第69章
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  Thebusinessofthetoiletwasfaradvanced。Duncanhadjustplacedtheglassinagoodlight;andDuncan’smasterwasatthatturningpointinhisdailylifewhichconsistedinattaining,ornotattaining,absoluteperfectioninthetyingofhiswhitecravat——whensomeouterbarbarian,ignorantofthefirstprinciplesofdressingagentleman’sthroat,presumedtoknockatthebedroomdoor。Neithermasternorservantmovedorbreatheduntiltheintegrityofthecravatwasplacedbeyondthereachofaccident。ThenSirPatrickcastthelookoffinalcriticismintheglass,andbreathedagainwhenhesawthatitwasdone。

  “Alittlelaboredinstyle,Duncan。Butnotbad,consideringtheinterruption?“

  “Bynomeans,SirPatrick。“

  “Seewhoitis。“

  Duncanwenttothedoor;andreturned,tohismaster,withanexcusefortheinterruption,intheshapeofatelegram!

  SirPatrickstartedatthesightofthatunwelcomemessage。“Signthereceipt,Duncan,“hesaid——andopenedtheenvelope。Yes!

  Exactlyashehadanticipated!NewsofMissSilvester,ontheverydaywhenhehaddecidedtoabandonallfurtherattemptatdiscoveringher。Thetelegramranthus:

  “MessagereceivedfromFalkirkthismorning。Lady,asdescribed,leftthetrainatFalkirklastnight。Wenton,bythefirsttrainthismorning,toGlasgow。Waitfurtherinstructions。“

  “Isthemessengertotakeanythingback,SirPatrick?“

  “No。ImustconsiderwhatIamtodo。IfIfinditnecessaryI

  willsendtothestation。HereisnewsofMissSilvester,Duncan,“continuedSirPatrick,whenthemessengerhadgone。“ShehasbeentracedtoGlasgow。“

  “Glasgowisalargeplace,SirPatrick。“

  “Yes。Eveniftheyhavetelegraphedonandhadherwatchedwhichdoesn’tappear,shemayescapeusagainatGlasgow。Iamthelastmanintheworld,Ihope,toshrinkfromacceptingmyfairshareofanyresponsibility。ButIownIwouldhavegivensomethingtohavekeptthistelegramoutofthehouse。ItraisesthemostawkwardquestionIhavehadtodecideonformanyalongdaypast。Helpmeonwithmycoat。Imustthinkofit!Imustthinkofit!“

  SirPatrickwentdowntodinnerinnoagreeableframeofmind。

  TheunexpectedrecoveryofthelosttraceofMissSilvester——thereisnodisguisingit——seriouslyannoyedhim。

  Thedinner-partythatday,assemblingpunctuallyatthestrokeofthebell,hadtowaitaquarterofanhourbeforethehostesscamedownstairs。

  LadyLundie’sapology,whensheenteredthelibrary,informedhergueststhatshehadbeendetainedbysomeneighborswhohadcalledatanunusuallylatehour。Mr。andMrs。JuliusDelamayn,findingthemselvesnearWindygates,hadfavoredherwithavisit,ontheirwayhome,andhadleftcardsofinvitationforagarden-partyattheirhouse。

  LadyLundiewascharmedwithhernewacquaintances。TheyhadincludedeverybodywhowasstayingatWindygatesintheirinvitation。Theyhadbeenaspleasantandeasyasoldfriends。

  Mrs。Delamaynhadbroughtthekindestmessagefromoneofherguests——Mrs。Glenarm——tosaythatsherememberedmeetingLadyLundieinLondon,inthetimeofthelateSirThomas,andwasanxioustoimprovetheacquaintance。Mr。JuliusDelamaynhadgivenamostamusingaccountofhisbrother。GeoffreyhadsenttoLondonforatrainer;andthewholehouseholdwasonthetip-toeofexpectationtowitnessthemagnificentspectacleofanathletepreparinghimselfforafoot-race。Theladies,withMrs。Glenarmattheirhead,werehardatwork,studyingtheprofoundandcomplicatedquestionofhumanrunning——themusclesemployedinit,thepreparationrequiredforit,theheroeseminentinit。

