“Doyouhearthat？“saidSirPatrick，lookingatGeoffrey。
　　Geoffreycarelesslynoddedhishead。Hisirritationhadhadtimetosubside；thestolidindifferencehadgotpossessionofhimagain。Hehadresumedhischair——hesat，withoutstretchedlegs，staringstupidlyatthepatternonthecarpet。“WhatdoesitmattertoMe？“wasthesentimentexpressedalloverhim，fromheadtofoot。
　　Thesurgeonwenton。
　　“Icanseenoremedyforthissadstateofthings，“hesaid，“aslongasthepublicfeelingremainswhatthepublicfeelingisnow。Afinehealthy-lookingyoungman，withasuperbmusculardevelopment，longsnaturallyenoughtodistinguishhimselflikeothers。Thetraining-authoritiesathiscollege，orelsewhere，takehiminhandnaturallyenoughagainonthestrengthofoutwardappearances。Andwhethertheyhavebeenrightorwronginchoosinghimismorethantheycansay，untiltheexperimenthasbeentried，andthemischiefhasbeen，inmanycases，irretrievablydone。Howmanyofthemareawareoftheimportantphysiologicaltruth，thatthemuscularpowerofamanisnofairguaranteeofhisvitalpower？HowmanyofthemknowthatweallhaveasagreatFrenchwriterputsittwolivesinus——thesurfacelifeofthemuscles，andtheinnerlifeoftheheart，lungs，andbrain？Eveniftheydidknowthis——evenwithmedicalmentohelpthem——itwouldbeinthelastdegreedoubtful，inmostcases，whetheranypreviousexaminationwouldresultinanyreliablediscoveryofthevitalfitnessofthemantoundergothestressofmuscularexertionlaidonhim。Applytoanyofmybrethren；andtheywilltellyou，astheresultoftheirownprofessionalobservation，thatIam，innosense，overstatingthisseriousevil，orexaggeratingthedeplorableanddangerousconsequencestowhichitleads。Ihaveapatientatthismoment，whoisayoungmanoftwenty，andwhopossessesoneofthefinestmusculardevelopmentsIeversawinmylife。Ifthatyoungmanhadconsultedme，beforehefollowedtheexampleoftheotheryoungmenabouthim，IcannothonestlysaythatIcouldhaveforeseentheresults。Asthingsare，aftergoingthroughacertainamountofmusculartraining，afterperformingacertainnumberofmuscularfeats，hesuddenlyfaintedoneday，totheastonishmentofhisfamilyandfriends。IwascalledinandI
　　havewatchedthecasesince。Hewillprobablylive，buthewillneverrecover。IamobligedtotakeprecautionswiththisyouthoftwentywhichIshouldtakewithanoldmanofeighty。HeisbigenoughandmuscularenoughtosittoapainterasamodelforSamson——andonlylastweekIsawhimswoonawaylikeayounggirl，inhismother’sarms。“
　　“Name!“criedGeoffrey’sadmirers，stillfightingthebattleontheirside，intheabsenceofanyencouragementfromGeoffreyhimself。
　　“Iamnotinthehabitofmentioningmypatients’names，“repliedthesurgeon。“Butifyouinsistonmyproducinganexampleofamanbrokenbyathleticexercises，Icandoit。“
　　“Doit!Whoishe？“
　　“Youallknowhimperfectlywell。“
　　“Isheinthedoctor’shands？“
　　“Notyet。“
　　“Whereishe？“
　　“There!“
　　Inapauseofbreathlesssilence——withtheeyesofeverypersonintheroomeagerlyfastenedonhim——thesurgeonliftedhishandandpointedtoGeoffreyDelamayn。
　　Assoonasthegeneralstupefactionwasallayed，thegeneralincredulityasserteditselfasamatterofcourse。
　　Themanwhofirstdeclaredthat“seeing“was“believing“laidhisfingerwhetherheknewithimselfornotononeofthefundamentalfolliesofhumanity。Theeasiestofallevidencetoreceiveistheevidencethatrequiresnootherjudgmenttodecideonitthanthejudgmentoftheeye——anditwillbe，onthataccount，theevidencewhichhumanityismostreadytocredit，aslongashumanitylasts。TheeyesofeverybodylookedatGeoffrey；andthejudgmentofeverybodydecided，ontheevidencetherevisible，thatthesurgeonmustbewrong。LadyLundieherselfdisturbedoverherdinnerinvitationsledthegeneralprotest。“Mr。Delamayninbrokenhealth!“sheexclaimed，appealingtothebettersenseofhereminentmedicalguest。
　　“Really，now，youcan’texpectustobelievethat!“
　　Stungintoactionforthesecondtimebythestartlingassertionofwhichhehadbeenmadethesubject，Geoffreyrose，andlookedthesurgeon，steadilyandinsolently，straightintheface。
　　“Doyoumeanwhatyousay？“heasked。
　　“Yes。“
　　“Youpointmeoutbeforeallthesepeople——“
