Iwasrousedfromsuchthoughtsbythesoundoffootstepsbehindme。
Iturnedhalfhopeful——sofoolishisalover’simagination，andstoppedamazed。Itwasmyuncle。Hisfacewaswhite——whiteasI
hadseenitinmydream。
“Hullo！”Isaid，andstared。“Whyaren’tyouinLondon？”
“It’sallup。”hesaid。
“Adjudicated？”
“No！”
Istaredathimforamoment，andthengotoffthestile。
Westoodswayingandthencameforwardwithaweakmotionofhisarmslikeamanwhocannotseedistinctly，andcaughtatandleantuponthestile。Foramomentwewereabsolutelystill。Hemadeaclumsygesturetowardsthegreatfutilitybelowandchoked。Idiscoveredthathisfacewaswetwithtears，thathiswetglassesblindedhim。Heputuphislittlefathandandclawedthemoffclumsily，feltinefficientlyforhispocket-handkerchief，andthen，tomyhorror，asheclungtome，hebegantoweepaloud，thislittle，oldworldwornswindler。Itwasn’tjustsobbingorsheddingtears，itwascryingasachildcries。Itwasoh！terrible！
“It’scruel。”heblubberedatlast。“Theyaskedmequestions。
TheyKEP’askingmequestions，George。”
Hesoughtforutterance，andspluttered。
“TheBloodybullies！”heshouted。“TheBloodyBullies。”
Heceasedtoweep。Hebecamesuddenlyrapidandexplanatory。
“It’snotafairgame，George。Theytireyouout。AndI’mnotwell。Mystomach’sallwrong。AndIbeenandgotacold。I
alwaysbeenli’bletocold，andthisone’sonmychest。Andthentheytellyoutospeakup。Theybaityou——andbaityou，andbaityou。It’storture。Thestrainofit。Youcan’trememberwhatyousaid。You’reboundtocontradictyourself。It’slikeRussia，George。Itisn’tfairplay。Prominentman。I’vebeennextatdinnerswiththatchap，Neal；I’vetoldhimstories——andhe’sbitter！Setsouttoruinme。Don’taskacivilquestion——bellows。”Hebrokedownagain。“I’vebeenbellowedat，Ibeenbullied，Ibeentreatedlikeadog。Dirtycadstheyare！Dirtycads！I’dratherbeaThree-CardSharperthanabarrister；I’drathersellcat’s-meatinthestreets。
“Theysprungthingsonmethismorning，thingsIdidn’texpect。
Theyrushedme！I’dgotitallinmyhandsandthenIwasjumped。ByNeal！NealI’vegivencitytipsto！Neal！I’vehelpedNeal。
“Icouldn’tswallowamouthful——notinthelunchhour。I
couldn’tfaceit。It’strue，George——Icouldn’tfaceit。IsaidI’dgetabitofairandslippedoutanddowntotheEmbankment，andthereItookaboattoRichmond。Someidee。ItookarowingboatwhenIgotthereandIrowedaboutontheriverforabit。
Alotofchapsandgirlstherewasonthebanklaughedatmyshirt-sleevesandtophat。Dessaytheythoughtitwasapleasuretrip。Fatlotofpleasure！Irowedroundforabitandcamein。ThenIcameonhere。Windsorway。AndtheretheyareinLondondoingwhattheylikewithme。Idon’tcare！”
“But“Isaid，lookingdownathim，perplexed。
“It’sabscondin’。They’llhaveawarrant。”
“Idon’tunderstand。”Isaid。
“It’sallup，George——allupandover。
“AndIthoughtI’dliveinthatplace，Georgeanddiealord！
It’sagreatplace，reely，animperial——ifanyonehasthesensetobuyitandfinishit。Thatterrace——“
Istoodthinkinghimover。
“Lookhere！”Isaid。“What’sthatabout——awarrant？Areyousurethey’llgetawarrant？I’msorryuncle；butwhathaveyoudone？”
“Haven’tItoldyou？”
“Yes，buttheywon’tdoverymuchtoyouforthat。They’llonlybringyouupfortherestofyourexamination。”
Heremainedsilentforatime。Atlasthespoke——speakingwithdifficulty。
“It’sworsethanthat。I’vedonesomething。They’reboundtogetitout。PracticallytheyHAVEgotitout。”
“What？”
“Writin’thingsdown——Idonesomething。”
Forthefirsttimeinhislife，Ibelieve，hefeltandlookedashamed。Itfilledmewithremorsetoseehimsufferso。
“We’vealldonethings。”Isaid。“It’spartofthegametheworldmakesusplay。Iftheywanttoarrestyou——andyou’vegotnocardsinyourhand——！Theymustn’tarrestyou。”
