“Doyouhearthat？“saidSirPatrick，lookingatGeoffrey。
Geoffreycarelesslynoddedhishead。Hisirritationhadhadtimetosubside；thestolidindifferencehadgotpossessionofhimagain。Hehadresumedhischair——hesat，withoutstretchedlegs，staringstupidlyatthepatternonthecarpet。“WhatdoesitmattertoMe？“wasthesentimentexpressedalloverhim，fromheadtofoot。
Thesurgeonwenton。
“Icanseenoremedyforthissadstateofthings，“hesaid，“aslongasthepublicfeelingremainswhatthepublicfeelingisnow。Afinehealthy-lookingyoungman，withasuperbmusculardevelopment，longsnaturallyenoughtodistinguishhimselflikeothers。Thetraining-authoritiesathiscollege，orelsewhere，takehiminhandnaturallyenoughagainonthestrengthofoutwardappearances。Andwhethertheyhavebeenrightorwronginchoosinghimismorethantheycansay，untiltheexperimenthasbeentried，andthemischiefhasbeen，inmanycases，irretrievablydone。Howmanyofthemareawareoftheimportantphysiologicaltruth，thatthemuscularpowerofamanisnofairguaranteeofhisvitalpower？HowmanyofthemknowthatweallhaveasagreatFrenchwriterputsittwolivesinus——thesurfacelifeofthemuscles，andtheinnerlifeoftheheart，lungs，andbrain？Eveniftheydidknowthis——evenwithmedicalmentohelpthem——itwouldbeinthelastdegreedoubtful，inmostcases，whetheranypreviousexaminationwouldresultinanyreliablediscoveryofthevitalfitnessofthemantoundergothestressofmuscularexertionlaidonhim。Applytoanyofmybrethren；andtheywilltellyou，astheresultoftheirownprofessionalobservation，thatIam，innosense，overstatingthisseriousevil，orexaggeratingthedeplorableanddangerousconsequencestowhichitleads。Ihaveapatientatthismoment，whoisayoungmanoftwenty，andwhopossessesoneofthefinestmusculardevelopmentsIeversawinmylife。Ifthatyoungmanhadconsultedme，beforehefollowedtheexampleoftheotheryoungmenabouthim，IcannothonestlysaythatIcouldhaveforeseentheresults。Asthingsare，aftergoingthroughacertainamountofmusculartraining，afterperformingacertainnumberofmuscularfeats，hesuddenlyfaintedoneday，totheastonishmentofhisfamilyandfriends。IwascalledinandI
havewatchedthecasesince。Hewillprobablylive，buthewillneverrecover。IamobligedtotakeprecautionswiththisyouthoftwentywhichIshouldtakewithanoldmanofeighty。HeisbigenoughandmuscularenoughtosittoapainterasamodelforSamson——andonlylastweekIsawhimswoonawaylikeayounggirl，inhismother’sarms。“
“Name!“criedGeoffrey’sadmirers，stillfightingthebattleontheirside，intheabsenceofanyencouragementfromGeoffreyhimself。
“Iamnotinthehabitofmentioningmypatients’names，“repliedthesurgeon。“Butifyouinsistonmyproducinganexampleofamanbrokenbyathleticexercises，Icandoit。“
“Doit!Whoishe？“
“Youallknowhimperfectlywell。“
“Isheinthedoctor’shands？“
“Notyet。“
“Whereishe？“
“There!“
Inapauseofbreathlesssilence——withtheeyesofeverypersonintheroomeagerlyfastenedonhim——thesurgeonliftedhishandandpointedtoGeoffreyDelamayn。
Assoonasthegeneralstupefactionwasallayed，thegeneralincredulityasserteditselfasamatterofcourse。
Themanwhofirstdeclaredthat“seeing“was“believing“laidhisfingerwhetherheknewithimselfornotononeofthefundamentalfolliesofhumanity。Theeasiestofallevidencetoreceiveistheevidencethatrequiresnootherjudgmenttodecideonitthanthejudgmentoftheeye——anditwillbe，onthataccount，theevidencewhichhumanityismostreadytocredit，aslongashumanitylasts。TheeyesofeverybodylookedatGeoffrey；andthejudgmentofeverybodydecided，ontheevidencetherevisible，thatthesurgeonmustbewrong。LadyLundieherselfdisturbedoverherdinnerinvitationsledthegeneralprotest。“Mr。Delamayninbrokenhealth!“sheexclaimed，appealingtothebettersenseofhereminentmedicalguest。
“Really，now，youcan’texpectustobelievethat!“
Stungintoactionforthesecondtimebythestartlingassertionofwhichhehadbeenmadethesubject，Geoffreyrose，andlookedthesurgeon，steadilyandinsolently，straightintheface。
“Doyoumeanwhatyousay？“heasked。
“Yes。“
“Youpointmeoutbeforeallthesepeople——“
