Inhereagernesstoknowtheresult，Mrs。GlenarmforgetherjealousyofPerry。
“Howlonghashebeen？“sheasked。
“There’sagoodmanybesidesyouwouldbegladtoknowthat，“
saidPerry。
“Mr。Delamaynwilltellme，yourudeman!“
“Thatdepends，ma’am，onwhether_I_tell_him。_“
Withthisreply，Perryhurriedbacktothecottage。
Notawordpassedwhilethetrainerwasattendingtohisman，andwhilethemanwasrecoveringhisbreath。WhenGeoffreyhadbeencarefullyrubbeddown，andclothedagaininhisordinarygarments，Perrypulledacomfortableeasy-chairoutofacorner。
Geoffreyfellintothechair，ratherthansatdowninit。Perrystarted，andlookedathimattentively。
“Well？“saidGeoffrey。“Howaboutthetime？Long？short？ormiddling？“
“Verygoodtime，“saidPerry。
“Howlong？“
“Whendidyousaytheladywasgoing，Mr。Delamayn？“
“Intwodays。“
“Verywell，Sir。I’lltellyou’howlong’whenthelady’sgone。“
Geoffreymadenoattempttoinsistonanimmediatereply。Hesmiledfaintly。Afteranintervaloflessthantenminuteshestretchedouthislegsandclosedhiseyes。
“Goingtosleep？“saidPerry。
Geoffreyopenedhiseyeswithaneffort。“No，“hesaid。Thewordhadhardlypassedhislipsbeforehiseyesclosedagain。
“Hullo!“saidPerry，watchinghim。“Idon’tlikethat。“
Hewentclosertothechair。Therewasnodoubtaboutit。Themanwasasleep。
Perryemittedalongwhistleunderhisbreath。HestoopedandlaidtwoofhisfingerssoftlyonGeoffrey’spulse。Thebeatwasslow，heavy，andlabored。Itwasunmistakablythepulseofanexhaustedman。
Thetrainerchangedcolor，andtookaturnintheroom。Heopenedacupboard，andproducedfromithisdiaryoftheprecedingyear。
TheentriesrelatingtothelastoccasiononwhichhehadpreparedGeoffreyforafoot-raceincludedthefullestdetails。
Heturnedtothereportofthefirsttrial，atthreehundredyards，fullspeed。Thetimewas，byoneortwoseconds，notsogoodasthetimeonthisoccasion。Buttheresult，afterward，wasutterlydifferent。Thereitwas，inPerry’sownwords：“Pulsegood。Maninhighspirits。Ready，ifIwouldhavelethim，torunitoveragain。“
Perrylookedroundatthesameman，ayearafterward——utterlywornout，andfastasleepinthechair。
Hefetchedpen，ink，andpaperoutofthecupboard，andwrotetwoletters——bothmarked“Private。“Thefirstwastoamedicalman，agreatauthorityamongtrainers。ThesecondwastoPerry’sownagentinLondon，whomheknewhecouldtrust。Theletterpledgedtheagenttothestrictestsecrecy，anddirectedhimtobackGeoffrey’sopponentintheFoot-RaceforasumequaltothesumwhichPerryhadbettedonGeoffreyhimself。“Ifyouhavegotanymoneyofyourownonhim，“theletterconcluded，“doasIdo。
’Hedge’——andholdyourtongue。“
“Anotherof’emgonestale!“saidthetrainer，lookingroundagainatthesleepingman。“He’lllosetherace。“
ANDwhatdidthevisitorssayoftheSwans？
Theysaid，“Oh，whatanumberofthem!“——whichwasallthatwastobesaidbypersonsignorantofthenaturalhistoryofaquaticbirds。
Andwhatdidthevisitorssayofthelake？
Someofthemsaid，“Howsolemn!“Someofthemsaid，“Howromantic!“Someofthemsaidnothing——butprivatelythoughtitadismalscene。
Hereagainthepopularsentimentstrucktherightnoteatstarting。Thelakewashiddeninthecentreofafirwood。Exceptinthemiddle，wherethesunlightreachedthem，thewaterslayblackunderthesombreshadowofthetrees。Theonebreakintheplantationwasatthefartherendofthelake。Theonesignofmovementandlifetobeseenwastheghostlyglidingoftheswansonthedead-stillsurfaceofthewater。Itwassolemn——astheysaid；itwasromantic——astheysaid。Itwasdismal——astheythought。Pagesofdescriptioncouldexpressnomore。Letpagesofdescriptionbeabsent，therefore，inthisplace。
Havingsatiateditselfwiththeswans，havingexhaustedthelake，thegeneralcuriosityrevertedtothebreakinthetreesatthefartherend——remarkedastartlinglyartificialobject，intrudingitselfonthescene，intheshapeofalargeredcurtain，whichhungbetweentwoofthetallestfirs，andclosedtheprospectbeyondfromview——requestedanexplanationofthecurtainfromJuliusDelamayn——andreceivedforanswerthatthemysteryshouldberevealedonthearrivalofhiswifewiththetardyremainderoftheguestswhohadloiteredaboutthehouse。
