"Itisonlyherwishifwelivetogether。Shewasplanningitwhenshedied。"
"Ican’tfollow——because——toshareyourlife?DidyouknowI
calledherelastSundayweek?"
"Yes。ButthenIonlyknewhalf。Ithoughtyouweremyfather’sson。"
Stephen’sangerandbewildermentwereincreasing。Hestuttered。
"What——what’stheoddsifyoudid?"
"Ihatedmyfather,"saidRickie。"Ilovedmymother。"Andneverhadthephrasesseemedsodestituteofmeaning。
"LastSundayweek,"interruptedStephen,hisvoicesuddenlyrising,"Icametocallonyou。Notasthisorthat’sson。Nottofallonyourneck。Nortolivehere。Nor——damnyourdirtylittlemind!ImeanttosayIdidn’tcomeformoney。Sorry。Sorry。I
simplycameasIwas,andIhaven’talteredsince。"
"Yes——yetourmother——formeshehasrisenfromthedeadsincethen——IknowIwaswrong——"
"AndwheredoIcomein?"Hekickedthehassock。"Ihaven’trisenfromthedead。Ihaven’talteredsincelastSundayweek。I’m——"Hestutteredagain。Hecouldnotquiteexplainwhathewas。"ThemantowardsAndover——afterall,hewashavingprinciples。Butyou’ve—
—"Hisvoicebroke。"Imindit——I’m——Idon’talter——blackguardoneweek——liveherethenext——Ikeeptooneortheother——you’vehurtsomethingmostbadlyinmethatIdidn’tknowwasthere。"
"Don’tletustalk,"saidRickie。"Itgetsworseeveryminute。
Simplysayyouforgiveme;shakehands,andhavedonewithit。"
"ThatIwon’t。ThatIcouldn’t。Infact,Idon’tknowwhatyoumean。"
ThenRickiebegananewappeal——nottopity,fornowhewasinnomoodtowhimper。Forallitspathos,therewassomethingheroicinthismeeting。"Iwarnyoutostopherewithme,Stephen。Nooneelseintheworldwilllookafteryou。AsfarasIknow,youhaveneverbeenreallyunhappyyetorsuffered,asyoushoulddo,fromyourfaults。Lastnightyounearlykilledyourselfwithdrink。
NevermindwhyI’mwillingtocureyou。Iamwilling,andIwarnyoutogivemethechance。Forgivemeornot,asyouchoose。I
careforotherthingsmore。"
Stephenlookedathimatlast,faintlyapproving。Theofferwasridiculous,butitdidtreathimasaman。
"Letmetellyouofafaultofmine,andhowIwaspunishedforit,"continuedRickie。"TwoyearsagoIbehavedbadlytoyou,upattheRings。No,evenafewdaysbeforethat。Wewentforaride,andIthoughttoomuchofothermatters,anddidnottrytounderstandyou。ThencametheRings,andintheevening,whenyoucalleduptomemostkindly,Ineveranswered。Buttheridewasthebeginning。EversincethenIhavetakentheworldatsecond—hand。Ihavebotheredlessandlesstolookitintheface——untilnotonlyyou,buteveryoneelsehasturnedunreal。
NeverAnsell:hekeptaway,andsomehowsavedhimself。Buteveryoneelse。DoyourememberinoneofTonyFailing’sbooks,’Castbitterbreaduponthewaters,andaftermanydaysitreallydoescomebacktoyou’?Thishadbeentrueofmylife;itwillbeequallytrueofadrunkard’s,andIwarnyoutostopwithme。"
"Ican’tstopafterthatcheque,"saidStephenmoregently。"ButIdoremembertheride。Iwasabitboredmyself。"
Agnes,whohadnotbeenseeingtothebreakfast,chosethismomenttocallfromthepassage。"Ofcoursehecan’tstop,"sheexclaimed。"Forbetterorworse,it’ssettled。We’venoneofusalteredsincelastSundayweek。"
"Thereyou’reright,Mrs。Elliot!"heshouted,startingoutofthetemperatepast。"Wehaven’taltered。"WitharareflashofinsightheturnedonRickie。"Iseeyourgame。Youdon’tcareaboutMEdrinking,ortoshakeMYhand。It’ssomeoneelseyouwanttocure——asitwere,thatoldphotograph。Youtalktome,butallthetimeyoulookatthephotograph。"Hesnatcheditup。