  ThemenhadbeenalloccupiedthatmorninginassistingGeoffreytomeasureamile,forhisexercising-ground,inaremotepartofthepark——wheretherewasanemptycottage,whichwastobefittedwithallthenecessaryappliancesforthereceptionofGeoffreyandhistrainer。“Youwillseethelastofmybrother,“

  Juliushadsaid,“atthegarden-party。Afterthatheretiresintoathleticprivacy,andhasbutoneinterestinlife——theinterestofwatchingthedisappearanceofhisownsuperfluousflesh。“

  ThroughoutthedinnerLadyLundiewasinoppressivelygoodspirits,singingthepraisesofhernewfriends。SirPatrick,ontheotherhand,hadneverbeensosilentwithinthememoryofmortalman。Hetalkedwithaneffort;andhelistenedwithagreatereffortstill。Toanswerornottoanswerthetelegraminhispocket?TopersistornottopersistinhisresolutiontoleaveMissSilvestertogoherownway?Thosewerethequestionswhichinsistedoncomingroundtohimasregularlyasthedishesthemselvescameroundintheorderlyprogressionofthedinner。

  Blanche——whohadnotfeltequaltotakingherplaceatthetable——appearedinthedrawing-roomafterward。

  SirPatrickcameintotea,withthegentlemen,stilluncertainastotherightcoursetotakeinthematterofthetelegram。OnelookatBlanche’ssadfaceandBlanche’salteredmannerdecidedhim。WhatwouldbetheresultifherousednewhopesbyresumingtheefforttotraceMissSilvester,andifhelostthetraceasecondtime?Hehadonlytolookathisnieceandtosee。Couldanyconsiderationjustifyhiminturninghermindbackonthememoryofthefriendwhohadleftheratthemomentwhenitwasjustbeginningtolookforwardforrelieftotheprospectofhermarriage?Nothingcouldjustifyhim;andnothingshouldinducehimtodoit。

  Reasoning——soundlyenough,fromhisownpointofview——onthatbasis,SirPatrickdeterminedonsendingnofurtherinstructionstohisfriendatEdinburgh。ThatnighthewarnedDuncantopreservethestrictestsilenceastothearrivalofthetelegram。

  Heburnedit,incaseofaccidents,withhisownhand,inhisownroom。

  Risingthenextdayandlookingoutofhiswindow,SirPatricksawthetwoyoungpeopletakingtheirmorningwalkatamomentwhentheyhappenedtocrosstheopengrassyspacewhichseparatedthetwoshrubberiesatWindygates。Arnold’sarmwasroundBlanche’swaist,andtheyweretalkingconfidentiallywiththeirheadsclosetogether。“Sheiscomingroundalready!“thoughttheoldgentleman,asthetwodisappearedagaininthesecondshrubberyfromview。“ThankHeaven!thingsarerunningsmoothlyatlast!“

  AmongtheornamentsofSirPatrick’sbedroomtherewasaviewtakenfromaboveofoneoftheHighlandwaterfalls。Ifhehadlookedatthepicturewhenheturnedawayfromhiswindow,hemighthaveremarkedthatariverwhichisrunningwithitsutmostsmoothnessatonemomentmaybeariverwhichplungesintoitsmostviolentagitationatanother;andhemighthaveremembered,withcertainmisgivings,thattheprogressofastreamofwaterhasbeenlongsincelikened,withtheuniversalconsentofhumanity,totheprogressofthestreamoflife。

  ONthedaywhenSirPatrickreceivedthesecondofthetwotelegramssenttohimfromEdinburgh,fourrespectableinhabitantsoftheCityofGlasgowwerestartledbytheappearanceofanobjectofinterestonthemonotonoushorizonoftheirdailylives。

  Thepersonsreceivingthiswholesomeshockwere——Mr。andMrs。

  KarnegieoftheSheep’sHeadHotel-andMr。Camp,andMr。Crum,attachedas“Writers“tothehonorableprofessionoftheLaw。

