this was all that would ever pass between them on
the odious head. Yet she couldn't help also know
ing that an important effect, for his judgment, or
at least for his amusement which was his feeling,
since, marvellously, he did have feeling was pro
duced by it. All her little pieces had now then fallen
together for him like the morsels of coloured glass
that used to make combinations, under the hand, in
the depths of one of the polygonal peepshows of
childhood. " So that if it's a question of my doing
anything under the sun that will help!"

"You ll do anything under the sun? Good." He
took that beautifully, ever so pleasantly, for what it
was worth; but time was needed ten minutes or
so were needed on the spot to deal even provision
ally, with the substantive question. It was conven
ient, in its degree, that there was nothing she
wouldn't do; but it seemed also highly and agreeably
vague that she should have to do anything. They
thus appeared to be taking her, together, for the mo
ment, and almost for sociability, as prepared to pro
ceed to gratuitous extremities; the upshot of which
was in turn, that after much interrogation, ausculta
tion, exploration, much noting of his own sequences
and neglecting of hers, had duly kept up the vague
ness, they might have struck themselves, or may at
least strike us, as coming back from an undeterred
but useless voyage to the north pole. Milly was
ready, under orders, for the north pole; which fact
was doubtless what made a blinding anticlimax of her

[[267]]

p266 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p267w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p268

v?