“Itmakesoneawfullyqueer,don’tyoufind?“hecomplained。
  “Thesetreesgetonone’snerves——it’sallsocrazy。
  God’sundoubtedlymad。Whatsanepersoncouldhaveconceivedawildernesslikethis,andpeopleditwithapesandalligators?
  IshouldgomadifIlivedhere——ravingmad。“
  Terenceattemptedtoanswerhim,butMrs。Ambroserepliedinstead。
  Shebadehimlookatthewaythingsmassedthemselves——lookattheamazingcolours,lookattheshapesofthetrees。SheseemedtobeprotectingTerencefromtheapproachoftheothers。
  “Yes,“saidMr。Flushing。“Andinmyopinion,“hecontinued,“theabsenceofpopulationtowhichHirstobjectsispreciselythesignificanttouch。Youmustadmit,Hirst,thatalittleItaliantownevenwouldvulgarisethewholescene,woulddetractfromthevastness——thesenseofelementalgrandeur。“Heswepthishandstowardstheforest,andpausedforamoment,lookingatthegreatgreenmass,whichwasnowfallingsilent。“Iownitmakesusseemprettysmall——us,notthem。“Henoddedhisheadatasailorwholeantoverthesidespittingintotheriver。“Andthat,Ithink,iswhatmywifefeels,theessentialsuperiorityofthepeasant——“
  UndercoverofMr。Flushing’swords,whichcontinuednowgentlyreasoningwithSt。Johnandpersuadinghim,TerencedrewRacheltotheside,pointingostensiblytoagreatgnarledtree-trunkwhichhadfallenandlayhalfinthewater。Hewished,atanyrate,tobenearher,buthefoundthathecouldsaynothing。TheycouldhearMr。Flushingflowingon,nowabouthiswife,nowaboutart,nowaboutthefutureofthecountry,littlemeaninglesswordsfloatinghighinair。AsitwasbecomingcoldhebegantopacethedeckwithHirst。Fragmentsoftheirtalkcameoutdistinctlyastheypassed——art,emotion,truth,reality。
  “Isittrue,orisitadream?“Rachelmurmured,whentheyhadpassed。
  “It’strue,it’strue,“hereplied。
  Butthebreezefreshened,andtherewasageneraldesireformovement。
  Whenthepartyrearrangedthemselvesundercoverofrugsandcloaks,TerenceandRachelwereatoppositeendsofthecircle,andcouldnotspeaktoeachother。Butasthedarkdescended,thewordsoftheothersseemedtocurlupandvanishastheashesofburntpaper,andleftthemsittingperfectlysilentatthebottomoftheworld。
  Occasionalstartsofexquisitejoyranthroughthem,andthentheywerepeacefulagain。
  ThankstoMr。Flushing’sdiscipline,therightstagesoftheriverwerereachedattherighthours,andwhennextmorningafterbreakfastthechairswereagaindrawnoutinasemicircleinthebow,thelaunchwaswithinafewmilesofthenativecampwhichwasthelimitofthejourney。Mr。Flushing,ashesatdown,advisedthemtokeeptheireyesfixedontheleftbank,wheretheywouldsoonpassaclearing,andinthatclearing,wasahutwhereMackenzie,thefamousexplorer,haddiedoffeversometenyearsago,almostwithinreachofcivilisation——Mackenzie,herepeated,themanwhowentfartherinlandthananyone’sbeenyet。Theireyesturnedthatwayobediently。TheeyesofRachelsawnothing。
  Yellowandgreenshapesdid,itistrue,passbeforethem,butsheonlyknewthatonewaslargeandanothersmall;shedidnotknowthattheyweretrees。Thesedirectionstolookhereandthereirritatedher,asinterruptionsirritateapersonabsorbedinthought,althoughshewasnotthinkingofanything。Shewasannoyedwithallthatwassaid,andwiththeaimlessmovementsofpeople’sbodies,becausetheyseemedtointerferewithherandtopreventherfromspeakingtoTerence。VerysoonHelensawherstaringmoodilyatacoilofrope,andmakingnoefforttolisten。Mr。FlushingandSt。Johnwereengagedinmoreorlesscontinuousconversationaboutthefutureofthecountryfromapoliticalpointofview,andthedegreetowhichithadbeenexplored;theothers,withtheirlegsstretchedout,orchinspoisedonthehands,gazedinsilence。