　　“Onemoment，Mr。Delamayn。IadmitthatImayhavebeenwrongindirectingthegeneralattentiontoyou。Youhavearighttocomplainofmyhavingansweredtoopubliclythepublicchallengeofferedtomebyyourfriends。Iapologizeforhavingdonethat。
　　ButIdon’tretractasinglewordofwhatIhavesaidonthesubjectofyourhealth。“
　　“YousticktoitthatI’mabroken-downman？“
　　“Ido。“
　　“Iwishyouweretwentyyearsyounger，Sir!“
　　“Why？“
　　“I’daskyoutostepoutonthelawnthereandI’dshowyouwhetherI’mabroken-downmanornot。“
　　LadyLundielookedatherbrother-in-law。SirPatrickinstantlyinterfered。
　　“Mr。Delamayn，“hesaid，“youwereinvitedhereinthecharacterofagentleman，andyouareaguestinalady’shouse。“
　　“No!no!“saidthesurgeon，goodhumoredly。“Mr。Delamaynisusingastrongargument，SirPatrick——andthatisall。IfI
　　_were_twentyyearsyounger，“hewenton，addressinghimselftoGeoffrey，“andifI_did_stepoutonthelawnwithyou，theresultwouldn’taffectthequestionbetweenusintheleast。I
　　don’tsaythattheviolentbodilyexercisesinwhichyouarefamoushavedamagedyourmuscularpower。Iassertthattheyhavedamagedyourvitalpower。InwhatparticularwaytheyhaveaffecteditIdon’tconsidermyselfboundtotellyou。Isimplygiveyouawarning，asamatterofcommonhumanity。Youwilldowelltobecontentwiththesuccessyouhavealreadyachievedinthefieldofathleticpursuits，andtoalteryourmodeoflifeforthefuture。Acceptmyexcuses，oncemore，forhavingsaidthispubliclyinsteadofprivately——anddon’tforgetmywarning。“
　　Heturnedtomoveawaytoanotherpartoftheroom。Geoffreyfairlyforcedhimtoreturntothesubject。
　　“Waitabit，“hesaid。“Youhavehadyourinnings。Myturnnow。I
　　can’tgiveitwordsasyoudo；butIcancometothepoint。And，bytheLord，I’llfixyoutoit!IntendaysorafortnightfromthisI’mgoingintotrainingfortheFoot-RaceatFulham。DoyousayIshallbreakdown？“
　　“Youwillprobablygetthroughyourtraining。“
　　“ShallIgetthroughtherace？“
　　“Youmay_possibly_getthroughtherace。Butifyoudo——“
　　“IfIdo？“
　　“Youwillneverrunanother。“
　　“Andneverrowinanothermatch？“
　　“Never。“
　　“IhavebeenaskedtorowintheRace，nextspring；andIhavesaidIwill。Doyoutellme，insomanywords，thatIsha’n’tbeabletodoit？“
　　“Yes——insomanywords。“
　　“Positively？“
　　“Positively。“
　　“Backyouropinion!“criedGeoffrey，tearinghisbetting-bookoutofhispocket。“IlayyouanevenhundredI’minfitconditiontorowintheUniversityMatchnextspring。“
　　“Idon’tbet，Mr。Delamayn。“
　　Withthatfinalreplythesurgeonwalkedawaytotheotherendofthelibrary。LadyLundietakingBlancheincustodywithdrew，atthesametime，toreturntotheseriousbusinessofherinvitationsforthedinner。Geoffreyturneddefiantly，bookinhand，tohiscollegefriendsabouthim。TheBritishbloodwasup；
　　andtheBritishresolutiontobet，whichsuccessfullydefiescommondecencyandcommon-lawfromoneendofthecountrytotheother，wasnottobetrifledwith。
　　“Comeon!“criedGeoffrey。“Backthedoctor，oneofyou!“
　　SirPatrickroseinundisguiseddisgust，andfollowedthesurgeon。One，Two，andThree，invitedtobusinessbytheirillustriousfriend。shooktheirthickheadsathimknowingly，andansweredwithoneaccord，inoneeloquentword——“Gammon!“
　　“Oneof_you_backhim!“persistedGeoffrey，appealingtothetwochoralgentlemenintheback-ground，withhistemperfastrisingtofeverheat。Thetwochoralgentlemencomparednotes，asusual。
　　“Weweren’tbornyesterday，Smith？““Notifweknowit，Jones。“
　　“Smith!“saidGeoffrey，withasuddenassumptionofpolitenessominousofsomethingunpleasanttocome。
　　Smithsaid“Yes？“——withasmile。
　　“Jones!“
　　Jonessaid“Yes？“——withareflectionofSmith。
　　“You’reacoupleofinfernalcads——andyouhaven’tgotahundredpoundbetweenyou!“
　　“Come!come!“saidArnold，interferingforthefirsttime。“Thisisshameful，Geoffrey!“
　　“Whythe“——nevermindwhat!——“won’ttheyanyofthemtakethebet？“
　　“Ifyoumustbeafool，“returnedArnold，alittleirritablyonhisside，“andifnothingelsewillkeepyouquiet，_I’ll_takethebet。“
　　“Anevenhundredonthedoctor!“criedGeoffrey。“Donewithyou!“
　　Hishighestaspirationsweresatisfied；histemperwasinperfectorderagain。Heenteredthebetinhisbook；andmadehisexcusestoSmithandJonesintheheartiestway。“Nooffense，oldchaps!