第22章

WhenErnestsaidhewishedtoretireitwasaboutthewisestthinghecouldhavesaidordone，anditsuitedTeutaandmedowntotheground。Icouldseethatthedeargirlwasagitatedaboutsomething，sothoughtitwouldbebestforhertobequiet，andnotworriedwithbeingciviltotheBounder。Thoughheismycousin，Ican’tthinkofhimasanythingelse。TheVoivodeandIhadcertainmatterstoattendtoarisingoutofthemeetingoftheCouncil，andwhenwewerethroughthenightwasclosingin。WhenIsawTeutainourownroomsshesaidatonce：

"Doyoumind，dear，ifIstaywithAuntJanetto—night？Sheisveryupsetandnervous，andwhenIofferedtocometohersheclungtomeandcriedwithrelief。"

SowhenIhadhadsomesupper，whichItookwiththeVoivode，IcamedowntomyoldquartersintheGardenRoom，andturnedinearly。

IwasawakenedalittlebeforedawnbythecomingofthefightingmonkTheophrastos，anotablerunner，whohadanurgentmessageforme。ThiswasthelettertomegiventohimbyRooke。Hehadbeencautionedtogiveitintonootherhand，buttofindmewhereverI

mightbe，andconveyitpersonally。WhenhehadarrivedatPlazacI

hadleftontheaeroplane，sohehadturnedbacktoVissarion。

WhenIreadRooke’sreportofErnestMelton’sabominableconductI

wasmoreangrywithhimthanIcansay。Indeed，IdidnotthinkbeforethatthatIcouldbeangrywithhim，forIhavealwaysdespisedhim。Butthiswastoomuch。However，IrealizedthewisdomofRooke’sadvice，andwentawaybymyselftogetovermyangerandreacquiremyself—mastery。TheaeroplaneTeutawasstillhousedonthetower，soIwentupaloneandtookitout。

WhenIhadhadaspinofaboutahundredmilesIfeltbetter。Thebracingofthewindandthequick，exhilaratingmotionrestoredmetomyself，andIfeltabletocopewithMasterErnest，orwhateverelsechagrinablemightcomealong，withoutgivingmyselfaway。AsTeutahadthoughtitbettertokeepsilenceastoErnest’saffront，IfeltImustnotacknowledgeit；but，allthesame，Ideterminedtogetridofhimbeforethedaywasmucholder。

WhenIhadhadmybreakfastIsentwordtohimbyaservantthatI

wascomingtohisrooms，andfollowednotlongbehindthemessenger。

Hewasinasuitofsilkpyjamas，suchasnotevenSolomoninallhisglorywasarrayedin。IclosedthedoorbehindmebeforeIbegantospeak。Helistened，atfirstamazed，thendisconcerted，thenangry，andthencoweringdownlikeawhippedhound。Ifeltthatitwasacaseforspeakingout。Abumptiousasslikehim，whodeliberatelyinsultedeveryonehecameacross——forifalloranyofhiseffortsinthatwaywereduetomereelementalignorancehewasnotfittolive，butshouldbesilencedonsightasamodernCaliban——deservedneitherpitynormercy。Toextendtohimfinefeeling，tolerance，andsuch—

likegentlenesseswouldbetodeprivetheworldofthemwithoutbenefittoany。SowellasIcanremember，whatIsaidwassomethinglikethis：

"Ernest，asyousay，you’vegottogo，andtogoquick，youunderstand。Idaresayyoulookonthisasalandofbarbarians，andthinkthatanyofyourhigh—tonedrefinementsarethrownawayonpeoplehere。Well，perhapsitisso。Undoubtedly，thestructureofthecountryisrough；themountainsmayonlyrepresenttheglacialepoch；butsofarasIcangatherfromsomeofyourexploits——forI

haveonlylearnedasmallpartasyet——yourepresentaperiodagooddealfartherback。YouseemtohavegivenourfolkhereanexhibitionoftheplayfulnessofthehooliganoftheSaurianstageofdevelopment；buttheBlueMountains，roughastheyare，havecomeupoutoftheprimevalslime，andevennowthepeopleaimatbettermanners。Theymayberough，primitive，barbarian，elemental，ifyouwill，buttheyarenotlowdownenoughtotolerateeitheryourethicsoryourtaste。Mydearcousin，yourlifeisnotsafehere！Iamtoldthatyesterday，onlyfortherestraintexercisedbycertainoffendedmountaineersonothergroundsthanyourownworth，youwouldhavebeenabbreviatedbythehead。Anotherdayofyourfascinatingpresencewoulddoawaywiththisrestraint，andthenweshouldhaveascandal。Iamanew—comerheremyself——toonewacomertobeabletoaffordascandalofthatkind——andsoIshallnotdelayyourgoing。