“Onemoment，Mr。Delamayn。IadmitthatImayhavebeenwrongindirectingthegeneralattentiontoyou。Youhavearighttocomplainofmyhavingansweredtoopubliclythepublicchallengeofferedtomebyyourfriends。Iapologizeforhavingdonethat。
ButIdon’tretractasinglewordofwhatIhavesaidonthesubjectofyourhealth。“
“YousticktoitthatI’mabroken-downman？“
“Ido。“
“Iwishyouweretwentyyearsyounger，Sir!“
“Why？“
“I’daskyoutostepoutonthelawnthereandI’dshowyouwhetherI’mabroken-downmanornot。“
LadyLundielookedatherbrother-in-law。SirPatrickinstantlyinterfered。
“Mr。Delamayn，“hesaid，“youwereinvitedhereinthecharacterofagentleman，andyouareaguestinalady’shouse。“
“No!no!“saidthesurgeon，goodhumoredly。“Mr。Delamaynisusingastrongargument，SirPatrick——andthatisall。IfI
_were_twentyyearsyounger，“hewenton，addressinghimselftoGeoffrey，“andifI_did_stepoutonthelawnwithyou，theresultwouldn’taffectthequestionbetweenusintheleast。I
don’tsaythattheviolentbodilyexercisesinwhichyouarefamoushavedamagedyourmuscularpower。Iassertthattheyhavedamagedyourvitalpower。InwhatparticularwaytheyhaveaffecteditIdon’tconsidermyselfboundtotellyou。Isimplygiveyouawarning，asamatterofcommonhumanity。Youwilldowelltobecontentwiththesuccessyouhavealreadyachievedinthefieldofathleticpursuits，andtoalteryourmodeoflifeforthefuture。Acceptmyexcuses，oncemore，forhavingsaidthispubliclyinsteadofprivately——anddon’tforgetmywarning。“
Heturnedtomoveawaytoanotherpartoftheroom。Geoffreyfairlyforcedhimtoreturntothesubject。
“Waitabit，“hesaid。“Youhavehadyourinnings。Myturnnow。I
can’tgiveitwordsasyoudo；butIcancometothepoint。And，bytheLord，I’llfixyoutoit!IntendaysorafortnightfromthisI’mgoingintotrainingfortheFoot-RaceatFulham。DoyousayIshallbreakdown？“
“Youwillprobablygetthroughyourtraining。“
“ShallIgetthroughtherace？“
“Youmay_possibly_getthroughtherace。Butifyoudo——“
“IfIdo？“
“Youwillneverrunanother。“
“Andneverrowinanothermatch？“
“Never。“
“IhavebeenaskedtorowintheRace，nextspring；andIhavesaidIwill。Doyoutellme，insomanywords，thatIsha’n’tbeabletodoit？“
“Yes——insomanywords。“
“Positively？“
“Positively。“
“Backyouropinion!“criedGeoffrey，tearinghisbetting-bookoutofhispocket。“IlayyouanevenhundredI’minfitconditiontorowintheUniversityMatchnextspring。“
“Idon’tbet，Mr。Delamayn。“
Withthatfinalreplythesurgeonwalkedawaytotheotherendofthelibrary。LadyLundietakingBlancheincustodywithdrew，atthesametime，toreturntotheseriousbusinessofherinvitationsforthedinner。Geoffreyturneddefiantly，bookinhand，tohiscollegefriendsabouthim。TheBritishbloodwasup；
andtheBritishresolutiontobet，whichsuccessfullydefiescommondecencyandcommon-lawfromoneendofthecountrytotheother，wasnottobetrifledwith。
“Comeon!“criedGeoffrey。“Backthedoctor，oneofyou!“
SirPatrickroseinundisguiseddisgust，andfollowedthesurgeon。One，Two，andThree，invitedtobusinessbytheirillustriousfriend。shooktheirthickheadsathimknowingly，andansweredwithoneaccord，inoneeloquentword——“Gammon!“
“Oneof_you_backhim!“persistedGeoffrey，appealingtothetwochoralgentlemenintheback-ground，withhistemperfastrisingtofeverheat。Thetwochoralgentlemencomparednotes，asusual。
“Weweren’tbornyesterday，Smith？““Notifweknowit，Jones。“
“Smith!“saidGeoffrey，withasuddenassumptionofpolitenessominousofsomethingunpleasanttocome。
Smithsaid“Yes？“——withasmile。
“Jones!“
Jonessaid“Yes？“——withareflectionofSmith。
“You’reacoupleofinfernalcads——andyouhaven’tgotahundredpoundbetweenyou!“
“Come!come!“saidArnold，interferingforthefirsttime。“Thisisshameful，Geoffrey!“
“Whythe“——nevermindwhat!——“won’ttheyanyofthemtakethebet？“
“Ifyoumustbeafool，“returnedArnold，alittleirritablyonhisside，“andifnothingelsewillkeepyouquiet，_I’ll_takethebet。“
“Anevenhundredonthedoctor!“criedGeoffrey。“Donewithyou!“
Hishighestaspirationsweresatisfied；histemperwasinperfectorderagain。Heenteredthebetinhisbook；andmadehisexcusestoSmithandJonesintheheartiestway。“Nooffense，oldchaps!