"I’vemyownideasofgoodmanners,andtolookfriendsbetweentheeyesisoneofthem;andthis"——hetorethephotographacross"andthis"——hetoreitagain——"andthese——"Heflungthepiecesattheman,whohadsunkintoachair。"Formypart,I’moff。"
ThenRickiewasheroicnolonger。Turningroundinhischair,hecoveredhisface。Themanwasright。Hedidnotlovehim,evenashehadneverhatedhim。Ineitherpassionhehaddegradedhimtobeasymbolforthevanishedpast。Themanwasright,andwouldhavebeenlovable。Helongedtobebackridingoverthosewindyfields,tobebackinthosemysticcircles,beneathpuresky。
Thentheycouldhavewatchedandhelpedandtaughteachother,untilthewordwasareality,andthepastnotatornphotograph,butDemeterthegoddessrejoicinginthespring。Ah,ifhehadseizedthosehighopportunities!Fortheyledtothehighestofall,thesymbolicmoment,which,ifamanaccepts,hehasacceptedlife。
ThevoiceofAgnes,whichhadluredhimthen("Formysake,"shehadwhispered),pealedoverhimnowintriumph。Abruptlyitbrokeintosobsthathadtheeffectofrain。Hestartedup。TheangerhaddiedoutofStephen’sface,notforasubtlereasonbutbecauseherewasawoman,nearhim,andunhappy。
Shetriedtoapologize,andbroughtonafreshburstoftears。
Somethinghadupsether。Theyheardherlockingthedoorofherroom。Fromthatmomenttheirintercoursewaschanged。
"Whydoesshekeepcryingtoday?"musedRickie,asifhespoketosomemutualfriend。
"Icanmakeaguess,"saidStephen,andhisheavyfaceflushed。
"Didyouinsulther?"heaskedfeebly。
"Butwho’sGerald?"
Rickieraisedhishandtohismouth。
"Shelookedatmeasifsheknewme,andthengasps’Gerald,’andstartedcrying。"
"Geraldisthenameofsomeonesheonceknew。"
"SoIthought。"Therewasalongsilence,inwhichtheycouldhearapiteousgulpingcough。"Whereishenow?"askedStephen。
"Dead。"
"Andthenyou——?"
Rickienodded。
"Bad,thissortofthing。"
"Ididn’tknowofthisparticularthing。Sheactedasifshehadforgottenhim。Perhapsshehad,andyouwokehimup。Therearequeertricksintheworld。Sheisoverstrained。Shehasprobablybeenplottingeversinceyouburstinlastnight。"
"Againstme?"
"Yes。"
Stephenstoodirresolute。"Isupposeyouandshepulledtogether?"Hesaidatlast。
"Getawayfromus,man!Imindlosingyou。Yetit’saswellyoudon’tstop。"
"Oh,THAT’Soutofthequestion,"saidStephen,brushinghiscap。
"Ifyou’veguessedanything,I’dbeobligedifyoudidn’tmentionit。I’venorighttoask,butI’dbeobliged。"
Henodded,andwalkedslowlyalongthelandinganddownthestairs。Rickieaccompaniedhim,andevenopenedthefrontdoor。
ItwasasifAgneshadabsorbedthepassionoutofbothofthem。
Thesuburbwasnowwrappedinacloud,notofitsownmaking。
Sighaftersighpassedalongitsstreetstobreakagainstdrippingwalls。Theschool,thehouseswerehidden,andallcivilizationseemedinabeyance。Onlythesimplestsounds,thesimplestdesiresemerged。Theyagreedthatthisweatherwasstrangeaftersuchasunset。
"That’sacollie,"saidStephen,listening。
"Iwishyou’dhavesomebreakfastbeforestarting。"
"Nofood,thanks。Butyouknow"Hepaused。"It’sallbeenamuddle,andI’venoobjectiontoyourcomingalongwithme。"
Theclouddescendedlower。
"Comewithmeasaman,"saidStephen,alreadyoutinthemist。
"Notasabrother;whocareswhatpeopledidyearsback?We’realivetogether,andtherestiscant。HereamI,Rickie,andthereareyou,afairwreck。They’venouseforyouhere,——neverhadany,ifthetruthwasknown,——andthey’veonlymadeyoubeastly。Thishouse,sotospeak,hastherot。It’scommon—sensethatyoushouldcome。"
"Stephen,waitaminute。Whatdoyoumean?"
