下载辰思小说免费APP
Hewasinbed；faintlyintothedarkroom，stolethescentofthebonfireandthenoiseoftheFair。
“Tum——te-Tum……Tum——te——Tum……“
Hewasasleep，ridingonagiantchargeracrossboundlessplains。
CHAPTERXII
HAMLETWAITS
I
Thelastday！Jeremy，suddenlywaking，realisedthiswithaconfusionoffeelingasthoughheweresentencedtothedentist’s，but，oddlyenough，lookedforwardtohisvisit。Goingtoschool，onehad，ofcourse，longagoperceived，wasamixedbusiness；butthebalancewasnowgreatlytothegood。Itwasastepintherightdirectiontowardslibertyandfreedom。ThankHeaven！
Nooneinthefamilywaslikelytomakeafussabouthisdeparture，unlessitwerepossiblyMary，andshehad，oflate，keptverymuchtoherselfandworriedhimscarcelyatall。Indeed，hefeltguiltyaboutMary。Hewasfondofher，really……Funnykid……Ifonlyshedidn’tmakefusses！
Yes，itwasunlikehisfamilytomakefusses。Herealisedthatveryplainlyto-day。Everyonewentabouthisorherdailybusinesswithnoimplicationwhateverthatsomethingextraordinarywasgoingtohappentomorrow。Perhapstheywereallsecretlyrelievedthathewasoff。Hehadbeen，heknew，somethingofafailureduringtheselastmonths；onetroubleafteranother；thescandalofhisvisittotheFairasthegrandfinale。Hefeltthattherewas，insomeway，someinjusticeinallthis。Hehadnodesiretobebadorrebellious——onthecontraryhewishedtodoallthathiseldersorderedhim——buthecouldnotpreventtherisingofhisownindividuality，whichshowedhimquiteclearlywhetherheshoulddoathingorno。Itwasasthoughsomethinginsidehimpushedhim……whereasthey，allofthem，onlycheckedhim。
Helovedhismotherbest，andhewassecretlydisappointedtofindhowordinaryanaffairhisdeparturewastoher。Herealised，withaperceptionthatwasbeyondhisyears，thattheinfantBarbarawasnowrapidlyoccupyingtheposition，ascentreofthefamily，thathehadheld。Barbara，everyonedeclared，wasacharmingbaby——thehouserevolved，tosomeextent，roundBarbara。But，thenagain，thisisolationwasentirelyhisownfault。Duringthesummerholidayshehadgonehisownway，andhadwantednoonebutHamletashiscompanion。Hehadnorighttocomplain。
Afterbreakfasthedidnotknowquitewhattodo，anditwasobvious，also，thatnooneknewquitewhattodowithhim。
Mrs。Colesaid：“Jeremy，dear，Pontinghasneversentthatletterpaperandenvelopesthathepromised，andFathermusthavethemto-
day。Wouldyougodownandbringthembackwithyou？Fatherwillwriteanote。“
Nooneseemedtorealisewhatanabysmalchangefromearlierconditionsthiscasualsentencemarked。ThatheshouldgotoFooting’s，whichwasonthefarthersideofthetown，aloneandunattended，seemedtonoonepeculiar；andyet，onlysixmonthsago，awalkwithoutMissJoneswasundreamtof；and，beforeher，nomorethanninemonthsback，therewastheJampot！Hewasdelightedtogo；
but，ofcourse，hedidnotshowhisdelight。
Allhesaidwas：“Yes，Mother。“
Hewasinhisnewclothes：stiffblackjacket，blackknickerbockers，blackstockings，blackboots。Nomorenavysuitswithwhitebraidandwhistles！PerhapshewouldseetheDean’sErnest。Itwashismosturgentdesire！
Hestartedoff，accompaniedbyabarking，boundingHamlet，whoshowednoperceptionofthecalamitythatthreatenedtotumbleuponhim。ForJeremy，leavingHamletwasadreadfulaffair。Inthreemonthsadogcanchangemoreswiftlythanahumanbeing，andHamlet，althoughnotasupremelygreedydog，hadshownoflateincreasingsignsofaloveofgoodfood，andaregrettabletendencytofawnuponthegiverofthesame，evenwhenitwasAuntAmy。Jeremyhadcheckedthistendency，andhadissuedpunishmentsw
