Sl’~~wepti~othedrawing-room，MrsMallowefollowedandputanarmroundherwaist。
“I’mnot！”saidMrsHauksbee，defiantly，rummagingforherhandkerchief“I’vebeendiningoutthelasttennights，andrehearsingintheafternoonYou’dbetiredyourselfIt’sonlybecauseI’mtired。”
MrsMallowedidnotofferMrsHauksbeeanypityorasknertoliedown，butgaveheranothercupoftea，andwentonwiththetalk。
“I’vebeenthroughthattoo，dear。”shesaid。
“Iremember。”saidMrsHauksbee，agleamoffunonherface“In’84wasn’tit？Youwentoutagreatdeallessnextseason。”
MrsMallowesmiledinasuperiorandSphinx4ikefashion。
“IbecameanInfluence。”saidshe。
“Goodgracious，child，youdidn’tjointheTheosophistsandkissBuddha’sbigtoe，didyou？I
triedtogetintotheirsetonce，buttheycastmeoutforaskeptic-withoutachanceofimprovingmypoorlittlemind，too。”
“No，Ididn’tTheosophilanderJacksays“-“NevermindJackWhatahusbandsaysisknownbeforeWhatdidyoudo？”
“Imadealastingimpression。”
“SohaveI-forfourmonthsButthatdidn’tconsolemeintheleast。
IhatedthemanWiflyoustopsmilinginthatinscrutablewayandtellmewhatyoumean？”
MrsMallowetold。
*
“And-you-mean~to~saythatitisabsolutelyPlatoniconbothsides？”
“Absolutely，orIshouldneverhavetakenitup。”
“Andhislastpromotionwasduetoyou？”
MrsMallowenodded。
“AndyouwarnedhimagainsttheTopshamgirl？”
Anothernod。
“AndtoldhimofSirDugaldDelane’sprivatememoabouthim？”
Athirdnod。
“Why？”
“Whataquestiontoaskawoman！BecauseitamusedmeatfirstI
amproudofmypropertynowIfIliveheshallcontinuetobesuccessfulYes，IwillputhimuponthestraightroadtoKnighthood，andeverythingelsethatamanvaluesTherestdependsuponhimself。”
“Polly，youareamostextraordinarywoman。”
“NotintheleastI’mconcentrated，that’sallYoudiffuseyourself，dear；andthoughallSimlaknowsyourskillinmanagingateam“-“Can’tyouchooseaprettierword？”“Team，ofhalfadozen，fromTheMussucktotheHawleyBoy，yougainnothingbyitNotevenamusement。”
“Andyou？”
“TrymyrecipeTakeaman，notaboy，mind，butanalmostmature，unattachedman，andbethisguide，philosopher，andfriendYou’llfinditthemostinterestingoccupationthatyoueverembarkedonItcanbedone-youneedn’tlooklikethat-becauseI’vedoneit。”
“There’sanelementofriskaboutitthatmakesthenotionattractiveI’llgetsuchamanandsaytohim，’Now，understandthattheremustbenoflirtaTHEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
193
tionDoexactlywhatItellyou，profitbyniyinstructionandcounsels，andallwillyetbewell。’Isthattheidea？”
“Moreorless。”saidMrsMallowewithanunfathomablesmile。
“Butbe~ureheunderstands。”
II
Dribhle-dribble-trickle~trickleWhatalotofrawdust！
Mydollie’shadanaccidentAndoutcameallthesawdust！-
NurseryRhyme。
SoMrsHauksbee，in“TheFoundry“whichoverlooksSimlaMall，satatthefeetofMrs。
MalloweandgatheredwisdomTheendoftheConferencewastheGreatIdeauponwhichMrs。
Hauksbeesoplumedherself。
“Iwarnyou。”saidMrsMallowe，beginningtorepentofhersuggestion，“thatthematterisnothalfsoeasyasitlooksAnywoman-eventheTop-shamgirl-cancatchaman，butvery，veryfewknowhowtomanagehimwhencaught。”
“Mychild。”wastheanswer，“I’vebeenafemaleStSimonStyliteslookmgdownuponmenforthes~theseyearspastAskTheMussuckwhetherIcanmanagethem。”
MrsHauksbeedepartedhumming，“I’llgotohimandsaytohiminmannermostironical。”
MrsMallowelaughedtoherselfThenshegrewsuddenlysober。
“IwonderwhetherI’vedonewellinadvisingthatamusement？Lucy’sacleverwoman，butathoughttoocareless。”
Aweeklater，thetwometataMondayPop“Well？”sa。’dMrs。
