第54章

“Almostyouconvinceme。”hesaid，cominguptome，“againstmywill。Amarvellousinvention！Butitwilltakeyoualongtime，sir，beforeyoucanemulatethatperfectmechanism——thewingofabird。”

Helookedatmysheds。

“You’vechangedthelookofthisvalley，too。”hesaid。

“Temporarydefilements。”Iremarked，guessingwhatwasinhismind。

“Ofcourse。Thingscomeandgo。Thingscomeandgo。But——H’m。

I’vejustbeenupoverthehilltolookatMr。EdwardPonderevo’snewhouse。That——thatissomethingmorepermanent。

Amagnificentplace！——inmanyways。Imposing。I’veneversomehowbroughtmyselftogothatwaybefore。Thingsaregreatlyadvanced。Wefind——thegreatnumberofstrangersintroducedintothevillagesaboutherebytheseoperations，working-menchiefly，alittleembarrassing。Itputusout。Theybringanewspiritintotheplace；betting——ideas——allsortsofqueernotions。Ourpublicanslikeit，ofcourse。Andtheycomeandsleepinone’southouses——andmaketheplacealittleunsafeatnights。TheothermorningIcouldn’tsleep——aslightdyspepsia——andIlookedoutofthewindow。Iwasamazedtoseepeoplegoingbyonbicycles。Asilentprocession。Icountedninety-seven——inthedawn。AllgoinguptothenewroadforCrestHill。RemarkableIthoughtit。AndsoI’vebeenuptoseewhattheyweredoing。”

“Theywouldhavebeenmorethanremarkablethirtyyearsago。”I

said。

“Yes，indeed。Thingschange。Wethinknothingofitnowatall——comparatively。Andthatbighouse——“

Heraisedhiseyebrows。“Reallystupendous！Stupendous。

“Allthehillside——theoldturf——cuttoribbons！”

Hiseyesearchedmyface。“We’vegrownsoaccustomedtolookuptoLadyGrove。”hesaid，andsmiledinsearchofsympathy。“Itshiftsourcentreofgravity。”

“Thingswillreadjustthemselves。”Ilied。

Hesnatchedatthephrase。“Ofcourse。”hesaid。

“They’llreadjustthemselves——settledownagain。Must。Intheoldway。It’sboundtocomerightagain——acomfortingthought。

Yes。Afterall，LadyGroveitselfhadtobebuiltonceuponatime——was——tobeginwith——artificial。”

Hiseyereturnedtomyaeroplane。Hesoughttodismisshisgraverpreoccupations。“Ishouldthinktwice。”heremarked，“beforeItrustedmyselftothatconcern。ButIsupposeonegrowsaccustomedtothemotion。”

Hebademegoodmorningandwenthisway，bowedandthoughtful。

Hehadkeptthetruthfromhismindalongtime，butthatmorningithadforceditswaytohimwithanaspectthatbrookednodenialthatthistimeitwasnotjustchangesthatwerecominginhisworld，butthatallhisworldlayopenanddefenceless，conqueredandsurrendered，doomedsofarashecouldsee，rootandbranch，scaleandformalike，tochange。

FornearlyallthetimethatmyunclewasincubatingandhatchingCrestHillIwasbusyinalittletransversevalleybetweenthatgreatbeginningandLadyGrovewithmoreandmorecostlyandambitiousexperimentsinaerialnavigation。ThisworkwasindeedthemainsubstanceofmylifethroughallthegreattimeoftheTono-Bungaysymphony。

IhavetoldalreadyhowIcametodevotemyselftothissystemofinquiries，howinasortofdisgustwiththecommonadventureoflifeItookupthedroppedendsofmycollegestudies，takingthemupagainwithaman’sresolutioninsteadofaboy’sambition。FromthefirstIdidwellatthiswork。It——was，I

think，largelyacaseofspecialaptitude，ofapeculiarirrelevantveinoffacultyrunningthroughmymind。I