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第10章

the pupil-第10章

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quitted。  Then; having closed the door after him; she directed her

steps swiftly to Pemberton。  There was something in the air; but

his wildest flight of fancy wouldn't have suggested what it proved

to be。  She signified that she had made a pretext to get Morgan out

of the way; and then she enquired … without hesitation … if the

young man could favour her with the loan of three louis。  While;

before bursting into a laugh; he stared at her with surprise; she

declared that she was awfully pressed for the money; she was

desperate for it … it would save her life。



〃Dear lady; c'est trop fort!〃  Pemberton laughed in the manner and

with the borrowed grace of idiom that marked the best colloquial;

the best anecdotic; moments of his friends themselves。  〃Where in

the world do you suppose I should get three louis; du train dont

vous allez?〃



〃I thought you worked … wrote things。  Don't they pay you?〃



〃Not a penny。〃



〃Are you such a fool as to work for nothing?〃



〃You ought surely to know that。〃



Mrs。 Moreen stared; then she coloured a little。  Pemberton saw she

had quite forgotten the terms … if 〃terms〃 they could be called …

that he had ended by accepting from herself; they had burdened her

memory as little as her conscience。  〃Oh yes; I see what you mean …

you've been very nice about that; but why drag it in so often?〃

She had been perfectly urbane with him ever since the rough scene

of explanation in his room the morning he made her accept HIS

〃terms〃 … the necessity of his making his case known to Morgan。

She had felt no resentment after seeing there was no danger Morgan

would take the matter up with her。  Indeed; attributing this

immunity to the good taste of his influence with the boy; she had

once said to Pemberton 〃My dear fellow; it's an immense comfort

you're a gentleman。〃  She repeated this in substance now。  〃Of

course you're a gentleman … that's a bother the less!〃  Pemberton

reminded her that he had not 〃dragged in〃 anything that wasn't

already in as much as his foot was in his shoe; and she also

repeated her prayer that; somewhere and somehow; he would find her

sixty francs。  He took the liberty of hinting that if he could find

them it wouldn't be to lend them to HER … as to which he

consciously did himself injustice; knowing that if he had them he

would certainly put them at her disposal。  He accused himself; at

bottom and not unveraciously; of a fantastic; a demoralised

sympathy with her。  If misery made strange bedfellows it also made

strange sympathies。  It was moreover a part of the abasement of

living with such people that one had to make vulgar retorts; quite

out of one's own tradition of good manners。  〃Morgan; Morgan; to

what pass have I come for you?〃 he groaned while Mrs。 Moreen

floated voluminously down the sala again to liberate the boy;

wailing as she went that everything was too odious。



Before their young friend was liberated there came a thump at the

door communicating with the staircase; followed by the apparition

of a dripping youth who poked in his head。  Pemberton recognised

him as the bearer of a telegram and recognised the telegram as

addressed to himself。  Morgan came back as; after glancing at the

signature … that of a relative in London … he was reading the

words:  〃Found a jolly job for you; engagement to coach opulent

youth on own terms。  Come at once。〃  The answer happily was paid

and the messenger waited。  Morgan; who had drawn near; waited too

and looked hard at Pemberton; and Pemberton; after a moment; having

met his look; handed him the telegram。  It was really by wise looks

… they knew each other so well now … that; while the telegraph…boy;

in his waterproof cape; made a great puddle on the floor; the thing

was settled between them。  Pemberton wrote the answer with a pencil

against the frescoed wall; and the messenger departed。  When he had

gone the young man explained himself。



〃I'll make a tremendous charge; I'll earn a lot of money in a short

time; and we'll live on it。〃



〃Well; I hope the opulent youth will be a dismal dunce … he

probably will … 〃 Morgan parenthesised … 〃and keep you a long time

a…hammering of it in。〃



〃Of course the longer he keeps me the more we shall have for our

old age。〃



〃But suppose THEY don't pay you!〃 Morgan awfully suggested。



〃Oh there are not two such … !〃  But Pemberton pulled up; he had

been on the point of using too invidious a term。  Instead of this

he said 〃Two such fatalities。〃



Morgan flushed … the tears came to his eyes。  〃Dites toujours two

such rascally crews!〃  Then in a different tone he added:  〃Happy

opulent youth!〃



〃Not if he's a dismal dunce。〃



〃Oh they're happier then。  But you can't have everything; can you?〃

the boy smiled。



Pemberton held him fast; hands on his shoulders … he had never

loved him so。  〃What will become of you; what will you do?〃  He

thought of Mrs。 Moreen; desperate for sixty francs。



〃I shall become an homme fait。〃  And then as if he recognised all

the bearings of Pemberton's allusion:  〃I shall get on with them

better when you're not here。〃



〃Ah don't say that … it sounds as if I set you against them!〃



〃You do … the sight of you。  It's all right; you know what I mean。

I shall be beautiful。  I'll take their affairs in hand; I'll marry

my sisters。〃



〃You'll marry yourself!〃 joked Pemberton; as high; rather tense

pleasantry would evidently be the right; or the safest; tone for

their separation。



It was; however; not purely in this strain that Morgan suddenly

asked:  〃But I say … how will you get to your jolly job?  You'll

have to telegraph to the opulent youth for money to come on。〃



Pemberton bethought himself。  〃They won't like that; will they?〃



〃Oh look out for them!〃



Then Pemberton brought out his remedy。  〃I'll go to the American

Consul; I'll borrow some money of him … just for the few days; on

the strength of the telegram。〃



Morgan was hilarious。  〃Show him the telegram … then collar the

money and stay!〃



Pemberton entered into the joke sufficiently to reply that for

Morgan he was really capable of that; but the boy; growing more

serious; and to prove he hadn't meant what he said; not only

hurried him off to the Consulate … since he was to start that

evening; as he had wired to his friend … but made sure of their

affair by going with him。  They splashed through the tortuous

perforations and over the humpbacked bridges; and they passed

through the Piazza; where they saw Mr。 Moreen and Ulick go into a

jeweller's shop。  The Consul proved accommodating … Pemberton said

it wasn't the letter; but Morgan's grand air … and on their way

back they went into Saint Mark's for a hushed ten minutes。  Later

they took up and kept up the fun of it to the very end; and it

seemed to Pemberton a part of that fun that Mrs。 Moreen; who was

very angry when he had announced her his intention; should charge

him; grotesquely and vulgarly and in reference to the loan she had

vainly endeavoured to effect; with bolting lest they should 〃get

something out〃 of him。  On the other hand he had to do Mr。 Moreen

and Ulick the justice to recognise that when on coming in they

heard the cruel news they took it like perfect men of the world。







CHAPTER VIIII







When he got at work with the opulent youth; who was to be taken in

hand for Balliol; he found himself unable to say if this aspirant

had really such poor parts or if the appearance were only begotten

of his own long association with an intensely living little mind。

From Morgan he heard half a dozen times:  the boy wrote charming

young letters; a patchwork of tongues; with indulgent postscripts

in the family Volapuk and; in little squares and rounds and

crannies of the text; the drollest illustrations … letters that he

was divided between the impulse to show his present charge as a

vain; a wasted incentive; and the s

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