwasdownbythewatermeadows。Thevicar，agentlecharitablemanscarcelyrealizedhispower，andnevertriedtoabuseit。Mr。Wilbraham，theagent，wasofanothermould。Heknewhisplace，andkeptotherstotheirs:allsocietyseemedspreadbeforehimlikeamap。Thelinebetweenthecountyandthelocal，thelinebetweenthelabourerandtheartisan——heknewthemall，andstrengthenedthemwithnouncertaintouch。
Everythingwithhimwasgraduated——carefullygraduatedcivilitytowardshissuperior，towardshisinferiorscarefullygraduatedincivility。So——forhewasathoughtfulperson——soalone，declaredhe，couldthingsbekepttogether。
PerhapstheComicMuse，towhomsomuchisnowattributed，hadcausedhisestatetobelefttoMr。Failing。Mr。Failingwastheauthorofsomebrilliantbooksonsocialism，——thatwaswhyhiswifemarriedhim——andfortwenty—fiveyearshereignedupatCadoverandtriedtoputhistheoriesintopractice。Hebelievedthatthingscouldbekepttogetherbyaccentingthesimilarities，notthedifferencesofmen。\"Weareallmuchmorealikethanweconfess，\"wasoneofhisfavouritespeeches。Asaspeechitsoundedverywell，andhiswifehadapplauded;butwhenitresultedinhardwork，eveningsinthereading—rooms，mixed—parties，andlongunobtrusivetalkswithdullpeople，shegotbored。Inherpiquantwayshedeclaredthatshewasnotgoingtoloveherhusband，andsucceeded。Hetookitquietly，buthisbrilliancydecreased。Hishealthgrewworse，andheknewthatwhenhediedtherewasnoonetocarryonhiswork。Hefelt，besides，thathehaddoneverylittle。Toilashewould，hehadnotapracticalmind，andcouldneverdispensewithMr。
Wilbraham。Forallhistact，hewouldoftenstretchoutthehandofbrotherhoodtoosoon，orwithholditwhenitwouldhavebeenaccepted。Mostpeoplemisunderstoodhim，oronlyunderstoodhimwhenhewasdead。Inafteryearshisreignbecameagoldenage;
buthecountedafewdisciplesinhislife—time，afewyounglabourersandtenantfarmers，whosworetempestuouslythathewasnotreallyafool。This，hetoldhimself，wasasmuchashedeserved。
Cadoverwasinheritedbyhiswidow。Shetriedtosellit;shetriedtoletit;butsheaskedtoomuch，andasitwasneitheraprettyplacenorfertile，itwasleftonherhands。Withmanyagroanshesettleddowntobanishment。Wiltshirepeople，shedeclared，werethestupidestinEngland。Shetoldthemsototheirfaces，whichmadethemnobrighter。Andtheircountywasworthyofthem:nodistinctioninit——nostyle——simplyland。
Butherwrathpassed，orremainedonlyasagracefulfretfulness。
Shemadethehousecomfortable，andabandonedthefarmtoMr。
Wilbraham。Withagooddealofcaresheselectedasmallcircleofacquaintances，andhadthemtostopinthesummermonths。Inthewintershewouldgototownandfrequentthesalonsoftheliterary。Asherlamenessincreasedshemovedaboutless，andatthetimeofhernephew’svisitseldomlefttheplacethathadbeenforceduponherasahome。Justnowshewasbusy。A
prominentpoliticianhadquotedherhusband。Theyounggenerationasked，\"WhoisthisMr。Failing？\"andthepublisherswrote，\"Nowisthetime。\"Shewascollectingsomeessaysandpenninganintroductorymemoir。