"Wait’swhatwewon’tdo,"saidStephenatthegate。
"Imustask——"
Hedidwaitforaminute,andsobswereheard,faint,hopeless,vindictive。Thenhetrudgedaway,andRickiesoonlosthiscolourandhisform。Butavoicepersisted,saying,"Come,Idomeanit。
Come;Iwilltakecareofyou,Icanmanageyou。"
Thewordswerekind;yetitwasnotfortheirsakethatRickieplungedintotheimpalpablecloud。Inthevoicehehadfoundasurerguarantee。Habitsandsexmaychangewiththenewgeneration,featuresmayalterwiththeplayofaprivatepassion,butavoiceisapartfromthese。Itliesnearertotheracialessenceandperhapstothedivine;itcan,atallevents,overleaponegrave。
XXXII
Mr。Pembrokedidnotreceiveaclearaccountofwhathadhappenedwhenhereturnedfortheinterval。Hissister——hetoldherfrankly——wasconcealingsomethingfromhim。Shecouldmakenoreply。Hadshegonemad,shewondered。Hithertoshehadpretendedtoloveherhusband。Whychoosesuchamomentforthetruth?
"ButIunderstandRickie’sposition,"hetoldher。"Itisanunbalancedposition,yetIunderstandit;Inoteditsapproachwhilehewasill。Heimagineshimselfhisbrother’skeeper。
Thereforewemustmakeconcessions。Wemustnegotiate。"ThenegotiationswerestillprogressinginNovember,themonthduringwhichthisstorydrawstoitsclose。
"Iunderstandhisposition,"hethentoldher。"Itisbothweakanddefiant。HeisstillwiththoseAnsells。Readthisletter,whichthanksmeforhislittlestories。Wesentthemlastmonth,youremember——suchofthemaswecouldfind。Itseemsthathefillsuphistimebywriting:hehasalreadywrittenabook。"
Sheonlygavehimhalfherattention,forabeautifulwreathhadjustarrivedfromtheflorist’s。Shewastakingituptothecemetery:todayherchildhadbeendeadayear。
"Ontheotherhand,hehasalteredhiswill。Fortunately,hecannotaltermuch。ButIfearthatwhatisnotsettledonyou,willgo。ShouldIreadwhatIwroteonthispoint,andalsomyminutesoftheinterviewwitholdMr。Ansell,andthecopyofmycorrespondencewithStephenWonham?"
Butherflywasannounced。Whileheputthewreathinforher,sheranforamomentupstairs。Afewtearshadcometohereyes。
Ascandalousdivorcewouldhavebeenmorebearablethanthiswithdrawal。Peopleasked,"Whydidherhusbandleaveher?"andtheanswercame,"Oh,nothingparticular;heonlycouldn’tstandher;sheliedandtaughthimtolie;shekepthimfromtheworkthatsuitedhim,fromhisfriends,fromhisbrother,——inaword,shetriedtorunhim,whichamanwon’tpardon。"Afewtears;notmany。Toher,lifenevershoweditselfasaclassicdrama,inwhich,bytryingtoadvanceourfortunes,weshatterthem。ShehadturnedStephenoutofWiltshire,andhefelllikeathunderboltonSawstonandonherself。IntryingtogainMrs。
Failing’smoneyshehadprobablylostmoneywhichwouldhavebeenherown。Butironyisasubtleteacher,andshewasnotthewomantolearnfromsuchlessonsasthese。Hersufferingwasmoredirect。Threemenhadwrongedher;thereforeshehatedthem,and,ifshecould,woulddothemharm。
"Thesenegotiationsarequiteuseless,"shetoldHerbertwhenshecamedownstairs。"Wehadmuchbetterbideourtime。TellmejustaboutStephenWonham,though。"
Hedrewherintothestudyagain。"WonhamisorwasinScotland,learningtofarmwithconnectionsoftheAnsells:Ibelievethemoneyistogotowardssettinghimup。Apparentlyheisahardworker。Healsodrinks!"
Shenoddedandsmiled。"Morethanhedid?"
