“Youlefthim？“
　　“Myhorsebolted。“
　　“Iknow。Sodidmine。“
　　Helaughedathismastermirthlessly。
　　“Isaymyhorsebolted，“saidthemanwhooncehadasilver-studdedbridle。
　　“Cowardsboth，“saidthelittleman。
　　Theothergnawedhisknucklethroughsomemeditativemoments，withhiseyeonhisinferior。
　　“Don’tcallmeacoward，“hesaidatlength。
　　“Youareacowardlikemyself。“
　　“Acowardpossibly。Thereisalimitbeyondwhicheverymanmustfear。
　　ThatIhavelearntatlast。Butnotlikeyourself。Thatiswherethedifferencecomesin。“
　　“Inevercouldhavedreamtyouwouldhavelefthim。Hesavedyourlifetwominutesbefore……Whyareyouourlord？“
　　Themastergnawedhisknucklesagain，andhiscountenancewasdark。
　　“Nomancallsmeacoward，“hesaid。“No。Abrokenswordisbetterthannone……Onespavinedwhitehorsecannotbeexpectedtocarrytwomenafourdays’journey。Ihatewhitehorses，butthistimeitcannotbehelped。Youbegintounderstandme？……Iperceivethatyouareminded，onthestrengthofwhatyouhaveseenandfancy，totaintmyreputation。Itismenofyoursortwhounmakekings。
　　Besideswhich——Ineverlikedyou。“
　　“Mylord！“saidthelittleman。
　　“No，“saidthemaster。“NO！“
　　Hestoodupsharplyasthelittlemanmoved。Foraminuteperhapstheyfacedoneanother。Overheadthespiders’ballswentdriving。
　　Therewasaquickmovementamongthepebbles；arunningoffeet，acryofdespair，agaspandablow……
　　Towardsnightfallthewindfell。Thesunsetinacalmserenity，andthemanwhohadoncepossessedthesilverbridlecameatlastverycautiouslyandbyaneasyslopeoutoftheravineagain；butnowheledthewhitehorsethatoncebelongedtothelittleman。
　　Hewouldhavegonebacktohishorsetogethissilver-mountedbridleagain，buthefearednightandaquickeningbreezemightstillfindhiminthevalley，andbesideshedislikedgreatlytothinkhemightdiscoverhishorseallswathedincobwebsandperhapsunpleasantlyeaten。
　　Andashethoughtofthosecobwebsandofallthedangershehadbeenthrough，andthemannerinwhichhehadbeenpreservedthatday，hishandsoughtalittlereliquarythathungabouthisneck，andheclaspeditforamomentwithheartfeltgratitude。Ashedidsohiseyeswentacrossthevalley。
　　“Iwashotwithpassion，“hesaid，“andnowshehasmetherreward。
　　Theyalso，nodoubt——“
　　Andbehold！Farawayoutofthewoodedslopesacrossthevalley，butintheclearnessofthesunsetdistinctandunmistakable，hesawalittlespireofsmoke。
　　Atthathisexpressionofsereneresignationchangedtoanamazedanger。Smoke？Heturnedtheheadofthewhitehorseabout，andhesitated。Andashedidsoalittlerustleofairwentthroughthegrassabouthim。Farawayuponsomereedsswayedatatteredsheetofgrey。Helookedatthecobwebs；helookedatthesmoke。
　　“Perhaps，afterall，itisnotthem，“hesaidatlast。
　　Butheknewbetter。
　　Afterhehadstaredatthesmokeforsometime，hemountedthewhitehorse。
　　Asherode，hepickedhiswayamidststrandedmassesofweb。Forsomereasonthereweremanydeadspidersontheground，andthosethatlivedfeastedguiltilyontheirfellows。Atthesoundofhishorse’shoofstheyfled。
　　Theirtimehadpassed。Fromthegroundwithouteitherawindtocarrythemorawindingsheetready，thesethings，foralltheirpoison，coulddohimlittleevil。Heflickedwithhisbeltatthosehefanciedcametoonear。Once，whereanumberrantogetheroverabareplace，hewasmindedtodismountandtramplethemwithhisboots，butthisimpulseheovercame。Everandagainheturnedinhissaddle，andlookedbackatthesmoke。
　　“Spiders，“hemutteredoverandoveragain。“Spiders！Well，well……
　　ThenexttimeImustspinaweb。“
　　Hesitsnotadozenyardsaway。IfIglanceovermyshoulderIcanseehim。AndifIcatchhiseye——andusuallyIcatchhiseye——
　　itmeetsmewithanexpression。
　　Itismainlyanimploringlook——andyetwithsuspicioninit。