Rickieadmiredhisaunt，butdidnotcareforher。Sheremindedhimtoomuchofhisfather。Shehadthesameaffliction，thesameheartlessness，thesamehabitoftakinglifewithalaugh——asiflifeisapill！Healsofeltthatshehadneglectedhim。Hewouldnothaveaskedmuch:asfor\"prospects，\"theyneverenteredhishead，butshewashisonlynearrelative，andalittlekindnessandhospitalityduringthelonelyyearswouldhavemadeincalculabledifference。NowthathewashappierandcouldbringherAgnes，shehadaskedhimtostopatonce。Thesunasitrosenextmorningspoketohimofanewlife。Hetoohadapurposeandavalueintheworldatlast。Leaningoutofthewindow，hegazedattheearthwashedcleanandheardthroughthepureairthedistantnoisesofthefarm。
Butthatdaynothingwastoremaindivinebuttheweather。Hisaunt，forreasonsofherown，decreedthatheshouldgoforaridewiththeWonhamboy。TheyweretolookatOldSarum，proceedthencetoSalisbury，lunchthere，seethesights，callonacertaincanonfortea，andreturntoCadoverintheevening。Thearrangementsuitednoone。Hedidnotwanttoride，buttobewithAgnes;nordidAgneswanttobepartedfromhim，norStephentogowithhim。Buttheclearerthewishesofherguestsbecame，themoredeterminedwasMrs。Failingtodisregardthem。Shesmoothedawayeverydifficulty，sheconvertedeveryobjectionintoareason，andsheorderedthehorsesforhalf—pastnine。
\"Itisabore，\"hegrumbledashesatintheirlittleprivatesitting—room，breakinghisfinger—nailsuponthecoachman’sgaiters。\"Ican’tride。Ishallfalloff。Weshouldhavebeensohappyhere。It’sjustlikeAuntEmily。Can’tyouimaginehersayingafterwards，’Loversareabsurd。Imadeapointofkeepingthemapart，’andtheneverybodylaughing。\"
Withaprettyforetasteofthefuture，Agneskneltbeforehimanddidthegaitersup。\"WhoisthisMr。Wonham，bythebye？\"
\"Idon’tknow。SomeconnectionofMr。Failing’s，Ithink。\"
\"Doeshelivehere？\"
\"Heusedtobeatschoolorsomething。Heseemstohavegrownintoatiresomeperson。\"
\"IsupposethatMrs。Failinghasadoptedhim。\"
\"Isupposeso。Ibelievethatshehasbeenquitekind。Idohopeshe’llbekindtoyouthismorning。Ihateleavingyouwithher。\"
\"Why，yousayshelikesme。\"
\"Yes，butthatwouldn’tprevent——youseeshedoesn’tmindwhatshesaysorwhatsherepeatsifitamusesher。Ifshethoughtitreallyfunny，forinstance，tobreakoffourengagement，she’dtry。\"
\"Dearboy，whatafrightfulremark！Butitwouldbefunnierforustoseehertrying。Whatevercouldshedo？\"
Hekissedthehandsthatwerestillbusywiththefastenings。
\"Nothing。Ican’tseeonething。Wesimplylieopentoeachother，youandI。Thereisn’tonenewcornerineitherofusthatshecouldreveal。It’sonlythatIalwayshaveinthishousethemostawfulfeelingofinsecurity。\"
\"Why？\"
\"Ifanyonesaysordoesafoolishthingit’salwayshere。Allthefamilybreezeshavestartedhere。It’sakindoffocusforaimedandaimlessscandal。Youknow，whenmyfatherandmotherhadtheirspecialquarrel，myauntwasmixedupinit，——Ineverknewhoworhowmuch——butyoumaybesureshedidn’tcalmthingsdown，unlessshefoundthingsmoreentertainingcalm。\"
\"Rickie！Rickie！\"criedtheladyfromthegarden，\"Yourriding—master’simpatient。\"
\"Wereallyoughtn’ttotalkofherlikethishere，\"whisperedAgnes。\"It’sahorriblehabit。\"
\"Thehabitofthecountry，Agnes。Ugh，thisgossip！\"Suddenlyheflunghisarmsoverher。\"Dear——dear——let’sbewareofIdon’tknowwhat——ofnothingatallperhaps。\"
\"Oh，buckup！\"yelledtheirritableStephen。\"WhichamItoshorten——leftstirruporright？\"
\"Left！\"shoutedAgnes。
\"Howmanyholes？\"