  Mrs。Ambroselookedandlistenedobedientlyenough,butinwardlyshewaspreytoanuneasymoodnotreadilytobeascribedtoanyonecause。LookingonshoreasMr。Flushingbadeher,shethoughtthecountryverybeautiful,butalsosultryandalarming。
  Shedidnotliketofeelherselfthevictimofunclassifiedemotions,andcertainlyasthelaunchslippedonandon,inthehotmorningsun,shefeltherselfunreasonablymoved。Whethertheunfamiliarityoftheforestwasthecauseofit,orsomethinglessdefinite,shecouldnotdetermine。HermindleftthesceneandoccupieditselfwithanxietiesforRidley,forherchildren,forfar-offthings,suchasoldageandpovertyanddeath。Hirst,too,wasdepressed。
  Hehadbeenlookingforwardtothisexpeditionastoaholiday,for,onceawayfromthehotel,surelywonderfulthingswouldhappen,insteadofwhichnothinghappened,andheretheywereasuncomfortable,asrestrained,asself-consciousasever。That,ofcourse,waswhatcameoflookingforwardtoanything;onewasalwaysdisappointed。
  HeblamedWilfridFlushing,whowassowelldressedandsoformal;
  heblamedHewetandRachel。Whydidn’ttheytalk?Helookedatthemsittingsilentandself-absorbed,andthesightannoyedhim。
  Hesupposedthattheywereengaged,orabouttobecomeengaged,butinsteadofbeingintheleastromanticorexciting,thatwasasdullaseverythingelse;itannoyedhim,too,tothinkthattheywereinlove。
  HedrewclosetoHelenandbegantotellherhowuncomfortablehisnighthadbeen,lyingonthedeck,sometimestoohot,sometimestoocold,andthestarssobrightthathecouldn’tgettosleep。Hehadlainawakeallnightthinking,andwhenitwaslightenoughtosee,hehadwrittentwentylinesofhispoemonGod,andtheawfulthingwasthathe’dpracticallyprovedthefactthatGoddidnotexist。
  Hedidnotseethathewasteasingher,andhewentontowonderwhatwouldhappenifGoddidexist——“anoldgentlemaninabeardandalongbluedressinggown,extremelytestyanddisagreeableashe’sboundtobe?Canyousuggestarhyme?God,rod,sod——allused;
  anyothers?“
  Althoughhespokemuchasusual,Helencouldhaveseen,hadshelooked,thathewasalsoimpatientanddisturbed。Butshewasnotcalledupontoanswer,forMr。Flushingnowexclaimed“There!“Theylookedatthehutonthebank,adesolateplacewithalargerentintheroof,andthegroundroundityellow,scarredwithfiresandscatteredwithrustyopentins。
  “Didtheyfindhisdeadbodythere?“Mrs。Flushingexclaimed,leaningforwardinhereagernesstoseethespotwheretheexplorerhaddied。
  “Theyfoundhisbodyandhisskinsandanotebook,“herhusbandreplied。
  Buttheboathadsooncarriedthemonandlefttheplacebehind。
  Itwassohotthattheyscarcelymoved,exceptnowtochangeafoot,or,again,tostrikeamatch。Theireyes,concentrateduponthebank,werefullofthesamegreenreflections,andtheirlipswereslightlypressedtogetherasthoughthesightstheywerepassinggaverisetothoughts,savethatHirst’slipsmovedintermittentlyashalfconsciouslyhesoughtrhymesforGod。Whateverthethoughtsoftheothers,noonesaidanythingforaconsiderablespace。
  Theyhadgrownsoaccustomedtothewalloftreesoneithersidethattheylookedupwithastartwhenthelightsuddenlywidenedoutandthetreescametoanend。
  “ItalmostremindsoneofanEnglishpark,“saidMr。Flushing。
  Indeednochangecouldhavebeengreater。Onbothbanksoftheriverlayanopenlawn-likespace,grasscoveredandplanted,forthegentlenessandorderoftheplacesuggestedhumancare,withgracefultreesonthetopoflittlemounds。Asfarastheycouldgaze,thislawnroseandsankwiththeundulatingmotionofanoldEnglishpark。