“No。That’spartlywhyIwenttoRichmond。ButIneverthought——“
HislittlebloodshoteyesstaredatCrestHill。
“ThatchapWittakerWright。”hesaid，“hehadhisstuffready。I
haven’t。Nowyougotit，George。That’sthesortofholeI’min。”
Thatmemoryofmyuncleatthegateisveryclearandfull。Iamabletorecalleventheundertowofmythoughtswhilehewasspeaking。Iremembermypityandaffectionforhiminhismiserygrowingandstirringwithinme，myrealisationthatatanyriskI
musthelphim。Butthencomesindistinctnessagain。Iwasbeginningtoact。IknowIpersuadedhimtoputhimselfinmyhands，andbeganatoncetoplananddo。Ithinkthatwhenweactmostwerememberleast，thatjustinthemeasurethattheimpulseofourimpressionstranslatesitselfintoschemesandmovements，itceasestorecorditselfinmemories。IknowI
resolvedtogethimawayatonce，andtousetheLordRobertsB
ineffectingthat。Itwasclearhewassoontobeahuntedman，anditseemedtomealreadyunsafeforhimtotrytheordinaryContinentalroutesinhisflight。Ihadtoevolvesomescheme，andevolveitrapidly，howwemightdropmostinconspicuouslyintotheworldacrossthewater。Myresolvetohaveoneflightatleastinmyairshipfittedwiththislikehandtoglove。Itseemedtomewemightbeabletocrossoverthewaterinthenight，setourairshipadrift，andturnupaspedestriantouristsinNormandyorBrittany，andsogetaway。That，atanyrate，wasmyrulingidea。
IsentoffCothopewithadummynotetoWoking，becauseIdidnotwanttoimplicatehim，andtookmyuncletothepavilion。I
wentdowntomyaunt，andmadeacleanbreastofthesituation。
Shebecameadmirablycompetent。Wewentintohisdressing-roomandruthlesslybrokehislocks。Igotapairofbrownboots，atweedsuitandacapofhis，andindeedaplausiblewalkingoutfit，andalittlegamebagforhispedestriangear；and，inaddition，abigmotoringovercoatandasupplyofrugstoaddtothoseIhadatthepavilion。Ialsogotaflaskofbrandy，andshemadesandwiches。Idon’trememberanyservantsappearing，andIforgetwhereshegotthosesandwiches。Meanwhilewetalked。AfterwardsIthoughtwithwhatasureconfidencewetalkedtoeachother“What’shedone？”shesaid。
“D’youmindknowing？”
“Noconscienceleft，thankGod！”
“Ithink——forgery！”
Therewasjustalittlepause。“Canyoucarrythisbundle？”sheasked。
Iliftedit。
“Nowomaneverhasrespectedthelaw——ever。”shesaid。“It’stoosilly。Thethingsitletsyoudo！Andthenpullsyouup——likeamadnursemindingachild。”
Shecarriedsomerugsformethroughtheshrubberyinthedarkling。
“They’llthinkwe’regoingmooning。”shesaid，jerkingherheadatthehousehold。“Iwonderwhattheymakeofus——criminals。”。Animmensedroningnotecameasifinanswertothat。Itstartledusbothforamoment。“Thedears！”shesaid。“It’sthegongfordinner！。ButIwishIcouldhelplittleTeddy，George。It’sawfultothinkofhimtherewithhoteyes，redanddry。AndIknow——thesightofmemakeshimfeelsore。ThingsI
said，George。IfIcouldhaveseen，I’dhavelethimhaveanomnibusfulofScrymgeours。Icuthimup。He’dneverthoughtI
meantitbefore。I’llhelpallIcan，anyhow。”
Iturnedatsomethinginhervoice，andgotamoonlightgleamoftearsuponherface。
“CouldSHEhavehelped？”sheaskedabruptly。
“SHE？”
“Thatwoman。”
“MyGod！”Icried，“HELPED！Those——thingsdon’thelp！”
“TellmeagainwhatIoughttodo。”shesaidafterasilence。
IwentovertheplansIhadmadeforcommunicating，andthethingsIthoughtshemightdo。Ihadgivenhertheaddressofasolicitorshemightputsometrustin。
“Butyoumustactforyourself。”Iinsisted。
“Roughly。”Isaid，“it’sascramble。Youmustgetwhatyoucanforus，andfollowasyoucan。”
Shenodded。
Shecamerightuptothepavilionandhoveredforatimeshyly，andthenwentaway。