Theyhurrieddown。Onthewayshesaid:\"I’mgladofthewarning。
NowI’mprepared。Yourauntwillgetnothingoutofme。\"
Herbetrothedtriedtomountwiththewrongfootaccordingtohisinvariablecustom。Shealsohadtopickuphiswhip。Atlasttheystarted，theboyshowingoffprettyconsistently，andshewasleftalonewithherhostess。
\"Didoisquietasalamb，\"saidMrs。Failing，\"andStephenisagoodfielder。Whatablessingitistohaveclearedoutthemen。
WhatshallyouandIdothisheavenlymorning？\"
\"I’mgameforanything。\"
\"Haveyouquiteunpacked？\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Anyletterstowrite？\"No。
\"Thenlet’sgotomyarbour。No，wewon’t。Itgetsthemorningsun，andit’llbetoohottoday。\"Alreadysheregrettedclearingoutthemen。Onsuchamorningshewouldhavelikedtodrive，butherthirdanimalhadgonelame。Shefeared，too，thatMissPembrokewasgoingtoboreher。However，theydidgotothearbour。Inlanguidtonesshepointedoutthevariousobjectsofinterest。
\"There’stheCad，whichgoesintothesomething，whichgoesintotheAvon。CadburyRingsopposite，Cadchurchtotheextremeleft:
youcan’tseeit。Youweretherelastnight。Itisfamousforthedrunkenparsonandtherailway—station。ThenCadDauntsey。ThenCadford，thatsideofthestream，connectedwithCadover，this。
ObservethefertilityoftheWiltshiremind。\"
\"AterriblelotofCads，\"saidAgnesbrightly。
Mrs。Failingdividedherguestsintothosewhomadethisjokeandthosewhodidnot。Thelatterclasswasverysmall。
\"ThevicarofCadford——notthenicedrunkard——declaresthenameisreally’Chadford，’andheworriedontillIputupawindowtoSt。Chadinourchurch。HisCambridgewifepronouncesit’Hyadford。’Icouldsmackthemboth。HowdoyoulikePodge？Ah！
youjump;Imeantyouto。HowdoyoulikePodgeWonham？\"
\"Verynice，\"saidAgnes，laughing。
\"Nice！Heisahero。\"
Therewasalongintervalofsilence。Eachladylooked，withoutmuchinterest，attheview。Mrs。Failing’sattitudetowardsNaturewasseverelyaesthetic——anattitudemoresterilethantheseverelypractical。Sheappliedthetestofbeautytoshadowandodourandsound;theyneverfilledherwithreverenceorexcitement;sheneverknewthemasaresistlesstrinitythatmayintoxicatetheworshipperwithjoy。Ifshelikedaploughedfield，itwasonlyasaspotofcolour——notalsoasahintoftheendlessstrengthoftheearth。Andtodayshecouldapproveofonecloud，butobjecttoitsfellow。AsforMissPembroke，shewasnotapprovingorobjectingatall。\"Ahero？\"shequeried，whentheintervalhadpassed。Hervoicewasindifferent，asifshehadbeenthinkingofotherthings。
\"Ahero？Yes。Didn’tyounoticehowheroichewas？\"
\"Idon’tthinkIdid。\"
\"Notatdinner？Ah，Agnes，alwayslookoutforheroismatdinner。
Itistheirgreattime。Theyliveuptothestiffnessoftheirshirtfronts。DoyoumeantosaythatyounevernoticedhowhesetdownRickie？\"
\"Oh，thataboutpoetry！\"saidAgnes，laughing。\"Rickiewouldnotminditforamoment。Butwhydoyousingleoutthatasheroic？\"
\"Tosnubpeople！tosetthemdown！toberudetothem！tomakethemfeelsmall！Surelythat’sthelifeworkofahero？\"
\"Ishouldn’thavesaidthat。AndasamatteroffactMr。Wonhamwaswrongoverthepoetry。ImadeRickielookitupafterwards。\"
\"Butofcourse。Aheroalwaysiswrong。\"
\"Tome，\"shepersisted，rathergently，\"aherohasalwaysbeenastrongwonderfulbeing，whochampions——\"