  Itwasstillearlyinthedaywhenaladyarrived,inacabfromtherailway,attheSheep’sHeadHotel。Herluggageconsistedofablackbox,andofawell-wornleatherbagwhichshecarriedinherhand。Thenameontheboxrecentlywrittenonanewluggagelabel,asthecoloroftheinkandpapershowedwasaverygoodnameinitsway,commontoaverygreatnumberofladies,bothinScotlandandEngland。Itwas“Mrs。Graham。“

  Encounteringthelandlordattheentrancetothehotel,“Mrs。

  Graham“askedtobeaccommodatedwithabedroom,andwastransferredinduecoursetothechamber-maidondutyatthetime。Returningtothelittleroombehindthebar,inwhichtheaccountswerekept,Mr。Karnegiesurprisedhiswifebymovingmorebriskly,andlookingmuchbrighterthanusual。Beingquestioned,Mr。Karnegiewhohadcasttheeyeofalandlordontheblackboxinthepassageannouncedthatone“Mrs。Graham“

  hadjustarrived,andwasthenandtheretobebookedasinhabitingRoomNumberSeventeen。Beinginformedwithconsiderableasperityoftoneandmannerthatthisanswerfailedtoaccountfortheinterestwhichappearedtohavebeeninspiredinhimbyatotalstranger,Mr。Karnegiecametothepoint,andconfessedthat“Mrs。Graham“wasoneofthesweetest-lookingwomenhehadseenformanyalongday,andthathefearedshewasveryseriouslyoutofhealth。

  UponthatreplytheeyesofMrs。Karnegiedevelopedinsize,andthecolorofMrs。Karnegiedeepenedintint。Shegotupfromherchairandsaidthatitmightbejustaswellifshepersonallysuperintendedtheinstallationof“Mrs。Graham“inherroom,andpersonallysatisfiedherselfthat“Mrs。Graham“wasafitinmatetobereceivedattheSheep’sHeadHotel。Mr。Karnegiethereupondidwhathealwaysdid——heagreedwithhiswife。

  Mrs。Karnegiewasabsentforsomelittletime。OnherreturnhereyeshadacertaintigerishcastinthemwhentheyrestedonMr。

  Karnegie。SheorderedteaandsomelightrefreshmenttobetakentoNumberSeventeen。Thisdone——withoutanyvisibleprovocationtoaccountfortheremark——sheturneduponherhusband,andsaid,“Mr。Karnegieyouareafool。“Mr。Karnegieasked,“Why,mydear?“Mrs。Karnegiesnappedherfingers,andsaid,“_That_forhergoodlooks!Youdon’tknowagood-lookingwomanwhenyouseeher。“Mr。Karnegieagreedwithhiswife。

  Nothingmorewassaiduntilthewaiterappearedatthebarwithhistray。Mrs。Karnegie,havingfirstwaivedthetrayoff,withoutinstitutinghercustomaryinvestigation,satdownsuddenlywithathump,andsaidtoherhusbandwhohadnotutteredawordintheinterval,“Don’ttalktoMeaboutherbeingoutofhealth!_That_forherhealth!It’stroubleonhermind。“Mr。Karnegiesaid,“Isitnow?“Mrs。Karnegiereplied,“WhenIhavesaid,Itis,Iconsidermyselfinsultedifanotherpersonsays,Isit?“Mr。Karnegieagreedwithhiswife。

  There。wasanotherinterval。Mrs。Karnegieaddedupabill,withafaceofdisgust。Mr。Karnegielookedatherwithafaceofwonder。Mrs。Karnegiesuddenlyaskedhimwhyhewastedhislookson_her,_whenhewouldhave“Mrs。Graham“tolookatbeforelong。Mr。Karnegie,uponthat,attemptedtocompromisethematterbylooking,intheinterim,athisownboots。Mrs。Karnegiewishedtoknowwhetheraftertwentyyearsofmarriedlife,shewasconsideredtobenotworthansweringbyherownhusband。

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