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“Ididn’twanttocomehere，“hesaidatlast，“butIwaspositivelydriventoit……EvelynM。，“hegroaned。
Hesatup，andbegantoexplainwithmocksolemnityhowthedetestablewomanwassetuponmarryinghim。
“Shepursuesmeabouttheplace。Thismorningsheappearedinthesmoking-room。AllIcoulddowastoseizemyhatandfly。
Ididn’twanttocome，butIcouldn’tstayandfaceanothermealwithher。“
“Well，wemustmakethebestofit，“Helenrepliedphilosophically。
Itwasveryhot，andtheywereindifferenttoanyamountofsilence，sothattheylaybackintheirchairswaitingforsomethingtohappen。
Thebellrangforluncheon，buttherewasnosoundofmovementinthehouse。Wasthereanynews？Helenasked；anythinginthepapers？
St。Johnshookhishead。Oyes，hehadaletterfromhome，aletterfromhismother，describingthesuicideoftheparlour-maid。ShewascalledSusanJane，andshecameintothekitchenoneafternoon，andsaidthatshewantedcooktokeephermoneyforher；shehadtwentypoundsingold。Thenshewentouttobuyherselfahat。
Shecameinathalf-pastfiveandsaidthatshehadtakenpoison。
Theyhadonlyjusttimetogetherintobedandcalladoctorbeforeshedied。
“Well？“Helenenquired。
“There’llhavetobeaninquest，“saidSt。John。
Whyhadshedoneit？Heshruggedhisshoulders。Whydopeoplekillthemselves？Whydothelowerordersdoanyofthethingstheydodo？Nobodyknows。Theysatinsilence。
“Thebell’srunfifteenminutesandthey’renotdown，“saidHelenatlength。
Whentheyappeared，St。Johnexplainedwhyithadbeennecessaryforhimtocometoluncheon。HeimitatedEvelyn’senthusiastictoneassheconfrontedhiminthesmoking-room。“Shethinkstherecanbenothing_quite_sothrillingasmathematics，soI’velentheralargeworkintwovolumes。It’llbeinterestingtoseewhatshemakesofit。“
Rachelcouldnowaffordtolaughathim。SheremindedhimofGibbon；
shehadthefirstvolumesomewherestill；ifhewereundertakingtheeducationofEvelyn，thatsurelywasthetest；orshehadheardthatBurke，upontheAmericanRebellion——Evelynoughttoreadthembothsimultaneously。WhenSt。Johnhaddisposedofherargumentandhadsatisfiedhishunger，heproceededtotellthemthatthehotelwasseethingwithscandals，someofthemostappallingkind，whichhadhappenedintheirabsence；hewasindeedmuchgiventothestudyofhiskind。
“EvelynM。，forexample——butthatwastoldmeinconfidence。“
“Nonsense！“Terenceinterposed。
“You’veheardaboutpoorSinclair，too？“
“Oh，yes，I’veheardaboutSinclair。He’sretiredtohisminewitharevolver。HewritestoEvelyndailythathe’sthinkingofcommittingsuicide。I’veassuredherthathe’sneverbeensohappyinhislife，and，onthewhole，she’sinclinedtoagreewithme。“
“Butthenshe’sentangledherselfwithPerrott，“St。Johncontinued；
“andIhavereasontothink，fromsomethingIsawinthepassage，thateverythingisn’tasitshouldbebetweenArthurandSusan。
There’sayoungfemalelatelyarrivedfromManchester。Averygoodthingifitwerebrokenoff，inmyopinion。Theirmarriedlifeissomethingtoohorribletocontemplate。
Oh，andIdistinctlyheardoldMrs。PaleyrappingoutthemostfearfuloathsasIpassedherbedroomdoor。It’ssupposedthatshetortureshermaidinprivate——it’spracticallycertainshedoes。
Onecantellitfromthelookinhereyes。“
“Whenyou’reeightyandthegouttweezesyou，you’llbeswearinglikeatrooper，“Terenceremarked。“You’llbeveryfat，verytesty，verydisagreeable。Can’tyouimaginehim——baldasacoot，withapairofsponge-bagtrousers，alittlespottedtie，andacorporation？“
AfterapauseHirstremarkedthattheworstinfamyhadstilltobetold。HeaddressedhimselftoHelen。
“They’vehoofedouttheprostitute。OnenightwhilewewereawaythatoldnumskullThor