  Thechangeofscenenaturallysuggestedachangeofposition,gratefultomostofthem。Theyroseandleantovertherail。
  “ItmightbeArundelorWindsor,“Mr。Flushingcontinued,“ifyoucutdownthatbushwiththeyellowflowers;and,byJove,look!“
  Rowsofbrownbackspausedforamomentandthenleaptwithamotionasiftheywerespringingoverwavesoutofsight。
  foramomentnooneofthemcouldbelievethattheyhadreallyseenliveanimalsintheopen——aherdofwilddeer,andthesightarousedachildlikeexcitementinthem,dissipatingtheirgloom。
  “I’veneverinmylifeseenanythingbiggerthanahare!“
  Hirstexclaimedwithgenuineexcitement。“WhatanassIwasnottobringmyKodak!“
  Soonafterwardsthelaunchcamegraduallytoastandstill,andthecaptainexplainedtoMr。Flushingthatitwouldbepleasantforthepassengersiftheynowwentforastrollonshore;iftheychosetoreturnwithinanhour,hewouldtakethemontothevillage;
  iftheychosetowalk——itwasonlyamileortwofartheron——
  hewouldmeetthematthelanding-place。
  Thematterbeingsettled,theywereoncemoreputonshore:
  thesailors,producingraisinsandtobacco,leantupontherailandwatchedthesixEnglish,whosecoatsanddresseslookedsostrangeuponthegreen,wanderoff。Ajokethatwasbynomeanspropersetthemalllaughing,andthentheyturnedroundandlayattheireaseuponthedeck。
  Directlytheylanded,TerenceandRacheldrewtogetherslightlyinadvanceoftheothers。
  “ThankGod!“Terenceexclaimed,drawingalongbreath。“Atlastwe’realone。“
  “Andifwekeepaheadwecantalk,“saidRachel。
  Nevertheless,althoughtheirpositionsomeyardsinadvanceoftheothersmadeitpossibleforthemtosayanythingtheychose,theywerebothsilent。
  “Youloveme?“Terenceaskedatlength,breakingthesilencepainfully。
  Tospeakortobesilentwasequallyaneffort,forwhentheyweresilenttheywerekeenlyconsciousofeachother’spresence,andyetwordswereeithertootrivialortoolarge。
  Shemurmuredinarticulately,ending,“Andyou?“
  “Yes,yes,“hereplied;butthereweresomanythingstobesaid,andnowthattheywerealoneitseemednecessarytobringthemselvesstillmorenear,andtosurmountabarrierwhichhadgrownupsincetheyhadlastspoken。Itwasdifficult,frighteningeven,oddlyembarrassing。Atonemomenthewasclear-sighted,and,atthenext,confused。
  “NowI’mgoingtobeginatthebeginning,“hesaidresolutely。
  “I’mgoingtotellyouwhatIoughttohavetoldyoubefore。
  Inthefirstplace,I’veneverbeeninlovewithotherwomen,butI’vehadotherwomen。ThenI’vegreatfaults。I’mverylazy,I’mmoody——“Hepersisted,inspiteofherexclamation,“You’vegottoknowtheworstofme。I’mlustful。I’movercomebyasenseoffutility——incompetence。Ioughtnevertohaveaskedyoutomarryme,Iexpect。I’mabitofasnob;I’mambitious——“
  “Oh,ourfaults!“shecried。“Whatdotheymatter?“Thenshedemanded,“AmIinlove——isthisbeinginlove——arewetomarryeachother?“
  Overcomebythecharmofhervoiceandherpresence,heexclaimed,“Oh,you’refree,Rachel。Toyou,timewillmakenodifference,ormarriageor——“
  Thevoicesoftheothersbehindthemkeptfloating,nowfarther,nownearer,andMrs。Flushing’slaughroseclearlybyitself。
  “Marriage?“Rachelrepeated。
  Theshoutswererenewedbehind,warningthemthattheywerebearingtoofartotheleft。Improvingtheircourse,hecontinued,“Yes,marriage。“Thefeelingthattheycouldnotbeuniteduntilsheknewallabouthimmadehimagainendeavourtoexplain。
  “Allthat’sbeenbadinme,thethingsI’veputupwith——
  thesecondbest——“
  Shemurmured,consideredherownlife,butcouldnotdescribehowitlookedtohernow。