"Myinformant,Mr。Tilliard——oh,Ioughtnottohavementionedhisname。HeisoneofthebettersortofRickie’sCambridgefriends,andhasbeendreadfullygrievedatthecollapse,buthedoesnotwanttobemixedupinit。ThisautumnhewasupintheLowlands,closeby,andverykindlymadeafewunobtrusiveinquiriesforme。Themanisbecominganhabitualdrunkard。"
Shesmiledagain。Stephenhadevokedhersecret,andshehatedhimmoreforthatthanforanythingelsethathehaddone。Thepoiseofhisshouldersthatmorning——itwasnomore——hadrecalledGerald。
Ifonlyshehadnotbeensotired!Hehadremindedherofthegreatestthingshehadknown,andtohercloudymindthisseemeddegradation。Shehadturnedtohimastoherlover;withalook,whichamanofhistypeunderstood,shehadaskedforhispity;
foroneterriblemomentshehaddesiredtobeheldinhisarms。
EvenHerbertwassurprisedwhenshesaid,"I’mgladhedrinks。I
hopehe’llkillhimself。Amanlikethatoughtnevertohavebeenborn。"
"Perhapsthesinsoftheparentsarevisitedonthechildren,"
saidHerbert,takinghertothecarriage。"Yetitisnotforustodecide。"
"Ifeelsurehewillbepunished。Whatrighthashe——"Shebrokeoff。Whatrighthadhetoourcommonhumanity?Itwasahardlessonforanyonetolearn。ForAgnesitwasimpossible。
Stephenwasillicit,abnormal,worsethanamandiseased。Yetshehadturnedtohim:hehaddrawnoutthetruth。
"Mydear,don’tcry,"saidherbrother,drawingupthewindows。
"IhavegreathopesofMr。Tilliard——theSiltshavewritten——Mrs。
Failingwilldowhatshecan——"
Asshedrovetothecemetery,herbitternessturnedagainstAnsell,whohadkeptherhusbandaliveinthedaysafterStephen’sexpulsion。Ifhehadnotbeenthere,Rickiewouldhaverenouncedhismotherandhisbrotherandalltheouterworld,troublingnoone。Themystic,inherentinhim,wouldhaveprevailed。SoAnsellhimselfhadtoldher。AndAnsell,too,hadshelteredthefugitivesandgiventhemmoney,andsavedthemfromtheludicrouschecksthatsooftenstopyoungmen。Butwhenshereachedthecemetery,andstoodbesidethetinygrave,allherbitterness,allherhatredwereturnedagainstRickie。
"Buthe’llcomebackintheend,"shethought。"Awifehasonlytowait。Whatarehisfriendsbesideme?Theytoowillmarry。I
haveonlytowait。Hisbook,likeallthathehasdone,willfail。Hisbrotherisdrinkinghimselfaway。PooraimlessRickie!
Ihaveonlytokeepcivil。Hewillcomebackintheend。"
Shehadmoved,andfoundherselfclosetothegraveofGerald。
Theflowersshehadplantedafterhisdeathweredead,andshehadnotlikedtorenewthem。Therelaytheathlete,andhisdustwasasthelittlechild’swhomshehadbroughtintotheworldwithsuchhope,withsuchpain。
XXXIII
ThatsamedayRickie,feelingneitherpoornoraimless,lefttheAnsells’foranight’svisittoCadover。Hisaunthadinvitedhim——why,hecouldnotthink,norcouldhethinkwhyheshouldrefusetheinvitation。Shecouldnotannoyhimnow,andhewasnotvindictive。InthedellnearMadingleyhehadcried,"Ihatenoone,"inhisignorance。Now,withfullknowledge,hehatednooneagain。Theweatherwaspleasant,thecountyattractive,andhewasreadyforalittlechange。
MaudandStewartsawhimoff。Stephen,whowasdownfortheholiday,hadbeenleftwithhischinontheluncheontable。Hehadwantedtocomealso。Rickiepointedoutthatyoucannotvisitwhereyouhavebrokenthewindows。Therewasanargument——theregenerallywas——andnowtheyoungmanhadturnedsulky。
"Lethimdowhathelikes,"saidAnsell。"Heknowsmorethanwedo。Heknowseverything。"
"Ishetogetdrunk?"Rickieasked。
"Mostcertainly。"
"Andtogowhereheisn’tasked?"
Maud,thoughlikingalittlespiritinaman,declaredthistobeimpossible。
"Well,Iwishyoujoy!"Rickiecalled,asthetrainmovedaway。
"Hemeansmischiefthisevening。Hetoldmepiouslythathefeltitbeatingup。Good—bye!"