Mallowe。
“I’vecaughthim！”saidMrsHauksbee；hereyesweredancingwithmerriment。
“Whoisit，madwoman？I’msorryIeverspoketoyouaboutit。”
“LookbetweenthepillarsInthethirdrow；fourthfromtheend。
Youcanseehisfacenow。
Look！”
“OtisYeere！Ofalltheimprobableandimpossiblepeople！Idon’tbeliev~you。”
“Hsh！WaittillMrsTarkassbeginsmurderingMiltonWellings；
andI’lltellyouallaboutit。
S-s-ss！Thatwoman5voicealwaysremindsmeofanUndergroundtraincomingintoEarl’sCourtwiththebreaksonNowlistenItisreallyOtisYeere。”
“SoIsee，butdoesitfollowthatheisyourproperty？”
“Heis！ByrightoftroveIfoundhim，lonelyandunbefriended，theverynextnightafterourtalk，attheDugaldDelane’sburra-khanaIlikedhiseyes，andItalkedtohimNextdayhecalled。
Nextdaywewentforaridetogether，andto-dayhe’stiedtomy’rickshaw-wheelshandandfoot。
You’llseewhentheconcert’soverHedoesn’tknowI’mhereyet。”
“Thankgoodnessyouhaven’tchosenaboyWhatareyougoingtodowithhim，assumingthatyou’vegothim？”
“Assuming，indeed！Doesawoman-doI-evermakeamistakeinthatsortofthing？First“-Mrs。
Hauksbeetickedofftheitemsostentatiouslyonherlittleglovedfingers-“First，mydear，IshalldresshimproperlyAtpresenthisraimentisadisgrace，andhewearsadressshirtlikeacrumpledsheetofthePioneerSecondly，afterIhavemadehimpresentable，~，~hallformhismanners-hismoralsareabovereproach。”
“Youseemto~a“ediscoveredagreatdealabouthimconsideringtheshortnessofyouracquaintance。”
“SurelyyououghttoknowthatthefirstproofamangivesofhisinterestinawomanisbytalkingtoherabouthisownsweetselfIfthewomanlistenswithoutyawning，hebeginstolikeherIfsheflatterstheanimal’svanity，heendsbyadoringher。”
“Insomecases。”
“NevermindtheexceptionsIknowwhichoneyouarethinkingof。
Thirdly，andlastly，afterheispolishedandmadepretty，Ishall，asyousaid，behisguide，philosopherandfriend，andheshallbecomeasuccess-asgreatasuccessasyourfriendIalwayswonderedhowthatmangotonDidTheMussuckcometoyouwiththeCivilListand，droppingononekne~no，twoknees，a’laGibbon-handittoyouandsay，’Adorableangel，chooseyourfriend’sa~pointment’？”
“Lucy，yourlongexperiencesoftheMilitaryDepartmentbavedemoralizedyouOnedoesn’tdothatsortofthingontheCivilSide。”
“NodisrespectmeanttoJack’sService，mydearIonlyaskedforinformationGivemethreemonths，andseewhatchangesIshallworkinmyprey。”
“GoyourownwaysinceyoumustButI’msorrythatIwasweakenough~osuggesttheamusement。”
’Iamalldiscretion，andmaybetrustedtoanin-fin4teextent，’“
quotedMrsHauksbeefromTheFallenAngel；d’ndtheconversationceasedwithMrsTarkass’slast，long-drawnwar-whoop。
Herbitterestenemies-andshehadmany-couldhardlyaccuseMrs。
Hauksbeeofwastinghertim~
OtisYzerewasoneofthosewandering“dumb’characters，foredoomedthroughlifetobenobody’sproperty。
TenyearsinHerMajesty’sBengalCivilService，spent，forthemostpart，inundesirableDistricts，hadgivenhimlittletobeproudof，andnothingtobringconfidenceOldenoughtohavelostthefirstfinecarelessrapturethatshowersontheimmature’StuntimaginaryCommissioner-shipsandStars，andsendshimintothecollarwithcoltishearnestnessandabandon；tooyoungtobeyetabletolookbackupontheprogresshehadmade，andthankProvidencethatundertheconditionsofthedayhehadcomeevensofar，hestooduponthedead-centreofhiscareerAndwhenamanstandsstill，hefeelstheslightestimpulsefromwithoutFortunehadruledthatOtisYeereshouldbe，forthefirstpartofhisservice，oneoftherankandfilewhoaregroundupinthewheelsoftheAdministration；losingheartandsoul，andmindandstrength，intheprocessUntilsteamreplacesmanualpowerintheworkingoftheEmpire，theremustalwaysbethispercentage-mustalwaysbethemenwhoareusedup，expended，inthemeremechanicalroutineForthesepromotionisfaroffandthemil？grindofeverydayveryinstantTheSecretariatsknowthemonlybyname；
