“I’mnotfittobeseen，“shesaid。“I’msoagitated，Idon’tknowwhattodo。Comeindoors，Geoffrey——andhaveacupoftea。“
Geoffreyshookhishead。“Perryforbidstea，“hesaid，“inthemiddleoftheday。“
“Youbrute!“criedMrs。Glenarm。
“Doyouwantmetolosetherace？“retortedGeoffrey。
“Yes!“
Withthatanswershelefthimatlast，andranbackintothehouse。
Geoffreytookaturnontheterrace——consideredalittle——stopped——andlookedattheporchunderwhichtheiratewidowhaddisappearedfromhisview。“Tenthousandayear，“hesaid，thinkingofthematrimonialprospectwhichhewasplacinginperil。“Anddevilishwellearned，“headded，goingintothehouse，underprotest，toappeaseMrs。Glenarm。
Theoffendedladywasonasofa，inthesolitarydrawing-room。
Geoffreysatdownbyher。Shedeclinedtolookathim。“Don’tbeafool!“saidGeoffrey，inhismostpersuasivemanner。Mrs。
Glenarmputherhandkerchieftohereyes。Geoffreytookitawayagainwithoutceremony。Mrs。Glenarmrosetoleavetheroom。
Geoffreystoppedherbymainforce。Mrs。Glenarmthreatenedtosummontheservants。Geoffreysaid，“Allright!Idon’tcareifthewholehouseknowsI’mfondofyou!“Mrs。Glenarmlookedatthedoor，andwhispered“Hush!forHeaven’ssake!“Geoffreyputherarminhis，andsaid，“Comealongwithme：I’vegotsomethingtosaytoyou。“Mrs。Glenarmdrewback，andshookherhead。
Geoffreyputhisarmroundherwaist，andwalkedheroutoftheroom，andoutofthehouse——takingthedirection，notoftheterrace，butofafirplantationontheoppositesideofthegrounds。Arrivedamongthetrees，hestoppedandheldupawarningforefingerbeforetheoffendedlady’sface。“You’rejustthesortofwomanIlike，“hesaid；“andthereain’tamanlivingwho’shalfassweetonyouasIam。YouleaveoffbullyingmeaboutPerry，andI’lltellyouwhatI’lldo——I’llletyouseemetakeaSprint。“
Hedrewbackastep，andfixedhisbigblueeyesonher，withalookwhichsaid，“Youareahighly-favoredwoman，ifevertherewasoneyet!“CuriosityinstantlytooktheleadingplaceamongtheemotionsofMrs。Glenarm。“What’saSprint，Geoffrey？“sheasked。
“Ashortrun，totrymeatthetopofmyspeed。Thereain’tanotherlivingsoulinallEnglandthatI’dletseeitbutyou。
_Now_amIabrute？“
Mrs。Glenarmwasconqueredagain，forthehundredthtimeatleast。Shesaid，softly，“Oh，Geoffrey，ifyoucouldonlybealwayslikethis!“Hereyesliftedthemselvesadmiringlytohis。
Shetookhisarmagainofherownaccord，andpresseditwithalovingclasp。Geoffreypropheticallyfeltthetenthousandayearinhispocket。“Doyoureallyloveme？“whisperedMrs。Glenarm。
“Don’tI!“answeredthehero。Thepeacewasmade，andthetwowalkedonagain。
Theypassedthroughtheplantation，andcameoutonsomeopenground，risingandfallingprettily，inlittlehillocksandhollows。Thelastofthehillocksslopeddownintoasmoothlevelplain，withafringeofshelteringtreesonitsfartherside——withasnuglittlestonecottageamongthetrees——andwithasmartlittleman，walkingupanddownbeforethecottage，holdinghishandsbehindhim。Thelevelplainwasthehero’sexercisingground；thecottagewasthehero’sretreat；andthesmartlittlemanwasthehero’strainer。
IfMrs。GlenarmhatedPerry，PerryjudgingbyappearanceswasinnodangeroflovingMrs。Glenarm。AsGeoffreyapproachedwithhiscompanion，thetrainercametoastand-still，andstaredsilentlyatthelady。Thelady，onherside，declinedtoobservethatanysuchpersonasthetrainerwastheninexistence，andpresentinbodilyformonthescene。
“Howabouttime？“saidGeoffrey。
Perryconsultedanelaboratewatch，constructedtomarktimetothefifthofasecond，andansweredGeoffrey，withhiseyeallthewhileonMrs。Glenarm。
“You’vegotfiveminutestospare。“
“Showmewhereyourun，I’mdyingtoseeit!“saidtheeagerwidow，takingpossessionofGeoffrey’sarmwithbothhands。
Geoffreyledherbacktoaplacemarkedbyasaplingwithalittleflagattachedtoitatsomeshortdistancefromthecottage。Sheglidedalongbyhisside，withsubtleundulationsofmovementwhichappearedtocompletetheexasperationofPerry。Hewaiteduntilshewasoutofhearing——andthenheinvokedletussaytheblastsofheavenonthefashionably-dressedheadofMrs。
Glenarm。