"Butwe’llwaitforyoutopass,"theycried。FortheSalisburytrainalwaysbackedoutofthestationandthenreturned,andtheAnsellfamily,includingStewart,tookanincrediblepleasureinseeingitdothis。
Thecarriagewasempty。Rickiesettledhimselfdownforhislittlejourney。Firsthelookedatthecolouredphotographs。Thenhereadthedirectionsforobtainingluncheon—baskets,andfeltthetextureofthecushions。Throughthewindowsasignal—boxinterestedhim。Thenhesawtheuglylittletownthatwasnowhishome,andupitschiefstreettheAnsells’memorablefacade。Thespiritofagenialcomedydweltthere。Itwassoabsurd,sokindly。Thehousewasdividedagainstitselfandyetstood。
Metaphysics,commerce,socialaspirations——alllivedtogetherinharmony。Mr。Ansellhaddonemuch,butonewastemptedtobelieveinamorecapriciouspower——thepowerthatabstainsfrom"nipping。""Onenipsorisnipped,andneverknowsbeforehand,"quotedRickie,andopenedthepoemsofShelley,amanlessfoolishthanyousupposed。Howpleasantitwastoread!
Ifbusinessworriedhim,ifStephenwasnoisyorAnsellperverse,therestillremainedthisparadiseofbooks。Itseemedasifhehadreadnothingfortwoyears。
Thenthetrainstoppedfortheshunting,andheheardprotestsfromminorofficialswhowereworkingontheline。Theycomplainedthatsomeonewhodidn’toughtto,hadmountedonthefootboardofthecarriage。Stephen’sfaceappeared,convulsedwithlaughter。Withtheactionofaswimmerhedivedinthroughtheopenwindow,andfellcomfortablyonRickie’sluggageandRickie。Hedeclareditwasthefinestjokeeverknown。Rickiewasnotsosure。"You’llberunovernext,"hesaid。"Whatdidyoudothatfor?"
"I’mcomingwithyou,"hegiggled,rollingallthathecouldontothedustyfloor。
"Now,Stephen,thisistoobad。Getup。Wewentintothewholequestionyesterday。"
"Iknow;andIsettledwewouldn’tgointoitagain,spoilingmyholiday。"
"Well,it’sexecrabletaste。"
NowhewaswavingtotheAnsells,andshowingthemapieceofsoap:itwasallhisluggage,andeventhatheabandoned,forheflungitatStewart’sloftybrow。
"Ican’tthinkwhatyou’vedoneitfor。YouknowhowstronglyI
felt。"
Stephenrepliedthatheshouldstopinthevillage;meetRickieatthelodgegates;thatkindofthing。
"It’sexecrabletaste,"herepeated,tryingtokeepgrave。
"Well,youdidallyoucould,"heexclaimedwithsuddensympathy。
"LeavingmetalkingtooldAnsell,youmighthavethoughtyou’dgotyourway。I’veasmuchtasteasmostchaps,but,hangit!
yourauntisn’ttheGermanEmperor。Shedoesn’townWiltshire。"
"Youass!"sputteredRickie,whohadtakentolaughatnonsenseagain。
"No,sheisn’t,"herepeated,blowingakissoutofthewindowtomaidens。"Why,westartedforWiltshireonthewetmorning!"
"WhenStewartfoundusatSawstonrailwaystation?"Hesmiledhappily。"Ineverthoughtweshouldpullthrough。"
"Well,weDIDN’T。Weneverdidwhatwemeant。It’snonsensethatIcouldn’thavemanagedyoualone。I’veanotion。Slipoutafteryourdinnerthisevening,andwe’llgetthunderingtighttogether。"
"I’veanotionIwon’t。"
"It’ddoyounoendofgood。You’llgettoknowpeople——
shepherds,carters——"Hewavedhisarmsvaguely,indicatingdemocracy。"Thenyou’llsing。"
"Andthen?"