Believeme，mydearcousin，ErnestRogerHalbardMelton，ofHumcroft，Salop，thatIaminconsolableaboutyourresolutionofimmediatedeparture，butIcannotshutmyeyestoitswisdom。Atpresentthematterisaltogetheramongstourselves，andwhenyouhavegone——ifitbeimmediately——silencewillbeobservedonallhandsforthesakeofthehousewhereinyouareaguest；butiftherebetimeforscandaltospread，youwillbemade，whetheryoubealiveordead，aEuropeanlaughing—stock。Accordingly，Ihaveanticipatedyourwishes，andhaveorderedafaststeamyachttotakeyoutoAncona，ortowhateverotherportyoumaydesire。TheyachtwillbeunderthecommandofCaptainDesmond，ofoneofourbattleships——amostdeterminedofficer，whowillcarryoutanydirectionswhichmaybegiventohim。

ThiswillinsureyoursafetysofarasItalianterritory。SomeofhisofficialswillarrangeaspecialcarriageforyouuptoFlushing，andacabinonthesteamertoQueenboro’。Amanofminewilltravelonthetrainandsteamerwithyou，andwillseethatwhateveryoumaywishinthewayoffoodorcomfortwillbeprovided。Ofcourse，youunderstand，mydearcousin，thatyouaremyguestuntilyouarriveinLondon。IhavenotaskedRooketoaccompanyyou，aswhenhewenttomeetyou，itwasamistake。Indeed，theremighthavebeenadangertoyouwhichInevercontemplated——aquiteunnecessarydanger，I

assureyou。ButhappilyAdmiralRooke，thoughamanofstrongpassions，haswonderfulself—control。"

"AdmiralRooke？"hequeried。"Admiral？"

"Admiral，certainly，"Ireplied，"butnotanordinaryAdmiral——oneofmany。HeisTHEAdmiral——theLordHighAdmiraloftheLandoftheBlueMountains，withsolecontrolofitsexpandingnavy。Whensuchamanistreatedasavalet，theremaybe……Butwhygointothis？

Itisallover。IonlymentionitlestanythingofasimilarkindshouldoccurwithCaptainDesmond，whoisayoungerman，andthereforewithprobablylessself—repression。"

Isawthathehadlearnedhislesson，andsosaidnomoreonthesubject。

TherewasanotherreasonforhisgoingwhichIdidnotspeakof。SirColinMacKelpiewascomingwithhisclansmen，andIknewhedidnotlikeErnestMelton。IwellrememberedthatepisodeofhisofferingonefingertotheoldgentlemaninMr。Trent’soffice，and，moreover，IhadmysuspicionsthatAuntJanet’sbeingupsetwasprobablyinsomemeasureduetosomerudenessofhisthatshedidnotwishtospeakabout。Heisreallyanimpossibleyoungman，andisfarbetteroutofthiscountrythaninit。Ifheremainedhere，therewouldbesomesortofatragedyforcertain。

ImustsaythatitwaswithafeelingofconsiderablereliefthatI

sawtheyachtsteamoutofthecreek，withCaptainDesmondonthebridgeandmycousinbesidehim。

Quiteotherweremyfeelingswhen，anhourafter，TheLadycameflyingintothecreekwiththeLordHighAdmiralonthebridge，andbesidehim，moresplendidandsoldier—likethanever，SirColinMacKelpie。Mr。BinghamTrentwasalsoonthebridge。

TheGeneralwasfullofenthusiasmregardinghisregiment，forinall，thosehebroughtwithhimandthosefinishingtheirtrainingathome，theforceisnearthenumberofafullregiment。Whenwewerealoneheexplainedtomethatallwasarrangedregardingthenon—

commissionedofficers，butthathehadheldoverthequestionofofficersuntilweshouldhavehadasuitableopportunityoftalkingthematterovertogether。Heexplainedtomehisreasons，whichwerecertainlysimpleandcogent。Officers，accordingtohim，areadifferentclass，andaccustomedtoadifferentstandardaltogetheroflifeandliving，ofdutiesandpleasures。Theyarehardertodealwithandmoredifficulttoobtain。"Therewasnouse，"hesaid，"ingettingalotoffailures，wi

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