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。“