"Plop。"
"Precisely。"
"ButI’llcatchyou,"promisedStephen。"Weshallcarryyouupthehilltobed。Inthemorningyouwake,haveyourrowwitholdEm’ly,shekicksyouout,wemeet——we’llmeetattheRings!"Hedancedupanddownthecarriage。Someoneinthenextcarriagepunchedatthepartition,andwhenthishappens,allladswithmettleknowthattheymustpunchthepartitionback。
"Thankyou。I’veanotionIwon’t,"saidRickiewhenthenoisehadsubsided——subsidedforamomentonly,forthefollowingconversationtookplacetoanaccompanimentofdustandbangs。
"ExceptasregardstheRings。Wewillmeetthere。"
"ThenI’llgettightbymyself。"
"No,youwon’t。"
"Yes,Iwill。Isworetodosomethingspecialthisevening。I
feellikeit。"
"Inthatcase,Igetoutatthenextstation。"Hewaslaughing,butquitedetermined。Stephenhadgrowntoodictatorialoflate。
TheAnsellsspoilthim。"It’sbadenoughhavingyouthereatall。
Havingyoutheredrunkisimpossible。I’dsoonernotvisitmyauntthanthink,whenIsatwithher,thatyou’redowninthevillageteachingherlabourerstobeasbeastlyasyourself。Goifyouwill。Butnotwithme。"
"Whyshouldn’tIhaveagoodtimewhileI’myoung,ifIdon’tharmanyone?"saidStephendefiantly。
"Needwediscussself。"
"Oh,IcanstopmyselfanyminuteIchoose。Ijustsay’Iwon’t’
toyouoranyotherfool,andIdon’t。"
Rickieknewthattheboastwastrue。Hecontinued,"ThereisalsoathingcalledMorality。YoumaylearnintheBible,andalsofromtheGreeks,thatyourbodyisatemple。"
"Soyousaidinyourlongestletter。"
"ProbablyIwrotelikeaprig,forthereasonthatIhaveneverbeentemptedinthisway;butsurelyitiswrongthatyourbodyshouldescapeyou。"
"Idon’tfollow,"heretorted,punching。
"Itisn’tright,evenforalittletime,toforgetthatyouexist。"
"Isupposeyou’veneverbeentemptedtogotosleep?"
Justthenthetrainpassedthroughacoppiceinwhichthegreyundergrowthlookednomorealivethanfirewood。Yeteverytwiginitwaswaitingforthespring。Rickieknewthattheanalogywasfalse,butargumentconfusedhim,andhegaveupthislineofattackalso。
"Dobemorecarefuloverlife。Ifyourbodyescapesyouinonething,whynotinmore?Amanwillhaveothertemptations。"
"Youmeanwomen,"saidStephenquietly,pausingforamomentinthisgame。"Butthat’sabsolutelydifferent。Thatwouldbeharmingsomeoneelse。"
"Isthattheonlythingthatkeepsyoustraight?"
"Whatelseshould?"AndhelookednotintoRickie,butpasthim,withthewonderingeyesofachild。Rickienodded,andreferredhimselftothewindow。
Heobservedthatthecountrywassmootherandmoreplastic。Thewoodshadgone,andunderapale—blueskylongcontoursofearthwereflowing,andmerging,risingalittletobearsomecoronalofbeeches,partingalittletodisclosesomegreenvalley,wherecottagesstoodunderelmsorbesidetranslucentwaters。ItwasWiltshireatlast。Thetrainhadenteredthechalk。Atlastitslackenedatawaysideplatform。Withoutspeakingheopenedthedoor。
"What’sthatfor?"
"Togoback。"
Stephenhadforgottenthethreat。Hesaidthatthiswasnotplayingthegame。
"Surely!"
"Ican’thaveyougoingback。"
"Promisetobehavedecentlythen。"
Hewasseizedandpulledawayfromthedoor。
"WechangeatSalisbury,"heremarked。"Thereisanhourtowait。Youwillfindmetroublesome。"
"Itisn’tfair,"explodedStephen。"It’salowdowntrick。HowcanIletyougoback?"
"Promise,then。"
"Oh,yes,yes,yes。Y。M。C。A。Butforthisoccasiononly。"
"No,no。Fortherestofyourholiday。"
"Yes,yes。Verywell。Ipromise。"
"Fortherestofyourlife?"
SomehowitpleasedhimthatStephenshouldbanghimcrosslywithhiselbowandsay,"No。Getout。You’vegonetoofar。"Sohadthetrain。Theporterattheendofthewaysideplatformslammedthedoor,andtheyproceededtowardSalisburythroughtheslowlymodulatingdowns。Rickiepretendedtoread。Overthebookhewatchedhisbrother’sface,andwonderedhowbadtempercouldbeconsistentwithamindsoradiant。Inspiteofhisobstinacyandconceit,Stephenwasaneasypersontolivewith。Heneverfidgetedornursedhiddengrievances,orindulgedinashoddypride。ThoughhespentRickie’smoneyasslowlyashecould,heaskedforitwithoutapology:"Youmustputitdownagainstme,"
第19章