theyarenotthepickedmenoftheDistrictswithDivisionsandCollectoratesawaitingthem。
Theyaresimplytherankandfile-thefoodforfever-sharingwiththeryotandtheplough-bullockthehonorofbeingtheplinthonwhichtheStaterestsTheolderoneshavelosttheiraspirations；theyoungerareputtingtheirsasidewithasighBothlearntoendurepatientlyuntiltheTHEEDUCATIONOFOTISYEERE
l0-~
learnedwhatmanner0？lifehehadledinwhatshevaguelycalled“thoseawfulcholeradistricts“；learnedtoo，butthisknowledgecamelater，whatmanneroflifehehadpurposedtoleadandwhatdreamshehaddreameditheyearofgrace’77，beforetherealityhadknockedtheheartoutofhimVerypleasantaretheshadybridle-pathsroundProspectHillforthetellingofsuchconfidences。
“Notyet。”saidMrsHauksbcetoMrsMallowe“NotyetImustwaituntilthemanisproperlydressed，atleastGreatHeavens，isitpossiblethathedoesn’tknowwhatanhonoritistobetakenupbyMe！”
MrsHauksbeedidnotreckonfalsemodestyasoneofherfailings。
“AlwayswithMrsHauksbee！”murmuredMrsMallowe，withhersweetestsmile，toOtis“Ohyoumen，youmen！HereareourPunjabisgrowlingbecauseyou’vemonopolizedthenicestwomaninSimlaThey’lltearyoutopiecesontheMall，someday，MrYeere。”
MrsMallowerattleddown-hill，havingsatisfiedherself，byaglancethroughthefringeofhersunshade，oftheeffectofherwords。
TheshotwenthomeOfasuretyOtisYeerewassomebodyinthisbewilderingwhirlofSimla-hadmonopolixedthenicestwomaninitandthePunjabisweregrowlingThenotionjustifiedamildglowofvanityHehadneverlookeduponhisacquaintancewithMrsHauksbeeasamatterforgeneralinterest。
Theknowledgeofenvywasapleas-antfeelingtothemanofnoaccountItwasintensifiedlaterinthedaywhenaluncherattheClubsaid，spitetully，“~Vell，foradebilitatedDitcher，Yecre，“udufthedayTwelveyearsintherankandfile，mensay，willsaptheheartsofthebravestanddullthewitsofthemostkeen。
OutofthislifeOtisYeerehadfledforafewmonths；drifting，inthehopeofalittlemasculinesociety，intoSimlaWhenhisleavewasoverhewouldreturntohisswampy，sour-green，undermannedBengaldistrict；tothenativeAssistant，thenativeDoctor，thenativeMagistrate，thesteaming，swelteringStation，theill-kemptCity，andtheundisguisedinsolenceoftheMunicipalitythatbabbledawaythelivesofmenLifewascheaphoweverThesoilspawnedhumanity，asitbredfrogsintheRains，andthegapofthesicknessofoneseasonwasfilledtooverflowingbythefecundityofthenextOtiswas’infeignedlythankfultolaydownhisworkforalittlewhileandescapefromtheseething，whining，weaklyhive，impotenttohelpitself，butstronginitspowertocripple，thwart，andannoythesunken~eyedmanwho，byofficialironywassaidtobe“incharge“ofit。
“Iknewtherewerewomen-dowdiesinBengalTheycomeupheresometimesButIdidn’tknowthatthereweremen-dowds，too。”
Then，forthefirsttime，itoccurredtoOtisYeerethathisclothesworethemarkoftheagesItwillbeseenthathisfriendshipwithMrsHauksbeehadmadegreatstrides。
Asthatladytruthfullysays，amanisneversohappyaswhenheistalkingabouthimselfFromOtisYeere’slipsMrsHauksbee，beforelong，learnedeverythingthatshewishedtoknowaboutthesubjectofherexperiment：