“Ibelieveourfriendsareinthegarden，“saidArnold。“SirPatrickmaybeamongthem。I’llgoandsee。“
TheinstanthisbackwasturnedGeoffreysnatchedupasheetofnote-paper。“BeforeIforgetit!“hesaidtohimself。Hewrotetheword“Memorandum“atthetopofthepage，andaddedtheselinesbeneathit：
“Heaskedforherbythenameofhiswifeatthedoor。Hesaid，atdinner，beforethelandladyandthewaiter，’Itaketheseroomsformywife。’Hemade_her_sayhewasherhusbandatthesametime。Afterthathestoppedallnight。WhatdothelawyerscallthisinScotland？——Query：amarriage？“
Afterfoldingupthepaperhehesitatedforamoment。“No!“hethought，“Itwon’tdototrusttowhatMissLundiesaidaboutit。
Ican’tbecertaintillIhaveconsultedSirPatrickhimself。“
Heputthepaperawayinhispocket，andwipedtheheavyperspirationfromhisforehead。Hewaspale——for_him，_
strikinglypale——whenArnoldcameback。
“Anythingwrong，Geoffrey？——you’reaswhiteasashes。“
“It’stheheat。Where’sSirPatrick？“
“Youmayseeforyourself。“
Arnoldpointedtothewindow。SirPatrickwascrossingthelawn，onhiswaytothelibrarywithanewspaperinhishand；andtheguestsatWindygateswereaccompanyinghim。SirPatrickwassmiling，andsayingnothing。Theguestsweretalkingexcitedlyatthetopsoftheirvoices。Therehadapparentlybeenacollisionofsomekindbetweentheoldschoolandthenew。ArnolddirectedGeoffrey’sattentiontothestateofaffairsonthelawn。
“HowareyoutoconsultSirPatrickwithallthosepeopleabouthim？“
“I’llconsultSirPatrick，ifItakehimbythescruffoftheneckandcarryhimintothenextcounty!“Herosetohisfeetashespokethosewords，andemphasizedthemunderhisbreathwithanoath。
SirPatrickenteredthelibrary，withtheguestsathisheels。
CHAPTERTHENINETEENTH。
CLOSEONIT。
THEobjectoftheinvasionofthelibrarybythepartyinthegardenappearedtobetwofold。
SirPatrickhadenteredtheroomtorestorethenewspapertotheplacefromwhichhehadtakenit。Theguests，tothenumberoffive，hadfollowedhim，toappealinabodytoGeoffreyDelamayn。
Betweenthesetwoapparentlydissimilarmotivestherewasaconnection，notvisibleonthesurface，whichwasnowtoassertitself。
Ofthefiveguests，twoweremiddle-agedgentlemenbelongingtothatlarge，butindistinct，divisionofthehumanfamilywhomthehandofNaturehaspaintedinunobtrusiveneutraltint。Theyhadabsorbedtheideasoftheirtimewithsuchreceptivecapacityastheypossessed；andtheyoccupiedmuchthesameplaceinsocietywhichthechorusinanoperaoccupiesonthestage。Theyechoedtheprevalentsentimentofthemoment；andtheygavethesolo-talkertimetofetchhisbreath。
Thethreeremainingguestswereontherightsideofthirty。Allprofoundlyversedinhorse-racing，inathleticsports，inpipes，beer，billiards，andbetting。Allprofoundlyignorantofeverythingelseunderthesun。Allgentlemenbybirth，andallmarkedassuchbythestampof“aUniversityeducation。“TheymaybepersonallydescribedasfaintreflectionsofGeoffrey；andtheymaybenumericallydistinguishedintheabsenceofallotherdistinctionasOne，Two，andThree。
SirPatricklaidthenewspaperonthetableandplacedhimselfinoneofthecomfortablearm-chairs。Hewasinstantlyassailed，inhisdomesticcapacity，byhisirrepressiblesister-in-law。LadyLundiedispatchedBlanchetohimwiththelistofherguestsatthedinner。“Foryouruncle’sapproval，mydear，asheadofthefamily。“
WhileSirPatrickwaslookingoverthelist，andwhileArnoldwasmakinghiswaytoBlanche，atthebackofheruncle’schair，One，Two，andThree——withtheChorusinattendanceonthem——descendedinabodyonGeoffrey，attheotherendoftheroom，andappealedinrapidsuccessiontohissuperiorauthority，asfollows：
“Isay，Delamayn。WewantYou。HereisSirPatrickrunningaregularMuckatus。CallsusaboriginalBritons。Tellsusweain’teducated。Doubtsifwecouldread，write，andcipher，ifhetriedus。Swearshe’ssickoffellowsshowingtheirarmsandlegs，andseeingwhichfellow’shardest，andwho’sgotthreebeltsofmuscleacrosshiswind，andwhohasn’t，andthelikeofthat。Saysamostinfernalthingofachap。Says——becauseachaplikesahealthyout-of-doorlife，andtrainsforrowingandrunning，andtherestofit，anddon’tseehiswaytostewingoverhisbooks——_therefore_he’ssafetocommitallthecrimesinthecalendar，murderincluded。SawyournamedowninthenewspaperfortheFoot-Race；andsaid，whenweaskedhimifhe’dtakentheodds，he’dlayanyoddswelikedagainstyouintheotherRaceattheUniversity——meaning，oldboy，yourDegree。