　　Confoundhissuspicion！IfIwantedtotellonhimIshouldhavetoldlongago。Idon’ttellandIdon’ttell，andheoughttofeelathisease。Asifanythingsogrossandfatashecouldfeelatease！WhowouldbelievemeifIdidtell？
　　PooroldPyecraft！Great，uneasyjellyofsubstance！ThefattestclubmaninLondon。
　　Hesitsatoneofthelittleclubtablesinthehugebaybythefire，stuffing。Whatishestuffing？Iglancejudiciouslyandcatchhimbitingataroundofhotbutteredtea-cake，withhiseyesonme。
　　Confoundhim！——withhiseyesonme！
　　Thatsettlesit，Pyecraft！SinceyouWILLbeabject，sinceyouWILL
　　behaveasthoughIwasnotamanofhonour，here，rightunderyourembeddedeyes，Iwritethethingdown——theplaintruthaboutPyecraft。
　　ThemanIhelped，themanIshielded，andwhohasrequitedmebymakingmyclubunendurable，absolutelyunendurable，withhisliquidappeal，withtheperpetual“don’ttell“ofhislooks。
　　And，besides，whydoeshekeeponeternallyeating？
　　Well，heregoesforthetruth，thewholetruth，andnothingbutthetruth！
　　Pyecraft。ImadetheacquaintanceofPyecraftinthisverysmoking-
　　room。Iwasayoung，nervousnewmember，andhesawit。Iwassittingallalone，wishingIknewmoreofthemembers，andsuddenlyhecame，agreatrollingfrontofchinsandabdomina，towardsme，andgruntedandsatdowninachairclosebymeandwheezedforaspace，andscrapedforaspacewithamatchandlitacigar，andthenaddressedme。Iforgetwhathesaid——somethingaboutthematchesnotlightingproperly，andafterwardsashetalkedhekeptstoppingthewaitersonebyoneastheywentby，andtellingthemaboutthematchesinthatthin，flutyvoicehehas。But，anyhow，itwasinsomesuchwaywebeganourtalking。
　　Hetalkedaboutvariousthingsandcameroundtogames。Andthencetomyfigureandcomplexion。“YOUoughttobeagoodcricketer，“
　　hesaid。IsupposeIamslender，slendertowhatsomepeoplewouldcalllean，andIsupposeIamratherdark，still——IamnotashamedofhavingaHindugreat-grandmother，but，forallthat，Idon’twantcasualstrangerstoseethroughmeataglancetoHER。SothatIwassetagainstPyecraftfromthebeginning。
　　Butheonlytalkedaboutmeinordertogettohimself。
　　“Iexpect，“hesaid，“youtakenomoreexercisethanIdo，andprobablyyoueatnoless。“Likeallexcessivelyobesepeoplehefanciedheatenothing。“Yet，“——andhesmiledanobliquesmile——
　　“wediffer。“
　　Andthenhebegantotalkabouthisfatnessandhisfatness；
　　allhedidforhisfatnessandallhewasgoingtodoforhisfatness；
　　whatpeoplehadadvisedhimtodoforhisfatnessandwhathehadheardofpeopledoingforfatnesssimilartohis。“Apriori，“hesaid，“onewouldthinkaquestionofnutritioncouldbeansweredbydietaryandaquestionofassimilationbydrugs。“Itwasstifling。Itwasdumplingtalk。Itmademefeelswelledtohearhim。
　　Onestandsthatsortofthingonceinawayataclub，butatimecamewhenIfanciedIwasstandingtoomuch。Hetooktomealtogethertooconspicuously。Icouldnevergointothesmoking-roombuthewouldcomewallowingtowardsme，andsometimeshecameandgormandisedroundandaboutmewhileIhadmylunch。Heseemedattimesalmosttobeclingingtome。Hewasabore，butnotsofearfulaboreastobelimitedtome；andfromthefirsttherewassomethinginhismanner——almostasthoughheknew，almostasthoughhepenetratedtothefactthatIMIGHT——thattherewasaremote，exceptionalchanceinmethatnooneelsepresented。
　　“I’dgiveanythingtogetitdown，“hewouldsay——“anything，“
　　andpeeratmeoverhisvastcheeksandpant。
　　PooroldPyecraft！Hehasjustgonged，nodoubttoorderanotherbutteredtea-cake！
　　Hecametotheactualthingoneday。“OurPharmacopoeia，“hesaid，“ourWesternPharmacopoeia，isanythingbutthelastwordofmedicalscience。IntheEast，I’vebeentold——“
　　Hestoppedandstaredatme。Itwaslikebeingatanaquarium。