\"Ah，waittillyouarethedragon！Ihavebeenadragonmostofmylife，Ithink。Adragonthatwantsnothingbutapeacefulcave。Thenincomesthestrong，wonderful，delightfulbeing，andgainsaprincessbypiercingmyhide。No，seriously，mydearAgnes，thechiefcharacteristicsofaheroareinfinitedisregardforthefeelingsofothers，plusgeneralinabilitytounderstandthem。\"
\"ButsurelyMr。Wonham——\"
\"Yes;aren’twebeingunkindtothepoorboy。Oughtwetogoontalking？\"
Agneswaited，rememberingthewarningsofRickie，andthinkingthatanythingshesaidmightperhapsberepeated。
\"Thoughevenifhewasherehewouldn’tunderstandwhatwearesaying。\"
\"Wouldn’tunderstand？\"
Mrs。Failinggavetheleastflickerofaneyetowardshercompanion。\"Didyoutakehimforclever？\"
\"Idon’tthinkItookhimforanything。\"Shesmiled。\"Ihavebeenthinkingofotherthings，andanotherboy。\"
\"ButdothinkforamomentofStephen。Iwilldescribehowhespentyesterday。Heroseateight。Fromeighttoelevenhesang。
Thesongwascalled，’Father’sbootswillsoonfitWillie。’Hestoppedoncetosaytothefootman，’She’llneverfinishherbook。Sheidles:’She’beingI。Atelevenhewentout，andstoodintheraintillfour，buthadthelucktoseeachildrunoveratthelevel—crossing。Byhalf—pastfourhehadknockedthebottomoutofChristianity。\"
Agneslookedbewildered。
\"Aren’tyouimpressed？Iwas。Itoldhimthathewasonnoaccounttounsettlethevicar。Openthatcupboard，oneofthosesixpennybookstellsPodgethathe’smadeofhardlittleblackthings，anotherthathe’smadeofbrownthings，largerandsquashy。Thereseemsadiscrepancy，butanythingisbetterforathoughtfulyouththantobemadeintheGardenofEden。Letuseliminatethepoetic，atwhatevercosttotheprobable。\"Whenforamomentshespokemoregravely。\"Hereheisattwenty，withnothingtoholdonby。Idon’tknowwhat’stobedone。Isupposeit’smyfault。ButI’veneverhadanybotherovertheChurchofEngland;haveyou？\"
\"OfcourseIgowithmyChurch，\"saidMissPembroke，whohatedthisstyleofconversation。\"Idon’tknow，I’msure。Ithinkyoushouldconsultaman。\"
\"WouldRickiehelpme？\"
\"Rickiewoulddoanythinghecan。\"AndMrs。Failingnotedthehalfofficialwayinwhichshevouchedforherlover。\"ButofcourseRickieisalittle——complicated。IdoubtwhetherMr。
Wonhamwouldunderstandhim。Hewants——doesn’the？——someonewho’salittlemoreassertiveandmoreaccustomedtoboys。Someonemorelikemybrother。\"
\"Agnes！\"sheseizedherbythearm。\"DoyousupposethatMr。
PembrokewouldundertakemyPodge？\"
Sheshookherhead。\"Histimeissofilledup。Hegetsaboarding—housenextterm。Besides——afterallIdon’tknowwhatHerbertwoulddo。\"
\"Morality。Hewouldteachhimmorality。TheThirty—NineArticlesmaycomeofthemselves，butifyouhavenomoralsyoucometogrief。MoralityisallIdemandfromMr。HerbertPembroke。Heshallbeexcusedtheuseoftheglobes。Youknow，ofcourse，thatStephen’sexpelledfromapublicschool？Hestole。\"
Theschoolwasnotapublicone，andtheexpulsion，orratherrequestforremoval，hadtakenplacewhenStephenwasfourteen。A
violentspasmofdishonesty——suchasoftenheraldstheapproachofmanhood——hadovercomehim。Hestoleeverything，especiallywhatwasdifficulttosteal，andhidtheplunderbeneathalooseplankinthepassage。Hewasbetrayedbytheinclusionofaham。