OntheappearanceofMrs。Delamaynandthestragglers，theunitedpartycoastedtheshoreofthelake，andstoodassembledinfrontofthecurtain。Pointingtothesilkencordshangingateithersideofit，JuliusDelamaynpickedouttwolittlegirlschildrenofhiswife’ssister，andsentthemtothecords，withinstructionstopull，andseewhathappened。TheniecesofJuliuspulledwiththeeagerhandsofchildreninthepresenceofamystery——thecurtainspartedinthemiddle，andacryofuniversalastonishmentanddelightsalutedthescenerevealedtoview。
Attheendofabroadavenueoffirsacoolgreengladespreaditsgrassycarpetinthemidstofthesurroundingplantation。Thegroundatthefartherendofthegladerose；andhere，onthelowerslopes，abrightlittlespringofwaterbubbledoutbetweengrayoldgraniterocks。
Alongtheright-handedgeoftheturfranarowoftables，arrayedinspotlesswhite，andcoveredwithrefreshmentswaitingfortheguests。Ontheoppositesidewasabandofmusic，whichburstintoharmonyatthemomentwhenthecurtainsweredrawn。
Lookingbackthroughtheavenue，theeyecaughtadistantglimpseofthelake，wherethesunlightplayedonthewater，andtheplumageoftheglidingswansflashedsoftlyinbrilliantwhite。
SuchwasthecharmingsurprisewhichJuliusDelamaynhadarrangedforhisfriends。Itwasonlyatmomentslikethese——orwhenheandhiswifewereplayingSonatasinthemodestlittlemusic-roomatSwanhaven——thatLordHolchester’seldestsonwasreallyhappy。
Hesecretlygroanedoverthedutieswhichhispositionasalandedgentlemanimposeduponhim；andhesufferedundersomeofthehighestprivilegesofhisrankandstationasundersocialmartyrdominitscruelestform。
“We’lldinefirst，“saidJulius，“anddanceafterward。Thereistheprogramme!“
Heledthewaytothetables，withthetwoladiesnearesttohim——utterlycarelesswhethertheywereorwerenotamongtheladiesofthehighestrankthenpresent。ToLadyLundie’sastonishmenthetookthefirstseathecameto，withoutappearingtocarewhatplaceheoccupiedathisownfeast。Theguests，followinghisexample，satwheretheypleased，recklessofprecedentsanddignities。Mrs。Delamayn，feelingaspecialinterestinayoungladywhowasshortlytobeabride，tookBlanche’sarm。LadyLundieattachedherselfresolutelytoherhostessontheotherside。Thethreesattogether。Mrs。DelamayndidherbesttoencourageBlanchetotalk，andBlanchedidherbesttomeettheadvancesmadetoher。
Theexperimentsucceededbutpoorlyoneitherside。Mrs。Delamayngaveitupindespair，andturnedtoLadyLundie，withastrongsuspicionthatsomeunpleasantsubjectofreflectionwaspreyingprivatelyonthebride’smind。Theconclusionwassoundlydrawn。
Blanche’slittleoutbreakoftemperwithherfriendontheterrace，andBlanche’spresentdeficiencyofgayetyandspirit，wereattributabletothesamecause。Shehiditfromheruncle，shehiditfromArnold——butshewasasanxiousasever，andaswretchedasever，aboutAnne；andshewasstillonthewatchnomatterwhatSirPatrickmightsayordotoseizethefirstopportunityofrenewingthesearchforherlostfriend。
Meanwhiletheeating，thedrinking，andthetalkingwentmerrilyon。Thebandplayeditsliveliestmelodies；theservantskepttheglassesconstantlyfilled：roundallthetablesgayetyandfreedomreignedsupreme。Theoneconversationinprogress，inwhichthetalkerswerenotinsocialharmonywitheachother，wastheconversationatBlanche’sside，betweenherstep-motherandMrs。Delamayn。
AmongLadyLundie’sotheraccomplishmentsthepowerofmakingdisagreeablediscoveriesrankedhigh。Atthedinnerinthegladeshehadnotfailedtonotice——whateverybodyelsehadpassedover——theabsenceatthefestivalofthehostess’sbrother-in-law；andmoreremarkablestill，thedisappearanceofaladywhowasactuallyoneoftheguestsstayinginthehouse：inplainerwords，thedisappearanceofMrs。Glenarm。
“AmImistaken？“saidherladyship，liftinghereye-glass，andlookingroundthetables。“Surelythereisamemberofourpartymissing？Idon’tseeMr。GeoffreyDelamayn。“
“Geoffreypromisedtobehere。Butheisnotparticularlyattentive，asyoumayhavenoticed，tokeepingengagementsofthissort。Everythingissacrificedtohistraining。Weonlyseehimatrareintervalsnow。“