“Youtakeyourplacethere，“saidGeoffrey，postingherbythesapling。“WhenIpassyou——“Hestopped，andsurveyedherwithagood-humoredmasculinepity。“HowthedevilamItomakeyouunderstandit？“hewenton。“Lookhere!whenIpassyou，itwillbeatwhatyouwouldcallifIwasahorsefullgallop。Holdyourtongue——Ihaven’tdoneyet。You’retolookonaftermeasI
leaveyou，towheretheedgeofthecottagewallcutsthetrees。
Whenyouhavelostsightofmebehindthewall，you’llhaveseenmerunmythreehundredyardsfromthisflag。You’reinluck’sway!PerrytriesmeatthelongSprintto-day。Youunderstandyou’retostophere？Verywellthen——letmegoandgetmytoggeryon。“
“Sha’n’tIseeyouagain，Geoffrey？“
“Haven’tIjusttoldyouthatyou’llseemerun？“
“Yes——butafterthat？“
“Afterthat，I’mspongedandrubbeddown——andrestinthecottage。“
“You’llcometousthisevening？“
Henodded，andlefther。ThefaceofPerrylookedunutterablethingswhenheandGeoffreymetatthedoorofthecottage。
“I’vegotaquestiontoaskyou，Mr。Delamayn，“saidthetrainer。
“Doyouwantme？ordon’tyou？“
“OfcourseIwantyou。“
“WhatdidIsaywhenIfirstcomehere？“proceededPerry，sternly。“Isaid，’Iwon’thavenobodyalookingonatamanI’mtraining。Thesehereladiesandgentlemenmayallhavemadeuptheirmindstoseeyou。I’vemadeupmymindnottohavenolookers-on。Iwon’thaveyoutimedatyourworkbynobodybutme。
Iwon’thaveeveryblessedyardofgroundyoucoverputinthenoospapers。Iwon’thavealivingsoulinthesecretofwhatyoucando，andwhatyoucan’t，exceptourtwoselves。’——DidIsaythat，Mr。Delamayn？ordidn’tI？“
“Allright!“
“DidIsayit？ordidn’tI？“
“Ofcourseyoudid!“
“Thendon’tyoubringnomorewomenhere。It’scleanagainstrules。AndIwon’thaveit。“
Anyotherlivingcreatureadoptingthistoneofremonstrancewouldprobablyhavehadreasontorepentit。ButGeoffreyhimselfwasafraidtoshowhistemperinthepresenceofPerry。Inviewofthecomingrace，thefirstandforemostofBritishtrainerswasnottobetrifledwith，evenbythefirstandforemostofBritishathletes。
“Shewon’tcomeagain，“saidGeoffrey。“She’sgoingawayfromSwanhavenintwodays’time。“
“I’veputeveryshillingI’mworthintheworldonyou，“pursuedPerry，relapsingintotenderness。“AndItellyouIfeltit!ItcutmetotheheartwhenIseeyoucomingalongwithawomanatyourheels。It’safraudonhisbackers，Isaystomyself——that’swhatitis，afraudonhisbackers!“
“Shutup!“saidGeoffrey。“Andcomeandhelpmetowinyourmoney。“Hekickedopenthedoorofthecottage——andathleteandtrainerdisappearedfromview。
Afterwaitingafewminutesbythelittleflag，Mrs。Glenarmsawthetwomenapproachingherfromthecottage。Dressedinaclose-fittingcostume，lightandelastic，adaptingitselftoeverymovement，andmadetoanswereverypurposerequiredbytheexerciseinwhichhewasabouttoengage，Geoffrey’sphysicaladvantagesshowedthemselvesintheirbestandbravestaspect。
Hisheadsatproudandeasyonhisfirm，whitethroat，baredtotheair。Therisingofhismightychest，ashedrewindeepdraughtsofthefragrantsummerbreeze；theplayofhislitheandsuppleloins；theeasy，elasticstrideofhisstraightandshapelylegs，presentedatriumphofphysicalmanhoodinitshighesttype。Mrs。Glenarm’seyesdevouredhiminsilentadmiration。Helookedlikeayounggodofmythology——likeastatueanimatedwithcolorandlife。“Oh，Geoffrey!“sheexclaimed，softly，ashewentby。Heneitheranswered，norlooked：hehadotherbusinessonhandthanlisteningtosoftnonsense。Hewasgatheringhimselfupfortheeffort；hislipswereset；hisfistswerelightlyclenched。Perrypostedhimselfathisplace，grimandsilent，withthewatchinhishand。
Geoffreywalkedonbeyondtheflag，soastogivehimselfstartenoughtoreachhisfullspeedashepassedit。“Nowthen!“saidPerry。Inaninstantmore，heflewbytoMrs。Glenarm’sexcitedimaginationlikeanarrowfromabow。Hisactionwasperfect。
Hisspeed，atitsutmostrateofexertion，preserveditsrareunderlyingelementsofstrengthandsteadiness。Lessandlessandlesshegrewtotheeyesthatfollowedhiscourse；stilllightlyflyingovertheground，stillfirmlykeepingthestraightline。A
momentmore，andtherunnervanishedbehindthewallofthecottage，andthestop-watchofthetrainerreturnedtoitsplaceinhispocket。