Thiswasthecrisisofhiscareer。Hisbenefactresswasjustthenratherboredwithhim。Hehadstoppedbeingaprettyboy，andsheratherdoubtedwhethershewouldseehimthrough。Butshewassoragedwiththelettersoftheschoolmaster，andsodelightedwiththoseofthecriminal，thatshehadhimbackandgavehimaprize。
\"No，\"saidAgnes，\"Ididn’tknow。IshouldbehappytospeaktoHerbert，but，asIsaid，histimewillbeveryfull。ButIknowhehasfriendswhomakeaspecialityofweaklyor——orunusualboys。\"
\"Mydear，I’vetriedit。Stephenkickedtheweaklyboysandrobbedappleswiththeunusualones。Hewasexpelledagain。\"
AgnesbegantofindMrs。Failingrathertiresome。Whereveryoutrodonher，sheseemedtoslipawayfrombeneathyourfeet。
Agneslikedtoknowwhereshewasandwhereotherpeoplewereaswell。Shesaid:\"Mybrotherthinksagreatdealofhomelife。I
daresayhe’dthinkthatMr。Wonhamisbestwhereheis——withyou。
Youhavebeensokindtohim。You\"——shepaused——\"havebeentohimbothfatherandmother。\"
\"I’mtoohot，\"wasMrs。Failing’sreply。ItseemedthatMissPembrokehadatlasttouchedatopiconwhichshewasreticent。
Sherangtheelectricbell，——itwasonlytotellthefootmantotakethereprintstoMr。Wonham’sroom，——andthenmurmuringsomethingaboutwork，proceededherselftothehouse。
\"Mrs。Failing——\"saidAgnes，whohadnotexpectedsuchaspeedyendtotheirchat。
\"CallmeAuntEmily。Mydear？\"
\"AuntEmily，whatdidyouthinkofthatstoryRickiesentyou？\"
\"Itisbad，\"saidMrs。Failing。\"But。But。But。\"Thensheescaped，havingtoldthetruth，andyetleavingapleasurableimpressionbehindher。
XII
TheexcursiontoSalisburywasbutapoorbusiness——infact，Rickienevergotthere。TheywerenotoutofthedrivebeforeMr。
Wonhambegandoingacrobatics。HeshowedRickiehowveryquicklyhecouldturnroundinhissaddleandsitwithhisfacetoAeneas’stail。\"Isee，\"saidRickiecoldly，andbecamealmostcrosswhentheyarrivedinthisconditionatthegatebehindthehouse，forhehadtoopenit，andwasafraidoffalling。Asusual，heanchoredjustbeyondthefastenings，andthenhadtoturnDido，whoseemedaslongasabattleship。Tohisreliefamancameforward，andmurmuring，\"Worstgateintheparish，\"
pusheditwideandhelditrespectfully。\"Thankyou，\"criedRickie;\"manythanks。\"ButStephen，whowasridingintotheworldbackfirst，saidmajestically，\"No，no;itdoesn’tcount。Youneedn’tthinkitdoes。Youmakeitworsebytouchingyourhat。
Fourhoursandsevenminutes！You’llseemeagain。\"Themananswerednothing。
\"Eh，butI’llhurthim，\"hechanted，asheswungintoposition。
\"ThatwasFlea。Eh，buthe’sforgottenmyfists;eh，butI’llhurthim。\"
\"Why？\"venturedRickie。Lastnight，overcigarettes，hehadbeenboredtodeathbythestoryofFlea。TheboyhadalittleremindedhimofGerald——theGeraldofhistory，nottheGeraldofromance。Hewasmoregenial，buttherewasthesamebrutality，thesamepeevishinsistenceonthepoundofflesh。
\"Hurthimtillhelearns。\"
\"Learnswhat？\"
\"Learns，ofcourse，\"retortedStephen。Neitherofthemwasverycivil。Theydidnotdislikeeachother，buttheyeachwantedtobesomewhereelse——exactlythesituationthatMrs。Failinghadexpected。
\"Hebehavedbadly，\"saidRickie，\"becauseheispoorerthanweare，andmoreignorant。Lessmoneyhasbeenspentonteachinghimtobehave。\"
\"Well，I’llteachhimfornothing。\"
\"Perhapshisfistsarestrongerthanyours！\"
\"Theyaren’t。Ilooked。\"