Nasty，thatabouttheDegree——intheopinionofNumberOne。BadtasteinSirPatricktorakeupwhatwenevermentionamongourselves——intheopinionofNumberTwo。Un-Englishtosneeratamaninthatwaybehindhisback——intheopinionofNumberThree。
Bringhimtobook，Delamayn。Yourname’sinthepapers；hecan’trideroughshodoverYou。“
Thetwochoralgentlemenagreedintheminorkeywiththegeneralopinion。“SirPatrick’sviewsarecertainlyextreme，Smith？““Ithink，Jones，it’sdesirabletohearMr。Delamaynontheotherside。“
Geoffreylookedfromonetotheotherofhisadmirerswithanexpressiononhisfacewhichwasquitenewtothem，andwithsomethinginhismannerwhichpuzzledthemall。
“Youcan’targuewithSirPatrickyourselves，“hesaid，“andyouwantmetodoit？“
One，Two，Three，andtheChorusallanswered，“Yes。“
“Iwon’tdoit。“
One，Two，Three，andtheChorusallasked，“Why？“
“Because，“answeredGeoffrey，“you’reallwrong。AndSirPatrick’sright。“
Notastonishmentonly，butdownrightstupefaction，struckthedeputationfromthegardenspeechless。
Withoutsayingawordmoretoanyofthepersonsstandingnearhim，GeoffreywalkedstraightuptoSirPatrick’sarm-chair，andpersonallyaddressedhim。Thesatellitesfollowed，andlistenedaswelltheymightinwonder。
“Youwilllayanyodds，Sir，“saidGeoffrey“againstmetakingmyDegree？You’requiteright。Isha’n’ttakemyDegree。YoudoubtwhetherI，oranyofthosefellowsbehindme，couldread，write，andciphercorrectlyifyoutriedus。You’rerightagain——wecouldn’t。Yousayyoudon’tknowwhymenlikeMe，andmenlikeThem，maynotbeginwithrowingandrunningandthelikeofthat，andendincommittingallthecrimesinthecalendar：murderincluded。Well!youmayberightagainthere。Who’stoknowwhatmayhappentohim？orwhathemaynotendindoingbeforehedies？ItmaybeAnother，oritmaybeMe。HowdoIknow？andhowdoyou？“Hesuddenlyturnedonthedeputation，standingthunder-struckbehindhim。“IfyouwanttoknowwhatIthink，thereitisforyou，inplainwords。“
Therewassomething，notonlyintheshamelessnessofthedeclarationitself，butinthefiercepleasurethatthespeakerseemedtofeelinmakingit，whichstruckthecircleoflisteners，SirPatrickincluded，withamomentarychill。
Inthemidstofthesilenceasixthguestappearedonthelawn，andsteppedintothelibrary——asilent，resolute，unassuming，elderlymanwhohadarrivedthedaybeforeonavisittoWindygates，andwhowaswellknown，inandoutofLondon，asoneofthefirstconsultingsurgeonsofhistime。
“Adiscussiongoingon？“heasked。“AmIintheway？“
“There’snodiscussion——weareallagreed，“criedGeoffrey，answeringboisterouslyfortherest。“Themorethemerrier，Sir!“
AfteraglanceatGeoffrey，thesurgeonsuddenlycheckedhimselfonthepointofadvancingtotheinnerpartoftheroom，andremainedstandingatthewindow。
“Ibegyourpardon，“saidSirPatrick，addressinghimselftoGeoffrey，withagravedignitywhichwasquitenewinArnold’sexperienceofhim。“Wearenotallagreed。Idecline，Mr。
Delamayn，toallowyoutoconnectmewithsuchanexpressionoffeelingonyourpartaswehavejustheard。ThelanguageyouhaveusedleavesmenoalternativebuttomeetyourstatementofwhatyousupposemetohavesaidbymystatementofwhatIreallydidsay。Itisnotmyfaultifthediscussioninthegardenisrevivedbeforeanotheraudienceinthisroom——itisyours，“
HelookedashespoketoArnoldandBlanche，andfromthemtothesurgeonstandingatthewindow。
Thesurgeonhadfoundanoccupationforhimselfwhichcompletelyisolatedhimamongtherestoftheguests。Keepinghisownfaceinshadow，hewasstudyingGeoffrey’sface，inthefullfloodoflightthatfellonit，withasteadyattentionwhichmusthavebeengenerallyremarked，ifalleyeshadnotbeenturnedtowardSirPatrickatthetime。
Itwasnotaneasyfacetoinvestigateatthatmoment。
WhileSirPatrickhadbeenspeakingGeoffreyhadseatedhimselfnearthewindow，doggedlyimpenetrabletothereproofofwhichhewastheobject。InhisimpatiencetoconsulttheoneauthoritycompetenttodecidethequestionofArnold’spositiontowardAnne，hehadsidedwithSirPatrick，asameansofriddinghimselfoftheunwelcomepresenceofhisfriends——andhehaddefeatedhisownpurpose，thankstohisownbrutishincapabilityofbridlinghimselfinthepursuitofit。Whetherhewasnowdiscouragedunderthesecircumstances，orwhetherhewassimplyresignedtobidehistimetillhistimecame，itwasimpossible，judgingbyoutwardappearances，tosay。Withaheavydroppingatthecornersofhismouth，withastolidindifferencestaringdullinhiseyes，therehesat，amanforearmed，inhisownobstinateneutrality，againstalltemptationtoengageintheconflictofopinionsthatwastocome。