endurance upon herself and takes refuge in or certain it is that when the last few searching yet illuminated moments of his interview with his wife were over philip fell into a condition of singular mental he was still conscious it is true of being bowed down by the weight of a heavy but his perception of the extent of that became indistinct his sense of the situation was his misery was no longer active full of force and energy but dull and slow as the sob of the dying storm when the morning breaks dim and sullen over sea and wreck strewn shore where the tempest beat out the madness of its fury through the long night he went back to his room sat down near the open window and stared with sad fixed eyes out over the lawn � on which and to and fro searching for worms in the moist grass � to the meadow with its great chestnut trees that raised their ragged branches towards the i blue grey sky exhausted with excitement and his night of watching the colonel after a brief period of semi consciousness slept he dreamed that he stood once more in the glaring italian sunshine on the terrace of the villa in her simple light cotton dress was beside him � brilliant merry her arms full of great red roses she wanted something which he was powerless to give her and and pleaded with him i pretty laughing fashion � and then somehow the the final reward � scene changed she had got monkey in her arms instead of the roses she was going up a cold wide white marble staircase which seemed to stretch up and up far out of sight nd philip followed her always just a few steps behind he strained every nerve to get nearer to her called to her implored her to wait for him but still she flitted on lightly in front always just out of his reach while the monkey looking over her shoulder grinned and pointed at him philip was faint and terribly weary he could not move fast and she got farther and farther ahead sometimes she looked back smiling gaily seeming half inclined to stop her soft rounded cheek lying against the monkey s brown one in hideous � and all the while the stairs stretched on for ever and ever philip was driven forward by a necessity to overtake the girl to clasp her to him to hold and keep her he was very very � it was impossible hopeless suddenly there came a great sound of rushing water flung back a high massive door that loomed up in front of her opening on to vast spaces of drifting gloom and full of shapes the monkey s face had changed into a mail s now which philip knew and yet did not know � he had seen it somewhere but he was sick with fruitless effort and bewildered � he could not remember where he called aloud to once more desperately wildly but she neither stayed nor answered the door swung to behind her with a and she and the thing she carried fled away and vanished in the driving mist with his arms outstretched the sound of the closing door in his � and the cry on his lips � lost lost philip awoke in this work a day world high romance only to visit us at intervals between we have to deal with plain vulgar matters which we shall reckon an or a relief according to our humour the first thing that met philip s distracted gaze when he opened his eyes was the face of as that entered the room carrying a luncheon tray shall i bring it to you there sir or will you come across to the fire he asked quietly the transition of thought seemed to philip too in his present state of agitation and excitement he put out his hand with a sharp movement of oh put it where you like i don t want anything he said however was not disposed to take an refusal of this kind he drew up a table and put the tray oh it neatly setting the glasses in order and turning out the corners of the white k colonel s wife it s past two o clock quite time you had something said with a touch of respectful authority the colonel shook his head in disgust i can t eat they say a man makes a good breakfast when he s going to be hung but it s too much to expect him to have an appetite when he s in bent down and poured some brandy into a with careful i d give my right hand gladly to see you out of this colonel he said and his hard voice trembled philip looked away over the quiet garden he stood too sorely in need of human sympathy just then to be able to reject any that came to him i believe you would � and i am grateful to you you ve been the best servant to me a man ever had for years but you will never see me out of this except one way it was a little time before answered you must eat sir all the same he said presently there s no gain i can see in starving food which brought back a measure of physical strength brought with it a renewed capacity of mental suffering for so long every thought and aim of philip s existence had in his wife in her happiness her amusements and and now it was all over between them his mind seemed a blank the present was incomprehensible the future inconceivable he felt as one who has lost a limb the brain still sends out its message but instead of the answering movement there is only the weary ache of severed nerve and muscle � 